Then, one day unexpectedly, Nasedo pulled into the village in a battered truck. Riverdog was in town when he'd arrived. When the villagers told him that, he took off on foot toward the cave. They all noticed that he seemed to be anxious like he was in some kind of trouble, and stood around long after he was out of sight wondering what it could be.

As soon as Riverdog returned to the village, his father told him that the visitor was back. The Indian was eager to see his friend. It had been almost six months since the last time they'd seen each other. Fire Shadow warned him that Nasedo looked like something bad must have happened to him.

Concern for his friend sent him back out into the desert just as it had the day he'd saved the alien's life. He made his way toward the cave where Nasedo had lived for so long before Atherton had arrived at the reservation. He was struck by a feeling of deja vu as he ducked into the cave. "Nasedo? It's me, Riverdog. Are you in here?" he asked softly.

He eyes adjusted to the darkness. Nasedo was in the back part of the cave, kneeling in front of the wall. One torch was flickering in the darkness. "Riverdog. Come here. I need you, old friend."

"What's going on?" he asked as he approached.

"I've been found. I've got to get away from here."

"Who found you? What can I do to help?" He could see now that Nasedo was painting something on the wall.

"I can trust you, right?"

"Of course." Riverdog, making sure that he wasn't blocking his light, came to stand over his shoulder. "What is this?"

"I'm trusting you with this cave." Nasedo said, ignoring the question. "I need you to protect this cave and it's secrets. I'm going to be gone a long time. If they find me, I'm not coming back."

The Indian reached over and grabbed his arm. "Nasedo, talk to me. What can I do to help you?"

"This is important, now listen to me carefully. If I don't make it back, some others may come here. They will be looking for answers. Test them, like the elders tested me. Do not show this cave to anyone who does not pass the test. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Good." He worked in silence for a while, his hands sure at his task.

Riverdog watched him, wondering what was going on, but he said nothing Nasedo had obviously told him everything that he was going to tell.

After a while, the other man stood and stretched the kinks out of his stiff muscles. "That should do it."

"When will the others be coming? Will it be soon?"

"No. They are not expected for many years. Like thirty or so." He gathered up his stuff in preparation of leaving. "I have something for you." Riverdog stepped over to him, and waited while Nasedo finished packing his few supplies into the bag he'd brought into the cave with him. When he stood, he held a small object in his hand.

Reaching for it, Riverdog asked, "What is it?"

"It's the broken part of the pendant I gave to Atherton. I want you to keep it with you always."

As glad as he was to have something from his friend, he wasn't overjoyed to have the less interesting piece of a broken necklace. Nasedo correctly interpreted his expression, and laughed at him. "I would have thought that by now you would have learned not to judge things by their appearance. Even broken as it is, this pendant has a lot of power. The day will come when you'll need it, mark my words."

He walked over to the back wall of the cave, and waved his hand across the wall. Suddenly a silver handprint became visible in the stone. Riverdog watched in amazement as Nasedo reached into the glowing mark and pulled out the small bag that contained the healing stones straight out of the rock.

Riverdog recognized it instantly even though he hadn't seen it in five years. "The Healing Stones," he whispered, not aware that he had spoken aloud.

"Yeah. Will you keep them until I return for them?"

"Yes."

"Do you have someplace safe?"

Riverdog thought for a moment, then said. "Yes, I know just the place to keep them safe."

"Good." He held the bag out to his friend who took it reverently. He looked around to see if there was anything he'd missed. He eyed the wall where he'd left his cryptic message for those who would follow him, and seemingly satisfied, turned and strode from the cave.

Riverdog followed him to the entrance, and waved at him. He didn't know how much time would pass until he saw Nasedo again, and he was saddened at the thought. Pocketing the small silver keepsake that was all that was left of the pendant, Riverdog opened the bag that contained the Healing Stones. He reached inside to pull one out, but unexpectedly felt something other than the smooth shape of the amber colored Stones. Curious, he reentered the cave and went to the flat rock that had served as Nasedo's table for so many years. He shook out the contents of the sack, and caught his breath. There on the rocky surface lay the five stones, and the three chess pieces that Nasedo had been carrying when Atherton had fled the reservation with the rest of the set.

He again picked up the white king and queen, and remembered what Nasedo had said about them. The people they represented were dead, but somehow they would rise again. Riverdog wondered again what it meant. He picked up the small pawn that was his likeness. He was sorry that they had never gotten to play a game. He would have loved to the see the rest of the set, with this piece sitting in front of the white king's knight. He began to scoop everything back into the sack, and thought about how even though his friend was gone, maybe for good, he was still on the board. He would stay in play as long as he could, protecting in his own way the white king and queen that were so important to his friend. Whoever they were.

The last stone winked at him in the flickering torchlight. He picked it up, and peered closely into it. He thought he saw... No, he must have been mistaken. He shook his head. For a second, he could have sworn he saw a white girl with very short blond hair, wearing a golden necklace that spelled out the name "Maria" staring back at him, but of course, that was impossible. He returned the last stone to the sack.

It was time to go. He looked at Nasedo's cryptic message one last time, then picking up the torch, exited the cave.

Maria blinked her eyes slowly. Where was she? She was completely disoriented, and shook her head to clear the cobwebs. Suddenly, she remembered: Atherton's ghost, Michael, the Healing Stones. She didn't know how long she'd been sitting there, but it seemed like an eternity. Michael was groaning.

"Michael. Michael, are you ok?" The Stone's healing glow had faded, and it was pitch black in Atherton's basement. She reached a hand into her large duffel bag that was still sitting on the ground next to her. In the front, she found the scented candles she'd brought along, and a lighter. In no time, she had a small candle glowing. She crawled to where Michael was just sitting up. "Michael. Are you ok?"

"What happened?"

"Atherton. I think his ghost did this."

"That's right." It was coming back to him. He looked over to where Alex and Isabel were laying. Isabel still hadn't moved this entire time, and Alex was still writhing either in pain or from some kind of nightmare, it was impossible to tell which. He moved to his friends as he asked, "What's wrong with them?"

"I don't know what's happening to Alex. Isabel's hit her head. She started to come to once, then faded back out again. You were the worse off of everyone, so I got the Healing Stones and started with you. When I first came in here... I was so scared." She remembered how it was when she'd first reentered the room and discovered that Atherton's ghost had somehow gotten the upper hand over her friends and shuddered.

She remembered everything that had happened, everything that she had seen while she was using the Stone to heal Michael. She had to share it with someone, and opened her mouth to speak, then stopped for a second almost afraid to say it, "Michael, while I was healing you, I saw..."

He was kneeling over Isabel, and asked impatiently, "You saw what?"