People of the Morning Star(61)
Blue Heron granted Seven Skull Shield a thin smile. Her first inclination had been to sacrifice them in order that their souls accompany the tonka’tzi to the afterlife. She figured that once dead, their souls could chatter all they wanted about assassination.
The Keeper doesn’t cringe when it comes to getting a bit of blood on her hands. A good fact to remember.
Seven Skull Shield’s counterargument had been that such an action might play into the killer’s hands. With assassins prowling around in the night, prudent potential victims wouldn’t be well served by making their households nervous about their future prospects.
“Then we’ve contained the situation?” Matron Wind asked.
To Seven Skull Shield’s mind, the Matron looked exhausted, stricken, and uncertain. Given her expression, elevation to the tonka’tzi didn’t exactly fill her with joy. Still … she’d definitely benefited by her brother’s murder.
Might pay to keep an eye on the good Matron.
But what would she gain by killing the Keeper at the same time? Elimination of the one person who might ferret out her involvement?
Blue Heron fingered the stitches under her chin as she said, “The bodies have been carried to the charnel house. Rides-the-Lightning has already begun stripping meat from the bones. By midday the tonka’tzi’s flesh will be feeding the crows and eagles. A fitting tribute to the Sky World.”
“We’ll need to begin clearing the charred rubble of his palace away as soon as the ashes cool,” Matron Wind remarked, a dazed look on her face. “I want the mound recovered with a layer of white clay to signify peace before a new palace is built.”
“What did the Morning Star say?” Night Shadow Star glanced at Sun Wing.
Seven Skull Shield munched on his bread, hawklike eyes fixed on Lady Sun Wing as she absently stroked loving fingers down her cardinal-feathered cloak. No woman should be that taken with herself. His imagination pictured her being plopped down as a dirt farmer’s wife to make due on a freshly cleared farmstead. Laboring day in and out, with nothing but brown burlap to wear, and dirt under her fingernails. It would do her good.
“The Morning Star is terribly distressed.” She put too much emphasis on the words. “He urges Lady Night Shadow Star to hurry her investigation into these mindless and chaotic attacks.”
The rest waited, attention on Sun Wing.
“And?” Blue Heron finally asked. “That’s it?”
“The Morning Star has complete faith in you,” Sun Wing added. “He urges you to give full attention to your duties.”
“As if we wouldn’t when strangers are sneaking into our bedrooms to slit our throats?” Matron Wind cried.
“Beware of the tone you use when addressing the Morning Star,” Sun Wing warned coldly, and to Seven Skull Shield’s amazement, Matron Wind paled.
By the Piasa’s balls, Matron Wind is aunt to both the Morning Star and this little tight-sheath, and the girl uses that kind of tone?
Night Shadow Star, however, gave her little sister a scathing look. “Have a care with your tongue yourself, Sister. You can wind up atop a burning pyre as quickly as the rest of us.”
That referred to the act of burning a person alive to send their souls posthaste to the Sky World. The underlying belief was that their freshly freed souls would ride the column of thick black smoke up to the Thunderers’ realm among the clouds.
Sun Wing barely narrowed a brown eye. “Your Underworld master may trust you, Sister, but Morning Star knows you for who you really are.”
Seven Skull Shield watched Night Shadow Star’s beautiful face darken, a flat coldness behind her eyes. For just an instant he might have seen the reflection of a hunting cougar in her eyes. The sudden sensation of chill air, of threat and danger, however, felt incredibly real.
“Stop it!” Blue Heron snapped. “Fighting among ourselves isn’t going to solve the problem.”
“Correct.” Matron Wind rubbed her face, then looked around with worried eyes. “Who will be next among us? They’ve tried for the Morning Star, and now in one night they have murdered Red Warrior and would have had Blue Heron but for the work of Power.”
Her quick and nervous glance Seven Skull Shield’s way was met with his bland smile. Let her believe he was Power’s instrument. There might be profit in it down the road.
Five Fists spoke, “In addition to whatever you decide, we’re moving a squad of warriors around each of the palaces.”
“Which will do what?” Seven Skull Shield asked mildly as he slapped the crumbs from his hands.
The astonished look Five Fists gave him was almost better than the outburst: “Why … it will keep our people safe, thief!”