People of the Sea(206)

“At first I did. But I used to fear so many things when I lived among the stars. Things I no longer fear. I have learned something, Man.”

“Tell me about it.”

Boy let out a serene breath. “I have learned that a soul that truly clothes itself in Death is never afraid of anything. And seeing the world through the eyes of Death is a vision of heartrending beauty.”

The Man closed his eternal eyes and smiled to himself. The words were like a balm on his wounded soul.

He replied, “Come, Boy. Come back to the Land of the Dead. You have more to learn… but I think it’s time you were born as a living, breathing Dreamer. Perhaps you can help your mother… and the world after all.”



Harrier, the last of his brothers to remain loyal to the task, lay stretched out on his belly, atlatl and darts clutched in one hand, watching as Kestrel led the way on to the beach. Sunchaser limped beside her, a light pack on his shoulder, and Helper followed, hauling a travois filled with hides.

Harrier slid along the rise, making sure that the grass broke his form should either of his targets look up.

Sunchaser!

Harrier shook his head. Too much had happened for him to understand all of it, but one single fact clutched at his soul. Kestrel carried his younger brother’s atlatl. Even from here, he could see it swinging at her hip.

He’d skulked along the trail taken by the pair, awaiting the opportunity to drive a dart into Kestrel’s body—but it had never come. The two stuck to each other like glue boiled from an elk’s hoof.

Therefore, to kill Kestrel, Harrier had first to kill Sunchaser, for if he didn’t, the Dreamer would seek revenge—and Harrier, having trouble nerving himself to kill a Dreamer, quivered in fear at the thought of a Dreamer trying to kill him!

They passed below, so close that he could hear their voices. Steady now, steady!

“Will there be fir trees there, Sunchaser?” Kestrel asked and smiled serenely at the Dreamer.

Sunchaser shrugged and laughed. “I don’t know. I’ve never been that far north before. I’ve heard that there are firs and gigantic redwoods, twice the size of the ones we have here. Why, Kestrel? Have you grown to love the firs so much?”

She nodded. “Yes. They’re very beautiful. And I love their scent when the rains soak them.” “Then I hope there are firs. And many of them.” Sunchaser took Kestrel’s hand and held it tightly. She smiled again. Strands of her long hair danced in the sea breeze.



Harrier slowly rose to his knees, settling a dart into the hook of his atlatl, easing his arm back.

He would have to cast just so, driving the dart into Sunchaser’s back, hopefully sending the point of the missile through the man’s spinal column. Then, as Sunchaser fell and Kestrel bent down in panic, Harrier would drive a second dart through her. The baby in the pack on her back would die from the cold tonight.

His arm had extended to full reach now and was balanced, the obsidian point at the end of his dart glinting in the sunlight.

Harrier choked the cry in his throat as a sharp pressure in his back was followed by a pain.

“Don’t move,” the calm voice ordered. “Just open your hand and let your weapons fall.”

Through clenched teeth, Harrier said, “Who–”

“Do it!”

Harrier’s atlatl and darts clattered against the rocks hidden in the grass. The noise was drowned by the crash of the surf, and Sunchaser and Kestrel walked away oblivious, smiling at each other.

Harrier turned, staring over his shoulder, squinting into the sun to find Horseweed standing above him, pressing a dart into the small of his back. “Are you going to kill me, boy?”

Horseweed made a face, slowly shaking his head. “I have to admit, you do tempt me, Harrier. The Otter Clan, as in your own clan, considers a youth to be a man when he’s killed a mammoth or a man. I may have killed a mammoth. I could certainly kill you. But earning that distinction isn’t worth a war, Harrier.”

“Then you will be a youth all of your life! Are you a coward?” And as soon as he’d said it, Harrier regretted his words. No coward had ever battered a witch like Horseweed had done. The boy was brave.

“You may believe that, if you wish,” Horseweed told him evenly.



“What do you want of me?”

“Your word that you will leave the coast, follow your brothers back to your people and never bother Sunchaser, Kestrel or the Otter Clan again.”

Harrier cocked his head. “And you will take my word?”

Horseweed nodded. “I will. Despite your actions, I think you are an honorable man.”

Harrier looked back at the beach, where a man, a woman, a baby and a dog followed the curving line of surf and sand northward. Sunchaser’s white hair gleamed with an unnatural brilliance. Waves crashed and rolled up over their moccasins. They didn’t seem to mind. “Buffalo Bird was a fool to tell Kestrel the things he did. He was so young. Too eager to gain wealth and status. I understand why she killed him. But… I loved my brother.” Harrier squinted at Sunchaser and Kestrel. Their joyous laughter echoed through the air. Helper barked and bounded happily around them, the travois jerking up and down.