one final look at Heron's valley before following in the steps of his tattered, weary people.
Everyone tried to pack in around the outskirts of the council. Ice Fire found mild amusement in their jostling. Beyond the bobbing heads and the whispers back and forth behind secretive hands, he could see the marshy lake they'd just skirted. The ice still couldn't be trusted to bear a man's weight—so they'd gone the long tedious way around through the rocks. Behind him, to the south, the hills of the Enemy rose. There, in the final holdings of the Enemy, the web would be drawn tight. There, it would all be played out.
A fitful burst of wind harried them as he tried to bring his thoughts back to the council at hand. Strange developments, these, but what did they mean? He looked up to see the confusion in Broken Shaft's face.
"We were dead. They caught us completely by surprise." Broken Shaft lifted his arms helplessly. "I was in the lead. The trail ran around this big boulder and they were standing there, up above us, with darts and big rocks to throw down. Like a mammoth in a gully, we couldn't do anything."
"For one, I was ready to die," Smoke continued. "I nocked a dart in my atlatl and glared up, trying to judge the angle, and someone yelled, 'Stop!' "
"It was a woman." Broken Shaft shifted nervously, looking around at the hard-faced men who stared back at him. "A beautiful woman." He scuffed the toe of his long boot in the snow. "She held up both hands and spoke. I suppose if it had been a man, I'd have darted him just like that. But a woman? A warrior doesn't expect a woman to stop a fight. Not when we were in such bad position."
"And what did she say?" Ice Fire frowned, feeling the pull of the south.
"She said to go back," Smoke told them, looking around. "She said that the People were tired of warring. That too much killing had gone on. She said that we should leave all but one dart on the ground and keep that one for protection from bears. We should take our lives which the People gave to us, and to come and tell our elders that our lives were given back for some of the ones they'd taken in war."
Whispers broke out among the listeners.
Ice Fire considered it, a flicker of hope born in his breast.
Broken Shaft shook his head uneasily. "It's a strange thing. I've never heard of an Enemy not killing. I don't understand this."
"They want peace."
"Peace?" roared Red Flint. "They've stolen the White Hide and they want peace? They've cut apart our young men, raped and carried off our young women? And they want peace?"
"The man, Raven Hunter, stole our White Hide," Ice Fire reminded. To Smoke he asked, "Did she say anything about the White Hide?"
He shook his head, looking nervously around.
"Cowards," Red Flint growled, spitting angrily at the smoldering fire. "You could have killed them, wiped them out for—"
"We'd have died!" Broken Shaft protested, hearing surly mutterings among the watching warriors. "Dead, we do no good to the people."
"Cowards do no honor to the clan!" Red Flint sneered. ,
"Enough." Ice Fire turned, meeting the hot eyes of the warriors. Behind him, Broken Shaft, Smoke, and Black Claw stood defiantly, glaring back.
"Singer?" Broken Shaft challenged in a strained voice, his handsome face twisted. "Don't call us—"
"For my own part," Ice Fire softly interrupted, "I can't remember ever mistaking wisdom for cowardice." One of the warriors behind him grunted affirmation while the accusers shifted their glances.
Red Flint hissed something under his breath, violence in his eyes as he stared at the warriors.
A wound opened in Ice Fire's heart as he watched his old friend's face contort in rage. The other warriors shifted, some looking nervously at Red Flint, some chewing their lips as they glanced anxiously at Ice Fire.
Broken Shaft blinked and lowered his eyes, exhaling heavily. "I'm sorry, Elder. I didn't know our actions would—"
"It's the theft of the White Hide," Ice Fire decided in a voice loud enough to be heard by all. "We're losing our tempers, not thinking clearly."
Broken Shaft and his friends fidgeted nervously—unsure of
themselves. Across the lake, a lone goose fluttered her wings as she struggled to walk on the thin ice.
"I think . . ." Ice Fire hesitated, a deep frown incising his brow. Then he looked up at Broken Shaft. The young warrior searched his face, silently seeking guidance.
"Most Respected Elder, tell me what's right? I'll do whatever—"
"You already know," he comforted, coming to a decision, patting the man's shoulder affectionately. ' 'You left when the Enemy woman gave you your life. You speak correctly when you say you're worth more to the clan alive than dead.','