People of the River(27)

Two ravens soared up from below the rim of the bluff, their midnight wings flashing in the sun. Wanderer waved a hand when he saw them and let out a low cawww-thock-thock.

One of the ravens swerved to drift over his head. They carried on a whimpering conversation for several seconds before the raven darted away to skim the cornfield. When the gleaming bird reached the edge, a cottontail burst from the field and raced toward Lichen.

She jerked up her bow too quickly. The cottontail spied the motion, lurched sideways, then veered behind a bristly curtain of dead grass to stop, almost hidden, in the tangle of tan and brown. Lichen slipped behind the boulder again and got down on her stomach. She slithered across the warm limestone, pushing herself forward with her toes while she pulled with her elbows. A patch of gray-brown moved slightly in the grass. The rabbit's swift breathing made its sides puff in and out. Lichen began the agonizingly slow process of lifting her bow to aim. The rabbit seemed to know it. It pulled its head back to peer at her through the blades.

Lichen held her breath. As always, this moment of eye contact seemed timeless. She could sense the rabbit's terror and confusion, the silent "Why?" And her young soul cried out that she didn't know. It was just the way Earthmaker had made things.

The rabbit didn't blink. Its stare intensified as it probed her eyes, waiting for her to make the first move. The longer Lichen gazed into those soft brown depths, the more anguish she felt. A passageway seemed to open in the air, allowing their souls to commune. The rabbit's terror became hers.

Lichen closed her eyes and softly Sang her love to Rabbit, explaining her need to eat, asking him to give himself to her so that the One great life of all might continue.

As though they had exchanged souls for the briefest of moments, Lichen saw herself through Rabbit's eyes, lying like Snake on the limestone, her bow half lifted, her black braid tumbling over her left shoulder. She felt Rabbit's heart fluttering wildly in the narrow cage of his chest, and she grieved, and promised to aim well, to do it right. She pleaded for forgiveness. A thread of trust built between them, strengthening with each moment, until Rabbit's voice whispered all around her, "All right, human. I see your need. I give myself to you, but do what you must do quickly. Do not make me suffer."

"I won't. Brother Rabbit. I promise."

Rabbit hopped out into the open space on the gray stone and turned his side to her. Lichen aimed, sucked in a steadying breath, and let her arrow fly. When it pierced Rabbit's heart, she felt it like a dagger in her soul. She burst into tears. Dragging herself to her feet, she trotted over to where Rabbit lay. His hind legs still kicked, trying to run, but the eyes that gazed up at her told her it was all right, that she had kept her promise.

When finally his body went limp and the glow of life faded from his eyes, Lichen propped her bow on a clump of grass and knelt down to caress Rabbit's silken fur. "I love you. Rabbit," she whispered. "Thank you."

She did not look up at the pat of Wanderer's steps on the limestone. She just kept stroking Rabbit's side.

"Your shot was perfect," Wanderer praised softly. "Come. We'll take him home and Sing his soul to Rabbit Above."

Lichen sniffled. "All right."

Wanderer tugged her arrow from Rabbit's side with as much tenderness as he could, then picked Rabbit up. They walked side by side through the scattered boulders. A flock of ravens squawked and cooed overhead, gliding on the air currents like the blackened, windblown leaves of deepest winter. Lichen ached inside. She had never known why killing did that to her. Most people seemed to be able to do it without feeling anything. Some even seemed to enjoy it. But to Lichen, the act always burned with the strength of Rattler's venom in her veins.

It reminded her of the story of Wolf Slayer and Bird-Man. Sons of First Woman. Just after the people's emergence from the Underworlds, monsters had roamed this fourth world of light. Big Giant, Rock Monster Eagle, Big Homed Monster, and all the others drove people crazy, troubling them, eating their children for breakfast. First Woman told Wolf Slayer and Bird-Man to go ask Father Sun how to get rid of the monsters. So they walked for six days, stepped on blue crosses going up through the sky, and climbed onto the back of a rainbow. The Cat Tail People, Water Bug People, and Rock That Claps Together People tried to shoot the brothers off the ridge of the rainbow, but they hid in the bands of light and scrambled up on their stomachs until they reached the top.

Father Sun said to them, "I will tell you how to kill the monsters. But you must promise to hand the telling down, so that my wisdom will always be on the earth with my people. Humans have many monsters, both inside and out, to kill."