“True. So maybe he did not know them, and needed to make sure the people fit the descriptions he’d been given. The result is the same. He met them, joined them, and is traveling deeper into Turtle Nation country with them. It appears that he has—”
Shouts rang out behind them. They both turned in unison and tried to peer through the jostling warriors.
“What is this?” Acorn said. “A runner?”
“Where?”
Elk Ivory stepped closer to him, trying to see over the bobbing heads.
Acorn pointed. “There. Is that Springwater?”
A chill prickled Elk Ivory’s spine. “Yes, I think so. But the matrons selected him as war leader for the village while we were gone. What is he doing here?”
“I do not know, but my stomach doesn’t like this.”
“Nor does mine. Let us hear his tale.”
Elk Ivory shouldered through the crowd, and Acorn pushed along in her wake.
When they broke through, they saw Springwater talking with Jumping Badger. The tall youth stood bent over, his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath, but he kept glancing at the crude mask that covered the severed head. Jumping Badger held the staff stiffly at his side, as if it were a badge of his authority. Springwater seemed to sense its malevolence. His soot-smudged face twisted every time he looked at it. Filthy torn clothing hung from Springwater’s lean frame. Though he had seen only twenty winters, he resembled an old man this morning. Wrinkles cut lines across his forehead and at the corners of his brown eyes. His long black braid had not been combed out in days. It hung over his shoulder in a tangled mat.
Springwater panted, “Frost-in-the-Willows … has been elected as the new … head matron. She lived only through the grace of the ancestors. The house fell d-down around her … but did not crush her. No one could believe it when she … she came crawling out of the rubble.”
Jumping Badger spotted Elk Ivory and his eyes glowed with deadly intent. “Tell it again. So everyone can hear.”
Springwater nodded, and sucked in a breath. As he straightened to his feet, he called, “I have been running for three days and nights to reach you! I have not slept. I have not eaten. I—I had to find you!”
“What’s happened?” Elk Ivory strode closer.
“Our village …” Springwater spread his shaking legs and braced his knees. “It has been destroyed. We—”
“War?”
“No.” He shook his head. “A storm. Wind Mother struck without warning. The forest exploded. Whole trees toppled onto the longhouses. The poles of the palisade were ripped up and flung about like war lances. People running through the plaza were impaled. Others died from smashed skulls, and severed limbs. When the longhouses collapsed, they fell in upon the fire pits. The dry wood and bark burst into flames. The screams … the screams were terrible. You cannot imagine. The screams, and roaring flames, and Wind Mother’s howling! Those of us who remained unhurt ran into the infernos to pull people out, but half of our relatives died.”
Springwater paused to take a breath, and glanced around at his relatives. No one moved, but every face asked the same question.
Springwater made a calming gesture with his hands. “I have brought news of each of your families, truly, but I must sit and eat first. Please. I can barely stand.”
“Acorn,” Elk Ivory said, “help Springwater, then build a fire, put on some food, and tea. We will resume our search once we know the fates of those we love.”
“Yes, I’m going.” Acorn hurried to Springwater’s side and helped him off the trail toward a fallen log.
Warriors rushed after them, whispering hoarsely.
Jumping Badger turned and his gaze pinned Elk Ivory. “What do you think now, old woman? Hmm? Did I not tell you that the False Face Child was wicked beyond our imaginings? That he would be our deaths?” He lifted the staff with the masked head and thumped it on the ground. There was no hair left to fall out, but hideous green fluid leaked from the punctured brain and oozed down the staff. “Do not forget, it was your former lover who loosed this pestilence on us all.” He leaned closer to her and hissed, “When I find him, he will pay with his life.”
He started to turn and she said, “I do not think that is wise.”
Jumping Badger stiffened. “Your thoughts do not concern me!”
“If Blue Raven’s mother is now head matron, she may not wish you to kill her only son. Or do you value your own life so little?”
Jumping Badger’s jaw went hard. Morning sunlight slanted through the trees and streaked his handsome face and cape. “My duty—”