People of the Sea(189)
“You accuse me!” Catchstraw bent forward in suffocating laughter. “Me? A witch? What proof—”
“Look at Sunchaser’s wounds!” Horseweed interrupted. “They were clearly made by an animal. Look at the claw and bite marks. If you fought with him and made those wounds…”
Kestrel’s heart thundered when people surged forward like a tidal wave, closing in around the fire, peering at Catchstraw in amazed terror, then glancing disbelievingly at Horseweed and Sunchaser. Horseweed stood his ground, though he looked as if his nerves thrummed. “I call Catchstraw a witch, too!” Sumac said.
“So do I,” Dizzy Seal chimed in from where he stood to Horseweed’s left, looking very small and frightened.
When Oxbalm lifted his hands for silence, the people quieted down to nervous murmurs. The gathering seemed to split before Kestrel’s eyes, half of it aligning behind Catchstraw and half drifting in Oxbalm’s direction. Catchstraw lifted his chin smugly. A gust of wind swept the hilltop, carrying the pungent scent of fear-hot bodies to Kestrel. She noticed the beads of perspiration that dotted people’s foreheads. Many of the men had nocked their atlatls and stood poised to cast at the slightest provocation.
Kestrel glanced at the woman who held Cloud Girl; she
looked more scared than anyone, her eyes wide, her mouth ajar. Desperately, Kestrel wished she had Cloud Girl in her own arms … but no matter what happened here, her daughter was safer without her. She struggled to keep her anguish at bay, hoping that Cloud Girl didn’t feel it. But the baby started crying and waving her fists, shrieking as if terrified. Cloud Girl reached out to Kestrel, in a “Take me! Take me!” gesture.
Kestrel shook her head weakly as tears stung her eyes. Cloud Girl shrieked louder.
Oxbalm raised his old voice. “It’s true! Catchstraw is a witch! For weeks, Sumac, Dizzy Seal, Horseweed, Balsam and I have been seeking out and finding the evidence of his witchery! He—”
“What evidence?” Yucca Thorn demanded. She strode up to stand at Catchstraw’s right. Her withered face had a pinched look. “Name one thing Catchstraw has done that suggests he’s a witch!”
“Out in the forest,” Oxbalm called, “he’s been leaving perverted mazes. Sunchaser’s mazes, ruined by Catchstraw’s hand! He’s been drawing over the lines, confusing them, erasing some and destroying others.”
Sunchaser stirred feebly, and Kestrel smoothed his hot brow, brushing wet hair away from his face.
“That’s no evidence,” Yucca Thorn defended. “If you’re accusing Catchstraw of witching, you’d better have more proof than that! You know Catchstraw never believed in the maze. He said it led nowhere. Maybe he was trying to fix it, to correct Sunchaser’s errors so the maze would be useful-the way Wolfdreamer intended it to be.”
At the repetition of his name, Sunchaser awoke. He looked as if it took every ounce of strength he possessed to open his eyes. When he saw Kestrel, his mouth tensed and he struggled to rise. “No, Sunchaser. It’s all right,” she said. “You’re in Otter Clan Village. You’re safe.”
He whispered, “Kestrel… Kestrel, run. Run… your husband .”
“Yes, I know. It’s all right,” she said with false confidence, praying Lambkill couldn’t hear Sunchaser’s soft voice. “Save your strength. You’re going to need it to get well.”
Yucca Thorn yelled, “If Sunchaser thinks he’s been witched by someone, let him name his assailant!”
“W-what?” Sunchaser asked. Feebly, he squinted across the fire, probably seeing nothing but the glare that swelled so high that it drove the moonlight back. Kestrel said, “They want you to name the witch—the person who attacked you in the forest.”
Clearly, Sunchaser murmured, “Catchstraw … he’s been witching the maze. He’s learned to become Dire Wolf… attacked me … on trail…”
“Liar!” Catchstraw let out a roar of rage and lunged forward, using his fists to beat a way through the crowd around the fire. Screams rang out as people hit the dirt crawling. Catchstraw lifted his dart and dove at Sunchaser.
“No!” Horseweed screamed.
Kestrel leaped forward and grabbed Catchstraw’s arm, dragging him sideways to the ground. He slammed a fist into her face. In fury, Kestrel clawed Catchstraw’s wounded shoulder; he shrieked madly and bashed her in the head with his elbow. The force of the blow sent her reeling backward, and she landed on her side on the cold ground.
“Look out!” Horseweed shouted. “Get out of the way! He’s going after Sunchaser again!”