People of the Nightland(130)
She called, “Ti-Bish? Is that you?”
Moccasins on ice.
“They know you’re here,” he repeated from no more than two or three paces away.
“Who?”
“The Four Old Men, the Elders.” Ti-Bish shifted uneasily. “The warriors who brought you here have been talking.”
Skimmer drew the worn softness of the hides up around her throat. She’d started to shiver. But it wasn’t the cold; it was the memory of Nashat’s voice coming from just outside the enclosure.
“H-How long have I been here, Ti-Bish?” she asked. The anguish in her voice surprised her. “I can’t tell how many days have passed.”
“The Elders want to see you.”
Why wasn’t he answering her questions?
“Ti-Bish … where have you been? It seems like I’ve been alone forever.”
His steps padded closer, and he knelt down. “It’s not easy to get to. But Raven Hunter showed me the way.”
His scent filled the air, something deep and dark, like moss that had been growing in a cave for tens of tens of summers.
“The way?”
He didn’t answer.
Tiny flashes of light, like a distant torch reflecting from midnight-colored feathers, surrounded Ti-Bish. She could clearly see the outline of his body as he stood up.
Reflections from the Thunder Sea? This far away?
“We have to go,” he whispered. “The clan Elders are waiting.”
Skimmer fought to suppress the shudder that climbed her spine. If they killed her before she had a chance to kill Ti-Bish, what would happen to the Sunpath People? To Ashes?
“Ti-Bish,” she said as she braced a hand against the wall and rose. “The darkness … has taught me many things.”
“Raven Hunter said it would,” he breathed, and spread his arms, as though opening them to the black world. “It has become the one ally I can rely upon.”
Fear tingled through her. His soul seemed to be loose, flying somewhere far away where it couldn’t hear her.
She moved toward him. “You were right. I have seen the truth of Raven Hunter’s vision. I believe we must go back through the hole in the ice to the Long Dark.”
The words terrified her. If the Long Dark was anything like living in this black cave, it would drive her mad. It would drive every normal human being mad.
Ti-Bish took a quick step backward, as though stunned. “Has … has he picked you?”
Nothing he said was making sense.
“Who?”
“C-Come,” he whispered. “Let’s … let’s get this over with. We must prepare for the way.”
She shook her head in confusion, but said, “All right. I will try to follow you, but it’s difficult. I wish you’d brought a lamp. The darkness …”
Ti-Bish took her hand in a tight grip, and said, “I’ll lead you.”
As they climbed the sloping tunnels, the Ice Giants groaned and squealed.
Skimmer stopped suddenly when Wind Woman moved around her, blowing her long hair. “Are we nearing the surface?”
“Yes.”
The darkness began to recede, and a faint glow lit the tunnels. Ti-Bish still held her hand, leading her up through the maze and around enormous pools of meltwater.
“It won’t be long now,” he said, and walked around a curve.
As they headed up a steep tunnel, her feet repeatedly slipped on the ice. Ti-Bish kept a tight hold on her hand to keep her from falling. They rounded a bend to find the ice parted, the rough walls split vertically. She stared into the chasm created by the giant crack.
“Is that … ?” She sucked in a breath.
“Yes,” he said. “There are crevasses everywhere. And more open every summer.”
Skimmer tipped her head far back to look up. Sunlight filtered through the fissures overhead. A feeling of ecstasy and freedom swelled her heart. It was as if Father Sun himself had reached down and touched her. For the first time since she’d arrived, she could get a full breath into her lungs.
“That is my secret crevasse,” he whispered to her, as though sharing a bit of precious knowledge. “Remember it, Skimmer. Someday, you may need to know how to get back here.”
They veered left at the next split in the tunnels, and as they continued on up the steep incline, Father Sun faded, but the flickering light of a fire began to waver over the pale blue walls like invisible wings.
The narrow ice tunnels opened to magnificent arched passageways and huge rounded chambers.
When she heard voices, her stomach muscles tensed.
“We’re almost to the Council Chamber,” Ti-Bish said, and turned to look at her. “Don’t worry. I won’t let them hurt you.”