“And now, the balance must be restored,” Silvertip said sadly. “Deputy, remember, there is no life without death. Sometimes, terrible steps must be taken to restore the harmony.”
Keresa’s fumbling thoughts tried to make sense of it. The Sunpath and Lame Bull were beaten, leaving. Who could possibly challenge the Nightland now? She was about to ask, but Silvertip had stood, nodding politely at them.
“Dreamer?” Windwolf asked, rising. “Will we see you again?”
He looked back, one hand on the door hanging. “That depends on Wind and Water, Fire and Earth.” And then he was gone, Ashes silently following behind.
Sixty-two
What have I become? Who have I become?
Skimmer sat in the darkness, her back to the contoured wall of Ti-Bish’s chamber. She had placed a folded hide to both cushion and insulate her back from the ice.
She felt Ti-Bish shift, his head cradled on her lap. Her fingers carefully smoothed his hair, running strands of it between them the way she had once done with Ashes.
“Are you still alive, Daughter?” she asked the darkness.
“She is.”
Skimmer heard the voice from the Raven Bundle, could feel its pulsing warmth.
“Where is she?”
“Headed west, toward the Tills.”
“Why should I believe you?”
“Because I have no reason to lie.”
“Oh? You have Ti-Bish believing he can lead the Nightland People up an icy river to find paradise.”
“And Wolf Dreamer led your people to believe that through peace, and the search for the One, they, too, could find paradise.”
“We were fools.”
“That is the lesson you needed to learn.”
She heard the shift in his voice, and looking through the darkness, thought a darker shadow moved in the room. She could feel the change in the air on her cheek. “So, what are you going to do? Let all those people climb into that hole, splash around, and wash out as corpses?”
“No. The Dream, my Dream, is about to die. The bargain is struck. Opposites crossed. I have taken from Wolf Dreamer; he has taken from me. I have given him his Dreamer; he has given me mine.”
“And what comes next?”
“The struggle begins again. It is the nature of creation.”
“Why struggle?”
“Why not just live in the One?”
“Because it becomes stagnation. It leads to weakness and death.”
“You begin to understand.”
“So all that is left is war and struggle?”
“Until you met Ti-Bish, what did you have?”
“Hatred and rage.” She smiled at the darkness. “And I still have it.”
“Good.” A pause. “But you now have something to go with it.”
She frowned, and then nodded, aware of the spark deep in her breast. “Hope.”
“My mistake … I failed to anticipate the Power of it.”
“You should have listened to your Prophet. Ti-Bish is full of it.”
“Ti-Bish is not my Prophet.”
“Spirits take me, if it’s Nashat, I’m going to burn your bundle.”
“Oh, no.” The soft voice sounded amused. “Nashat cares nothing for Spirit Power. He lives only to serve Nashat.” A pause. “I sought a Dreamer who believes but has a strength of soul and dedication. Someone who would offer his life and happiness to a cause he believed in. My Dreamer had to understand down to the soul’s core why the One, tranquility, and order were flawed, like tool stone riddled with cracks.”
“Have you looked closely at Karigi?”
“Karigi is too much like Nashat.”
She saw the darkness shift, felt movement in the still air.
“Come. Let me show you something.”
“I’ll wake Ti-Bish if I get up.”
“He sleeps more soundly than he has since he was a child. He loves you with all of his heart.”
She carefully lifted his head, slipped to the side, and eased it to the hides. Standing, she followed, oddly aware of his black presence. To her surprise, she could sense the corridor, as though her soul reached out and touched the ice walls, could feel the twists and turns in the passages.
“It’s as if I can see in the dark.”
“It is my gift.”
“Do you give such gifts often?”
“As often as you do.” A pause. “You have given the greatest gift to Ti-Bish. He has loved you for a long time.”
“He once said that lying with me would have dire consequences.”
“It was your final decision.”
“And that means … what?”
“Pleasure, creation, fertility, love, and sharing. The balance of harmony, peace, and order. To seek the One is to deny the needs of the flesh.”