Coyote-s Tale. Fire Water Guide

That was the first lesson of fire water: it burns twice. Once going down. Once when you wake up. Coyote crawled to the river at dawn. His head felt like a drum someone had beaten all night. His eyes were red as embers. A crow landed nearby and laughed—a rusty, knowing sound.

He went back three times. Each time, he told himself: This time I’ll control it. And each time, the fire water controlled him—until the stars turned into needles, and his own howl sounded like a stranger. Coyote-s Tale. Fire Water

So when he smelled the strange new vapor rising from a canyon pool—steam that shimmered like heat lightning and bit the nose like a rattler’s tail—Coyote grinned. That was the first lesson of fire water: it burns twice