People of the Earth (63 page)

           
 
"You, Yellow Rock, bring the Wolf women
here. Put them in the light so all can see. I want them in the center of the
Dance." But White Ash isn't among them.

 
          
 
Soon, the voices in his head promised. You
will have her this very night. Soon—if your Power is strong enough—-she will be
yours.

 
          
 
He laughed aloud, murmuring, "Yes,
Spirits, my Power will hold White Ash."

 
          
 
"What?" Pale Raven asked.

 
          
 
"Nothing." The flames lit the camp
and beyond. He, Brave Man, had accomplished this. His Power had brought him
from the Camp of the Dead on the Fat Beaver to lead the Broken Stones in this
glorious victory. He basked in the admiration beaming from the people's eyes.

 
          
 
At the edge of the timber, two warriors
dragged yet another struggling captive in from the woods. Another woman for the
Broken Stones. Idly he wondered if they'd spent their manhood happily, and
glanced at Pale Raven. No captive could bring a man to the soul-leaping
fulfillment Pale Raven had shown him.

 
          
 
Brave Man put his arm around her shoulders and
turned back to the fire. Flames shot high into the night.

 
          
 
Where is White Ash?

 
          
 
The voices in his head emitted a hushed sigh.
She is yours this night. But we must warn you . . . beware. Beware the workings
of Power!

 
          
 
Brave Man threw his head back and laughed. The
two warriors dragged their struggling captive closer to the fire.

 
          
 
Rough hands threw White Ash down, pinning her
to the ground. "We've caught a nice one, Five Darts. We'll share her—or
gamble to see who gets to keep her.''

 
          
 
Five Darts grinned happily. "We might
have to gamble to see who takes her first.”

 
          
 
"I have done nothing to you! Your enemies
are the Wolf People. In the name of Thunderbird, let me go!" White Ash
pleaded, belly going tight as understanding crept through her.

 
          
 
Five Darts cocked his head suspiciously.
"You speak like a human being. You don't swallow your words like the Wolf
People do."

 
          
 
She steeled herself. "I—I am White
Clay." Now for the gamble. Did they know of the White Clay's fate?
"At the Gathering ... my family would pay to get me back. If you don't
harm me, I'll work for you. Carry wood, cook, make hides . . . until the
Gathering. Then my family will buy me back."

 
          
 
Five Darts shot an excited glance at his
friend. "Buffalo Jumps, we were told to look for a White Clay woman."
He peered eagerly into her eyes. "What is your name?"

 
          
 
"White Ash." Hope sparked within.
She would tell them anything, just as long as she could buy time to escape.

 
          
 
Buffalo Jumps whooped and sprang to his feet,
shuffling in a Dance of triumph. The eagle-bone beads on his sleeves rattled
with each pirouetting step. "Tie her! We've done it!"

 
          
 
Five Darts flushed. "The Soul Flier will
praise our names to Thunderbird. He'll place us beside him in the next
council!"

 
          
 
Buffalo Jumps had pulled thongs from his belt
pouch. Five Darts rolled White Ash over and wrestled her arms back while his
friend expertly bound her.

 
          
 
"What are you doing?" White Ash
cried. "I'll walk with you. Just don't hurt me."

 
          
 
"We won't hurt you, White Ash. Not for
all the women among the Wolf People, or for all the kills we could make. You're
more precious to us than fat-rich meat in starving times," Five Darts
assured her.

 
          
 
Buffalo Jumps pulled the knots tight.
"Get up."

 
          
 
She climbed awkwardly to her feet. As Five
Darts held her, Buffalo Jumps used another thong to bind her ankles.

 
          
 
"That should be about the right
length," he decided. "You can walk—if you're careful. But you can't
run. Let's go." He pointed down the trail.

 
          
 
White Ash nodded miserably, refusing to look
back toward the flat-topped knob where Bad Belly sought his dog. Thank
Thunderbird he hadn't called out again or whistled for Trouble.

           
 
She started down the trail, almost tripping
when the thong on her ankles pulled tight.

 
          
 
"We've caught White Ash!" Five Darts
repeated over and over.

 
          
 
"Why am I such a catch?" she
demanded, fear alternating with hope as she stumbled along in faltering steps.

 
          
 
"The Soul Flier wants you."

 
          
 
Soul Flier? Who? Sun Feathers? She'd seen the
Broken Stones Soul Flier at the last Gathering on
Bug
River
. What would the old man want with her? At
least he wouldn't rape her, wouldn't beat her.

 
          
 
Broken Stones? A chill frosted her soul. Brave
Man might be among them. He'd have gone there—if the Wolf People hadn't killed
him. Had he said something to Sun Feathers? Maybe made those claims of Power?

 
          
 
Run, Bad Belly! Get away. Get off these cursed
mountains and go home to Round Rock! The thought of him trying to follow, to
effect a rescue, tormented her. The Broken Stones would kill him on the spot
the moment they caught sight of him. And Bad Belly would be seen.

 
          
 
She narrowed her attention on how she placed
her feet, keeping her balance as best she could. At the thought of Bad Belly
attempting a rescue, her guts turned as
punky
as
rotten wood. A man who got lost in his head, who almost walked off cliffs
because he wasn't paying attention . . .

 
          
 
The day wore on. Thirst irritated her throat.
Walking in such an awkward fashion cramped the muscles in her legs and hips.
The binding on her ankles chafed and burned as each step rubbed her skin raw.

 
          
 
"We could make better time if you took
these bindings off," she suggested.

 
          
 
Five Darts lifted an eyebrow as he looked at
Buffalo Jumps. The latter shook his head. "No, better slow than to lose
her. The Soul Flier would ... Well, I don't want to face his wrath."

 
          
 
White Ash bit her lip and struggled on, hating
it each time they lifted her over deadfall or carried her over rough ground
like a limp buffalo quarter.

 
          
 
As the sun began to drop in the western sky
and shafts of light slanted through the trees, they passed the first body. An
old woman lay in the trail, the back of her head bashed in.

 
          
 
"Why did you attack the Wolf
People?" she asked.

 
          
 
Five Darts smiled grimly. "The Soul Flier
Dreamed it, and Sun Feathers sent us a signal from the Camp of the Dead. He
burned a green fire through the sky, pointing the way."

 
          
 
Buffalo Jumps lifted his chin. "The
Broken Stones have a new Soul Flier, a Powerful Soul Flier. His name is Brave
Man."

 
          
 
White Ash tripped and fell. She lay there in
the trail, spilled hair hiding the horror on her face. A terrible sickness,
like the gray, runny fluid that filled a rotting carcass, washed through her
soul.

 
          
 
"Come on. Get up," Five Darts
ordered.

 
          
 
"She won't," Buffalo Jumps said.
"Unless we beat her. She knows Brave Man. She understands better than we
do. She thought she would be able to plead before Sun Feathers. Now she knows
better. Help me lift her."

 
          
 
The evening sky dimmed into indigo and then
violet as they proceeded. White Ash did everything she could to stall. She
snagged the binding thongs on branches and rocks; she fought when she could,
struggling futilely against their superior strength.

 
          
 
"I see the Dance fire!" Five Darts
cried. "We're almost there."

 
          
 
"Please," White Ash whispered.
"Let me go. You seem like honorable warriors. Don't do this to me."

 
          
 
"What did the White Clay ever do for
me?" Buffalo Jumps asked. "My father died from a White Clay war
dart."

 
          
 
They hustled her into a clearing, past a pile
of bodies that had been dragged to one side. Wolf People. Brave Man had broken
the implacable warriors of the mountains.

 
          
 
A group of people stood around an enormous
bonfire. Toward them, she was mercilessly dragged.

 
          
 
"Soul Flier?" Five Darts called.
White Ash pulled back, hiding herself in Buffalo Jumps' shadow, twisting
against the binding thong the man held. The glimpse was all she needed. She
knew that profile, the set of those broad shoulders.

           
 
Brave Man turned. Something seemed to be wrong
with his leg. "Yes?"

 
          
 
"I am Five Darts, and this is Buffalo
Jumps."

 
          
 
Brave Man gave the men a more careful
scrutiny. "Yes?"

 
          
 
Buffalo Jumps grinned and handed the leather
thong to him. "We have brought you the woman you asked for. We have
brought you White Ash!"

 
          
 
Brave Man reached over and pulled White Ash
out from Five Dart's shadow. She looked into those familiar eyes. Her heart
thundered.

 
          
 
"White Ash," he whispered.

 
          
 
Panic ran bright through her. Think! Think,
woman, or you’ll wish you had Three Bulls back. Thoughts fragmented. "Let
me go, Brave Man. I'll only bring you trouble."

 
          
 
He laughed from deep in his belly. ''This time
there is no Wind Runner to come to your rescue."

 
          
 
"So this is White Ash?" a tall woman
asked, stepping closer to see. The firelight accented her striking features and
long black hair. "Yes, Brave Man, she is beautiful." Her eyes
narrowed. "But, woman, are you good enough? Are you better than Pale
Raven?"

 
          
 
White Ash tried to swallow her fear—and
failed.

 
          
 
Brave Man's voice expressed building joy as he
said, "I've waited a long time for this." He raised a finger and
lifted White Ash's chin. "Nothing can stand in my way now." He
lowered his voice. "Tonight, White Ash, your Power will become mine. And
you will even enjoy it." He glanced at the tall woman, who continued to
stare at White Ash through
slitted
eyes. "Thanks
to what Pale Raven has taught me."