He bent, lifting one side and slipping the fabric from a carved wooden box. When he stood clear, the thing lay bathed in the firelight. As if on cue, the shaft of sunlight caught the edge of the wood, shooting its rays across the Sky Hand design with its inlaid pearls, shell, and copper.
“What is that?” Smoke Shield asked sourly. He’d been watching Green Snake like a hunting cougar. Death lay behind his eyes, curled and prepared to spring. Flying Hawk chuckled to himself. No matter what, Green Snake was now a walking corpse.
“The Sky Hand war medicine,” Green Snake said. “The medicine High Minko Makes War carried when he was captured by the Yuchi. Power has seen fit to return it to our people.”
“And you would consider this restitution?” Flying Hawk asked. “Leave it. And be gone from this place by nightfall.”
“What?” Green Snake stared, disbelieving.
Flying Hawk looked around. “This should be clan business, but all may hear. You have been gone, Green Snake, fled because of cowardice. Perhaps it was fitting. You have just said that you meant to kill your brother. But for Power, he would have died. No, I think there was a reason you were made to leave us. As clan leader, I order you to leave our lands. Go back to your Yuchi friends. Work your poison elsewhere.”
“After bringing you the Sky Hand war medicine, you would order me away?” Green Snake asked.
“By my authority as clan elder, I order you banished, Nephew. If you do not go, warriors will take you to the borders. And this time make sure you never return.”
A sad smile hovered at the corners of Green Snake’s lips. “That is your final word?”
“As leader of the Chief Clan, it is.” He turned. “War Chief, escort this man to the canoe landing.”
“You will not touch him!” a vibrant voice called.
Old White stepped forward, fixing Smoke Shield with hard eyes. “You are an abomination.” He turned his attention to Flying Hawk. “And you, High Minko, are a disappointment.”
“Beware, old man.” Smoke Shield smiled in anticipation as Old White stopped before him.
“Wipe that smirk off your face.” He glared at him.
Flying Hawk said, “You, whoever you are, have no right to speak here. War Chief, remove this irritation from my Council.”
Old White grinned as Smoke Shield stepped forward. “I wouldn’t do that, Grape. You are already Dancing on the thin edge of Power. There are grave consequences when you ignore your debt to the man who once saved your life. But then, you are already complicit in killing a man under protection of the white arrow. What would you care about a blood debt, when you agreed to the murder of innocent Albaamaha?”
Flying Hawk raised a hand, stopping Smoke Shield. “I don’t know you. And, trust me, I’d remember any man who saved my life.”
Old White turned, pacing out toward the black drink and the Eagle Pipe. He looked back. “I will drink and smoke, as is my right.”
Smoke Shield started forward, only to have Green Snake step in his way. The two men locked gazes, violence literally crackling between them. Then Flying Hawk pulled his nephew back. The room was as quiet as a log tomb. Better to let this madness play out, then pick apart the lies.
Old White lifted the cup and took a deep swig of the bitter tea. Then he bent, pulling on the Eagle Pipe. He straightened, blowing smoke into the shaft of sunlight that now gleamed full on the medicine box.
“Breath Giver, I have heard your call. From the Katsina’s message, until now, I have followed the path you laid out for me. I will now tell the tale I have had locked in my souls for fifty hard summers and winters.”
He turned, facing the Council. “Makatok! It all began when Makes War, high minko of the Sky Hand, went north to war with the Yuchi. I was but a little boy when he marched out at the head of a line of warriors.” He pointed. “That war medicine was carried on his back. Days passed, but no word of the war party was heard. And then several of our bloody and wounded warriors returned telling of a terrible Yuchi ambush. Our high minko, and the war medicine, were lost.”
He shot a glance at Flying Hawk. “Midnight Woman blamed herself for the disaster. You see, she had teased her husband, goaded him to war with the Yuchi when there was nothing to be gained from it. When news came that he had died hanging in a Yuchi square . . . something changed inside her. She became different, as if her souls had withdrawn and hidden deep inside her. Not even her young son could coax a smile from her.
“As one of the leaders of the Chief Clan, it was mandatory that she remarry. In seeking a husband to replace the man she loved, she chose Bear Tooth. Not because she loved him, but because he was a cunning warrior. And in those next few years, Bear Tooth made a new war medicine. His raids drove the Yuchi back from the central Tenasee Valley. By him, Midnight Woman had two sons, twins. Grape here, and Acorn.”