“So, you will do what with it?”
Swimmer was back, literally spitting the slobbery, tooth-marked stick at Born-of-Sun. Then he crouched down, ears pricked, giving the high chief a wolfish stare.
Born-of-Sun casually reached out, taking the stick. Swimmer trembled, every muscle vibrating in anticipation. Born-of-Sun’s arm flashed as if in a mighty throw. Swimmer charged off, barking his excitement as Born-of-Sun slyly placed the unthrown stick under his leg. The dog barked to a stop, head up, listening for the stick’s fall as he searched the air for the missing prize.
“Grows tiresome after a while, doesn’t it?” Trader asked.
“You’d think he had no other calling in life.”
“Well, he’s a dog. When it isn’t stick, there’s still food and sleep.”
“And the copper?” Born-of-Sun returned to the subject. “You’re a Trader. What would you want for it? All of my female cousins?”
“Trying to keep it here?” Trader raised an eyebrow.
“Of course. It’s more wealth than I have ever seen.”
“And that’s the Power of the test I was given.” Trader rubbed his cold hands together, watching a canoe pass below them. “I won’t Trade it, High Chief. Not for possessions, status, or privilege.”
“Then what?”
“The copper was given to me for a purpose. It will be given away when I know the time and place is right.”
“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.” Born-of-Sun glanced over his shoulder to see Swimmer coursing back and forth, nose to the ground, searching for the lost stick. “You are a better man than I. Perhaps the stuff of legends.”
“No. I am only myself. A lesson that has come ten hard years later than it should have.”
Swimmer had finally caught on, trotting back to stare suspiciously at Born-of-Sun. The high chief laughed and flung the stick, Swimmer’s irritation forgotten in joyful pursuit.
“It is a rare achievement, to know oneself.” Born-of-Sun frowned quizzically at the distant clouds. “I can only hope that I, too, might find that realization someday.”
Trader shrugged. “I think, High Chief, that you are very aware of who you are.”
“I still question.”
“We all do.”
After a long pause, and several tosses of Swimmer’s stick, Born-of-Sun asked, “What of your winnings from the chunkey game? You own half of the Tsoyaha’s possessions. It will take all of my people’s canoes to haul it out of here.”
“We shall give it all back. All but the Trade we brought here.”
“There is Power in that. And humility.”
Trader met the chief’s eyes. “A few days past, I was preparing myself to die on the square. My only hope was that I would have the courage to face the pain and agony.” He shook his head. “I was terrified that I wouldn’t be able to stand it. Afraid that I would weep and plead. Anything to be released from the misery. The injustice of it made my souls cry out in disbelief. After that, life takes on a whole new meaning.”
“As the Kala Hi’ki can tell you.” Born-of-Sun took Swimmer’s stick, inspecting the gnawed wood while Swimmer panted from exertion and anticipation. “We are flawed creatures, Trader. Caught between the forces of Power. If suffering could be banished, we would invent it again. It is in our nature.”
“I suppose.”
“And there may be a great deal more suffering if you continue on your journey to Split Sky City. I don’t trust these Chikosi. If you stayed here, however, you would be guaranteed the chance to discover this new man you have found yourself to be. You would have a home, here, with us—a chance to have family, children, and a respected place among us.”
Trader took a deep breath. “You tempt me, High Chief.”
“You have lived like a piece of driftwood. Forever carried on the currents of change. A man alone. Would it be so bad? To have a place for yourself?”
“No.” Trader smiled at the thought. “I think, however, that I must see this thing through. I can do that now. For the first time in my life, I think I know where I am going. What I have to do.”
“I still have time to persuade you to stay.”
“I think, High Chief, that I must see this thing through.” Trader paused. “Perhaps, however, when this is all over …”
“ … I will finally beat you at chunkey,” Born-of-Sun finished with a smile.
Two Petals watched the moonlight as it lay over Rainbow City. Above, the stars glistened in crystalline clarity against the pale vault of sky. Where they slipped past thatch roofs, thin wreaths of smoke rose in the cold air, giving it a pungent aroma. The houses cast pointed shadows on the hard-packed earth. The people slept, but she could sense them: thousands of beating hearts, rising and falling lungs, the blood coursing through their bodies. Were she to let slip her control, their Dreams would overwhelm her. They swirled around her, rustling and murmuring, so many hopes, desires, hatreds, and longings.