People of the Masks(81)
Elk Ivory stood up. She said something to Acorn, then broke from the group and walked toward Jumping Badger. Tall and muscular, she had shoulder-length black hair and striking brown eyes: when she looked at a man, he felt as if he’d been bludgeoned. She wore a heavy buffalo-hide coat, the curly fur turned inside to rest against her skin. Painted green hawks and falcons decorated the lower half of her coat. At thirty-eight winters, she was the oldest warrior in Walksalong Village. She had made a reputation for herself in her seventeenth winter when she’d killed the war leader of an enemy village in his own plaza. Jumping Badger remembered her triumphant homecoming. The warriors who’d fought at her side had carried her into the plaza on their shoulders. She had never married. Perhaps warring was the best use of her dried-up womb.
Jumping Badger smiled grimly as she approached. He’d grown up hearing the stories about her undying love for Blue Raven, about how it had driven her to become a warrior, so that she might fight at her lover’s side. In the end, her sacrifice hadn’t mattered. Blue Raven had rejected her. The reasons were a little vague.
“A pleasant evening to you, War Leader,” Elk Ivory said. She glanced distastefully at Lamedeer’s head.
“What do you want?”
“To speak with you.”
“Then do so.”
“The other warriors have asked me—”
“They are banding against me! The traitors!” he bellowed, and noted the reactions around the fire. Shoulders tensed. Grumbles went round.
“I did not say that, Jumping Badger.” Elk Ivory looked him straight in the eyes, and he had trouble holding that intense gaze.
“Then say what you mean. I have more important things to consider tonight than you.”
Jumping Badger’s chest prickled again, and rage fired his blood. He swung around to Lamedeer. “Don’t laugh at me! Why are you laughing?”
“Because you are such a fool.”
Jumping Badger’s souls went cold. A gust of wind shook the staff, and the decaying mouth opened slightly.
Fear stiffened his backbone.
Elk Ivory placed a hand on Jumping Badger’s shoulder, and he jumped. She gently forced him to turn around and face her. “Are you well, War Leader?”
“Just deliver your message, old woman!”
“Your warriors are wondering why we are continuing to follow Blue Raven’s trail when it is apparent that neither the False Face Child, nor Little Wren, is accompanying Blue Raven.”
Jumping Badger straightened. “I don’t know where the loathsome girl is. She probably ran off and got eaten by a cougar. Who cares? As for the False Face Child, what makes you think he would be walking? Are all of my warriors feebleminded? Did it never occur to you that after nights of lying in the cold and snow the boy would be incapable of walking? Blue Raven is, of course, carrying him up from the canoe, and back down to it!”
Elk Ivory tucked her fists into her coat pockets. Firelight flickered through her black hair. “May I suggest something else?”
“No, I don’t care to—”
“Just listen. When we made it to Lost Hill, Blue Raven’s fire had gone cold. Dishes and blankets lay where he’d been sitting. Not the sort of things a man planning on running away would leave.”
“If you have something to say, say it!”
Her brown eyes turned stony. “Tomorrow afternoon, at the latest, we will catch up with Blue Raven. None of us believe that he stole the boy. It seems clear that Little Wren is the culprit. She must have released the False Face Child while Blue Raven slept, and been long gone by the time he awoke. That’s why we’ve only seen Blue Raven’s footprints. He discovered her crime and decided to try and track her down before anyone else discovered what she’d done.”
“That’s ridiculous! Why would he—”
“He loves that little girl. I know him, Jumping Badger. Blue Raven’s sense of honor and duty to his family is powerful. He’s hunting for her, hoping to bring her back and beg the matrons for mercy. It’s his way. That’s also why he’s not bothering to disguise his trail. He has nothing to hide.”
He sputtered, “B-but—”
“You imbecile. You’ve been following the wrong trail. Now you’ll never find the False Face Child, and he’ll kill you. Just as I said. I’m so glad you brought me along. I want to be there to see it happen!”
Jumping Badger shrieked like a madman and threw himself on the head. He tore the staff from the ground, and swung it with all of his strength, flinging it and the head out into the dark forest.
His warriors lurched to their feet and grabbed for weapons. Acorn ran forward. He stopped just behind Elk Ivory, breathing hard, his rough-hewn face shining with sweat.