by C. S. Bills
“They don’t understand about Gifts,” Farnook said, “and their minds are on other things. How far do you think we still have to go?”
“See that ridge?” Attu asked, pointing to the familiar landmark.
“Oh, finally!” Suka exclaimed as he recognized it. “Just a day’s more paddling.” He scowled, a dark look that had Attu grinning in spite of his own concern as Suka added, “But knowing these Nukeena, they can make this final part of our journey last for three suns. It’s no wonder it took them so long to get back to shore after they were blown out into the ocean. They paddle like little children.” Suka slashed his paddle at the water, pretending not to know what to do with it. “Like this.” Water flew everywhere as Suka’s and Farnook’s boat sloshed in the waves.
Farnook laughed, her high voice sparkling across the sunlit water.
“What?” Suka said. “You know you’re tired of sitting in this skin boat, too.”
“I am,” Farnook agreed, grimacing as she adjusted her position in the small space she filled in the front of their craft. “But you’re right, man of my heart. Love is in the air for these Nukeena, and they are in no hurry to get back to our Clan, even with us pushing them. Back at camp there are three other Nukeena hunters waiting, who might decide they also want the same woman one of these men has picked out.”
“Oh,” Suka said.
“They want to create bonds with their chosen women, get promises from them, before they get back. Some of them already have, but a few have not. The others are hanging back, helping their fellow hunters.”
“So, Farnook, can you work a little translating magic and get the rest of these women to commit to a man?” Suka pleaded. “I want to get back to the Clan and see what happened. And we need to find out what the men discovered about the place to the north.”
“Yes, Farnook,” Attu said, letting his worries go for a moment. “Speak your gentle words and smile shyly at those men on behalf of the Raven women. It worked on Suka.” He turned toward Suka and grinned, only to get a paddle full of salty water in his face.
“Watch it, Cousin,” Suka growled before laughing wickedly and splashing Attu again.
“Farnook, can’t you control your man?” Attu appealed to Farnook.
“Always,” the diminutive Nuvik replied and splashed Attu herself.
Attu yelped as the cold water ran down his back. He paddled as fast as he could away from the two of them. He realized he was humming as his paddle slipped through the water.
“Soon,” Attu whispered to himself. “Rika, I’m coming. Soon.”
He tried to concentrate on seeing his woman again and not on what else they would learn once they arrived.
Chapter 16
I hear you! Rika spoke into Attu’s thoughts as he called to her the next morning. Just a moment. I need Tingiyok to strengthen me. This is taking too much energy.
Attu waited, wondering why Rika was having a hard time being able to hear him without help.
It seems easy enough for me. I thought our mind speaking Gift was about equal. Perhaps that’s not true over distances.
Attu? Are you close? Attu could hear the worry in Rika’s voice.
What happened? Farnook and I felt something days ago. Something bad happened to our Clan?
You knew that? Attu heard the awe in Rika’s mind speak.
Yes.
What happened?
I can’t keep this up much longer. Rika’s voice was fading. Just come home. And don’t worry...
Attu felt rather than heard Rika’s last thought. Things were all right now, but something HAD happened.
We’ll be there before nightfall, Attu called out to her, even though she probably couldn’t hear him anymore. We’ve got the women and many children. The rescue was a success.
“Veshria lost the child,” Rika said, sitting beside Attu in their shelter after they’d beached the canoes. The camp had been so quiet when Attu and the others had arrived, even the rescued Ravens knew something was wrong. They moved with little speaking to the Nukeena camp, keeping their voices low, as Attu’s people shared briefly. Then Rika had taken Attu into their shelter to explain the details.
“I’m surprised she carried it as long as she did. The poor thing was badly deformed.”
“Tell me what happened,” Attu said.
“When Veshria started into labor, we all knew it was too soon, and after what had happened with the root Veshria had used, and how she felt about me, Elder Nuka took me aside. She insisted on delivering the poolik herself with no help. I let her.”
“That had to be hard for you.”
“We knew things would turn out badly. I felt like a coward, but Elder Nuka insisted it was best for me, in my condition, not to see this delivery. After the baby was born dead, she also insisted on preparing it for the Between so none of us who are with child would have to see it. She said she knew in her spirit the child would be deformed and wanted to save us all from the shock. She allowed me a glance, that is all.” Rika pushed herself into Attu’s chest, trembling. “I needed to see, as the healer, and for our Clan’s sake in the future. This might happen again. I needed to know what I might face, delivering a child so early. But even Elder Nuka said that this was the most deformed baby she had ever seen.”
Attu brushed the hair from where it had fallen across Rika’s face. “And now you wish you hadn’t seen it.”
Rika nodded. “The Seer healer was right, Elder Nuka said. The child hadn’t developed correctly from the time Veshria was first pregnant. She was blessed by Attuanin, but turned the blessing into a nightmare by using that cursed root. Oh, why didn’t she listen to the Seer healer? Why didn’t she listen to me and let me pull that tooth moons ago? She waited too long, used too much of that root... Oh, Attu! Elder Nuka couldn’t even tell for sure if the poolik was a boy or girl.”
Attu felt a cold shiver slide down his spine at this revelation.
“Do not tell anyone else. Elder Nuka declared the child a girl, so Veshria can pray she comes again in another baby. And to give her at least some peace in her spirit.”
“What did you do with the body?” Attu wondered. “You couldn’t have had the traditional ceremonies.”
“Rusik took her from Elder Nuka. He gave the child a proper burial in the rocks upriver. Elder Nuka went with him. He insisted on seeing the poolik. Once he had, he refused to let Veshria see her. But Elder Nuka thinks Veshria had a glance, just as the baby was delivered. She hasn’t been the same since the birth.”
Yural stood at the door flap. “I bring no evil.”
“Come in, Mother.” Attu stood and hugged his mother, resting his chin on the top of her head for a moment before releasing her. “I’m so glad you are all right.”
“Sit,” Rika said, patting the space beside her. Yural lowered herself carefully into a sitting position. Attu noticed how much both women had grown in his absence, but again, it was Rika who was the largest.
“So, she’s told you?” Yural nodded as she saw Attu’s stricken face. “I know this is a time of mourning for our people, but my son, you also need to know how well our Clan is handling this tragedy among us. Have you told him?” Yural looked to Rika, who shook her head.
“I haven’t had a chance yet.”
“As soon as word of Veshria’s child’s death spread through the camp, the women of our Clan began gathering in front of Veshria’s shelter, their men at a respectful distance behind them. Rika and the other women, myself included, embraced and cried, and Rika answered our questions.”
“What day of the moon was this? What time in the day?” Attu asked.
Yural told him.
“That is when Farnook and I felt our Clan’s grief.”
Yural nodded. “Rika told me you knew something had happened. Others may be surprised you knew, but I am not. I know our Clan is one in both joy and grief. This is further proof of our unity in the spirits.”
Rika wiped her eyes, which had overflowed as Yural spoke. “I am
so sorry you knew something was wrong, but not what.” She grasped Attu’s hand, and they exchanged squeezes.
“Farnook and I prayed, and the spirits made it clear that we could be of no help.” Attu shrugged. “Still, I did push the Nukeena to paddle faster.”
Yural smiled briefly at him. “I’m sure you did.”
Their eyes met, and Attu knew his mother was also remembering how he’d pushed his Clan across the ice.
“Our women reached out to Veshria, bringing food, fresh furs, and whatever else Veshria and her family might need. Everyone has been mourning, yet all are helping Rusik and Veshria as well. She is not right in her mind yet and needs help with the children. Rusik mourns, too, but he’s still trying to help his woman through this tragedy in spite of his own grief. We are all doing what we can,” Yural finished her story.
“And I wasn’t here when it happened, to stand with the men. To help.”
“Your father was here in your place, as you asked him to be,” Attu’s mother reminded him. “And he has done well in your absence.”
Attu sat around the fire with the others. Their group had grown so large that there were now two fires, one near the other, and groups of people moved back and forth among them.
Even with our loss, it is still good to be back! Attu rested against a rock, watching his people mingle as he finished the last of his sunset fish.
“I will not sit by that woman!”
Attu looked to where an embarrassed Rusik was trying to get his woman to sit with the others around the fire. Veshria, pale in the firelight, pointed her finger at Keanu then pulled back on Rusik’s arm like a spoiled child, demanding he do as she wanted.
“She killed my baby. She is evil!” Veshria began wailing and Rusik, apparently seeing no alternative, picked his woman up – still yelling rude things at Keanu – and strode off toward his shelter.
“What was that all about?” Attu moved to stand as he saw Keanu start to rise, her face flaming.
“Wait a moment.” Rika put her hand on Attu’s leg. He sat again, watching Keanu as Meavu leaned toward the Seer.
“No,” Meavu said, and she reached out for Keanu as the woman tried to rise again. “Sit. Veshria isn’t going to get any better if you give in to her delusion. This is not the Seer Clan. We support you. We know the truth.”
Keanu sat again, but Attu could see she looked miserable.
“What was that all about?” Attu turned to Rika and Yural.
“Veshria is not doing well. Her mind is playing tricks on her, and her spirit is in turmoil,” Yural said.
Rika nodded. “In her grief, Veshria is blaming Keanu for her child’s death.”
Attu was astounded. “That’s crazy!” He lowered his voice when several heads turned their way. “Why would she think such a thing?”
“Because Keanu brought her the root the Seer healer requested for her. Veshria knows she made the choice to use the root and to keep using it instead of letting me pull her tooth or at least get her another, safer, remedy. Your mother and I have been talking about it, and we think it’s a reaction to her own guilt.”
“Is she that angry at you, too?” Attu asked. Veshria better not come at you like that–
“Surprisingly, Veshria is not angry with me,” Rika glanced at Yural.
Yural nodded her agreement. “I believe Veshria can’t bear to feel the pain her guilt, and so she pushed it away from herself, onto Keanu. She never liked the woman, so Keanu is a convenient target.”
“Oh,” Attu said.
“You’ve seen it before,” Yural added. “Think about Moolnik’s destructive jealousy of your father.”
“All because of the way his own father treated him. Even though Father never did anything to hurt his brother,” Attu said. “What have you done about it?”
“We’re trying to talk with her, trying to help her see reason. But Veshria is a stubborn woman.” Rika sighed.
“And Keanu is keeping away from her. It’s making everyone feel uncomfortable.” Yural touched Attu’s arm.
“And Meavu is helping Keanu?” Attu glanced across the fire at his sister, now deep in conversation with Keanu.
“We all are. But Meavu is the one helping Keanu stand her ground and not give in to Veshria’s tirades.”
“I’m praying Veshria will eventually see no one shares her belief and that Keanu is not intimidated by her anger. Then Veshria will face her guilt, mourn, and heal.” Yural was saying the words, but Attu felt her qualms about the chance of this plan succeeding.
“The ceremony will be tomorrow. All ten women will bond with ten of the Nukeena. Suanu is bonding with Bashoo. Only Soantek remains without a woman.” Rika sat beside Attu the next evening, sounding like a young girl gossiping at a Clan gathering. Attu didn’t care what she was talking about; it was just good to have her near him once again and to see her smiling. The death of Veshria’s baby had been hard on them all. And Attu and Rika had not been apart this long since... Well, he thought, since I jumped onto the ice chunk to either save Rika or die with her. I remember our own bonding – Elder Nuanu saying the words, being wrapped together in the furs, warm under the blanket of stars, floating on the ice chunk through the blackness... just the two of us, finally alone together and now man and woman, Rika, finally mine.
“Did you hear me, mighty hunter?” Rika asked.
“Of course I did,” Attu assured her as he pulled himself away from his thoughts. “You were talking about which women would be bonded.”
“So, you missed everything I’ve said since then.” Rika punched him with her small fist.
“Ouch.” He pretended she’d hurt him.
“I was saying Soantek will perform the ceremony. The couples will stand in the river. At some point in the ritual they go under water together. These people must never have lived where the water was always frozen. Rituals like that could never be done on the Expanse.”
“Not and keep the bonded pair alive long enough to do the tossing and bundling.”
“They don’t do that, either,” Rika said.
“What do they do to celebrate?” Attu asked. He suddenly saw Limoot’s knife, raised over Meavu as she struggled on the raised platform.
Stop it! He ordered himself. We’ve known the Nukeena for two moons now, and they would never kill others as part of a ritual to appease their spirits. Will I ever be rid of these horrific Rememberings?
Perhaps not. Rika had heard his thoughts.
He reached for her hand. I’ve got to get better at keeping my thoughts to myself.
Not from me, Attu; never from me. She kissed him awkwardly, her stomach bulging between them.
Rika was easily the largest of the pregnant women. She waddled like a water bird and looked as if she were ready to have their baby at any moment.
“Could we have been wrong about when your time is coming?” Attu whispered to her as their lips parted. He brushed back a lock of her loose hair. “I’m growing concerned we might have–”
“No, Attu,” Rika interrupted. “I know I grow far too large for my moons of being with child, but I know how far along I am. I’m worried, too. I’m afraid when the time comes, the poolik will be too big for me to deliver. And it is difficult to teach the other women to do the cutting. It is something you must learn by watching someone else do it. Only Yural and Elder Nuka have ever seen it done. I will have to count on them, if they have to do it.”
Attu shuddered at the thought of anyone cutting Rika to get the baby out. It had been done a few times among his people, but if not done exactly right, the mother died when her spirit lost too much lifeblood. Afterward, there was the risk of fever spirits and bad spirits of infection, also deadly. And the pain... Attu couldn’t even think of putting Rika through such suffering.
“You will not need the cutting,” Attu announced as if once he’d said it, as Clan leader, it would be so.
Rika smiled at him. He knew she was aware of his fear and his feelings of helplessness around the birth of
their child. She knew he was blustering.
Rika reached for Attu’s hand. “The baby is healthy now. That I know for sure. It kicks me constantly.” She moved Attu’s hand to a place under her ribs. “Feel it?”
A vigorous movement under Attu’s hand made him pull back. “That’s our baby?”
“Yes.”
Attu held his hand on Rika’s abdomen for a long time, feeling the baby within. It seemed to be dancing. “Does it hurt you when it kicks?”
“Not usually. But it makes it hard to sleep when I’m tired and he is not.”
“He?”
“I would like to have a son for you, first.” She smiled at him.
“A son, a daughter, I will be thankful to the spirits for a healthy baby and a healthy woman. It doesn’t matter to me if it’s a boy or a girl.”
Rika sighed and laid her head on his arm. “I’m so glad you’re back.”
They rested by the fire for a while in comfortable silence then Attu remembered something else he wanted to ask Rika. “How is Keanu doing? I noticed she was gone from camp most of the day.”
“Keanu said she needed to walk up by the river again. This situation with Veshria has been hard on her, and she said she needs time by herself. Although...” Rika hesitated. “She has looked happier since the Nukeena returned with the women and children.”
“They all seem so happy, it is infectious,” Attu agreed.
“Yes,” Rika grew thoughtful. “But I think there may be more to it than that.”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh nothing. I don’t want to start rumors just because I have a feeling about something.”
“What?”
“I think she went today to meet someone,” Rika looked thoughtful.
“Who?”
“Everyone is spoken for but Soantek...” Rika let her voice trail away.
Attu pulled away from Rika, turning so he could see her face better in the firelight. “I was hoping Keanu would have thought of a way by now to help me control my mind; that she’d be willing to teach me how to use my Gift, rather than just fight against it.” Attu couldn’t hide the disappointment in his voice. “Instead she’s having to ward off Veshria and her delusional attacks, and now you say she might be bonding with Soantek?”
