“Do you have a wife?” she asked.
“No,” he said.
She pulled his face closer to hers. He bent his neck to her, almost touching.
The bottom seemed to drop out of the world until there was only them, until all she knew was need to have his skin touch hers.
This must be what falling off a cliff is like. No, this must be what flying is like.
Ceti put his arms around her, enveloping her, surrounding her, completing his capture. His fingers curled around the back of her neck. She tipped her head back and his mouth found hers.
She was aware of every curve of his lips and tasted the clear water they’d drunk mixed with the sweat from the climb. She inhaled, as if by doing so, she could somehow pull his essence inside her.
Ceti broke the kiss.
Her back straightened. She felt the sharp evening breeze cut into them.
She sighed and rested her head against his chest. He kept her wrapped inside the comfort of his arms. Ah, if they had time...if things were otherwise...if he didn’t need to go back...if she could tell him about the fleet...
“Someone may come looking for us if we don’t come down from the cliff soon,” she said, voice muffled against his chest.
He stroked her back. “Sky. I wish—”
“Don’t say it.” She swallowed.
Ceti released her and cleared his throat. She kept her hands on his forearms.
“As you ask, Domina.”
He stepped back from her. She let her fingers slide off his arms.
Let it be.
“The last thing I want is for you to suffer because of me,” he said.
“I know,” she said. “I trust you.” She could not give a logical reason. But she did trust him.
They climbed back down the path in silence, Ceti in the lead. She concentrated on her footing, rather than what had just happened. She couldn’t sort out if her feelings would lead her to disaster or triumph.
Deep Water was waiting for them at the bottom of the path.
Several hunters with spears stood with her. Obviously, some conclusion had been reached about Ceti’s fate. But what? Sky fought the urge to jump between him and the other men.
Instead, she fell back on formality. “Hello, Deep Water. Blessings of the evening to you.”
“And to you, Sky.” The shaman nodded back, pleasantly enough, not like someone about to order an execution.
Deep Water gestured and the hunters flanked Ceti.
Sky stepped in front of Ceti. “The Roman wasn’t trying to escape.”
“I see that,” said Deep Water. “Your concern is unnecessary. He’s safe for tonight. These men are to escort Ceti back to the longhouse.”
Oh. The knot of tension in Sky’s stomach relaxed. She moved away from the hunters.
Ceti nodded to Sky and went with his guards without protest. She had to force herself to stop watching him walk away. She brushed dirt from the climb off her leggings to distract herself.
“Is there something you needed?” she asked the shaman.
“Yes,” Deep Water said. “You must come with me.”
They walked along the foot of the cliffs. Deep Water moved briskly but gave no sign of her mood. But Sky guessed where they were going.
They were going to ask the gods’ counsel.
Deep Water stepped into a cleared circle under the great maple trees. The lower branches had been cut away so there was room enough for the whole tribe to gather inside. Undergrowth and the debris of leaves had been cleared away as well.
This was Shorakapkok’s sacred grove—one set aside for worship of the Corn Mother.
Sky knelt, as was proper, and Deep Water knelt across from her. Sky bowed her head in prayer. The packed dirt pressed against the knees of her leggings. She waited, pushing aside impatience. It would be better if Deep Water spoke first.
“I am hoping you are solution to my problem,” Deep Water said.
“I don’t understand.”
“I think you do.” Deep Water rearranged herself to sit cross-legged. “More properly stated, you may have the solution to a problem that faces all of us. What do you think we should do with the Romans?”
Sky mirrored the shaman’s movements to cover over her surprise. She’d expected Deep Water would lecture her, as her father had.
“I’m not sure,” Sky said.
“Again, the way you behave indicates otherwise, that you are very sure what is to be done. You definitely seem to know what to do with our prisoner.”
Her face flushed. “I have not—”
“Peace.” Deep Water put up a hand. “This is more important that what you feel or don’t feel for one Roman. Listen.” She looked around the grove. “After I’d been an elder for a while, I learned that, unfortunately, I didn’t have the solution to every problem.
She smiled, wistful. “It was quite disappointing and I was at a loss about what to do until I learned a way out. Now, I find someone who thinks they have a solution and order them to implement it. If they succeeded, I receive the credit for making such a wise choice. If they fail, it’s their fault.” She grinned. “You’d be surprised how many times it works.”
“But I don’t...” Sky shook her head. She’d been prepared to argue on behalf of Ceti’s freedom. She certainly hadn’t been prepared to be put in charge of the whole Roman problem.
“Speechless? Your mother would be amused,” Deep Water said. “Then I’ll keep talking.” The shaman took a deep breath.
“The initial mistake we made with the Romans was not destroying them immediately. According to the stories, the elders at the time didn’t feel slaughtering people who seemed harmless was proper.
“The Mahicans finally took matters into their own hands fifteen winters ago and banded together to drive the Romans out of Seneca. As you know, they failed, thanks to the alliance with the Vikings and the way the Romans blew up the ground beneath their feet.”
Sky nodded. By telling the story, Deep Water was providing time for Sky to gather her scattered thoughts. Around them, the darkness of the night descended.
“I believe there’s another reason the Mahicans lost,” Deep Water said.
Sky tilted her head. “Because they made mistakes?”
“Not the way you mean. Since I became a shaman, I’ve worked to keep peace among the clans and with the Mahicans. All the elders have done the same for generations. And we’ve succeeded. Except for some hot-tempered warriors who want to prove how powerful they are, the People aren’t dangerous to each other.”
“I’m grateful for that,” Sky said.
“So are the Romans,” Deep Water said. “You see, we’re not dangerous to them either.”
Sky nodded, finally following the shaman’s reasoning. “The Romans have people dedicated to only being warriors. We don’t.”
“They also have weapons that exist solely for war while our weapons are better suited to hunting,” Deep Water said. “Right now, I see only two futures for the People. In the first, we learn to be like the Romans so we can defeat them. In the second, we’re destroyed because we insist on not being like them.”
“Those are the only choices?” Sky asked.
“Those are the futures I see,” Deep Water said. “I think you see a different one.”
“Only glimmers of it.” Sky closed her eyes. “I’ve heard my father talk of Seneca and how the Mahicans are respected there now. They’ve taken husbands and wives among the Romans and Vikings. So now blood mingles them all. The Mahicans may become more Roman. But some of the Romans have become more Mahican. The Mahicans survive. Their villages thrive.”
Sky tried not to stumble over her words, remembering Nighthawk’s disapproval of her idea. “I suggested that we could deal with the Romans like this also. My father said I was trying to raise the Romans to be on equal footing with the People, which mocks our gods.”
“There will many who will see it that way,” Deep Water said.
Sky cleared her thro
at. Deep Water was listening to her. She must choose her words carefully. “We’d learn from the Romans, but they would also learn from us. It would be mutual.”
“And we all mingle to be one people?” Deep Water said blandly.
“I...don’t know.”
“With you and Ceti as the first couple to start this new clan?”
“No!” Sky’s whole face grew hot.
“It’s a question all will ask, Sky. You need a better answer.”
Sky nodded. “Remember, I felt this way before I met Ceti. It’s why my mother sent me as messenger.”
“That is a better answer.” Deep Water sighed. “Many will vow to do whatever it takes to prevent what you suggest from happening. No one wants such radical change.”
“But you understand!” Enthusiasm bubbled up inside Sky to find someone, finally, who didn’t cut her off or tell her that she was impulsive, impractical, or simply too young to know better. “People want the past to be changed so they don’t have to confront the future. But that can’t be done. We can’t make the Romans disappear. But when I look to the future, they want no part of a solution.”
“People fear change for a reason, Sky.” Deep Water’s voice grew quieter. “It’s because the consequences are so unknowable. I understand what you’re saying and even I am unsure it’s the best path. Change like you propose...” She looked up at the trees. “It will take years to create a true peace between us and the Romans. It is a lifetime’s work. Are you willing to devote yourself completely to that?”
“A lifetime? Surely...”
“A lifetime. With many days and nights where you’ll doubt yourself and your choices.”
“My future has one advantage,” Sky said. “It doesn’t depend on war or killing.” She took a deep breath, her confidence returning. “We have to—no, I have to talk to the leaders of Manhatos. I must find some way to forge the same relationship with them that the Mahicans have done in Seneca. That’s worth doing, even if it does take a lifetime.”
Deep Water nodded. “Any peace overture will be seen as collaboration with the enemy.”
Sky shrugged. “I understand.”
“I don’t think you do,” Deep Water said. “The hatred for the Romans runs deep.” She smiled. “But not all will be so opposed. Some in my tribe were calling for your Roman’s head at the meeting today. But then when we stopped for the evening meal, the children came running with those little wooden birds. They had a wonderful time with them. They kept jabbering about the Roman and how nice he was to them. After that, it was hard to find votes for execution. The children would have been heartbroken.”
So would I. Sky smiled back. “That’s not why Ceti helped them. He enjoyed their curiosity.”
“Yes, I know. And if many are like him, there is hope.”
“He has to survive to be of help,” Sky said.
“Granted.”
“But even if your elders let him go, Ceti and many of the Romans could be killed in Legate Makki’s assault. I think we should help Manhatos now.”
“And have our warriors fight alongside them?” Deep Water asked. “So your bloodless, peaceful solution is not without death, after all.”
Sky winced. “All we need right now to do is tell Ceti the truth of Makki’s fleet and let him go to give his people warning.”
“And if our actions are revealed to Legate Makki?”
“He menaces us already. You know that.” Sky straightened her shoulders. “Will you let Ceti go?”
“The only agreement we reached today was to spare his life. But, remember, today is not forever.” Deep Water reached out and pulled something hidden behind a pile of old leaves. “And I think you might already have the gods on your side.”
Deep Water displayed Sky’s model aquila in her hand. “This landed in the grove today. I found it earlier, when I came to pray after the evening meal.”
“Oh.” The product of her work with Ceti had landed here, in the Turtle Clan’s most sacred spot? That was as blatant a sign as Ceti falling from the tree at her feet.
Sky tried to form some words but her tongue seemed to have grown three times its size. All her life, she waited for the gods to reveal their plan for her. Now, in the space of two days, they’d given her enough signs for a lifetime.
Deep Water set the aquila on the ground. “You should pray for a while and ponder why this is here.” Her face became grave, the wise shaman once more. “But keep something else in mind. Decisions aren’t made by signs sent by the gods. They’re made by those who know, in their hearts, what needs to be done and find ‘signs’ that support this inner certainty.”
“Meaning?” Sky asked.
“Meaning that your wooden bird landing in the grove means whatever you want it to mean. It could be a sign that the Romans will destroy the grove, if that’s what you wish it to mean.”
Deep Water stood, bowed, and left. Sky could only nod to the shaman as she left the grove.
She stared at her aquila for a long while before picking it up. It was undamaged. She felt the ghost of Ceti’s hands over hers as she traced the wings.
It was all in her hands now.
Chapter Eight
Shouts of alarm woke Sky from a restless sleep.
From the low light streaming though the door, it was nearly dawn. She’d dreamed all night. The worst had been one that started with her being happily cradled in Ceti’s arms and ended with Nighthawk hacking off Ceti’s head.
The shouts outside grew more distinct. Someone yelled “Sail!”
Sky tossed off the thick skins covering her and began dressing. In the dim light, she saw her father also throwing on clothes. They finished quickly, in silence, and rushed out into the village square.
Deep Water was at the center of the crowd. She raised her hands for silence. “Calm down,” she said. “We don’t know yet what this means yet.”
The shaman ordered Shorakapkok’s war chief to gather all his men.
“We’re going to the beach to confront the ship,” Deep Water said. “Before they reach us.”
Nighthawk nodded. “Good,” he said in an aside to Sky. “No need to let them get near the village.”
Her father already had his spear, bow, and arrows. I should have thought of that. Sky ran to grab her bow and arrows from the wigwam and rushed back to the square.
“Keep scouts watching along the trail,” Deep Water ordered the villagers. “If the Romans march on the village, scatter to the winds. They’ll never find you. Remember, villages can be rebuilt. People can’t.”
The villagers shouted agreement and broke off the meeting to prepare for possible escape. Sky fell in between Deep Water and Shorakapkok’s war chief as the war party prepared to march out to meet the ship.
All her grand solutions yesterday seemed like dust now in the face of this threat. Deep Water was right. They weren’t truly dangerous to the Romans. Shorakapkok could so easily be destroyed.
“Where is Ceti?” Sky asked Deep Water.
“He will remain under guard in the longhouse.”
Sky nodded. It made sense. Why bring a prisoner with them and take the chance he might escape? And they had no idea if this ship was connected to him.
Still, Sky wished for Ceti’s company and his solid support.
Sky followed the war party as they marched out of the village along a well-worn path beside the newly planted cornfields. They decreased their pace as they traveled over the small earthen bridge that crossed the stream, and slowed more to navigate the marshlands. No one wanted to step wrong in the muck near the stream.
The warchief turned to face his men. “If we have to retreat, run this way. We know the route through the marshlands. Our enemies do not.”
Sky clenched her fists. We don’t know if they’re enemies. An attitude that assumed attack might invite attack.
The war party halted at a grove of cherry trees with new green leaves. The grove offered a clear view of the beach. The warriors spread out in a half-circ
le. Sky stayed in the middle with Deep Water. Nighthawk stood at Sky’s elbow, hovering.
The ship’s sail loomed closer and closer. One glance was all Sky needed to know that this wasn’t one of Legate Makki’s ships.
She sighed deeply, relief chasing away her fatigue from the restless night. But she frowned as she looked at the ship again. It didn’t look the least bit Roman. The hull was thinner and sleeker. A giant red snake-like thing with wings and four feet decorated the lone sail.
“What is that thing?” Deep Water asked.
“The Vikings call it a dragon, Shaman,” Nighthawk said. “This is one of their longboats.”
“It’s not going to drop anchor,” Sky said, her voice filled with the awe she felt at the sight of the strange ship. “It’s coming right to the beach.”
“Yes.” Her father nodded. “They’re designed to slide right up on the shore.”
The ship glided over the waves and struck the sand with a muffled scraping sound, far quieter than Sky expected. She stepped closer to the edge of the grove, risking being noticed.
A Viking ship. Ceti had mentioned the Vikings in Seneca. But why would Vikings come for a Roman?
She turned to Nighthawk. “These are from Seneca? Are they the descendents of those who intermarried with our clan?”
“Yes. The ones we banished from our lands for being cursed,” Nighthawk said. “They were the ones who tipped the fight for Seneca toward the Romans. Betrayers.”
Sky wondered how the Vikings could be considered betrayers if they’d been exiled by the wolf clan.
“The Vikings thrive now in Seneca,” Sky said. “The curse doesn’t seem to have affected them.”
Her father cleared his throat. “For now. The gods will catch up.”
“Not today, it seems,” she said mildly.
Deep Water nodded. “I agree. Cursed or not, they’re as dangerous as their allies, the Romans. But I don’t understand what they’re doing here.”
“They must be here for Ceti,” Sky said. “Perhaps the Romans couldn’t spare a ship.”
“Perhaps,” Nighthawk said.
“Whoever they are, we should attack before they are ready,” said the war chief, coming up from behind them. “We’ll never have a better chance.”
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