People of the Raven (North America's Forgotten Past) (30 page)

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Authors: W. Michael Gear,Kathleen O'Neal Gear

BOOK: People of the Raven (North America's Forgotten Past)
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Her mother’s lodge still stood just inside the gate. It looked smaller than she remembered. Someone had converted it to storage.
A tall man ducked out of the last lodge near the lava cliff. She remembered it as belonging to Astcat, the matron. The tall man shielded his eyes to look in their direction. A gossamer blue cape billowed around him.
“Is that Cimmis?”
Apprehension strained Ecan’s face. “That’s him.”
Another man, shorter and fatter, ducked through the door hanging behind the chief. “Cimmis and the leader of the Big Tail Clan,Tudab. Prepare yourself, witch. Cimmis ordered me to take no captives.”
“Then perhaps I will be able to watch you die sooner than I had anticipated. I would enjoy that.”
“I wasn’t worried about me, Dzoo.” He straightened his long white cape. “Hunter! Deer Killer! Keep an eye on the prisoner while I make my report”—he shot a final glance at Dzoo—“and see if our chief wants this worthless woman alive … or dead.”
A
fter each of the chiefs had entered his lodge, Rain Bear took a moment to ensure that the guards obeyed him and stayed at least fifty hands away. They did—but no one looked happy about it. Two men stood grumbling in front of Evening Star’s lodge, giving steely-eyed glances to Hornet and Wolf Spider, who returned them stare for stare.
He let the hanging fall. As it swung, bars and streaks of gold flashed over the faces of the men seated around his fire. Bluegrass, the oldest, had seen perhaps five tens of summers. A few stubborn white hairs clung to his bald head. Black Mountain, Talon’s chief, was next oldest, around three tens and five summers. He had shoulder-length graying black hair, a bulbous nose, and deep wrinkles. Goldenrod, Sleeper’s chief from Deer Meadow Village, was the youngest. He’d seen fewer summers than Rain Bear: two tens and six. They made a strange group.
Without waiting for them to speak, Rain Bear asked, “Do all of you want me to kill the boy? Or just Bluegrass?”
Goldenrod shifted to sit cross-legged on the mat, and long black hair fell around his broad shoulders. He extended a hand. “Rain Bear, surely you understand the position you place us in. Most of the people gathered around your village watched Ecan destroy their homes and families.”
“They want revenge. Yes, I know.” Rain Bear hung his otterhide cape on the peg, straightened his red knee-length shirt, and seated himself across from his guests. “I do not wish to fight over this. If all the chiefs agree that the boy should be executed to punish Ecan, then that is what I will do.”
Relieved smiles and nods went around the circle. Black Mountain gave old Bluegrass an unpleasant look. “See? I told you Rain Bear was a reasonable man.”
“Well, he wasn’t earlier today.” Bluegrass glared at Rain Bear. His bald head gleamed in the firelight. “What changed your heart?”
“My heart hasn’t changed,” Rain Bear replied. “I told you I needed to consult with the elders and other chiefs. Since we spoke, I’ve been trying to speak with as many as I can.” That was a fanciful lie. “Not everyone agrees about the boy. Several of my own clan elders don’t want him killed. They believe it’s possible to use him as leverage against Ecan.”
“I want him
dead!
” Bluegrass shouted. “His father tortured my wife and son to death before my eyes!”
“Bluegrass!” Goldenrod held up both hands in a
please stop this
gesture. “We can all make similar claims, but I would like to hear Rain Bear’s words before I decide.”
Bluegrass sucked his lips in over toothless gums and angrily flipped his arm at Rain Bear in a motion to continue.
Rain Bear said, “My elders believe that we may be able to use the boy to maneuver Ecan into a position where we can either kill him or pressure him into betraying Cimmis and the Council.”
Black Mountain tilted his head skeptically. Soot smudged his bulbous nose. “How?”
“First, we need to decide where our real interests lie. Do we wish to kill Ecan?”
A mingled roar of assenting voices rose.
Rain Bear raised placating hands. “Or try to destroy Cimmis and the Council?”
Another roar.
“Then I suggest,” Rain Bear said, “that we do not immediately kill the boy.”
“I want him dead!” Bluegrass’s elderly face contorted in rage. “I don’t just want him dead; I want to slit his belly open and pull out enough of his intestines to roast in a fire while he squeals!”
Rain Bear glanced at Black Mountain and Goldenrod. They both appeared embarrassed by the vehemence. Goldenrod squinted at his
moccasins. Black Mountain roughly shoved graying black hair away from his brow.
Rain Bear said, “Killing Ecan will require every skill and tool we have. Shall we destroy our best tool before we’ve even tried to use it?”
The chiefs started talking at once. Bluegrass shook a fist in Goldenrod’s face.
Rain Bear lifted his voice. “And there is another thing I wish you to consider.”
The din died down.
Bluegrass gave Rain Bear an evil look.
“By now I think all of you are aware that Ecan took Dzoo captive. If we kill Tsauz, Ecan will kill Dzoo. Is that acceptable to you?”
Bluegrass’s withered mouth pinched as though he’d eaten something bitter. “I thought that was just a rumor. You’re sure she was taken captive?”
Goldenrod nodded. “My war chief, Sleeper, is tracking the war party. He sent a runner back to say he’d seen Dzoo. She is definitely Ecan’s prisoner.”
Black Mountain looked at Bluegrass. “I believe she spent several moons at your village two summers ago. Didn’t she Heal your sick son?”
Bluegrass clenched his jaw for several moments before expelling an explosive breath. “Yes. And many others in my village. She is worth ten tens of Ecan’s sons.”
Goldenrod looked around the circle. “If we are to save Dzoo, we cannot kill Ecan’s son. At least not right away. I say that later, when Dzoo is safe, we let Bluegrass roast his guts. Who knows? By then, perhaps Ecan will be ours and he can listen along with the rest of us.”
Bluegrass twisted on his mat as though ants had crawled into his cape. “For now, I agree.”
Black Mountain nodded. “As do I.”
Rain Bear bowed his head. “Good. There are other things I wish you to know.”
Bluegrass craned his neck to look up. “Now what?”
Rain Bear gazed across the smoldering fire at Bluegrass. “When my daughter was cleaning the boy’s wounds last night, she noticed … injuries.”
“From rolling down the mountain when you were chasing him?” Bluegrass asked.
Rain Bear shook his head. “No, these were old bruises, yellow and purple.” He let that sink in.
Bluegrass cocked his head. “You mean Ecan beats the boy?”
“That was Roe’s suggestion. Either Ecan or someone else.”
“I’ve heard this before,” Black Mountain said, “from Traders.”
“As have I,” Goldenrod added. “Just after Ecan’s wife died in that suspicious fire, I heard that he beat the boy nearly to death.”
Bluegrass jerked a nod. “And that he kicked the boy’s puppy to death. But what difference does it make?”
Rain Bear shrugged. “It’s just something to think about. Ecan beats the boy, and when the battle at War Gods Village grew difficult, he abandoned his blind son and fled.”
“More reasons to hate Ecan.” Black Mountain drew up a knee and laced his fingers around it. “But I’m not certain it has a bearing on our decisions.”
“It tells us something about the value he places on his son’s life,” Bluegrass said. “The boy may not be as useful a tool as we think.”
“True,” Rain Bear agreed in a mild voice. “It also means that killing the boy may not
hurt
Ecan as much as we imagine.”
“For the sake of the gods, Rain Bear,” Bluegrass exhaled the words in a rush and waved a hand. “You never wish to kill anyone. No matter how deserving! In Raven’s name, why did we vote you to lead the war party?”
Rain Bear’s brows lifted. “As I recall, Bluegrass, you voted against me.”
“Yes, but I was outvoted. So there we have it. At least we are all agreed that we must kill Ecan, correct?”
Everyone, including Rain Bear, nodded.
“And Cimmis, if we can, yes?”
“Of course. If we can find an opportunity.”
“Anything else, Rain Bear?” Goldenrod asked expectantly.
“Not for the moment.” He glanced around. “But I would like for each of you to follow out anything suspicious. We have the boy, and Cimmis knows it. If he can kill the boy before we can use him …”
Bluegrass’s nose wiggled as he thought about it. “He could take any advantage away from us. That foul sea slug! If he’s going to kill our captive, he’s going to have to get past me first!”
Goldenrod and Black Mountain were watching him curiously.
“Very well.” Bluegrass tottered as he rose to his feet. “Notify me when you wish to next meet in council.”
“We will.”
Bluegrass walked to the door and stepped out into the bright afternoon sunlight. People instantly began calling questions.
Goldenrod chuckled, rose to his feet, and asked, “Are we finished, Great Chief?”
“Unless you have something else to discuss,” Rain Bear said.
Goldenrod shook his head, and Black Mountain said, “I have nothing more.” He got up and propped his hands on his hips. “We’ll be waiting to hear from you, Rain Bear.”
“I will be calling on you soon.”
 
 
C
immis lifted a hand to shield his eyes against the afternoon glare of the sun, and frowned at the large group of warriors who walked in through the Salmon Village gate. Several villagers ran out of the palisade gates and followed in the wake of the war party, shouting questions, hugging friends who’d been away. Ecan led the procession. Cimmis knew the Starwatcher by his long white cape. Oddly, he didn’t see Ecan’s boy. A woman—apparently a captive—accompanied the party.
“Ecan!” Cimmis clenched a fist. “Gutginsa strike him! Look at that! He’s brought a woman! I didn’t want him slowed down by captives. His need to shove his rod into her sheath might have killed them all.”
“Wait, my Chief. Let’s hear his story.” Wind Woman tousled Tudab’s thick black hair, blowing it over his face.
Cimmis said, “The Starwatcher has a bad habit of ‘interpreting’ my orders to his own benefit.”
“Sometimes a man must make quick decisions out on the war trail.”
“I spent ten and eight summers as a warrior and never had to ‘explain’ my actions, Clan Leader. I never disobeyed an order, never ‘interpreted’ an order. I just did what was expected of me.”
Tudab put a hand on Cimmis’s shoulder, trying to ease his mood. “We know your record, my Chief. Your complete dedication to the orders of the Council are what have placed you in such an important position. You lead by your example. You, Cimmis, are the Council’s strong right arm.”
Tudab, if you only knew. Where Astcat’s thoughts were the strong heartwood of our people, Old Woman North’s head might be filled with punk for all the sense I get out of it.
Tudab asked, “How many did we lose?”
“If that’s all of them, too many.”
“Some may have been captured. Perhaps we can arrange a Trade to get them back.”
“If any of our warriors were captured, they’re already dead.”
Tudab, a gentle little man, grimaced as though disturbed by the thought. “Is that what you would have done, my Chief?”
“Keeping captives costs too much, Tudab. You have to feed them; warriors must guard them. You never know when one will get desperate and jump for the closest guard’s throat. It’s safer to question them and kill them.”
Cimmis could see them more clearly now. At least three had been wounded. Two limped, and one man cradled an arm to his chest. “I do not understand why White Stone sent no more messages after the battle. He should have sent one message a day telling us the status of the war party. I will have to speak with my war chief. Apparently, he does not understand his duties.”
Tudab frowned. “I don’t see White Stone. Perhaps he was killed in the fighting.”
“Then my wrath will fall on Ecan.
He
should have sent the messages if White Stone couldn’t.”
Immediately after the battle, a message had been sent, signaling their victory. With White Stone dead, Ecan should have sent additional messages. Perhaps the captive had dulled his wits with her body. The thought of Ecan and his women was disturbing. Cimmis remained irritated by the mess Ecan and Kenada had made of Matron Evening Star’s captivity. They were to break and humiliate her as an example to the others, not turn her into a heroine for every malcontent within a moon’s journey.
Tudab interrupted his thoughts. “I just hope that our attack has dampened the Raven People’s ardor for war.”

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