Skanawati halted. He started breathing hard. “Matron, it was…”
He shook his head, as though he still couldn’t believe what he’d seen.
She waited.
He blinked, and his eyes returned to her. “There was a strange far-off rushing sound. We all turned to the east, and people started asking so many questions, the battlefield hummed. Then, and I swear to you this is true, this is how it happened.”
“Tell me.”
“It—it was though the mist was suddenly sucked away. The sunlight was so bright and sparkling, it hurt. The rushing started growing louder, and louder, then a black wall boiled over the forest and swelled upward into the sky. It rose so high it blotted out Elder Brother Sun’s face. As it flooded toward us, the roar shook the ground. It sounded like a monstrous growling creature straight out of the old stories. We all broke and ran, trying to find any shelter we could.”
She clenched her fists at her sides. “I heard that Sky Messenger did not run.”
“That’s true, Matron. He—he grabbed Kahn-Tineta and held her in his arms as he turned to face the storm. It was madness. We all knew he’d be killed. Trees were exploding as the storm came on. Branches, leaves, and whole trunks blasted upward into the spinning darkness.”
Skanawati seemed lost in memories again.
“And then what happened?”
He jerked at the sound of her voice. “Oh”—he licked his lips—“sorry. The storm … I swear. I swear to you … the storm parted and mist, like clouds, formed on Sky Messenger’s cape. It looked like he was wearing a cape of white clouds and riding the winds of destruction. Just like the old stories about the human False Face who will come at the End time to save us.”
He stopped.
Yi stared into his dazzled eyes, and even she felt awestruck. She let out the breath she’d unwittingly been holding. Could it be true? Stories had been running up and down the trails for over a moon, carrying bits and pieces of Sky Messenger’s Dream. Supposedly he’d Dreamed the end of the world. Zateri had tried hard to get all the Hills matrons together to hear the story from Sky Messenger himself. They had refused. Yi had wanted to, but … so many others were against it. Now, much too late, she wished she had listened.
“Skanawati, I wish you to take a message back to Matron Kwahseti.”
He rose to his feet and his dusty cape swayed around him.
“Tell Kwahseti that I will do what I can, but she must promise me that while I am working on the clan’s behalf, her warriors will not lift a hand against their relatives.”
Skanawati spread his arms. “Matron Zateri has already given that instruction, Matron. If attacked by your forces, we will defend ourselves, but we will make no hostile moves toward our relatives unless provoked.”
Respect for Zateri swelled in Yi’s chest. She must be considering reunification. “Tell your matrons I need time. I must find witnesses. There are always witnesses. I will send messengers as necessary to keep her informed of what’s happening here.” Yi stabbed a finger at him. “Now, go.”
He bowed. “Yes, Matron.”
Skanawati left in a hurry, ducking through the entry curtains. She heard his feet pound away.
Yi’s thoughts raced, trying to figure out how in the world she could …
To her right, the leather curtain parted again. Light flashed, illuminating the thick smoke in the house. Matron Inawa stepped inside. Inawa had seen fifty summers pass, had plump cheeks and a red nose. Gray-streaked black hair hung limply over her shoulders. She fixed Yi with a look that stilled the blood in her veins.
“So,” Inawa said, “you received a messenger, too. Mine came from Gwinodje. Yours?”
“From Kwahseti.”
Inawa walked forward and stood beside Yi, warming her hands over the fire. Inawa’s gaze moved up and down the longhouse, noting the positions of those standing close by, before she quietly said, “Tomorrow, with your agreement, I will send word to the other villages. We must call a council meeting of the Wolf Clan matrons to inform them of this news. There are only four of us now.”
“Of course, I agree. You are next in line after Zateri.” Yi stared at the finely woven mats around the fire. Light danced in the herringbone patterns.
Inawa leaned closer to her to whisper, “It is one little girl’s voice against the Chief’s voice, but if the former High Matron really did name Zateri as her successor—”
“One little girl’s voice won’t be enough, Inawa. Someone saw something, or overheard a conversation, or was part of a conversation. We must find the witness. After our meeting, the village matrons, Ganon and Edot, must return to Turtleback Village and Hilltop Village and start asking questions—and you and I must do the same here. There had to be someone nearby in the Wolf Clan longhouse when the High Matron died. Someone heard something that day.”