Cedar Woman (37 page)

“
Ate!”

²³
Tdoon-ka-she-la
Wah-kah
Than
-
kah
–
the
Grand
f
athers
or
spirits

Mary
leaned
tow
a
rd
the
s
m
oke
a
n
d
prayed fervently
for
the
life
of her
hu
s
b
an
d
.
In
her
left
h
an
d
,
t
h
e
one
c
l
o
s
est
to
her
hea
r
t,
she
he
l
d
t
h
e eagle fea
t
her
h
er
m
o
t
h
er
had
sav
e
d
fo
r
her.

“
Y
ou
r pra
y
er
f
eather,”
h
e
r
m
o
t
h
e
r had a
d
v
is
ed.

Mary
stared
i
n
to
the pit
where
the
su
per-heated ro
c
k
s
s
e
e
m
ed
to pu
l
s
e
.
B
eat
in
g,
beat
in
g,
lik
e
a
h
u
m
an
h
e
art,
t
h
e
s
to
n
es
b
e
gan
t
o
g
lo
w with
a
n
e
w
i
n
t
e
n
sity.
A
m
ist
b
e
g
an
to
f
o
rm
in
t
h
e
lod
g
e,
and
t
h
e
o
t
h
e
r t
h
ree
p
a
rtici
p
a
n
ts
b
e
gan
to fa
d
e.
Slowly,
slowly,
t
h
e
i
n
tensity
of
t
h
e
heat
bu
ilt
,
a
n
d
t
h
e
p
u
lsati
on
s
o
f
t
h
e
r
o
c
k
s
i
n
crease
d
.

“
Co
m
e, One
Feather,”
a tru
m
p
et-li
k
e
v
o
ice i
n
to
n
ed.

Mary
raised
h
e
r
eyes
to
the
roof of
t
h
e
sweat lodge.
T
h
er
e
,
floating above
h
e
r,
was
Zitka
Min
e.
²⁴

“
Follow,”
he
co
mm
anded,
a
n
d
M
ary
felt
herse
l
f
rise
th
r
o
ug
h
the r
o
of
o
f
t
h
e
l
od
g
e,
an
d out
i
n
t
o
t
h
e
c
o
ol air
o
f
t
h
e
n
i
ght.

“
W
h
e
re
a
re
we
goin
g
?
”
s
h
e
queri
e
d. “To
t
h
e
e
dge
o
f Wan
a
gi Ca
nk
u
.
”
²⁵

“
W
ait!”
Mary
t
u
r
n
ed
in
a
n
swer
to
a
ple
a
ding
voice.
Lena
was foll
o
w
in
g
her,
soar
i
ng
t
o
w
ar
d
h
e
r,
one
s
m
all
a
r
m
outst
r
etched.
Zit
k
a Mi
n
e
g
a
v
e
h
is sile
n
t
asse
n
t,
a
n
d
t
h
e
t
h
ree
o
f
t
h
em
flew
u
n
til
t
h
ey
arri
v
ed at
the
fif
t
h
st
e
p f
r
om
the edge
of the
world.

“
T
h
ere,”
Zit
k
a
Mi
n
e
said,
“is
Sp
o
tted
Ea
g
le.”
Mary
t
u
r
n
ed
slowly a
n
d
b
e
h
eld a
flic
k
ering
lig
h
t,
no
t
u
n
li
k
e a small star.

“
Take hi
m
,” Zitka Mine commanded.
O
n
e Feat
h
er drifted
to
t
h
e f
li
ckeri
n
g
lig
ht
of
h
e
r
h
u
s
b
a
n
d
’s
s
ou
l
,
a
n
d
cu
p
p
in
g
i
t
i
n
her
l
eft
h
a
n
d
,