The Legend of the Firewalker by Steve Bevil Page B

voice that was unfamiliar to him.
    Immediately, he shoved his hands into his front pockets and turned around to find Jonathan Black staring at him from the front door. Nathan gave a quick smile and tried to turn away, but Jonathan proceeded towards him anyway. “Uh — hi, Jon,” he said, after clearing his throat.
    “It’s such a beautiful night,” said Jonathan, while looking up towards the sky. “Oh, and look, there’s also a new moon.” He smiled and then returned his gaze back to N athan. “And I prefer Jonathan, by the way.”
    “Oh, yeah, sorry about that,” said Nathan, appearing slightly anxiously. He took a few steps backwards towards the cottage. “I’ll remember that, Jonathan. ”
    “I thought I would turn in early to get a good start out at the Cahokia Caves tomorrow, before meeting with Dr. Helmsley,” Jonathan announced quickly before Nathan could inch away. “Tomorrow is supposed to be a beautiful day as well.” He paused, briefly repositioning his glasses. “Would you care to join me?”
    “What?” asked Nathan surprised. He was hoping the conversation wasn’t going to last long. “Join you?”
    Jonathan grinned. “Well, I was talking with your grandf ather and —”
    “Uh-huh,” uttered Nathan while nodding. He expected anything starting with “I was talking to your grandfather” to be followed by a request of some kind. “You were talking with my grandfather.”
    Jonathan paused again and took a dry gulp. “I was talking with your grandfather and LaDonda —”
    “LaDonda!” interrupted Nathan again. 
    “Can I please finish?” asked Jonathan. He paused for a second, as if he was awaiting a response. “I’ll take your silence as a yes.”
    Nathan raised his eyebrows and Jonathan smiled.
    “After learning from Roy and LaDonda about your Cahokia ancestry through your mother,” Jonathan continued enthusiastically, “I thought you might want to join me tomorrow at the dig site.”
    Nathan’s eyebrows were still raised and were now a ccompanied by a frown. “Dig site?” he muttered, “Tomorrow? At the caves?”
    “Yes!” exclaimed Jonathan. “It’s so exciting that after all these years they are still finding stuff! ” His eyes were as wide as saucers now. “Considering that whatever we discover is a part of your history, you could learn firsthand more about yourself and your people.”
    I think I’ve learned enough about myself for one day, Nathan thought, recalling what he had just learned from Lafonda and Amanda about the reality of his nightmares. He got a warm feeling in his chest and began to think about his mother. Besides the fact that she had married his dad, Michael Urye, he didn’t know a lot about Grace Sequoya. Everything he knew about the Cahokia tribe, he’d learned on school field trips to the Northern Cahokia Tribal Museum.
    He soon realized that Jonathan was still there and decided to fake a yawn. He thought about stretching to add to the effect, but remembered how red his hands were and opted to leave them in his pockets instead. He also noticed that his hands continued to tremble slightly, but figured it was a good idea to just leave them there. “Thanks for the invite,” he said. “But I think I’ll pass. I still have to pack for camp on Friday.”
    Jonathan’s bright blue eyes were still filled with excitement. “Did you know that the Cahokia tribe once occupied most of what is now Southern Illinois before they became known as two separate tribes?” he asked. “And that most scholars attribute the separation to a massive drought that caused famine in the area?”
    “Yes!” howled Nathan, yawning with both arms stretched out in the air. He now thought exposing his hands was worth the risk.
    But Jonathan’s eyes continued to gleam. “Archeologists have found artifacts that suggest there was a migration of clans from the tribe’s southern borders to this area right around Lake Charleston!” He grinned. “Can you guess why they