People of the Earth (96 page)

 
          
 
Wind Runner stole a glance at
Aspen
. She stared at the fire, face
expressionless. With a nervous hand, she twirled a sprig of sagebrush.

 
          
 
"What did White Ash tell you?" Wind
Runner asked, stumbling over the name.

 
          
 
"That the Broken Stones will be here in
two days. That she and this Earth man will face their Soul Flier. That she'll
fight some sort of Power battle with him and Dream a new way for us."

 
          
 
Wind Runner struggled to find the calm clarity
of thought he had always counted on.

 
          
 
Black Moon continued, "White Ash says
that warriors won't make any difference, but she also says this Brave Man
crushed the Wolf People and is leading the whole Broken Stones clan down on us.
I am thinking the smart thing to do is to break camp. Flee to the south until
we can recall our warriors."

 
          
 
Wind Runner frowned into the fire. "And
what does White Ash say to that?"

 
          
 
Black Moon puffed out his cheeks. "I
haven't told her yet."

 
          
 
"You sent out scouts?"

 
          
 
"First thing. None have come back
yet."

 
          
 
"Maybe the Broken Stones aren't
coming,"
Aspen
suggested in a forced voice.

 
          
 
"Maybe." Black Moon glanced back and
forth between them, sensing their unease with each other. "Wind Runner,
you know this White Ash. I don't care what's between you, but I need to know:
Is she here to destroy us? Is that her nature? Will she turn Power against us
in this Dream she talks about? Has she come to wreak some kind of vengeance on
us for what we've done to the Earth People?"

 
          
 
Wind Runner flipped his hands up. "I've
known her for years. Ever since Sage Ghost stole her from the Earth People.
Even then she had Dreams. Old Falcon watched her, respected her. Had she asked,
I think he would have taught her the ways of Soul Flying, but her interests lay
elsewhere. She didn't like the Dreams. They frightened her. But to answer your
question, she never considered herself to be one of the Earth People. She was
White Clay. She knew the stories of the clan better than any of the rest of us.
She loved Bright Moon and Sage Ghost. No. I don't think she's here to harm
us."

 
          
 
“And her Dream?" Black Moon asked.

 
          
 
“She wouldn't lie. If she says she Dreamed it,
she did."

 
          
 
"And should we trust this one-armed man
of hers?"

 
          
 
"I—I think we ... I don't know. I can't
tell you about him. He looks harmless."

 
          
 
"You weren't there when he called thunder
out of a clear sky." Black Moon grimaced. "An Earth man used a Wolf
People Bundle to call Thunderbird? That makes my soul shiver."

 
          
 
"Power is at work." Aspen jabbed her
twig into the fire. "And we're in the middle of it."

 
          
 
Black Moon slapped at an insect and paused, as
if choosing his words. "I don't care about Power unless it threatens my
clan." Pointedly, he added, "I'm waiting for advice from those I
trust."

 
          
 
Wind Runner nodded reluctantly. "Very
well, these are my words, Black Moon. White Ash says that Brave Man is coming,
that he's become a Soul Flier. I believe her. And I know Brave Man. A Black
Point warrior sent him to the Camp of the Dead. Since that day, he's hated
Black Point. He hears voices inside his head—and White Ash is right about one
thing: He'll do everything in his Power to wipe out the Black Point . . . and
he hates me, maybe more than he hates anything."

 
          
 
"Why? What did you do to him?"

 
          
 
Wind Runner lowered his gaze to the smoldering
coals. "I kept him from stealing White Ash and carrying her off to the
Broken Stones. I—I stopped him from raping her one day."

 
          
 
Black Moon thoughtfully smoothed his fingers
over the dirt floor. "Everything comes back to White Ash."

           
 
"So it seems. Looking back, I wonder if
she isn't the reason for everything that's happened." Wind Runner raised
his eyebrows and sighed. "Power seems to surround her. I think that
whatever she says, we should do."

 
          
 
"Do I hear your heart speaking?"
Black Moon's glance pierced him.

 
          
 
Wind Runner shook his head. He felt so very
weary. "No. You hear the best advice I can offer. Sage Ghost makes no
secret of the fact that Power led him to steal her. For as long as I've known
her, Power has protected her—even had me appear at the right moment to keep her
from harm. I think that to thwart her is to bring trouble. Not from White Ash,
but from the Power that guides her."

 
          
 
"I will take your words into
consideration." Black Moon stood, staring up at the stars, worry sitting
his shoulders like a cape. "And tomorrow we'll decide whether it's best to
move camp."

 
          
 
Black Moon ducked into his lodge, leaving Wind
Runner alone with
Aspen
. For long moments they sat in silence.
Aspen
refused to look at him, her attention fixed
on the dancing flames.

 
          
 
Finally Wind Runner said, "Would you come
back to my lodge? You look tired. Before we sleep, we could talk about the
things we should do tomorrow."

 
          
 
Her eyes were like pools in the soft light.
"I want to come back, but . . ."

 
          
 
He went to her and took her hand, feeling the
chill in her flesh. "I told Black Moon the truth. White Ash has always
belonged to Power. But it took me until today to see that."

 
          
 
"No doubts?"

 
          
 
He shook his head. "I've lived without
her in my life. When I returned to camp, I stopped at our lodge. Seeing the
empty robes, I realized what it would be like to live without you. Please . . .
don't make me."

 
          
 
Aspen
squeezed his hand tightly and tears
glistened in her eyes. She got to her feet. Without a word, she slipped her arm
around his waist and began slowly heading him back toward their lodge.

 
          
 
Still Water squinted at the young man who
strode through the night toward Sage Ghost's lodge. Vague recognition dawned.
Where had he seen that walk before? Where . . . "Tuber!" He stood, a
sudden joy warming his soul.

 
          
 
"Bad Belly?" Tuber dropped the brace
of rabbits he carried and lunged to hug his uncle until Still Water's ribs
cracked. Where had the boy come by such strength? Still Water savored the feel
of the young arms around him. His nephew—Warm Fire's son—lived! Bless the One!

 
          
 
"What are you doing here in a Black Point
camp? They should have ..."
Tstumbled
over the
words. "I mean, you're alive !"

 
          
 
"At least until you snap my spine."

 
          
 
Trouble darted about and yipped, jumping up in
the air to nip happily at
Tiber
's
hunting shirt while his tail flailed the air.

 
          
 
"Quiet!" someone called.
"People are trying to sleep!"

 
          
 
Still Water motioned Trouble to stop and took
Tuber's hand. "How have you been? I hear Sage Ghost has taken you into his
lodge. Your mother says he treats you like a son."

 
          
 
Tuber nodded. "He's good to me. So,
you've seen Mother? Heard what happened?"

 
          
 
"We have talked. She says you're turning
into a good hunter."

 
          
 
"No one moves as quietly as I do. Only
Owl is as quiet on the hunt as I am," Tuber told him proudly. "And
Sage Ghost has taught me things even Father didn't know. Like how to hide a
trail, and how to use cover when you sneak. Sage Ghost took me out to kill my
first antelope. I got him, too—a fat buck. And with just one cast. I'm learning
to make dart points and how to lay an ambush."

 
          
 
Still Water smiled. "Come, let's talk
before I take you in and introduce you to my wife."

 
          
 
Still Water settled on a
parfleche
while Tuber squatted on the ground.

           
 
"Wife? You?"
lasked
in amazement. "One of the captive women?"

 
          
 
"No. She's Sun People."

 
          
 
"And she married you? What's wrong with
her?"

 
          
 
Still Water sighed. "So, you're happy in
the camp of the Black Point?"

 
          
 
Thung
his head.
"I was pretty bad off when the Black Point wiped out the clan. I watched
Grandmother get killed. White Feather smacked her in the head with a war
club."

 
          
 
"I found her body. I Sang for her."

 
          
 
Tuber glanced out at the night, his gaze
roaming the dunes. "I'm glad—but I don't miss her. You know what
Grandmother was like. How she fooled with people's lives. Made them do what she
wanted them to. Here, I'm free. I can hunt—and Sage Ghost, he's a lot like my
father. Sometimes I think the Black Point are the best thing that could have
happened to me."

 
          
 
"I hear you had Black Hand for a father
for a little while."

 
          
 
Tiber
's
voice changed, strained. "I didn't like him. Not after what he did to
Father. And then, one night, I followed him and Mother. Watched them couple—and
I just couldn't stand it. The man who let my father die . . . took my mother!
Grandmother made her marry him. I heard them talk about it. Black Hand was
Grandmother's lover first, you know."