The Land of Painted Caves (61 page)

“All the visitors use the spear-throwing weapon—Jondalar has promised to show us how—and when they went hunting, they were too lucky,” Demoryn continued. “Each one brought down a bison. They killed nine of them. That’s a lot of meat; bison are big animals. That’s why we’re bringing you a large load of meat, for your First Cave and for your zelandonia meeting.

“As for these men, once they were caught, we weren’t sure what to do with them. Aremina thought they should be killed, since they killed her mate. Perhaps she’s right. But we didn’t know who should do the killing, or how. We all know how to kill animals that the Great Mother has given us so that we can live, but the Mother does not condone killing people. I didn’t know if we should be the ones to kill them. It may bring bad luck to our Cave if we do, or if we didn’t do it correctly. We thought the zelandonia should decide, so we brought them here.”

“I think that was wise, don’t you?” the First Among Those Who Served said. “It’s fortunate that you are having a meeting so that all of you can discuss it and come to a decision.”

She’s letting them know that she doesn’t plan to take over just because she’s the First, Ayla thought, but she will be interested in what they do.

“I certainly hope you will be staying and will offer your counsel,” said the Zelandoni of the First Cave of Sacred Site Watchers.

“Thank you. I would like that. This is not an easy problem to work out. We are here because I am taking my acolyte on her Donier Tour. I hope someone will be able to guide us through your Sacred Site. I have seen it only once before, but I have never forgotten it. Not only is it the Most Ancient, it is unbelievably beautiful, both the cave itself and the images that have been painted on the walls. They honor the Great Mother,” the First said with feeling that conveyed her conviction.

“Of course. We have a Watcher at the Sacred Site who will be happy to guide you through it,” the woman said, “but now let’s see these men.”

As the four men were brought forward, they were trying to resist, but Wolf was guarding them and herded Balderan back with snarls and nips to his ankles and legs when he tried to leave. It was obvious that Balderan was seething with rage. He particularly hated the foreign man and woman who could control horses and a wolf, and could therefore control him. For the first time in his life he was afraid, and what he feared most was Wolf. He wanted to kill the animal, but not any more than Wolf wanted to kill him. The four-legged hunter knew in the way that animals with senses more developed than those of humans know that this man was not like other men. He was born with too much or not enough of something that made him different, and Wolf innately knew that this man would not hesitate to harm the ones Wolf loved.

By now everyone from both Caves and all the neighboring zelandonia had gathered in the field in front of the cliffs, and when the men were brought forward, it caused quite a disturbance. Several people recognized Balderan and some shouted out accusations.

“He’s the one!” a woman said. “He forced me! They all did.”

“They stole meat from me that I had spread out to dry.”

“He took my daughter and kept her for nearly a moon. I don’t know what they did to her, but she was never right again and died the next winter. As far as I’m concerned, he killed her.”

A middle-aged man came forward. “I can tell you about him. He was born to my Cave before I moved away,” he said.

“I would like to hear what this man has to say,” the First said.

“So would I,” the Zelandoni from the Third Cave of Watchers said.

“Balderan was born to a woman who had no mate, and at first everyone was pleased that she had a son who seemed sound and healthy, a son who could one day make a contribution to the Cave, but from quite a young age, he was uncontrollable. He was a strong boy but he used his strength to take what he wanted whenever he wanted it. In the beginning his mother made excuses for him. Since she had no mate, she hoped her strong son, who quickly became a very good hunter because he liked killing things, would take care of her as she grew older, but eventually she came to recognize that he didn’t care about her any more than anyone else,” the man began.

“By the time he reached young manhood, all the people of the Cave were angry and afraid of him. It came to a head when he took some spears from a man who had made them for himself. When the man objected and tried to take them back, Balderan beat him so badly, he nearly died. I don’t think he ever fully recovered. That was when everyone banded together and told him he had to leave. All the rest of the men and most of the women armed themselves and chased him away. Two friends left with him, young men who admired him for taking what he wanted and not having to work for anything. One of them returned before the summer was over and begged to be allowed to come back, but Balderan always managed to acquire a few followers.

“He would go to a Summer Meeting, settle into a fa’lodge, and challenge the other young men into reckless acts of danger to prove their manhood. He always bullied any who seemed weak or afraid, and when he left, he always had a few new followers charmed by his troublemaking ways. They would harass some new Caves until they finally got together to go looking for them. Then Balderan and friends would travel some distance away, and find other Caves from whom they could steal food, clothing, implements, weapons, and before long, women they could force.”

Balderan sneered while the man related the story. He didn’t care what anyone said about him. It was all true anyway, but he had never been caught before, and he didn’t like it. Ayla observed him closely and saw that he was more than angry; she could see his fear and his hatred, and she was sure Wolf could smell it. She knew if Balderan made any attempt to hurt her, or Jonayla, or Jondalar, or any of the people traveling with them, Wolf would kill him. She knew that if she merely gave Wolf the signal to kill the man, he would, and the people would probably be grateful. But she didn’t want Wolf to be the one to solve their problem and she didn’t want Wolf to be known as a killer. Stories tended to grow out of proportion. Everyone knew wolves could kill. The fact that he helped to catch the man, and that he guarded the man and didn’t kill him, that was the story she wanted people to tell about Wolf. The people needed to deal with Balderan themselves, and she was curious to see what they would do.

The other men with him weren’t angry. They were just scared. They knew what they had done, and there were enough people here who knew it too. The man standing beside Balderan was thinking about the predicament he was in. It always seemed so easy following him, taking whatever they wanted, and frightening people. Of course, Balderan scared him too, sometimes, but it made him feel important to see people afraid of him. And when they saw that people who came after them were close and determined, and felt it was time to move on, they were nimble and quick and could always get away. They were sure they would never get caught, but the foreign woman with her weapons and her animals had changed that.

There was no doubt that she was a Zelandoni, and they should never have gone after One Who Serves The Mother. But how could they have known? She wasn’t even tattooed. They said she was an acolyte, but an acolyte to the First? He didn’t know the First really existed. He thought she was just a story like the Elder Legends. But now the most powerful Zelandoni on earth was here, with her acolyte, who had magic control of animals and had caught him. What were they going to do to him?

As though hearing his thoughts, one of the Zelandonia said, “Now that they’re here, what are we going to do with them?”

“For now we have to feed them, find a place to keep them, and get some people to watch them until a decision can be made,” the First said, then turned to the woman who was the Zelandoni of the First Cave of Ancient Sacred Site Watchers. “And perhaps you should divide out this bison meat.”

She smiled at the First, acknowledging that she had turned over authority to her, as though she knew that she was the First in this region, although no one had told her. The woman called some names and delegated the responsibility to the leaders of the two Caves to decide how the meat should be parceled out, but assigned several other Zelandonia to supervise the actual work of skinning and butchering the beasts. Some had already been skinned, and they started cutting up that meat for their evening meal. Others were taking Balderan and his men toward the cliff.

Once he was in their hands, Ayla whistled Wolf to her and went to help Jondalar unhitch the pole-drags from the horses. She had seen a nice grassy area away from the people, but decided to ask if there was any reason she shouldn’t use it for the horses. It was always a good idea not to make assumptions about the territory of other Caves. She first asked Demoryn, the leader of Amelana’s Cave.

“We didn’t have a Summer Meeting here this year so I think it just hasn’t been trampled, but you might ask the Zelandoni First if you want to make sure,” he said.

“Zelandoni First?” Ayla said. “Do you mean of the First Cave of the Watchers?”

“Yes, but that is not the reason she is called Zelandoni First. It’s because she is our First,” he said. “It is only coincidence that she happens to be the Zelandoni of that Cave. Which reminds me, I should also tell her that I sent a runner to tell one or two other Caves that Balderan has been caught. They were troubled more than most by him. A few more people may come.”

Ayla frowned, and wondered how many other Caves would do the same. Maybe she should look for a more secluded spot, or perhaps make a fenced area for the horses the way she did at their Summer Meetings. She decided to talk to Jondalar about it after she talked to Zelandoni First.

Ayla and Jondalar talked to the rest of the travelers, and they decided to look for a choice spot to set up their camp, the way most Caves did when they arrived early at a Summer Meeting. The First agreed with Ayla’s intuition that there might be more people coming than anyone expected.

   That evening, although meals were cooked by the families or groups that normally ate together, they all more or less sat together, rather like a feast. Balderan and his henchmen were given food, and their hands were untied so they could eat it. They spoke quietly to each other as they ate. There were several people watching them, but it was hard to maintain interest when there was nothing to watch except people eating their food. The night sky darkened as the meal progressed, and people who were friendly strangers were interested in getting to know each other.

Ayla and Jondalar left Wolf with Jonayla to give him a rest from his stressful vigilance and went for a walk together toward the zelandonia dwelling. The First had gone there to talk about making a special tour of the Sacred Cave with Ayla, Jonokol, and a few others, and another tour with the rest of the visitors, except for the children, which might not be as extensive.

The couple knew in general where the men they had captured were being held, but in the dark they didn’t notice how carefully they were being watched by them. Balderan had been watching the tall man who was the mate of the woman acolyte, and as they approached, Balderan spoke to his men.

“We have to get away from here,” he said. “If we don’t, we won’t live to see many more days.”

“But how?” one of the men said.

“We need to get rid of that woman who controls the wolf,” Balderan said.

“That wolf won’t let us get close to her.”

“Only when he’s around. He isn’t always with her. Sometimes he stays with the girl,” Balderan said.

“But what about that man who’s always around her? The visitor she came with. He’s big.”

“I’ve known men like him, tall and muscular, but too calm and mild. Have you ever seen him angry? I think he’s one of those gentle giants who are so afraid they’ll hurt someone they even avoid arguments. If we’re quick, we can grab her before he knows it, and threaten to kill her if he makes a move. I don’t think he’ll take a chance that she might get hurt. By the time he thinks about it, it will be too late. We’ll be gone and her with us.”

“What are you going to threaten her with? They’ve taken our knives.”

Balderan smiled, then loosened the leather thong that laced his shirt closed. “This,” he said, pulling the thong out of its holes. “I’ll wrap this around her neck.”

“But what if your plan doesn’t work?” another man asked.

“We won’t be any worse off than we are now. We’ve got nothing to lose.”

   The next day one of the other Caves in the region arrived, and by evening, two more. The First came to see Ayla the morning of the following day. Jondalar stepped out to let them talk in private.

“We are going to have to think about how to deal with these men.”

“Why do we have to?” Ayla said. “We don’t live here.”

“But you caught him. You’re involved, whether you want to be or not. It could be the Mother wants you to be,” the First added.

Ayla gave her a look of skepticism.

“Well, maybe not the Mother, but the people here want you to be. And I think you should. Besides, we need to talk to them about your tour of their Sacred Site. You will be amazed at this cave. I’ve seen it once and I know I’m going back in. There are some difficult places, but I’ll never get another chance and I won’t miss it,” the First said.

That intrigued Ayla, and aroused her curiosity. All the walking on this Journey seemed to have improved the woman’s health, but she still had problems and needed help when they got into rough terrain. She was a more than ample woman in spite of all her walking. She carried her weight with grace and assurance, and in many ways it added to her stature, but it could make moving around in tight places with uneven footing difficult.

“You’re right, Zelandoni, but I don’t want to make decisions about him. I don’t think it’s my place,” Ayla said.

“You don’t have to. We all know what has to be done. He needs to be killed. If he isn’t, he will kill more people. The question is, who will do it and how? Deliberately killing someone is not easy for most people. It’s not supposed to be. It’s not right for people to kill people. That’s why we know he’s not right inside. He doesn’t know that, and that’s why I’m glad all these Caves are coming together. It needs to be something they all participate in. I don’t mean everyone has to kill him, but they all have to take responsibility for it. And they all have to know that it’s the right thing to do in this particular case. A person shouldn’t be killed out of anger, or for revenge. There are other ways to deal with those things. There is no other way where he’s concerned,” the First said, “but what is the best way to do it?”