People of the Earth (94 page)

 
          
 
Still Water and White Ash wound their way
through Greasewood camp on Sage Ghost's heels. The conical lodges of the Sun
People rose like a forest of spears on all sides of the familiar earthen lodges
of the Earth People. How many Black Point were there? Still Water couldn't help
but count the pairs of eyes that followed them. Talk stopped as they
approached, expressionless women raising sloe eyes to stare. Even the dogs
watched, ears up, heads cocked. Children gawked from the shelter of their
mothers' dress hems or from behind the curve of a lodge, eyes big, fingers in
their mouths.

 
          
 
Would the walk to Sage Ghost's lodge never
end? Still Water's skin began to itch. Hostility and unease crackled in the
air.

 
          
 
Well, I don V blame them. How would I feel if
two Dreamers walked into camp one day and said they were planning on fighting a
battle with evil for the future of the world? I doubt Id welcome them with open
arms.

 
          
 
As he passed, he heard women speaking in the
tongue of the Earth People. At least he could find others to talk to here besides
White Ash and Sage Ghost.

 
          
 
And what was Wind Runner going to do? Still
Water flinched at the recollection of the misery he'd seen in the man's eyes.

 
          
 
He took a deep breath to settle his worry and
stared up at the indigo evening sky. The sun glowed like a bloody red orb to
the west. The gentle smells of camp, of food cooking, of pungent sagebrush
smoke, leather and humans, hung in his nose. Large drying racks bent under the
weight of plants. Hide sacks full of
ricegrass
seed
waited next to Earth women, who parched the seeds on sandstone slabs that
rested on roasting fires.

 
          
 
And he'd discovered the secret of the extra
caches at Round Rock. The Black Point kept the women from the camps they took.
Their labor filled the caches for the coming winter. That's why the lodges had
been sealed against rodents. The Black Point planned to have enough stores to
feed everyone through the cold moons.

 
          
 
They stopped at last before a buff-colored
hide lodge decorated with five black circles painted on the flaps at the top. A
half-dozen people sat outside in the shade. Sage Ghost lifted a hand and called
out to one of the women—a captive. The woman rose and wiped grass-seed flour
from a
mano
as she came toward them. Sage Ghost's
lodge stood a little taller than a man; it rose like a cone, supported by
soot-grimed lodge poles. The skirts had been rolled up here, too, and tied with
thongs.

 
          
 
White Ash and Sage Ghost ducked into the
shaded interior as Still Water
unslung
his pack. He
bent to enter and heard someone call from behind. "Bad Belly?"

 
          
 
He straightened slowly, refusing to believe
his ears. Bit-
terbrush
?

 
          
 
He spun around. His eyes didn't deceive him.
With a cry, he hugged his sister close, chuckling, almost giddy with happiness.
He pushed her back, inspecting her, noting the lines that had deepened around
her eyes. Otherwise, she looked the same, as beautiful as ever.

 
          
 
"How did you get here?" he asked.

 
          
 
She nodded her head toward the lodge.
"Sage Ghost took me." Her eyes dropped. "Tuber is here—out
hunting somewhere probably. He'll be glad to see you."

           
 
"And the others?"

 
          
 
She shook her head. "Only the children
and Pretty Woman.
Limbercone
,
Phloxseed
. . . they were too old. Past childbearing years. The men, of course, they
killed first thing." She glanced up at him, eyes pained. "I'm not
sure who survived. I didn't go back to see the bodies. I didn't want to."

 
          
 
He nodded, sadness returning to haunt him. 44
I found Grandmother's body back of Round Rock. I Sang for her. Hopefully, her
soul will rest easy now."

 
          
 
"Still Water?" White Ash called.

 
          
 
"Is she the Dreamer?" Bitterbrush
asked, a nervous hand grabbing his arm.

 
          
 
He nodded. "Come, meet her."

 
          
 
Bitterbrush swallowed with difficulty,
reluctance in her expression.

 
          
 
"Come on." Still Water pulled her
forward, ducking into the lodge.

 
          
 
Sage Ghost cocked his head as they entered.
"This is Bitterbrush. She is my woman."

 
          
 
White Ash nodded and smiled. "I am
pleased that my father has such a beautiful woman to keep him happy."

 
          
 
Sage Ghost patted the robes beside him and
Bitterbrush dutifully seated herself. She looked ready to bolt and shot a
panicked glance at Still Water.

 
          
 
Still Water kept his pack beside him as he sat
down by White Ash. He defiantly returned Sage Ghost's interrogating gaze.
Bitterbrush stared at White Ash, then at Still Water, her expression reflecting
utter chaos. White Ash, in turn, studied something that only she could see
beyond the smoke hole.

 
          
 
Sage Ghost tilted his head questioningly.
"Bitterbrush, do you know this man?"

 
          
 
Bitterbrush started to respond, but Still
Water interrupted. "Sage Ghost, you and I have a lot more in common than
it seems. You wonder about me. I wonder about you. Perhaps you will answer my
question. What does my sister see in you?"

 
          
 
Sage Ghost's eyes tightened. He studied White
Ash and Bitterbrush. "You chose my daughter ... I chose your sister. Power
has been at work again. I don't pretend to understand it. But perhaps you are a
worthy husband for White Ash."

 
          
 
Bitterbrush shook her head as though she
hadn't heard right. "Husband?" she asked incredulously. "White
Ash married you? Bad Belly, who gave you permission to marry anyone?"

 
          
 
He lifted his brows as the realization sank in
that no one had given him permission—at least not in the way of the Earth
People. But Larkspur was dead. So were all the rest. All but . . .

 
          
 
"Ah, I understand," he said. "I
suppose you had better give me permission, sister ..." His grip tightened
on the pack that held the Wolf Bundle, and a warm glow filled his breast.
"... because my wife is White Ash, and I am the Keeper of the Wolf
Bundle."

 
          
 
Bitterbrush started at the confident tone in
his voice, but before she could speak, White Ash turned Dream-rich eyes on her.
Bitterbrush wilted as White Ash said, "Still Water and I will Dream the
new way. He's the only one Power found worthy."

 
          
 
Bitterbrush's mouth twisted sourly, and she
shook her head. "This is foolishness! Bad Belly? The Keeper of the Wolf
Bundle? You're out of your mind! Bad Belly couldn't keep a toad in a sack! If
he's stolen the Wolf Bundle, the Wolf People are going to be flocking down
here. We have to give it back, apologize for whatever trouble Bad Belly's
started. Sage Ghost, he's my problem. I'll take responsibility for him. Try to
keep him out of trouble, although First Man knows, that's a thankless—"

 
          
 
"Sister," Still Water interrupted,
"the Wolf People are gone. Crushed by the Broken Stones. If there's any
hope for the Wolf People, it is the Trader, Left Hand. He is leading those who
remain eastward, across the plains. First Man gave them a chance to find the
Father Water—the big river to the east. There are no more Wolf People
here."

 
          
 
Bitterbrush leaned forward, pointing an angry
finger at him. "Is this another of your stories? I warn you, I'm not
having any of it. I thank First Man you're back, and alive. I'll be able to
keep an eye on you again. But I don't want—"

 
          
 
Sage Ghost gripped her arm to silence her and
leveled his
flintlike
gaze on his daughter. White Ash
remained silent, Dreamy eyes still on the little patch of sky visible through
the smoke hole.

 
          
 
Still Water laughed and shook his head.
"Sister, the old ways are gone. Power has shifted. We must seek—"

 
          
 
"— to save ourselves.” White Ash said
urgently as she lowered her gaze to Sage Ghost. "Brave Man leads the
Broken Stones here. He seeks me and the Power I control. The voices in his head
have told him he must possess me or he will never be able to Dream the One
fully."

 
          
 
Sage Ghost
steepled
his fingers and thought for a moment before he asked, "Can you defeat
him?"

 
          
 
A weary smile came to her lips. "I'm not
sure. But I know that only Still Water and I can Dream against him—and
win."

 
          
 
In the late-evening light, Still Water walked
out to stare up at the stars. Bitterbrush followed to stand beside him. She
crossed her arms, scuffing the dirt with her toe. "What's happened to you,
Bad Belly? It's as if I don't know who you've become."

 
          
 
Fragments of memories swirled in his soul.
He'd come a long way from Round Rock. Until now he hadn't realized the extent
of the change. "The Bad Belly you knew is still in here, sister. But he's
changed. Dreaming does that."

 
          
 
"And you really are a Healer?"

 
          
 
"A Healer? No. I am the Keeper of the
Wolf Bundle. Its Power runs through me. I—"

 
          
 
"Why you? Why would Power choose someone
like you?" Disdain tinged her voice.

 
          
 
Still Water inhaled the night-scented desert
wind and gazed out to where the glow of the rising moon silvered the horizon.
Ht I think it chose me because I can keep the Power just close enough so White
Ash can use it, but far enough away that she doesn't get sucked in."

 
          
 
Bitterbrush blew out a long breath.
"Well, I hope you do better than Black Hand did."

           
 
"Black Hand?"

 
          
 
She rubbed her eyes and shifted nervously.
"I married him just before the Gathering. It seemed like the thing to do,
and Grandmother wanted it. Status for Round Rock ... for me. Three Forks
accused him of witching. When I look back now, it seems like such a pitiful
thing. Our marriage was supposed to stop the rumors."