Chapter 12: Finally Some Answers

Martha got the men settled around the table. Seth had fixed a brace for one of the chairs so Sean's car carrier could hold Sean at table height. Udit chuckled and pointed out that most people just used a highchair for their babies.

"Sean's more comfortable this way Mr. Udit," Martha replied with a little irritation in her voice. "This way it seems like it's easier for him to join the conversation with the rest of us," she explained. Her expression started to look sheepish before it hardened into determination.

Udit didn't point out that they were talking about a four month old baby. He only smiled with his eyes twinkling merrily and nodded in acceptance at the explanation.

Martha looked at him sharply before shrugging and started pouring coffee.

"Grandfather," BB started hesitantly. "Did, um." Everyone could see him visibly change his mind about what he was going to ask. "How did you get here Grandfather?" BB looked relieved that he had found a safe question.

Udit looked at BB intently before asking "How do you think I got here Walking Wolf Brother? Maybe I could have ridden the rising sun but that's a little fast for my age. I guess I could have changed into a brother of that eagle I saw flying away and flown here from White River. The problem with that is I always get side tracked and end up fishing someplace."

BB swallowed nervously, and Udit grinned. All his wrinkles helped him with his grin and made his face come alive as if every fiber of his being were laughing. "Actually, I caught a ride from Red Horse and his family. They were driving to Prescott for some Junior Rodeo tryouts and he dropped me off on the main road. I thought about calling ahead and asking you to pick me up but it was only about ten miles from the highway so I walked the rest of the way. How did you expect me to get here? Magic or something?"

BB's blush was very evident, even through his dark complexion. There was silence at the table for a moment. Seth was the first one to make a sound. It sounded like he was trying to blow a raspberry when he tried to hold the laugh in. Pappy was next when he started coughing in his efforts to keep from laughing. Sean's pealing four month old laughter was too much for everyone and they all started laughing.

It was several moments before everyone got themselves under control. Martha was wiping her eyes when she said, "BB, I wish you could have seen your face. I don't think I've ever seen someone get you that good."

"He's been doing that to me since I was a boy," BB grumbled in irritation. "You might think this is bad but he's got me a lot worse. He raised me since my mom died so he's had a lot of chances."

Udit grinned and sipped his coffee before saying, "I took him to a powwow in Wisconsin one time."

"Oh Grandfather," BB groaned. "Please don't tell them that story."

Udit only grinned broader and continued. "The car we were riding in had one of those new radio controls on the steering wheel. The driver could hit the button and the radio would change stations. I told Brandon that we would practice his mind control during the trip. I started off driving and demonstrated by staring at the radio. I'd say 'now, ' and would tap the radio control on the steering wheel and it changed stations. Naturally, since I was looking at the radio, so was Brandon. He never saw me tap the steering wheel control. Brandon stared at that radio trying to change the station all the way to Wisconsin and back. Every once in a while I'd demonstrate again. Sometime I would tap the control when Brandon tried so he could see some success."

Everyone got a good laugh from the story. Even BB was laughing ruefully and shaking his head. After everyone calmed down BB said, with more than a little frustration, "The trouble is, I've seen him do so many things that I still can't explain that I never know when he's messing with me or being straight with me. He explained how he did the radio trick when we got back to Arizona. Some of the other things I've seen with him can't be explained."

"Then you should have stayed with me so you could learn what was real and what wasn't," Udit said with a quiet seriousness. "Just because something seems like magic doesn't mean that it is magic. The opposite is true too to different degrees. There is magic in our everyday lives and most people take it for granted. There are some people, like the Hopi, that say us being on this world is magic. You just need to know how to see the difference."

"You know why I couldn't stay," BB said just as seriously as he ignored the rest of Udit's comment.

Udit waved his hand as if he were waving away a fly. "I told you she wasn't for you when you first started walking with her," the old man said with the tone of a phrase often repeated. "I told you that no woman from our tribe is for you. If you are patient you will find the right woman but she will be from another tribe. You should find her any time now. I have seen it in the Dream." His tone carried the same conviction a person would have when saying the sun would rise in the east.

BB's face broke into a grin that was remarkably similar to his Grandfathers, but without all the wrinkles. "I've found her Grandfather. If you can stay a while then you can meet her. She'll be coming up from Phoenix in a few weeks, or maybe we can go down there. I want you to meet her."

It was Udit's turn to be shocked and everyone laughed just as hard at his expression. BB explained about Sheila Delgado and how he met her. The way his face lit up from talking about her, there was no doubt about how he felt about Sheila.

"I can stay to meet her Brandon," Udit said gravely after BB finished. "In fact, if you're employers don't mind, I would like to spend a lot of time here. I have an important reason to spend time here," he concluded as he looked at Sean.

"BB is more than just an employee Mr. Udit," Martha said primly. "He is as much family as Sean is. Any family of his is welcome here and we have plenty of room."

"Would you prefer that I call you Mrs. Flynn?" Udit asked mildly before sipping his coffee.

"No. Of course not. Martha is fine," Martha said a little flustered. She liked the old man but the reverence BB showed him made her unsure how to relate to him.

"Thank you. Then please call me Udit," the old Indian said gently.

"Um, Udit, BB said you might be able to answer some questions about what's going on with Sean," Seth said, hesitantly. He didn't know this old man but the deference BB paid him made Seth cautious about dealing with him. Seth continued with, "Pappy had a bad experience as a kid with someone that could control animals. Pappy said that he was an evil man and called him a Brujo."

Udit looked sharply at Pappy and it looked like he wanted to say something, but Seth continued. "I don't believe Sean could ever be evil. We've only seen good things happen with Sean; but, well, we don't know what's going on. We're hoping you can explain it to us."

"I saw the end of the fight with the snake," Udit said slowly. "I also saw you doing something with your dog, so I'm assuming that she had a snake bite."

The others nodded, and Udit looked at Queen lying on a rug before saying, "I don't see a snake bite but I do see a fresh shaved place on her shoulder that looks like it's almost healed. Is that where she was bitten?" The others nodded again so Udit looked at Seth and asked, "What do you think about what happened today?"

Seth shook his head and took a sip of coffee before he answered. "A cat will fight a snake when they happen on one, but today, those two cats were on a mission when they came out of that barn. I've seen eagles kill snakes before too, but today, well, that eagle was coming to the rescue. There's no doubt about the eagles intention and a meal was an afterthought. But the way he shared the snake with the cats..." Seth shook his head, again, and took another sip of coffee. "That was a Twilight Zone moment. I used to watch that show and always figured it was just good fiction. After today, well, I don't know what to think about anything anymore. I've seen some strange things since we met Sean but today..." He shook his head again and said, "That was at the top of the chart. That's the only thing I can say about it. Then Queen was healed," he said quietly and gazed at the big mastiff lovingly. Queen's tail thumped the floor in acknowledgment. "A lot of strange things happen around Sean, but, like today, there isn't anything evil about them."

Udit nodded and asked, "But you accept that, whatever is happening, it is coming from Sean?"

Everyone nodded their heads, but Seth answered. "We do. We've seen what happened today and more since he's been with us. We've heard more from his foster parents."

Udit nodded, again, and said, "I apologize for all the questions but your acceptance of Sean's abilities determines how I will be able to explain them." His face grew thoughtful as he sipped his coffee. After swallowing he said, "I will try to use only English words so there is less confusion. Pappy called the man he saw a Brujo. Another name for a Brujo is the English word Warlock. Some have called Shaman Brujos but a Shaman is simply a wise man of a tribe. Some Shaman have learned some powers but many people, with the right training, can learn to walk that path. Brandon has the capability but didn't complete his training. Another name that some might call a Brujo could be Mage, or Wizard, but they would be wrong. There is a very distinct difference between the two. A Warlock or Brujo is born on the winter solstice; the darkest day of the year. The nearer midnight of the longest night of the year the Warlock is born the more powerful he can be. A Wizard or Mage is born on the summer solstice. The nearer noon on the longest day of the year will determine how powerful the Wizard will be."

There was silence in the room before Martha scoffed, "Oh come on. Sean was born at exactly 12 noon on the summer solstice, but there are probably thousands of babies born at that time around the world. They can't all be Wizards."

"That is true," Udit said, with a little smile, whilst nodding to her. "I don't know if it is thousands but it's probably quite a few. The time of birth is only one of the prerequisites, though all babies born at exactly 12 noon on the summer solstice will probably find their lives blessed a little more than some others. I should say, the one's that survive will find their lives blessed. Those born at exactly midnight on the winter solstice and are not Warlocks would find their lives cursed. Sean could also be in danger because warlocks have been known to kill babies born on the summer solstice."

Sean squirmed violently in his cradle board and made an angry sound in his throat. Everyone looked at him in shock.

Udit nodded his head, and said, "Maybe that's why he's an orphan."

"His parents died in an accident on the way to the hospital," Martha protested half heartedly. "His dad was at a red light and started as soon as the light turned green. A garbage truck tried to make it through the intersection on yellow light."

Pappy was nodding before he said thoughtfully, "Remember, I said I wanted to leave that crevice. I wanted to crawl out to him, but I resisted because I knew I would die if I did. Sean's dad was in a hurry to get to the hospital so he would want to go as soon as the light turned green. The garbage truck driver was in a hurry so it wouldn't take much to make him believe he could make it through the yellow light."

Udit looked at Pappy with interest, and asked, "Would you tell me what happened to you some time?"

"Sure," Pappy said gruffly. "You're going to be around anyway so we'll probably find the time, maybe some time. I don't talk about it and I've only told my family about it a few days ago." He nodded towards the others around the table when he mentioned family.

Martha reached across the table, and squeezed Pappy's hand when he called them his family.

Pappy looked back, gratefully, and returned her squeeze before continuing. "I think it's important that all of us have as much information to work with as possible in this situation. Maybe my story will help you to help us. I've got a feeling we're going to need all the help we can get."

Udit only nodded his thanks.

"You said there are other prerequisites," Seth said as he tried to steer the conversation back on track.

"There are," Udit said. "Do you understand what a talent is?" he asked before sipping his coffee again.

Everyone looked at everyone else as they wondered what direction the conversation was going now. "I'm assuming you mean a talent, like painting, or singing," Martha said a little impatiently and winced. She wasn't used to being part of a group while someone else asked the group questions. She was a teacher. She was the one that asked questions. She was honest enough with herself to admit, during her quiet times, that she wasn't always the best student.

"Exactly," Udit said, approvingly and ignoring her tone of voice. "Everyone has a talent for something. It might be so weak that they don't recognize it, but everyone does have one. Talents are more important considerations when understanding what makes Wizards and Warlocks. They both have multiple talents. Men, and women, may have a talent for singing, or painting, or playing an instrument or doing math. A Wizard or Warlock could have all those talents, and more. The combination of talents determines what powers the Wizard or Warlock will have. The powers could be the ability to influence animals like I saw today. They could include healing powers," Udit continued while nodding toward Queen. "That healing power in a Wizard could also be the power to kill in both a Warlock and a Wizard. Powers could include growing things, and weather, and a dozen other things that I can't think of right now."

"But, how does that work?" Martha asked curiously. Her earlier irritation was forgotten as her mind latched onto something new to learn.