People of the Thunder(141)

“Do you want to start at the beginning while I show you these chert blades?” He pulled some of the blanks from the sack.

“You saved my life this morning, and Green Snake’s, too. I wasn’t home for a finger’s time before Smoke Shield burst in. He did this to me.” She indicated the swelling bruise on her face. “He said the Prophet told him the medicine box was here, and that his wife was betraying him. He . . . gods, what he did to Violet Bead . . .” She struggled for control.

Old White sighed. “So he’s got the box?”

The look she gave him told him just how close her souls were to shattering. “No. The box was gone when I arrived.” She swallowed hard. “And so is Morning Dew.”



Gods! Is everything a mess? Flying Hawk sat on his tripod in the great room. The place was packed. Before him, an angry delegation of Crawfish Clan men, led by Chief Wooden Cougar, stood with hard expressions, their arms crossed. Blood Skull stood to the side, hands on his hips, a thunderous anger in his eyes. Amber Bead stood in the rear, waiting to deliver his report on the meeting with the Albaamaha mikkos. Decisions had to be made about the palisade. Then, moments ago, Two Poisons had stomped in, expression like crowded storm clouds.

“One thing at a time,” Flying Hawk said, raising his hands.

“Smoke Shield nearly killed one of my clansmen!” Wooden Cougar said through clenched teeth. “The man’s face is smashed! Your nephew knocked one of his eyes out of the socket!”

In the back, Two Poisons huffed his displeasure.

“Quiet!” Flying Hawk ordered, lifting his mace. If only he could wade into the middle of them, smacking this way and that. All of the frustrations of the last moon were boiling within. “Breath Giver help me. What’s happening to us?”

“It’s Smoke Shield,” Blood Skull said from the side. “His souls are out of control! First he starts trouble with the Albaamaha; then he conjures some Chahta raid, disrupting all the plans. For all we know, he is behind the theft of the White Arrow medicine box. Perhaps this trouble with Violet Bead is his way of covering it.”

“My clansman may not live!” Wooden Cougar roared. His kinsmen grunted in assent.

“I said, one thing at a time!” Flying Hawk struggled to control himself. The old familiar anger was brewing, replacing the sense of defeat that had so long dogged his souls. “First, the Crawfish man. What’s his name?”

“Two Beavers.”

“He was caught with Violet Bead. There is no disagreement about that.”

Wooden Cougar ground his jaws, then reluctantly shook his head. “No. But Smoke Shield’s reaction was uncalled-for. The woman has a well-known reputation for dallying with men.”

“As if her husband doesn’t?” Two Poisons called from the rear.

“Silence!” Flying Hawk pointed with his mace. “Deer Clan shall have its time to speak.”

Two Poisons muttered something under his breath and exhaled furiously.

Flying Hawk struggled to calm himself. “This is a case of adultery. Plain and simple. Smoke Shield acted within his rights as a—” He pointed his mace, forestalling Wooden Cougar’s outburst. “Don’t interrupt me! This Two Beavers isn’t dead. We’re not talking about murder here.”

“Yet,” Wooden Cougar interjected. “The Hopaye is working on Two Beavers as we speak. The man hasn’t regained consciousness.”

“If he dies, we will revisit this,” Flying Hawk amended. “But until that time, he was caught in Violet Bead’s bed.”

“That is the woman’s fault!” Wooden Cougar cried. “She enticed him.”

“And she’s paid the price. Smoke Shield cut off her nose and ears.” Flying Hawk watched Two Poisons fume in the back. “That is our law! Smoke Shield was right; the woman and Two Beavers were wrong. I don’t want to hear more of this. If I do, the warriors will be sent to restore peace between your two clans. That’s the end of it.” He glared at Wooden Cougar. “I mean it. You—and Two Poisons—are dismissed!”

He watched as the Crawfish and Deer Clan delegations pushed their way to the doorway and stepped out. He could hear angry words in the courtyard beyond.

He sighed. In a couple of days, after people stewed for a while, some sort of restitution would have to be made.

Blood Skull muttered, “That’s what happens when a man doesn’t take his domestic duties seriously.”

Flying Hawk shot him a warning glare, then asked, “What of the White Arrow medicine box? Has it been found?”

“No, High Minko.” Blood Skull took a hard breath that swelled his muscular chest. “Warriors are searching the city as we speak. But with the palisade down, the thief could have walked right over the top of it. It wasn’t like when we had gates where warriors would have seen everyone passing.”