ld do their bidding. 

"Kaheleha took his spirit army and wreaked havoc on the intruders. This invading tribe had 
packs of big, thick-furred dogs that they used to pull their sleds in the frozen north. The spirit 
warriors turned the dogs against their masters and then brought a mighty infestation of bats 
up from the cliff caverns. They used the screaming wind to aid the dogs in confusing the 
men. The dogs and bats won. The survivors scattered, calling our harbor a cursed place. The 
dogs ran wild when the spirit warriors released them. The Quileutes returned to their bodies 
and their wives, victorious. 

"The other nearby tribes, the Hohs and the Makahs, made treaties with the Quileutes. They 
wanted nothing to do with our magic. We lived in peace with them. When an enemy came 
against us, the spirit warriors would drive them off. 

"Generations passed. Then came the last great Spirit Chief, Taha Aki. He was known for his 
wisdom, and for being a man of peace. The people lived well and content in his care. 

"But there was one man, Utlapa, who was not content." 

A low hiss ran around the fire. I was too slow to see where it came from. Billy ignored it and 
went on with the legend. 

"Utlapa was one of Chief Taha Aki's strongest spirit warriors - a powerful man, but a 

 

grasping man, too. He thought the people should use their magic to expand their lands, to 
enslave the Hohs and the Makahs and build an empire. 

"Now, when the warriors were their spirit selves, they knew each other's thoughts. Taha Aki 
saw what Utlapa dreamed, and was angry with Utlapa. Utlapa was commanded to leave the 
people, and never use his spirit self again. Utlapa was a strong man, but the chief's warriors 
outnumbered him. He had no choice but to leave. The furious outcast hid in the forest 
nearby, waiting for a chance to get revenge against the chief. 

"Even in times of peace, the Spirit Chief was vigilant in protecting his people. Often, he 
would go to a sacred, secret place in the mountains. He would leave his body behind and 
sweep down through the forests and along the coast, making sure no threat approached. 

"One day when Taha Aki left to perform this duty, Utlapa followed. At first, Utlapa simply 
planned to kill the chief, but this plan had its drawbacks. Surely the spirit warriors would 
seek to destroy him, and they could follow faster than he could escape. As he hid in the rocks 
and watched the chief prepare to leave his body, another plan occurred to him. 

"Taha Aki left his body in the secret place and flew with the winds to keep watch over his 
people. Utlapa waited until he was sure the chief had traveled some distance with his spirit 
self. 

"Taha Aki knew it the instant that Utlapa had joined him in the spirit world, and he also 
knew Utlapa's murderous plan. He raced back to his secret place, but even the winds weren't 
fast enough to save him. When he returned, his body was already gone. Utlapa's body lay 
abandoned, but Utlapa had not left Taha Aki with an escape - he had cut his own body's 
throat with Taha Aki's hands. 

"Taha Aki followed his body down the mountain. He screamed at Utlapa, but Utlapa ignored 
him as if he were mere wind. 

"Taha Aki watched with despair as Utlapa took his place as chief of the Quileutes. For a few 
weeks, Utlapa did nothing but make sure that everyone believed he was Taha Aki. Then the 
changes began - Utlapa's first edict was to forbid any warrior to enter the spirit world. He 
claimed that he'd had a vision of danger, but really he was afraid. He knew that Taha Aki 
would be waiting for the chance to tell his story. Utlapa was also afraid to enter the spirit 
world himself, knowing Taha Aki would quickly claim his body. So his dreams of conquest 
with a spirit warrior army were impossible, and he sought to content himself with ruling over 
the tribe. He became a burden - seeking privileges that Taha Aki had never requested, 
refusing to work alongside his warriors, taking a young second wife and then a third, though 
Taha Aki's wife lived on - something unheard of in the tribe. Taha Aki watched in helpless 
fury. 

"Eventually, Taha Aki tried to kill his body to save the tribe from Utlapa's excesses. He 
brought a fierce wolf down from the mountains, but Utlapa hid behind his warriors. When 
the wolf killed a young man who was protecting the false chief, Taha Aki felt horrible grief. 

 

He ordered the wolf away. 

"All the stories tell us that it was no easy thing to be a spirit warrior. It was more frightening 
than exhilarating to be freed from one's body. This is why they only used their magic in times 
of need. The chief's solitary journeys to keep watch were a burden and a sacrifice. Being 
bodiless was disorienting, uncomfortable, horrifying. Taha Aki had been away from his body 
for so long at this point that he was in agony. He felt he was doomed - never to cross over to 
the final land where his ancestors waited, stuck in this torturous nothingness forever. 

"The great wolf followed Taha Aki's spirit as he twisted and writhed in agony through the 
woods. The wolf was very large for its kind, and beautiful. Taha Aki was suddenly jealous of 
the dumb animal. At least it had a body. At least it had a life. Even life as an animal would be 
better than this horrible empty consciousness. 

"And then Taha Aki had the idea that changed us all. He asked the great wolf to make room 
for him, to share. The wolf complied. Taka Aki entered the wolf's body with relief and 
gratitude. It was not his human body, but it was better than the void of the spirit world. 

"As one, the man and the wolf returned to the village on the harbor. The people ran in fear, 
shouting for the warriors to come. The warriors ran to meet the wolf with their spears. 
Utlapa, of course, stayed safely hidden. 

"Taha Aki did not attack his warriors. He retreated slowly from them, speaking with his eyes 
and trying to yelp the songs of his people. The warriors began to realize that the wolf was no 
ordinary animal, that there was a spirit influencing it. One older warrior, a man name Yut, 
decided to disobey the false chief's order and try to communicate with the wolf. 

"As soon as Yut crossed to the spirit world, Taha Aki left the wolf - the animal waited 
tamely for his return - to speak to him. Yut gathered the truth in an instant, and welcomed 
his true chief home. 

"At this time, Utlapa came to see if the wolf had been defeated. When he saw Yut lying 
lifeless on the ground, surrounded by protective warriors, he realized what was happening. 
He drew his knife and raced forward to kill Yut before he could return to his body. 

"'Traitor,' he screamed, and the warriors did not know what to do. The chief had forbidden 
spirit journeys, and it was the chief's decision how to punish those who disobeyed. 

"Yut jumped back into his body, but Utlapa had his knife at his throat and a hand covering 
his mouth. Taha Aki's body was strong, and Yut was weak with age. Yut could not say even 
one word to warn the others before Utlapa silenced him forever. 

"Taha Aki watched as Yut's spirit slipped away to the final lands that were barred to Taha 
Aki for all eternity. He felt a great rage, more powerful than anything he'd felt before. He 
entered the big wolf again, meaning to rip Utlapa's throat out. But, as he joined the wolf, the 
greatest magic happened. 

 

"Taha Aki's anger was the anger of a man. The love he had for his people and the hatred he 
had for their oppressor were too vast for the wolf's body, too human. The wolf shuddered, 
and - before the eyes of the shocked warriors and Utlapa - transformed into a man. 

"The new man did not look like Taha Aki's body. He was far more glorious. He was the flesh 
interpretation of Taha Aki's spirit. The warriors recognized him at once, though, for they had 
flown with Taha Aki's spirit. 

"Utlapa tried to run, but Taha Aki had the strength of the wolf in his new body. He caught 
the thief and crushed the spirit from him before he could jump out of the stolen body. 

"The people rejoiced when they understood what had happened. Taha Aki quickly set 
everything right, working again with his people and giving the young wives back to their 
families. The only change he kept in place was the end of the spirit travels. He knew that it 
was too dangerous now that the idea of stealing a life was there. The spirit warriors were no 
more. 

"From that point on, Taha Aki was more than either wolf or man. They called him Taha Aki 
the Great Wolf, or Taha Aki the Spirit Man. He led the tribe for many, many years, for he did 
not age. When danger threatened, he would resume his wolf-self to fight or frighten the 
enemy. The people dwelt in peace. Taha Aki fathered many sons, and some of these found 
that, after they had reached the age of manhood, they, too, could transform into wolves. The 
wolves were all different, because they were spirit wolves and reflected the man they were 
inside." 

"So that's why Sam is all black," Quil muttered under his breath, grinning. "Black heart, 
black fur." 

I was so involved in the story, it was a shock to come back to the present, to the circle 
around the dying fire. With another shock, I realized that the circle was made up of Taha 
Aki's great - to however many degrees - grandsons. 

The fire threw a volley of sparks into the sky, and they shivered and danced, making shapes 
that were almost decipherable. 

"And your chocolate fur reflects what?" Sam whispered back to Quil. "Howsweet you are?" 

Billy ignored their jibes. "Some of the sons became warriors with Taha Aki, and they no 
longer aged. Others, who did not like the transformation, refused to join the pack of 
wolf-men. These began to age again, and the tribe discovered that the wolf-men could g