It Sleeps in Me (15 page)

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Authors: Kathleen O'Neal Gear

BOOK: It Sleeps in Me
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“I’ll try.”
Wink left.
Sora returned to her sleeping bench, where she curled into a tight ball. Confusion and guilt competed like raging bears inside her. She had to talk to someone, but it couldn’t be a lifelong friend.
She needed the advice of a man or woman who did not really know her. Objective advice.
Who do I know who is utterly pragmatic … and trustworthy?
Her gaze drifted to the feet beneath the door curtain.
SORA SAT WITH FEATHER DANCER ON THE BENCH AT THE rear of her house, looking northward toward Wink’s mound. If Wink saw them, she’d think Sora had just gone for a walk as she’d promised. Cool wind whimpered through the trees, bringing her the mingled scents of the lake and roasting fish. She felt weak, but growing stronger by the instant. She’d needed the fresh air more than she’d realized.
“Feather Dancer, I must ask your advice as my war chief.”
His thick black brows pulled down over his thumblike nose. Ten winters ago the Lily People had captured and tortured him. The scars that crisscrossed his cheeks and forehead resembled thick white yarn plastered on his tanned skin.
He carefully responded, “Is this about the war chief’s death and what Matron Sea Grass might do?”
“Yes.”
“I, too, am concerned about that.”
“I’m sure you are. Through my own fault I may have unwittingly brought a hurricane into Blackbird Town.” She massaged her brow.
Wind tousled his long black hair around his massive shoulders as he stared at her. “How may I help?”
“Whatever I say must remain between us. Can I rely on that?”
He nodded once, and she knew from his stern gaze that he’d die before he would break that vow.
Sora exhaled the words, “This story begins a long time ago. I had seen fourteen winters …”
She told him about her courtship with Flint, leaving nothing out; then she discussed Flint’s usage of Spirit Plants, his jealous rages, the men he’d killed for smiling at her. She chronicled their divorce and her subsequent despair, told him about how she’d made a fool of herself running after Flint. She wanted to make sure he understood it as clearly as she did. When she told him that Skinner had immediately claimed to be Flint and proceeded to prove it by revealing things about her that no one else in the world knew, Feather Dancer’s eyes tightened. Unable to look at him any longer, she confessed their couplings in the forest, explaining that that was how she’d known beyond a doubt that she was loving Flint, not Skinner. Far more than knowing every detail of her life with Flint, he knew things about her body that no other man knew.
“Toward the end he looked startled and said, ‘Who’s there?’ He asked me, ‘Do you see him?’”
“Did you see anyone?”
“No.”
Feather Dancer’s arm muscles contracted, bulging through the fabric of his cape. “What happened then?”
She made a futile gesture with her hand. “He was strangling me. I tried to fight back. I lost consciousness. The next thing I recall is waking up in the temple.”
Feather Dancer didn’t say a word. He stared across Blackbird Town.
People walked around the base of her mound, calling greetings, waving happily to see her up and around. Sora forced herself to smile and lift a hand to them.
“Chieftess, before I respond, may I tell you what I believe?”
“Yes, of course.”
His black hair blew around his scarred face. “I am a warrior. I’ve seen death many times. I don’t believe in gods. I don’t believe in an afterlife. I think a man lives and dies and that’s all there is.”
Her heartbeat quickened. “Then you think my reflection-soul is out wandering in the forest somewhere? Perhaps I should hire a priest to go search—”
“No.” He shook his head. “I don’t believe in souls either. But …” He let the word hang.
“But what?”
“Has it occurred to you that perhaps none of this is true?”
She shook her head as though she hadn’t heard him right. “What do you mean? Some of it’s true.”
“Is it? There’s only one thing we know for certain: War Chief Skinner is dead. We have the body. Everything else is questionable.”
She held his somber gaze. “What are you talking about?”
“I have listened very carefully, Chieftess, and it seems clear to me that there’s a conspiracy to force you to step down as chieftess of the Black Falcon Nation.”
She couldn’t even speak. She just stared at him.
“All of this—this nonsense,” he said flatly, “seems to have one goal: to get you out of the way by any means necessary, and install someone else in your place.”
Her entire body became a single silent scream.
“Forgive me for speaking so bluntly, Chieftess, but if you do not take action to defend yourself soon, they will succeed.”
“Explain.”
“All they have to do now is bully you into offering your own life to Matron Sea Grass in compensation for the death of her son. Then it’s over. The thing was quite neatly done.”
Why had she believed? Guilt? Longing for a man she’d loved with all her heart?
“But that doesn’t explain how Skinner knew—”
“You said that at one time you suspected Skinner might be a berdache.”
“Yes. He never married, and he always seemed much closer to men than women.”
“Chieftess, if he and Flint were lovers he would know
exactly
how Flint loved another person.”
She went still.
That’s how he knew how to touch me. Flint had touched him in exactly the same way.
“I suspect, in fact,” Feather Dancer continued, “that Skinner was Flint’s lover long before you met him, and probably remained his lover after you married Flint.”
Memories flooded her souls. Late at night, lying in her arms, Flint had often spoken about Skinner. They’d been lifelong friends. She’d thought nothing of it. But now she wondered if Flint had talked about her when he was lying in Skinner’s arms. Is that how Skinner had known the most intimate details of her life?
“Dear gods, how can I stop this?”
His expression turned dark. “First, we must determine how many people are involved in the conspiracy.”
She frowned in confusion. “How many do you think are involved?”
He gestured to her head wound. “Someone clubbed you in the head, probably to make sure you were unconscious while he killed Skinner; then he carefully erased his tracks. At least two, but probably many more.”
… The satisfied smile Wink gave Skinner when he told her he just needed a few more days.
A few more days to do what? To maneuver her into a position where she would be forced to relinquish the position of chieftess? Who did they want to install in her place?
“But that doesn’t make sense. If Skinner was working with someone, why would they have killed him?”
He gave her a cold smile. “With him gone, there’s one less person who knows what really happened.”
Long Fin walked out of Wink’s house and lazily stretched his arms over his head, as though he’d just awakened from an afternoon nap. When he saw them, he waved.
Both Sora and Feather Dancer nodded in return. She prayed the youth would have the good sense to leave them alone, but as he trotted down the mound steps, she feared she wasn’t going to be that lucky.
Feather Dancer said, “Let me quickly say one last thing: Whoever is playing this game isn’t finished. First, he will try to get rid of you by forcing you to offer your life to Matron Sea Grass to compensate her for the loss of her son—”
“I’ve already considered that.”
“Well, don’t. That’s what they want. Second, if you refuse to offer your life, they’ll be forced to find some other reason you are not fit to rule. Start thinking about what they might accuse you of … .”
His voice faded as Long Fin trotted up the grassy mound slope toward them, smiling.
Feather Dancer whispered, “He’s scared right now. He’ll never be safe until everyone involved in this, except him, is dead. Anyone with a shred of knowledge represents a threat to him. Expect more people to die.”
Long Fin spread his arms, as if to embrace Sora.
“Chieftess!” he said with a broad smile. “I am very happy to see you looking so well!”
He knelt at her feet and touched his forehead to her sandals in respect,
a thing he had never done in his life.
LONG FIN TROTTED ALONG THE STARLIT TRAIL BY MEMORY, almost colliding with several tree trunks before he saw the Matron’s Mound loom out of the foggy night. Rockfish, gasping for breath, hurried along behind him.
When they reached the steps that led up the rear of the mound, Long Fin stopped and said, “Mother wishes to speak with you alone. Not even I am allowed to be on the mound while you two are in council.”
“Tell me what’s happened!” Rockfish said in panic. “Is it Sora? Is she all right? Why won’t Wink let me go home before—”
“Hurry,” Long Fin said, and gestured to the steps that led to the rear entrance of the Matron’s House. “All of your answers are up there.”
He watched Rockfish take the steps two at a time, climbing as quickly as he could. After days in a canoe, and on the trail, exhaustion seemed to weight his elderly body. His legs shook as he crested the mound and disappeared from Long Fin’s view.
Long Fin folded his arms and stood guard in front of the stairs.
 
 
A PALE YELLOW GLEAM STRETCHED ACROSS THE MOUND AS Wink pulled the door hanging aside to watch Rockfish stalk toward her. His wrinkled face was coated with grime, his gray hair dirty.
“Wink?” he called. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
She motioned for him to enter her house. “Thank you for coming, Rockfish.”
He ducked beneath the curtain. Torches lined the long hallway, casting a burnished amber gleam over the walls. Stripping his cape from his hot body, he said, “Is Sora all right?”
“Yes,” she said firmly, but even to her it sounded like a lie.
“Are you—”
“Come with me. I want to speak with you in my personal chamber.”
He followed her to her chamber and ducked through behind her. His eyes scanned her belongings. Her bedding hides lay neatly folded beneath a blazing image of Mother Sun on the wall.
“Please, sit down.” She gestured to the mats spread around the fire. The sweet scents of roasted corn and sunflower seeds suffused the air.
“I don’t want to sit down. I want to know why your son caught me on the trail and told me that you’d ordered me to come here before I went home to my wife.”
Wink rubbed her cold arms. “If you’re not going to sit down, I am. I had a long, difficult day.” She sank to the mat. “I ordered you to come here first because there are things we must discuss before you see Sora.”
He stepped forward. “What things?”
“Something has happened, and I wanted you to hear it from me so Sora wouldn’t have to tell you all the sordid details.”
“Does this have something to do with the news traveling the trails?”
Her eyes narrowed. “What news?”
“Traders are saying that War Chief Skinner is dead. That Sora killed him. I didn’t believe it. Are you trying to tell me it’s true?”
Wink extended her hands to warm them before the flames. “There’s a lot more to the story … .”
 
 
AS THE EVENING TURNED TOWARD MIDNIGHT, WINK HUNG her head and stared at the soot-coated hearthstones. Rain had begun to fall. The drops that made it through the smoke hole sizzled when they struck the burning logs.
“What does Teal say?” Rockfish asked in a low voice.
Wink shrugged. “He says she’ll be all right. She needs time to come to terms with what she did.”
“Are you certain she killed him?”
“She must have, Rockfish. I ordered Feather Dancer, the best tracker in our world, to comb the place where Skinner died. There was no one else there. Just Skinner and Sora.”
“And, of course, the tracks left by Feather Dancer and Far Eye when they found them.”
“Yes.”
Her mouth tightened, and Rockfish noticed. He said, “Is there something you’re not telling me?”
She fumbled to rearrange her blue dress over her sandaled feet.
“I must know, Wink. How can I help her if I don’t—”
“I’m going to tell you,” she said. “I just wanted you to know everything else first.”
He waited.
Wink inhaled a deep breath to fortify herself. “How much do you love Sora?”
“For the sake of the gods, just tell me!”
“You realize that if you divorce her, she’ll be removed as chieftess? Our clan will declare her Outcast. No one will take her in. She will be forever alone.”
His thoughts seemed to be putting it together. He must know
that the only reason she would suggest that he might divorce Sora …
He squeezed his eyes closed, and anger tensed his jaw. “Blessed Ancestors, she betrayed me, didn’t she?”
“You’re buffalo dung for putting it that way.” Wink glared at him. “The man was her husband for fourteen winters—almost five times longer than you have been.”
“She coupled with Skinner.”
“She coupled with
Flint.
He was evil. He seduced her.” She leaned toward him with fire in her eyes and carefully said, “She had no choice. She was being manipulated by a wicked shadow-soul!”
He scoffed, “She had no choice—”
“Stop acting so righteous. If your former wife suddenly came back to life and told you that she still loved you and needed you, what would you do?”
His eyes went hollow. He hesitated for a long time before he answered, “Briar and I loved each other for forty winters. She bore me nine children. Memories of her laughter, her teasing smile, flash behind my eyes constantly … followed closely by images of her slow, agonizing death. Losing her tore my souls apart.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “Hallowed gods, if she returned, I’d give up everything for her. Including Sora.”
“Of course you would. Any one of us would do exactly what Sora did. I’m glad you realize it.”
His anger seemed to drain away. He looked utterly fatigued. As he sank down to the mat, he said, “When is Sora supposed to meet with Sea Grass?”
“Tomorrow.”
“I want to be there.”
“To defend her, or to—”
“Of course I want to defend her!”
Wink’s gaze probed his souls, seeking truth or deception. “I will not see her destroyed over this, Rockfish. Not if I can help it. Teal
has already spoken with Sea Grass. He told her Sora was innocent. Teal took full responsibility for Skinner’s death.”
“But she didn’t believe him?”
“Let’s just say she wants to look into the face of her son’s killer while Sora tells her what happened.”
Rockfish nodded. “I can’t say I’d be any different.”
The wind shifted, and a cascade of raindrops blew down the smoke hole. The burning logs hissed, and sparks crackled out. Rockfish watched the glittering haze whirl upward toward the ceiling.
“You’ve always been her shield, Wink,” he said, and smiled faintly. “Whenever she’s threatened, you’re there fighting for her with blind, passionate loyalty. Why?”
“I’m rarely blind, Rockfish, especially when it comes to loyalty.” Wink’s brows arched, daring him to contradict her. “And as to why … I grew up with her. I know what’s she’s been through.”
“What has she been through? She never talks to me about her youth. I know almost nothing about her life before I married her.”
Wink smoothed a hand down her long braid and gazed at the fire. “I’ll tell you a few things, Rockfish. The rest, I’ll leave to her.”
“Tell me about her father’s death. For three winters I’ve heard rumors.”
Wink nodded. “After he died, her mother went a little mad. Yellow Cypress wandered the house at night, crying and calling her husband’s name. She frequently woke the town. When Sora tried to comfort her, Yellow Cypress beat her. I don’t think she meant to; she just didn’t know what she was doing. Sora had seen seven winters. The only thing she understood was that her mother wanted to hurt her. She never got over it. To this day, she blames herself for things that are not her fault, like her father’s death and Flint divorcing her. She even blames herself for her older sister’s death.”
“I thought Walks-among-the-Stars drowned in a canoe accident more than twenty winters ago.”
“Twenty-two winters ago. Sora was ten. She couldn’t save her
sister, and she’s never forgiven herself for making it to shore alive. We found her wandering alone in the forest. She couldn’t even remember her own name. The water had been so cold.”
Rockfish massaged his forehead. He probably felt overwhelmed. In the past hand of time, he’d learned too many things to grasp them all: shadow-souls and murder, adultery, and Sora’s unpleasant childhood.
“One other thing, Rockfish. She has … episodes.”
“Episodes?”
“Yes. Almost no one knows about them. Her mother, Yellow Cypress, tried very hard to get Sora out of sight whenever they happened.”
He shifted uncomfortably. “What kind of ‘episodes’ are you talking about?”
“On occasion”—Wink made a lame gesture—“when Sora’s under a great deal of stress, an evil Spirit wakes inside her—”
“
What?
”
“Her arms and legs jerk uncontrollably, and her jaws snap open and closed.” She waved a hand before her lips. “She foams at the mouth.”
Rockfish stared dumbly at her. “Why has no one ever told me of this?”
“After Walks-among-the-Stars’ death, Yellow Cypress was afraid someone might suggest that the ‘episodes’ made Sora unfit to rule. She forbade people to speak of it.”
Rockfish hung his head and heaved an exhausted breath. “I’m tired, Wink. Is there anything else?”
“Yes. What have your people decided about the jade?”
Apparently taken aback that she could think of it at this moment, he stared at her before he answered. “They’re willing to commit three hundred warriors. But I think—”
“Do
not
tell Sora.”
He straightened. “Why not?”
“She has enough to worry about, and it’s irrelevant now. If your
people decide to go after the jade, they’ll have to work out an agreement with Blue Bow themselves.”
The air went out of him as though his body were a punctured elk bladder. “Why?”
“I’m changing my council vote to no. Which means we won’t be committing warriors.”
“But, Wink, I don’t understand. Why not?”
“Blackbird Town is in a fragile position. We can’t afford the controversy. Nor can we spare the warriors. We might need them to protect our own people.”
His hand fell to his lap. An implacable glow lit his dark eyes, as though he longed to beat her to death with a dull ax.
“I expended great effort to get my people to agree to this, Wink. I wish I’d known—”
“I didn’t know myself until today. My heart has been burdened with other things.”
“I’m sure, but—”
“Rockfish, try to forget your own selfish wishes for a moment.” Her voice had turned to ice. “Sea Grass has asked Wood Fern to be present tomorrow.”
“Wood Fern?” he said, startled. “Why would she ask the matron of Water Hickory Clan to be present?”
“Old Sea Grass may just want an audience when she tears Sora to pieces, but I’m afraid it’s more than that.”
“More?”
“Yes. Only clan matrons can declare war on other clans. Village matrons can’t do it. Village chiefs can’t do it.”
“Water Hickory Clan would never declare war on Shadow Rock Clan,” he said incredulously. “Over one death? The stakes aren’t high enough. Shadow Rock is twice the size of Water Hickory Clan.”
“I fear that neither you nor I really know what the stakes are.
That’s
what frightens me.”

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