“Tell me quickly why you’re here.”
Through a long exhalation, he said, “I bear a message for High Matron Kittle from the Ruling Council of the Hills nation.”
Koracoo cocked her head, curious. “But you came to me first, why?”
He made a helpless gesture with one hand. “Zateri thought it was far more likely that you’d let me live long enough to deliver my message.”
Koracoo nodded. “Your wife is wise. How is she? And your daughters? You have three, yes?”
Joy lit his face. “Yes, three. They are all well. My oldest, Kahn-Tineta, has seen eight summers now.”
“The fever has not reached the Hills nation?”
“Despite what you may have heard, it has. Riverbank Village has been suffering greatly, but the evil Spirits have not entered our other villages. So far.”
Koracoo’s voice came out low and demanding. It was an order. “What is the message you carry.”
He hesitated. He undoubtedly had specific instructions to relay it only to High Matron Kittle. Koracoo assessed his expression, waiting. A test of trust. Would he tell her or not?
Their gazes held.
Finally, he said, “The Ruling Council of the Hills nation would like to know if the Ruling Council of the Standing Stone People is prepared to have all of its villages destroyed? As Sedge Marsh Village was.”
Koracoo laughed softly. “A threat? They’re warning us not to attempt to make alliances with any more Hills villages.”
“Yes. Sedge Marsh was destroyed because the council ruled that their alliance with you was treason.”
As the breeze swayed the forest, clumps of snow shook loose from the chestnut branches and thumped the ground around them.
Koracoo said, “They were hungry, Hiyawento. They were on the very edge of your country, vulnerable to attacks from the Flint nation. They came to us for help after your own high matron refused to help them. We could not turn our backs on starving people, even if they were not of our nation.”
Wind rustled the chestnuts, and old leaves twirled down around them. Several briefly alighted on the shoulders of his cape before continuing their journey to Great Grandmother Earth.
Hiyawento’s brows drew together. “How do you think High Matron Kittle will respond to the message?”
“Well, to start with, she’ll shout at you, and call threats back. After you leave, she’ll start preparing our villages for a siege. By the time your war parties arrive, we’ll have enough arrows, spears, clubs, and water stored in the villages to hold out for moons.” While confidence filled her voice, she knew the words were not true. They’d be lucky to hold out for several days. “Tell High Matron Tila that we may fall in the end, but not before she’s lost many fine young men and women to our arrows.”
“That is not the message our Ruling Council is hoping for.”
“No? They want us to say that we will never again try to form an alliance with a Hills village? We won’t say it. We can’t. You know as well as I do that every nation is in trouble. I fear the only way any of us will survive is if we agree to band together and share what we have.”
Hiyawento’s lean face slackened. In his dark eyes, she saw memories passing. “You’ve always been a peacemaker, Koracoo. I respect that, but I doubt our Ruling Council—”
“I doubt it, too,” she interrupted. “We have all been reduced to acting like ravening wolves. We shred each other over scraps.” In the distance, geese honked as they winged southward. She listened to the lonely sounds before she continued, “Hiyawento, there is a great darkness coming. Tell your people that Elder Brother Sun is going to turn his back on Great Grandmother Earth and flee, leaving us in darkness, unless we find a way to end this war.”
Hiyawento slowly lifted his head. A somber expression creased his face. “I heard about his vision from a passing Trader named Tsani—though I’m sure many elements had been embellished. Is Sky Messenger well?”
“Well enough.”
“Then Matron Kittle lifted her death sentence?”
Koracoo was only mildly surprised that he’d been keeping such close track of Sky Messenger’s life. She knew they had not seen each other in five summers. “Even Kittle realizes that his vision is strong, and we dare not ignore it. Yes, she lifted the sentence.”
“Is he here, Speaker?” Warmth and longing touched the words. “I would see him, if possible?”
“He’s not here. He left four days ago on a journey to the Dawnland country. He had a fast canoe. He should return in ten days or so. Now, tell me what the Traders are saying about Sky Messenger’s vision, and more importantly, how you know many elements have been embellished?”