“Of course. Your father has abilities he barely realizes. Not as many as you do, but enough to sting a man’s interest.”
Tsauz blinked. “Me?”
“You.”
Rain Bear lifted a curious eyebrow at the content of their talk, then reached for the nest of wooden cups near the hearthstones. “Have a hot cup of tea. You’ll feel stronger.” He dipped the first one full and handed it to Rides-the-Wind.
Rides-the-Wind cradled his cup and sniffed the aroma. “Um, fireweed leaves and sweet sap. One of my favorites.”
Rain Bear said, “Would you like a cup, Tsauz?”
“Yes. I thank you.”
Rain Bear lifted Tsauz’s hand and put the cup in it. The boy’s stomach growled as he gulped it down. He drank the entire cup in four swallows.
Rain Bear reached for the cup again. “Let me refill that. I didn’t realize you were so thirsty.”
He refilled the cup, put it in the boy’s hands again, and saw Evening Star coming up the trail, flanked by Hornet and Wolf Spider. She carried a basket. Long hair fell from her hood and fluttered over her cape. She smiled back when she saw him, and suddenly his day brightened. The sunlight was stronger and warmer. The colors of the world blazed.
Low conversations broke out among the warriors. Most eyed her with curiosity. Some with malevolent intent.
“Did you get the cakes?” he called.
She nodded. “Yes.”
Evening Star knelt on the mat between Tsauz and Rain Bear and, as she unwrapped the cakes, said, “A pleasant afternoon to you, Elder. Are you well?”
“Better, thank you for asking.” His gray hair fell around his oblong face like a curtain woven of spiderwebs.
“Pitch has been worried about you.”
He made a light gesture. “Well, he needn’t be. There are many circles left for me to explore.”
The old man’s piercing gaze landed on Tsauz.
“What do you mean?” Rain Bear asked.
Rides-the-Wind made a light gesture. “I mean life is a series of circles within circles, never ending. If a man faithfully walks the spiral to the center, and doesn’t fall off, he will eventually find the solution.”
Evening Star gave him a curious look. “Is that an answer?”
The old Soul Keeper smiled. “It is the only answer, Matron. Apparently you haven’t found the question yet.” He turned to the boy. “Tsauz, I have heard that your father uses beautiful obsidian fetishes in his Healing ceremonies. Does he make them himself?”
Rain Bear’s heart rate increased. He met Evening Star’s wide eyes. The obsidian fetishes Coyote paid for Dzoo’s life? Did Ecan get them from Coyote? Gods, did the old man know who Coyote was?
Tsauz put down his cup and wiped his hands on his leggings. “I don’t know where he gets them. He just brings bags of them home from his trips. I think he Trades for them.”
“Hmm,” Rides-the-Wind said, and smiled. “Well, if you ever remember the maker’s name, or the place where he gets them, I hope you will tell me. My hands have grown too stiff to knap out fetishes, or anything else for that matter.”
The tea bag swung when Evening Star reached down to refill her cup.
Tsauz suddenly asked, “Who attacked War Gods Village?”
Rain Bear stared at the boy. How could he not know? “You were there, Tsauz. We tracked your father’s party after he left War Gods Village. We killed four, and captured two more. You would have known the captives, Red Sleep and Wet Hand. They told us that they warred for Cimmis.”
A swallow went down Tsauz’s throat. In an agonized voice, he said, “My father couldn’t have known about it, Rain Bear. He was surprised by the attack. He jerked me out of my hides and dragged me up the hill to hide me; then he went back to fight them!”
Rain Bear fingered his cup while he contemplated that unlikely scenario. “Tsauz, I—”
“Why would Chief Cimmis send Father and me to War Gods Village and then attack it without telling us?”
Rides-the-Wind let out a soft pained sound as he shifted on the mat to rub his knees, muttering, “Circles within circles.”
Rain Bear said, “I don’t know, Tsauz.” He glanced at Evening Star, who glared back, expression hard.
Tsauz stammered, “P-Perhaps Chief Cimmis couldn’t get word to us. We had been on the trail for half a moon. We wouldn’t have—”
“This was a well-planned attack, Tsauz. Whoever was behind it had been thinking about it for some time. They knew enough to use the Moon Ceremonial to lull Matron Weedis’s suspicions. As they lulled mine.”
Rain Bear could see thoughts forming behind the boy’s dark eyes.