“I have a problem,” she said.
“I know.”
She turned to face him, and their gazes locked. They’d been paddling hard, and sweat had matted her short black hair to her cheeks, framing her large eyes and small nose. She had CorpseEye propped on her shoulder. Even from two paces away, he could sense a presence in the war club, old and powerful. The carvings along the shaft added to the effect. The antlered wolves seemed to be chasing the winged tortoises, who were being chased by prancing buffalo. The red quartzite cobble tied to the top of the club reflected the light.
Her eyes tightened. “I didn’t realize it was so obvious.”
“Why don’t you let me explain what I see, rather than having you tell me?”
“Go on.”
Cord exhaled hard before he said, “It’s clear that recently something has changed between the two of you. You want distance, but he still loves you. What appears to be anger on his part is actually, I believe, grief. He’s finally realized that he’s lost you, and it’s tearing him apart. So … returning anger for anger will not solve the problem. But you must solve it. Quickly.”
Their gazes held. Her eyes were as black and translucent as obsidian. It was strange for him to stand eye-to-eye with a woman. Very few were as tall as he was. And she had meltingly dark eyes.
“What is your recommendation?” she asked.
He frowned out at the water. “He’s been your deputy for a long time?”
“Yes.”
“Pick a new deputy. You need someone you can trust to give good orders in the worst of moments. Sindak, perhaps?”
Her eyes narrowed slightly. “Not you?”
“No. I’m an outsider. They won’t listen to me.”
She studied him for a long time, as though trying to read his souls.
A short distance from the shore, a flock of ducks floated, riding the swells as they chattered to each other. He watched them while he waited for her to think it over.
At last, she replied, “Gonda has been my right hand for thirteen summers. He knows my thoughts almost before I do.”
“That’s why this is so hard for him. He thinks you need him.” Cord stared at her. Neither of them blinked. “It will be a kindness, Koracoo. He doesn’t know how to step aside. Though I suspect he realizes he needs to.”
The ducks suddenly took wing, squawking as they flapped away into the afternoon sky. Koracoo frowned at them for a time before she said, “He may, but this decision will still enrage him.”
“Maybe. But eventually he’ll understand why you did it.”
Koracoo pulled CorpseEye off her shoulder and lovingly smoothed her fingers over the club as she thought. “I want you to serve as my deputy.”
Cord shifted awkwardly. “I don’t think that’s a wise choice. Your men do not know me.”
“Which means you will have to make an effort to get to know them.”
“I can do that, but think hard before you—”
She walked away. As she neared the group, she called, “We’re switching positions. Wakdanek, I want you with Towa in the rear of Gonda’s canoe. Children, split up however you please, two in each canoe.”
As the three men moved for their boat, Koracoo said, “Gonda, I need to speak with you.”
She marched past him and led the way into a grove of larches. He followed her. Cord could just see them through the sunlit weave of yellow needles. Gonda had his head down, as though listening intently.
In the meantime, Odion and Baji climbed into Koracoo’s canoe. The other two children got into Gonda’s. Wakdanek and Towa stood at the bow, waiting.
Sindak was squinting at Koracoo and Gonda. From this angle, his hooked nose looked especially long.
Cord walked up beside him. “Sindak, go ahead and get in. As soon as Koracoo arrives, I’ll shove us off. I’m already soaked to the knees.”
“So am I.” Sindak tucked his war club into his belt and folded his arms beneath his cape. Without looking at Cord, he said, “That sounded like an order. Did you and Koracoo have an interesting conversation?”
“We—”
A sharp “What?” erupted from the forest.
“You know it’s necessary,” Koracoo said. “You and I have been snarling at each other like rabid dogs.”
“Why now?”
She said something no one could hear.
Branches cracked as Gonda thrashed his way through brush and shouted at Wakdanek and Towa, “Get in.”
They leaped to obey, taking up positions in the rear. The boat rocked violently as Gonda shoved it off the sand and jumped into the bow. In less than five heartbeats, the man had maneuvered out into the current and was heading downriver.