Keena smiles in relief, and she and Shinoni shinny down the tree into the midst of the mammoth hunters. The awestruck men gingerly touch their hair, then back up to a respectful distance. The muscular hunter with the topknot speaks to Shinoni and Keena, bending low.
Shinoni translates slowly. “His name is Ruppa and he’s their leader. He wants to take us to their camp to show his people that spirits have visited them.”
“Do you think we can trust them, Shinoni?” Keena asks. “I really don’t want to be a captive again.”
“I think he truly believes we are spirits and wants to show us to his people,” Shinoni says. “I don’t think we have a choice, Keena. So we’ll have to go with them for now.”
“Tell him all right, but we can’t stay too long,” Keena says. “We don’t want to be their permanent good-luck amulet.”
The sun is setting when Shinoni and Keena, escorted by Ruppa and his men, approach the mammoth hunters’ home.
“Have you ever seen a camp such as this one?” Shinoni whispers.
“Never, Kula. They must kill many mammoths.” Keena’s eyes widen in disbelief as she looks at the scene before her. A circle of shelters constructed of stacked mammoth tusks and bones with reindeer hides stretched over top of them cluster around a roaring fire. Several smaller hearths dot the camp’s perimeter.
Ruppa blows an ibex horn to announce their arrival. Women, children, and grey hairs rush to meet them at the edge of camp. They fall back at the sight of Shinoni and Keena.
“They’re probably expecting a big pile of mammoth meat, not us,” Shinoni says. “As long as they don’t try to eat us, instead.”
Keena smiles and nods at the gathering group as Ruppa begins to speak.
“He’s telling them about their hunt,” Shinoni says.
Ruppa’s voice booms as he gestures to some of the hunters lumbering around in a circle. Their knees are bent and they lean forward, shoulders hunched, one arm swinging in front of their faces to mimic the swaying trunks and hump backs of the mammoths. The other hunters dance and circle them, spears ready to thrust.
“Hang on, Keena, we’re going for a ride,” Shinoni says.
“Not again.” Keena flinches as dancers hoist them into the air and onto the shoulders of two hunters, who carry them about, snorting wildly. The ground whirls dizzily below Keena as she and Shinoni cling to their mounts, now spinning around the circle. Finally, the dancers deposit them on the ground in front of Ruppa. He looks at them expectantly.
Keena tastes vomit in her mouth and gags, trying not to retch. Shinoni holds her steady as the ground continues to spin around them. The smell of sweat and mammoth fat is overpowering as the entire band pushes close. The people’s faces reflect curiosity, fear, and awe.
“Say something, Kula.” Keena nudges Shinoni. “You always have words.”
Shinoni pauses, then rubs her stomach and speaks directly to Ruppa. He immediately bows low and makes a sweeping gesture toward the flames. The hunters hustle the girls toward the fire.
“What did you say?” Keena gasps. “They’re not going to burn us, are they?”
“I just said we’re hungry.”
As they approach the fire, several men rise. A grey hair, one of the mammoth hunters, talks excitedly to Ruppa, pointing to the men.
“We aren’t their only visitors.” Shinoni grips Keena’s arm tightly, and Keena looks more closely at the strangers by the fire. The hair on her neck bristles and her skin prickles as she recognizes the strange hunters.
The glow from the flames lights up the faces of the men who’ve risen. Their squat builds, ruddy cheeks, and barrel chests show they aren’t Kula mammoth hunters. One man steps forward. The firelight highlights the twisted scar on his face. Haken smirks as he bows his head to Keena and Shinoni, who stand in shocked silence.
The mammoth hunters look curiously from the girls to Haken and back again. Ruppa haltingly exchanges words with Haken in the Krag language. Shinoni and Keena flinch as their enemy waves his hand at them. His face crinkles in a grotesque grin.
Keena whispers to Shinoni. “He’s telling Ruppa we’re spirits but have come from his land.” Keena frowns like a thundercloud. “He says we’re lost and they have to take us back with them.”
“We have to convince them otherwise.” Shinoni steadies her shaking legs. “It seems these Kulas have met Krags before and are friendly to them.”
“I’m sure Ruppa doesn’t know how much Haken hates Kulas,” Keena says. “Haken’s likely afraid to attack them because they have many strong hunters. He’ll try to trick them instead.”
“Ruppa can speak Krag, but can Haken speak Kula?” Shinoni asks.
“No. I had to tell him what you were saying when he captured you,” Keena says. “He only speaks Krag.” She looks at Shinoni and smiles, signalling that she understands what Shinoni is thinking.
“Haken will soon learn he’s not the only trickster here,” Shinoni says. “We’ll give Ruppa a message from the Earth Spirit.”
Keena and Shinoni sit in a place of honour by the fire, where they eat sizzling slices of meat carved from a reindeer haunch. The hunters dance again while they eat, retelling the story of the girl spirits’ wild ride on the mammoths. Young ones sit staring at them, just out of reach beyond the ring of firelight. One little girl creeps closer and touches Shinoni, smiling shyly at her. Another child gives Keena a bone flute, which she begins to play. The trilling notes float over the crackling of the flames, and more of the mammoth-hunter clan cluster around her. Obviously they’ve never seen or heard a Krag play a flute before. Keena lowers the instrument. Best not to attract more attention.
“They’re all here,” Keena whispers. “Should we give them the message now?”
“Yes, this is a good time for the spirits to speak.” Shinoni claps her hands for attention. “Mammoth hunters, we’re sent from the Earth Spirit. We are not lost. We’ve chosen to visit you because you’re great hunters.”
“That’s good,” Keena says. “Make them trust us, not Haken.”
Shinoni flings her arms wide, then curves both hands to indicate tusks. “This message is about the mammoth clan.” Her shout echoes in the hushed stillness. “The great Earth Spirit is concerned. Some groups kill too many of her mammoth children.” She narrows her eyes as she looks at Haken.
Keena glares at him, too. How she hates him. He watches her every move like a lion waiting to pounce.
“Groups like the one led by this Krag, Haken.” Shinoni points at him. “They destroy the mammoths with their greed.”
Ruppa’s band murmurs angrily. They look suspiciously at Haken. Keena hides a grin behind her hands as she looks at Shinoni’s stern face.
“The Earth Spirit will always let you have many mammoths to hunt if you use them wisely.” Shinoni pauses to let her words soak in. “You mustn’t kill more than you need to feed yourselves.” She stares at Haken, then looks at Ruppa. He’s listening intently to her. “You must thank the mammoths for giving their lives to feed you.”
The mammoth hunters nod in agreement. Again, Shinoni points an accusing finger at Haken. “This Krag’s group hasn’t cared for the mammoth. So we are here to help you, not to help them.”
Haken looks around, scowling. He seems to be catching on that Shinoni is turning the mammoth hunters against him. He jumps up and shouts at Ruppa. Several burly mammoth hunters surround Haken, glaring at him. Ruppa frowns and translates some of what Shinoni has said into Krag.
Haken throws the girls a menacing look, but turns back to Rappa and begins to speak in a conciliatory voice.
“Earlier, Haken said we must go with them tomorrow, but now he says they really need our help to get the Earth Spirit’s forgiveness,” Keena says.
“They don’t believe him or trust him. I can tell.” Shinoni smiles and waves at the mammoth hunters.
Night has fallen, and Keena and Shinoni are sleeping beside a flickering hearth inside one of the tusk and bone shelters. Heavy hands shak
e them awake. Ruppa crouches beside them with a finger on his lips. He speaks in a low voice, his face serious as the firelight reflects in his eyes.
“Ruppa doesn’t trust Haken. He thinks we should go now,” Shinoni translates for Keena. “He says we should travel in the hills but he’ll tell Haken we’re travelling in the valley.”
Ruppa then hands them warm fur-lined tunics and two reindeer-skin packs. “He says there’s dried meat in these,” Shinoni says. “He thanks us for visiting them and for bringing the Earth Spirit’s message. He says they’ll take care of the mammoths. These gifts are for our journey.”
Ruppa lifts up the reindeer-skin flap at the back of the shelter. Shinoni and Keena both touch hands with him and wriggle out quietly. They tiptoe out of camp. It’s nearly dawn and the sky is lightening. Tewa steps out of the shadows at the camp’s edge and joins them, wagging her tail in greeting. Then, together again, they hurry toward the hills rising in the distance.
33
DAYLIGHT FINDS Shinoni and Keena on the ridge above the valley. They wear the reindeer-hide tunics Ruppa gave them on parting. The thick fur on the inside cuts the frigid bite of the mountain wind. They stop to drink at a stream, thirsty after their strenuous climb. The snow has melted here and their footprints show clearly in the mud.
“Haken could be close behind us. He’ll be furious we escaped again.” Keena scans the rocky trail they’ve just climbed, much of it hidden by bushes.
“If Ruppa tells him we’re in the valley, he’s likely not too close,” Shinoni says. But she looks over her shoulder.
“Haken might not listen to Ruppa, and he’s a good tracker.” Keena’s ears strain to catch any telltale sound of movement in the bushes.
“We’ll have to hide our tracks, then,” Shinoni says. “If we walk in the stream, he can’t track us through the water.”
Shinoni and Keena move into the centre of the shallow stream and slog on, following the water’s path deeper into the hills. When the sun is high in the sky, they reach a point where the stream joins others, all merging with a fast-flowing river. The rapidly moving water is free of ice, and it splashes and bubbles over the rocks in the shallows.
Keena and Shinoni sit on the rocky beach beside the restless river. Shinoni scoops up some of the small flat stones littering the shoreline and puts them in her pouch. Keena looks at her quizzically. “Why, Kula? If your pouch isn’t heavy enough, you can carry some of my load.”
“You never know when a good rock will come in handy.” Shinoni chuckles. She pulls out the dried reindeer meat Ruppa gave them and shares several strips with Keena.
“Do you think we should follow this river?” Shinoni asks. “You know this land better than I do. Will the river take us to your family?”
Keena looks down the river as far as she can see and takes a deep, shuddering breath. What if she leads them the wrong way? “Many rivers flow near the mountain pass that’s close to my home,” she says. This might be one of them.” Keena hesitates. “Maybe not, though.”
“Well, let’s follow it awhile. We can walk close to the water’s edge.” Shinoni gets to her feet. “The river narrows here, so maybe we should cross before it gets too wide.”
“Why should we cross it?” Keena stammers as she watches the wildly swirling water. “We can just walk along this shoreline.”
“The shore on this side disappears soon,” Shinoni says. “See, up ahead there’s a thicket right by the water. There could be predators there. And then there’s just a steep wall of rock.” She points across the river. “There are tall cliffs on that side, and that might be where your snow pass is.”
“I’d rather not cross this river,” Keena says. Her stomach lurches with fear.
“Can’t you swim, Keena?” Shinoni asks, eyebrows raised.
“No, Kula, I can’t.” Keena says. “Some of my people can, but most don’t. Leeswi often takes people’s breath when they cross rivers or lakes.”
“It’s shallow here, and I’ll hang on to you.” Shinoni prods Keena toward the water. “Do you want to sit here and wait for Haken?”
“No.” Keena sighs. Anything is better than meeting Haken again.
Shinoni walks into the water and turns, holding out her hand. Keena takes one small step and then another until she is beside Shinoni in the water. They start walking across the current, hand in hand, toward the open steppe ringed by cliffs on the far side.
Shinoni stops and reaches into her pouch with her free hand, taking out stones one by one and skimming them across the water. Her stone-throwing attracts fish, which leap high in the air, sending rainbow sprays into the centre of the river.
“We can have fresh fish tonight,” Shinoni says. “It won’t take long to catch some.”
“The current’s too fast here! You said we were just crossing.” Keena, heart pounding, breaks away from Shinoni’s grip. She plows blindly toward the far shore.
“Wait up, Keena.” Shinoni skips one last rock.
“Come on, stop fooling around. We’ve got to go now,” Keena yells from the beach where she sits, annoyed and shivering.
“All right, I’m coming. No fish tonight.” Shinoni turns to join Keena. Suddenly, she slips and falls backward into the water. “Help me, Keena!” Her screams disappear into the roar of the river.
Shinoni flounders, desperately trying to regain her balance, but she’s caught in an undertow. Keena sees her gulp a mouthful of the icy water. She sputters and chokes as she’s sucked down beneath the choppy waves and carried away.
“Shinoni, Kula, no!” Keena’s screams echo above the river. There’s no sign of Shinoni. “Please, Leeswi, spit her out,” Keena shouts. She paces on the shore, scanning the water, unsure what to do, then runs downstream. Shinoni resurfaces, caught in the swift-flowing current.
“Help me!” Shinoni manages a desperate cry as she gasps for air and fights to stay above water.
“Hang on, I’m coming.” Keena runs along the shore, keeping Shinoni in view. At a shallow bend in the river, a tree, probably washed into the water during the last snow melt, is jammed against the rocks. The raging water sweeps Shinoni against the tree, and she grabs onto it, clinging frantically to its slippery, water-logged trunk. Keena runs into the water and splashes toward her friend.
Keena screams a plea to Leeswi as she paddles clumsily toward Shinoni. “Help us, Mother. Save us from the Water Spirit!” The treacherous current snatches Keena and pulls her under the swirling water, but she surfaces again, gasping for breath. The water slams her against the trapped tree trunk, knocking the breath from her body. Keena feels the rough bark against her skin and, every muscle straining, hauls herself out of the water onto the log. She reaches for Shinoni’s arm and pulls her friend up beside her.
“Thank you, Mother Leeswi,” Keena cries. Shinoni coughs up water, then smiles weakly.
With a fearsome tearing sound, the log is wrenched away from the rocks, almost throwing Shinoni and Keena from its back as it buckles and sways. They cling frantically to their precarious vessel as the rampaging current sweeps them downriver.
34
KEENA WAKES WITH A START, gasping for breath. Where am I? Shivers wrack her body, and her teeth chatter as the icy current sucks at her feet. The last thing she remembers is being on the log as it was swept away in the raging water. Rough tree bark scratches against her hand, and she realizes she’s still clinging to the log. Perhaps Leeswi took her breath and then decided to spare her and spit her out?
There’s no wind now, and the sun hangs low in the sky. The log is wedged on a sand bar in a narrow part of the river. Keena heaves herself more securely onto the log and straddles it as the river laps against her perch, waiting to gobble her up. Every muscle in her body aches as though she’d been stomped by a woolly rhinoceros. Keena shakes her head to clear it. There are blood splatters on her white reindeer tunic. Suddenly memory floods back, steeped in terror.
“Shinoni!” Keena screams.
“Here, Keena.” S
hinoni’s voice is faint and muffled.
Keena crawls on her stomach along the slippery wood and peers over the side. Shinoni is in the water, clinging to a stout branch that sticks out of the log, half-submerged. Her wet hair is plastered across her bruised face but she manages a weak smile.
“Thank you, sister. I thought you couldn’t swim,” Shinoni says, her breath coming in gasps.
“I can’t. Leeswi must’ve guided me across the water,” Keena says. “My arms and legs moved and I didn’t sink.” Keena clutches the log with her legs and hauls Shinoni up beside her. She flings her arms around her. “Leeswi’s spared you twice now. You should be more careful.”
“I’ll try,” Shinoni stammers, her lips numb.
The punishing wind has started blowing again. It bites their wet skin, pressing their soaked garments close to their battered bodies.
“We aren’t far from shore.” Shinoni points to a rocky beach close by. “The water looks shallow.” She slips carefully off the log and grasps Keena’s hand.
“Can you touch bottom?” Keena asks. “Don’t let go.” Keena doesn’t trust the Water Spirit.
“Come in. I can stand and the current isn’t strong.” The water laps around Shinoni’s waist. “We must leave before the log moves on,” she urges as Keena hesitates.
Keena slides off the log and the water swirls around her shoulders. She grips Shinoni’s hand tightly and they stumble through the water together toward shore.
“The river must’ve carried us a great distance,” Shinoni says. The jagged cliffs that had seemed so distant before now loom close enough that the girls can see them, their sides riddled with caves.
Keena’s voice drops to a fearful whisper. “Yes, and there are other people on this beach.” A plume of smoke rises above trees around a bend in the shoreline.
“Perhaps they’ll let us dry our clothes and warm up at their fire.” Shinoni starts down the beach toward the smoke, but Keena holds back.
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