Cern said, "Begay, it sounds like a lot of the problem stems from old, misguided rulings and mandates laid on the Navajo Nation by Anglo agents and their lawmakers. Getting such outdated laws reviewed and repealed is right down my alley. But there is a lot going on here. Where do we start? Juan's message mentioned the Livestock Reduction program. I looked into that, and it seems like that is one of the antiquated rulings I might be able to help you deal with. But how does that fit into the bigger picture?"

Begay stared solemnly at Cern for a long moment. Then he looked at Juan, and Dema, and back at Cern, still unsmiling. He said, "You look like an Anglo. You talk like an Anglo. But Juan tells me that Dema thinks highly of you."

Begay's eyes twinkled briefly, hinting at what he did not say about their relationship. 

"At first I thought, if that is good enough for Juan, it is good enough for Begay. Now, I have seen you. I no longer think what Juan says is good enough." Begay paused for effect. 

Cern was getting uncomfortable. He could not read Begay. Unlike before, when he was sharing his vision, his mind was now as much a blank wall as his stonefaced demeanor.

Begay said, "I think now that what Juan says is exactly right, as always. You understand the Anglo ways. We need someone who understands the Anglo ways. Yet I can see that, even more deeply, you understand the way of the Diné."

Begay broke into a big grin, pleased with his teasing.

Cern smiled too, because with the grin Begay opened up like a burst of sunshine. Dema chuckled, and Juan laughed so hard he almost fell off his chair.

Begay said, "It is as you say, the Livestock Reduction program regulations are still on the books, and seem to be enforced arbitrarily at the whim of the bureaucrats, and not for the benefit of the people. 

"But the misuse of the land that it is supposed to address is real. It is not only the Diné who have this problem. There are many ranchers and many cattle in this area, and many have suffered from what is called overgrazing.

"But recently some have found a better way. They call it holistic management, but it is really not different from the Diné ways of old. Both Anglos and Diné have success when they follow this way.

"Now, though, some of the Diné who were doing this have stopped. They will not tell me why, but I know what they are thinking. They think that doing what the Anglo ranchers do is bringing them bad luck again.

"I tell them if they have bad luck it is not the fault of the Anglos. If they have bad luck it is their own doing. They frown and mumble something about a skinwalker."

"Skinwalker?"

"In Diné lore, one who knows something of the spirit path, but uses it for evil."

"Could they be right?" Dema asked.

Begay looked at her. Dema realized he was seeing her, and knew that it was her own seeing that prompted the question. 

"I had not thought so. Most people are too ready to blame others for their own misfortune. But now... Blaming a skinwalker when there is no one else to blame is handy, but the lore of the skinwalker, even the idea that one never knows who it is until it is too late, that it may be someone you know who you think you can trust, is not all imagination."

Cern said, "Why 'Skinwalker'?"

Juan said, "They are shapeshifters, adept at appearing as someone or something they are not. They are often said to appear as a coyote, or an antelope, but they are not limited to that. It is part of their deceit."

Dema looked shaken, and whispered, "But...I am a shapeshifter! Does that mean to your people that I am deceitful, a skinwalker, an evil one?"

Begay said, "If you can consider, even for a moment, that you might be such a one, then you are not. A central part of their deceit is self-deception, the belief that they have the right of things, that only they are worthy, and that all who disagree with them are therefore wrong."

Cern said, "We know something about that. We dealt with one of those in Romania." He reached out to Dema and took her hand, she looked back at him and gave his an appreciative squeeze.

Cern turned to Begay. "Something tells me I am here for more than just my law credentials. I'd like to see some of these cattle ranches, and meet some cattlemen."

Begay smiled and nodded agreement. "First thing in the morning then. Meanwhile, relax and enjoy the hospitality of Twin Arrows."