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People of the Thunder(12)

By:W. Michael Gear


“I didn’t steal it! I Traded for it . . . or rather, the right to dig for it.” Trader met Born-of-Sun’s disbelieving eyes. “Just because I’m Chikosi Sky Hand by birth doesn’t mean I’m a perpetually clever thief! I was up in the Copper Lands, on the western margins of the Freshwater Seas. A man called Snow Otter has lineage claims to some of the copper pits up there. I traded him a shell gorget for the right to mine some of his pits. The deal was that I would be able to keep anything I found.”

“You dug that out of the ground?”

“I did.” Trader smiled grimly. “And barely got away with my life. At sight of the copper Snow Otter was drooling with greed. You could see his very souls change before your eyes. He tried to lull me into dropping my guard—offered me food, drink, even his virgin daughter—but I sneaked away in the night.” Trader reached out to touch the cool metal. “It was but the first of the lessons I learned. Greed will make even good men bad, and Snow Otter was never good to begin with.”

“How did you keep it safe?”

“By moving. Never stopping in one place for any time, and when I did—like at Red Wing Town—I never left the canoe landing. The copper remained buried in the packs . . . and I never so much as stepped beyond the sight of my boat.” Trader reached out to ruffle Swimmer’s ears where the dog lay between them. “Gods, it was torture! Traders travel around driven by the desire to Trade, to wander around the towns, see what’s available, talk to people, hear the gossip. And there I was, virtually chained to my canoe, fearful of someone sneaking a peek at my packs, learning of the existence of that fabulous piece of copper. And the one time I did stop, I had to hide it first, bury it in the forest. And still I worried.” Trader shook his head.

“A tough lesson to learn.”

Trader nodded. “The next lesson I learned was that with amazing wealth comes incredible loneliness. I could trust no one—well, save Swimmer here—let alone share their fire or companionship. As a Trader I had sought wealth all of my life. With it, I figured to become an admired and influential man. I would have had people look up to me and say, ‘Look! There goes Trader! The greatest man on the river.’ ”

“So you wanted to be a chief after all?”

Trader shook his head. “I could have stayed among the Sky Hand and remained a chief. Granted, I murdered my brother, but I still would have been an influential, if despised, member of my Chief Clan. No, I just wanted to be great, admired, and envied, but without the cares, responsibilities, and dangers of being a chief. Fool that I was, I thought it could be that simple.”

“Power never gives something for nothing, Trader.”

“As I discovered that night when the Contrary led Old White to my camp.” Trader smiled at his memories. “I’d chosen an abandoned village two days’ travel south of Cahokia. The place is believed to be cursed with witchcraft. Staying there didn’t bother me. I don’t believe in Dehegihan witches or their ability to harm me. So there I was, just starting to relax for the first time in days, when I hear voices out of the night. It’s the Contrary guiding Old White up the creek to my camp.”

“She had camped there before?”

“Oh, no. Two Petals is Oneota, from farther north. She’d never been out of her own village, let alone to the south. She was following one of her visions . . . and it was leading her straight to me.”

“You had your fire right at the landing?”

“Of course not. It was screened by an old house wall, completely out of sight.” Trader glanced down at Swimmer. “I was ready to reach down Swimmer’s gullet and pull his bark right out of his throat. Thought maybe they’d miss seeing the landing and my canoe in the darkness, but Two Petals directed the Seeker straight to it. As soon as they landed, Swimmer got loose, charging off to bark at them. So, what could I do?”

“You could have killed them.”

Trader arched an eyebrow. “I considered it. Especially after the Contrary told me to my face that she knew about the copper. Somehow, High Chief, I just couldn’t drive an arrow through her chest. Call me a fool.”

“Power would have made you pay if you had.”

Trader laughed. “Then I’m lucky that Power loves fools. A terrible storm moved in that night, but as soon as I could, I sneaked to my canoe, loaded all of my goods, called Swimmer, and slipped away.” He cocked his head, thinking back. “The thing is, the Contrary told me things before I left . . . things that haunted my Dreams.”

“About?”