Pell looked down at the stream, “The water’s deep here. I’m pretty sure it’d be up to our chests. I’m cold enough without wading through that.”
Reflecting that up to Pell’s chest would be up to his neck, Woday said, “I don’t want to wade it either, but if we stay here much longer we’ll freeze just the same.”
“I know,” Pell said, sounding frustrated.
“Hey,” somebody said behind them. Woday’s first thought was that the Oppos had sent somebody to work his way around and attack them from behind. However, as he was turning in a panic, the man continued, “Pell, what are you doing out here?! Let’s hustle down to your cave and get warmed up!”
Pell had spun around too. He pressed a finger to his lips to shut the man up. In an urgent whisper, “Gontra! There’s some people here from another tribe. We think they’ve come to attack us.”
“Oh,” Gontra said craning his neck to see, then narrowing his eyes. “Pont! I’d recognize that boar’s turd anywhere!”
Woday turned his eyes back to where the Oppos had been gathered. They’d stepped out of the brush and were picking their way from stone to stone across the stream. He saw one of them slip and suspected that the icy slush falling out of the sky was making the rocks even slicker than usual. Maybe several of them will fall into the water and get hurt, he hoped.
Pell said, “Come on,” and started down the path.
Gontra followed him.
Heart thumping, Woday walked behind Gontra. With disappointment, he saw that all eight of the Oppos had made it across the ford without injury. Now he started to worry that he might get hurt trying to cross the stream.
The Oppos started crossing the meadow and one of them started some kind of chant. Soon, the rest of them had joined in and the chant developed a threatening tone. Pell looked like he was dancing from rock to rock as he crossed the stream. Gontra moved much more gingerly. Woday’s first step slipped off a rock plunging his foot into the icy water. At first he was certain he was going to catch his feet between some stones and get a serious injury or be trapped, but he managed to pull the foot back up. His leg was numbingly cold, but he managed to step on the rock without slipping the next time. Taking even greater care, he picked his way slowly across the stream. He didn’t see Pell and Gontra looking back at him, frustrated by his slow pace because Woday never lifted his eyes from the rocks he was walking on.
When Woday reached the other side, he didn’t have time for a sigh of relief. Pell said urgently, “Let’s go!” and they started out into the meadow behind the Oppos.
Woday lifted his eyes to see what was going on and saw that the flap of the cave had been pulled open. Tando was looking out.
Tando stepped back inside, but a moment later he came back out with a spear in each hand. Manute, Deltin, Yadin, and Boro followed him out a minute later, each carrying two spears. A minute after that Falin timidly stepped out carrying a small spear of his own. Tando said, “What do you want?”
Woday felt Pell step up beside him. The young man leaned near his ear and said quietly, “If you don’t mind, I think it might be better if you handed me stones rather than throwing any yourself.” Woday nodded gratefully.
One of the Oppos stepped toward the cave and said, “We’ve come to rid you of the boy Pell, who’s possessed by an evil spirit. In return, we only ask that you give us shelter for tonight.”
Sidean’s head swiveled to stare at Jalgon. He was so shocked by the man’s words his shivering actually stopped. He can’t really think they’ll give us shelter in return for killing a member of their tribe, can he?!
Jalgon didn’t give Sidean any time to wonder, or even to consider hopelessly trying to interject some sense into this encounter one more time. Instead, Jalgon danced forward a step and cast his spear at the young boy-man who’d been the next to the last one to exit the cave. “Kill him!” Jalgon shouted, evidently thinking that the slender, timid appearing young man must be Pell. “Kill him now and we’ll have this done!” His first spear skimmed the boy’s side and shattered against the wall of the cliff behind him. Jalgon cocked back his second spear, then fell down.
Sidean thought he must’ve slipped on an icy spot. But then Ventus pulled back his spear and also fell, in his case, before he could even throw. This time, Sidean saw a rock skip off the left top of Ventus’ head. Sidean and Pont both shouted, “That boy’s not Pell!” Sidean turned to look behind him. Without surprise he saw the tall young man he’d thought had to be Pell when he’d been scouting out the Cold Springs tribe. A huge wolf and two other men stood with Pell. One of the men held two spears, one at the ready. The other man held four spears though he looked as if he were paralyzed with fear.
Pell cut a magnificent figure, holding a rock in his right hand and a look of vengeance in his eyes. “Pont!” he said, the word dripping with loathing, “You couldn’t be satisfied to have escaped with your life, could you?”
Sidean realized with awe that the tall young man had made two perfect throws with rocks so far. He laid his spears down and put his hands up, empty palms showing. He turned his eyes on the other Oppos. Jalgon lay thrashing while Ventus lay motionless. The rest of the Oppos stood wide-eyed. Wenax bent and laid his spears down as well, then stood, showing his empty hands.
Pont, though he hadn’t been touched by a rock, had fallen onto his buttocks and turned as white as snow. He shook. Not just a shiver, but the wracked trembling of someone in fear for his life.
Sidean glanced back toward the cave and saw the men there climbing down off the ledge and starting across the meadow toward them. The boy Jalgon had thrown the spear at had apparently been injured. A couple of women knelt beside him.
Sidean looked back at his own group. Nosset had dropped his spears. Pont, still on his buttocks, was skittering sideways on his heels and hands as Pell advanced toward him. He suddenly leapt to his feet and, dashing around Pell, began running back the way they’d come. Pell took a few steps after him, but then stopped. He called, “If I see you again, I’ll kill you!”
To Sidean’s astonishment, Pont kept a running pace when he got to the stream. He began jumping from one icy rock to the next.
Then he fell into the water.
Ashen, Ingis turned to Sidean and said, “What happened to Jalgon and Ventus?!”
Sidean tore his eyes away from Pell and turned them to Ingis, “He,” Sidean indicated Pell with a tiny wave, “knocked them out with stones. I saw the stone bounce off Ventus’ head.”
Ingis’ brow knotted together, “He threw rocks?! We’ve got spears!” He lifted his spirit a little as if considering an attack.
Sidean’s eyes shot back to Pell and saw that the young man had focused intensely on Ingis. The arm holding the next stone was cocking back a little. Speaking out of the corner of his mouth to Ingis, he said, “If I were you, I’d put down that spear.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Sidean saw Ingis almost convulsively cast down his spear. Nonetheless, Pell’s arm cocked the rest of the way back and he lunged forward and threw his stone. For a moment, Sidean felt relieved that Pell had missed Ingis and reassured by the realization that the young man could miss. Then the stone hit something with a wet crack like a rotten stick breaking.
Sidean’s eyes shot around and saw Haida’s spear falling from nerveless fingers. The spear was falling from a grotesquely deformed arm which had obviously been cocking back to throw that spear. In his peripheral vision Sidean saw the stone that had struck Haida’s spear arm tumbling across the ground.
Haida’s knees bent as he crouched, his face twisted in a rictus of pain. His left arm rose to cover his right arm where it’d been broken between the shoulder and elbow.
Sidean barked at Doran, the last Oppo holding a spear, “Save yourself! Drop that spear!”
After a moment, Doran complied.
Sidean surveyed the situation with a feeling of despair. Pont was floundering in the stream. Jalgon and Ventus lay sprawled, though Ventus had rolled over and
started to moan. Haida had sunk to a sitting position on the ground, his broken right arm cradled by his left. Nosset sat on the ground like a soft pile of bison shit, looking pale as ice. He shook so hard he looked like he might come apart. A moment later Nosset pitched forward and threw up.
Of the eight who’d begun this ill-conceived mission, only Sidean, Wenax and Doran were still standing. Wenax and Doran were looking to him, he thought for leadership. Sidean turned to Pell, his open palms still raised, and said, “We surrender. We surrender and apologize for what our leaders brought us to do. Will you let our healer tend our wounded?”
Behind and to Sidean’s left, someone barked a laugh. Sidean turned and saw one of the Cold Springs tribe kneeling beside Jalgon. The man said, “What you should ask, is whether Pell, there, will treat your wounded. Best healer you’ll ever see.” The man’s eyes dropped to Jalgon, “Though I think this guy’s a goner. Back of his head’s smashed in and probably even Pell can’t fix that.”
Sidean turned his eyes back to Pell, “May I see to our men? If you can help them that would be a great blessing.”
Pell nodded, “Sure. I don’t know what to do for the two that were hit in the head, but I might be able to help the man with the broken arm.”
Sidean turned, going first to Jalgon. Absently, he noted that the sleet had stopped falling. A good thing since trying to care for wounded men out in a snowstorm would be almost impossible. He knelt next to Jalgon. The man from Cold Springs pointed to the back of Jalgon’s head. “Skull’s crushed. You can see he’s breathin’ funny. Waste of time tryin’ to help him, I think.”
Sidean touched the back of Jalgon’s head which was, in fact, dented inward. It felt soft. Jalgon’s color looked bad and his breathing had an odd rhythm. “I think you’re right, though we’ll do what we can. Let me check the others.”
Sidean’d turned to look at Ventus when he heard the irritating and demanding tones of Nosset’s voice, “First, you need to go get Pont out of the river! He’s going to die of the cold even if he doesn’t drown!”
Sidean closed his eyes in an attempt to control his anger. He didn’t want to start shouting at Nosset and perhaps make this Pell angry but… He heard a loud thump and opened his eyes in time to see Yadin kick Nosset a second time. Yadin’d had hated Nosset ever since he’d decided that Nosset had killed his mate Uva. Yadin bellowed, “Go help him yourself, you worthless turd! I’m sure you and Pont are the reason Jalgon brought the men here to attack us. You’re why men lie dead or injured today! Personally, I think if Pont drowned it would do all of us a great favor. But, if you want him saved, you need to do it yourself, not order other people around!” He paused, “And if you drown helping him, that would do us all a great service.”
With a small grin to himself, Sidean knelt next to Ventus. It looked like Ventus had only been knocked out. There was a bloody crease in his scalp, but he was continuing to moan and as Sidean touched the bloody area, Ventus’ eyes fluttered open. “Wha’ happened?” he mumbled, eyes rolling wildly.
Sidean let out a relieved breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. If Ventus recovered, Haida would be their only invalid. At first he’d thought they might have three cripples on their hands, a devastating blow for the Oppo tribe. Though it seemed a cold way to think, Jalgon would be better off dead than impaired. So would his family. Caring for a Jalgon crippled by head injury would suck the life out of those that loved him.
Sidean turned to check on Haida and found Pell kneeling next to him, probing gently at his arm. Pell quietly said, “I’m sorry to have hurt you, but I thought you were going to throw that spear.”
Gritting his teeth, Haida didn’t try to deny it.
Pell, standing, turned his eyes to the man who’d said Jalgon would die. “We need to get these men in to the cave and warm them up.”
The man nodded.
To his astonishment, Pell helped Haida stand. He eyed Sidean and gave a jerk of his head toward Ventus, “Why don’t you help that guy?” Pell started leading Haida toward the cave.
Sidean helped Ventus to his feet and led him in a clumsy shamble behind Pell. As he entered the cave he heard the young boy excitedly telling the women, “Pell stopped them! He just threw three stones, but he knocked down a man with each one!” The boy shook his head in amazement, “He never missed!”
They sat inside a surprisingly spacious cave. Even with six extra people, it only felt a little crowded. Some of the women had helped Sidean lay Ventus down on bedding near one of two fires. Ventus still shivered, but seemed less confused.
The young man that Jalgon’s spear had injured lay nearby with a poultice on his side. From the murmurs Sidean had heard, the wound was superficial. If it didn’t get a wound fever the boy should do well.
Even though no one thought he’d make it, a couple of the Cold Springs men had carried Jalgon in and laid him on the bedding as well. So far he still breathed and twitched, but his breathing was irregular and Sidean didn’t think he’d last much longer.
Sidean would have sworn he’d seen Pell look over at Jalgon several times like he felt guilty. Why anyone would feel guilty for taking down a man actively attacking his own tribe, Sidean didn’t know.
Pell and two other Cold Springs men, Woday and Deltin, were sitting with Haida. They were having an intense discussion on the best way to care for his arm. Sidean didn’t understand why, but the other two men seemed to be calling Pell “Bonesetter.”
Yadin came over and squatted down next to Sidean. He shook his head sadly, “I guess I should’ve gone back and told Jalgon that Pell wasn’t possessed by spirits. Maybe this wouldn’t have happened.”
Sidean sighed and shook his head. “It wouldn’t have done any good. When you didn’t return, he sent Wenax and me to scout the Aldans and then Cold Springs. We reported back that we didn’t see any evidence of an evil spirit or of anything bad happening, but Nosset and Pont told Jalgon that the evil spirit just kept us from seeing the terrible things that were actually happening.” He shrugged, “How can you argue with that? It was crazy. They sent us to look, then didn’t believe what we told them. Anyway, Jalgon chose to believe two medicine men who hadn’t been here over those of us who had.” He glanced over at Pell, “Pont really wanted Pell dead.” He looked up at Yadin and asked curiously, “Are those guys calling Pell ‘Bonesetter’? Or are they talking about someone else?”
Yadin snorted, “Pell. Just one of the many things he can do, apparently.”
Sidean tilted his head curiously, “But he’s still practically a boy! Who taught him to set bones?”
“Taught himself, they tell me.” Yadin’s eyes wandered the cave, then he pointed to the wall with his chin, “Did you notice the wall of the cave isn’t natural?”
Sidean turned and looked. Though dried mud covered the wall, he could still see that it consisted of upright poles, sticks, and grass. “Oh!” He looked around, “This was one of those really shallow caves before they built the wall, wasn’t it?” He turned back to Yadin and frowned, “I’d like to meet the guy who thought of that!”
Yadin gave him a little grin, then turned his eyes on Pell, “Even though he’s practically a boy?”
“Really?!” Sidean breathed, his eyes also going to Pell.
Yadin shook his head as if in awe, “That’s not all either.” Yadin described a number of other amazing things that Pell was supposed to have thought up. Deciding some of the things Yadin depicted weren’t possible, and that the quantity of things attributed to the boy, even if possible, were too many for any one man, Sidean wondered if Yadin’d taken leave of his senses.
The flap covering the opening of the cave drew back and Nosset stepped in. The pudgy little medicine man stood just inside the opening, shaking. He looked cold, so part of the shaking was probably shivering, but Sidean thought he was quaking in fear as well. Everyone in the cave had turned to stare at him. His throat worked for a moment before he got any words out, finally, he said, “Pont’s ankle is broken. I g
ot him out of the river, but I can’t… can’t start a fire… I don’t know… don’t know a way to get him warmed up. He’ll die outside.”
Yadin snarled, “You two are just gettin’ what you deserve!”
Sidean looked around at the other people in the cave. He thought their eyes all showed agreement with Yadin’s sentiment. He expected at any moment someone would usher Nosset back outside at spear point.
Pell unfolded gracefully from where he’d been squatting by Haida. Sidean had known the young man was tall, but something about the way he’d stood so smoothly to tower over everyone made him seem… splendid. Pell stepped toward the opening of the cave and Nosset shrank back. Sidean expected Nosset to turn and run at any moment, but then Pell said in a weary tone, “Let’s go get him.” Pell and Nosset ducked under the skins covering the opening of the cave and went outside.
Sidean didn’t know what to make of what had just happened, so he turned and looked around at the people in the cave again. He thought they looked just as startled as he felt. Maybe Pell’s going out there to finish the bastard off?
Yadin got up and walked over to peer out the opening of the cave. He sat by Sidean when he returned. Sidean asked, “What’s Pell doing?”
Yadin said, “Can’t tell, the light’s fading pretty fast.”
Sidean thought about asking Yadin if he thought Pell had gone out to kill Pont, or maybe even Pont and Nosset, but he didn’t. Instead, he was distracted by sizzling from the direction of the fire. When he looked that way, he saw some of the women suspending skewered rabbits and birds to roast above the flames.
What kind of hunters were these, who’d gotten so many small animals on a cold day like today?! Sidean turned to pose that question to Yadin, but before he could Nosset stepped back through the furs over the entrance, this time lifting them high so Pell could enter behind him. Sidean didn’t think he was any more dumbfounded than the rest of the people in the cave to see Pell carrying Pont in his arms like one might carry a large child.
Bonesetter 2 -Winter- Page 23