Ecan made a dismissive gesture. “Something about a blood-streaked man with stones for eyes.”
Astcat’s frown deepened as if she didn’t understand. “You must tell me if she says anything else. Anything at all.”
“Yes, Matron.”
Cimmis could tell that Ecan was lying. He would deal with that later, when it wouldn’t upset Astcat. “What was she doing at War Gods Village?”
“I assume she came for the Moon Ceremonial.”
“I always expected her to become Starwatcher.” Astcat smiled in a dreamy way.
“Everyone did. She had more Power at the age of four summers”—he glanced at Ecan through heavy-lidded eyes—“than most Starwatchers do when they’ve seen five tens of summers.”
Cimmis vividly remembered Dzoo sitting in the plaza with her clan’s sacred Dolphin Bundle in her lap. She would speak, then hold it to her ear and nod, hearing the Spirit inside. Dzoo had terrified every other child in Fire Village. And many of the adults. Especially him.
Astcat whispered, “Yes, we were alike, the two of us.”
“Were you?” Ecan inquired impatiently. “My Chief, I must tell you—”
Cimmis turned to Astcat. “In what way were you alike, my wife?”
Astcat’s smile faded, and her eyes went vacant. Spittle trickled from the corner of her mouth.
Cimmis gently wiped it away with his sleeve. “She’s probably remembering her youth. You see, at the age of nine summers, Astcat was chosen by the North Wind elders to be the Starwatcher in Fire Village.”
“So I have heard,” Ecan said with a nod. “Our matron was a very Powerful child.” He looked at Cimmis. “But, my Chief, we must discuss—”
Astcat laughed suddenly and shouted, “Dzoo used to run with the Noisy Ones! I saw her once, spinning around, trying to fling them off her skirt.”
“I remember you telling me,” Cimmis said in an affectionate voice. “She spun around so fast that all the Noisy Ones flew into the air and turned into butterflies.”
“Yes.” Astcat’s voice wavered. “I … saw it.”
Cimmis tucked the hides around Astcat and stroked her gray hair. “Sleep now. I’ll tell you everything later.”
He gently extricated his hand and stood up. “How many warriors did we lose?”
“Over the past two moons, we’ve lost two tens and three. Two were captured during the War Gods Village battle.”
“Captured?”
Ecan propped his hands on his hips. “War Chief Talon ambushed us at the base of War Gods Mountain. We had to sacrifice a few to get away.”
“And was my war chief one of them?”
“White Stone remained behind.”
“Why?”
Ecan’s perfect mouth hardened. “Rain Bear’s warriors were crawling all over the mountain, and I—I lost my son. I don’t know what happened. But after the battle, we were hunting down every last one of the North Wind People, to kill them, as you ordered, and my son must have …”
Astcat started weeping and whispered things that Cimmis couldn’t hear, tender things.
He touched Ecan’s arm. “Come, let us speak outside. I don’t wish to upset her further.”
He ducked beneath his door hanging, and Ecan stepped out into the cold beside him. A triumphant crowd had gathered around the returning warriors. The afternoon echoed with laughter and the rhyming work songs the slaves used to occupy themselves. In the distance, a keening arose as wives, girlfriends, and children learned of the death of their men. Dogs barked at the commotion.
“Before the battle,” Ecan continued, “I hid Tsauz in a pile of rocks, but he wasn’t there when we went to find him. I think he may have been captured.”
“Then consider him dead, Ecan.” Which saddened Cimmis; he’d genuinely liked the boy. Using him to allay Rain Bear’s fears had been a stroke of brilliance. The gamble had been that Rain Bear, known for his leniency, would allow the war party to pass. Then, later, when blame had to be assigned, it would fall on Rain Bear’s shoulders, further weakening his position and splintering the Raven People. Time would tell if that goal had been achieved.
Ecan’s jaw muscles squirmed as he ground his teeth. Then he said, “It’s possible—I’ll grant that—but we searched for several hands of time looking for any sign. We found nothing. Nothing!”
Cimmis pinned him with hard eyes. “So you stayed longer than necessary. You risked, and lost, our warriors’ lives searching for a little boy?”
“No longer than necessary! We searched for Tsauz while we were fulfilling your orders to hunt down the last of the North Wind People.”