Excerpt from "Beware of the Wind and the Darkness"

I thought I would share an excerpt from my novel, "Beware of the Wind and the Darkness" so you can get a taste of my writing style and what the book is about. This is from Chapter 10, and is one of the main parts of the story. Chad Jordan, our 14 year old hero, finds himself in the Great Kiva at Chaco Canyon. He has been ill and is unable to travel further. He has, at first, no idea where he is. Then things start to happen:

"The strange hall came to life. Howls and screams emitted from the very walls and Chad felt a terror like he’d never know before. Frantically he tried to get on his feet but the bitter wind came back to hold him like a pair of strong arms. The noise around him grew wilder, with hissing snakes and war cries that rang in his ears. When the walls began to swell and breathe, it was too much. He screamed loudly, throwing his hands over his eyes.

    Everything stopped. For a long time, the boy lay still, afraid that if he moved it would all start up again. Finally, he forced his eyes open and looked around. The moon was shining again but its beam now played on only one spot. He remained in total darkness. It was as though he didn’t exist anymore, as though he were watching something that happened a long time ago.

    A group of men sat in a circle in the moonlit spot on the chamber floor. They were wearing loincloths, their black hair hanging down past their shoulders. They appeared to be playing some kind of game, for their eyes were fixed intently on the area in the middle of their circle. One of the men laughed, his voice splitting the silence. He was different from the rest, darker and apparently wealthier, for he wore a great necklace made of turquoise. Again, he laughed, lifting his face. Chad grew sick at the sight of him and turned away. The laughter continued and Chad shut his eyes. The clamor grew louder leaving him feeling weaker and weaker and wondering if he were dying. He tried to block the noise by covering his ears, but it was no use. The laughter seemed to rise up off the floor and move over towards him until it hovered just above his head.

    Then Chad noticed another sound, one that was soft and gentle. His ears strained to hear it, for it sounded like his mother’s voice. She was chanting something—something familiar—a word, no, a name. He hadn’t thought of it before but somehow he knew this would help him. With what little strength he had left he began saying it with her. “Hastsi-yalti, Hastsi-yalti.” After the fourth time, his strength completely left him and he fainted.

    When he finally woke, everything was very still. There was no wind and even the darkness seemed to be gone, yet there was no light. It seemed as if there was nothing at all except his own body and the cool earth floor he lay on. After a long while, he felt the wind again but this time, it seemed benevolent instead of fierce.

    There were voices again, but this time they caused no fear, instead they seemed friendly. He lay still, unable to open his eyes.

    “This is the one I have brought to you,” a voiced brushed his face and he realized that it was the Wind speaking.

    “My cloak has sheltered him. Many times, I offered my protection,” said another. It is the Darkness, Chad thought.

    From high above, the Sun spoke, “I guided him daily; I warmed him and gave him light.”

    The three voices spoke as one. “He seeks the People. But he has not learned to pray, so he trusts only himself. He must be made over, so that he walks in beauty.”

    A song began. Later, Chad could not recall all of the words but some phrases that were repeated many times he never forgot. Things went on around him, but he lay as a stone. Something brushed over his body and several times something was sprinkled on him but he never moved. In one song, the chanter told him to take a new name because his old one had lost its powers. He felt his old name fading away."