People of the Lightning(136)

“Yes. They came out of nowhere. We did not even have time to nock our atlatls.”

Kelp. knelt to retrieve more wood, and tried to imagine what it would be like to be trapped that way, caught completely without warning. The terror must have been beyond imagining. “You had family killed at that battle, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I did. I miss them … very much.”

She could barely hear him. The beach, with its jumble of shells and sponges, and the moonlight glinting brilliantly from the waves, all worked together to muffle sound. That, and his voice had come softly. Kelp looked up, considering him. Insect grease smeared his body. It seemed to snare the moonglow and hold it in a glistening sheen across the high planes of his cheekbones, and in the wells of his deeply set eyes, and on the muscles of his left arm, where he carried the bundle of driftwood.

“How old are you, Diamondback?”

“Ten-and-six summers.”

Kelp thought about that. “Yet you are still living in your grandfather’s lodge?”

“Yes.”

“Why have you not married?”

“Oh … You ask hard questions, Kelp.” He let his head fall forward and squinted at the glimmering shells strewn along the shore. “I was to be married last summer. But she”—he inhaled and let the breath out in a rush—“she was killed in Cottonmouth’s raid during the Moon of Flowering Yucca.”

“I’m sorry,” Kelp said. “I’m so sorry.”

The sadness went from his eyes and he smiled again. “You remind me of her,” he said. “Her name was Torchwood. She was very beautiful, too.”

Kelp took a deep breath, hoping to slow her pulse. No one had ever called her beautiful, though on occasion her grandmother had told her she looked pretty. “That’s very nice of you to say, but—”

“I mean it.”

“You do?”

He nodded. “Yes.” After a pause, he continued, “I watched you this evening, Kelp, as you were coming up the beach. You ran so hard. I knew you had to be tired, but you never showed it. You ran like a warrior. The slanting rays of sunlight were in your face, your hair blowing free in the wind. I swear, you looked … magnificent.”

An embarrassed smile tugged her mouth, though she tried to squelch it. She stood up and handed him more driftwood. Diamondback. smiled, too. Against the background of stars and sky, he looked very tall. Boldly, he reached out and took her hand. His breathing had gone shallow, as if the act scared him half to death. “Do you … mind?” he asked.

“No, I don’t mind.”

“I think we have enough wood. Shall we head back?”

“All right.”

As they walked down the beach, his fingers twined warmly with hers, the sounds of the night became incredibly clear to Kelp. Waves splashed the shore. Wind soughed through the oaks. Men and women laughed. No one seemed to care in the slightest that a girl, not yet a woman, and an honored warrior, walked down the beach together.

Fear tickled her stomach. She stole a glance at Diamondback and found him watching her from the corner of his eye.

“You have no idea,” he said through a tight exhalation, “how much courage it took for me to get up and come with you to collect wood tonight. I almost fainted just thinking about it.”

“Why?”

“Well, I did not wish to offend Dace, and I wasn’t certain—”

“Dace is of my clan, Diamondback. He is … he is my best friend. Other than my brother, Pondwader, I mean.”

Diamondback squeezed her fingers. “Good.”

A light-headed sensation possessed Kelp, like nothing she had ever known. She could have been walking on air. “I’m glad you came to collect wood, Diamondback.”

His grip tightened. “I am, too.”

They walked back, their sandals squishing in the wet sand. Dark wisps of cloud scudded by overhead. Several jellyfish had washed ashore, and they had to take care to walk around them. Now and then, she spied a shiny cowrie shell. If it had been light, she would have collected them all and strung them together for a necklace.

“Diamondback,” she asked, “where are Pondwader and Musselwhite? I know your father said they were all right, but why aren’t they here? Are they coming?”

Diamondback stopped dead in his tracks. “Oh, Kelp. I’m sorry. No one has told you?”

Her souls went numb. She had to force herself to breathe. “Told me what?”

Diamondback looked at her. “This is a long story. My—”

“Hurry, please.”

“Yes. Forgive me. My father, Diver, is alive. Cottonmouth is holding him captive. Mother did not find out until after the battle and when she did, she … well, I think she went a little crazy. She packed up and left for Standing Hollow Horn Village before dawn of the next day. And—”