People of the Sea(169)
With all of his dwindling strength, Sunchaser reached into that blinding golden radiance and felt warm fingers clasp his.
“I’m ready, Wolfdreamer. Take me.”
Lambkill stretched out on his side in the soft grass before Harrier’s fire. Around them, oaks lifted gnarled branches toward the sky like supplicating hands. Beyond them, the fires of the Otter Clan blinked and winked where they dotted the top of the ridge. Why had the Otter Clan come here? Half of the trees had lightning scars on them. The violent fall winds had also left their marks on the trees, and more winds would ravage the village when the seasons changed. Oxbalm must be a fool.
No matter. Oxbalm’s leadership wasn’t a concern of Lambkill’s. By the time the Otter Clan realized how badly they had chosen, Lambkill would be long gone… and Kestrel but a memory.
For the first time in moons, he felt calm and free of care.
Tannin, however, sat cross-legged beside him with a worried expression on his face, and his shoulders hunched beneath his buckskin shirt. He stared into the green liquid in his wooden cup as though at something repulsive.
Across the fire from them. Harrier and his younger brother, Ravenlight, sat on rocks they had dragged in from the forest. They’d shoved the end of a pine log into the fire, and it burned bright and fragrant. The orange glow shadowed their faces, making their massive brows and flat noses stand out while it created hollows of their eyes. They both wore red-painted shirts. Ravenlight’s collar had a zigzagging line of blue and white porcupine quills.
Lambkill swirled his tea. “Where are your other brothers, Harrier? Did they run home when they discovered how arduous this trip would be?”
“No.” Harrier’s jaw tightened. “We split up to watch both of the trails that lead into Otter Clan Village. We assumed she would come up from the west, but of course none of us could know for certain. Trickster and Flint have a camp on the eastern trail.”
Lambkill said mildly, “She’s coming up from the coast. Cocky and confident, too.”
“Why would you say that?”
Lambkill felt Tannin shift beside him. He turned and caught his brother’s warning glance. Tannin’s long braid hung straight down his back. He’d rested his teacup on his knee and held it with one hand. What an idiot. Did he think Lambkill would be fool enough to mention that Kestrel had been seen with Sunchaser? Never. And anyway Sunchaser had left her by now. Tannin was unbearable.
Lambkill smiled at Tannin, then gestured negligently to Harrier. “Because she’ll think she’s almost safe. Why shouldn’t she be confident?”
He casually sipped his tea. He could smell Kestrel’s approach. Her scent carried on the breeze with as much pungency as that of the pines. Yes, she would be here soon. Very soon. And he would be waiting. He grinned smugly to himself.
Harrier lifted his tea and took a long swallow, then wiped his mouth on the back of his sleeve. “Let me tell you some
things about this clan. Oxbalm’s wife, Sumac, has always taken sides with Kestrel whenever we’ve discussed her. Be prepared for that.”
Lambkill nodded, half-amused. “Women stick together That’s to be expected. It won’t change things.”
“How can you be so sure? What if Sumac makes a fuss when we try to take Kestrel out of the village? Oxbalm said that Sumac would demand a council session to hear the charges against your wife.”
“So we sit through an Otter Clan council, then we go. We’ve hunted this long, another day won’t make much difference.”
“And what if they find her innocent of the incest and murder charges?”
“How could they? We are all witnesses to her guilt.”
“It will still be our word against hers. The Otter Clan traces its descent through the women. They might not believe six men. They could vote to set her free. Or worse. Since she claims to be related to them, they could admit her into the clan. In that case, we would have to fight them to get her back.”
Lambkill chuckled disdainfully. “It will never go that far. Believe me.”
Ravenlight leaned sideways to whisper something to Harrier, and the warrior’s face darkened. He nodded. “Yes, Ravenlight is right. Perhaps we should talk to Catchstraw before we take the chance of a council session.”
Lambkill heard Little Coyote whisper from his pack: “Yes, Father. Catchstraw is the one I told you about. Go to him. He’s seen Mother. Talk to him about Mother before Sumac has her chance to stop you.”
Lambkill realized that his face went blank when he listened to Little Coyote, but the looks that Harrier and Ravenlight were giving him made him smile grimly. They peered at him as though he’d just called a ghost from the air. Could they hear his son’s voice? he wondered. No, if they had, they would have shewn astonishment, not suspicion.