People of the Mist(170)

“That arrow.” Hunting Hawk jabbed at it with her walking stick. “It is yours?”

Flat Willow stared at the bloody shaft, bewilderment in his eyes. “Mine?”

“The marks on the arrow,” Nine Killer said, “are your identifying marks.”

Flat Willow blinked and squinted. Nine Killer saw the fear building in his eyes. “Yes. I think they are. But what is it doing here? What’s this all about?”

“That arrow was just pulled out of Sun Conch,” Hunting Hawk stated flatly. She lifted her head slightly, as if daring him to deny it.

Flat Willow sagged in the warriors’ strong grip. He shook his head miserably. “No, Weroansqua, as Okeus is my witness, I didn’t do this thing.”

“Then how—”

“I don’t know!” Flat Willow’s face went white, and he licked his lips. “I swear, I don’t! I left my arrows at my cousin’s! I was in the Great House. Keeping an eye on the Three Myrtle men! I did it just like the Great Tayac asked me to! Ask them, any of them who were there!”

“And how did we find you?” Flying Weir shook him like a dog did a snake. “Standing around in front of the Great House!”

“I just stepped outside with the others!” His legs had turned limp so that he dangled in their grasp. “Ask them! Ask … them …”

“I believe him,” Nine Killer said. “Most everyone was in the Great House tonight. But, Flat Willow, could anyone say they were with you the whole time? That you couldn’t have slipped away for just long enough to retrieve your weapons and ambush us?”

“I… Yes, yes, Crab Spine! Ask Crab Spine! He was sitting beside me the whole time.”

Nine Killer’s certainty fled. “He’s a good man. A solid warrior, Weroansqua. If Crab Spine says this is so, then Flat Willow didn’t do this thing.” He paused. “Many Dogs, go and check with Crab Spine.”

Many Dogs regretfully released his hold on Flat Willow and left as Streaked Bear entered with several decorated leather sacks. He stepped around Flat Willow and handed them to The Panther.

Panther quickly sorted through the medicines, finding what he needed. Placing grease in a bowl, he mixed a weak salve of crushed nightshade leaves, saying, “Sun Conch, I’m rubbing this on your temples. It will ease the pain, make you sleep better.”

“Thank… thank you,” she whispered.

He applied the green paste using a flattened reed. Then he mixed the crushed smartweed with grease, smeared it on the cactus pads, and tied it over her wounds, insuring that the binding wasn’t too tight. That finished, he leaned back and sighed wearily.

“Will she be all right?” Hunting Hawk asked.

Panther shrugged, expression solemn. “That is for the future, Weroansqua. For now, all I can tell you is that I have done what I can. If it festers, I will attempt to drain it.”

“What about searing the flesh?” Green Serpent asked.

“Not an arrow wound like this.” Panther rubbed his callused hands, trying to scrub the dried blood from them. “Burning seals the wound. Poisons and evil can’t escape.”

Many Dogs ducked through the doorway, a grim look on his face. When all eyes turned to him, he said, “Crab Spine tells me that Flat Willow was indeed sitting beside him at the time when Sun Conch was shot.”

Nine Killer glared at Flat Willow. “Very well, hunter, you can go. But I don’t—”

“Not yet, War Chief.” Hunting Hawk looked like her namesake, a predatory bird, its attention centered on its prey. “Flat Willow, you said you were there at the Great Tayeks will? Watching the Three Myrtle men?”

He nodded, enough overcome with relief to forget his caution. “Yes, Weroansqua. He told me to—”

“You are through!” she snapped. “You will gather your things and be gone. You have no place in this village. I am Weroansqua here, and you are under my authority. Get your louse-ridden body out of my village. Tonight! And, Flat Willow, if any of my warriors see you in my territory again, they are to kill you for the vermin you are.”

“But, Weroansqua, where will I—”

“I don’t care! Maybe the Great Tayac will take you in, eh?” She pointed with her sassafras stick. “Now, be gone! Or I’ll have your legs and arms broken, and we’ll throw you on the fire!”

“Weroansqua, the Great Tayac—”

“Is the reason you’re going to live, boy! But for him, you’d be burning and screaming in half a hand’s time!”

Flat Willow squared his shoulders, and headed for the doorway, but his knees were shaking as he ducked out.