He told me he was struggling to assure that everything happened at the right moment and ordered me never to question him again.
I won’t.
Skimmer has started crying.
I am afraid for her.
And for me, if I don’t obey Raven Hunter.
Forty-four
Windwolf leaned against the mouth of the rockshelter and stared out at the boulders that created Headswift Village. In the sunlight, they gleamed wetly with the morning dew. Down the hill—at the base of the outcrop—Sunpath People went about their morning duties, cooked breakfast, and played with their children. A pack of dogs raced through the village, barking.
He sighed heavily. Two camps had already headed out on the trail west, but another three had arrived. It was an awkward way to move people. Those who came north to Headswift Village might have a couple of days of recuperation, only to be sent off west, knowing they had to ford the great river at the western edge of Loon Lake. They could have saved a moon’s travel or more by simply traveling straight west along the southern margins of the lakes.
But Karigi and Blackta were out there, somewhere.
“I do not understand,” Fish Hawk said. “I just told you that we heard boulders being moved in the chambers where we’ve trapped the Nightland warriors. Doesn’t that disturb you?”
Windwolf kept his gaze on the Sunpath villagers. “I know my orders sound … unusual, but I have my reasons.”
“Please help me to understand them.”
A boy ran down the trail in front of them. His dog, a puppy, trotted happily at his heels. Windwolf waited until they’d passed.
“Deputy Keresa needs to speak with her people. Let her.”
Fish Hawk studied him curiously. “They’ll be plotting against us.”
“I’m counting on it. I’m also counting on their growing desperation.”
Fish Hawk propped his hand on his belted war club. “If they work hard enough, they may open a tunnel connecting the chambers.”
“If they do, pretend you don’t know about it.”
Fish Hawk’s brows knitted. “They’ll think we’re fools.”
Windwolf nodded. “Perhaps. But desperation grows with numbers. I want them all sharing each other’s doubts.”
“Then … you want Kakala’s warriors all in the same chamber?”
“Now you’re getting the idea.”
Fish Hawk shook his head as though he hadn’t heard right. Long black hair fell over his shoulders. “If I were making the decisions, I would be trying very hard to keep them separated. The warriors in the new chamber must still have weapons. We don’t know how many there are, but if they get together, they are much more powerful. They’ll be plotting to escape, and if they escape, they will surely kill some of us.”
Windwolf pushed away from the wall and stepped out into the sunlight. Cold wind gusted up the trail and flapped the collar of his buffalo coat. “That’s a chance I’m forced to take.”
Fish Hawk held his gaze. “Why don’t we kill them?”
“Because the longer we hold them, the more time they have to think, to lose hope. They know the cages are waiting for them. As soon as I know how the Nightland Elders will respond to our hostages, I’ll explain my bizarre orders.” He clapped a hand on Fish Hawk’s shoulder. “In the meantime, I must ask you to trust me.”
“Well,” Fish Hawk said through a long exhalation. “I hope you’re being brilliant, not stupid. If they escape, Kakala won’t rest until he kills you.”
Windwolf tightened his arms over his chest and gave Fish Hawk a tired smile. “Then, we had best not let them escape.”
“I’ll bet you want to kill Keresa,” Ashes said as she knotted fibers cut from spruce roots. Her nimble fingers were occupied making a net bag.
“No,” Silvertip told her as he clutched the Wolf Bundle to his chest. He mostly kept his right eye closed, since it was hard to focus. And the headache didn’t make talking easier.
“Why not? She tried to kill you.”
Silvertip pursed his lips, giving her a squint-eyed appraisal. “She only did what Power wished.”
Ashes gave him the sort of look she’d give the demented. “Power wanted you to have your head bashed in?”
He glanced around, seeing none of the adults close. “I had to die.”
“Well, you came pretty close.”
He gave the slightest shake of his head. “No. I died. I saw my dead body … watched as a condor came down and …” He pressed the Wolf Bundle against his stomach, remembering the sensation of the condor’s beak pulling out his guts. “I had to watch until my bones fell away.”