Books by Karah Quinney:
KEEPER OF THE PEOPLE (Book One)
THE CHOSEN ONE (Book Two)
DREAMKEEPER (Book Three)
PILLAR OF FIRE (The Whale Hunter Series: Book One)
SACRED FIRE (The Whale Hunter Series: Book Two) Due April 2012
Keeper of the People (Book One)
Karah Quinney
Copyright 2011 by Karah Quinney
License Statement:
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
In a strikingly real work of Native American prehistoric fiction comes Keeper of the People. As a young woman of great power, the Keeper of Secrets, Taikiuu must choose for herself whether to remain with her village or to trust a foreign traveler with her life and the lives of those she loves. Jon’lan, a trader, falls in love with Taikiuu when they are thrust together by forces beyond their control. They are joined by a former captive who will find the courage to dream of freedom and a wild boy, outcast from his first band, who will choose to no longer walk alone. They are relentlessly pursued by vicious warriors with a thirst for power.
Jon’lan and Taikiuu unite with Roark, a jaded warrior, and his wife Star Feather who seek a better future for their newborn son along with the two orphaned children in their care. Yaa, a brave little girl with dreams in her eyes, will follow her brother into an unknown future and do the unthinkable by taking up a weapon in defense of her people. Fearing for their lives, they seek to escape those who would pursue them to the end of the world.
This is the sweeping saga of a young woman who would defy tradition and follow her heart while seeking a better life for her people. Driven by the promise of freedom, Taikiuu will sacrifice all that she holds dear in an effort to secure the future of her band.
Thousands of years ago…
The woman climbed the mountain fearlessly, from above she blended in with the color of the stones and rocks that crumbled under her weight. The rain fell relentlessly, claiming the trees and the mountains as its own. In the cold dark not a sound could be heard except for the howling of the wind as it twisted and twirled in a spirit dance through the limbs of the trees.
The woman moved stealthily over weeds and brush, hands tucked securely into the folds of fur that swaddled her form. As the wind howled in angst against the world so too did the woman let out a primal scream. An owl watched from a nearby tree branch as the face of the woman was revealed. Her lovely features were almost hidden beneath a tangled mass of flowing raven black hair. She barely contained the next scream of pain as her garment slipped from around her body.
The woman clutched her protruding belly while her body convulsed again and again. She lost her balance and fell to her knees as she fought for breath. Frantically she tore at her cloak, struggling to shield herself from the wind. She made her way to her feet once more as she searched for a safe haven. The owl opened its wings with grace and swept past the woman only to land soundlessly on a nearby tree branch.
The woman watched the owl and was not startled by the brush of his feathers upon her cheek as he flew past. She hustled towards the place where the owl waited and finally with a gasp she made her way into the opening that the he had revealed. A small entrance to a cave hidden long ago was exposed to the woman as she stumbled forward.
Instead of immediately entering the cave the woman turned and glanced behind her. She saw her own footprints and waited as the wind blew over her tracks until they were no longer visible. Satisfied that the way she had traveled was once and truly hidden she crept into the cave. The passage was narrow and she could barely stand to her full height once inside. The only sound was the frantic panting of her breath and the howling of the wind. She faced forward with her arms outstretched in the all consuming darkness. Closing her eyes she used her hands to feel the way forward.
The woman stumbled once and caught herself before she fell. Finally the cave opened to a larger chamber and as the woman entered so did the owl. He flew to a perch high above and settled himself there to watch and wait. The woman fell to her knees near a small pack and finally she rested. Her labor pains rolled through her body with an intensity that left her breathless. Swiftly she began to remove her cloak and garments.
Taking off her moccasins was difficult as her fingers were numb from the cold. She rested her back against the cave wall for support and began chanting softly as she struggled for calm. Yet her song was not one of rejuvenation, it was a death song, one that she had learned long. First she sang her own name, Shi’nar, in a long mournful pitch and then she sang death to herself and to her unborn child.
"Shi’nar! Come death to me." Shi’nar sang even as pain racked her body and then with a shuddering breath she uttered her child’s name, should it be a girl child, as she had dreamed these many moons. Taikiuu.
"Taikiuu!” Shi’nar cried out her daughter’s name mournfully, for it was no mother’s wish that the first time she spoke her child’s name aloud, it would be in a death song. “Come death to me."
Shi’nar continued to chant as the owl watched her solemnly from his perch high above. In the darkness she could not see her faithful winged companion yet she felt his presence as he watched over her.
Shi’nar continued to chant as she felt the cold settle into her bones. Her body began to shiver violently but still she sang in a whisper. Slowly, she lowered herself to the ground.
Her eyes closed and she felt the spirit inside her begin to still. With a whispery sigh she started to let go of her life and just as she began to sink into a well of blackness a sharp pain struck her. The pain caused Shi’nar to rear up from her resting place with a scream of utter terror.
Panting hard to control her breathing Shi’nar tensed as she struggled to control her body, but the child’s entry into the world would not be denied. The baby struggled to emerge from the tight confines of her mother's body. Shi’nar resisted the need to push and almost fainted from the pain of resisting her body’s natural urge. She screamed her denial over and over again as she prayed that this child would not be born.
In Shi’nar’s mind she tried to find the chant of death, the death that had been snatched from her only moments before. Still the child's body pressed tightly in some deep unknown place begging for release. Shi’nar gasped as she dug her nails into the cave floor and reared up from the pain.
She tried to foresee what would come next. She was a healer; she had attended many births and welcomed many healthy children into the world. Yet as her own body disobeyed her commands she was lost to the urge to bare down.
The birth pains hit her again and biting down hard against her teeth she was forced to push against the pain. She screamed again, the sound echoing against the cave walls for what seemed like an eternity. The baby slid smoothly from her mother’s body and Shi’nar felt with her hands as the child entered the world. Shi’nar held the child upside down as instinct took over and she gently pushed her fingers into the infant’s mouth and rid it of fluid.
She used a clean fur from her carrying pouch and laid the child on a soft pallet upon the ground. Shi’nar used a knife tied to her waist to cut the cord that connected the child’s life to her own. A girl child, just as she had dreamed. Taikiuu. Shi’nar felt exhaustion overtake her soul. She sank into blackness even darker than that which surrounded her in the cave. Her eyes closed to the sound of the child’s wails and still deat
h did not come for them.
When Shi’nar awoke dawn light was already filtering in through the top of the cave. Shi’nar kept her eyes closed as she took stock of her body.
In her sleep the afterbirth had slipped uninvited into the world. She gathered her child to her chest, but she did not feed her. With determination she refused to look upon the face of her child.
The baby breathed rapidly and her mother could hear the sounds of the child searching for a warm substance to drink in the cold. Shi’nar covered the child's face against the chilled air. Weak with exhaustion it took her several moments to bury the afterbirth.
She blew gently across the ground scattering the dirt over her secret. The baby began to wail again, and Shi’nar tried valiantly to ignore her cries, yet she spoke softly. "Taikiuu, you refused to let your mother rest, and you refused death in my womb. But I cannot feed you, better that you die now than live a life devoid of joy."
In the dawning light Shi’nar searched the heights of the cave for the owl, hoping for his approval, desiring help to firm her resolve against this child of her body, of her heart. The owl was nowhere to be found.
Shi’nar glanced again at her daughter; she refused to see the loveliness of the child's features. It was not the tradition of her people to name a child so soon. But this child had spoken her name to Shi’nar’s heart from the moment of conception, and this child refused death at each turn. Shi’nar wished life for her child, in the deepest recesses of her heart she felt that wish stir, but she could not allow it to bloom.
Shi’nar was the Ada'na and the Keeper of Secrets, she alone held the title of Keeper of the People. Her mother before her was the Ada'na and on and on from the beginning of the People. Shi’nar would not allow another of her line to suffer as she had suffered, not if it was within her power to stop it. She had lost her faith in the People hands of time ago, and her faith would never be restored.
Shi’nar did not wake until the next morning and she was surprised to see that sometime during the night one of the old women from her village had found her. Even now the old woman shifted the child from one of Shi’nar’s breast to the other allowing the child to drink lustily from her mother’s breasts.
The old woman smiled gently in response to the questions and fears that lived in Shi’nar’s eyes. Yet the old woman had no answers for her, Shi’nar was the Ada’na of their people, a sacred woman of special purpose as her new born girl child would be after her. The choice to live had been made for Shi’nar and her new daughter. She allowed herself to understand what she had denied only yesterday. There was no going back.
As Shi’nar nodded her thanks to the old woman she rose stiffly and began preparations to return to the village. She looked down at her daughter and named her Taikiuu, daughter of Shi’nar.
Her mother breathed a benediction over the beautiful child as she looked upon her face for the first time. Shi’nar knew that Taikiuu’s beauty would remain a blessing and a curse all the days of her life, from this day forward.
Death had not come for Shi’nar or her child as she had prayed that it would and now she must return to a fate worse than death’s fearsome hold, if only for a little while.
She was needed and from this day forward she would strive to teach her child all the things that were necessary to live a life more fulfilled and of more value than her own.
Chapter One
Over 20 seasons later….
The day dawned with a breath of promise on the air. Taikiuu sensed something different about this day and she wondered what her future held in store for her.
She smiled as she rose; plaiting her hair the night before had been a good idea. She started to unravel her long braids with scented oil made especially for her use. Taikiuu ran her fingers through the lush strands and once unbound her hair hung in sleek waves that reached almost to her waist. The length of her hair was a symbol of status amongst her people.
Only the Ada'na, the Keeper of the People, could allow her hair to grow below the shoulder blades, the length of one's hair showed how close she was to Power.
Taikiuu looked out of the opening of her Haik, and she smiled her relief as she looked down upon her village. Her Haik was perched at the top of a hill that her ancestors had built for those that walked before her. It was made of dirt and stone, packed tight to prevent drafts except for the openings in the roof and a small window.
A bear skin hung as a covering for the door, also a status symbol. Taikiuu gently pulled the bearskin away from the Haik's opening tying it back into place with a leather thong. She looked up at the great sky above her and at once fell to her knees to give thanks. This was a ritual for Taikiuu, one that she did not take lightly. Scooping up a small mound of soil in her hand, she blew gently and watched as it spread through her fingers only to be carried off by the gentle wind.
Taikiuu entered the village carefully; her movements were graceful and confident. The villagers bowed their heads slightly in acknowledgement as she walked by however no one spoke directly to her. Taikiuu was used to this type of treatment and had come to expect it.
The people only spoke to her if she spoke to them first and she had long since come to appreciate the value of silence as Ada'na. She no longer used her voice to communicate and it had been so long since she had last spoken that she no longer remembered how to form words. This was her sacrifice as the Ada’na and she did not regret her choice.
Taikiuu had learned at her mother’s knee that even the slightest word spoken by the Ada’na could have dire consequences for the People.
She followed the path to the river where she went to bathe each morning. Taikiuu was startled to find that the small pond that was already occupied.
Taikiuu felt her cheeks flame when she saw the lone occupant. Nakedness was the way of the People and so she did not embarrass easily, but she felt that even those not faint of heart would have a difficult time hiding their response to the broad back and wide shoulders of this man. With a sigh her breath left her, the sound must have given her away as the man turned to face her.
"Well hello there, little one." He spoke gently as if the sound of his voice might startle her, yet his words were uttered in a tongue foreign to her ears.
Taikiuu inclined her head knowing that it would be rude not to greet the man. It was not often that strangers were allowed into their village, it was possible that he was a great warrior from some nearby island. She looked instinctively for markings on his forearms or chest, finding none, she frowned in consternation.
Most men around his age had markings on their chest made by their village elders. Even the men of the Sun Island generally had an image of the sun and stars tattooed upon their bodies. Yet, this man had no markings to identify him by band or village. His hair was neatly held back by a leather thong and she noticed that it barely touched his shoulders in length.
His eyes were a rich dark brown that spoke to her without words. "What is one as lovely as you are called?"
The man waited patiently in expectation of her response to his question. Taikiuu raised her right hand in front of her, showing him her palm. This was a sign she used with the villagers as a greeting so that she would not have to speak to them directly. Her right palm was tattooed with the distinctive markings of the Ada’na. She expected him to bow his head in respect, instead his lips lifted into a half smile and his dark eyes sparkled.
"What do the markings on your palm mean?” He asked and when she did not respond he said, “Am I to guess?" Again he waited for her response.
Taikiuu took umbrage at his coaxing tone of voice; he spoke to her as he would a small child or a frightened animal. Yet she stood before him fully secure and confident of her own position. She flicked her wrist in annoyance and the water in the pond rippled at the same moment.
The man looked down at the water and then back at Taikiuu and again he smiled. Taikiuu fought to keep her mouth still, yet her lips trembled with the effort to avoid returning his smile. She recognized that she
should not be amused by the stranger, but something about this man affected her deeply. For a moment she felt as if her world had shifted irrevocably and a chill stole over her skin.
"That is an interesting trick, but anyone who knows the pattern of the wind can do the same." His voice held an amused tone as if he knew that she struggled not to laugh.
He inclined his head as if listening to a voice not there, and then with a flick of his wrist Taikiuu watched as the water rippled over the pond. The beginnings of a smile flitted lightly over her lips. This man was incorrect in his assumption that she had timed the wind, but it was a unique way of thinking.
The man looked behind her as a gaggle of children ran past the beautiful woman and splashed into the pond. "My name is Jon'lan and I am a trader....." His voice was carried away on the breeze and was barely audible over the splashing of the children.
He wiped water from his eyes and looked up again, but found the spot where the woman had only moments before been standing, empty.
Taikiuu wove through the brush and found a place farther away from the village where there was a fresh water spring. She slipped gently into the current and using an infusion of soap root, chamomile and rose petals as she began to bathe.
She dipped under the water to rinse and as she stood she felt the air around her stir. Sensing a disturbance, she quickly rinsed again and left the refreshing water. She was needed nearby.
Keeper of the People (Book One) Page 1