She reached down, wary of Heavy Beaver and his hammer. 44 Can you stand?"
“Vile pollution!" Heavy Beaver growled, having recovered his courage. "Take him! Get out of here. All of you. Get out!"
She got Two Smokes up, every vertebra in her back crackling. He leaned against her, and she could feel his trembling muscles.
“You bet we're leaving," White Calf added. "Considering what you've unleashed, I wouldn't stay within five days' walk of this camp."
“You're the reason the People have come to this. You and your kind. You're the reason. You've offended the Spirit World. You've caused the Spirits Above to turn their faces from the People. And you can stand here before decent human beings with your arm around a misbegotten foulness like Two Smokes?" Heavy Beaver danced from foot to foot, pointing.
“You've made your way, Heavy Beaver. Let's see where it takes you.”
Two Smokes stiffened and gasped, pointing.
"No!" White Calf ordered.
A glazed look filled Hungry Bull's eyes as he stood, a dart nocked in the hook of his atlatl. Heavy Beaver turned, caught sight of it, and backpedaled in horror.
"Hungry Bull! Don't!" White Calf snapped. "His time hasn't come! Curse you, Bull! You promised me on your soul! Don't do this or you'll let loose Power you can't conceive of!"
"Hungry Bull?" Three Toes called gently, stepping nervously in front of his friend. "Trust her. We promised. White Calf knows what she's doing."
"You're Cursed," Heavy Beaver spat angrily, face pale as he stared at the promise of death in Hungry Bull's eyes. "Cursed, I say!"
Makes Fun cried out, a hand to her mouth as she stared in horror at her husband, Black Crow. Meadowlark had rushed to hang on Three Toes' arm, eyes glazed with fear.
White Calf turned sad eyes on the Spirit Dreamer. "The only person you've Cursed, fool, is yourself—and those who follow you. You've degraded the Wolf Dreamer's Bundle. Think on that for a while."
"It is only an ancient myth," Heavy Beaver insisted. "I know, I Dream the new way."
"He killed Dancing Doe and Sage Root," someone said from the side. Mumblings of confusion came from all sides.
White Calf helped Two Smokes hobble forward until she stared into Hungry Bull's eyes. "Leave it be, hunter. I see your anger. I feel your pain. But this is out of your hands."
The keenness in Hungry Bull's eyes sharpened.
"I mean it. You never wanted to mess with Spirit Power. Don't do it. You're not ready for it. Heavy Beaver's made his claims. He's the one dealing with Powers he doesn't understand. Power takes care of its own. It's not your place to meddle."
Hungry Bull hesitated, the war within reflected in his obsidian eyes. The will to kill, to strike back, eroded into grief.
Chokecherry came sputtering from one of the lodges. She pulled up, startled by White Calf's presence. As if all her stamina had finally fled, her shoulders stooped. "Thank the Wise One."
"Black Crow, Three Toes. I'm not done with you." White Calf turned her attention to the two ashen-faced hunters. "Take Sage Root up on the bluff so I can Sing her soul to the Starweb tonight. There's nothing here for any of you anymore. Help Hungry Bull pack his things. Then you can pack your own. I don't think you want to stay here." She smiled ironically. "You're too tainted with Power for Heavy Beaver and all his bluster."
She turned, Two Smokes hobbling as she moved. Over her shoulder, she called, "Little Dancer? Follow along. You and I, we've got a lot to talk about."
Wide-eyed, lost and afraid, he hesitated. Chokecherry rushed forward, taking his hand. "Come on, boy. She only comes once in a while. Good things happen then."
White Calf lifted an eyebrow. Good things? Her sister had changed her tune over the long years. But then, Chokecherry didn't feel the tremors, the welling and flowing of Power around her. A shiver ran up White Calf's back.
Power moved on the land; forces had been let loose that White Calf could only wonder at. In the back of her mind, an abyss yawned and cold misty vapors lifted from the depths. No good would come of this day.
Tanager sat high on the rocks, looking out over the vast basin of the Moon River. To the north, the Mud River ran its snakelike course toward the Buffalo River that in turn met the Big River. Nevertheless, her eyes kept returning to the faint trace of the Moon River, no more than a shadow in the distance.
The rocky spire she'd climbed had been a challenge. Only men with a need to prove their courage would try such an ascent. Something she couldn't define had driven her to climb to this perch more suited to eagles and lightning mil some internal need. The slight handholds had been a challenge to her agility and balance, but she'd made it. A sheer cliff dropped off where her thin legs dangled. Shed found a desiccated bone when she reached the top. That she'd dropped, watching it fall away to shatter on the rocks so far below.