Copper Falcon (2 page)

And the people, the
endless
people. From all corners of our world they flocked to Cahokia to share in the miracle of the reincarnated Morning Star. Speaking every language, wearing all manner of clothing, their hair in peculiar styles, with tattoos of impossible design on their faces, they occupied every arable plot of soil. Had I not just spent two full moons on the rivers passing town after town, I would have believed that every person on earth lived in sprawling, bustling Cahokia.

Finally, panting and exhausted, we trotted between tall guardian posts carved in the shape of Horned Serpent, the great winged snake of the underworld. The guardians watched us pass, mouths wide to display curving fangs, forked tongues extended. I’d never seen such lifelike copper-clad eyes; the slitted pupils sent a chill down my spine as they pinned my souls with their cold gaze. I’d have sworn the actual creatures were rising from their abodes in the Underworld.

Horned Serpent Town, home of my ancestors, Father’s birthplace…. From childhood I’d heard of the palaces and temples where my relatives, including High Chief Green Chunkey, ruled. With barely hidden derision, my father had always described the high chief as “flexible” and “capable of compromise.”

Passing through a maze of houses, temples, granaries, and clan and society houses, we emerged into the spacious central plaza. A towering, lightning-riven bald cypress pole—representative of the World Tree—pointed skyward in the center of the square. The pole had been placed in exact alignment with an observatory mound on the east to mark the equinox sunrises.

On the north stood Green Chunkey’s palace, its high roof like an ax blade cutting the sky. Horned Serpent effigies rose from either end of the ridge pole; their painted wings spread as if to bear them into the Sky World.

At the foot of the steep-sided palace mound, parallel chunkey courts had been laid out. A stickball field filled the plaza’s southern half. The western side was bounded by the Four Winds charnel house—where the bodies of my ancestors had been processed. A line of three conical burial mounds stretched to the south. From here my ancestors had sent their souls westward toward the Land of the Dead. I could almost feel their eerie presence.

A statue of the double-headed eagle,
Hunga Ahuito
, the all-seeing sky god, rose from the Temple of the Sun that dominated the plaza’s southern boundary.

People and booths of diverse description lined the periphery. Every kind of food was offered for trade. Others hawked firewood or building materials. Warriors lounged before the Men’s House on the southeastern corner, and on the west side, down from the charnel house, stood the Four Winds Clan house where we would stay.

The warriors and I were staring around like stone-struck ducks as Five Wings, his staff still in hand, came trotting down the high palace stairs. As soon as he was within shouting distance, he called, “The high chief will see you!”

“That was fast,” Father said dryly. “All of you. Look sharp. We’re Copper Falcon warriors. We’re going into the presence of the high chief of the Horned Serpent House, the leader of our lineage. I know we’re not properly dressed, haven’t had time to paint our faces. Don’t think about how we look in comparison to Green Chunkey’s town-dressed warriors. Remember that we come from the battlefield and the river, and that for all of their looks, the high chief’s warriors may have seen only ten or twenty battles in their entire lives.”

That brought grim smiles, blooded as we were by a hundred closely won fights. Winks and nods went back and forth as we slipped our shields onto our forearms. At Father’s command, the twenty of us formed four ranks. Marching in time, slapping our shields, we followed him to the base of the high chief’s mound.

Starting up the wooden stairs that led up the great ramp sobered me. The mound alone—even without the great palace rising from its flat top—would have encompassed our entire palace back in Copper Falcon Town.

I touched my chin in reverence as I passed the serpent-shaped guardian posts at the top. Two ranks of warriors had assembled to greet us, beaded forelocks hanging down over their foreheads. They had painted their faces white: the color of peace. From the corner of my eye, I noted that Father was right: their armor looked new and unscarred, painted in gorgeous images of Snapping Turtle, Rattlesnake, Ivory-billed Woodpecker, and the other spirits of war.

As we stepped onto the veranda, we passed between two carved wooden doors and entered what had to be the most opulent room in the world. The walls were covered with carved reliefs and hung with blankets and war trophies. The uprights for the wall benches were topped with carvings of faces, animals, and spirit beasts. A single large woven-reed mat covered the entire floor. Flames leaped from the central fire, lazy curls of smoke rising toward the high roof. A carving of the four curling spirals of the Four Winds Clan dominated the back wall. Beneath the wall benches I could see stored pots, intricately carved wooden boxes, and folded blankets.

Father marched us forward to stop just short of the crackling fire. At his call, we grounded our shields, dropped to one knee, and touched our foreheads.

I stared past my beaded forelock to see High Chief Green Chunkey, a man in his fifties with blocky features, tattoos of serpents fading on his cheeks. The forked-eye design of the Sky World blackened his face around each eye. A stunning cape made of tanned rattlesnake skins hung from his shoulders, and he’d tied a white triangular apron at his waist.

Green Chunkey sat on a raised dais covered with panther hide. Seven of his nobles and a woman I took to be one of his wives clustered behind him. They, too, were immaculately dressed, some sporting feather splays on their shoulders. A few had stunning feathered capes hung over their backs. Others wore sleek-furred bearhide. Fine textile aprons graced their waists. They stared at us with curious if dismissive eyes.

Green Chunkey said in a soft voice, “When I awoke this morning the last thing I would have expected was Red Mask’s arrival. Greetings, Cousin.”

“It’s been a long time,” Father replied, rising. “You are looking well. If a bit fat and soft. Do women these days prefer poking fingers into that chubby belly rather than running them along rippled muscle?”

Everyone but Green Chunkey stiffened, eyes widening as they stared incredulously, first at Father, and then at the high chief.

I tensed, as did our warriors; we tightened our grips on our war clubs and shields.

Green Chunkey let the silence linger just long enough to become even more uncomfortable, then laughed and slapped his thick thigh. “Still living dangerously, eh, Cousin?”

“The frontier tolerates nothing less, High Chief.” Father gave him an impish grin and spread muscular arms. “Which is why I have come. I need warriors, old friend. For an entire generation we’ve pushed the T’so barbarians back into the hills, taken their land, captured them, made them build our walls and palaces … farm our fields.”

“What’s changed?”

“Something in the south. The Sky Hand People. They have begun pushing north with their Albaamaha allies, driving the T’so before them … sending them flooding down on us. We can kill three for every warrior we lose in a stand-up fight, but when we are outnumbered ten to one? Or worse, when they sneak in close, hit us by surprise? It has turned into a war of attrition, and no matter how brave we may be, or how well we fight, in the end, they
will
wear us away.”

Green Chunkey fingered his blunt chin, eyes thoughtful. “You know what will happen if the Morning Star learns of your arrival? It could mean death in the square.”

I shot a look of dismay my father’s direction. What? Death?

“And then there’s the Keeper. If she discovers you here …?” He paused. “Or did you just want your grandfather’s copper falcon back?”

Copper falcon?
I glanced sidelong at father.

Father laughed bitterly. “Nothing like picking a scab off an old wound, is there?”

What old wound?

“It’s your life you’re gambling. If asked, I’ll deny any dealings with you beyond kin obligations.”

“I know the risks, High Chief. I could have sent a messenger asking for a squadron, but what would that have accomplished? One disembodied voice? Among a chorus all screaming for warriors? Here, standing before you, my life on the line, you
know
my need is sincere. Give me a squadron, and I’ll be gone.”

Green Chunkey glanced at his councilors, saw a couple of meaningful stares in return, and turned back to Father. “It’s a major commitment, one that sends a substantial portion of my force far to the south. How would I know that they were cared for, housed properly? Or when I’d get them back, if ever?”

“It is autumn. The T’so villages are bursting with the harvest and spoils of the fall hunt. Moving fast, and with enough force, I can crush them”—Father gave the high chief his charming, dimpled smile—”by winter solstice. Whoever you place in command as squadron first will be under your order to leave Copper Falcon Town at that time.”

“I see.” He paused. “Red Mask, old friend, I will need to discuss this with others before I make a final decision.” Green Chunkey went back to fingering his chin, adding, “So you thought you’d just slip in, then slip out with a squadron before anyone was the wiser?”

“As simple as that, High Chief.”

“Perhaps things are simple in distant Copper Falcon Town, Cousin. Here they tend to become complicated quickly.” Green Chunkey’s eyes narrowed. “Given that I don’t want you here a moment longer than necessary, I’ll have an answer for you one way or the other by tomorrow at mid-morning. In the meantime, the Four Winds Clan house is at your disposal.”

He dismissed us with a gesture.

*****

The Four Winds Clan house was communal property, and anyone born into the Four Winds Clan could claim residence there. I was told clan houses could be found all over Cahokia, each of the Houses that ruled Cahokia having one. Green Chunkey, to his credit, had food, water, and tea provided for us. After supper, as the warriors were rolling out their beds, I saw Father assemble his pipe, tamp tobacco into the bowl, light it, and step outside.

My own affairs in order, I walked out into the night, feeling the faint breeze tainted by the smoky scent of thousands of fires.

The clan house perched on a low mound accessed by a ramped staircase that led down to the plaza. Father had seated himself at the top of the stairs and was puffing on his stone pipe as he looked out over Horned Serpent Town. A woman was singing. Dogs barked in the distance. I could hear the delighted calls and screams of playing children. Somebody hammered on wood, the bangs echoing in the night.

I seated myself beside him, staring across the plaza at Green Chunkey’s high palace. A yellow rectangle of light was cast by the open door; silhouetted people were entering and leaving.

“You never told me the Morning Star would kill you if he discovered you in Cahokia.”

He sucked at his pipe, then blew the smoke toward the cloudy sky. “We’ll be long gone by the time he learns of it.”

I kept my voice low. “It’s always been a forbidden subject, but we’re here now. Since I’m in the middle of—”

“A woman.” He studied the pipe he cradled. “She was an incredible beauty, flashing dark eyes, gleaming black hair like a wave of midnight. Her smile … gods, just the sight of it sent a jolt through my bones. Her body might have been a dream, supple as a moon beam, slim-waisted, breasts and hips that enchanted. When she moved it was with a grace and elegance that made a man’s breath fail, his heart leap.”

“Did she favor you?”

“I think she’d have run off with me if I’d had one more opportunity to ask.”

“One more …? I don’t—”

“I was
married
. So was she. I met her through my wife.” He made a dismissive gesture. “My marriage was political, a way for Morning Star House to keep tabs on Horned Serpent Town and potentially troublesome rivals.”

“You?”

He shot me a sly sidelong look. “I worried them.”

I had seen my father’s uncanny charisma at work, seen him at his best with his winning smile. I knew how persuasive he could be. With his charm he could wrap the Copper Falcon Town council around his finger.

He finally said, “My wife figured it out immediately. Cunning and sharp, that one was. No one could ever pull anything over on her. Before I knew what was happening, I was snatched from my bed by warriors, divorced, and exiled. They called it ‘given the honor of founding a most important colony on the Tenasee.’ I was told in no uncertain terms that if I ever set foot in Cahokia, I’d hang in a square.”

“I suppose I’m glad that you didn’t run away with this dark-haired beauty. I wouldn’t have been born.”

“What Power takes with one hand, it gives back from the other. Your mother was a remarkable woman … better than I deserved. She gave me you. I could not have asked for a finer son, nor could I be more proud of you.”

For a moment I was stunned by the intensity of my normally taciturn father’s admissions.

He chuckled softly, aware of my fluster. “Why do you think I haven’t married you off already? Half the towns up and down the Tenasee have offered their daughters.” He shook his head. “Horned Serpent House had me engaged to three different women before they finally married me off to a fourth. And the moment they did, I stumbled across the one woman who would fill my dreams for the rest of my life. All it brought was heartbreak and exile. I won’t do that to you.”

“Do you think she’s still here?”

He nodded, eyes fixed on the distance to the north, as if seeing her in the eye of his souls. “Oh, yes. But that’s for a different lifetime, and a different man.”

“What’s this copper falcon Green Chunkey was talking about?”

I could barely make out father’s grim smile. “Our House may serve Horned Serpent, but Falcon has always been the personal spirit Power behind our lineage. Your great-grandfather obtained the copper at considerable risk, had the thing made, and it was handed down generation by generation.

“My wife, in her fit of pique, had it ripped from my grasp as I was ordered into the canoe that would take me away.” He paused, apparently reliving that day. “I have felt like a piece of my soul has been missing ever since. That I somehow failed the copper falcon’s Power, failed my ancestors, and you.”