by Dakota Chase
“And snares. Caught some rabbits and, uh, squirrels.” It seemed safe to mention the fluffy-tailed rodents.
Bear Paw grunted and took the atlatl from me. “Hunts are dangerous. Mammoth and bison can turn on you, trample you into the dust of the earth. Rhino can impale you on their horns and shake you like a leaf on a tree limb. Deer and horses can kill you with one kick. I’ve seen men die on the best-planned hunts because their spear slipped or their aim failed.” He frowned at each of us in turn. “Hunters are family, even more than those who share blood by birth. We place our lives in each other’s hands every time we go on a hunt. We support each other, encourage each other, protect each other because we never know when we’ll need our brother or sister to do the same for us. You two? You bicker like children. Children do not practice being hunters.” He pointed his chin toward the camp. “Go. Come back tomorrow if you’ve learned to behave like adults and not babies.”
Wow. We just got dissed by a caveman. I, for one, felt humiliated, and not just because the younger kids were staring at us and trying—unsuccessfully—to hide smug grins. It was mostly because I knew Bear Paw was right. Ash and I got into more trouble arguing than either of us wanted to admit. Fighting was what got us into hot water with Merlin to begin with, and that’s what led to him sending us back in time.
We’d never found out what would happen to us if we died in the past. Would we die in the future too? Would it be as if we were never born? Or would we just return to our time? Merlin wouldn’t tell us. I wasn’t even sure if he knew the answer, and the only way to find out for ourselves was for one of us to go toes-up in the past, a chance neither of us was willing to take.
As we walked back to the fireplaces in front of the cave, neither of us talking and both of us seething with indignation and blushing from embarrassment, we didn’t notice Snow Owl blocking our path until we nearly stumbled into him.
His sneer was obvious, and the malevolence in it sent a chill down my spine. Whatever he had planned, it wasn’t going to be good. “We will have a ceremony tonight, after moonrise. The spirits are restless, and they grow angry. They demand your presence, even though you aren’t worthy.”
He turned on his heel without waiting for either of us to say anything. It wasn’t an invitation—it was an order. I noticed other members of the Bison Clan avoided direct eye contact with Snow Owl. It was as if they were afraid to draw his attention to themselves. I got the distinct feeling no one refused Snow Owl when he ordered them to do anything, including attend a ceremony. In fact, Gray Wolf was probably the only man in the tribe who had enough personal power to consider it. We certainly didn’t.
We had no clue what happened at a Bison Clan ceremony. What would their spirits demand? Promises of obedience? Homage and prayers? Or sacrifice?
And if it was sacrifice the spirits told Snow Owl they wanted, what sort would appease them? Would burning plants or offering meat suffice, or did they want something far more sinister?
Like our hearts on a platter?
If I felt chilled earlier, it was nothing compared to the icy fingers choking my spine right now. I shivered as I exchanged a worried look with Ash. When we continued on into the cave, it was in silence.
Chapter Nine
IN A quiet corner of the cave, as everyone else ate a leisurely feast of root vegetables and some sort of poultry—Grant thought it might be turkey, but it could’ve been roast pterodactyl for all we knew—we discussed leaving the Bison Clan.
“I won’t lie. Snow Owl has me worried.” Grant picked up a vegetable and eyed it before nibbling on the end. “It’s obvious he hates us. Or maybe he fears us. Either way, he’s not our number one fan.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean.” I balanced my plate on my crossed legs. “We could leave. Rabbit said there are lots of other tribes living along the Green River. We could find one of them. Maybe they’ll have the talisman we need.”
Grant didn’t look convinced. “Maybe, but Merlin is usually dead on when he sends us back. He always sends us close to the place we need to be to find the artifact we’re after. If one of the other tribes had the talisman, he would’ve sent us there, not here to the Bison Clan.”
Damn him for being logical.
“Yeah, I guess.” I picked at the white meat of the mystery bird, but I didn’t have much of any appetite. “What do you suppose will happen tonight?”
“I don’t know any more than you do. One thing, though—if it looks like things are going to go sideways, you know, if we feel threatened, I think we should run. Fast. Get out and put as much distance between us and the Bison Clan as possible. I don’t think Gray Wolf would order us hurt, but we really don’t know him.”
I nodded. “And I really don’t trust Snow Owl.”
“Stay alert and ready for anything.”
“Yeah. Ditto.”
We placed our plates on the pile of dirty platters to be scraped and cleaned, then went to sit with Rabbit until we were called for the ceremony. Not having had his manhood ceremony, he was not allowed to attend ceremonies meant for adults and was a little pissed that we were going to be given the opportunity.
“You aren’t men, either. You haven’t made your first kills—you told us so.” His lower lip jutted out in a pout. “Why should you be allowed to participate in a ceremony with the adults?”
“I have no idea.” Grant drew his knees up to his chin and wrapped his arms around his calves. “We think Snow Owl is behind it.”
Rabbit’s expression instantly switched from petulant to perturbed. He looked worried, which worried the two of us even more. “What does the shaman want with you?”
I shrugged. “We don’t know. He doesn’t like us much.”
Rabbit huffed. “Snow Owl doesn’t like anyone much.” He looked at me and Grant in turn, with great seriousness. “Be careful. Snow Owl sometimes says one thing and does another. Don’t trust him. It is said he killed his own brother.”
I felt my eyes fly open wide. “What?”
He nodded. “It is true. I have heard the stories with my own ears. When Snow Owl was a child, he had an older brother. His brother was destined to be shaman, not Snow Owl. Then one day, they went into the forest to set snares, and his brother fell into a pit of sucking sand and died. There are some who say it wasn’t an accident.”
“Sucking sand? What the hell is that?” It sounded like some sort of kid’s toy, like slime.
“There are pools of it in the marshland farther down the coast. It looks like sand, but when you try to walk on it, you’ll get stuck. If someone doesn’t pull you out, you can die.” Rabbit’s thin shoulders shuddered.
I could understand how he felt. The thought of being trapped, unable to move, to free yourself, slowly dying of thirst and exposure was horrifying. It was one of the worst ways I could think of to go. Well, that or getting my face chewed off by a bear. I wasn’t fond of either possibility.
Grant seemed to agree, because he paled a little. “Quicksand. That’s what our people call the sucking sand.”
Rabbit poked at the long strips of bark encasing his broken leg. “I don’t think death in the sucking sand is very quick.”
“No, I suppose it wouldn’t be.” Grant shivered visibly. “It’s a bad way to go.”
Outside the cave the sun had set completely. The black sky was speckled with millions of winking stars, and a bloated full moon glowed.
Summer Wind had been on the opposite side of the cave near Snow Owl’s place, but she came over to us then and crouched at Rabbit’s side. She shooed Grant and I away. “Go. Gray Wolf waits for you outside. I will stay with the children. Hurry, do not keep them waiting.”
We said goodbye to Rabbit, although I wasn’t anxious to leave the cave, and I don’t think Grant was either. Our step was heavy and slow as we trudged outside.
Gray Wolf was indeed waiting outside, and he didn’t look pleased that we’d taken so long. “Come, the hunters are already gathered at our ceremonial fire. We should hurry
.” He pointed up toward the moon, where soft clouds were beginning to float, partially obscuring the glowing orb. “Look! The spirits already begin to gather.”
We followed Gray Wolf across the practice field and through a thicket of wood to a small clearing we’d not seen before. I noticed at least a dozen tree stumps and realized this particular clearing wasn’t natural—it was man-made. The Bison Clan had purposely cut down the trees to make it. They even used many of the stumps as convenient seating. It seemed to us that the older and more seasoned hunters had stump chairs—the rest of the younger hunters, us among them, sat on the ground.
Almost all of the Bison Clan were in attendance. The only ones missing were the children, some of the mothers who’d stayed behind to watch them, and the few tribe members who were not hunters, like Summer Wind.
I also noticed that everyone there wore a piece of hide or fur of the animal from which they took their name. Gray Wolf wore a cloak fashioned from the hide of—surprise!—a gray wolf. The head was left intact, and he wore it on top of his head like a macabre hat.
Snow Owl clambered to the top of one of the tallest, widest stumps. I noticed he’d come dressed for the occasion as well. In fact, his was the most elaborate outfit by far. His tunic and trousers were both ivory-colored leather and heavily decorated with bits of bone, ivory, and small, colorful stones. A decorated white leather bag hung from a thong tied around his waist. Feathers were entwined in his long white hair, and his pasty white face was painted with streaks of red and black. He also wore an impressive headdress from which rose a tall fan of pure white feathers. A necklace strung with claws and beaks—I figured they must’ve originally belonged to the owls that also provided the feathers—hung around his neck.
Speaking of Snow Owl, he took the time to throw Grant and me a hateful glare before starting the ceremony.
He stood tall on the stump and spread his arms wide, looking up at the moon. It must’ve been a signal that the ceremony was about to begin, because everyone in the clearing fell silent, as if waiting for him to speak.
“Ancient spirits, guardians of the Bison Clan, we call upon you to attend us. We are your favored children, the sons and daughters of the Wise Ones, the Powerful Ones. Once, in the ancient times, you taught us how to hunt your lesser creatures for food and fur. Many times since then, you have given us your blessing and aided us, given us luck, and helped us survive. We come before you now, beseeching your aid again as we prepare to hunt the Great Ones.”
At that point, he dug his fingers into the white leather bag he wore at his waist and withdrew a pinch of something that he threw onto the fire. The flames crackled and jumped, bright sparks riding a rising cloud of acrid smoke. It tickled my nose and made me sneeze.
This part of the ceremony must’ve been interactive, because the hunters joined in. “Ancient spirits we bow to you. We beg your favor. Attend us! Bless us so our spears will fly true and our hunt will be successful.”
There was a long, drawn-out moment of silence, as if Snow Owl was waiting for something. I realized he was probably just building suspense, like an actor waiting for the perfect moment to deliver his lines. Just as I was beginning to feel uneasy, he spoke again.
“Oh, most powerful and beneficent spirits, we have two among us who are not Bison Clan. We don’t know why you would lead them to us, or why you would put Rabbit in their path to find. We plead for understanding. Are they friends of the Bison Clan, or are they enemies whom you have led to us for destruction? A sign, oh Great Ones. Give us a sign.”
Enemies? I started to stand up, but Grant grabbed my arm and dragged me back down. I hissed at Grant. “Did you hear him? What’s he up to?”
“I don’t know, but we can’t interrupt him now.” Grant sighed and patted my arm.
We turned our attention back to Snow Owl. He was dancing on his stump, his feet moving in intricate steps. In his hands he held a rattle made from a long leg bone decorated with feathers and fit with loose-fitting circles of ivory that clattered as he shook it. “Tell us, most respected spirits! Give us your wisdom! Are these strangers enemies of the Bison Clan? Are they a danger to us? Tell us!”
A man sitting on one of the stumps produced a drum, a large wooden bowl with a skin stretched tightly over the top. He thumped it with the knobby end of a piece of bone.
The hunters began repeating Snow Owl’s words, over and over. “Tell us! Tell us, most respected spirits!” They swayed to the rhythm of the drum, the flats of their hands striking the ground in time to the thumping drum.
Snow Owl dug into his pouch again and flung a handful of what looked like gritty dried herbs onto the fire. The flames surged again, sending a spiral of bright golden sparks up into the air.
Snow Owl paused in his dancing and glared at the fire. He dug another handful of herbs from his medicine bag and looked at them before throwing them on the fire. Another tower of sparkling gold shot up, and I thought a look of shock crossed his features before they quickly settled back into their normal dour glare.
Something was wrong. Something he didn’t expect. I dug an elbow into Grant’s side and looked at him. He gave me a tiny nod—he’d noticed it too. Snow Owl had obviously expected his herbs to react differently with the fire than they had.
I remembered Summer Wind had been working near Snow Owl’s place earlier. She knew herbs better than anyone, Rabbit told us. Had she substituted a different herb for the ones Snow Owl thought were in his medicine bag? Why would she do it? Did she suspect he was going to try to set us up?
No matter her reason, she probably just saved our asses. I got the strongest impression the spirits were supposed to indicate we were enemies of the Bison Clan in the color of the fire’s sparks, and I think Snow Owl had thought so as well.
Gray Wolf jumped to his feet. “The spirits have answered! Grass and Ash are friends of the Bison Clan. They have been accepted by the spirits and will join us on our hunt for the Great Ones. They will bring good luck to the Bison Clan!”
The crowd around the clearing cheered, and most jumped up and began dancing. The drummer banged furiously on his drum, and although the sounds he made couldn’t rightly be called music, it still made me want to move my feet. When Gray Wolf urged me and Grant to our feet, I happily stomped around with the others.
Snow Owl looked both frustrated and furious. His jaw was clamped tight—I could see the muscles twitch in his cheek. He’d planned to rig the ceremony, I was sure of it, and now he couldn’t say anything without giving himself away.
I almost smiled at him and caught myself at the last moment. Served him right. Still we really had made an enemy of him now, even though neither Grant or I had anything to do with changing out the herbs.
If Gray Wolf was aware of the drama being played out between Snow Owl and us, he didn’t comment on it. Instead, he gave us a broad smile. “Come, new friends of the Bison Clan. We will sleep, because tomorrow morning at first light, we will begin to prepare in earnest for your manhood hunt!”
The crowd cheered again and began to file out of the clearing. We were two of the last ones to leave.
I smiled at Grant, happy that for once things had turned out well for us, but a glance at Snow Owl wiped my grin from my face. He was enraged, seemingly holding himself in check by the thinnest of threads. We were going to have to keep eyes on him. I didn’t trust him not to try to spear us instead of the mammoth.
When we got back to the cave, Rabbit was already asleep. Grant and I slipped under our furs and talked in whispers for a few moments.
“I still don’t understand why Snow Owl feels so threatened by us.” Grant yawned and arched his back. I could hear the vertebrae crackle.
“Beats me, but I’m willing to bet it has something to do with his older brother’s death.”
“Yeah, me too, but I don’t know what. We sure as hell weren’t around then. What threat could we possibly be?”
I thought about it for a few minutes. “I bet I know who might have some answers
. Summer Wind. I think she knew Snow Owl was going to try to get rid of us and switched out the herbs Snow Owl was going to use on the fire. I know she’s not fond of him either. Maybe she knows why he hates us so much.”
Grant looked surprised. “You know, you might be right. We should talk to her tomorrow.”
I grunted a reply, too tired to form words anymore. I must’ve drifted off quickly, because the next thing I knew, it was morning, and the preparations for our manhood hunt were in full swing.
Chapter Ten
“WAKE UP! You’ll sleep through practice, and you need all you can get!”
I growled a little as I tried to shake off the hand relentlessly pounding my shoulder. “Knock it off, Ash!”
“What? I’m not doing anything.” His voice sounded sleepy and came from the opposite side of the one shaking my shoulder.
I blinked awake and realized the insistent hand belonged to Rabbit. He was leaning on his side, pounding on my shoulder. “Hey, quit it! That hurts.”
“Don’t be such an infant. You sleep too much. If I could walk, I’d be at the practice field already. Get up!”
Ash moaned and sat up, rubbing his face. “What time is it?”
Rabbit grumbled, irritation with us plain on his face. “The sun is already awake. Get up. Summer Wind says the birch bark on my leg is stiff enough to keep my leg still. I can go to the field today and sit on a log and practice throwing my spear!”
Summer Wind walked up to us, three bowls balanced in her hands, and clucked her tongue. “As if I could keep him lying still! Remember what I said, Rabbit. You may go if you are careful. You’re not to put any weight on that leg if you ever want to walk again.” Summer Wind gave Rabbit a stern look, but then she smiled at us. “But first, let Grass and Ash eat some warm mash and drink hot tea.” She passed out the wooden bowls filled with an oatmeal-like substance and then poured hot liquid into bone cups for us. It smelled of mint. “You shouldn’t practice on empty stomachs. A full belly will make for a strong arm.”