Another voice whispered through the mist, ''And I will die with you.”
“Who was that?"
"The Wolf Bundle. Your fates are tied. Already its Power is ebbing. If you decide to live, you'll have to take the Wolf Bundle from Blood Bear. To do that, you’ll probably have to kill him. Are you stronger than your father? Do you have his strength?"
Little Dancer stared into the kind eyes of Wolf Dreamer. "I don't know." He couldn't lie . . . not to himself, not to Wolf Dreamer—and not in this place.
' 'If you decide to live, you’ll find out. That's another thing: I can't assure you of victory. Remember free will? Like rock is the foundation of earth, so is will the foundation of the universe. "
His mind had begun to work again, honed by the arguments he'd had with White Calf. "And if I chose to live, what will it cost me?"
Wolf Dreamer's eyes shimmered, tearing, so painful it hurt to look at him. "Everything you hold dear. Once you start on the trail of a true Dreamer, you can *t go back. White Calf told you the truth. You can V be both. "
"And if I die? What then? What happens to Elk Charm, and my father? You've already told me the Wolf Bundle will die—and the buffalo, too. What about the people I love?"
Wolf Dreamer's expression mirrored the concern within. "A spirit can see only so much of the future—and not all will come to pass as we foresee. But I foresee them fleeing, finding a place to be safe on the shores of the western ocean. ''
Little Dancer hovered on Wolf Dreamer's hand, looking into those kind eyes. Memories slipped and slid through his mind. His mother's words echoed hollowly, dominating his thoughts. Heavy Beaver's arrogant smile lingered, and he relived the moment the shaman walked forward, club raised to dash his brains out. White Calf's angry face formed for a moment, before it faded into Elk Charm's anxious features. The Spiral on the rock shelter wall before him seemed to pulse with life. The Wolf Bundle fell with a sickening thump from the night sky and the world reeled. In the silence that followed, he could hear the echo of Heavy Beaver's pot drum, singing Sage Root's death. Death . . . She sat propped in the sun-bleached crook of a weather-stripped cottonwood. Flies walked on her face, rising to hover over her slit wrists and suck greedily of her blood. His mother's dead eyes burned with Power, searing his very soul.
"I'll live." The words caught in his throat. "Just give me as much time as you can."
''It will hurt worse when it s time. ''
"I know."
Wolf Dreamer nodded. “I’ll come for you. You’ll know, of course. But I’ll meet you . . . like this . . . and we’ll talk, I have some things to teach you." A pause. "Why did you choose the way you did? ''
He looked into Wolf Dreamer's eyes. "Maybe ... maybe like you ... I love too much."
'Wolf will save you. He’ll take you to his den and warm your body. He’ll go with you, guard you, keep you and your family safe for as long as I can allow. He’s my promise to you.''
Haze drifted down, spinning the Wolf Dreamer away. As if Little Dancer had jumped into a pool, his body rose, twisting slightly as it rocked. Around him, the comforting warmth began to ebb, replaced with chill that leached into his very bones. Pain and fear began to pound with each muffled beat of his heart. A throbbing agony fired the side of his numb head.
He whimpered at the pain of his body pressed onto the angular rocks. Crying out, he tried to move. Snow restricted his progress. Pain. Numb-tingling cold—his flesh shrieked of it. Broken and battered as he was, the memory of the warm drifting haze of death seeped away into miserable reality. He lay dying as light fled and darkness dropped on the land.
He raised his head, blinking at the ice crusting his lashes. The shivering had gone, a sign that the last of his heat had vanished. Death lay so close.
The black form detached, slinking close, circling uneasily.
"Wolf!" The sound of his cracked voice frightened him.
The big black animal sniffed at his face, whiskers barely felt as they brushed his numb skin.
Little Dancer summoned some hidden reserve and lurched, getting hands and knees under him. His entire body hurt, stinging, aching as he got to all fours.
He almost fell, reaching out, bracing himself on the wolf, half expecting the animal to whirl and snap at him. On legs that refused to function, he crawled. Using an angled deadfall, he managed to get to his feet.
One step after another, he moved doggedly forward, keeping the huge black animal in sight. Around him, the timber grayed to blackness, as if seen through a hole in the night. He staggered and stumbled on. He walked in a daze, images of the Wolf Dreamer hanging in his dull mind.
"Won't die," he whispered through unfeeling lips. "Won't . . ."