The Tower of Il Serrohe (41 page)

“
Oh.” It wasn’t lost on Nersite she had come out from the same hut as Don. He brought his hands to his mouth in an effort to hide his smirk. “So, anyway, come on while the food’s hot.”

He turned without waiting for them.

“
Where can a guy get washed up around here?” Don asked, without looking directly at her.

sixty three

A mass of clanspeople filled the Big House, overflowing onto Il Mote’s square, and huddling in small groups according to their clans. Many sipped hot tea and exhaled great puffs of steam like buffalos in Yellowstone Park during the winter.

Don felt a stab of stress spread through his stomach. This wasn’t going to be a little get-together of a few Valle folk. The crowd seemed restless and wary of each other, and the tension was thicker than the fog from their breathing.

A large black shape moved in a tree near the square. Nightwing. Don saw him just as their eyes met. The bat swooped down to the ground.

“
Greetings, Rio Grande Man. I see you’re taking this more seriously. Perhaps my stories have left a mark on your conscience?”

“
Don’t give yourself too much credit. I’m here because I believe in the cause Nersite and Raquela have taken on. Well, maybe I’m not a full believer—”

“
You think this is still a hallucination? It’s not, but ride it out. You’ll see,” Nightwing said, with more assurance than Don liked.

“
Whatever. I’ll see it through for the time being. Go back up in your tree. If I need you, I’ll let you know.”

Nightwing smiled, revealing two rows of sharp fangs. “But, of course.”

That bastard’s too smug for my taste, but I won’t let him rattle me. Not now.

Don went inside, pausing at a table that was constantly being restocked with mugs of hot tea. Taking one, he felt the hot liquid cleanse its way down to his roiling stomach. He wished these people could find something with caffeine since a sedative in the form of beer wasn’t available.

Oh God, beer! Where are you when I need you? Uh-oh, there I go again. If this thing with Raquela has a future, I guess a twelve-step program is in the offing. I don’t want to screw up another relationship with beer, not that that would have mattered with Miss-Ambitious-with-the-oversized-libido. Get your mind off Bess and don’t get distracted thinking about Raquela either.

At that moment, Raquela joined him with Nersite at her elbow. “Ready for this, Don?”

He tried to look bored. “I suppose. Shall we speak from inside or outside? It’s kind of cold out there.”

“
Maybe. But the sun is out. It will warm up quickly.” She looked around. “There are too many to gather inside. Nersite and I will get everyone outside.”

“
Great.”

He squeezed his way out the door and looked around for something to stand on so they could all see and hear him.
Best get my “teacher voice” tuned up and ready to play!

The square filled gradually as clanspeople poured into it like half crystallized honey. Don spotted a well at the north end of the square. If he didn’t lose his balance, he could stand on its edge. If he fell into it that would pretty much take him out of the picture.

Might not be a bad option. No, quit that! Positive, get positive. Be resolute. Show them who’s boss, just like you do with your students the first week of school.

Don climbed onto the irregular shaped adobe wall surrounding the hole in the ground. Peering into the well he saw a small oval reflection of the sky and himself: a small dark knob at the bottom, overwhelmed by vast blue sky and gray clouds streaked with morning light.

He turned to face the crowd. They continued milling about and huddling in groups. No one seemed to notice him except Raquela and Nersite off on the far right side by the door to the Big House.

It occurred to him these people might not have attended a meeting before, even among their own kind. Just then, on top of a small, domed-shaped adobe hut, possibly a horno used for baking bread, there congregated a dozen or more Barbamin. They, at least, understood a mass meeting because they were facing him, patiently waiting.

Next to the cluster of Barbamin was Sliktooth and another Crotalmin much like him, both with their gaping smiles, faces leaning far forward, arms apparently behind their backs. Though they didn’t disturb the Barbamin, everyone else kept their distance, watching the pair in the periphery of their vision.

Sliktooth was inordinately interested in Don and stared at him with a hungry look. Don would have liked less attention from him and his partner.

Turning on his teacher voice, he began. “I’d like to get started if you could all listen up.”

The crowd continued to mill about, but a few stared at him, evidently wondering why he was talking so loudly.

“
Please, pay attention and listen. I’ve met many of you or people from your clans. I’m now going to talk about why we asked you to come here today.”

The milling lessened and a few in the clan groups looked at him with mild curiosity.
Talk about attention deficit.
  “I don’t have all day. This won’t take long, so if you could all listen. Now!”

Don had taught high school for three years before deciding he couldn’t handle the attitudes and apathy of teenagers. He figured he could deal better with adult bad attitude and apathy, so he got an advanced degree and worked his way into the job at St. Jude. The lack of quick attention reminded him of teaching high school.

At last, most of the crowd
appeared
to be paying attention.

“
Thanks. Nersite and Nightwing have informed me about how bad the Soreye threat is. I’ve seen them
in action and I understand how you must hate and fear them—”

Bernie, who had just arrived on the trail into town, called out. “We’re not afraid of them, but we know their danger. I don’t know what you mean by ‘hate,’ but we wish they were gone.”

“
That’s what this is about,” Don added, smoothly turning the focus back to himself. “There are enough of you to drive them away. I know you can’t understand how they seem to anticipate every move you make. I don’t understand it either, but it has to do with the Tower. So we’re going to bring it down. We have to get a step ahead of them…”

The crowd looked at him with no comprehension.
OK, they’re not good at planning or understanding what the Soreyes are doing, but they know they don’t want to live under the Soreyes’ cruelty, so stick to that theme.

“
Never mind. The point is, we can bring down the Tower and run them out of the Valle Abajo. But we have to work together.”

They understood that because he could see many of the more sedate clans look around at the small Loopohmin contingent at the back and then at the two Linksmin huddled in a big space at the southeast corner of the Big House, probably the result of their reticence and the crowd’s distrust. Nightwing, on top of a big branch of a cottonwood overhanging the Big House, also got a few wary stares.

The bat smiled without showing his dazzling array of teeth. Don nodded at him.

“
Everyone
must be involved,” he said loudly. “This valley belongs to all of you. I know some don’t get along, but this project is bigger than that.” He looked pointedly at the Loopohmin, the Linksmin, and—briefly—at the Crotalmin. Everyone dutifully followed his line of sight. Apparently, that made his point.

No one dropped their wariness, but he sensed relaxation in the crowd. As if in tacit agreement there would be no attacks or harassment between the clans.

“
All right,” Don went on, feeling a semblance of organization and singleness of purpose gripping the crowd, “I want to talk with your clan chiefs or someone from each clan so we can move on the Soreyes as soon as possible.”

He started to say he didn’t know anything about battles or fighting, but realized that wouldn’t be wise right now. He hoped the experience of the Nohmin and the Ursimin would inform him. Maybe he could even go back to the Rio Grande Valley for some quick research on tactics and strategy.

If only he could figure out the Soreyes’ ability to get the drop on everyone. They couldn’t have a technology for that, but something about that damned Tower gave them an advantage. What was it?

He could sense his request for the clan leaders to come together hadn’t inspired any confidence or agreement. Like
he
was supposed to take them right now to attack the Soreyes!

Don felt scared, frustrated, and blank-minded, all at the same time. He looked to Nersite and Raquela.
I’m drowning here in front of everybody! Help!

Don feared everyone could see how he was feeling, but they continued to look at him trustingly. “So. We move on the Tower later. First, we need to get as many of your fellow clanspeople to come… uh—”

Oh shit! Where? Not here! Probably the Soreyes already know this crowd is here. Somewhere out of sight. Somewhere we can congregate without those bastards seeing them headed to—to—wherever!

At that moment, God bless him, Nersite piped up. “We can come together on the Pot Hills south of the Tohmay Steeples and Lunatik Peak. The clans can go down the west bosque to Il Lentay Gap
along the shore of Dream River, then cross up the back trails to the Pot Hills out of sight of the Soreyes on the Tower.”

Everyone seemed to like that idea. If these people had any idea how to applaud, they would have. Instead, there was a wheezing roar of approval and smiles all around.

Thank God! Good old Nersite, I owe him a whole case of beer for that.

“
You heard the Nohmin. Go back to your clans and get your able bodied men… and women, too, together, and send them to Pot Hills…” Don struggled to resist giggling at the name, Pot Hills, thinking about his shenanigans on the Pot Hill of Rio Luna back in his misspent youth.

He barely regained a serious attitude. “We need help of all kinds, not just warriors. Bring food, water, enough to live on for several days. We need healers, too.”

Raquela nodded to Don and smiled.
Of course, she and her Pirallts would be there and Nersite’s girlfriend, Netheraire. They would be needed.

Not wanting to press his luck or show more ignorance about what would come next, Don jumped down from the wall and strode through the excited crowd. He clutched both Nersite’s and Raquela’s arms and led them away from the crowd. Looking up, he motioned to Nightwing to follow.

Now we’ve got to figure out what the hell to do!

Don continued this headlong rush until they were on the doorstep of the hut where he and Raquela had spent the night. Looking around to see if they were relatively unobserved, he tried to establish eye contact with Nersite and Raquela. But he could only manage to look at their feet, studying his hands as he spoke.

“
I didn’t want to say more back in the square, but I’ll be damned if I have a clue about what I’m doing. I thought everyone would have ideas to add. Or something to say about the Soreyes, some way we can get at them. It’s driving me crazy trying to figure out how they keep getting the drop on everyone. Shouldn’t some of you be able to tell when they’re around?”

Nersite cleared his throat and rubbed the sides of his nose vigorously with both hands. Raquela looked at him wide-eyed and made a grunting sound.

Finally, Nersite stammered, “I don’t understand it. How did they capture us when we went through The Narrow and Blue Meadow when we tried to attack the Tower recently? We should have known by their smell.”

Raquela found a few words beyond her odd grunting, “And when they attacked at the Kastmin village? I should have heard them before Nersite could smell them. I wouldn’t have this wound if I could have done that.”

Don shook his head, fighting off hopelessness. At that point, Nightwing’s shadow cast a dark pall over the three. He landed lightly next to Don.

“
I couldn’t help hearing,” Nightwing said, his teeth shining as he spoke. “I, too, am puzzled. I fly high and wide near dusk and dawn, and I’ve yet to observe the Soreyes sulking about. You would think their movements couldn’t get past my hearing and hunting perception. I know my eyesight is poor, but I should know when they’re on the move. These attacks have eluded me as well.”

Don worked his lips, trying to moisten them after his nervousness addressing the Il Mote crowd. “It’s like they are hypersensitive and can go silent and hide their scent with… hell, I don’t know what? If they know you’re coming, Nightwing, they could just wait quietly, but their smell—”

“
It’s not hard to hide if you cover yourself in fragrant herbs or resins,” Nersite added.

“
But wouldn’t you smell that along with the hint of their foul odor?”

“
Well, yes, but if they could manage to be upwind—”

“
That would mean they know exactly where
you
are
, so they can maneuver themselves upwind. How in the hell do they know that? Can they smell better than you? Or hear better than you two?” indicating first Nersite, then Raquela and Nightwing.