Since then, Diamondback’s resentment had been festering, and he’d been playing a guessing game with himself. What would his mother do first? Would she waste a day divorcing her new husband? Or just take off at a dead run for Standing Hollow Horn Village? It hurt that he would not be able to go with her. She needed him. His father needed him. And he could help neither of them.
Diamondback prodded his injured leg. Healing fast, it still hurt when he tried to stay on his feet for long. If he used a walking stick he could make it around the village pretty well, but he felt as weak as a newborn kit afterward. He kept his atlatl and darts close at hand, but he knew he would be almost useless in a fight, and just the thought of running to Cottonmouth’s village on a war walk made him break out in a sweat.
Guards had been posted around the perimeter of the village, and Ragged Wing, Shoal, and Black Urchin sat in a circle in the middle of the shelters, waiting their turns to stand guard. They had been keeping night watch, and had awakened only a short time ago. Their atlatls lay at their sides while they yawned and gambled. They were playing Stick, called so because the gaming pieces consisted of five decorated lengths of reedgrass which were cast across the ground. Their different positions determined how many points each throw totaled. Sticks which pointed directly north and south earned two points, east-west sticks earned one. Anything lying at an angle scored no points. Diamondback could see the pile wagered on Black Urchin’s next throw: A large conch horn, a lightning whelk necklace, and a chert knife. The last was the most valuable. The stone had to be traded from the north and cost a great deal. Black Urchin cast, and frustrated howls went up from Ragged Wing and Shoal. Black Urchin chuckled and gathered up his winnings.
Diamondback stared hollowly at the eastern horizon. The mauve glow on Sea Girl’s face had begun to die. As the white caps turned gray, the shells seemed to melt into the background of sand. Even the constant roar of Sea Girl’s voice softened with nightfall.
Diamondback lowered his gaze to the polished circlets of conch shell on his belt. Was Cottonmouth torturing his father? Hatred welled so powerfully in Diamondback’s belly that he had to clench his fists.
Thorny Boy whispered, “What’s wrong?”
Diamondback forced a feeble smile. “Nothing. I was just thinking.”
“About the Lightning Boy?” His eyes widened.
“ … Yes.”
Thorny Boy tipped his fingers down and let the string fall to the floor. The tangled strands resembled a bird’s innards—white and stringy. “He worries me. When father gets home, if … if we rescue him. Will the Lightning Boy still be married to mother? Will both of them sleep under the same blanket with her?”
Diamondback had been wondering that himself. He understood the necessities of being related to Heartwood Clan, but somehow the idea of their mother lying with another man grated deep down. His parents, though both warriors, had always refused to take other spouses. Everyone knew it was because they loved each other so very much. What would happen to that love with an intruder in their bed? “Many warriors have more than one spouse, Thorny Boy.”
“Yes, I know but—but they are not my mother.” Dread filled the boy’s dark eyes. “How will father feel about sharing our mother with the Lightning Boy?”
Diamondback gently tugged a lock of Thorny Boy’s hair. In a low confidential voice, he said, “I think that should be between Mother and Father and the Lightning Boy. I don’t think you or I need to worry about it.”
Thorny Boy picked up the wad of string, and began shaking out the tangles. “I can’t help worrying, Diamondback. I mean, what if Father doesn’t like sharing Mother? Will he fight with the Lightning Boy? I’ve heard that Lightning Boys are very Powerful, that they can call the Lightning Birds from the sky and tell them to blast people!” Thorny Boy examined Diamondback’s face. “How could our father fight something like that?”
“I don’t know.” Diamondback sighed, “I guess we’d have to make sure that didn’t happen.”
Thorny Boy crawled forward to peer deeply into Diamondback’s eyes. He whispered, “Yes, maybe we ought to kill the Lightning Boy in his sleep right off. As soon as he gets here. He couldn’t tell the Lightning Birds to blast us if he was asleep—could he?”
Diamondback suppressed his smile and ruffled Thorny Boy’s dark hair. “To tell you the truth, Little Brother, I haven’t the slightest idea. But I suggest we ask Mother before we do that. She might actually like her new husband.”
“But not better than our father!”