Black Spike kept knotting his jaw muscles, and his hands clenched, relaxed, and clenched again. Why should he care so much about a missing girl? No doubt she’d be found sulking out in the trees, and within a week the entire thing would be forgotten.
Hunting Hawk arched a grizzled eyebrow as Black Spike gave Shell Comb a direct inspection from across the dance ground. For a long moment, their eyes held, challenging, answering, and desperate. What was that look they traded? Some private communication? But just as quickly, Shell Comb turned forcefully away.
The muscles bulged in Black Spike’s taut cheeks.
Hunting Hawk’s attention shifted as Copper Thunder strode purposefully toward her.
“Honorable Weroansqua,” he said, “are you sure that I cannot offer my warriors to assist you?”
“It isn’t necessary, Great Tayac.” She gestured toward the forested ridge. “My people know the country. All the little nooks and crannies.”
His dark eyes seemed to burn. “She wouldn’t have… run off, now would she?”
Hunting Hawk stiffened. “Never!”
“But it is not unheard—”
“She knows that I’d have Nine Killer scour the ends of the earth until he found her and dragged her back. Red Knot would never disgrace her clan in such a manner.”
“I see.” Copper Thunder’s expression betrayed nothing. “Most likely she just went for a walk, to sort out her spirit. Consider: In the last eight days, she’s gone from a girl to a woman, and tomorrow she leaves with you to become a wife. From the moment of her first cramps, she’s been pestered by everyone. I’d guess she just needed a moment to herself, to think and reflect.”
Copper Thunder fingered the war club hanging from his breech clout It had been intricately carved, a pointed stone set above a sharp copper spike. “I’ve noticed the women in your family think and reflect a great deal. I wonder if I’m doing myself any favors by marrying into your line.”
“I don’t know. Are you?” Hunting Hawk gave him a bland look to cover her sudden unease. Bloody bats, he didn’t suspect the depths of her complicity, did he?
He chuckled. “My men and I would really like to be of help. A sign of our new relationship.”
Hunting Hawk nodded reluctantly. “Very well. Great Tayac, dispatch your men. On the slim chance that she’s in some kind of trouble, it might not hurt to have some extra eyes out there.”
Copper Thunder lifted his hand and snapped his fingers, and his warriors wheeled in unison, trotting out like a school of fish. Beyond the palisade, Copper Thunder’s second called orders and men dispersed with cool efficiency.
“They’re well trained,” Hunting Hawk noted.
“Of course. A man doesn’t accomplish what I have without discipline.”
“And ruthlessness,” she added.
“That, too, but then, living between the serpent and the stone, as you do, you can understand the value of that.”
“Indeed I can.” As you will soon learn, my friend.
Copper Thunder stood uneasily, his eyes narrowed.
Hunting Hawk caught Yellow Net’s eye as her niece walked past. She could see the woman’s anxiety as she shot a worried glance at Copper Thunder. Hunting Hawk smiled to reassure her. As Yellow Net took a deep breath and walked off, Hunting Hawk asked, “Something on your mind, Great Tayac?”
“Just wondering. That’s all.. Why me, Weroansqua? Water Snake would have been a more logical choice for an ally. His country lies immediately to your south. Despite what your daughter told me this morning, you could have obtained inland goods through him as well as me.”
Hunting Hawk smiled crookedly. Be careful, woman. He smells the trap. “What if I told you I just had a feeling in my gut?”
“I wouldn’t believe it. Tell me honestly, have you ever done anything based on a gut feeling?”
“Of course … and so have you. You’re a sly one, Great Tayac. Always feeling. out your opponent, seeking to learn more of his strengths and weaknesses.”
He shrugged it off. “Among my people, one does not become Tayac, let alone Great Tayac, without studying his associates. A smart leader never sleeps.”
“No, she doesn’t.”
He shot her a sidelong glance. “You know, don’t you, that some parties would profit by abducting your granddaughter. “
“I’ve been trying not to think of that. But, yes, it’s a possibility. And the consequences would be dire indeed.”
He took a deep breath. “It would be a slap in the face to you and your clan, and to me and my people. We would have no choice but to destroy the offender.”