People of the Wolf (11 page)

"You're a sick man."

He widened his eyes as though surprised, pointing at himself. Then he whispered, "I'm also your only friend right now.''

"Friend," she scoffed.

"I haven't dragged you back to your husband yet, have I?" He leaned forward to twist the shaft of his dart so the other side of the meat would cook. When he looked back, his queer black eyes glistened with speckles of crimson from the fire. "Aren't you wondering why?"

"The storm is too violent."

"I've found my way in storms far worse than this."

Her stomach muscles clenched tight, as though her body knew something her mind refused to believe. Instinctively, she huddled as far back in the corner as she could. "Why, then?"

He stretched out, crossing his long legs at the ankles. "I wanted to talk to you."

"Why?"

He smiled, shaking his head. "We've never had a chance to talk, just the two of us."

A ferocious gust of wind blasted into their shelter, snow frosting their faces and sizzling in the flames. Dancing Fox threw up her arms as a shield. Raven Hunter brushed at his robes, then softly blew on the dung again.

"Are you going to drag me back?" she asked, struggling to keep her voice even.

"I haven't decided yet."

"And when will you?"

"Are you in such a hurry?" He lifted his hands, mocking amazement. Then he turned to look at her, an earnest seriousness in his eyes. "But then, I've always admired that about you. You remember when your father gave you to Crow Caller back at the beginning of the Long Dark?"

'' How could I forget?''

He looked out at the blowing snow, the world turning charcoal now as the Long Dark settled on the land. "I wish-I could."

She shuffled her feet, the hunger knot in her stomach growling at the smell of meat. "What do you—"

"Remember when I came back?"

"You had Grandfather White Bear's hide. The one who killed and ate Throws Bones."

He nodded. "It was for you. For your father. I... I would have asked for you then." His lips trembled suddenly before he tightened them. "If . . . well, if you'd have had me."

Words froze in her throat. He couldn't be serious. There'd barely been three amiable sentences between them in her entire life.

"But you were already in Crow Caller's robes. Nothing remained to be said." He sniffed and leaned back. "Funny how things work out. Especially between my brother and me. You loved him. Our parents, Seagull and Seal Paw, they loved him. And why? Hmm? Everything he does is only half there. You know? Like he's only half in this world."

"Is that why you hate him so?"

Raven Hunter nodded. Softly, he said, "Yes." Then he laughed. "Only we'll see. Things have changed. Flies Like

A Seagull is gone. I have killed Grandfather White Bear.
I
am about to become the greatest man among the People."

"Bold of you."

"But true." He checked the meat and shifted to look into her eyes. "And I want you with me."

She bit her tongue, wary, heart thudding in her chest. The sincerity couldn't be mistaken. A shining Power was there. He'd meant every word.

"But Crow Caller. He'll—"

Raven Hunter shook his head slowly. "Not me, he won't. And I know what he's done to you. I've heard him at night. Heard your whimpers. I'll never hurt you like that."

Off balance, she swallowed hard, a curious breathlessness in her chest. "I . . .1 don't understand. ..."

"I want you for my woman, Dancing Fox. I've killed Grandfather White Bear for you. Crow Caller is a foolish old man. One I'll need, true. But foolish nevertheless. I can handle him."

"But his Spirit Power—"

"You don't seriously
believe
that, do you?"
"j "

"Think about my offer. That's all I ask." He smiled, cocking his head. "I would make you very happy. Keep you fed. Make a place for you among the councils of the People. You could do no better."

"And if I decide not to?"

He sighed heavily. "I'll have you in the end. It will be more difficult for both of us, but I won't lose. Of course, I'll have to take you back to Crow Caller, but—"

"I'm not going."

"Oh, I think you are."

"No, I'm leaving as soon as the storm lets up."

"Consider . . ." He steepled his fingers, frowning seriously. ' 'You have no one left. Your father was your last living relative except for some uncles and cousins in Buffalo Back's band. If I take you back, Crow Caller will denounce you, curse you horribly, and everyone will be afraid of his threats. You'd be an outcast, shunned. You'd be reduced to begging for scraps—whatever charity the People might have."

"Maybe."

"After that," he continued as if he hadn't heard, "a man

can take you any way he wants." He looked at her soberly. "Any man . . . any time."

"You'd do that to me?"

He filled his lungs and sighed. "I could. I probably would." He shook his head slowly. "It's a funny thing. Something I'm not sure I can explain well, but as much as I love you, I couldn't stand the thought of you in Light's bed."

"You hate him that much?"

"Oh, yes." He smiled wistfully.

"You'd destroy me? Ruin roe rather than let me go to Runs In Light?"

"Actually, I'm saving you from a terrible fate." He turned the meat, now thawed and beginning to sizzle. "If you go to Light, you'll be so miserable you'll pray for Crow Caller to come back and get you."

"I doubt it."

"I know you do. Now. But like my foolish brother, I, too, see bits of things in my head. I've never told anyone. They're scattered, unconnected." He stared at her with a curious emptiness. "But I see how wretched you'd be trying to live with him and his delusions. He's mad, you know. Completely mad. Crazy as a maggot-infested caribou and just as possessed by things that eat at him."

"I don't care."

"Then you've made my decision for me. I'll be taking you back."

"I won't go."

"You think that has some bearing on the subject?"

Wetting her lips fearfully, she said, "Yes. You may kill me, Raven Hunter, but I'll fight you to—"

"Did no one teach you feminine shame when you were growing up?" he asked nonchalantly. Reaching to his dart, he removed the meat and blew on it to cool it, then sliced it in strips and handed her a piece.

She stared at the meat dangling in his fingers for a long moment, trying to convince herself not to take it, but when he started to withdraw it, she snatched it quickly and tucked it in her pocket—for later.

"Smart move. We'll have a long trip back to the People."

"You'll have to drag me the whole way."

The look he gave her froze her very heart.

A deep pain glinted in his black eyes. "I don't mean to hurt you this way, but I've seen, Dancing Fox. You understand? You'll think I'm ruining you, degrading you, but it's the right thing in the end."

Her eyes narrowed in fear.
He's insane. Dear Star People, I've got to get out of here.

He smiled weakly. "I love you, you see. You're the only person in the world I truly love. What I'm about to—"

"Then prove you love me and let me go."

He shook his head miserably, then pursed his lips, brow lining with intensity. "Oh, I can't. It's because I love you more than you can understand—"

"Do you want me dead? Crow Caller won't cast me out! He hates me, he'll—"

"No." He shivered suddenly, as if possessed by a deep chill. "No, never that."

"Then—"

"I ... I don't know why. I've just . . . just seen it. Dreamed it maybe, huh?" And he laughed sourly. "Like my bone-brained brother. Only this is real. It's like I'm only a-leaf in the wind. I
have
to marry you or destroy you."

He said it so precisely, he set her heart to slamming dully against her ribs. He leisurely ate the thin strips of meat. He wiped his hands on his long boots and offered her another piece. "Eat," he said softly. "You'll need the strength if you're going to try and escape me."

She took it numbly, enjoying the warmth, chewing. She recognized the rank taste: wolf. So he'd eaten of it, too. She choked it down, afraid to do otherwise.

"What else have you Dreamed?" she asked, stalling, darting fear-bright eyes past him to the darkness beyond.

Handing her the last of the meat, he swallowed his mouthful and poked at the ash-covered piece of dung. "There's blood and death coming." He pointed northward with his chin. "I can't see it all, but I know my path has been fixed. Like a caribou bull in rut, I have to follow it.''

"Even if it means ruining the woman you love?"

He nodded absently. "Even if it means ruining both of us. If I believed that mouse dung about Father Sun, I'd say I was his plaything. Made to do these things because they amused him."

She bolted, trying to jump past him for the snow-choked opening, but his powerful arms closed about her waist, dragging her back. His grip bound her tight, flipping her over. She kicked and struck at him as he wrestled her down. His legs pinned hers, hands tight on her wrists.

She stared up into his face, lit now as the disturbed dung fire flared up. She struggled, trying to avoid his eyes; they possessed her, drilled into her very soul.

He's so handsome . . . like Light.

His breath smelled sweetly of meat.

He lowered his head, his cheek brushing hers. His skin felt wondrously warm against hers, the touch gentle.

"Let me up." She seemed to fall into the soft blackness of his eyes. Her vision swirled. Exertion along with hunger ... or the power of his soul searching hers?

"You won't be mine?" he asked, misery in his voice.

She shook her head slowly, eyes still locked with his. "Never."

He winced, pain tormenting his expression. "Then I'll have to do it the hard way.''

She struggled as he undid the lacings of her parka and jerked it open, exposing her body to the light. His pained look deepened when he saw the bruises left by Crow Caller. "I told you I'd never hurt you," he whispered. His knee forced her legs apart.

She gritted her teeth, turning her head away, eyes clamped , shut, waiting for the hurt. But he did something new. Unlike Crow Caller, he slid in, filling her easily. There was no pain.

Wan gray afternoon light splashed the drifts, shadows stretching like long fingers to stroke the pinched faces of the People. Smoke curled from the mouth of a snow shelter. Someone had scavenged moss or dwarf birch from the drain-

ages. The split bones of a winter-killed buffalo littered the ice, mixing with the scattered feathers of a hapless crow. Children hugged the white walls, bouncing as they curiously watched the two people approach. Crow Caller stood with his chin high, black eye flaring.

"Raven Hunter," Dancing Fox pleaded softly. "Don't do this. You know what he'll—"

"I already told you. I have to."

Crow Caller strode arrogantly out to meet them, withered face stretched tight in anticipation. He cocked his head at the rawhide straps that bound her hands. "What is this?" he asked unsteadily.

"I found her fleeing to Runs In Light," Raven Hunter said somberly as he shoved Dancing Fox to her husband's feet.

"I . . . I wasn't," she denied, gasping deep breaths, her fear so strong she felt like vomiting. People crowded around, eyes wide and worried. She searched their faces, silently begging help. Gray Rock started to reach out to her, but pulled back. She didn't dare.

The old shaman's jaw quivered in rage. He stabbed a gnarled finger at Fox, shouting, ' 'You would shame your clan by abandoning me?"

"No, no, I got lost. The storm ..."
Why do I lie? Why don't I just face him? Let him do his worst. Shame him worse than he shames me?

Raven Hunter's face blanched, his expression that of a man forced into an unbearable situation. "Hardly. I found her running back over the path the People had just walked."

She grimaced, memories of the nights they'd shared filling her mind. "I was lost! I didn't know where I was! I couldn't—"