Sisters of the Wolf

by Patricia Miller-Schroeder

  “She’s carrying a small one on her back,” Shinoni whispers. “She’s calming it with her song. Many Kula mothers do this.”

  “Where’s the hunter, the one with the big footprints?” Keena cranes her neck, trying to see beyond the shrubbery.

  A spear with a flint point, sharp and deadly as an eagle talon, whizzes past their heads with a shrill whistle. Thunk. It impales the bush in front of them. Shinoni and Keena drop to the ground.

  Shinoni looks up. Their attacker stands behind them. “We mean you no harm,” Shinoni says. “We’re just travelling this way looking for shelter.” She stretches out her hand, palm up in the Kula gesture of friendship.

  The hunter towers above them clutching a curved spear thrower and two more spears. The deadly blade of one points directly at them. The hunter’s face is twisted into a ferocious snarl that slowly fades as he lowers his spear. Shinoni’s outstretched hand trembles as he bends over, examining the girls. “You’re Kula, but you travel with a female of the Strange Ones. Why?”

  Keena holds her breath, wondering what he will do with her.

  “Her people are called Krags. We’re both searching for our families and travel together.” Shinoni stands up shakily and helps Keena to her feet.

  “Two girls travelling alone, without hunters?”

  The man reaches to retrieve his spear from the bush and Keena sees that he, too, carries a fur bundle on his back. As he bends, the bundle moves. The same mewling cries as those from the bundle on the woman’s back tumble out. Keena stares, mouth open. “A hunter with a young one on his back?”

  Shinoni shushes her as the woman approaches and stands beside the man.

  “Ardak, be careful with Bril.” The woman pats the bundle on his back.

  “He’s fine, Rena, but we need to get him and Tark to the cave.” The hunter nods at Shinoni and Keena. “These girls travel alone. They need shelter, and we have room.”

  Shinoni puts one arm around Keena’s shoulder and extends the other hand, palm up, toward the woman. “We mean you no harm,” Shinoni says.

  The woman hesitates but then beckons Shinoni and Keena to follow them. Shadows creep down the hillside.

  “I thought they’d leave us out here for the beasts,” Keena says. She supports Shinoni as she hobbles to reach the safety of the cave.

  “Kulas help each other,” Shinoni says. “You and I help each other, too.”

  Ardak pushes aside some brush and reveals the opening into the family’s shelter. As Shinoni and Keena linger just inside the entrance, a wolf howls in the distance.

  “What if Tewa comes? Will she eat the small ones?” Keena asks.

  “I don’t think she’ll come,” Shinoni says. “But if she does and sees they’re friends, she won’t harm them.”

  “They’d be a good meal for her.” Keena shakes her head, unconvinced. “If she comes, the hunter will try to kill her to protect his young ones.”

  “Come inside, girls. You’re safer in here than outside with the prowling beasts,” Ardak calls. He extends his hand palm up. “I’m sorry I frightened you. I didn’t know who, or what, was in those bushes. We have to be careful with the small ones.” The firelight dances across his lined face, which breaks into a broad smile. His dark eyes are friendly. “We’ve food and room for you. Come and tell us where you’re going.”

  Ardak sits down and begins skinning a fat marmot, and Rena nurses both young ones at once. Their small brown fingers clasp the fur trim on her open tunic as they suck contentedly, nestling in her lap with their legs intertwined. She smiles down at them, but her face is lined and tired.

  Shinoni settles by the warmth of the hearth, but Keena sits farther back. How should she behave? She’s never been with so many Kulas before. The only Kulas she knows are Shinoni and Sabra, and they both are strangers in her world. It’s odd to be the stranger in theirs.

  The small ones fall asleep, and Rena joins Ardak at the fire as he cuts up the marmot and gives them all a share. “Now that the small ones are taken care of, we can talk,” he says. “I’m Ardak and this is Rena.” He motions to the sleeping twins, their chubby bodies swaddled in fur on the grass bedding. “Our boys, Tark and Bril, came from Rena as the last snows melted.”

  “I’m Shinoni.” Shinoni points to herself. “My father, Shazur, was a great shaman. He and others in my group were killed by a Krag hunter called Haken, who took me captive.”

  Ardak and Rena gasp and shake their heads sadly.

  “I’m called Keena. Haken took me from my family also,” Keena says. “They didn’t want him to take me, but they couldn’t stop him.”

  “We escaped together and now travel to find Keena’s people in the high country.” Shinoni puts her arm around Keena to help her stop trembling.

  “It’s hard to lose your people,” Rena says.

  “We have each other and our boys.” Ardak places his arm around Rena. “We’re travelling into the valley to escape the snows and find a new group to live with.”

  “Where are your own people?” Shinoni can’t help probing. “Why did you leave them to travel with such little ones?”

  “Our people are far from here. We couldn’t stay with them,” Rena says.

  “Rena and I have been together a long time,” Ardak explains. “We had two young ones many snow times ago, but they both died. We thought there would be no more, but last snow time Rena’s belly swelled and we were happy. When the snows finally melted, it was time for Rena to give breath to our young one.”

  “One came out and then another,” Rena says. “It was a big surprise — like our two lost children were returning.”

  “Our shaman said it was bad luck to have two young ones come from the spirit world at the same time. One must have slipped out by mistake.” Ardak growls. “He said we had to return one to the spirits quickly before he was missed.”

  “They were going to take Bril and set him out in the forest so his breath could return to the spirit world,” Rena says, her voice shaking. “I wouldn’t let them take him.”

  “Rena refused to kill our son, so they sent her from our camp with the two young ones. She became an outcast and no one could speak to her or help her.” Ardak hugs Rena. “I couldn’t do that, so I followed her and became an outcast, too.”

  “It’s terrible they sent you away.” Keena turns to watch the twins. Her father had sent her away, too, but she could take care of herself.

  Tark begins to squirm and fuss, sucking on his tiny fist. Rena takes tubers from the embers by the fire and mashes them between two rocks, then takes some in her mouth. She picks up Tark and settles him on her knee, then lowers her face close to his and transfers the chewed mush into his tiny open mouth. She coos softly and feeds him another mouthful of mush.

  “Kula mothers often feed their young ones this way.” Shinoni’s voice startles Keena, who’s absorbed in watching the mush flow from Rena’s lips into Tark’s mouth. “The young ones are usually older though, not as helpless as these.”

  Rena overhears and nods. “My milk isn’t enough for two hungry young ones. We have to travel, so they must be strong.” She looks down at Tark, who has fallen asleep in her lap. “Back at our camp, women nurse each other’s young ones if a mother needs help. It’s good to be with other women.” Rena places Tark on the grass bed and picks up Bril, who’s now calling for food.

  “I’ve never seen this way of feeding young ones. Perhaps I’ll feed my young one this way when I have one.” Keena moves in closer, watching carefully as Rena begins feeding Bril the mashed tubers.

  “You must also feed them milk if you want them to grow strong,” Rena says.

  After Rena has finished feeding Bril, she and Keena continue talking quietly. Shinoni doesn’t have as much interest in young ones as Keena. She sits by the fire melting leftover fat from the marmot and mixing it with some of the crushed roots of the swelling plants. She unwraps her ankle and rubs the mixture over its swollen, bruised surface. Tingling warmth spreads along her in
jury as she replaces the wood supports and bindings.

  Shinoni turns her attention to Ardak, who’s sitting at the back of the cave, busy with something on the floor. He lifts his hands in the air, then dabs and presses his fingers on the rock wall. What’s the hunter doing? Shinoni moves closer. Her legs begin to shake and her stomach lurches. He’s placing red dots and lines on the wall. Ardak is making sacred symbols, messages to the spirits. Most amazing of all, he’s doing it here, in the cave with his family. In a cave with females watching.

  Shinoni barely dares to breathe. What if Ardak becomes angry and makes her leave? What if the spirits become enraged? Her whole body trembles when Ardak turns and sees her. He beckons her to come closer.

  Shinoni hesitates, then sits down beside him. “Won’t the spirits be angry if I watch?”

  “Why would the spirits care, girl?” Ardak says. He turns back to the wall and places two red circles near a cluster of four red dots, two large and two small. He looks over his shoulder as he finishes the second circle. He points toward her, then at the red rings. “Shinoni and Keena.” He motions to the larger of the four dots. “Ardak and Rena.”

  “Tark and Bril?” Shinoni excitedly points at the small dots.

  Ardak nods. He begins adding other symbols: a curved line, a four-sided figure, several small forked lines.

  “I saw marks like these in another cave last dark time. Did you make those marks, too?” Shinoni tries to hide her excitement.

  “I tell our story so others can see we were here,” Ardak says.

  “My father made these marks and other ones in our sacred cave. Some were like animals.” Shinoni jumps up, flailing her arms wildly. “Women weren’t supposed to see them and my father didn’t tell me their meaning.” She takes a deep breath. “Can you tell me what the other marks mean?”

  “I don’t paint the animal spirits on the wall, but our shaman did and I’ve seen them. Women didn’t paint them in my group, either.” He studies the wall again. “I’ve told you some symbols, but others would take more time.”

  “I want to learn the symbols, if you’ll teach me,” Shinoni says.

  “Some symbols are meant to send messages to the spirits. You have to learn and perform rituals.” Ardak stands up and smears his palm with ochre, then places his handprint on the wall.

  Shinoni waits, breathless. Will he say more?

  “We must rest now.” Ardak wipes his hand carefully on his tunic. “When the sun lights the sky, we’ll leave here and travel into the valley. It’ll be a long journey, and Rena could use help with the young ones. If you come with us, I’ll teach you once we find a safe place to stay.”

  Shinoni lowers her head to hide her disappointment. She follows Ardak back to the hearth, where he and his family fall asleep on the grass bedding. Shinoni and Keena curl up on their cloaks on the far side of the hearth. Keena drifts into a restless sleep, tossing fitfully. Shinoni lies awake long into the night, listening to Keena’s snores and the crackling fire as she ponders the decision she must make by morning’s light.

  23

  SHINONI AND KEENA stand outside the cave where Rena and Ardak are packing up the twins and their belongings. Cries and coos drift outside from the entrance.

  “It’s a lot of work to care for two little ones,” Keena says.

  “Yes, a lot of work. Come, we have to talk.” Shinoni pulls Keena toward the nearby trail, which rises to a ridge above them. Her ankle feels better this morning and she walks without her crutch. They climb to the hilltop. On one side of them they see plains, and on the other a broad plateau leads toward distant hills that blend into jagged mountains.

  The sun disappears behind grey clouds scudding across the sky, and snowflakes begin to fall. “I’ll have to travel up there to find my people,” Keena says, pointing toward the hills. “They don’t travel far from camp when the snows come.”

  “My band never travels this far into the high snow country,” Shinoni says. “The men always find a warm cave and we stay there during the snow times.” A thrill of excitement rushes through her body, squashing the tremors of fear burrowing in her stomach. She’ll be the first Kula girl to make such a trek.

  “Perhaps it’s time to part,” Keena says. “Any of your people that survived will be in the valleys. You can travel back with Ardak and Rena.” She hesitates. “I heard Ardak ask you to go with them.”

  “He offered to teach me about the symbols he makes in the caves,” Shinoni says. “But Haken’s not far behind us. If I go back now, I’ll likely meet him.”

  Keena nods toward the herd of wild horses they can make out grazing below them on the plains. “Maybe you could ride Ulu again. Then Haken would never catch you.”

  “It’d be fun to ride Ulu again,” Shinoni says, “but I think I’ll travel a little farther with you. To be sure you don’t become lost.”

  “I’ll have to keep you from getting lost.” Keena laughs with relief.

  “I wouldn’t like to think of you being eaten by cave bears or mountain cats.”

  “That’s more likely to happen if I’m with you,” Keena says. “Still, if you want to come, I’d like your company.”

  “That’s good, because I told Ardak and Rena this morning I’m staying with you.” Shinoni joins arms with Keena as they look out over the frigid expanse of steppe and hills rolling into the distance.

  “You do know how to find your people, don’t you, Krag?” Shinoni asks.

  “Many paths lead into the high country,” Keena says. “I can’t tell if this is the way Haken took me. There wasn’t snow then, and we travelled quickly. That was the first time I ever came down from the high country. We went through a snow passage in the mountains, and I know my home’s beyond that.”

  “I hope all paths into the high country lead to that snow passage, then.” A chill runs down Shinoni’s spine.

  “I’ll ask Leeswi to help us find the right path,” Keena says.

  “If Haken’s still tracking us, perhaps she can lead him to the wrong one.”

  “Haken’s still after us. He’ll never stop until he catches us. And no one knows who Leeswi will choose to help.”

  Shinoni and Keena look back on the plains one last time. Ardak and Rena travel at a fast pace through the grass toward the valley. They stride side by side, each with a small one strapped to their back.

  “Goodbye, friends.” Shinoni calls and she waves, but Rena and Ardak keep walking.

  “They’re too far to hear you, Kula, and they need to be on their way quickly.”

  “I know, but I wanted to warn them again about Haken.”

  As they turn to leave the hilltop, faint shouts and screams draw them back. There on the plains below, a murderous pack of predators emerges from a thicket and advances on the family.

  “Arrrgh. Rahhrr. Hiii-yiiii.” Threatening roars pierce Shinoni’s heart, and the memory of the slaughter of her band replays in her mind.

  “No, monsters!” Shinoni screams.

  “Quiet. We can’t help them.” Keena clamps her hand over Shinoni’s mouth and pulls her to the ground. “We can’t let Haken see us.”

  They lie on the hilltop, hugging each other in sorrow. “Little Tark and Bril,” Keena whispers, her eyes filling with tears. “Why, Leeswi? They’re just small ones.”

  Shinoni and Keena creep on their stomachs to the ridge and peer over. Ardak and Rena stand back to back, bravely protecting the twins as Haken and his hunters close in with spears drawn and clubs raised. It’s over in moments. Rena’s and Ardak’s death cries mingle with the victorious screams of Haken’s hunters. Haken’s own savage howl rises above the others. “Hiiii-yeeee-yipppp.”

  Shinoni and Keena back away from the ridge. Shinoni forces her injured ankle to move, wills her thoughts to focus on flight and not the horror on the plains below. Keena doubles over and retches. Then, clutching hands, they run for their lives, heading for the refuge of the distant hills.

  24

  THE SUN IS SINKING LOW, smea
ring tears of blood across the sky, when Shinoni and Keena finally reach another row of hills. Icy winds howl along the upland trail, biting through their leather clothing with glee. The grass here is dryer and shorter than on the plains. A herd of steppe bison grazes a short distance from the side of the trail, their shaggy heads lowered as they wrench stalks of dry grass and twigs from low-lying shrubs.

  The pungent smell of bison surrounds Shinoni and Keena as they come alongside the herd. Keena pulls Shinoni to a standstill. “We should move up the hill before they see us,” Kenna says. “These thunder hooves move fast when they’re scared.”

  “Wouldn’t you like to have one of their warm coats right now? This wind doesn’t bother them at all.” Shinoni takes a step toward the massive beasts that graze so close to them. “See, they’re not afraid of us.”

  “We should move off the trail before they realize we’re here,” Keena hisses. “Many mothers have young ones from the last snow melt.”

  The herd clusters together. Their heads rise, stems dangling from their mouths as they crunch the tough stalks. The mothers scan the steppe for danger to their young ones. Oh no, Keena thinks as an old cow spies them backing up along the trail. The cow snorts a warning. Other horned heads whip out of the grass. Soon all the mothers are snorting and pawing the ground with their sharp hooves and moving in front of their vulnerable young ones. The whole herd is now alert, scanning the grasses for a predator. One cow bellows, then another.

  “You’re right, better hide.” Shinoni gulps. She drops to the ground and crouches in bushes near the trail.

  “Too late. Climb.” Keena shouts. She grabs Shinoni’s arm and they scrabble up the rocky shale of the hillside. Shinoni struggles to get a foothold on the crumbling stone. She yells in pain as rocks rain down on the trail and hit her ankle. Keena lunges to boost her up the slope to a ledge and then clambers up beside her. A heartbeat later several large mothers, snorting with rage, toss and thrash the bushes where Shinoni had been hiding. The whole herd then thunders into the distance, looking for a safer place to graze with their young ones.