“Blue Raven hasn’t moved in a while,” Acorn said. “He must have passed out from the pain.”
“I pray you are right.”
“What are you whispering about over there?” Jumping Badger growled.
Elk Ivory glanced up. Only a few days ago he’d been a handsome young man, but not any longer. His once lustrous black hair now clung to his cheeks in filthy strands. His dark confident eyes had turned suspicious and wary, like those of a hunted animal. Even his perfectly chiseled jaw canted at an angle, as if he kept it perpetually clenched.
Around a mouthful of meat, Acorn answered, “I was just saying that I think Blue Raven passed out from the pain, War Leader. He hasn’t moved—”
“Then go and wake him,” Jumping Badger ordered. “Now!”
“Yes. All right.” Acorn bit off another mouthful of duck, and lowered the rest to his bowl. After wiping his greasy hands on his pants, he rose, and headed for Blue Raven.
Elk Ivory lifted her teacup and sipped from it. The fragrance of spruce needles filled her nostrils. Jumping Badger smiled at her. A malicious grin, as if he got almost as much pleasure from her pain as he did from Blue Raven’s.
She smiled back. A promise.
Jumping Badger’s grin faded to a scowl. “What shall we do with the girl?”
“Take her home. She’s innocent. You heard Blue Raven say so yourself.” It hurt to speak the words, but she added, “Blue Raven is the one who stole the child, and sold it. He is the traitor, not Little Wren.”
Jumping Badger’s grin returned. “I told you so, did I not? You didn’t wish to believe me, but I knew the truth all along.” He tipped his chin toward the masked head. “Spirits do not lie.”
Buckeye shifted uncomfortably. He glanced at the head, then at his half-eaten wild-rice cake. He threw the cake into the fire. “If you do not need me, War Leader, I think I will find my blankets.”
“Go.” Jumping Badger waved a hand. “You can do nothing more tonight.”
Buckeye rose, bowed, and tramped away.
Jumping Badger said, “You and Acorn will guard the prisoners tonight. Two people should be enough. Then, in the morning, after Blue Raven’s had a night to think on his errors, we will begin—”
“War Leader?”
Elk Ivory and Jumping Badger turned to face Acorn. He had an odd expression on his face, almost elated.
“Well?” Jumping Badger said. “What is it? Did you wake him?” He stared around Acorn’s legs toward Blue Raven.
“I tried, War Leader,” Acorn explained. “But he’s dead.”
Elk Ivory leaped to her feet and ran, flying past Little Wren to get to Blue Raven.
Even before she fell to her knees at his side, she saw the blood that soaked her coat, and pooled around his legs. He stared at her through half-open eyes.
“Blue Raven,” she whispered, and threw her coat from his body.
The chert flake still rested in his open palm. He’d slashed both femoral arteries. It couldn’t have taken more than a few hundred heartbeats for him to die.
Elk Ivory hung her head, suddenly more weary than she had ever been in her life. “Rest easy, old friend,” she whispered. “I will make sure Little Wren is safe. Just as you wished.”
Shouts rose around the camp, and feet pounded the ground. Warriors leaned over Elk Ivory, muttering and pointing.
Jumping Badger pushed through the crowd, carrying a torch, which he lowered to examine the slashes in Blue Raven’s pants.
“He cheated me!” Jumping Badger snarled. “The filthy traitor!” He kicked Blue Raven in the head, and waved his torch wildly. “He knew I was going to burn him alive, and he couldn’t stand it! The cowardly, stupid—”
“Enough.” Elk Ivory rose to her feet. Warriors stared at her, their faces filled with unspoken questions. “We must still find the False Face Child. Which means we have to track down the two people Blue Raven sold him to. Acorn and I will stand watch over Little Wren. I suggest the rest of you go to your robes and get a good night’s rest. It may be the last you have for a time.”
She shouldered through the onlookers, went to her bedding and pulled out a blanket. As she threw it over her shoulder, and collected her bow and quiver, men began to trickle past her, muttering to each other. Some went to finish supper. A few headed for their robes.
Acorn came up beside Elk Ivory and said, “He may have betrayed us, but he served our clan faithfully for twenty winters before that. I think he deserves a decent burial. If you will help me—”
“I will help you.”
“Tomorrow? After breakfast?”