Timecachers (64 page)

“I understand,” Adam answered. “But why did the screeching bird frighten Catherine so much?”

“The bird was an owl,” he said, as if that explained everything. Seeing Adam’s uncomprehending look, he continued. “One of the most evil spirits, or witches if you will, is a Raven Mocker. A Raven Mocker feeds on the dead and dying, stealing their souls to add time to their own miserable lives. They often take the form of an owl or raven when stalking their victim. Our prayers and presence will help keep any lurking witches away from Sally.”

Adam had always been pragmatic and not particularly religious. He was skeptical of most things that had no empirical evidence to support them, and was not superstitious. Of course he didn’t believe in time travel either until recently. He was astute enough to understand that it was not only the grieving that was important to Sally’s family, honoring the ancient traditions of their ancestors was equally comforting. He wasn’t sure about witches, but he bowed his head and prayed that the malevolent spirits of anguish and bereavement would soon be cast from the hearts of Sally’s family and friends.

The praying continued until dawn, when the gathering light of morning urged the need for burial preparations. Silvey and Catherine went to the stream, and Silvey returned with a bucket of water, which she gave to Rebecca. Rebecca removed Sally’s clothing and reverently washed her body clean of impurities, using the water to which she had added crushed lavender flowers. After washing, she wrapped Sally in a clean, white blanket.

Catherine returned from the stream, where she had raggedly cut her long hair short with Benjamin’s hunting knife; a tradition among Cherokee women in mourning.

Benjamin took the other men with him to find a suitable burial place. He selected a tiny clearing several yards from the smaller trail they discovered earlier. Jimmy used his knife to fashion three locust wood digging sticks, and after clearing away the groundcover they took turns digging the grave. The dry ground was rocky and hard, and the digging was slow.

With the digging halted while Jimmy and Isaac used their knives to hack away at a stubborn root, Benjamin abruptly motioned for them to cease. He put his finger to his lips, and then cupped his hand to his ear, signaling them to keep silent and listen. All four men now attentive, they could hear the faint sound of movement along the trail, heading toward them. They gently crept out of the clearing and into the brush where they had a view of the trail, the knives and digging sticks now held as weapons. The trail was empty as far as they could see. In the stillness of the morning the sounds traveled a great distance, giving them ample warning. It was evident a large group was approaching.

Benjamin whispered, “We must go and warn the others. It is best we all stay out of site until they pass.” As he spoke, he caught site of a single person on the trail, well in advance of the others. “Look!” he hissed, pointing with his chin. “They have someone walking ahead on point, and he is carrying a long rifle.” The other men looked to where Benjamin indicated, seeing a single figure walking down the small path, rifle slung over his shoulder. “We have no choice but to subdue him. He is far enough ahead that we can silence him and make it back to camp to warn the women.” He tightened his grip on the digging stick, barely breathing, keeping his eyes on the figure coming down the trail.

All four men crouched with their weapons, understanding that they would need to quietly overwhelm the approaching man before he had a chance to prepare his rifle to fire or shout a warning to the others following behind him. As he got closer, they tensed, preparing to leap upon their prey, when Jimmy whispered, “Wait! He is Tsalagi! I could swear he looks like…”

“Guwaya!” Benjamin said as he stepped out onto the trail.

Guwaya stopped in his tracks, hastily grabbing at his rifle. He stared wide-eyed at Benjamin as if he were an apparition, and then gasped as Jimmy, Adam, and Isaac appeared on the trail behind Benjamin. “Yoh!” he shouted in surprise. Recovering and lowering his weapon, he said, “My brothers; you gave me a start. I nearly shot you! How is it all of you come to be here?”

“And we nearly beaned you with our digging sticks. We are camped just ahead,” Benjamin said, skirting the question. He embraced Guwaya, then pushed him to arm’s length and asked, “Who is it that follows you? I must warn the others if there is danger.”

“No danger from them,” Guwaya said, smiling at Benjamin’s concern. “My family follows, accompanied by a small tribe of friends; John Carter, Yonah, and two white men—proven friends—named Sal and Tom Woody. They are not far behind. We travel east to North Carolina, to escape removal by the Georgians.” The wound from the loss of his mother was still raw, and Guwaya sensed a similar sadness in the others. Courtesy restrained him from probing the cause. Instead he looked at Adam and said, “I do not know you, but Tom Woody spoke of his friend who went to stay with Jimmy Deerinwater. Perhaps you are he?”

“I am,” Adam answered. “My name is Adam Hill.” He shook hands with Guwaya. “I’ll be happy to see Tom and Sal again. We were worried about them. My other, uh, traveling companion, Alice, is back at our camp.”

“There has been much apprehension among us all. Certainly providence has brought us together. It will be good to see everyone.” Guwaya risked some probing, “Were you out on a hunt?”

“No,” said Benjamin. “We were…” He stopped, unable to speak the words, not wanting to hear himself say he was digging a grave for his daughter. He shook his head and looked at the ground.

Jimmy interceded for him. “I will walk with you back to your family, and we can apprise each other of what has passed along the way.”

“Very well. Let us go quickly, they will soon be upon us,” Guwaya said. They walked back up the trail, leaving the others to return to their somber task.

By the time they returned, everyone in Guwaya’s party was aware of the Rogers’ tragedy. Jimmy led them to the gravesite, where they embraced Benjamin and expressed condolences.

Adam greeted Tom and Sal, greatly relieved to see them both alive and well. Sal’s face still bore the bruises and battering from the attack, which Adam was certain had a captivating explanation. He chose to withhold his curiosity for a more appropriate time.

The bittersweet reunion continued back at the camp, where they all gathered except for Isaac, Tom, and Sal, who remained behind to finish the grave. Catherine and Benjamin welcomed the arrival of Guwaya’s group; having many friends and family present at her funeral was a tribute to Sally. Yonah’s presence was particularly appreciated; Benjamin asked him to conduct the service, a responsibility customarily given to an elder.

Tom and Sal soon appeared and informed the family that their task was complete. They shared a quick embrace with Alice, postponing the elation of the reunion in respect for the Rogers’ grief. Alice was still quite distraught; sharing the details of their adventures would have to wait.

Yonah announced that it was time to commence the service. He reverently lifted the tiny girl’s body onto his shoulders, leading the procession to the gravesite. Once again Adam heard the group begin praying as they slowly walked to the grave, most of the prayers in the Cherokee language, in addition to a few Christian prayers, such as
The Lord’s Prayer
, which were spoken in English. Upon reaching the site, Yonah gently lowered Sally’s body into the hole, placing her face up, with her head toward the west, knees flexed and feet flat against the bottom side of the grave. When he was satisfied with her position, he retrieved a single eagle feather from his carry-sack which he ceremoniously placed on Sally’s chest. Climbing out of the hole, he built a small fire next to the grave, and waved the smoke in all four directions. He then stood, lifted his arms toward the sky and, in a deep, resonating voice, recited his own prayer in Tsalagi, and then repeated it in English.

“Life is but the flash of a firefly in the night, like the breath of a deer in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset. All things share the same breath; the beast, the tree, the man, the air shares its spirit with all the life it supports. The Great Spirit is in all things. He is in the air we breathe. The Great Spirit is our Father and the earth is our Mother. That which we put into the ground she returns to us. Do not stand at this child’s grave and weep, she is not there. She is the winds that blow, the snow on the mountain’s rim, the sand at the water’s edge, the star that shines at night.”

When the prayer was finished, Yonah nodded to Jimmy who began to refill the grave. Adam and Isaac stayed behind to help Jimmy while the others returned to the camp, praying as they walked. Yonah also remained behind, chanting at the head of the gravesite. When the grave was finally filled, Yonah crouched on his haunches, pulling his tobacco bag and pipe from his sack, which he lit using an ember from the fire. He continued to chant, blowing the smoke from his pipe as he moved his head in each direction.

Jimmy nodded toward the trail, indicating that it was time for Adam and Isaac to follow him back to the camp. “Yonah will remain here throughout the night,” he said to Adam. “It is his duty to guard over Sally until her spirit has safely left on her journey to the western land of the dead.”

The camp was quiet; sympathetic whispers, expressions of condolences passed between one family who lost a child and another that lost a mother. Adam, Alice, Tom, and Sal spoke quietly, relieved that the four of them were still relatively unscathed, although too affected by the sadness of the others to celebrate a joyful reunion. The camp made a half-hearted attempt at an evening meal, and as twilight turned into sleepless night, the muted sound of weeping and prayer pierced the blackness around them.

Chapter fifty-three

T
he morning sky was cloudless and brilliant blue, providing a seamless canvas for the picturesque glen and surrounding mountaintops, painted with the feathery brushes of vivid green trees gloriously lustrous in the radiant sunlight. Dewdrops clinging to spider webs sparkled like crystals as they were struck by the sunbeams. The beauty of their surroundings were felt more than noticed, in the way Mother Earth unobtrusively soothes the souls of her lamenting children.

Yonah had arrived shortly after sunrise, and was speaking in hushed tones to Benjamin and Catherine, assuring them that he had safely guarded their daughter’s spirit as she set off on her westward journey of the dead. He had not slept or eaten since well before the burial service, yet seemed fully awake and alert.

After the morning routines had been attended to, John Carter stood at the center of the camp and asked for their attention. He raised both hands, palms outward, and spoke. “Though we have had little time to mourn the loss of our loved ones, the urgency of our situation demands that we discuss these pressing matters while we bear grief in our hearts. Our camp here is close to the Federal Road that leads to Ross’s Landing, and it will not be long before the military passes by. Those who have chosen to evade removal should not be here when they do.”

He continued, telling them that Guwaya’s family and Yonah had made the decision to travel to North Carolina. He went on to explain that a man, a Tsalagi named Tsali who had been accused of a crime and was in hiding there, had made a bargain to give himself up in exchange for the right of other Cherokee to remain in the state. The story had been repeated often enough to be accepted as true. They felt going there would be a propitious option, promising enough to leave the safety of Guwaya’s well-stocked cave. They would go to North Carolina, bringing only the supplies that the four horses could carry. He told Benjamin and Jimmy that their families were welcome to join them.

“I wish you well,” said Benjamin, “but I will continue to Ross’s Landing and on to the Western Territory.”

“You do not wish to join us in North Carolina?” Guwaya asked.

“What I wish makes no difference,” he answered. “I gave my word that I would continue on.”

“How many times have they broken their word to us? The whites have demonstrated many times their words have no honor,” Guwaya said.

“That is true of them, but I am Tsalagi. Even though I loathe their deplorable actions and the unforgivable heartbreak they have caused, my word is my word, and I do not give it unless I intend to keep it. What sort of example would it set for my family, or my daughter’s spirit, if I did not honor the bargains I made?”

Guwaya grumbled and shuffled his feet, kicking up dust. Benjamin was right; a Tsalagi was honorable, even if others were not. He was ashamed that he had to be reminded of that. He looked at Jimmy. “And you?”

“I made the same bargain and will continue to Ross’s Landing. Anyway, with Rebecca’s pregnancy, hiding out in the mountains of North Carolina would not be good.”

Adam doubted that being force-marched for a thousand miles would be any better for Rebecca. He glanced at his team and was going to ask them how they wanted to proceed, but John Carter spoke first.

“Adam, I recommend you and your friend come with us to North Carolina. The planned route from Ross’s Landing continues on several legs of riverboat travel, and the military will not provide for your passage. You would also be heading in the wrong direction of your homes back in the east.”

“That’s true, but I wouldn’t want to abandon Jimmy and Rebecca, nor Benjamin’s family.” Alice nodded in agreement.

“You should go with John Carter,” said Jimmy. “There is no reason for you to go to Ross’s Landing; you will be stranded there after we leave. With no way to pay the steamboat fare, your only choice would be to return to New Echota. Rebecca and I appreciate the things you have done for us, but the time has come for us to part.”