People of the Owl(225)
“He told you to remember him fondly as you share it.” Yellow Spider replied bluffly, playing his part with difficulty. The faint wink and slightest jerk of his head in acknowledgment filled her with relief.
“Would you care to join us?”
Water Stinger was now too close for subterfuge.
“I have things to do.” Yellow Spider touched his forehead in respect. “But thank you for your kind offer.”
“Give our husband our regards,” Night Rain called in a too-shrill voice. “We will see him soon.”
Yellow Spider managed a quick glance at Water Stinger, read the man’s aggressive posture, and nodded before he turned on his heel and strode away.
He sent us a gourd full of tea? What is this all about? Pine Drop evaded Water Stinger’s eyes and retreated to the ramada where she squatted beside Night Rain. Lifting the gourd, she sloshed the liquid and sniffed. The soothing aroma of mint filled her nose.
“He sent us tea,” she said as she studied the gourd container. “Isn’t that just Salamander’s way? The whole world is about to fall on him with claws and fangs, and he sends us tea.”
Night Rain took the gourd and drank. “It’s good, too. Try some.”
Sixty
Anhinga was wrapping clean moss around the baby’s bottom when Salamander ducked through the door. He stepped over and smiled down at his daughter. Anhinga tied the thongs that bound the little girl in the fabric wrap.
“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” Salamander said with longing.
“She has her mother’s looks and her father’s souls,” Anhinga replied, and straightened. She lifted an eyebrow at the roll of clothing in his hands.
“For you.” He extended them. “If you would put this on before you leave, anyone who sees you, even from a distance, will believe you to be a member of Owl Clan.”
She read the tension he tried so hard to hide. “It has really come to that?”
Hating to, he gave her a short nod.
“You and I, Husband, are not like the others. We know that life is neither fair nor predictable.” She ran her fingers along his face as she stared into his eyes. “Perhaps Power places us where we are for specific reasons, as your Masked Owl would have you believe. I will go the moment Yellow Spider assures me that Saw Back is otherwise occupied.”
“Thank you,” he said unsteadily.
“You made me promise,” she recalled. “And now I will make you promise something.”
“What is that?”
“Come to me.” She bent down and kissed him gently on the lips. “You are the bravest man I know. If you live through this, I will be waiting for you at the Panther’s Bones.”
“I promise. If I live, I will come to you,” he whispered. “Never forget my love for you.”
From outside, Yellow Spider’s worried voice called, “Salamander?”
“It is time.” He turned reluctantly, then looked back, haunted eyes pleading with hers.
“Go, my husband,” she told him simply. “Or come with me now, and we will leave this all behind us.”
“We are who we are,” he whispered, and ducked out the door.
For a long moment, Anhinga’s heart seemed to sink right through her body and into the muddy earth. She closed her eyes, feeling the hammering of loneliness closing around her.
How long she stood, she couldn’t say. Then a voice penetrated her benumbed souls. “Salamander?”
Her frantic thoughts searched and placed a name with the voice. “Little Needle? Is that you?”
A round and youthful face appeared in the doorway. “Has Salamander gone to the Council?”
“He has.” Anhinga smiled at the boy. “But he asked me if I saw you, to ask you for a favor. He would like you to do something for him.”
“He’s Clan Speaker,” Little Needle answered. “He can just order it.”
“That’s not Salamander,” she told him warmly, “and you know it.”
Little Needle smiled with an apparent wistfulness. “I know.”
Anhinga pointed to the two large ceramic pots resting on cane matting beside the door. “Do you see those pots? The ones with the owl designs on the side? They need to be delivered, Little Needle. One needs to be placed at Speaker Deep Hunter’s fire, and the other set inside Mud Stalker’s doorway. You are not to do two things. First, you are not to sneak a taste! Do you understand?”
At the boy’s solemn nod, she added, “And you are not to mention this to anyone! Not to the Speakers, and certainly not to Moccasin Leaf. Salamander wants to tell the Speakers of this special gift in his own way. Do you understand why that might be?”