The Standing Dead - Stone Dance of the Chameleon 02

by Ricardo Pinto

  Carnelian drowned slowly in nightmares and, when he managed to come up for air, his half-waking was haunted by the shrieks in the blackness. Eventually he forced himself fully awake. He rose and stood until his legs would no longer support him. Then he tried squeezing pain into his thighs. He was not the only one watching the night.

  They were yearning for dawn when the raveners came. They felt their approach in the trembling ground. Crowrane slapped a youth's arm that held a flare questing for the flames.

  'It could be anything,' he hissed.

  A waft of carrion breath soon changed his mind. Foolishly, Carnelian did not think to look away when he lit his flare. Blind, he heard the Plainsmen's fear and, blinking for sight, he could just make out vast shapes coalescing from the darkness. Flares danced around him amidst a tumult of shrill battle-cries. Roars carried on a foul breeze of breath. The vast presence of their smell. A clashing of jaws. The fire describing their hideous shapes in monstrous movement. Then they left as quickly as they had come and the yelling raggedly abated until all Carnelian could hear was the guttering of the flares.

  'Put them out,' came Crowrane's command. 'Mustn't waste them.'

  'I've never seen them so unafraid of fire,' one man said.

  Loskai pointed his flare at Osidian. The Standing Dead bring the raveners down on us as they did in the swamp.'

  Ravan stood forward. 'Remember it was the Master that saved us then.'

  Krow was nodding, his face pale as he relived that time. Crowrane shoved him so that the youth dropped his flare.

  'I said, put them out.'

  As the flares went out one by one, Carnelian glared at the Elder, disliking the way he had treated Krow, but also reluctant to lose the sorcerous protection of his flare. He ground its flames out in the earth. Then he stood with the others waiting, hardly drawing breath through his dry throat until the first light seeping showed the land free of the monsters.

  The drudgery of another day pushing through the ferns, encouraging the aquar, dragging the saurian after them as if she were a slab they were bringing back from a quarry. The heat, the plagues of flies, the beacon of the Koppie staying obstinately the same size. Carnelian plodded on, drifting into a walking sleep haunted by black terror, squinting up at the cruel sun, watching with despair its slow fall to earth with its promise of another night.

  Deepening dusk found them sullen behind their fire, fingering their flares nervously. It was then their fear was taken by surprise. The raveners came before the sun was fully down. Three black shapes loping against the bloody edge of the sky, heads slung low, their bobbing accenting each heavy stride.

  A hand grabbed Carnelian's robe and clung to him. He steadied himself on the edge of flight. He stooped to put flames upon his flare. Wielding it gave meagre comfort. The last snuffing out of day stole away their view of the raveners' final charge. Thunder in the ground. Then the death grins slavering in the firelight.

  Crowrane wailed: 'Light the wings, sweet Mother, light the wings.'

  On their right, the horn of their crescent ditch grew a plumage of flames which lit the underside of a jaw connecting back and up to a dark mass which swung away gurgling, revealing for a moment an eye bright with malice. Gaping, Carnelian became aware the fire glow was missing on his left. The earth groaned as a ravener stepped across the unlit ditch. Firelight showed the wall of its flank; the grinning length of its head. It was among them and the Plainsmen were shrieking. Without thought, Carnelian tore himself loose of their hands and joined the two or three men keeping the monster at bay with wild swings of their flares. The sound of Quya froze him: the clear voice intoning an incantation. Osidian, haloed by his flare, was advancing on the monster with his iron spear.

  The ravener's head turned to look at him with one of its tiny eyes. Osidian thrust fire up at it, so that it drew back screeching. Pouring Quyan syllables he rushed at it, driving it back. He cast his flare away and grasped his spear with both hands. As the monster lunged, Osidian shoved his spear up into its jaws. The monster impaled itself, driving the blade up through its mouth, snapping its jaws closed in a froth of blood, roaring, splintering the shaft. Carnelian cried out as the monster recoiled. Its legs knocked one into the other and it toppled, twisting, its tail lashing up and round, its mass punching thunder into the ground.

  Osidian froze before it. Rage possessed Carnelian. Hardly knowing what he was doing, he leapt through their fire and charged the other two raveners. The hunt running after him lit the fernland erratically as they ran. The monsters fell back under the bright onslaught, turned and were soon thundering off into the night.

  Carnelian chased them screaming, until a stumble brought him back to his senses. Flares dotted the darkness. Looking back the way he had come, the glow of their campfire seemed far away. Fear returned like a deluge of cold water. The other flares were converging on their camp. Quickly, he started making his own way back.

  'He felled the ravener like a tree,' said Ravan.

  They had watched all night, stunned, at any time expecting the monster to lift itself from where it lay just beyond the firelight. Now, with dawn breaking, they stood watching Osidian as he crouched within the angle of the monster's jaws and dug the iron spear blade from its head. When he had it free, he walked towards them displaying the bloody iron on his palm.

  'May I cut a tooth, Master?' asked Ravan and, when he received a nod, the youth unsheathed a flint and ran to the ravener and was soon busy gouging a tooth from its jaw. When he held aloft the pale sickle longer than his dagger, the Plainsmen gave out a cry of triumph and soon Osidian was giving permission to everyone else in the hunt to take one. Even though he disdained to take one for himself, Loskai tried to appear to be sharing the general elation but a scowl was never far away. Crowrane was behaving as if nothing had happened, but Carnelian saw the old man sneak an awed glance at the Master. As for Osidian, he seemed as unaffected as if he killed raveners every day.

  All the younger men wished to get as close as they could to the Master, but it was Ravan whom Osidian let walk at his side and carry what was left of his iron spear. Though the going was as hard as it had been the day before, their trek seemed to have turned into a jaunt. Their home seemed to respond to their high spirits by growing steadily larger on the horizon. A breeze blowing from the east cooled the torrid plain. Carnelian felt sufficiently at ease to take pleasure in the beauty of the waves chasing each other through the ferns so that the plain seemed to be a green and smiling sea.

  They had hardly finished dragging their earther into position under the Bloodwood Tree before Ravan and the others were telling the women the story of the ravener slaying. Laughter broke out among them, swelling to a general cry of disbelief, but this was quickly silenced when the hunters produced the fangs they had gouged from the monster's jaws. Passing the blood-crusted trophies among them, one by one the women lifted their eyes up to the Master. Carnelian watched Osidian receive their awe with indifference while Loskai and his father tried to hide their hatred behind smiles.

  Carnelian's gaze returned to Fern, whom he had been watching. He had the appearance of a peeled man and was the only one still working. As Carnelian approached him, he became aware of the stench coming off him and his halo of flies, but he forced himself to move closer.

  'Fern.'

  As the Plainsman looked up, his eyes were the only things that seemed alive behind his mask of gore. He resumed his work. After some moments, Carnelian turned to walk away, not wishing to increase Fern's humiliation.

  Girls and women brought them water to wash under the Old Bloodwood Tree. If Crowrane had not insisted that they clean themselves carefully, many of the hunt would have rushed through it so as to get to their hearths more quickly. Leaves were kneaded into balls. A youth hurled one at a friend, soon involving everyone in a battle.

  At first Carnelian remained as aloof as Osidian and Crowrane, but it only took the sting of missile to release the boy in him and he joined in. Before Crowrane managed to
calm them, Osidian's disapproving gaze had already taken all the fun out of it for Carnelian. When Krow offered to clean him, he chose to return the favour just to irritate Osidian, however childish that might be. It was only when he noticed the way Loskai was looking at Krow that Carnelian realized he had got the youth in trouble.

  'Perhaps you should do someone else.'

  Krow must have seen where he had been looking, for he glanced at Loskai and shrugged. 'I've given up caring what they think.'

  The pleasure of being clean and in the shade made

  Carnelian remember Fern's situation and he pitied him. Ravan was working at cleaning Osidian as carefully as a slave might. Much as he wished to, Carnelian knew he must not return to share Fern's work.

  Their hearthmates were waiting on the edge of the rootearth for the return of the hunters. None dared speak to the Master as he walked towards the sleeping hollows. By the way they looked at him, Carnelian knew the news of the ravener slaying must have already spread through the Tribe. Poppy ran into his arms. He laughed, lifting and nuzzling her as she clung to him.

  'I've looked for you every day, Carnie.'

  Whin nodded in their direction and Carnelian returned the gesture. Akaisha released Ravan from a hug and advanced on Carnelian. Still holding Poppy, he stooped to receive a kiss and an embrace.

  'Welcome home, sister's son,' she whispered in his ear, then stood back, the joy in her face as she regarded her hunters making them grin like boys.

  'You must all be hungry,' she announced.

  'Ravenous,' growled Ravan and everyone laughed.

  Holding Leaf, Sil was standing watching Carnelian. She twitched a smile as he approached her and kissed both her and the baby. People were moving back to the hearth, their arms weaving them into couples around which the children chattered. Carnelian hung back. Akaisha glanced round.

  'Aren't you coming, Carnie?'

  ‘I’ll wait for Fern.'

  Akaisha frowned as she saw Sil's face. As they all moved away, Carnelian felt that he had handled the situation badly, but convinced himself that it would only make it worse for him to back down now.

  Sitting on a root of the mother tree, Carnelian watched the twilight thicken in the Grove. He wriggled his toes in the prickly needle loam. The feeling of being safe and at home swelled up in him. The interplay of voices coming from the hearth made his heart surge with a wish to join them. He grew sombre, considering what Sil might be feeling.

  It was almost night before he saw a lonely figure coming up the rootstair. He rose. 'I waited for you, Fern.' 'You needn't have.' 'I wanted to.'

  Fern's face was a vague shadow. 'It's good you and the others have returned safe.'

  Carnelian reached out to take his shoulder, wanting to say something. Working out words, confused, he just said the first thing that came into his head. 'I'm missing you.'

  Fern shrugged his shoulder free. That's nice.' He pushed past, leaving Carnelian feeling like a fool.

  Yet again Carnelian considered proving how he felt by returning to work with Fern, but fear of what Osidian might do made him stay with the hunt. He took his turn on the brow of the Crag: a long languid day observing the headache dazzle of the land through narrowed eyes. He escorted the women gathering fernroot from the Tribe's ferngardens. When the hunt collected together in the Newditch, he took his place with them earthworking in the dust and stifle. Then it was out once more onto the plain to fetch water from the bellower lagoon.

  That day, on their way back, the air began to haze from the east as if it were swarming with flies.

  'Sporewind,' cried many voices and Crowrane had them redouble their pace.

  By the time they reached the Koppie, the air was so thick with fern spores it seemed like dusk. Even through their ubas, it was hard to breathe. Lumbering blind over an earthbridge, one of the drag-cradles slid off, so that they had to cut it loose for fear it might pull its aquar down into the ditch.

  For days the Tribe hid in their sleeping hollows while the sporewind choked the world. People moaned that it was the worst they had ever endured. Shrouded in his blanket, Carnelian ventured out only for water and to relieve himself as others did. For food there was a coil of djada in their hollow which he shared with Osidian and Poppy.

  On the first morning when the air was clear, Carnelian unwrapped the uba from his head and pumped great, clean lungfuls. The world seemed much as it had been. As he resumed his tasks with the rest of his hunt, he might have considered the sporewind a dream if it had not been for the dust blanketing the plain.

  It was on his third hunt that Carnelian witnessed his first earther hornwall. It was Osidian's impetuosity that startled the herd. Defended by the older cows, the saurians fell back into a closed ring facing out, their horns and armoured heads forming a fearsome rampart within which their calves were safely corralled.

  'Fascinating,' said Osidian in Quya. 'This behaviour may well have been the model for the shieldwalls favoured by the levies of the Quyan cities.'

  He glanced over at Carnelian and pointed. 'Behold the horns like spears, their crests like interlocking shields.'

  Loskai rode forward and let his uba fall from his mouth. 'For all his legendary prowess, the Master has ruined this day's hunting with his babble.'

  Krow's aquar moved towards Loskai's. 'Did you never cause a hornwall when you first started hunting?'

  'Shut your mouth, Twostone.'

  Krow advanced on him scowling.

  Crowrane closed on the two of them. 'Back down, Twostone.'

  Carnelian tried to redirect Krow's rising defiance. 'Surely they'll move apart if we ride away.'

  His comment was greeted with disdainful looks but it did have the effect of breaking up the confrontation.

  When Carnelian returned to the hearth, he discovered a stranger about his age sitting next to Fern on the root-bench. Akaisha introduced him as being Father Galewing's son, Hirane, who had married Whin's sister's daughter, Koney, while Carnelian had been away hunting. Carnelian kissed the young man and called him hearth-brother and received a look of thanks from his wife, who was sitting beside Sil.

  Later, Poppy, wide-eyed as she relived the wedding, insisted on telling Carnelian everything. How they had spent the day washing Koney with cedar water and decked her out in a new robe the women of the hearth had been embroidering since before the Rains. How they had rouged her face and woven magnolia buds and petals into her hair. How when Hirane had come with his father and the rest of his people, wearing the black face of a hunter, he had found her waiting for him concealed beneath a wedding blanket of the richest ochre. How both his hearth and theirs had danced around the couple. When the moon rose high enough to make bright the root fork of their mother tree, he had poured water on Koney's blanket and she had come out of it as beautiful as the stars. Sitting in the fork they had spoken their vows, broken salt together, and then Akaisha had removed his shoes so that he might stand barefoot upon his new rootearth and all his new hearthkin had given him the kiss of welcome.

  As the girl spoke, Carnelian saw the light filling her face and he would have kissed her but did not want to break her vision, but as she described the newly-weds being led to the sleeping hollow where they would make and bear children, he saw trouble come into her eyes.

  'What's the matter, Poppy?' he said stroking her cheek.

  She looked through tears at him. 'When I'm old enough, will you marry me, Carnie?'

  Carnelian was taken aback.

  She sank her head. 'None other will,' she whispered.

  He raised her chin and looked into her eyes. 'You'll be beautiful, many will seek your hand.'

  She shook her head. 'I'm not rooted in this earth.'

  Carnelian glanced up at the boughs and branching roof of Akaisha's cedar.

  This mother tree is yours now too.'

  'She shelters me but knows nothing of my mothers.'

  Carnelian was becoming upset when he saw a glimmer appear in her eye. He watched her reach insi
de her robe and fish something out from an inner pocket. She placed a tiny bundle on her knee and lovingly unwrapped it.

  'A winged seed,' Carnelian said.

  She looked up at him. 'I brought it from the koppie of my people. Within there sleeps a daughter to my mother tree.'

  Then you must plant it,' he said, elated. 'Will the Elders allow it?' she asked. Carnelian's excitement died. He could not give Poppy the answer she craved.

  'Will you ask them for me?' 'When the time is right.'

  Accepting this, Poppy rewrapped her seed with infinite care, then returned it to its place next to her heart.

  On the last morning of Carnelian's fourth hunt, while he and the others were preparing for the final day's journey with the earther they had killed, Ravan cried out, pointing. Smoke was rising from the Crag up into the dawn sky.

  As one they converged on Crowrane begging permission to return. The Elder stood some moments in the midst of their tumult, narrowing his eyes in the direction of the signal, before he turned grimly to them nodding his head.

  Carnelian did not need to be told something was wrong. As he worked the tow rope's loose from the crossbar of his saddle-chair, he grew sick imagining what might be happening at home.

  He was soon mounted. The eyes of the riders around him betrayed that they too were listing dangers. Those who were still worrying at knots were cursed by those already mounted. With a cry of frustration, one of them produced a blade, hacked through a rope, then flung himself into his saddle-chair.

  When everyone was up, Crowrane, without a word, turned his aquar towards the Koppie and sent her into a jog. They all followed him in a great raising of dust.

  Their aquar reached the Newditch in a lather from the run. Smoke was eddying up from the brow of the Crag.

  The Mother be praised,' a voice cried, and several women ran across the earthbridge to meet them.