People of the River(179)

Petaga stood in numb confusion, letting the rain soak him to the core. It soothed like cool salve on an aching bum. He lifted his eyes and saw Nightshade climbing the creek bank to the charred terrace. Her red dress clung to her body like a second skin, hanging in drenched folds. When she spread her arms to the storm, lightning danced like a thousand sparkflies through the clouds and bathed her in amber splendor. Thunder bellowed.

Nightshade tipped her face up and laughed. ''She's done it! First Woman listened!"

The sizzling of the fires rose to a roar. Everywhere, warriors stopped in the middle of nocking arrows to stare in disbelief at the torrent that spilled from the clouds. The ground had begun to shine with a thick, downy sheen where water pooled.

Nightshade lowered her arms and called, "Petaga? What shall I tell Badgertail?"

"Tell him," he shouted back, "tell him yes. I'll accept his surrender. But that applies only to his warriors and the villagers. He is another question."

Tears welling to mix with rain, Petaga lowered himself to his knees on the slick mud. With trembling fingers, he stroked the carved surface of the rain-shiny box that lay before him.



A flash of lightning spun an eerie, luminescent web around Wanderer and Vole where they sat beneath a worn buffalo hide at the base of the Temple Mound. Lichen lay wrapped in a blanket between them—still, quiet. Even when he and Vole had lifted the edges of Lichen's blanket and dashed out of the burning temple, she hadn't made a sound. Her hair spread in a wet veil over the blanket. Wanderer reached down to touch her head. The swelling had gone down quickly, and he had sewn the flap of skin back into place just before the temple caught fire. She seemed to be breathing easier.

Wanderer leaned forward and put his mouth close to the flap. "Lichen? Can you hear me? It's Wanderer. It's raining here. The war has stopped. Tell First Woman we send our thanks."

Vole frowned. "Her soul's gone, Wanderer. She can't hear you."

"Oh, you'd be amazed at what the soul can hear when you've got an extra hole in your head."

The temple blaze still cast a lurid halo over the plaza. As the interior walls caught and burned, the flames illuminated the rivulets of water that slithered across the chunkey field like quicksilver serpents. Against the temple's pale yellow glow, warriors stood silhouetted along the shooting platforms. Their hands spread, they warily scrutinized Petaga's jubilant warriors, who raced around confiscating weapons.

"Wanderer?" Vole's voice was fragile. "When will Lichen's soul come back to us?"

He saw the fear in Vole's eyes and patted her hand tenderly, then tugged on the thong around Lichen's neck to pull the Stone Wolf out on top of the blanket. It gleamed a reddish-orange in the light of the fire. As Wanderer stared at it, he felt its Power radiating out, forming an invisible net around Lichen.

Wanderer leaned back and closed his eyes, gazing at the net with his soul. It shone blue, pale blue, and glistened like a spider's web covered with dew on a cool spring morning. Joy crept through the strands, reaching for him like a weak hand.



He smiled. "Soon, Vole. She's on her way back."





Forty-six


I don't know, Nightshade. I'm not sure she'll want to," Wanderer said as he picked his way through the smoldering remains of the temple. Morning sunlight streamed between the charred poles, painting Nightshade's beautiful face with slashes of gold as she stepped over the rubble of a collapsed wall.

Nightshade sighed. "Well, it's up to her. But I think that Petaga will need her help very badly. All of the people will. Could you talk to her about it?"

"Yes, of course."

Nightshade put her basket on the blackened ground and crouched to examine the ashes, as if looking for something.

A few hands away, Orenda sat cross-legged beside a blanket-enshrouded Lichen. Still weak, Lichen could stay awake for only a few hands of time, but her cheeks had grown rosy again, and the sparkle had reentered her eyes. Girlish laughter filled the air.

Orenda's gaze was fastened on Lichen. "So First Woman t-told you that humans could live here for a little while longer?"

"Yes," Lichen said. "But she didn't say for how long. She told me she would watch and wait. If humans keep hurting Mother Earth, First Woman said she would force us to leave."

"Where will she make us go?"

"South. To the Swamp People's lands. First Woman said—"

Orenda blurted, "But there are huge s-snakes there! 1 heard a trader talking once. He told me the snakes were so b-big that they could swallow a child whole!"

Lichen nodded. "That's just the kind of place First Woman would send humans. She's not very happy with us."