People of the Mist(122)
“The Weroansqua could name Yellow Net as her successor.” “Maybe she will.” Green Serpent studied the clay bowl of his pipe where the tobacco had stained it. “It is being said that Shell Comb might marry Copper Thunder.”
Panther straightened. “Indeed? And the Weroansqua has agreed?”
Green Serpsnt blew smoke out through his nose. “I have heard that she will think about it. So, if she says yes, then it would appear that one of your reasons for Red Knot’s murder is gone. The Weroansqua really did want an alliance with Copper Thunder and his fierce warriors.” “she agrees.” Panther’s pipe stem tapped the few teeth left in the front of his mouth. “She might not want to say no too quickly. The Great Tayac might take offense. With time, she has room to maneuver.” He glanced at Red Knot’s skeleton again. “What of it, girl? Does any of this make sense to you?”
“She tried to tell me,” Green Serpent said, his sad gaze on the rendered bones. “Tried to tell you?” Panther asked gently. “When?”
“The morning she died.” Old Green Serpent rubbed his face. “Her ghost walked through the House of the Dead. I was asleep in the front room, and she walked past me. I saw her in my dream. I think she came to join her ancestors. She’s been here ever since.” He looked up at the platform of bodies encased in their wrappings. “She’s up there now. Sometimes, when I’m half-awake and the soul loosens, I hear her. She’s trying to tell me something, but she’s sobbing so hard that I can’t make out the words.”
Panther stared up at the platform, wishing mightily that Red Knot would simply appear and speak out. If only she would, he could name the murderer, and have Sun Conch return him to his island.
Too many memories are stirring. You’ve your own ghosts to worry about, Panther. But unlike Red Knot’s, yours are malevolent.
Panther snorted in irritation and stood, thinking that the time had come to leave. It was then that he saw Red Knot’s skull again in the flickering firelight. He stepped close, bending down. “Did you do something to these teeth?”
Green Serpent was staring into the fire, his eyes unfocused —seeing the ghosts, no doubt.
“Kwiokos, did you do something to these teeth?” Panther said, a little louder.
“I, ah, what? What did you say?” Green Serpent blinked to clear his vision. “What was that?”
“There is something wrong with these teeth,” Panther repeated. “Here, look. Right here in front. She’s supposed to have those two big flat teeth. But the one next to it on the right side ought to be smaller, and flat, like its match on the other side of her mouth. Instead, it is just a peg. Did you break it?”
Green Serpent stooped over the girl’s skull and squinted down his nose. “Oh, no. That’s not broken. I noticed that tooth when I was cleaning her skull. It just grew that way.”
Panther bent close, aware of the odor of decay that hung on Red Knot’s picked bones. Now he could see that indeed the tooth wasn’t broken, but rather just malformed.
“Well, good.” Panther straightened. “I thought for a minute that she might have been hit in the mouth. A blow that we missed.” “No, no. There are only the dents in the side of her head.” Green Serpent tilted his head to peer at the fractures. “I had to be very careful when we pulled the brain out. You said you wanted those wounds left just as they were. I did my best to leave them unaffected.”
“You did just fine.” Panther straightened. “In fact, I couldn’t have done better myself.” He cocked his head, still studying the girl’s grinning skull. “So, Red Knot, your mother is going to marry Copper Thunder? Isn’t that a curious turn of events.”
“It would keep the alliance,” Green Serpent reminded.
“Yes,” Panther said thoughtfully. “But an alliance with what?” And his gaze fixed on the two indentations in the side of Red Knot’s skull.
Panther walked behind Nine Killer, placing his feet in the footprints the short War Chief left in the snow. Sun Conch followed a pace behind, her wary attention fixed on the ground that rose to their right. To their left the water of the inlet rippled, cold and gray in the reflected light of the clouds. Across the inlet, Panther could see the distant tree-covered shore.
Panther puffed out a breath that rose frosty before his face. The snow crunched underfoot. The only sign of life was the ducks that huddled in tens of tens on the water.
“Elder, I am asked to escort you to Shell Comb,” Nine Killer had told him. “She said for me to take you to the sweat house. She will talk with you there.”