Skin had been torn away, the tissues deeply bruised, and now, as circulation seeped into the injured areas, blood began to mingle redly with the water.
“Can you stand?” Otter asked.
Black Skull turned over, vomiting onto the ground. He coughed again, shaking with the effort. “I’d rather die, Trader, but yes, I think I can.” “Help me,” Otter said, and Pearl draped one of Black Skull’s mangled arms over her shoulder and helped him to his feet. The woman had taken her daughter’s hand, as well as the pack, and she followed them up the slope. A faint trail wound through the trees. The ground here was damp and moss-covered.
They laid Black Skull onto the leaves, letting him cough more water from his lungs. Here, back from the edge, they could at least hear each other speak without shouting.
“Black Skull?” Pearl asked, taking one of his hands and wincing at the raw patches of bleeding flesh. “Are you all right?”
He coughed, then clamped his eyes shut. “My arms! I think they’ve been pulled from the sockets. And the pain! Ah! I haven’t hurt this bad since … No, I’ve never hurt this bad.”
The woman leaned down to study him. She laid a hand gently on Black Skull’s crushed cheek and said in Trade pidgin, “You were in my Dream.”
Black Skull coughed violently, struggling for air. Then he looked up at her. “And you … in mine. Greetings, Star Shell.
I am Black Skull. Your daughter … how is your daughter?”
“Well. Silver Water, come meet Black Skull.”
As the girl stepped forward warily, Otter asked, “Is the Mask here?” He looked around, searching the grass and trees. “I am Otter, from the White Shell Clan, and this is Pearl, an Anhinga woman.”
Star Shell nodded to them, then pointed to the pack the little girl carried. “The Mask—how do you know about it?”
Otter shrugged. “Many Colored Crow sent us to rescue it.
You’re from the Serpent Clans, aren’t you?”
She nodded, much too sadly it seemed to Pearl. “Starsky.
And after that, Sun Mounds.”
“What has happened to Mica Bird?” Otter asked. “For many years I’ve heard stories about your husband and the Mask.”
“He’s dead. He hung himself. I wish you wouldn’t use his name again.”
“Otter,” Pearl said, “we’ll have time for this later,” She lifted a hand to shield her eyes from the orange glare of sunset.
“Where’s Green Spider?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t seen him since we saw Star Shell’s canoe out in the water.”
Black Skull moaned against the pain. “That was a good rope you had, Trader.”
“It was specially made at White Shell. Four Kills braids only the best. It was a gift from him, and I am forever grateful.”
Otter turned then and gazed pensively at the pack. “That really holds the Mask of Many Colored Crow?”
Star Shell turned to face him. “It does. And if you have half the sense of a rock, you’ll leave it in that sack. It’s not a thing for men. Not anymore. Ta—my father … had a Vision that it should be thrown over the falls. Killed. So it could never hurt anyone again.” Otter studied her thoughtfully and nodded. “I’ll take your word for it.” Then he grinned forlornly. “I guess Black Skull is our hero. He saved you and your daughter. It was all in Green Spider’s Vision.”
Pearl studied Black Skull’s flayed arms. “We have Khota behind us somewhere.” And I must know when to leave. Green Spider, where are you?
“Khota,” Otter said sourly as he bent down. “Black Skull, we have to make our way back to Wave Dancer. Can you do that?”
Black Skull looked up, and dismay tensed his face, as though suddenly he feared he was incapable of fighting anyone. “If it kills me. But, Otter … Otter, find my club. I need my club.”
Pearl hated herself for the pain she caused as she gently placed Black Skull’s arm over her shoulder. She could hear him gasp, his offset teeth grinding as they started back for the canoe.
They hadn’t made three paces before Catcher began growling, his black hair rising on his back. Warriors sprinted from between the tree trunks, as silent as shadows, circling them. Pearl stumbled, staring in shock, and slowly slipped out from under Black Skull’s heavy arm. She heard Otter murmur, “Blessed Spirits, what do we do now?”
Black Skull’s eyes narrowed, and he spread his legs to brace himself. “We fight,” he whispered.
“Greetings, Pearl,” Grizzly Tooth said as he strode forward, his war club balanced in his hand. “I think you remember my clan leader?”