People of the Thunder(110)

Trader nodded, slapping his thigh to call Swimmer before he started off.

Old White took a breath, planning to crisscross back and forth between the palisade and the plaza.

Gods, tell me that the price we have to pay isn’t Two Petals!

A cold fear began to build deep between his souls.



Hair was such an amazing thing. Paunch ran a hand over his bald scalp after passing an old acquaintance. The man hadn’t even given him a second glance. Of course, Paunch had applied a healthy amount of puccoon root to his face, hands, and neck to darken and redden the skin. Somehow it made him look older, different.

The changes in his fate still left him off-balance, unsure what to make of life, the world around him, or the Power that seemed to swirl through the very air. Farmer one moment, then fugitive, captive, slave, and now he was free again, and in the service of his people.

He hurried through the gate, nodding at the warrior who stood there, and traced his way to Amber Bead’s house. There he scratched on the door, and was bid to enter.

He ducked past the hangings and into the dim room. Amber Bead sat by the smoking fire, a question on his face. “It is Paunch; you may come out.”

Lotus Root and her guards stepped out from the back room. She shot him a hard look, as if trying to pry out his true loyalties.

“I did just as you ordered. I made my way to their house just in time to see the Seeker leave. By staying far behind, I was able to see that he went to Heron Wing’s house. He was there for a time, and then she left. It was odd; he stayed there. The clan leader was gone for, oh, perhaps a hand of time, and then the Seeker went back to his house. I waited, but he and Trader just sat talking while Trader whittled on a stick. And I have no idea where the Contrary has gotten off to.”

“She is of no consequence,” Lotus Root said. “It’s the men I worry about. What if they take what they know to the Chikosi? They could gain a great deal of wealth by exposing us.”

Paunch laughed.

“What do you find so funny?” Lotus Root demanded.

“Wealth? I traveled with them for nearly a moon on the river. Sometimes, when they weren’t looking, I got a peek into their packs. Furs, gorgets, copper, carved boxes, medicine plants—the wealth is staggering. They could buy a town. You should have seen the piece they Traded for Whippoorwill and me: a copper gorget the size of my palm.” He shook his head. “Whatever they seek, it is not more wealth.”

“Are you sure they did no harm to Whippoorwill?” Amber Bead asked.

Paunch sighed, taking a seat beside the fire. “Very sure. She just took the first opportunity to run. I’ve been worried about her for days.”

Amber Bead snorted. “She’s the last person you need to worry about. She’s so thick with Power my skin crawls when I’m around her.”

Paunch narrowed his eyes. “She knows things, Elder. She knew when the Chahta were closing around us. She knew the Traders were coming. While I was shivering with fear, she was smiling, fully aware that we were going to be saved from the squares. She knew it all.”

“Then what happened to her?” Lotus Root asked. “If she knew it all, she would have realized that she need only ride home in a canoe.”

Paunch spread his hands. “I cannot tell you.”

Lotus Root frowned at the fire. “The Traders said to wait for them to send for us.” She kept knotting her fists, working her fingers as though kneading clay. “Why would they care for the fortunes of the Albaamaha?” Her hard eyes fixed on Paunch. “Did they ever tell you that?”

“They never beat me, kicked me, or worked me like a slave. They—”

“I didn’t ask if they were nice!” Lotus Root barked. “I asked, what do they care about the needs of the Albaamaha?”

“They serve Power,” Paunch replied irritably.

“And I serve my people!” she said fiercely. “Not some foreigners.”

“Power serves us all,” Paunch insisted.

“It serves the Chikosi, it seems to me.” She was watching him as if he were a bug.

“Enough,” Amber Bead said softly. “We need not squabble among ourselves. The mikkos are coming. They should be here within the week. We will have time to present all of this to them, thanks to the high minko’s desperate need for labor.”

Lotus Root pointed a finger. “Hear me, Elder. My advice is to sneak into the Traders’ house in the night, and kill them both.”

“The Contrary will see it,” Paunch insisted.

“You believe that?”

“Oh, yes.” He nodded.

“Then perhaps you should go back to them. You are a slave in more than body.”