Adventures from the Psyplex: Book 2: the Jaguar Pendant

By David M. Cotner

This is Tsa Sohone's second assignment from the Psyplex (central core of the collective consciousness) and this time, the former Caddo Xinesi's (Shaman's) life energy is sent to the body of Logan Gortner and is directed by the Psyplex to take control of the body of the retired financial advisor after sixty-two years of being a subordinate soul within.

Joining Tsa Sohone and Logan are several other life energies from the Psyplex, some familiar ones like Old Blue the mule from his first adventure, and some new and interesting ones; ones that will play important roles as Tsa Sohone struggles to carry out his assigned task, again in Arkansas, but now in the year 2012.

The mission assigned to him this time revolves around the jaguar pendant that was found in little Jenny's hand the day she was born in 1878 and was passed down in her family, all the way to its current owner and relative, Logan Gortner. The mysterious appearance of the pendant in the infant's hand was never solved, but now, Tsa Sohone has the chance to find out the origin of the necklace and the importance it will play during the second half of the Sun's life that starts the day after the end of the Mayan calendar on December 21, 2012.

Tsa Sohone must first determine the role the pendant plays and then unlock the secret the pendant holds to successfully complete the mission assigned him by the Psyplex. As in his first adventure from the Psyplex, he encounters many obstacles and endures several trials in his quest to solve the mystery of the jaguar pendant.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Dec 28, 2010
• ISBN: 9781452095592

David M. Cotner

David grew up in western Arkansas, the setting for his trilogy of books. A career in manufacturing plant management exposed him to many diverse characters and experiences that add to the flavor of his writing. An intense interest in Native American culture heightened by living in the Caddo Indians' ancient home territory led him to in-depth research of their culture. Also, always having had a keen interest in the fascinating history of tumultuous post- civil war Arkansas, he combined these two areas of interest with a third interest - that of the Mayan culture - to begin this adventure that will culminate at the end of the Mayans' calendar in December of 2012. After eight years of service in the U.S. Air Force and a tour of duty in Vietnam, David attended the university of Arkansas where he received a B.A. degree and was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. His military service, business career and early childhood afforded him the opportunity to experience living in seven states and four foreign countries. Passion for writing started in high school where he wrote many poems and short stories for school literary publications. David continued that desire to write by publishing both factual and fictional articles in company newsletters over the years. From early childhood, David was always active in sports, particularly track competition. Blessed with natural speed, he still actively competes in senior and masters events where he has had great success at the state and national levels in sprint competitions. David lives in the beautiful Ouachita Mountains of west central Arkansas southeast of his hometown of Booneville.

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© 2010 David M. Cotner. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 12/22/2010

ISBN: 978-1-4520-9558-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4520-9559-2 (e)

ISBN: 978-1-4520-9557-8 (hc)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2010918300

Printed in the United States of America

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any Web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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Dedication

This book is dedicated to all those that understand that life in a body is simply a temporary adventure we endure until we are transitioned back for renewal again prior to our next adventure.

Disclaimer

The characters in this book are fictitious and any similarities in names, actions or personalities are coincidental in nature.

Credits

I would like to thank Mr. Jack Cotner for his valuable input on the cover art of this book.

Thanks to Dr. Susan Holmes for her valuable guidance in my writing projects.

I would also like to thank Deborah Davis and Doug Cotner for their diligent story editing.

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Tater Hill

Sah cooh cah Hun mo sah

Contents

Prologue

Chapter One

Reunited

Chapter Two

Appraisal

Chapter Three

The Funeral

Chapter Four

The Trip to Victorville

Chapter Five

Santa Fe Adventure

Chapter Six

Back on the Trail

Chapter Seven

Beyond Christmas

Chapter Eight

The Beginning of a Strategy

Chapter Nine

Time in Reverse

Chapter Ten

With the Tribe

Chapter Eleven

Arrival of the Maya

Chapter Twelve

The Search Begins

Chapter Thirteen

Stalking the Reservation

Chapter Fourteen

First Attempt

Chapter Fifteen

Assault on Tater Hill

Chapter Sixteen

Deciphering the Mayan Treasure

Glossary and Pronunciation Key

About the Author

Prologue

The Psyplex is the central core of the complex that houses the collective consciousness/energy of all living things in the universe. It is where all life energies go for renewal and reassignment to a new husk or body back on earth or some distant world. Some would call it heaven, but it is so much more and not invented for the human ego. The energy emanating from the Psyplex is responsible for all positive and negative occurrences in the universe and maintains a balance between the two forces. Therefore it is responsible for what we call good as well as what we call evil. It has no human influence upon its power and needs no human image to be validated for human belief.

Tsa Sohone’s life energy left his body and his Caddo tribe where he was their xinesi (shaman) in 695 A.D. and returned to the Psyplex where his soul’s energy was renewed and assigned to a new body, the husk of a mule named Old Blue in the early 1870’s, but this was not a normal or routine occurrence. The power of the Psyplex had a special and specific assignment for his soul that could best be accomplished in the form of a mule. There were several other life energies that joined his inside the mule and Tsa Sohone learned, to his amazement, that with the guidance from the Psyplex, he could shape-shift into the other souls he shared in the body of Old Blue. This ability, along with his ability to understand the spoken word, gave him the advantages he needed to successfully complete his assigned task, protecting Lisa until she gave birth to her daughter Jenny in 1878 in the small town of Booneville in western Arkansas at the north edge of the Ouachita Mountains only five miles from where Tsa Sohone’s village had been.

Tsa Sohone, though he stumbled often as he learned to control his power, successfully navigated through several crises and completed his mission as assigned, but, shortly after little Jenny was born, she was found grasping in her tiny hand, a gold jaguar pendant attached to a solid gold chain. Everyone was stunned that nobody knew how it came to be in her hand; she was only a few hours old.

Tsa Sohone was called back to the Psyplex for renewal again, not understanding the mystery of the jaguar pendant, only that he was finished with his task. His next assignment was in 1948 in the body of a human named Logan Gortner, a direct descendant of Jenny Davis, where he occupied the body for over sixty years before taking control as the chief soul. Upon taking control, other souls joined his to assist in accomplishing his new mission, a mission that would give him the answer to the mystery of the jaguar pendant.

This time, Tsa Sohone had experience being with other souls, though there were some different ones with him in Logan’s body, and he had mastered the art of shape-shifting, but like his first assignment from the Psyplex, he must figure out what his task is and how he will go about successfully completing his mission. As is the case with life, he faces challenges that must be overcome, challenges that are usually unanticipated, and this time, the Psyplex had a new twist for him in this adventure.

Chapter One

Reunited

Tsa Sohone walked slowly, deliberately, dead leaves from the bare oak and hickory trees crunched beneath his feet as he made his way up the low, mostly scrub brush-covered hill to the mule standing alone at the top watching him as he approached, the same place he’d last seen Old Blue in 1878 when his life energy departed from the body of the mule and journeyed back to the Psyplex for renewal.

This was now December 2011 and his life spirit had been in the husk of a human named Logan Gortner since 1949, or more precisely, since he entered Logan’s husk in the womb of Logan’s mother, Darlene Gortner, in 1948. Until this morning, Tsa Sohone lived within the husk, intertwined with the soul of Logan Gortner, Logan’s soul being the chief soul and driver of the body. However, this past night while in a deep sleep, the power of the Psyplex delivered a message about the next crucial mission for him. The spirit energy of the former Caddo xinesi was directed to take charge of the husk and ready it for merger with other life energies in preparation for his next critical assignment.

Logan Gortner had been a successful financial advisor who, at sixty-two was very financially independent and had just retired from his business. Being blue-eyed and slightly under average height like most Gortners, but without the belly the men in the family so often had, he remained a relatively handsome man even now in his advancing years. He stayed lean and muscular by being an avid exerciser, staying physically fit by running and lifting weights. His residence is in the country on eighty acres southeast of town in a relatively new home on the peak of his property facing the mountains just north of the Ouachita National Forest of Arkansas.

At the break of day this morning he had driven through his small hometown and parked his pickup truck by a large pile of gravel left there for road repair by the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department at a location east of town off of Arkansas Highway 10 and south of the old Gortner property that was homesteaded by Harrison Gortner in the mid 1800’s, but was now owned by his cousin Ron who lived in California.

Tsa Sohone approached the mule, Old Blue, who Harrison dubbed Old Blue, the flesh-eating mule because of the story about Blue ripping out and eating the heart of a wolf that was attacking Lisa one moonlit night. Nobody other than the souls within Old Blue knew the truth – Tsa Sohone had shape-shifted into the form of a grizzly to save Lisa from the wolves.

The memories of his past life in the husk of the mule flowed freely now as he looked deep into Blue’s eyes, and as he reminisced, their life energies merged once again, this time though, Old Blue’s energy entered that of Logan Gortner’s husk and joined Tsa Sohone’s soul. The last image he saw in Blue’s eyes was the image of little Jenny holding the gold jaguar pendant with its brilliant emerald green eye.

Tsa Sohone immediately enjoyed a new and fresh feeling, awash in new energy and purpose. He had waited for sixty-two long years here on earth to begin his next mission. He concentrated deeply and called on the powers from the Psyplex and willed himself to shape-shift into the mule form, and instantly, he transformed and trotted quickly down the slope toward his truck, but while still in the woods, he shifted back into the form of Logan Gortner and felt his trademark sly grin appear as he enjoyed the newfound vigor and strength.

A couple of hundred feet before reaching his truck, Logan noticed a man carrying a .22 caliber rifle approach from the direction of the road. The man was wearing tiger stripe camouflage pants and shirt, relics of the Vietnam War era, and from the looks of the bedraggled guy approaching, he too looked like a relic of the same era.

Logan stopped and watched, unseen as yet by the approaching man, a hunter as far as Logan could figure, though he was hunting on private property without permission to do so since Logan knew Ron was in California and not around to give his okay.

About twenty yards away, the man stopped and reached into his back pocket and pulled out a half-pint of Jack Daniels Black Label, unscrewed the lid and turned it up, only to then see Logan standing in front of him. He jerked the bottle down away from his lips in surprise and then grinned.

Hey, Bud, would you like a swig of Old Jack? he asked, his voice a bit shaky, his stance a little unsteady.

Well, thank you, Logan answered, but I think it a little too early for me. Are you going squirrel hunting?

Yep, just over the hill on the north side. There’s lots of squirrels over there, he answered, pointing to the north past Logan and extending the bottle again for Logan to take.

Well, I need to get down to my truck. Good luck with your hunt, Logan told the man as he stepped forward down the hill.

You know, it ain’t good manners to turn down a friendly offer of drink. Who are you anyway? the man inquired, a hint of irritation in his voice as Logan stopped when spoken to.

Logan Gortner, and I do appreciate your offer, but I have some driving to do and don’t think I’d better drink anything right now, Logan answered politely, trying to ease away from the obviously drunk trespasser.

Oh, I drink and drive all the time, only been caught once. One night in jail and a fine that took half my month’s disability from me. Nothing wrong with a little alcohol, the man said as he staggered past Logan to lean on a tree, then bent over and laid his gun down, looking up at Logan as he slid down to a sitting position against the hickory. Did I tell you I was going squirrel hunting?

Yes you did, up over the hill there, Logan answered him as the man turned his head and looked to the north.

Logan, tiring of the conversation with the drunk and wanting to leave decided to use Tsa Sohone’s power and shape-shifted into Old Blue as the man was looking away.

The man turned around and again thrust the bottle of Jack Daniels forward toward Logan, only to see a mule standing in front of him, a mule with a silly grin, staring straight at him. What the hell?

Old Blue let out his best jack-ass bray right in the man’s face, shook his head and then turned and trotted down the hill and out of sight, leaving the drunk leaned against the tree with a dumb look on his face and his whiskey bottle still thrust in front of him, eyes wide and puzzlement in his expression.

Logan shifted back to his human form, got back into his truck and headed for Booneville, not sure exactly where he was going, only aware that the dream and visit from the Psyplex this morning was unconsciously guiding his adventure. He turned left onto Highway 23 and back to Highway 217 toward his house, then past the road to his home and onto a dirt road leading into the Blue Mountain Wildlife Demonstration Area and down toward the confluence of the Petit Jean River and Sugar Creek, the area where Tsa Sohone’s old village once thrived.

At a high point between Beaver Pond, a remnant of a deep hole of water left there when the river changed course hundreds of years prior, and Sugar Creek, the location of his former village, Tsa Sohone stopped the truck and got out, stepping onto the soil that he once farmed and lived on with the rest of his tribe in a life over fourteen hundred years past.

This December day had begun as a calm and clear day, unusually warm for mid-December, but now a fast approaching cold front was moving in and the wind was beginning to gust from the north, ushering in a cool, refreshing breeze along with heavy clouds, a product of the warm moist air being overwhelmed by the cold air rushing in from over the Ozarks. A loud clap of thunder, or what most people would think of as thunder, followed the disappearance of the sun behind the heavy clouds. The sly grin once again appeared as Tsa Sohone recognized the thunder as that of an approaching message from the Psyplex, not that of weather-related thunder. Tsa Sohone felt the presence of an old friend, an ally from his past coming down a helix of light, the soul of the great grizzly that was with him in the body of Old Blue in his last assignment from the Psyplex. It entered the husk of Logan Gortner to join the souls of Old Blue and Tsa Sohone. He inhaled a deep breath of fresh air. Next, two other familiar energies descended down the helix of light from the Psyplex and entered the human husk of Logan Gortner. The first was that of a crow, then the energy of an owl, both also friends from his past adventure. Anticipation built for Tsa Sohone, he now realized his purpose here on earth would soon be revealed, but as he stood thinking, more energies approached from out of the Psyplex. The next life energy that entered was that of a lizard, a large brown and green-colored lizard native to the American southwest. After that, a badger’s life energy entered. Tsa Sohone’s curiosity now peaked. One more soul headed his way and joined the rest, that of a toy poodle. The last three souls were new to him.

Immediately Tsa Sohone willed himself to shape-shift into the form of the grizzly, and in an instant he felt the transition. He looked down and clenched his huge claws, digging into the fertile soil beneath his feet. He let out a ferocious growl and transformed into the lizard and then into the badger. Finally he changed to the poodle, a small apricot female. He was not sure what this fragile poodle’s role would be in the upcoming adventure, but he knew from past experiences, the Psyplex always had a purpose for the things it did.

Tsa Sohone transformed back into the form of Logan Gortner. The only thing missing now was the purpose of this collection of souls within his body. As he stood there contemplating, a warm feeling, an energy pulse from the Psyplex placed, once again, the image of the jaguar necklace into his thoughts. He remembered the jaguar necklace that was in little Jenny’s hand right after she was born in 1878, and that nobody knew how it came to be there. He recalled the emerald green eye of the jaguar mounted in the heavy gold likeness of the cat and also he remembered the heavy gold chain. That necklace was in Logan Gortner’s possession, in his gun safe. It had been handed down to him through several generations, and it had been years since he’d taken it out of the cedar box in which it was stored, put there by one of his relatives. Also within the box was a line of succession, people who had been given the necklace to pass on and their relationship to one another.

For the next hour or so Tsa Sohone stayed on the high point awaiting more information to come forth from the Psyplex, but none came, so he got into his truck and drove home, convinced that the jaguar necklace held the key to his next assignment. He parked out in front of his house, anxiously entered and headed straight for the safe that held the pendant within. He input the numbers to the combination, his fingers fumbled to quickly gain access. Twice he screwed up the combination and had to reset the tumblers. He made himself take a deep breath and slow down; this time, he managed to open the safe.

He bent down and reached for the cedar box stored at the back of a middle shelf, pulled out the box and moved the latch to open the lid. The first thing he saw was the yellowed paper that contained the names of his relatives that had been given the necklace for safekeeping. He removed the paper and peered down at the jaguar pendant, it’s emerald eye shining with an unusual brilliance, as if some light shined from within, embedded in the gold behind the emerald. Logan had forgotten how heavy the necklace was, how rich the piece appeared. He took the necklace into the living room where the light of day was best, the light accessing the room through the large picture windows on the south side of the house. The eye was more brilliant than ever under the muted sunlight, an almost endless green depth to it. He slowly slipped into a trance of sort while gazing at the eye of the jaguar and Tsa Sohone knew again that a message from the Psyplex was forthcoming.

The notion entered his mind to lift up the chain and let the pendant dangle freely. He complied and the jaguar swung slowly from the chain, coming to rest almost still, only swaying slightly from the motion created by the beating of Logan’s heart and the slight unsteadiness of his outstretched arm. For some unknown reason, Logan was now compelled to lay the necklace to rest on the glass coffee table. He turned around toward the fireplace in the center of his living room and was attracted to the elk horn bowl peace pipe on his mantle. On the side of the pipe was a bright green dot of reflected light. He lifted up his hand to block the light in an attempt to determine its origin and the green light hit his hand and warmed it, the same as if you held your hand over a small candle. Logan turned back around and traced the light back to the source, the eye of the jaguar. He reached down and picked up the necklace and held it at arm’s length. The head of the jaguar oriented toward the same direction as before and the light again struck the bowl of the pipe, even though it was lifted. Tsa Sohone then turned and walked to the far side of the room. This time, the head of the jaguar again faced the same direction, but not toward the pipe any longer. Tsa Sohone walked into the kitchen and again, the pendant settled with the head facing toward the same direction, northwest. He made a ninety-degree twist to his right and the head oriented itself back to the northwest as it had before. Several more moves throughout the house gave the same results, an orientation toward the northwest. Tsa Sohone found this strange and unusual, but knew the Psyplex did not always give direct information. He would have to figure this one out on his own.

Satisfied he had a hint about his mission, he placed the necklace down again on the glass top of the coffee table and picked up the aged yellow paper containing the names of his relatives. To Tsa Sohone, reading the list was like a who’s who of people he’d known and loved in his past life in the husk of the mule, Old Blue. Logan Gortner had not known most of these people or their special place that led to his existence until now, but, as Tsa Sohone went over the history and merged his thoughts with Logan’s life energy, Logan gained the appreciation for those from the past who played a role in his presence here on earth.

Jenny Davis, born to Jimmy and Lisa Davis in 1878 was the baby that was first in possession of the jaguar pendant. She married Michael, second son of David and Julianne Gortner and bore a child in 1900 named Art Gortner. Art married Rachel, granddaughter of Molly Trent, Molly being the girl who had a very close connection with Old Blue and Tsa Sohone during his first mission from the Psyplex. Art and Rachel’s second child, Art Jr., was born in 1924 and married a Caddo Nation woman named Lily Bluebird in 1944. They had an only child in 1949 named Logan, Tsa Sohone’s current host. He was married in 1970 to another member of the Caddo Nation named Rita Bench who was born in Binger, Oklahoma. Their only child, Craig, was born in December of 1970. Craig married Darlene Whitefeather, a Pawnee/Wichita mix born in Sallisaw, Oklahoma. Their child and next heir to the jaguar pendant, is named Michael and he was born in 1990. He is Logan Gortner’s only grandchild.

Logan placed the aged paper back into the cedar box very gently, now totally appreciative of the history behind the passing of the necklace to the next heir. Still, he had no answers regarding the mission he was to undertake other than the jaguar pendant was a key. He again picked up the necklace and walked out the front door, allowing it to dangle freely as he walked across his patio and down the steps into his front yard. He stopped, faced south, and allowed the pendant to settle. As was the case inside the house, the pendant once again oriented the head of the jaguar toward the northwest. He decided to twirl it around several times before stopping to allow the wildly swinging pendant to again rest its motion. As before, the head of the cat pointed northwest. He then went to his detached garage to the west of his house and found his powerful radio magnet. It had no attraction to the solid gold chain or pendant as he expected, and no effect on the direction of orientation of the jaguar.

Tsa Sohone decided to call his grandson, Michael, for an opinion. Michael, now twenty-one and in his final year of attending the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, was scheduled to be in town in a few days for Christmas break. Logan decided to tell his story of the pendant to get Michael’s reaction and opinion. Michael was already quite used to some of his strange stories and tales, so Logan knew Michael would appreciate this unusual story as well.

Logan dialed the number of Michael’s cell phone. It rang twice.

Hello, came Michael’s voice.

Michael, this is your grandfather. How are you? Still making the grade?

You know it, Grandfather. I’m fine, what about you?

Oh, I’m just great, but I have a little problem I’d like to share with you to get your opinion. Do you have time to discuss it right now?

I’m afraid not right now. I’m headed to my next class and it begins in about five minutes. Can I call you back this afternoon to get the details? I’m really curious and hope I can help.

Yes, call me back when you get the chance. It can wait. Take it easy and get to class. Talk to you later. Goodbye.

Bye, Grandfather.

Logan hung up the phone and contemplated his next move toward resolving the pendant mystery. Logan was aware that Michael knew his Indian name was Tsa Sohone, but until today, Logan hadn’t known that Tsa Sohone was a soul within his, merged as one and now with other life energies. He knew now that the strange dreams he’d had all his life about things from the past were not dreams at all; those memories belonged to Tsa Sohone. He wondered how his mother had come up with the name Tsa Sohone, how she had known about the soul within. He concluded that it was implanted within her soul from the Psyplex at some point after gestation. He’d always told Michael some of those strange stories and pretended he was remembering things from his past life, but it was all in jest, or so he thought.

Still too curious to let the issue of the pendant orientation rest for now, Logan got back into his truck, necklace in hand, and drove back to town and stopped in front of the bank. He held the chain as the pendant dangled freely, swaying slowly, twisted the chain once, and then watched it untwist before coming to rest, head pointing to the northwest. Logan again twisted the chain tightly and watched it rapidly unwind, swinging slower and slower until it again came to a stop, head oriented to the northwest. He started the truck and drove north out of town, seven miles to