The Veil Weavers (7 page)

Keeper growled his disapproval.

“Who are they?” I asked.

“They are the buffalo who were at the Gathering.”

“We’re going to travel by buffalo?” said Maddy, sounding nervous and excited at the same time.

I didn’t care how I got there, as long as I could learn more about the veil.

Keeper said, “Corvus, could you ask them to return to the lake?”

Corvus cawed and flew off, towards the lake far below us. We followed more slowly, enjoying the warmth of the sun on our faces.

When we reached the lake, Aleena said goodbye and walked to the shore.

Keeper stopped her with a hand held high. “Aleena, I have a task for you.”

She waited, one foot in the water. “I need to leave now,” she said, her face tight.

I knew how much she hated Gronvald and feared Keeper, and how much she wanted to be far from them.

“It is the Will of the Gathering,” said Keeper.

“
You
are not the Will of the Gathering,” she said. “Only Josh.”

Keeper turned to me. “I do not trust Gronvald. He will do whatever he can to stop you, to work around the Will of the Gathering. I would like Aleena to follow him.”

Aleena gasped and stepped backwards into the lake. “No! The crows can do it.”

The crows cawed agreement, but Keeper shook his head. “The crows cannot follow Gronvald through his caves.”

“Neither can I,” said Aleena, panic in her voice.

“But you can follow his scent in water. You can alert the crows when he comes above ground.”

“I won’t do it,” she said.

She looked afraid, but fierce too, and powerful. I felt totally intimidated. I closed my eyes for a moment, and then I spoke. “Aleena, you and Maddy and I caused many of the tears in the veil. I helped you escape from deep in the earth. Now you must do this.”

I could see when the magic of the Will of the Gathering reached her. I could see her battle it, her eyes darkening, her face tight and pale. Then she accepted it. With a slightly bowed head and a flat voice, she said, “I will follow him.”

“Thank you.” I knew what this was costing her, the fear she was fighting.

She nodded stiffly. “I will contact the crows when I have news.” Then she dove into the lake and vanished.

Maddy and I hiked up Castle Mountain with Keeper. His cave was cozy and welcoming. A huge bed filled one corner, piled high with striped wool blankets. A collection of odd-sized chairs gathered around a wooden slab table, and shelves lined the walls.

Keeper walked straight to the massive stone fireplace on one wall of the cave, added firewood, and knelt to blow on the coals. Flames leapt up, warming and lighting the cave.

A large iron pot sat near the fire; he lifted it and hung it above the flames. Then he lined up enormous buns on the hearth. “They will warm here,” he said.

Soon the smell of stew and buns filled the cave. I could hear Maddy’s stomach growling.

Slowly we peeled off layers of hats and mitts and jackets as we roasted ourselves by the fire. By the time we were thoroughly warm, the stew was bubbling. Keeper ladled some into a huge wooden bowl for himself, and into his two smallest bowls for Maddy and me.

“Half full is plenty,” I said, eyeing what to us would be serving dishes.

“You are not hungry?” he asked, ladle hovering over a bowl.

“Starving,” said Maddy. “And half full is lots.”

We ate our stew with large wooden spoons, sipping off the sides. We each ate a bun, even though they were the size of small loaves of bread. Then we went back for more stew. When we were finished, Keeper filled buns with thick slices of meat, and wrapped them in an almost clean cloth for our next meal.

While we roasted and rested and felt too full by the fire, Keeper headed into his back caves. We could hear him rummaging around, cursing occasionally when he thought we couldn’t hear him. He returned with his arms overflowing. He dumped everything on the table and started sorting.

“Josh, Maddy, help me here,” he said. He pulled out two sets of leather bags. The first he hung on me, one pouch in front and one in back. “Brox and Vivienne will carry your bags while you are with them. But you will need to carry them sometimes, too.” He pulled on the leather straps, tugging them shorter and shorter, until the pouches hung against my chest and back, instead of banging my knees. When he was satisfied, he started on Maddy’s. He had to punch new holes in the straps to make them short enough, but eventually, he was satisfied with hers, too.

He gave us each a leather sack of water, although he told us we would be near water for most of our journey. Then he packed the bags with food, including the buns he’d wrapped for us earlier.

“Do you have a firestone?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said, slipping it out of my pocket to show him.

“And you have your ring?” he asked Maddy.

She held it up.

“Brox and Vivienne will take care of you. Corvus will travel with you. You will spend the night with otter-people. The Will of the Gathering requires all must help you with whatever you ask.” Then he paused.

“Josh, Maddy.” He shook his head, and cleared his throat. “We ask a great deal of you. I wish...” He paused again. “I created the nexus ring. I did not keep it safe, and I cannot fix the veil. That falls to you, and it should not. I am sorry.” He sighed.

“I would come if I could, but it is too far for you to walk. I am too large to ride a buffalo, and too slow to keep up with them. I am confident you will find a way. You have a deep magic, Josh. And Maddy will help you.”

She nodded, looking determined.

We wrapped ourselves in all our layers. Maddy wasn’t sure about putting her fur hat back on.

I grinned and pulled out her red hat. Her eyes lit up when she saw it. As she tugged it down over her ears, she said, “Thanks. It feels terrible wearing fur around furry friends.”

With her purple jacket and the red hat, flaps over her ears and strings dangling, she looked ready for a party. I was more sombre, in black and grey. It suited how I felt, needing to protect the magic world without knowing how to do it. We slipped on the leather bags, even though Keeper offered to carry them, and headed down the mountain. Keeper’s arms were full again, wrapped around bundles of fur.

Crows flew with us as we followed the shore of the lake. I could feel their anxiety, their need to keep moving.

The little girl crow settled on my shoulder again, murmuring softly. I ran a finger down her back. “What’s your name?” I said.

She cawed back like she was answering me.

I tried to copy her and failed miserably. I swear she laughed at me.

I laughed back. “I’ll just have to call you Crow
Baby.”

“Crowby,” she muttered. “Crowby.”

I smiled and patted her again. “You speak English much better than I speak crow. Crowby it is.”

We met the buffalo near the stream that drained the lake. Now that we had to ride them, they looked scary and huge, as they snuffled and snorted and shook their massive heads.

“Brox, Vivienne,” said Keeper, nodding to each of them. “Thank you for returning. We need you to help Josh and Maddy.”

They stared at Maddy and me. “Us?” the larger buffalo said, sounding puzzled. “You want us to work with humans?”

Brox
, I thought.
This one is Brox
.

“They are trying to help,” said Vivienne, the smaller buffalo.

“Yes, then I suppose we should help them,” said Brox. “And it is the Will of the Gathering.” He sighed, in a great snuffly wheeze. “Very well.”

“They would like to meet the weavers,” said Keeper.

“Ah, the weavers,” said Brox, nodding ponderously.

“Hmmm,” said Vivienne. It sounded almost like a hum.

Then they looked at Keeper and waited.

“Oh,” said Keeper, realizing he needed to say more. “Uh, could you take them?”

“
Take
them?” said Brox. “To the weavers? Ah...yes... well...that would be interesting, wouldn’t it, Vivienne?”

But he didn’t say it like going to a party might be interesting. It sounded more like he would be curious to see how it turned out.

“You know the way?” asked Keeper.

Brox looked offended. “Of course we do. Buffalo are great travellers.”

Keeper nodded. “Take Josh and Maddy to the otter-people beyond Storm Mountain for the night. They will help – it is the Will of the Gathering.”

Then he looked at what we’d carried down from his cave. “Well, then – let me get you organized,” he said, a little gruffly. He took our leather bags and reset the buckles to make the straps as long as possible. He made sure Maddy and I saw exactly what he was doing, and that we could reset them ourselves. “Because buffalo cannot work with buckles.”

No kidding
, I thought.

We both stared at the buffalo while Keeper settled the leather bags on their huge backs. He slung mine on Brox, shifting it back and forth until Brox was comfortable. Then he lifted Maddy’s onto Vivienne’s slightly less huge back.

The buffalo were tall, broader than horses and covered in coarse, thick fur. They had big shaggy heads, with
wicked-looking curving horns and large hard noses.

“Have you never seen a buffalo?” asked Brox, when he caught us staring.

“There aren’t any more – well, only in a few places. But I’ve never seen...” I stammered.

Maddy said, “Only, well, heads on walls, and furs. Sorry.”

I turned to her, shocked. “Maddy, don’t say that,” I whispered. “That’s worse than wearing a fur hat!”

Brox harrumphed. “It is the truth of what humans did.”

“These children did not kill any buffalo,” said Vivienne.

Ignoring them, Keeper lifted Maddy onto Vivienne’s back, settled her, and turned to me.

“I can get up myself,” I said, but when I stood beside Brox, I realized I had no hope of reaching.

Keeper laughed as he lifted me. “You will need to use a fallen tree or a large rock to climb up and down. Always help Maddy – it is a longer fall for her.”

I wiggled while he held me, trying to get comfortable sitting on such a broad back. That’s when the smell hit me: strong, musky, with a sharp tang. I tried not to breathe too deeply. But the fur was lovely. The outer hairs were coarse but under them was a thick layer of fine, soft fur. I wiggled my fingers into it, enjoying the softness and the warmth.

Keeper shook out a bundle he’d carried down from his cave, a large fur blanket. He tucked it around Maddy, fur side down, anchoring it under her legs. Then he brought one to me, tucking me in just as snuggly.

What was it?
I wondered. What kind of fur would be okay to use around furred creatures? I flipped up an edge – it was buffalo.

“Keeper,” I said, shocked. “We can’t ride buffalo wrapped in buffalo hides!”

Keeper cleared his throat. “Animals die. I use what is left, after.”

Brox blew through his nostrils. “They would be honoured to be of use, to be of benefit even after their deaths.”

Maddy and I glanced at each other, both of us confused by buffalo logic.

“Are you all set?” Keeper asked.

“I don’t even know where we’re going,” I said.

Keeper nodded. “Brox and Vivienne know the way. And they will bring you back to me, here.” He turned to Brox. “Send a crow when it is time to meet.”

Brox nodded, and the crows cawed in agreement. Snorting loudly, Brox turned onto the path down the mountain, and Vivienne followed.

“Goodbye,” Maddy and I called to Keeper.

He smiled and waved.

As we headed down the mountain, Vivienne began to sing:

Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam,

where the deer and the antelope play,

where seldom is heard a discouraging word,

and the sky is not cloudy all day.

When I looked back at Keeper, he was still watching, his face serious.

Chapter Six