People of the Fire(37)

“She'll never do that."

Heavy Beaver lifted a casual shoulder.

“I have come to ask you to stop. People have been coming to me saying, ‘Go to Heavy Beaver. Tell him to stop this. There is no good coming from this Curse. Tell him for the sake of the People.' They're afraid of what will come if you do this thing."

"They should be. I've come to teach them a new way. Over the last couple of months, I haven't seen much change in the way they live their lives. Sage Root, Makes Fun, Sleeping Fir, Bright Cloud, they all continue to laugh and tell me what to do. I hear them speak as if they were the equals of men when—"

"It is the way of the People."

"It is pollution!"

Two Elks filled his old lungs, shaking his head. "And you'd split the People again? Can't you Dream a way for us that doesn't turn us against ourselves? That's not too much to ask, is it? You're splitting the young from the old, the men from the women, like a quartzite chopper splits bone. We can't-"

"Then they'll learn. That's what I've been trying to teach them. It's time for a new way. I've heard the voices, talked with the stars. Women can no longer be allowed to dictate the ways of the People. It is an age for men. Look at the Anit'ah. Look how powerful they are. You don't hear of women in their councils, do you?"

"Well, no, but then I've never—"

"And among the Cut Hair People? What of them?"

"I've never been among the Cut Hair People, but the way we live, you can't trap buffalo unless women handle part of the surround. And who drives the jackrabbits and packrats? Who helps work the drive lines when—"

"And they can still do that. But they can no longer take part in the planning. That's the obligation of men. How would you feel if you were Buffalo Above? Hmm? Would you want your children killed by women who pollute the world by bleeding at the crotch once a month?"

Two Elks frowned into the gloom, a look of confusion on his face. "But the old ways—"

"Have let us down! Face it, Uncle. Look around you. The buffalo have gone. Rain Man no longer Dances water from the clouds. Why do you think that is? No, you don't have the answer. But I do. And I'll save the People if I have to destroy them in the process."

Silence stretched.

"Yes." Heavy Beaver sighed. "I know they will come to fear me. I can't let that bother me. A Dreamer has to take what the Spirit World gives him. If I have to change the People through fear and Curse some along the way, the rest will be better for it in the end."

“You believe that, don't you?"

Heavy Beaver lifted his spread hands. "I'm the one who's experienced the Dreams, Uncle. Do you expect me to spit in the face of Power to keep the elders happy? No, I've been told to teach a lesson. Sage Root will be my way to do it."

Two Elks closed his eyes. "Please, don't do this thing. If you kill her, you can't go back. I think you don't understand what it will do to your friends and relatives. Think about it, Nephew. Think long and hard and seriously about what another division will do to this camp. We're hanging on by a thread. Blood and cries of witchcraft won't make anything better. Not at all."

"I'm the Spirit Dreamer. I have my own duties to the People."

Two Elks levered himself up, teetering on old legs. "Then your mind is set on Sage Root's murder?"

"I have said everything. I only sorrow that you would call it murder when I act to save the People. You know my heart and soul, Uncle."

Two Elks nodded sadly and stepped across to the door flap, a weathered hand bracing his ancient body as he pushed the hanging aside and stepped into the light.

After he'd gone, Heavy Beaver noticed the old man had stepped on his raven's foot and crushed it.

"My way ... or no way, Uncle." Just like my mother said, old man. Just like she saw—and you didn 't.

Raising his voice to the chant, he began beating on his drum, matching the hollow beats to the pulsing of his own heart. They'd learn now. And, of course, Sage Root—no matter how scared—would never come begging to him.

"He knows nothing of Power. What he calls Dreams, he makes up in his head. I wonder why you allow him to make fools of the People. They've begun to accept the fact that this imaginative deceiver is a Dreamer.

Wolf Dreamer answered through the shimmering balance of the Circles: "Human beings have their own wills and abilities to discern true Power from lies. Leave them to their ends. You and I, brother, must follow ours. "

The Wolf Bundle considered. "Nevertheless, it would be so easy, simply a touch at the edge of his soul, and the balance of his life would be changed. Aflutter of Power around his heart and none would be the wiser. Why should the People suffer? Where is the purpose in their agony?"