People of the Wolf(169)

"It doesn't matter," he pronounced seriously. "Raven Hunter's trouble will pass."

One Who Cries reeled back, stunned, the colors changing in his soul. "Of course it matters! What of pain and hurt now! What of the People suffering? Curse you, Wolf Dreamer, don't you remember? You were one of us! You're our Dreamer! You've got responsibility. We need you!"

"Tell me why you need?"

One Who Cries gasped frustration. He shook his head suddenly. "Are you so far from us? We're here because of the Dream. For all I know, we are the Dream! We—"

"Yes, now you see."

"And—and if that's so, you've got to come Dream it all right again!"

"Illusion has no right." _

One Who Cries stifled an anxious cry. Futilely, he beat his fist into the ground. "Look, I can't argue with you. I just want to hunt in peace, huh? That . . . that's my Dream. You must come drive Raven Hunter—"

"Then you should Dream for yourself. Hunt within the illusion to find—"

"Hunt within . . . Great Mammoth!" One Who Cries exploded. "Can't you understand we need your Power!"

"You don't need me."

"Yes, we do! Raven Hunter's coming with some sort of Power . . . some White Hide. You have to go and—"

"It won't matter in the end."

One Who Cries sputtered and stopped, a dot of blue growing in his soul. Fascinated, Wolf Dreamer watched the blue expand, seeing One Who Cries' desperation become all-encompassing.

Through a strangled voice, One Who Cries choked, "For the spirals maybe. I don't know." And he was gone, steps pounding away across the snow.

"For the spirals," Wolf Dreamer repeated, seeing inside

the illusion, feeling Wolf's call. "The spirals of the web. Yes . . ."

He smiled into the blackness, gazing gratefully at the remaining withered black mushrooms resting on the hide in the corner. He got to his feet, walking as if he were a mist. Around him, he could see the colorful souls of the animals, of the trees, each reflecting their own existence in this realm.

Time slipped and bent around him, making each step a journey into a different world, like looking through sections of swirled ice. Images bled into each other, forms shifting, lines bubbling out of shape. Before him, the People stood like a wall of blue-green color. Fear there, anxiety, anger, it all mixed in splashes of vivid colors like the Monster Children battling in the sky, or sunlight through a haze of mist, breaking into bars of colors.

He wove around them, his soul touching theirs, feeling the straining anxiety. Color everywhere, even the fire rose red and yellow from the glowing bed of coals. Two groups separated, the Spirit Power they'd breathed into their darts clinging to the keen stone points. Their souls twisted in red-orange anger and greenish violet fear. Here were souls about to be" severed from the body and they couldn't stand it.

There stood Raven Hunter, a weird black swirl lit by a red yellow within, streaked by the spring green of pleasure and ambition. Muscles moved along the warrior's arms, poised to release their darts.

"If you cast against each other, you'll break the spiral," he said softly, projecting his voice to their very souls. "We can't do that and survive."

They froze in their places, turning to stare at him. A white shimmering of curiosity softened their images, all uneasy except for anxious Dancing Fox and the man. The . . .

Wolf Dreamer stopped dead in his tracks.

"So," he greeted, noting the shimmering white fox hides on his shoulder. "We meet, you and I. I offer greetings, Father."

The man nodded, a Power within him, his soul tight and controlled, balanced between spirit and body. "Wolf Dreamer."

"Kill them!" Raven Hunter bellowed from the side. "I am the future of the People. Here lies destruction! Death at the

hands of the Others! I have the Power of the White Hide. I'm born of Father Sun! Come to lead—"

"You're born of me," the man said, tone leaving no doubt.

Wolf Dreamer smiled, cocking his head to watch the whirls of white light dance in his father's chest.

"Why did you lie to me?" Raven Hunter insisted.

"To save you." Ice Fire sighed. "I let the White Hide pass judgment on you. You did what you did to yourself. Your soul is—"

"Powerful!" Raven Hunter hissed.

"Your soul is a darkness, brother," Wolf Dreamer said sadly. "You're not whole, Raven Hunter. You have no sharing of the soul."

"Shut up! What do you know of souls, of Dreams? I've seen, seen the future, me and Dancing Fox. My child taking the People south into—"

"You've seen no future of yours," Wolf Dreamer murmured. "You saw only a glimpse of your father's."