“Do not discuss my clan with me.”
An owl hooted out in the forest.
“Let me tell you something.” Grizzly Tooth rolled onto his side, staring at her in the firelight. “You’re not marrying just a man.”
“What is he then? Berdache?”
Grizzly Tooth’s voice dropped, and the owl hooted again. “I told you what the clan would do if you ran away. But Wolf of the Dead, he isn’t like other men. He’ll hunt you, find you, and when he does, he’ll deal with you in his way.”
Grizzly Tooth glanced away, uneasy, a hoarseness in his voice. “He’s not just a man. He’s … well, like his father before him.”
Pearl noticed that the warriors had started to gather close, their eyes shining in the flickering light.
“Are you trying to frighten me? Alone in the swamps, I used to hunt alligators. I’ve traveled far out into the sea, traveled by the stars. You can’t scare me.”
Grizzly Tooth pinched his lip in his teeth, then knotted a fist.
“Your husband isn’t all-human. Do you understand? When the Power is on him, he turns into a wolf.”
“A wolf?” Pearl shifted uneasily, seeing the sober belief in the eyes of the warriors. An unbidden shiver slipped down her spine, prickling her skin.
“Wolf of the Dead,” Grizzly Tooth whispered. “That’s why you can’t run away from him. He’ll find you. The Dead will tell him where you’re running to—and he’ll follow. Sniff you out in his wolf form. You can’t hide from a creature like that.”
He really believes what he’s saying! Her soul went cold. The watching warriors nodded in slow assent. She barely kept herself from twisting the prayer mat she clutched so desperately.
Grizzly Tooth gave her a sympathetic look, then lowered his eyes. After several seconds of silence, he got to his feet, making a gesture to the warriors. “Some of you have started to desire this woman. See that you do not. She is for Wolf of the Dead.” Then he studied Pearl, his fingers to his chin. “I want at least three of you watching her all the time. Spell yourselves through the night. She’ll try to run away now that she knows the truth.”
Pearl didn’t sleep well that night—but then, neither did the Khota. All night long they moaned and groaned and ran back and forth from camp to the river, grumbling about their twisting guts. Several of them tripped over her in their haste to get to a place where they could relieve themselves. Even then the moans continued, laced with curses.
Pearl smiled to herself. How fortunate she had been to find the flowering spurge …
Nine
Despite the fact that a forest surrounded the White Shell clan grounds, firewood was always, a scarce commodity, especially since people had been living on the site for generations. As a result, all the branches, deadfall, and forest litter had been collected for a day’s walk in any direction. The forest behind the clan grounds flourished—but living wood burns poorly. Sometimes, people would ring a tree, wait for it to die and dry out, then hope to topple it before a major celebration. However, that took advance planning.
The arrival of the Clan Elders, Black Skull, and Green Spider might have proved something of an embarrassment for old Yellow Reed and her clan. Perhaps the Contrary willed it, or perhaps it was just the right time, but one of the smaller hickory trees had fallen. From the splintered branches, the children pulled enough wood to feed the fires. And the White Shell clan grounds needed many fires on this night.
Word had spread, and now canoe after canoe landed as Tall Cane people arrived. They came to see the noted Elders, the famous Black Skull, and to hear about Green Spider’s Vision that had led him to become a Contrary.
Night had fallen with a crystalline clarity that made the chill intense. The stars seemed to press down in a way Otter had seen only in the far north.
He watched people crowd around the crackling bonfire before the large clan house. Flames illuminated the faces of the Elders as they stood waiting, hands clasped before them. Their wizened features puckered as they concentrated on what they would say.
People, wrapped in blankets and heavy coats, whispered excitedly.
Flickers of firelight caught momentary glimpses of their animated expressions. Black eyes sparkled, and wonderment could be seen in the set of moufh or eyebrow. The plaza murmured with pensive anticipation. Meanwhile, boisterous children slipped through the mass of adults like minnows through a net.
They crowded close to the file long enough to warm first one side, then the other, before turning to wiggle away into the night again amidst giggles and laughter.
Otter stood in the rear— off to one side, where he could slip away if he wanted to. As he waited, he took note of the visitors and was aware of Hard Clay and her family. And there stood Slim Turtle with her relatives. And behind her—