“Of course.”
He slipped out of his pack and drew out two bowls, handing one to Dust.
It didn’t take long. The mud on the hillside, filled with rocks, went down six hands before it turned to frozen dirt. They scooped out a grave large enough for her body, then gently tugged Briar into the hole.
The charred corpse rested on its back, staring up at them pleadingly, the fingers out as if reaching.
“Sparrow?” Dust said. “You know the sacred Songs, can you—”
“Yes,” he answered, and tenderly touched her moist cheek.
He rose to his feet and lifted his arms to the Spirits who lived in the Up-Above-World. His deep voice rang through the forest:
Sky Holder, great Sky Holder, come walking, Come walking,
Lift Briar’s soul in the great Dance, Blow ashes on her body,
Sky Holder, come walking, Come walking,
Teach her how to fly, Sky Holder, come walking from the sky.
Teach her how to fly away with you.
Sparrow knelt beside Dust, and together they scooped the mud and rocks back over Briar.
When they’d finished Dust wiped her face with her sleeve. “Thank you, Sparrow. I—I’m ready to go now. If we—”
“Forgive me,” Blue Raven interrupted, “but you don’t mean you wish to travel at night?”
“Yes, she does,” Sparrow said and helped Dust Moon to her feet. He kept his arm around her waist, as much for comfort, she knew, as to support her. “With this moonlight, every acorn casts a shadow. If we’re careful, we should be able to track them.”
Dust separated herself from Sparrow and started following the children’s trail down the hill and across the plaza to the east.
Sparrow called, “Dust, wait.” Then he turned to Blue Raven. “Are you coming?”
Blue Raven heaved a tired sigh, and threw up his hands. “Of course I am.” He plodded forward, adding, “I’m sure you wish me to take the lead so you can watch me, correct?”
“Yes,” Sparrow replied.
Blue Raven strode past Dust and down the hill. Here, at the edge of the plaza, and across the meadow beyond, the trail could not be mistaken. It cut a black swath through the moonlit dirt and grass.
Sparrow grasped Dust’s arm, pulling her close, whispering, “Keep your bow at hand. Now, in the darkness, is the best time to stumble, spin around unsteadily, and plunge your stiletto into someone’s belly. I plan on being prepared, but I may not have time to respond. You must. I want you to stay a good four paces behind me.” She pulled an arrow from her quiver, nocked it, and held the bow aimed at the ground. “Go on. I’ll be ready. Just remember to drop when I say drop.”
He grinned and the moonlight gleamed over his teeth and hooked nose. “Like one of the meteorite people. Don’t worry, I—”
“Look!” Blue Raven called.
Dust and Sparrow turned. In the moonlight, they saw Blue Raven’s arm shoot out.
On the hillside, perhaps a hand of time away, a tiny orange gleam lit the darkness.
Elk Ivory lifted a hand, and the war party halted behind her. From this hilltop she could see the entire valley below. Moonlight gleamed over the surrounding hills, and frosted the bare tree limbs.
Hushed murmuring broke out behind her.
She clenched a fist for silence.
The resinous smells of tree sap and decaying bark floated on the cold night wind.
Jumping Badger pushed up beside her, his grisly staff in his right hand. The crow’s-head mask glowed eerily in the pewter light. “What is it, old woman? Why did you stop when we are so close?”
She looked at him, at his long black braid, and the scar across his throat. His beaver-hide coat bore shreds of old leaves and pine needles.
“I thought I heard a shout.”
Jumping Badger’s eyes slitted. “A man’s shout? A child’s? A woman’s?”
She shook her head. “I’m not sure. I think it was a man’s voice.”
“Your former lover?”
“I couldn’t tell whose voice it was, War Leader. I am not even certain it was a human shout … but I thought it was.”
“Then we must be cautious. We do not wish to frighten our prey.”
He turned to the war party and softly ordered, “Most of you have been here before. Fan out. Surround the village just as we did before. It should take two or three hands of time to work the surround, which means it will be dark when we close in. Do not let your arrows fly until you hear my call—whistled like a nighthawk—peent, peent. You may kill the evil False Face Child on sight, but save the others for me.”
Jumping Badger trotted ahead. The warriors followed him down the hill. When he gestured half of the war party circled around the north, while the other half took the southern trail with Jumping Badger.