People of the Lightning(153)

“Look!” Floating Stick shouted, and pointed. “There it is again! It told you it would be back.” His eyes looked past the billowing blue-rimmed thunderheads, and sought the wall of deepest black that stretched like a monstrous snake on the horizon. “It comes and goes. We’ve been watching it for days. Dogtooth? Was that bank of clouds here before we arrived?”

“Not that I noticed.”

“Then when did it first blow up?”

Dogtooth scratched his hooked nose. Sweat had glued gray hair to his cheeks. “Well,” he said thoughtfully, “if I recall correctly, the clouds began massing the day before Pondwader became a man.”

Moonsnail frowned. She looked at Floating Stick, then back to Dogtooth. “What do you mean? The day he married Musselwhite?”

“No, no, the day he killed his first man.”

Seedpod and Moonsnail exchanged curious glances, and Floating Stick gave them both an “I told you so” look.

Seedpod said, “Pondwader didn’t kill anyone at the Windy Cove battle, Dogtooth.”

Dogtooth yawned loud and long, clawed at a bead of sweat trickling down his side, then closed his eyes again. “I know that.”

Floating Stick leaned closer to Moonsnail to whisper, “See? I told you you’d understand pretty quick. He’s having one of his ‘demented’ days.”

“Great Raccoon,” Moonsnail murmured. Sometimes Dogtooth could be completely lucid—but every now and then he talked like an idiot. “Well, let’s try to work out what he’s saying.”

“It’s impossible,” Floating Stick promised. He brushed his sparse white hair out of his eyes. “Watch this. Dogtooth?” he said gruffly. “ … Dogtooth, listen to me! Answer the question! Is it just a bad storm?”

Dogtooth opened his eyes, blinked. “What?”

“What do you mean, ‘what?’ That black wall of clouds!”

Dogtooth sat up and squinted out to sea. “Oh, yes, that’s a black wall of clouds, all right.” He lay down again, and straightened the net over his stomach like a blanket. “I’ll bet the Lightning Birds are soaring everywhere. The whales and dolphins had better look out.” He yawned again. “And Pondwader, too.”

Moonsnail bent sideways to whisper to Floating Stick, “How long has he been like this?”

“From the instant I sat down in the council shelter! Let me tell you, the past hand of time has been worse than having your skin slowly peeled off with a sharp flake.”

Seedpod’s mouth tucked in a repressed smile.

Floating Stick turned back to Dogtooth. Sharply, he said, “Listen, Dogtooth. This is important! If that really is a bad storm, we’d better stop building and go hide in the forest somewhere until it’s over. Can you tell us—”

“What?” Dogtooth twisted to his left side and peered angrily at Floating Stick. “What are you talking about? Are we moving the villages again? Why didn’t anyone tell me!”

Floating Stick closed his open mouth, and shoved to his feet. “Seedpod, Moonsnail, I hope to see both of you over supper.” He left.

Dogtooth watched Floating Stick walk into the forest, then gazed at Moonsnail. “He really doesn’t like me, does he?” He flopped onto his back again and sighed.

“Dogtooth?” Moonsnail asked. “This really is important. Have you had Dreams? Will that storm be bad enough that we should seek shelter in the forest?”

“We probably should, yes, and soon, before …” His eyes riveted on a passing cloud. He braced himself up on his elbow to study it intently.

Moonsnail glanced at the puff. “Before what?”

Dogtooth jerked around. “What?”

“You said we should probably seek shelter in the forest before … something? What?”

“Oh!” Dogtooth blurted as if coming to himself. “I’m sorry. Sometimes I get distracted.” He sat up and gazed apologetically into Moonsnail’s eyes. “Before Kelp becomes a woman, because after that it will be much too late.”

Moonsnail just stared.

Seedpod ran a hand through his white hair. “Let me try,” he said. “ … Too late for what, Dogtooth?”

Dogtooth peered at him inquiringly. “Why, to escape, of course. What’s the matter with you, Seedpod? You haven’t heard a word I’ve said, have you?”

Seedpod’s mouth hung open. “Moonsnail. Your turn.”

The corners of her mouth turned down at the thought. “I wouldn’t know where to begin.”

“Ah!” Dogtooth said and shook a finger in the air. “Yes, I understand. I was there at the time, you’ll recall. I didn’t know where to begin either.”