It explodes into a million tiny salt crystals that pop and sizzle. Hot granules fly everywhere, and I duck my head under my arm to avoid getting hit. But the buzzard brothers are too close to the fire. The salt strikes their protruding eyes and they stumble around, screeching in pain. One flaps his stubby wings, trying to protect his face. But then the grains light on his oily feathers, and he just shrieks louder. The other tries to fly away and bangs into the ceiling. Rocks come loose, crumbling and falling, and the whole little house-in-the-mountain seems to shake.
“We’ve got to get out of here!” I say to Black Jet Girl, tugging on her arm. “The roof’s going to come down.”
Black Jet Girl is more awake now, as if the salt in the air revived her, and I’m able to help her to her feet. She leans on my shoulder, I wrap my arm around her, and together we stumble toward the door.
I hear a terrible rumbling just as we get outside. I look up, and it seems like the whole top of the mountain is slowly sliding off its foundation. It’s heading straight for us!
“An avalanche!” I shout. “We’ve got to run! Can you manage it?”
Somehow, she does. We rush down the mountain, trying our best to outpace the stream of dirt and rocks and—whoa, was that a tree that just hurled past us? Okay, a small tree, but still.
“Faster!” I yell.
“There!” Black Jet Girl points to one of the claw-shaped rocks that I’d found so scary when I first landed. Now I can see its overhang would make a perfect little shelter. We huddle underneath it as the avalanche passes.
Once we’re sure it’s over, I peek around the rock. Black Jet Girl’s house is completely covered by a ton of debris, with the buzzards still stuck inside. I can’t even see the door anymore. The chimney that was belching out that awful dark fog is gone, too, crushed by the rubble.
We both sit in our hiding spot, panting, until Black Jet Girl finally speaks. “Are we safe?”
I check again, just to make sure. “I don’t think the birdbrains are getting out of there for a while, if ever. But your house was destroyed. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry,” she says. “I’ll just ask the mountain to make me a new home.”
Oh. Well, that’s handy.
The air is starting to clear, and now I can see that Łizhin was right—Dibé Nitsaa really is beautiful. The great black claw rocks are towering spires set into the side of the mountain like spikes in a crown. Tall pines and aspens surround us, and with the smoke gone, the breeze smells fresh and earthy. It’s not exactly warm out, but the temperature feels like the refreshing chill that comes in the evening after you’ve played outside all day in the summer.
“It’s nice here,” I tell Black Jet Girl.
“Did you mean what you said back there to the bináá’ yee aghání?”
“The bina who?”
“The staring-eye creatures.”
Oh, right. I knew that. Mr. Yazzie told us about the vicious bird monsters.
“You claimed to be a monsterslayer,” Black Jet Girl says. “Is it true?”
“Umm…sort of ? I’m working on it. Right now, I’m just Nizhoni. I don’t have any of the weapons or training of a true monsterslayer. My brother, my best friend, and I are trying to get to Spider Woman’s house to ask her for a map of the Glittering World. Once we have that, we’ll follow it to the Sun and get the weapons we need. But we only have a few days.…” With a pang, I think about my dad, praying with all my might that he’s out of that trunk and getting food and water.
Black Jet Girl smiles, her smooth black skin shining in the waning afternoon light. “Weapons or no, only a brave warrior would not be afraid of the bináá’ yee aghání. You were immune to their powerful stare. Maybe you think you are just Nizhoni, but I think you are already becoming more.”
Her words fill me with warmth—and hope. “Thank you,” I say.
She sways in place, looking like she’s going to fall over. She must be hungry, and thirsty, too. Who knows how long she was trapped in there with those nasty creatures?
I dig in my backpack and pull out one of Davery’s cookies. “It’s not much in the way of dinner, but my best friend’s mom made this, and it’s super healthy. I’m happy to share.”
She takes a bite. “It’s…different.”
“That it is.” But I guess it must be okay, because she keeps eating it. I’m so hungry that I have one, too. I wash it down with some lukewarm water and then hand her the bottle, which she takes gratefully.
“Why have you come to Dibé Nitsaa?” she asks me.
“I was hoping you could help me find the jet that I’m supposed to bring to Spider Woman as a gift. Though it looks like there’s plenty around here to choose from.”
“Oh, you can’t take just any jet. If it is for Na’ashjéii Asdzáá, it must be the best there is!”
My stomach sinks. Is this going to be like finding the shell on the White Mountain? I don’t think I’m up for another five-hour search for just the perfect piece of black rock. Why does everything have to be so hard?
Black Jet Girl coughs.
“What’s wrong?” I ask. “Are you okay? It’s the cookie, isn’t it?” I knew it was a killer.
She shakes her head. “I breathed in some of the bináá’ yee aghánís’ awful smoke, and when they froze me, it got stuck in my lungs. I will heal, but it will take time.”
Time to heal, time to find the jet for Spider Woman. I can almost hear the minutes ticking away. “Um, I don’t mean to be rude, but how much time?”
“I must sleep now. In the morning, I should be well enough to help you.”
I chew on my lip, worried. Łizhin promised to return at sunset. But I can’t leave Black Jet Girl here by herself if she’s still impaired. Łizhin said other monsters might come, and what kind of backup guardian would I be if I abandoned her?
“If you want to sleep, I can keep watch,” I say, making up my mind.
Black Jet Girl gives me a tired and grateful smile and lies down on a bed of leaves, resting her head on her arms. I push my back against the rock, pull up my knees, and wrap my arms around them. I’m not that tired, so it shouldn’t be hard to stay alert until Łizhin arrives.
A wave of sadness rolls over me. I miss Davery. If he were here, he would know how to build a makeshift shelter that he’d read about in 101 Survival Tricks, and probably how to whip up a three-course meal out of wet leaves and dirt. Gluten-free, of course. I even miss Mac, who would be telling jokes and drawing funny pictures of the buzzards to cheer us up. And even though I’ve only known him for a day, I miss Mr. Yazzie, too. He’d teach us stories about Navajo history or songs about the Black Mountain that would make us all feel like we were special. Most of all, I miss my dad, who would lecture me about going off on dangerous adventures and then still tuck me into bed with a kiss.
But none of my companions are here. It’s just me. I sniffle a little bit, feeling sorry for myself.
“From now on, we’re staying together,” I vow aloud to Mac and Davery, wherever they might be. “And we’re coming to save you, Dad,” I add quietly. “Don’t give up.”