The Dawn Country(74)

A thousand summers from now as he slumbered in an old oak tree, that wound would still be bleeding. To make matters worse, his heartache was suffocating him. He’d do anything to be able to hold her in his arms again.

A gust of wind rattled the branches, and a whirlwind of old leaves swept out across the river. Gonda watched them settle upon the surface. Like a fleet of tiny rafts, the current swiftly carried them downstream.

Cord said, “I know it means nothing now, but I doubt that splitting your forces is what caused the destruction of Yellowtail Village. If I’d been in your situation, outnumbered three to one, with the village collapsing around me, I would probably have taken the same desperate risk you did. By the time you made the decision, the battle was already lost. It was the only thing you could have done.”

For a brief instant, Gonda’s pain lessened. He had the feeling Cord meant it.

“Well, you would be wise not to mention that to Koracoo. She’ll demote you and name Sindak as her new deputy.”

Cord smiled. “Actually, I suggested him for the position. I think he’d make a good one.”

“Yes, well, you don’t know him very well yet. He’s young.”

Cord dipped his head in deference to Gonda’s experience. “If you say so.”

In irritation, Gonda unslung his bow and pulled an arrow from his quiver. As he nocked it, he said, “I’ve had enough of making friends with you. I feel like killing something. Let’s hunt.”

Cord shook his head. “Koracoo ordered us to guard the canoes. However, I have no objections to allowing you to hunt, providing you stay within sight of the canoes. Agreed?”

Gonda jerked a nod. “Agreed … Deputy.”





Twenty-nine

Koracoo stood guard two paces from where Odion, Baji, and Toksus sat talking. Now and then, one of them jerked around to look out into the larches, as though certain Gannajero and her warriors were sneaking up on them.

Koracoo understood the feeling. Toksus might well be bait for a trap. His story about how he’d gotten here was curious enough, but his insistence that he’d awakened beside the dead boy was truly bizarre.

She clutched CorpseEye and started walking in a small circle around the children, studying the ground for tracks. If Toksus wasn’t making it up, someone must have placed Sassacus’ body beside him. Who? Why? Had someone been trying to frighten Toksus? That seemed unlikely. Perhaps in some twisted way, Sassacus had been a gift. Company for a lost little boy? Or something more sinister. A warning not to tell anyone what had happened to him?

“Did you actually see Zateri?” Odion asked. He smoothed his shoulder-length black hair behind his ears. Sunlight falling through the branches striped his round face. “You’re sure she was all right?”

Toksus pulled open the laces on a bag he carried and drew out a handful of huckleberries. As he chewed them, he said, “The last time I saw her, she was fine. Then the canoes shoved away from shore and went off down the river, leaving me alone.”

“You were smart, Toksus,” Odion praised. “You knew to walk straight north along the river. You weren’t really lost. In a few more days, you’d have been home.”

Toksus swallowed his huckleberries and plucked another handful from the bag. “I was so scared.”

“Well, you’re with us now. My parents will take you home.”

Toksus chewed the berries in silence, as though he wasn’t sure whether or not to believe it.

Baji was eyeing Toksus severely. She said, “How did you escape?”

“I didn’t escape. Gannajero let me go.”

“She’s never let a child go in her life. They’re worth too much. Why you?”

The next handful of huckleberries stopped halfway to Toksus’ mouth. He lowered it back to his lap. “After she stabbed the dead boy, she dragged him over and put him on top of me. She …” His eyes went vacant, as though his afterlife soul had briefly been scared from his body.

In a dire voice, Odion said, “Why did she do that?”

Toksus waved the fist of huckleberries, but it was a weak gesture, as though his strength had vanished in an instant. “She was witching us.”

“Both of you? Why?”

Toksus’ fingers seemed to go numb. The berries dropped from his hand, and he began rubbing his palms on his leggings, as though to rid them of an unseen taint. When his eyes started rolling around in terror, Odion slid closer to him.

“Toksus, don’t worry. You’re safe. We’re just trying to understand … .”

Their voices faded as Koracoo’s attention was captured by a set of tracks almost hidden beneath the dogwood boughs. She walked over and knelt near them, wary not to disturb the ground. As she used CorpseEye to lift a section of branches, her breath caught. The dense thicket had sheltered the earth from windblown needles and leaves. And the ground had been damp when he’d stepped here.