"Between Spirit and Dust" by Angela Perry

David Palmer pressed gloved hands deeper into his pockets and hunched his shoulders, breath puffing into the frigid night air. What a night for old Sprocket to kick up his heels and jump the paddock fence. David strained his ears for any sound that might indicate where the gray gelding had wandered. Only his own footsteps, crunching too loudly on the ice-coated ground, broke the utter stillness.

Eyes watering from the cold, David stopped and squinted across the frozen terrain. A full moon cast stark patches of light and dark across the rolling hills, sparkling in the furred frost coating the sagebrush and winter grasses. The piercing blackness of the night sky was peppered with sharp white pinpoints of light, hints of frost in the heavens that reflected earth’s chill. Nothing moved in this silent, dead world.

A twig cracked in the distance, a tiny sound amplified by the silence. David peered ahead and, near the top of the ridge, spotted a large shadow moving through the gray frost. David rubbed his eyes free of blurring moisture and crept after the shadow, moving slowly to avoid alerting his quarry. He stepped carefully, aiming for ghostly patches of grass and avoiding gravel and deadfall.

A twisted juniper at the top of the rise afforded him some cover, and he pressed near it as he peered around, grasping the leather halter in his pocket. It was not Sprocket, however, who wandered the ridge; it was merely a doe. She stepped daintily between the huddled sagebrush, the silver light picking out the white patches on her muzzle and flanks in glowing relief, her natural camouflage throwing the rest of her into shadow. David’s coat brushed against the prickly foliage of the juniper, and the doe’s head came up, her enormous ears twitching as she sought the source of the sound.

The night’s cold must have confounded even the doe’s sharp sense of smell, for she moved on again after several moments, failing to locate David’s huddled figure. In the stillness, David could hear her soft footfalls as she moved away up the incline of the hill.

Muttering silently, David prepared to follow her example and move along. Why tonight? he thought again, his mind drifting back to the warm kitchen where he had left his wife cleaning up the remains of a late dinner. It has to be the coldest night of the year. He was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he nearly missed seeing a second shadow moving toward the hill.

David stopped short, then shrugged slightly as a second deer topped the rise, following the trail of the first. A herd must be passing through. His supposition was confirmed as a third doe topped the rise, trailed by a fawn and a yearling buck. Again he started down the hill when a silhouette against the night sky stopped him. A huge stag crested the hill with slow and stately grace, his heavily antlered head held high. The moonlight touched the points; ten…no, twelve!...branches shone dully, not yet having succumbed to winter shedding.

In awe, David crouched low and crept back to the relative shelter of the twisted juniper, his eyes locked on the massive animal walking toward him. The stag came to a halt not far from David’s hiding place. So close was he that David could pick out individual hairs in the coarse winter coat that bunched thickly around the animal’s neck and shoulders.

Around him, the herd of deer milled quietly, grazing lightly on patches of silver grass. The size of the herd had grown considerably since David’s attention was captured by the magnificent stag that guarded them. Nearly thirty deer thronged the hilltop, greeting each other with delicate rubs and touches. Their breath steamed in the air, catching rays of moonlight as it floated up and dissipated into the night sky.

The stag moved closer to the herd, keeping himself slightly aloof, and pawed lightly at the ground, drawing David’s gaze down for an instant. A chill mist had covered the ground, swirling around delicate feet and slender legs. The strangeness of the vapor broke upon David. It’s too cold for mist. Everything’s frozen.

Despite the impossibility of its existence, the thick fog crept over David’s legs and feet, forming a swirling river that rippled toward the deer. David glanced up to see a doe roll her eyes and stamp nervously. The entire herd appeared anxious, as if aware that the mist was unnatural. It flowed in from all around, stroking the deer lovingly as it surged and fell. Slowly, the mist gathered into a cloud in what soon became the center of the herd as they backed warily away from the miasma.

Spellbound, David watched as the roiling mist thickened and rose high into the obsidian sky. He was not certain exactly when the mist stopped being a formless cloud, but suddenly an enormous stag made of billowing, frosty haze loomed above them all. Sparks colored an electric blue slowly revealed themselves as the misty deer opened its cadaverous eyes and stared earthward.

David cried out and fell backward from his crouch; he couldn’t help himself. But nothing happened. The deer didn’t flee at the unexpected sound. The large stag that led the herd did not wheel defensively. The ethereal stag did not fix its sapphire gaze on David. It was as if everything were frozen in silence, and David did not exist.

All eyes were turned upward to meet the wraithlike gaze, all feet stilled. The only movement was the icy breath that rose from each pair of nostrils. The translucent deer shook its insubstantial antlers, then bent its neck toward a doe standing near the back of the herd. At the touch of the mist-deer’s nose on hers, the doe was released from the spell that held her. She stumbled backward, trembling. She was old, David could see, her hips poking sharply through her withers, her muzzle graying. Despite her age, she still moved gracefully as she took one tentative step, then another. Forward. Her front knees bent, and she bowed herself low to the misty ground.

David watched as the ghostly stag bent his head slightly in return, then turned toward another deer. This one, a yearling fawn, jumped wildly at the eerie touch on his nose, then huddled next to his mother. Despite the fact that his mother was still held immobile, the fawn managed to bend his spindly legs and bow, slowly and hesitantly. The stag moved on, touching several other deer, who all bowed low before him, then stood again with head held low after his gaze had passed on.

David’s teeth began to ache as he clenched them to keep them from chattering. Though he could still move, a part of the spell seemed to have captured him as well. He was unable to tear his eyes from the solemn, dreamlike ceremony taking place before him.

The nebulous deer turned its azure gaze toward David. It fixed, however, not on the man shivering behind the meager juniper, but on the enormous stag standing nearby. The airy muzzle stretched out and touched, and the mortal stag reared, hooves lashing out. The stag fell back to earth again and backed away, hooves having passed through the mist harmlessly. Hovering above, the mist-deer gazed silently at the furious animal, the azure eyes serene and sorrowful.

The stag reared again, hooves slicing the air, vapor rising in clouds as he snorted his challenge. Blue ethereal eyes firmly held the flashing brown corporeal ones. Gradually the striking hooves calmed, the fierce snorting quieted. Slowly, resentfully, the mighty stag bent before his diaphanous counterpart.

The mist-deer stared down at the bowed form before him, gave a gentle nod, then reared high above the herd…and dissipated. Only the fiery blue eyes remained for a moment before they, too, faded into the night. Movement rippled through the herd as the deer were released from the spell cast by the ghostly stag. They milled around aimlessly, and David saw many pairs of eyes turn toward the guardian stag, then look away, only to look back once again.

A muffled snap unexpectedly resounded through the dark at the edge of the slope. In unison, all heads came up, all ears perked sharply. With a bound, the stag leaped away from the noise into darkness, followed by the rest of the herd. Within seconds, David was alone on the hill.

Stiffly, his extremities numb with cold, David stood and looked to see what had startled the deer. Plodding over the rim of the knoll came Sprocket, his head low and his mane swinging drearily with each step. David felt like he was in a trance as he pulled the worn leather halter from his coat pocket and slipped it over Sprocket’s head. Sprocket did not resist or try to run; he merely gazed soulfully at his master as David adjusted the buckles on the halter. With a tug, David started Sprocket down the hill, and together man and beast began the journey back toward the ranch.

*  *  *

The next morning found David preparing to drive into town for supplies. He had awakened late to discover a thick blanket of snow covering the ranch. The clear sky of the night before had been replaced by low white clouds that hung heavily above him as he pried open the frozen door of his rusty green Chevy. The events of the previous night were dim and hazy, and David had nearly convinced himself that they were a dream.

The Chevy left deep tracks in the new snow as David backed onto the rural highway that ran past the ranch. Shifting into first, he winced at the grinding protest made by the cold gears. He had just begun to make progress forward on the ice-packed highway when a figure jumped in front of him. David stomped on the brakes and slid sideways into the low wooden fence that surrounded his house.

He opened his mouth to curse and froze. Staring at him through the haze forming on the windshield were two large brown eyes. The stag from the night before stood in front of him, stark against the white snow. They regarded each other for a single moment, and then the stag turned and bounded across the field. Stunned, David’s eyes followed him as he leapt over the drifts toward the distant mountains.

A sharp crack broke the stillness of the morning, and the stag stumbled and fell. David’s gaze jerked toward the source of the sound. A hunter, orange hat and coat garish against the glacial backdrop, rose up in the field, and David heard his whoop of triumph. High above the tableau, a rift briefly appeared in the piles of white clouds, revealing a glimpse of a searing azure sky before the clouds shrouded it once again.