People of the Thunder(58)

Morning Dew stiffened. “Chieftess Night Star, you don’t know the man like I do. He is cunning, deceitful, and very, very clever.”

Night Star continued to chuckle.

“Do not laugh,” Blood Skull said with dark purpose. “It is just as Morning Dew says.” He sat back, somehow chastened. “It was perfectly planned. For all Smoke Shield cared, I could have killed Screaming Falcon—the man who planned and conducted the raid on Alligator Town. He meant nothing to Smoke Shield. My explicit orders were to capture Morning Dew alive. It was all orchestrated, right down to the giving of the captives in Council that night.”

Heron Wing drew a deep breath. “Nothing said here surprises me. I’ve lived with Smoke Shield.” She lowered her eyes. “I know the depths and ramifications of his cunning as none of you do.” Thought lines creased her face; then she added, “I think he is fixing his mistake.”

“What mistake?” Pale Cat asked.

“The one he made with Red Awl. He realized that he picked the wrong man. Then, somehow, it went awry. The woman got away. He sent Fast Legs, his accomplice, to find her. I’ve heard a rumor that Fast Legs was taken by the Albaamaha.”

“What?” Night Star cried. “Are you sure?”

“Of that”—Heron Wing shrugged—“no. But something has been brewing up at Bowl Town.”

“Sun Falcon said as much.” Pale Cat shifted, eyes on the fire. “He said there had been a change among the Albaamaha up there.”

“And that was where the supposed Chahta raid was headed. That was where the killing ended.” Blood Skull slowly shook his head. “What I do not understand is why nineteen of our warriors would participate in this.”

Heron Wing lifted a hand. “Wait, you said Flying Hawk sent them out?”

Blood Skull gave a shrug. “I was playing chunkey some distance away. Flying Hawk spoke to Smoke Shield following a stickball practice. While I wasn’t close enough to hear, I could tell by the way Flying Hawk and Smoke Shield acted that it wasn’t a pleasant conversation. Immediately afterward, Smoke Shield led some of the men out, supposedly to go hunting. They carried large packs with them. Each group headed off in a different direction.”

“The high minko knows,” Night Star said. “Someone brought him word.”

“That is speculation,” Pale Cat countered. “Surely he wouldn’t order our warriors to dress up like Chahta?”

“Maybe.” Blood Skull raised his eyes. “I heard that Sun Falcon made a quick trip down from Bowl Town. The men paddling his canoe didn’t even have time to cage a meal before he had them back in his canoe and paddling north.” Blood Skull rubbed his hands together. “You don’t believe that nineteen of our warriors would murder Albaamaha? I do. Those warriors trust Smoke Shield . . . were with us on the White Arrow Town raid. He led them to a singular victory. They saw Crabapple, heard his confession. They know some Albaamo tried to betray us. They trust him, all right.”

“But you don’t?” Heron Wing noted.

Blood Skull lowered his gaze. “It is no secret that my clan has held Flying Hawk and his nephew in low regard for a long time now.”

“Since Flying Hawk killed his brother.” Night Star jutted her oversized jaw as if to make the point. “People say there’s bad blood there. It goes back to the night of the great fire when Bear Tooth and the matron burned to death. A lot of people still think it odd that only Flying Hawk and his brother survived that night. Some have even speculated—given all that’s happened—that Flying Hawk himself set that fire. That to keep the secret, he killed Acorn.”

“Who was Acorn?” Morning Dew asked.

“His twin brother,” Blood Skull told her. “Most people still knew him by the name Acorn. He was just becoming a man.”

“Everything went wrong starting that night,” Night Star insisted. “Flying Hawk might look like a ripe persimmon from the outside, but he always had a worm eating out his insides.”

Morning Dew said, “The current problem isn’t Flying Hawk. He finally made peace with my people. We didn’t like him, but he finally came around to the idea of leaving us alone.” She met their eyes, one by one. “Flying Hawk is old and he’s tired. I’ve been in the palace. I’ve seen the look in Smoke Shield’s eyes when Flying Hawk lectures him.”

“So?” Pale Cat asked. “That’s what uncles do.”

“Smoke Shield is chafing, angry, and the White Arrow raid has given him a sense of invincibility.”