People of the Weeping Eye(139)
The old man stepped forward, sure of his footing. Blind he might be, but he walked right to them and stopped an arm’s length from Old White. He seemed to inspect the Seeker, his head held high. “Who are you?”
Old White set Swimmer on the floor, and Trader called him over, gesturing for him to lie down. Old White, his staff unencumbered, replied, “I am Old White, sometimes called the Seeker.”
“Ah, the Seeker! I have heard of you.” The blind man cocked his head. “What have you found?”
“A great many things. Some are wonders, others more terrifying than your worst nightmare.”
No humor filled the blind man’s voice when he said, “You would do well to avoid my nightmares, Seeker.”
From the looks of the man’s body, Trader could agree.
“Accompanying me is Two Petals, the young woman lying on the floor. She is a Contrary.”
The blind man stood silently, digesting that. After a time he said, “That might explain a few things.” A pause. “She has a poor handle on her Powers.”
Another silence, then Old White said, “The third person in our party is only known as Trader. We come here under the Power of Trade; upon that I swear and bind us.”
“What is your purpose with the Tsoyaha?”
Old White shifted. “Only to Trade for strong bodies to paddle us upriver and then to portage into the headwaters of the Horned Serpent River.”
He considered that. “A traveling man must have a destination.”
“We do, Kala Hi’ki.”
A faint smile crossed his scarred lips. “Do not treat me like either an idiot or a simpleton. My body might be a wreck, but I assure you my wits are as sharp as they were when I was young. Your young woman called to my Dreams over a moon ago. I have had glimpses of her from Cahokia all the way to just inside the palisade. Why have you brought her here?”
“I spoke the truth, Kala Hi’ki. We are just passing on to the south.”
“To a mysterious destination. And, I am told, with the Split Sky war medicine box and some heavy content.”
Old White’s eyes narrowed. “The box came to us in the Kaskinampo lands.”
The blind man turned to Trader. “And do you have a tongue, Trader?”
“I do.”
“Where are you from?”
“The far north. I have brought packs of furs, medicine plants”—he winced—“some copper, and other things.”
The old man considered. “You are Sky Hand.”
How does he know that? Trader felt his stomach fall. “I was born there. I have been away for many seasons.”
“How many?”
“More than ten winters.”
“Why did you leave?”
“I had my reasons.”
“And I have mine. Why did you leave?”
Trader swallowed hard, his heart racing. He could see the warning look on Old White’s face. “I killed a man,” Trader blurted.
“Ah, there.” The blind man made a tsking sound with his tongue. “So, you come from the far north, a Chikosi man, with goods to Trade, and a secret that causes your heart to hammer.”
Gods, does he see into my souls?
“Maybe I see more than you think,” the blind man told him. “A good reason not to tell lies.”
Trader’s loud gulp carried.
“We are concerned about the Contrary,” Old White said. “Just past the palisade gate, she lost her balance and fainted.”
“Sister Datura doesn’t train a person to their Powers; she only grants Visions of the potential. Has she no trainer?”
“At the time, we didn’t know she needed one.”
“This Chikosi Trader told you that, Seeker?”
“We had not encountered Trader at that time.”
“Then you sent her to Dance with Sister Datura?”
“A medicine woman did.”
“Who?”
“I knew her under the name Silver Loon.”
“Ah, the Cahokia witch.”
Old White evidently saw no need to reply.
“Curious, isn’t it, that she would simply help a Contrary to find her path, then set her free to blunder through the world?”
“There were complications.”
“Aren’t there always? Describe these … complications.”
“Black Tooth had designs on the Contrary. Unfortunately, none of them conducive to helping her with her Powers.”
“And Black Tooth is dead?”
“He is.”
“One shouldn’t treat Power with disrespect.”
“I agree.”
The blind man stood so still he might have been carved of wood, no expression on his ruined face. But Trader had a sneaking suspicion that his souls were in a frenzy behind that calm exterior.