Unable to move, he allowed himself to be shoved brutally aside as Strikes Lightning ran from the lodge to duck into another. Singing Wolf's stomach rose into his throat as he stared at the carnage. Sightless eyes stared back, the coppery smell of blood bathing him in horror.
"Come on!" Strikes Lightning screamed at him.
He backed unsteadily out into the cold morning, swallowing convulsively. He caught movement from his right just as an Other thrust a dart at him from behind a meat rack, ripping his forearm. Instinctively, Singing Wolf jumped away and let his own dart fly, piercing the man's neck. A garbled bark of fear and hatred rang out as the man fell.
Singing Wolf ran wildly through the village, jumping over dead bodies, shoving aside terrified women and children who struggled to flee. Wailing gashed the morning.
He spied Raven Hunter and stumbled in that direction, panting hoarsely. Their leader had caught a lodge still sleeping, skewering foggy-eyed men as they scrambled for weapons. It seemed that everyone in the world was screaming and crying.
A tiny boy, barely three, crawled madly from beneath the lodge cover, tears streaking his dirty face. Raven Hunter shouted, "Get him! He'll grow up to kill us!"
Strikes Lightning hurried, grabbing the boy by his hind foot and dragging him backward. The little one fought valiantly, bawling in terror, slamming his fists into his captor's face and arms. Strikes Lightning grabbed a large rock and raised it high over the boy's tiny head.
"No!" Singing Wolf shrieked, tears filling his eyes as he watched the rock hurtle downward, smashing the boy's head.
Strikes Lightning got to his feet, casting a look of utter disdain at Singing Wolf before he trotted away.
Survivors fled west, heedlessly abandoning their weapons, dragging the elders, carrying their children, stumbling away.
"Follow them!" Raven Hunter commanded, and several young men of the People lunged in pursuit of those fleeing over the hills. A gasping Other lay piteously before Raven Hunter, a dart protruding from his gut. Raven Hunter brutally jerked the dart loose and knelt, smiling in mock sympathy. "I won't kill you," he cooed.
"I'll die anyway," the man gasped, rolling agonizingly to his side. He had a triangular face with a large bulbous nose.
"Yes, but this way will be long and painful."
The Other smiled, hatred gleaming in his eyes. "You'd better run far and fast, Enemy man. Ice Fire will search the mists of time until he finds your hiding place. Then we'll wipe your filth from the face of the world."
Raven Hunter laughed and stood, glaring down. "Ice Fire. Who's that? Some false shaman?"
"The greatest shaman in the world. He's seen your coming."
Raven Hunter snorted derisively. "Then why didn't he warn you so you could escape?"
The Other kicked out with his legs, slamming them into Raven Hunter and knocking him off his feet.
Raven Hunter scrambled up, dodging to kick the man hard in the side. Intestines spilled out through the gash in the man's abdomen. "We'll see how brave you are three days from now when the blood fans like a black river through your veins."
Singing Wolf held his breath, respect for the Other surfacing. This man knew what a horrible death he faced, yet he fought with his last strength. The wound would fester in a matter of hours, the gut juices boiling up like green slime, attracting the flies and animals. The odor would draw the scavengers who wait for death—or worse, Grandfather Brown Bear. But even if he managed, his death would be one of incomprehensible pain.
Raven Hunter spat in the man's eyes before turning arrogantly away. Waving to his followers, he growled, "Come. We have to make sure no one in the lodges survives."
Singing Wolf watched them stride from shelter to shelter.
A baby squealed somewhere; the cry stilled suddenly and eternally.
He walked weakly to where the dying Other lay. The man curled into a ball, pushing futilely at the ropes of intestine that lay on the ground, trying to tuck them back into his torn stomach.
"I'll kill you. If you want me to," Singing Wolf murmured in a strained voice.
The Other looked up, squinting in confusion. "Why? Why would you?"
"Because of your courage."
The Other frowned, then lowered his head, nodding tiredly. "We didn't think you knew of warrior's honor."
"How do your people ..." Singing Wolf fumbled for the words. "Is there a special way that sends you to Father Sun? To whatever your ..."
"Yes. The Great Mystery." The man blinked back tears, pointing a trembling finger to his chest. ' 'Take my heart. Give it to the river. She'll carry it to the ocean. The Sea Spirit will come and . . . take me home."
Singing Wolf knelt and tore back the man's hides to bare his flesh. The Other's breast rose and fell rapidly, his whole body shuddering.