He looked up as one of the young Priests led the Kala Hi’ki into the room. Then the younger man turned, walking back out into the night.
With the surety of a sighted man, the Kala Hi’ki walked over and seated himself beside Old White. He sighed, remarking, “I am not as young as I once was. The Sunset Blessing almost exhausted me.”
“I never want to pass another day like this one.” He glanced up at the image of the Yuchi hero bringing home the sorcerer’s head. “I should be thankful. But somehow, I’m not.”
“Life would have been good for you here. I’m not sure what awaits you at Split Sky City. You said you were going there to die.” He hesitated. “If it’s just being close to your Ancestors that matters, you could die here. We could ensure that your bones made it home to rest among them.”
“I appreciate the offer. The thing is, I have unfinished business there. Something I must see to.”
“Ah, your great secret.”
Old White nodded, fairly sure the Kala Hi’ki could see it even without eyes.
“Power has mysterious ways.”
“Something has been bothering me,” Old White said. “How did you make it home after escaping from Split Sky City? I would hear that story. I think I need to know it.”
The Kala Hi’ki paused reflectively. “I took a blow to the head during a fight with the Chikosi. When I came to, my skull was splitting with pain and I was being carried on a pole, hanging from my hands and wrists. I thought nothing could hurt so much.” He chuckled dryly. “I was so very wrong.
“They took me, paraded me around, and, as is the custom, I was given to Flying Hawk … for he was only recently confirmed high minko. And he had successfully beaten off my raid. I, who went to the Chikosi to take captives, had become one.”
He seemed to be staring into the past behind his bound eye sockets. “You can imagine what they did to me on the square. People tell me it hurts just to see what they did to my body. Day after day, I was burned and cut. My eyes, well they thought that was the worst, but it helped actually, not being able to see what I had become.
“Then one day, Flying Hawk came, telling me, ‘You must live just one more day, and then my nephew—he who will become high minko after me—will emerge from the Men’s House. I will allow him the honor of cutting your heart from your body. You will be my gift to him … his first act as a man.’”
The Kala Hi’ki nodded his head. “I prayed for that to happen soon. My souls were wandering, passing in and out of my body. Perhaps that is why we have two nostrils. Without a nose, mine could enter and leave freely.
“Then in the night, the boy came, saying his name was Green Snake, and that he was too cowardly to do this thing. He told me he had sneaked out of the Men’s House with no one knowing. And he cut me down, ground what was left of my right hand into the earth while I lay there, and urinated on me.” The Kala Hi’ki snorted through his open nostrils. “It was without honor.”
He paused. “I remember hearing Singing, beautiful Singing. So when I could finally crawl, I headed for the sound of it. I inched along for what seemed an incredible distance, and each time I made a move, my flesh screamed. I remember tumbling down a long steep hill. Talk about pain? It drove my souls from my body.”
He took a breath. “When I came back to myself, I followed the Singing again, and splashed into water. Drowning, I thought, would at least be quick, and it would save me recapture when the Chikosi followed my trail. So I crawled into the water, pleading that I be allowed to drown quickly. I went down, sinking, hearing the Singing grow louder all the time.
“I think I was dead, for my body settled into the deep and kept going, downward, ever down. The Singing grew louder, and something rubbed against me. I could feel it take me in its mouth. For a long time it swam, bearing me down into the Underworld. I think it carried me through one of the portals, for I remember lying on moss, seeing the most beautiful creature: a giant horned snake, his body gleaming with all the colors of light. Me, a man with no eyes, I saw this thing, so it had to be with my souls.”
The Kala Hi’ki rubbed the stubs of his maimed hand. “Horned Serpent licked my wounded skin, and where he did the scars healed. I will always remember the eyes, like great crystals of quartz backlit by the sun. And the scales, they shimmered, rainbowlike.
“‘Time for you to go home,’ he told me. His voice was musical, and I realized this was the being who had Sung me to the river. He picked me up in his jaws, and the next thing I knew, I was on a shoreline. Just lying there, a broken lump of flesh. What was I to do? I had no idea where I was, or which way to go. No strength was left in my limbs. I could barely raise myself far enough off the ground to crawl.”