“I remember,” she said without turning, and strode away down the tunnel. The last glimpse he had was a flutter of her foxhide cape as she disappeared into the darkness.
The Destruction
I huddle in the darkness, heart-stopped, breath-stopped, waiting to hear his whisper.
A Spirit of immense beauty, with a soothing voice and the power to convince frail humans of anything, he is also too beautiful to be real.
My heart aches from staring at the eerie shimmering blackness with mortal eyes.
“Soon, very soon, the first motions of the destruction will begin,” he murmurs.
“What do you need me to do?”
“Disdain all those for whom your presence is a comfort and a blessing. Embrace those who see you as a fool.”
“But … I don’t like being treated as a fool. Why—”
“Because it will teach you to listen to the fool within: the man who loves too much, who believes too deeply, the man who shatters at a single harsh word. That man, Ti-Bish, is the only one who can lead his people through the hole in the ice. Without that fool, we are all lost.”
“Including you?” I softly ask.
Raven Hunter’s wings flash like black lightning, and thunder booms through the icy wilderness.
I shudder.
Almost inaudible, he breathes, “Especially me.”
Twenty-nine
On his belly, Kakala sneaked up over the pile of boulders and scrutinized the village nestled in the rocks above him. Keresa slid up beside him. Dawn’s lavender gleam sheathed Keresa’s beautiful face and reflected in her hard eyes.
The morning was cold, mist hanging in pockets. A drizzly rain had fallen that night, turning into slushy snow before the clouds fled off to the east. Ice rimed the stone, making footing treacherous.
Not the best time to attack a hostile village.
“What do you see?” she asked.
“Nothing that looks like the kind of trap we laid for Windwolf at Walking Seal Village, that’s for sure. Goodeagle is as crazy as a head-struck goose.”
The entire hill was a mass of tumbled rocks, gravel, and scrawny spruce trees. Why would anyone wish to live here?
“Those must be the Sunpath People.” Keresa pointed to the cluster of hastily thrown-up lodges at the foot of the slope. They looked like little more than broken branches leaned together and covered with ratty hides.
“Yes,” Kakala answered. “If we send a handful of our warriors after them, they should run west, away from the village.”
“And they’ll probably keep running.”
“If they’re wise, they will.” Kakala squinted against a fierce gust of wind. His bearhide cape flapped around him. “Remember: Tell our warriors they are not to kill any Sunpath People.”
Her mouth quirked. “What if Sunpath warriors are casting darts at them?” She arched an eyebrow. “Can we wound them?”
“Yes, we can wound them.” He chuckled. “We want them spreading the news that Headswift is destroyed, remember? So that Silt hears, and turns back.”
Keresa heaved a sigh. “Assuming Karigi hasn’t already stopped them.” She paused. “Are you sure that changing your orders to have him come here was a good idea?”
“We came expecting a trap. Where is it?”
She shook her head, looking nervous.
Kakala gestured to the village. “Very few people are out in front of the rockshelters. Why?”
“It’s still early. By midday, people will be everywhere.”
“Then let’s be about this. If three tens of our warriors hit the Lame Bull People fast, we can drive most away. That will make it easier to corner the rest.”
She didn’t say anything.
He scanned the valley, examining every possible place the fleeing survivors might take refuge.
Keresa’s eyes narrowed, and Kakala’s jaw muscles jumped at the look she gave him. They’d been arguing for moons now, debating the rights and wrongs of the curious orders they’d been getting. And just now, he could see that same rebellious gleam in her eyes.
“What are we doing, Kakala?”
“I’m trying to stay out of the cage for good. I’m not sure what you’re doing.”
“The Lame Bull People have never done anything to threaten us. Yet we’re here to kill them.”
“Some will survive. They always do.” But his heart sided with her words.
She shook her head, and her long black braid sawed across her shoulder.
“I don’t like this any better than you do, Keresa.”
She hesitated for so long it set his teeth on edge. “ … I know.”
“The sooner this is over, the sooner we can go home.”
She gave him a measuring look. “Home? To what?”