By now, all in the circle were standing. Ceti let his little knife slide into this palm.
“You’re not yet a man and so your offer of protection cannot stand,” Nighthawk growled.
“I am a man by the reckoning of the People,” Licinius said. “I have been bloodied with a large kill. I have asked the gods for a vision.”
“Licinius offers as kinsman,” Sky said. “I accept that he is a man. I will agree to his protection.”
“I will not!” Nighthawk said.
“Come with your daughter, Nighthawk,” Dinah said. “You are the storyteller, the bard of your people. I can think of no better way for your tribe to learn about us.”
Sky walked over to stand in front of Nighthawk. “Father?”
He set his hands on her shoulders. “Your desire to help does you credit, but now is not the time. That is my judgment as clan storyteller. It also was Lake Wolf’s express order for you not to have contact with Romans. When Ceti came to us, I allowed that order to be altered. But you cannot directly defy it. You know that.”
“It’s necessary,” Sky said. “Lake Wolf will understand.”
“Perhaps, perhaps not, but you shouldn’t overrule Lake Wolf’s clan authority,” Deep Water said. “Nighthawk is right.”
“Shaman—”
“Not here, Sky,” Deep Water snapped. “We’ll speak later.”
Sky clenched her jaw. Her eyes narrowed, her shoulders straightened and her body was nearly vibrating with suppressed emotion. Ceti took one step forward, wanting to help. Dinah closed her hand around his arm.
“Ceti, don’t,” she whispered in Latin. “You have to stay out of this.”
“Go now, Romans,” Deep Water said. “And take that thing with you.” She sighed. “The offer for Ceti to return still stands.”
Dinah and the others bowed to their hosts. “Thank you for listening,” she said. “I hope the gods decree that we meet again.”
That’s it? All I ever get with Sky? Ceti had hoped to at least whisper something to Sky before they left, some last word that said he would not forget her and that, if he lived through the coming battle, he’d come back to Shorakapkok.
But he didn’t see her now that the circle had broken up. Heartsick, he followed Gaius to the aquila. As he lifted the broken wing, a hand gripped his forearm. He turned his head, expecting Dinah.
Sky.
“I wanted to go with you,” she whispered. “Know that.”
His flushed and his tongue felt thick. “I know it.”
“I will not forget your hospitality, Domina,” he said in a louder voice.
She swallowed hard and let go of his arm. As he walked out of the square with the others, burdened by the aquila, he craned his neck to catch another glimpse of her.
But she was gone.
Chapter Ten
Why am I so convinced that I’m right?
Her father had years of experience dealing with Romans. Lake Wolf had years of experience as clan leader. Even Deep Water, who foresaw problems in doing nothing, would not urge contact with the Romans as yet.
As much as Sky felt that her clan could not continue to live in isolation, she had nothing more than a bone-deep conviction that she was right and everyone she respected was wrong.
It wasn’t enough.
Coward.
She stared at the ground, somber and frustrated, her steps hesitant and shuffling as she walked along the bottom of the cliffs toward the sacred grove where she’d prayed with Deep Water just yesterday.
She doubted she would find peace but at least she would have quiet.
“Sky, wait.”
She turned to face her father.
“I know you’re disappointed.”
She nodded, not trusting any words that might escape her mouth. And after two days of trying to sway her father’s mind, she was tired. Perhaps he was right.
He set his hands on her shoulders, as he had earlier. “I regret my words yesterday. I know that your need to visit the Roman town isn’t just because of your desire to be with Ceti. I was wrong to accuse you of that.”
“I have a personal interest in Ceti, yes.” She could hardly deny that. Her father knew her too well. “And that has little to do with my feeling that an alliance with Manhatos would benefit all of us.”
“It’s far too dangerous and the situation too unsettled for you to go there.” He pulled her into a hug. “Your life isn’t worth the risk.”
But securing the future of her clan was exactly what she should risk her life for.
If she was right.
For a long moment, she relaxed in the comfort of her father’s arms.
“I love you,” she said. “I know you mean well.”
“Then trust me.” He stroked her hair. “This will be all right. Our clan will survive. More, it will thrive.”
How? They’d been treading water in the generations since the Romans arrived. They needed to find a way to swim. Now.
She broke the hug, wiping away a few tears. “I want to go to the grove and pray.”
“That is a very good idea,” he said. “Deep Water and the elders are going to consider our offer to abandon Shorakapkok until the Romans are done killing each other. The discussion will take some time, so feel no need to hurry back from prayer.”
“I will return after nightfall.” She would let the darkness fall before she returned. It would suit her mood.
Nighthawk kissed her on the cheek and left her alone to walk the rest of the path to the grove. She was so lost in thought that she didn’t notice the object in her path until she tripped over it. She bit back a curse as she landed on her knees and turned to see what had caused her fall.
Her breath caught in her throat.
It was Ceti’s miniature aquila.
She picked it up with shaky fingers and brushed off the dirt. It was undamaged. She knelt, took its twin out of her pouch, and held one in each hand.
She closed her eyes. In her chest, it felt like her heart was pounding so hard it might burst from her ribs. The Corn Goddess had somehow grabbed her by the ankles and driven her to her knees.
To what purpose?
She opened her eyes, stood, and held her head high as she walked to the sacred grove. She had two choices. Obey her parents or obey her instincts. Either way, everything would change with her decision.
Once under the boughs of the tree, she knelt and placed the little wooden birds in the center of the circle of stones.
She stared long and hard. Her bird had landed here in the grove. Ceti’s had been placed where she had been sure to find it. Did that mean she should run to Ceti?
No, this could not be about Ceti. It was exactly as she’d told her father. As much as she longed to spend time with him, this decision could not be made because of personal reasons. This had to be about her clan and their future.
Deep Water had predicted two futures, one in which the People were wiped out because they couldn’t adapt to the Romans, and one in which they became so warlike in battling the Romans that they’d lost what made them unique.
Sky saw a third future.
Everyone believed the Romans would absorb them. Sky thought the People could absorb the Romans. The Vikings who had settled near the Wolf clan generations ago had been on their way to being absorbed just that way until the sickness had come and killed nearly all their women.
Sky winced. Perhaps that was not a good example. Many would point to the sickness as a definitive sign that the gods did not want the People mixing with outsiders.
Yet the Vikings had survived being banished and cursed and became strong. Their heritage from the Wolf clan was clear in Gerhard’s lack of facial hair and in Licinius’s appearance. If what her cousin said about seeking his vision was true, some of the People’s traditions had been kept alive among them.
Mingling could work. But it must be done now, not later, before Legate Makki destroyed the current Roman leadership. She had no desire to deal with Makki, or worse,
Ahala. They felt wrong. On that, her mother agreed with her.
Dinah, Gerhard, Gaius, Licinius and, yes, Ceti were the leaders that could walk this path with her.
A path that she had no permission to even attempt.
She shuddered.
Such defiance of her mother’s authority could well lead to her being banished for a time from the clan. Or worse, she could become clan-lost—alone, with no family and no village.
She could lose everything.
Or she might gain everything for her clan.
Over and over, her mother had told her that a true leader makes decisions not on what’s best for them personally but on what’s best for the clan. Lake Wolf had sent her to Shorakapkok to use her best judgment. And Sky’s best judgment screamed that bold action was needed now or the chance would be lost forever.
I must go with the Vikings to Manhatos.
She took off a copper bracelet and set it between the two wooden birds. The bracelet had been a gift from her mother, to signal her arrival into womanhood. Her father would know what leaving it here with the birds meant. He’d know that she’d taken her destiny into her hands. He would have to accept that.
Even if he didn’t and wanted to come after her, he wouldn’t find this until nightfall. She would be long gone. He couldn’t follow her to Manhatos, either, because he would first have to go back to Lake Wolf and report.
As for Deep Water, the shaman had given her tacit permission to do this yesterday. She certainly wouldn’t send Shorakapkok’s warriors to stop it.
I risk only myself.
Sky closed her eyes, sent up a final prayer. Her knees were weak as she stood, but her steps grew steadier and surer as she left the grove. She increased her pace through the woods, hoping she’d not missed the Vikings’ departure.
She arrived out of breath, just as Ceti and his rescue party came out of the woods carrying the aquila. They were still being escorted by the war chief from Shorakapkok and his men.
Sky collapsed against a tree in frustration, a curse on her lips. How could she get on board without being seen now?
This obstacle was likely only the first of many. To fail the test now was to not even try.
As the Vikings loaded the aquila onto the long boat, Sky jogged to the north edge of the marsh. She would have to swim to the longboat, careful to stay out of sight of the war chief and his men.
Hidden by reeds at the end of the marsh, she stepped into the chilled water. She bit back a moan at the cold and forced herself into the open water despite the chill that covered her.
She let the current carry her from the marsh into the river. She took long, deep strokes, trusting to the current to take her alongside the ship where the Vikings would surely see her.
After several strokes, she started shivering. She ignored it.
The Vikings lowered their oars into the water and slid off the beach as quietly as they’d arrived. She kicked harder, to come even with them. Her teeth started chattering. Soon, the water would numb her body, rendering her unable to move, and she would drown.
Not a good way to follow her destiny.
She took a deep breath and swam faster, pushing aside the stab of deep pain from the cold. The oar closest to the stern slapped into the water directly in front of her, sending spray into her mouth and eyes. She tried to cry out but ended up spitting out water. The oar came down again. She grabbed it, hoping to attract the attention of those on board.
Her hand closed around the wet, smooth wood for a moment. But then the oar was wrenched out of her grip. She cried out in frustration.
She heard loud, angry words on board the ship. A man leaned over the edge but her eyes were too blurry from the water to recognize who it was. She frantically waved her hands. Her feet were starting to go numb. She heard more shouts from the men and a great splash near her. She threw up her hands to protect her eyes from the spray.
“Relax, Sky. I’m right here,” Ceti said to her from behind.
He slipped a rope around her torso. She turned and saw that he had a similar rope around his chest.
“They’ll pull us up together. Let me hold you and I’ll make sure we don’t hit the hull on the way up.”
“Thank you,” she said. At least, she thought that was what she said. Her teeth were still chattering.
Ceti’s arms enclosed her. She barely felt his touch through her numbness. As they were pulled from the water, the afternoon breeze whipped around them. The chill cut through her wet body, sending her into uncontrolled shivers. Ceti held her tighter and put out his feet to keep them from hitting the hull.
She was over the rail and onto the deck even before she realized she was on board. She closed her eyes and collapsed against Ceti.
It’s done.
A heavy robe was thrown over them both. She sighed in appreciation of the softness of the cloth and the warmth it provided.
“This is not the season for a swim, Domina,” Ceti said.
“I know, but I had a ship to catch.” And a destiny to follow.
“Chase destiny in a canoe next time, please. You scared me,” he said.
He was worried about her. Gods, having him hold her felt good.
“Open your eyes and take this.”
She did as ordered. He offered her a mug of steaming liquid. She closed her frozen fingers around it and the warmth reached all the way to her bones. “How did this g-g-get so hot?”
“While they were waiting, the crew heated cider to stay warm.” Ceti pointed to a brazier in the stern.
She sniffed the air around them. “I don’t smell burning wood.”
“It burns oil.”
She nodded. Another Roman invention. No doubt she’d see many strange things on this voyage. She studied the mug. It was made of clay, just like one she might find of her own village. At least that was something familiar. She inhaled some of the steam from the drink.
It smelled like fruit but not one she recognized.
“It’s a drink made from apples, a fruit that grows on trees,” Ceti said. “The original seeds were brought over the ocean. We grow them in Seneca. Try it. It’s sweet.”
She almost disagreed as a tartness flowed over her tongue, but then a sweet flavor followed on its heels. It was good. More, it heated her insides. She smiled at him as she drank, pleased he kept his arm around her shoulder.
They were in their own cocoon, curled together under the robe as the longboat moved easily through the river. It had a soothing rhythm.
Remember, Ceti is not why you are going to Manhatos.
But being held by him was certainly nice after nearly freezing.
When she finished the cider, she rested her head on Ceti’s shoulder. She thought of his fingers brushing against her while they made the wooden birds. She thought of the way he’d watched her on the walk up the hill and the way he’d sat next to her in the circle, taking every small opportunity to touch her.
And the way he held her tight against him now.
Whatever else this future held, she hoped the gods would make Ceti part of it.
Dinah walked over to them, and then dropped to a knee to put them at eye level. Sky met her gaze.
“Will your people come after you?” Dinah asked.
Sky shook her head. “No. I would not have come if it would have caused pursuit. I left a message they will understand.”
“They had better. I don’t want to start a war. Though you are fully as beautiful as Helen, her flight didn’t end well for Troy.”
Ceti snorted. “I’m no Paris, Dinah.”
Dinah smiled. “True. He couldn’t fly.”
“I don’t know this Helen,” Sky said. “But I didn’t run away for a lover. I came for my people. My mother doesn’t believe an alliance is the best way. I do. But I can’t convince her if I know nothing about Manhatos. I had to see it for myself.”
“You could have waited for permission from your clan elders,” Dinah said.
Sky looked at Ceti then at the
aquila resting in the stern.
“I had permission from a higher authority,” she said. “The gods showed me the way.”
Gerhard, standing behind his wife, nodded. “Best not to argue with the gods.”
“Yes,” Sky said, wishing she was as sure as she sounded.
“I meant it when I offered you protection, Sky, and I have enough standing among the Romans to do so.” Dinah sighed. “But you picked a bad time to learn about Manhatos.”
“There will never be a good time,” Sky said. “I’ll take my chances now.”
Dinah nodded. “Ceti, makes sure she stays warm until we arrive and she can have a proper bath and dry clothing.”
“Of course.”
Her mug was refilled and she drank more of the cider.
“Warm enough now?” he asked.
So long as you stay. “Yes, thank you.”
Ceti grinned. “It’s I who owe you thanks, Domina. I am glad you’ve come.” He sobered. “I hope you don’t regret it.”
Chapter Eleven
The Viking longboat glided easily in the water, much smoother than a canoe which was subject to every small wave. This trip was so calm that Sky could have almost been on steady ground rather than the turbulent river.
Another crew member darted a glance at her and she began to feel uncomfortable about staying huddled together with Ceti under the scrutiny.
She stood, letting the cloak fall away. Ceti retrieved it from the decking and put it back around her shoulders.
“It’s too windy yet, Domina,” he said in a quiet voice.
“You’re soaked as well,” she said.
“But you are a guest and therefore must have it.” He pulled the front of the cloak closed, covering her fully again.
“Thank you.” She tried not to stare into his eyes. That would surely set tongues wagging when they went ashore. “Is it safe to walk to the bow of the ship?”
“Yes.” He nodded. “I’m going to check on the aquila. Call if you need me.”
He bowed, very formally, and took his leave. She took a deep breath and walked to the bow, happy to stretch her legs. She let the sunlight warm her face, watching the hull cut through the waves. The sail billowed out from the center mast, full of the wind whipping down the river. The oars had been pulled in and the ship was skimming over the water. Almost, she guessed, like flying.
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