People of the Earth (102 page)

 
          
 
The sudden action caught Brave Man by
surprise; some force repelled him from the golden haze, sent him spinning,
panicked, through the gray mist like a hurled rock.

           
 
He blinked, the ache in his head blinding and
unbearable. He groaned, crossing his arms over his chest as he shivered in the
cold night air. The moon had risen over the eastern horizon, a half-full globe.

 
          
 
“You betrayed yourself this time, Wolf
Dreamer.'' He got stiffly to his feet. He clenched a fist, shaking it as he
shouted, “Spirits should learn how to lie!"

 
          
 
A god! the voices hissed inside his head.

 
          
 
"Yes ... a god. And a new Dream to crush
the old."

 
          
 
He filled his lungs and bellowed at the sky,
"You'll see. You’ll see tomorrow! '
'

 
          
 
"The spring is just over that rise."
Snail Shell pointed to the sage-speckled ridge before them. The buff soil
gleamed in the afternoon light. Overhead, puffs of clouds sailed to the east,
pushed by an insistent breeze.

 
          
 
White Ash shielded her eyes from the glare of
sun off sand and surveyed the location. Around them, dunes thrust up like
enormous anthills. A sodden thumping had begun in her breast. Only Still
Water's presence beside her made it seem bearable. "Let's stop and spend
the rest of the day here. That dune over there is high. If we make camp on the
crest, we'll be able to see all around."

 
          
 
Wind Runner gave her a speculative glance.
"And then?"

 
          
 
White Ash steeled herself, struggling to keep
from trembling. "At dusk we'll cross the rise and walk down to the spring
to meet Brave Man."

 
          
 
"You think he'll be there?"

 
          
 
She nodded. "He's very sure of himself.
In my Dreams, he's standing before a huge fire. Anyone else would be frightened
lest such a blaze attract enemies. But he thinks he's invincible."

           
 
Wind Runner's face tightened and he glanced at
Aspen, who stood listening, arms crossed, suspicious eyes on White Ash.
Brusquely he waved an arm and ordered, "Snail Shell, Blue Wind, spread
out. Make sure we're not walking into a trap."

 
          
 
The two warriors left at a trot.

 
          
 
Wind Runner's gaze drifted uncomfortably over
the others still standing close by. To White Ash, he said, "We must
talk—alone."

 
          
 
She nodded and placed a hand on Still Water's
shoulder. He gazed at her with concern. "Could you and Sage Ghost make us
a camp on that dune? Wind Runner and I will follow."

 
          
 
Still Water patted her hand tenderly.
"Don't wear yourself out. We have a long night ahead of us." He
gestured for Sage Ghost to follow him up the face of the shimmering dune.

 
          
 
Aspen examined Wind Runner for a moment before
she turned and followed Sage Ghost and Still Water.

 
          
 
White Ash waited tiredly until the others had
passed beyond earshot. "What is it, Wind Runner?"

 
          
 
He scuffed at the dirt with his moccasin,
evading her eyes. Anxiety lined his handsome face. "You're not up to this.
I can feel it. You're scared half out of your wits."

 
          
 
"Wind Runner ... Do you know what Brave
Man's going to do to me?"

 
          
 
"No."

 
          
 
"He's going to try to break me through
Power. Still Water and I, we have to fight—"

 
          
 
"Still Water? He's no warrior!" Wind
Runner's gaze shifted to follow the group trudging up the dune. "You think
he can help you?"

 
          
 
"He's the only one—"

 
          
 
"He looks as if a prairie dog would scare
him silly! Brave Man will—"

 
          
 
"Still Water has faced Brave Man before.
He walked into Brave Man's camp and rescued me." She gave him a sober
stare. "Wind Runner, you know nothing about Still Water. He's faced more
terrible things than you've ever . . . What difference does it make?" She
fumbled with her fringed sleeves and gazed at the crest of the dune, where Sage
Ghost and Still Water
unslung
their packs and knelt
to unlace the straps. The low strains of their conversation could barely be
heard. "Still Water keeps the only Power I can count on to defend
me."

 
          
 
"His Wolf Bundle?"

 
          
 
"Yes."

 
          
 
Wind Runner roughly gripped her arm.
"Listen to me. I'm a warrior. I know Brave Man's weaknesses—and have since
we were children. This whole thing can be taken care of quickly. I'll need a
distraction. If you could scream all of a sudden . . . maybe faint. 1*11 know
the moment to move. I can drive a dart right through him. Aspen can kill
another warrior. In the meantime, Snail Shell and Blue Wind will cast their
darts. If we move quickly, they won't have a chance. After that, it's just a
matter of time. Without a leader, the Broken Stones will falter. I've been
talking about this with Aspen. A small band of Black Point warriors—maybe no
more than five—could hit their camp, keep them off balance while we gather our
strength. Maybe we could break them once and for all."

 
          
 
He spoke so confidently, eyes glinting ... but
would the plan work? Possibly. Sage Ghost had told her of Wind Runner's
exploits. A glimmer of hope tingled to life in White Ash. He's offering you a
way to escape the terrible battle that lies ahead. The glimmer brightened . . .
and just as rapidly, it died.

 
          
 
A resigned smile played over her lips.
"It won't work. No matter how well-plotted and sprung, he'd sense the
trap. Power would give it away. He's Dreamed, Wind Runner. No, don't shake your
head. I know you can't understand it, but I do. Through the Spiral, the heart
of all life, Brave Man and I can see each other's souls. Neither of us can lay
a trap without the other knowing."

 
          
 
"But he'll destroy you—and the Black
Point, too!"

 
          
 
She rubbed her hot eyes. "This isn't a
matter to be decided by warriors. It's a matter of will, and Power, and
Dreaming." She placed her hands on his shoulders and let Power flow
through her, watching it encircle him like a blue halo. “Do you see?”

 
          
 
A violent shudder went through him. He pulled
away, mouth open as his eyes widened. "Blessed Thunderbird, who are
you?"

 
          
 
She lowered her hand and clenched it into a
numb fist. "The hope of the People, Wind Runner." She turned and
headed for the dune where Still Water and Sage Ghost were in the process of
digging a fire pit in the soft sand.

 
          
 
Wind Runner followed, picking his way through
thorny greasewood and pungent sage, absently noting that the fruit on the
prickly pear cactus had ripened to a bright red. From the cloud-speckled sky,
the sun beat down on his head. He filled his lungs with the pungent air.

 
          
 
A gnawing fear tormented him. What had White
Ash done? He shivered again. She'd simply looked into his eyes and he'd felt a
hot current, like a bolt of lightning striking him. Then he'd sensed her
desperation, experienced the Power of her words. She'd touched his soul with
the awesome nature of the struggle to come.

 
          
 
What happened to you, White Ash? How did this
come to pass? He feared her—and loved her. But in the past few days his love
had changed from passion to something deeper, more abiding. To see her in this
danger twisted his soul. And I can do nothing.

 
          
 
Aspen met him halfway up the dune, her eyes
questioning.

 
          
 
He shook his head, sighing. "She said it
wouldn't work, that Power would betray us."

 
          
 
Aspen tensed and looked at him. "I can
see your love for her in your eyes."

 
          
 
"If you see so clearly, you can see my
love for you, too. Yes, I'll always love her. More now than I did before. But I
no longer love her as I do you. She's ..." He cocked his head, frowning.
"She's like a mother. Yes. And she's ready to sacrifice herself to protect
us from something I don't understand—some vision of our fate that terrifies
her.''

 
          
 
He read the unease in Aspen's eyes and gripped
her hand tightly. A red-tailed hawk soared on the air currents over the crest
of the dune. Wind Runner granted himself a moment to watch the predator hunt
the sage for mice and rabbits. 4t We just have to do what White Ash asks. I
think it's the only way we can help her now/'

 
          
 
Still Water sat in their camp on the top of
the dune, White Ash's head in his lap. She'd been sleeping restlessly for the
past hour, her long black hair spreading like a dark veil over | his leather
pants. He gazed down at her beautiful face, then I glanced at the Wolf Bundle.
He'd removed the sacred object and gently set it on top of the pack so it could
see Brave Man's camp on the plain below. He wasn't certain how Spirits saw, but
since he'd exposed the Bundle to the dwindling light, he could sense its Power
increasing. The heart-shaped object seemed to radiate, its Power twining out,
sending threads through the people who stood around him talking quietly. Aspen,
Wind Runner, and Sage Ghost shifted uneasily, shaking their heads as they
looked from White Ash's sleeping body down to Brave Man's camp, where warriors
walked the dunes.

 
          
 
Still Water exhaled a taut breath. The sunset
cast a gaudy red light over the land, illuminating a twisting dust devil that
wove across the flats like a spiral of fire. Against the indigo sky in the
east, a herd of antelope stood silhouetted on a hilltop. Heads up, they watched
warily while the slanted light silvered their rumps.

 
          
 
"Snail Shell and Blue Wind haven't
returned," Aspen noted grimly. Sage Ghost translated her words for Still
Water.

 
          
 
“I know, but we can't wait much longer."
Still Water rubbed his hand over his heart. It had been pounding for some time.
He reverently reached for the Wolf Bundle. Its Power coursed up his arm, tingling
his flesh—and White Ash jerked awake, her eyes huge and filled with dread.

 
          
 
“I didn't mean to wake you."

 
          
 
She sat up and glanced at the Bundle. 44 It
wasn't you, Still Water. The Bundle screamed my name. It's time."

 
          
 
He swallowed hard. “Then we'd better be
going."

 
          
 
"Soon. I need you to chant for me first,
to help me get prepared," White Ash said in a fragile voice.

 
          
 
He nodded and closed his eyes. Vague memories
lived again in his mind: Warm Fire's smile . . . Left Hand's puzzled frown ...
the night Trouble had gotten lost in the snowstorm. He relived the chilling
cold as he pulled White Ash from the river. Singing Stones sat on the ridge top
one more time, surrounded by magical elk . . . he tripped over a corpse in the
darkness and finally smashed Brave Man on the knee with his stone wood ... he
lay in White Ash's arms, drowning in her love. Everything that had happened had
led him to this final moment of preparation. Had Power wrought its dart with
the ultimate skill?

 
          
 
He opened his eyes and raised the Bundle to
the dying sun. He began to chant, the words rising, filling his soul as if
bolstered by a Power not his.

 
          
 
He could feel White Ash seeking the One. The
edges of her soul touched his like a warm, ticklish feather.

 
          
 
Still Water barely heard Wind Runner's gasp as
the black wolf glided from the sage to sit beside White Ash, its yellow eyes
warily going from one person to the next. Power swelled on the night.

 
          
 
Still Water jumped when he heard White Ash let
out a small cry, and an image of fungal green crept through the Power-laced
air. Brave Man Dreams, too.