“A grim dream, great Lord.”
Morning Star’s face remained expressionless. “What is the greatest threat we face, Clan Keeper?”
Unsure of his motives, she asked, “The wild nations to the north? Or perhaps those in the southeast? The Spirit Beings of the Underworld refusing to call the rains? A revolt among the immigrant dirt farmers? Most of the ignorant clods can’t so much as speak a word of our language. Half of the Houses’ time is spent keeping them from murdering each other.”
“Refocus the eye of your soul to that which is nearer your heart.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Seek the most destructive of human passions. That which consumes most of your energies as Clan Keeper.”
“The factions within the Four Winds Clan?”
“Ah, and what drives those factions?”
“Ambition,” she snorted irritably. “But they’d never act against you, great Lord.”
“Directly? Of course not. But when they look across the magnificence of Cahokia, what do they see? We’ve unleashed a dangerous new Power, Keeper. I pray that we all do not find ourselves riding those burning whirlwinds in my dreams.”
Blue Heron took a breath and shivered. “Have you heard something I have not?”
“You are most talented, Keeper.” His voice was almost a whisper. “For the most part, you’ve been able to play one House against another. Often, just the suggestion of a threat is all you need to keep someone in line. Your kinsmen, however, are only human. I’m constantly surprised that your comprehensive network of informants provides just the right bit of salacious information to hold over a person’s head. When it doesn’t, exile to one of the colonies is employed. Other times simple bribery is effective. On the rare occasions when your intimidations fail, I’m aware that you have no qualms about assassination. You were chosen, after all, for the position of Keeper because of your devious mind.”
Blue Heron fought to hide her building terror. “If I have committed some offense, great Lord, I swear, it was by accident. I’ve never purposely acted against your—”
“You misinterpret my concern,” he said softly. “The astronomers at the great observatory have noted disturbing signs in the stars. You were but a child when Petaga was overthrown and I was first resurrected. Do you recall why Four Winds Clan attempted something so audacious?”
“To bring order,” she answered automatically. “To stop the constant warfare between the major clans. Petaga only gained ascendance after he overthrew Tharon. Even with the great Dreamer Lichen’s support, Petaga couldn’t stop the petty bickering that erupted in the war where Four Winds Clan rose to prominence.”
She gestured at the sprawling city. “And when your souls were resurrected in human form, Cahokia was reborn. Old Cahokia was leveled and rebuilt under your direction to become a suitable home for your earthly presence.”
“An undertaking begun when I occupied my predecessor’s body.” He referred to his first resurrection—the remarkable ceremony that had reincarnated the god’s life-soul into Black Tail’s body. Black Tail’s body, however, had died four years ago. Immediate action had been taken to ensure that Morning Star’s essence was resurrected in this, her nephew Chunkey Boy’s, body. She needed only to glance off to the west, to the great knife-ridged mound that held Grandfather Black Tail’s body along with his kinsmen, servants, and five tens of sacrificed young women.
“Keeper, if your lineage could affect the miracle of placing me in a human body, why, then could not others?”
She swallowed hard. “You think that was the dream’s portent?”
“Perhaps,” he said absently, his eyes on the red glare of sunset. “That the specter passes through walls and stalks where it will worries me. That it is misshapen hints that it comes in a form we will not recognize, and may not know how to defeat. I called you up here to warn you. Something, some twisted power, has come to Cahokia and bears us ill. Death slips through the darkness, Keeper.”
“I’ll employ every effort to stop it, great Lord.”
He smiled wistfully, the action disfiguring the black stripe painted across his mouth. “Of course you will. But beware the bitterest poison of betrayal, Keeper.”
“Great Lord?”
But he had fixed his gaze on the west, gesturing her away with a flick of his fingers.
Five
Flat on his back in Spring Flower’s bed, the big man known as Seven Skull Shield had fixed his gaze on the soot-caked poles supporting the small dwelling’s roof. His attention, however, was most definitely occupied elsewhere. The pole bed creaked; the leather and rope straps supporting the woven-reed sleeping mat strained beneath the two bodies. From outside, the faint midday calls and sounds of people could be heard.