People of the Mist(81)

The Tayac seemed to miss a step. His smile faded. Utter surprise registered on his face, then a faint flicker of fear.

“So,” Copper Thunder said, his voice going low and deadly. “They call you a witch now.” The Panther’s sunny expression didn’t change. He smiled and sucked squash from his fingers. Only after he’d swallowed did he say, “I hear they call you a… what is it? A great something?”

“Great Tayac,” Copper Thunder supplied in a threatening voice. “Hmm.” Panther scooped another handful of squash, ate it, and smacked his lips appreciatively. “That’s quite a change. From a Grass Mat to a Great Tayac.”

“You will never use that name again!” Copper Thunder’s expression blackened.

Panther frowned, as if searching his memory. “Seems to me I never did. I was called a great many things, but never Grass Mat. Nor would I ever want to call myself that. That was your name, after all.”

Copper Thunder crouched before The Panther, his muscles bunched as if to spring. “Don’t toy with me, old man. I’m not the young boy you once knew. Things have changed.”

“Oh, things always change, Grass Mat, or Copper Thunder, or whoever you are now. Very well, you will be Copper Thunder, the Great Tayac. After all, they’re only words, aren’t they? You and I both know that down under the skin, wrapped in the muscle, bone, and blood, the soul remains as it was, and will be.”

“You mock me!”

For the first time, the Panther’s eyes hardened. “Never. Not when it comes to the soul. What have you done? Masked yours, curtained off those parts of it you wanted to forget?”

Nine Killer watched in fascination as Copper Thunder glowered his hatred.

“It took me many Comings of the Leaves,” Panther said, ‘before I was willing to ‘pull back the curtains and stare down into my own black depths. I wonder if you’ll ever have the courage to look closely into yours?”

“I have all the courage I need, old man.”

“Aptly put. Ask a coward, and he’ll tell you he has all the courage he needs, too. Oh, I don’t doubt your willingness to face death, or to risk your life and fortune. But like a quartz crystal, that’s only one facet of courage, Tayac.”

“Great Tayac.”

Panther dipped up another handful of squash. “I keep forgetting.”

“How I have dreamed of this day!” Copper Thunder struck like a snake, his hands closing on Panther’s neck. “I am going to crush you like the insect you are, Raven. Feel your life drain away as I squeeze my fist.” The thick fingers began to tighten on Panther’s skinny neck.

“No!” Nine Killer lunged forward as Panther was pulled off balance and toppled against Copper Thunder. Sun Conch leaped to her feet with her war club raised over her head. She danced from foot to foot, seeking the right angle to strike.

To Nine Killer’s surprise, the old man waved them both back with one hand, then gestured for Copper Thunder’s attention. When the Great Tayac looked down, he started, his fingers releasing their deadly grip. A slim bone stiletto dimpled the skin just beneath Copper Thunder’s breastbone.

“Another couple of moments, Tayac, and you would have sent your soul to Okeus,” Panther whispered hoarsely, the stiletto still in place. The two of you deserve each other. Remember that, Grass Mat. Kill me, and I swear on your mother’s soul that I’ll take you with me. Do you understand?”

Hatred glittered in Copper Thunder’s eyes, but he jerked a nod. Panther slipped the slim length of deer bone back into his breech clout Copper Thunder stood, his hands still working, as if strangling the old man in his imagination. He tossed his head, flipping his high roached hair to one side. “A great many things are unfinished between us, Raven.”

Panther stared up at him sadly and dipped another handful of pasty squash from the pot. “I suppose they are, Great Tayac. But, in the meantime, I ask you this: Wouldn’t it be better if you simply let them be? A man who rakes the coals in yesterday’s fire pit runs the risk of burning his fingers.”

Copper Thunder stalked toward the door, gestured to his startled warriors, and ducked out into the night.

Sun Conch slowly lowered her war club, and clutched it to her chest, breathing hard. “Blessed Ohona,” she whispered. “That was close.”

Rosebud stroked her throat with shaking fingers, terror slowly fading from her eyes. For his part, Nine Killer’s heart was only now recovering from its frantic beat.

Panther sucked his fingers clean, expression mild. “Rosebud,” he said, “did I tell you how marvelous your squash is?”