Darkthunder's Way (32 page)

Uki was beside him in an instant to restrain him. “No, not yet! There are things you must know, and I must give you very careful instructions, for this is not a journey to be undertaken lightly, nor is it certain you will succeed.”

“Why not?”

“Because it is a place reserved for the beasts. My kind do not go there. Whether they will admit one like you, I know not.”

“But we’re both people, more or less!”

“Yet of neither the same blood nor much the same earth. It is my hope the beasts will see this and admit you.”

“If
not…
?”

“It will not be to your liking.”

Fionchadd and Calvin had remained silent all this time, but Calvin finally spoke. “We’ve been talkin’ too, David; me and Finny. We’ve still got the quest to go on, right? We can’t change that, and too much depends on it to abandon it—and I’m not just talkin’ ’bout Finny’s mother.”

David folded his arms across his chest. “Okay, go on.”

“Right. So anyway, we’ve decided that you can stay here with Alec—or go searching for this lake, now, I guess. And we’ll go on to look for the way to Powersmith-land, or whatever. We’ve been talking to Uki’s sisters some, and they’ve told us they’ve seen a sea to the east where the sand glitters like gold and the farther shore burns like fire.”

“That’s it!” David cried. “It has to be!”

“Aye,” Fionchadd said. “So we think. At least it matches Oisin’s description. But more to the point, they said there were paths there: paths of light across the waves.”

David scowled. “But Nuada said there were no Tracks here.”

“He said they had
found
no Tracks leading here from Faerie, and that they didn’t know how they would appear. We’ve already seen that. I mean they’re basically what brought us here, right?”

Uki frowned thoughtfully. “These things of which you speak, I know of them, but they are beyond my understanding, and to tell truth I fear them. They are things of the Greater Thunders.”

“If we find one, though, that will speed our task tremendously,” Fionchadd said.

David gazed up at Calvin. “Do
you
have to go, though?
I’d…
I’d like to have somebody with me when I go to this magic lake.”

Calvin grimaced unhappily. “Yeah, well, we talked about that, too. But the bottom line comes down to logic, or common sense, or whatever, which is that if Fionchadd goes and finds what he’s looking for and takes your boat and sails off, somebody’s still gotta tell the folks waitin’ back home that he’s succeeded, so they can take whatever action they need to.”

David grimaced in turn. “You’re right, of course. But I was just hoping.”

“You’ll do fine,” Calvin assured him. “I’ve seen enough of you these last few days to know that.”

“Yeah, but sometimes I just get tired of trying.”

“We all do, man. We all do.”

“Well, maybe. But, hey, couldn’t Uki’s sisters go with Finno instead? I mean they know the lay of the land and all.”

The Faery shook his head. “We have already asked them, and they say they have duties here.” He smiled wickedly. “That is one thing I envy you, too: you will have more time with them.”

“Thanks a bunch,” David muttered, hoping the sarcasm would elude his hosts.

“There is one thing you must do, though,” Fionchadd went on obliviously. “You must give me the boat and the ring.”

“Sure,” David said. “Boat’s in the pack.” He stuck out his hand and worked the ring from his finger, then dropped it into Fionchadd’s palm. “Take care.”

“I will bring it back to you someday, of that have no fear.”

David gazed quizzically at Uki. “And this lake—can I go there and still be back before they return?”

Uki nodded slowly. “I think so, if what they seek is what I suspect it to be. In the meantime, you all should rest and leave at first light tomorrow.”

“Well,” Calvin said, slapping his hands on his thighs, “I guess it’s decided.”

David stared down at Alec. “I guess so. For better or worse, let’s do it.”

Chapter XIX: Yanu

(Galunlati—day two
—evening)

David slept very little that night, and not because of the distant rumble of thunder that began thrumming through the cavern as soon as Uki left them after dinner;
that
, as a matter of fact, was somewhat comforting. What was not comforting, though, was any thought of Alec, and he thought of him constantly: the things he’d never told him, though they’d been close as brothers; the minor slights of the last few weeks that his memory suddenly multiplied like the proverbial loaves and fishes, making every too-brief encounter a cause for remorse, every curtailed conversation a playground for guilt. And finally, the most difficult dilemma:
what would he tell Alec’s parents if their son died?
That he could not imagine. He would have to talk to the Sidhe, he supposed, get them to intercede. No way he could manage by himself. And what about their M-Gang buddies? There’d be a shitload of explaining to do, and he wouldn’t be able to do much of it with the Ban of Lugh in place,
and…
His eyes filled with tears, and he flopped over, saw Alec lying on his back on the fur beside him. Poor Alec, so alone. David scooted closer, nestled his friend’s head in the crook of his arm—let the others think what they would.

With Alec’s breath whispering in his ears, he dozed, and in the doze he seemed to her a chant:

Yu! Sge! Usinuli hatunganiga, Giyagiya Sakani, ewsatagi tsuldahisti. Usinuli hatlasiga. Tsiskwa-gwu ulsgeta uwutla-nilei. Usinuliyu atsahilugisiga. Utsin- awa nutatanunta. Yu!

Yu! Sge! Usinuli hatunganiga. Digatiski Watigei, galunlati iyunta ditsuldahisti. Ha-nagwa usinuli hatlasiga. Tsiskwa-gwu ditunilawitsuhi higesei. Usinuli ketatigulahiga. Utsinawa adumiga. Yu!

David did not understand the words, but somehow they brought him comfort. It was women who sang, he realized distantly, probably Uki’s weird sisters; but now their voices sighed like gentle rain on soft grasses. He stirred slightly, made himself more comfortable in his nest of fur. And then the song began again, only this time the sounds shifted in his head, and he found he could make out their
meaning
:

Yu! Listen! Quickly you have drawn near to hearken, O Blue Sparrow Hawk; in the spreading tree tops you are at rest. Quickly you have come down. The intruder is only a bird which has overshadowed him. Swiftly you have swooped down upon it. Relief is accomplished. Yu!

Yu! Listen! Quickly you have drawn near to hearken, O Brown Rabbit Hawk; you are at rest there above. Ha! Swiftly now you have come down. It is only the birds which have come together for council. Quickly you have come and scattered them. Relief is accomplished.

It started over, but by the time the second verse had begun, he was sleeping peacefully.

*

Morning found David unexpectedly refreshed. Indeed, he was awake and out of bed while both Calvin and Fionchadd were still snoring. After a quick check of Alec, who seemed to be at ease, he crept silently past his companions and into the outer cave. He paused there, warily searching the gloom for any sign of lurking reptiles, but saw only the rounded lumps of the huge tortoises that apparently had not moved from their corners since Uki had banished them there two days ago. Why did their host allow them there? he wondered, since he evidently did not like them. Or was he simply being hospitable? And who were those strange women, anyway? Were they really Uki’s sisters? But if so, why were they so unlike their brother?

Well, there was no way to find out this time of day, that was for sure. He yawned, stretched, and padded down the corridor to the ledge behind the falls. In the ruddy light before dawn the cataract was a veil of pinkish silver, its rumble now somehow soothing. Hesitating only briefly, he stripped to his skivvies and thrust his head under, then his arms and face, and finally his feet and legs as far as he could, using cupped hands to slap more water on what the falls could not reach. The water was cold but invigorating. A quick concession to nature’s call, and he returned to find his friends now stirring. Uki’s sisters appeared from another way, bringing breakfast that was the same as the previous day’s, then left again, just as Uki himself entered. He did not squat beside them, as David expected, but remained by the entrance, looking thoughtful. David found himself starting to fidget in anticipation and ate quickly, without really tasting the food.

Abruptly, Uki departed; but returned a moment later with his sisters once more in tow. Each bore a parcel wrapped in the same white deerskin they wore.

“Sikwa Unega, Dagantu, Edahi,” he said solemnly. “Dawn fast approaches and with it you must depart, for all of you have long roads to walk before you find what you seek, and the sooner upon them the better, for even with my best aid, all of you will sleep in the forest tonight, and that is a thing not done lightly in Galunlati.”

The companions did not reply, though Fionchadd slowly rose to his feet. Calvin and David snagged final morsels and did likewise.

“Edahi, Dagantu, come forward,” Uki said, nodding to Calvin and Fionchadd.

The Indian and the Faery exchanged glances, then shrugged and did as Uki bade them. Uki’s sisters passed each of them a bundle.

“You may open them,” Uki prompted, as they hesitated.

Calvin unwrapped his first. “Oh, neat!” he exclaimed. “This is brilliant!”

David wandered up to peer over his shoulder. It was a bow; not as intricate as Fionchadd’s had been, but still showing many colors of wood layered within its elegant curves. A white leather quiver went with it, and white-fletched arrows.

“Thank you,
adawehiyu,”
Calvin said, bowing; then prodded Fionchadd. “Well, go on, do yours too.”

Fionchadd nodded, his face slightly clouded with what David suspected was envy. But it lit once more when he saw that his bundle held his old bow somehow made new again.

Uki smiled wanly. “It was a great medicine to fix that,” he said. “And to accomplish it I had to ask the aid of all the trees in the forest and bury it in the ground and sing over it for half the night—perhaps you heard my singing. Its virtues are intact, I think, though I urge you to use great caution. Food you must have, of course, and you may freely slay any creatures you need. Only one thing I require: that you ask their permission before you shoot, and that you thank them upon their deaths and see that some of their blood returns to earth. By this they will know you an honorable man and honor you in turn with their lives to sustain you.”

He turned to Calvin. “The bow I have given you is not so strong in medicine, I fear; but it should serve you equally well. You must bear the greater part of your journey, for you must both go and return, thus you too will need to hunt and eat. In your own land, also, you may find it useful, if the road you take be the one I begin to see for you. In return I ask only what I have asked of your friend: to ask, and to thank, and to be grateful.”

Calvin smiled ruefully. “I think I can manage that, sir.”

“I hope so,” Uki said, then motioned David forward. David crossed the short distance and stood waiting expectantly while Uki picked up the bundle he himself had brought in. It was much larger and bulkier than the rest, and Uki unwrapped it before handing it over.

David could not suppress a gasp. It was a bearskin, longer by far than even Uki was tall, and far wider claw-to-claw than their host’s outstretched arms, for the paws hung halfway to the ground from the places Uki held them. The long, coarse fur was black as coal.

“Alas,” Uki said. “I cannot give you food, nor weapons for its finding, for you seek a medicine place, and for that you must follow the ritual and eat nothing that has not fallen upon the ground or grown from it—and even then you too should ask and thank. But never let it be said that Uki did not aid you as best he could, for though I cannot feed you, still I may provide you warmth and shelter.” He held out the skin. “Galunlati is a hot land, yet the nights can be cold in the mountains. This will protect you in the bitterest of seasons.”

“Thank you—what was that word you used, Fargo?”

“
Adawehiyu.
It means very great magician.”

“Then thank you,
adawehiyu
,” David stammered. “I—”

Uki cut him off. “No magician I, only a humble Thunderer. But hurry now, the sun is risen and you must all be going. I will start you on your journeys.”

A short time later they once more stood atop the waterfall. Tb the east, the sun poised over a double-knobbed mountain. To the north, clouds floated in a sky of palest lavender, their edges tinged with scarlet.

Uki pointed toward the sunrise. “That way lies your path,” he told Fionchadd. “Walk ever with your shadow before or behind you and in two days you should find the golden sand.”

He turned to David then, and nodded north. “And that way lies your road, Sikwa Unega. Follow the uktena trail first. When you come to its dying place, look to the north. There you will see another tall mountain, and beyond it another. Continue that way until dark. In the morning, do the same, sighting always by the tallest peaks.” And with those words, he left them.

Calvin broke the ensuing silence. “Well, guys, it’s been fun.”