People of the Silence(13)

Ironwood glanced at Sternlight, who leaned on a chunk of fallen roof back in the shadows. Dust puffed from beneath Sternlight’s restless sandals and coated his long white ritual shirt. His brown eyes held a strange light, as though Father Sun breathed inside his tall, lean frame. Ironwood’s backbone prickled. Yet he trusted this man. Trusted him like no other.

“The Blessed Sun, Chief Crow Beard, is dying,” Ironwood said.

Sternlight’s beautiful lips pressed into a bloodless line. “Maybe. None of us can say for certain. He—”

“You know it.”

“No,” Sternlight corrected. “I believe he’s dying. But he has fooled us so often in the past, I hesitate for fear he will prove us wrong again.”

“I hesitate, too, my friend.” Ironwood glanced uneasily at the carved gods behind Sternlight. They seemed to be watching them. “But if he is dying, we must act quickly.”

Sternlight steepled his fingers over his lips. “This is not a decision I can make, Ironwood. You must make it.”

“I know that, old friend. It is just as much my responsibility today as it was almost sixteen summers ago.”

Sternlight glanced up, pinning Ironwood with sober eyes. Against the darkening sandstone, his pale face and white shirt seemed to blaze. “You truly believe the child is in danger?”

“Yes.”

“Does this mean you suspect treachery?”

Ironwood needed to phrase his next words carefully. “No. But if the Blessed Sun dies, there is no longer a reason to hide the child. And Talon Town with its massive defensive walls and trained warriors is certainly safer than a little village.”

“You just want the child close to you, is that it?”

“Sternlight, I—”

“That was not a reprimand, Ironwood. Just a question. If you truly mean to do this, be smart. I don’t think it’s wise to go and drag the child away from the only family—”

“I wouldn’t do that.” Though that was precisely what he longed to do. Ironwood folded muscular arms over his aching chest, as if he could protect his heart. “I was thinking about sending Wraps-His-Tail, my deputy, to the village with some story about how much I need Beargrass to return to Talon Town.”

“And hope he brings the child with him?”

“Yes, and I think he will. If I tell him that the Mogollon are raiding and I fear for his family’s safety, he’ll come.” Ironwood resumed his pacing, his yucca sandals soundless in the rock shelter’s powdery soil. Far out in the desert a pack of coyotes yipped, then broke into a beautiful lilting chorus.

“But, Ironwood, the Fire Dogs have been raiding for many sun cycles.” Sternlight used his fingertips to massage his temples, as though a headache had just started behind his dark eyes. “Why would such a message make him come?”

“I’ll add that the northern barbarians, the Tower Builders, are slinking about like wildcats, just waiting for a chance to slip into Straight Path country and kill us all.” Ironwood caught Sternlight’s sidelong look. “It’s true, you know. If Chief Crow Beard dies, the Tower Builders will look upon it as an opportunity to sweep down and steal whatever they can lay their dirty hands on.”

“I suppose so.”

“And they may be able to take advantage of our confusion. After all, Snake Head will become the new Blessed Sun when his father is gone. People are certain to feel despondent for a time.”

Sternlight nodded. “I certainly will.”

“It is a burden we must bear—at least for a time.”

“Night Sun—”

“Snake Head’s mother is not here,” Ironwood pointed out. “She is off on one of her Healing trips, caring for the people in the neighboring villages. Cloud Playing, her daughter, is with her. Snake Head has no other relatives who will stand up for him. He is hated by everyone.”

Sternlight looked up. The crow’s feet around his eyes pulled tight. “We play a dangerous game, you and I. I fear we may tangle ourselves in our own complicated web of deception and forget why we’re doing this.”

“I will never forget.”

Sternlight fell silent.

Ironwood lifted his gaze to the canyon.

Across the wash, hundreds of fires sparkled to life, sprinkling the flats like tangled necklaces of copper beads. Most gleamed around Sunset Town, which sat at the base of the western canyon wall, but many lit small villages where those of low status lived, enjoying their closeness to the elite First People of Straight Path canyon.

Several fires glowed on the mesas, including one on the summit of Spider Woman’s Butte.

Ironwood studied it while he thought. Must be a priest. No one else would dare visit such a strong Power place.