People of the Longhouse(78)
Towa’s voice died in his throat. He blinked at them. “What’s wrong?”
Gonda said, “Was he a—a big man? Did his tracks sink deeply into the mud?”
“Yes, that’s why it was easy to track him … at least for a short distance.”
Koracoo held Gonda’s gaze. “It may be just another Hills warrior.”
“Wearing sandals in the winter? I doubt it. He’s following us.”
As though a dark, cold feeling was forcing him to stand, Towa got up. “Who? Who is following us?”
Koracoo walked back and stepped beneath the ramada to face him. Towa stared at her like a suspicious animal. “The morning after the attack,” she explained, “Gonda found a similar track. Made by a big man wearing sandals with a distinctive herringbone weave.”
“Where?” Sindak asked.
“Far south of here,” she said. “Near Canassatego Village.”
“Canassatego Village? That’s Hills country. What were you doing there?”
“We were tracking the warriors who attacked our village and captured our children.”
Towa stood for a moment, not certain what to say. “I thought you said Mountain warriors attacked Yellowtail Village?”
“Most were.” Gonda drew up his knees. “I’m not sure they all were.”
In the long silence that followed, Koracoo heard a dog bark in the distance, and then the faint shout of a man. Both came from the direction of Hawk Moth Village. The sculpted curves of Towa’s face hardened as he clenched his jaw. For a time, she watched the thoughts churning behind his dark eyes and thought he might stalk away. Finally he said, “Where did the big man’s tracks lead?”
Gonda answered, “You know that enormous shell midden—”
“The one that sits on the border between our countries?”
“Yes. The man’s tracks led to the top of the midden.”
Towa shifted his weight to his other foot. “Why? What was he doing up there?”
“Carrying a body. A dead girl. And one of high status, too, given her jewelry.”
Astonished, Sindak said, “She was still wearing jewelry?”
“Yes. Strange, isn’t it? Any warrior worth his weapons would have stripped every piece and taken it home with him.”
Towa asked, “Why are you telling us this? Do you think the girl was one of Gannajero’s captives?”
“No. Gannajero is a Trader. Her warriors would definitely have taken the girl’s beautiful copper earspools and shell bracelets. And her shell gorget with the magnificent False Face surrounded by stars—”
“She was wearing a False Face pendant?” Towa asked as though shocked. “With stars?”
Gonda created a circle with his fingers and lowered it to his chest to show them the size. “Yes. A big one. And the False Face had a serpent’s eyes and buffalo horns … .” He stopped when both Towa and Sindak went rigid. They looked like surprised geese. “What’s the matter?”
Koracoo studied them as they whispered to each other. Towa had placed a hand over his heart, as though protecting something hidden beneath his cape.
“Is that Atotarho’s gorget you’re touching?” she said.
As the storm drifted eastward, starlight broke through the clouds and brightened the night. The rain-slick ground shone with a frosty radiance. Every twig and branch seemed to be coated with a thin layer of silver.
Koracoo said, “Why don’t you show it to us, Towa?”
Towa carefully pulled a huge gorget from his shirt and let it rest upon his cape. It covered half his chest.
Gonda leaped to his feet and extended his hand. “Let me see that?”
“No,” Towa said. “He ordered me to wear this at all times. It’s been in his clan for hundreds of generations. It’s been passed down from matron to matron since the creation of the world.”
“But it’s identical to the one we found at the midden,” Gonda charged.
Towa shrugged. “There are supposed to be two. Don’t you know our story of the battle between Horned Serpent and Thunder?”
Koracoo leaned her shoulder against the ramada pole, and the wet hem of her cape stuck to her leggings. “It’s very similar to our story, isn’t it? At the dawn of creation, Horned Serpent attacked People, and the Great Spirit sent Thunder to help them. In the battle that ensued, Thunder threw the greatest lightning bolt ever seen. The mountains shook, and the stars broke loose from the skies. One landed right on top of Horned Serpent.”
Towa continued, “Yes. This pendant chronicles that sacred story.”
Koracoo stared at the gorget that rested like a shining beacon on Towa’s cape. The carving was exceptional. The stars shooting around the head of Horned Serpent seemed to be coming right at her.