People of the Mist(83)
“Mother, I—”
“Wait! Let me finish. All these things that you should know—that should be as normal to a leader as the very breath in her lungs—seem beyond you! And when even a fool should have a grasp of our situation, you give a notorious witch access to our village.” Hunting Hawk slumped. “Okeus have mercy on us.”
Shell Comb spoke slowly, deliberately, desperation in her voice, “Wasn’t it you who constantly beat into my head that there is no setback that can’t be turned to an opportunity if a little thought is given to it?”
“That sounds like something I would say.” Hunting Hawk shifted. “I’m surprised you listened.”
Shell Comb ignored the sarcasm. “Well, I have given thought to our current situation. There is an opportunity here, perhaps a better one than we had with Red Knot. And The Panther can play a role, too.” “Oh, have you another unmarried daughter to offer the Great Tayac?” “No. But you do.” “I do? But, I don’t…” Hunting Hawk gaped at Shell Comb’s resolute expression. “You?”
“Me.”
“You’re much older than he, almost past your bearing time.”
“I still spend my three days in the Women’s House. Look at me, Mother. When have you ever seen a woman of my age look so young? And I’ve seen the look in Copper Thunder’s eyes when he watches my breasts and the sway of my hips.”
Hunting Hawk frowned. “It’s been so long since I gave you any serious thought that it never occurred to me the Great Tayac might.”
Shell Comb scowled. “You can call on your sister’s family to rule after you. I don’t have to be here. Yellow Net is your closest living relative after me. And, following her, there is your nephew Tall Deer and great-niece Quick Fawn.”
“That’s assuming you stay with Copper Thunder. You wear out husbands faster than most people wear out moccasins. Each time I marry you off, you come home, divorced and pregnant again.”
“If I can conceive his child, we’ll have Copper Thunder in our camp, and he can savage our wolves for us.” Shell Comb was smiling to herself, absently fingering a ringlet of her long black hair.
“I’ll consider it.” Hunting Hawk sat pensively. “And The Panther? Where do you see the advantage of having him here?” “What if we do all we can to help him? If, rather than harass him, we make him welcome?”
“Welcome a witch?”
“Mother, please. Let’s see what he’s like. He may not be so bad.”
“He’s a night traveler! What do we have to see?”
“You’re not thinking clearly about this, about our options. What if he can be molded, turned to our purposes?” ‘
“I don’t follow you.”
“He already saved the Three Myrtle raid from disaster. So, suppose that we win him to our side. As much as our people fear him, think how much the Mamanatowick’s people would fear him.”
“We don’t even know who he is, what he wants.”
“But if he could be persuaded to work with us, help us, wouldn’t that be a weapon to use against our enemies?”
“You’re talking about a witch, girl, not some duty bound warrior. You don’t just give them orders like you do a War Chief!”
“Of course not, but if we could persuade him to help us, it would strengthen our position. Handled properly, he could hearten our warriors, and strike fear into the souls of our enemies. Nine Killer and his men are already in his debt.”
“You scare me sometimes.”
“Mother, wasn’t it you who told me that nothing worthwhile ever comes without risk? Wasn’t it you who said that sometimes, we have to deny the inclination of our hearts, and use our heads?”
A sorcerer of their own? Hunting Hawk considered the implications. Nine Killer had clearly supported The Panther. But what did they know about him? The stories that circulated through the villages told of a man with terrible Power, one who conversed with animals, could charm even the most resolute opponent. Some young warriors who had traveled to his island to kill him had been found floating in their canoes, shot dead. Others had simply disappeared, never to be heard of again.
Then, on the other hand, if The Panther could be persuaded to join them, to work with them, he would be a Powerful weapon indeed. In spite of her better judgment, the idea appealed to her feisty nature. Of late, she’d grown tired of moderating the endless squabbles among the Independent villages. The growing threat of Water Snake’s warriors had sent her to Copper Thunder in an attempt to break the age-old equilibrium between the Independent villages, the Conoy, and the Mamanatowick. Suppose she could have Copper Thunder and The Panther to boot? Wouldn’t that be a legacy to leave behind? People would speak her name with awe for generations.