Pillar of Fire (Book One-The Whale Hunter Series)

by Karah Quinney

  “I tried to tell you that she wouldn’t have me. It appears that I am a poor substitute in her eyes. She wanted you and no one else. The child that she carries has turned her into a mad woman. One moment she weeps, the next moment she laughs. You should be thankful that you have missed the worst of it.”

  “The worst of it?” Kahm considered his stinging jaw and he swept a glance back to Oi’yan.

  Miche merely shrugged and turned at the sound of the growl emanating from the wolf at Kahm’s side.

  “You have a wolf?” Miche’s voice was toneless as his question drew Kahm’s attention back to him just as he intended.

  “Yes.” Kahm motioned for Wolf to sit as he started to explain.

  A startled gasp stole his attention and he had no doubt that Oi’yan had discovered Sunflower. The girl remained hidden in shadows at the back of the cave and she had gone unnoticed until now.

  There was a muffled sound of astonishment as Miche and Kahm turned as one to see Oi’yan kneel before Sunflower. It bespoke Oi’yan’s strength and graceful manner that she knelt so easily at such an advanced stage of pregnancy.

  “Oi’yan, perhaps you should not touch her until you understand more about her.” Kahm clenched his jaw as Oi’yan ignored him and Talon turned toward him with an accusing gaze.

  “She does not hear.” Kahm warned.

  “Kahm, tell me that you do not fear this child? You, a great warrior of the Chimar Village, do not fear such a one as this, do you?”

  Oi’yan’s question went unanswered by Kahm. She struggled to ignore the anger that flashed through her as she focused her attention upon the girl who was like a story from long ago. Under the grime and caked dirt, she caught sight of tawny skin and almond shaped eyes that held an inherent wisdom, a hidden knowledge.

  “I greet you.” Oi’yan said, as Sunflower’s face lit with undeniable interest. She saw the girl’s expressive eyes widen as she accepted the unexpected greeting by stepping forward until they were face to face.

  Oi’yan took in the sight of the girl’s tattered garments and bedraggled appearance. “Is she especially blessed, Kahm?”

  Talon had never been more certain that Sunflower needed a woman’s care. He had done what he could for his sister, but many things had escaped his notice until now.

  Oi’yan’s very presence opened his eyes to the vast differences between them. She handed her cloak to Miche with a graceful flick of her wrist and he saw that her doeskin dress was well made and despite her pregnancy, she wore the garment like a second skin. The red and white beading on her dress was ornate and as she waited for Kahm’s answer, light shimmered over her shining hair. Even her moccasins were touched with the Chimar colors with dyed beads and well-set fringes that bespoke feminine grace and tender care.

  Talon shifted closer as if to intercede should Oi’yan pose any danger to Sunflower. He was angry that Kahm had spoken of Sunflower’s inability to hear as if it was a curse, but Oi’yan’s unhindered response stunned him.

  With a narrow glance of her eyes, Oi’yan silently acknowledged him. She looked directly into his piercing gaze so that he could see what was in her heart. He averted his eyes, suddenly embarrassed that she had insight into his private thoughts.

  “Especially blessed?” Kahm shook his head in response to Oi’yan’s question. “I do not know. I only know that she is special.”

  It hurt to hear Oi’yan speak his name. Even with her words, she claimed him as her own. He ran one hand over his jaw as he considered Oi’yan’s violent greeting. The blow had not hurt him physically, but his skin still burned where her hand had connected with his bare flesh.

  “In the village of my birth, a person is considered to be especially blessed if they are born without vision or the ability to hear. It is said that when the Giver takes something away, a great blessing is left in return.” Oi’yan glared at Miche before meeting Kahm’s gaze and her words were directed at both of them. “You will not fear this child.”

  Sunflower walked closer until she stood at eye level with the woman that knelt before her. Her stomach fluttered as if butterflies had made a home there. Even as she recognized that the woman’s eyes were kind and warm, she wondered why she watched her with such avid curiosity. She was a girl like any other girl, was she not?

  Sunflower held perfectly still as Oi’yan placed a kiss upon her hands, first the left and then the right. Warmth flooded Sunflower’s heart as the woman’s lips lifted in welcome.

  “What is her name?” Oi’yan asked, as the girl lowered her eyes.

  “She is called Sunflower.” Talon was the first to respond. He was not the only one that was confused by Oi’yan’s shifting moods.

  Miche and Kahm stared at Oi’yan as the woman gracefully rose to her feet without releasing Sunflower’s hands.

  Sunflower stood in awe.

  She could almost feel the throbbing force within the woman’s body as the new life within was nourished and fed. She had never been allowed to touch a woman that carried new life. What pregnant woman wanted to risk her child by touching someone with a malady? Yet, Oi’yan looked kindly upon her and Sunflower accepted her touch as the woman placed their joined hands over her belly.

  “She blesses our child.” Tears sparkled in Oi’yan’s eyes as she faced Kahm.

  Miche grunted and turned away. He didn’t wish to subject himself to the raw thread of emotion that passed between Kahm and Oi’yan.

  “She blesses your child.” Kahm corrected although the effort cost him dearly. Oi’yan eyes flashed as she turned and walked toward Kahm until he took a step in retreat.

  “I warned you.” Miche intoned as he gestured to Talon to take a few steps back.

  “Do not speak!” Oi’yan emphasized every word. Even she was surprised by the vehemence with which she spoke, but Kahm remained silent. “Sunflower and I will seek out the small stream that runs nearby. Talon, you will see to our safety.”

  Without another word, Oi’yan turned away from Kahm, leaving him to gape at her retreating form. He silently watched as Sunflower and Talon followed in her wake.

  Talon was surprised at the tender care that Oi’yan showed as she helped Sunflower wash away the accumulated grime that she had collected during their flight from the Hokum Village. He watched the forest for shadows and danger, but his ears were attuned to the woman and girl that he guarded.

  “This is the way that we wear our hair so that it does not tangle and mat.” Oi’yan quickly braided Sunflower’s wet hair into two tails, much to her delight.

  Oi’yan spoke to Sunflower as if the girl understood every word and she made it perfectly clear to Talon that his interference was unnecessary.

  “She is still a girl, but nearing womanhood. Your eyes will remain turned away.” Oi’yan remarked with a tilt of her chin that dared him to offer a challenge.

  For the first time, Talon felt as if he had missed changes in his sister’s appearance that Oi’yan had instantly recognized.

  “We will keep our hands clean as nature intended and you must always make certain that your water skin is kept full.” Oi’yan quickly scrubbed her hands with silt from the river’s edge as Sunflower mimicked her example.

  “Kahm has not provided you with the means to make a new parka, but I will see that he remedies that singular oversight as soon as possible.” Oi’yan’s eyes twinkled as she drew Sunflower from the edge of the stream.

  “We are ready for you to lead us back to the cave.” Oi’yan directed her voice to Talon.

  He couldn’t help but stare at the transformation that Oi’yan’s efforts had wrought. Sunflower’s beaming face had been scrubbed clean and her eyes were alight with interest. She was perfectly formed with large, brown shining eyes and black lashes darker than soot. Her thick hair hung in long braids that fell to her waist and even at eleven seasons, Sunflower was breathtaking in appearance.

  Oi’yan cleared her throat and Talon hurried to show the mercurial woman back to the cave where Miche and Kahm wa
ited. He was beginning to understand why Miche had traversed an entire forest to find Kahm and usher Oi’yan into his care.

  “I do not forgive you for deserting us.” Oi’yan was the first to speak as they entered the cave. She placed a protective hand over the swell of her belly and her gesture was noted by all.

  Kahm stared at Oi’yan without comment and then he took in the sight of Sunflower. It was as if he saw the girl as she truly was for the first time.

  Talon shared a knowing look of embarrassment with him.

  They had not considered Sunflower’s appearance simply because their focus had been on survival, but it was useless to explain their reasoning to Oi’yan.

  Miche had barely begun to tell him all that had befallen them since Kahm had left their village, but Oi’yan’s return had interrupted their brief exchange.

  “Have you nothing to say for yourself?” Oi’yan’s voice was a warning rasp that caused Kahm’s jaw to clench as he ground his teeth together.

  “I left to protect you from harm. I didn’t know that you carried my child!” Kahm turned his face away when he saw that Oi’yan’s angry stance had shifted and tears now gathered in her eyes. He could barely track her shifting temperament from one moment to the next. Miche grunted as if to emphasize all that he had endured during Oi’yan’s pregnancy.

  Kahm wanted nothing more than to grab hold of her and offer his arms in comfort, but she was not his to claim.

  “If you truly seek to protect me then you have been given a chance to do so. War has come to the Chimar Village and I am safer here with you than anywhere else. My parents are lost to me, so many are dead…” Oi’yan’s eyes welled once more and she turned away to keep her grief at bay.

  Talon noticed that Kahm struggled to keep his breathing regular and Sunflower’s shoulders tensed as she recognized the struggle that was taking place within Kahm’s mind.

  Over the past few days, they had worked with Kahm to help temper the battle rage that flooded through his body. With the new words that Sunflower continued to learn, she was able to relay their mother’s story with the use of hand signs and gestures. Talon believed that Kahm finally understood that what ailed him was a gift, not a curse or an illness.

  “Stay calm.” Talon intoned in a voice barely audible. Kahm acknowledged him with a glance mirrored by Miche.

  “Death? War? What is she talking about?” Kahm turned to his brother in question. When Oi’yan had left the cave with Sunflower and Talon, his brother had hinted at a matter of grave concern.

  “We call them the Mingha.” Miche’s voice was a dry rasp as he uttered the hated name of his enemy. “They came in great numbers soon after you left, like a curse upon the land. Our warriors fell under their short spears and poison tipped arrows. They took our village captive. We are theirs now, to serve them as slaves or worse.”

  “No!” Kahm worked to control his growing rage. “What of our father and the council of elders? How could they allow this to happen?”

  Miche’s silence was enough to forewarn Kahm.

  “They are gone. They perished in the first wave of the attack. The Mingha laughed over their bones. A few warriors, including myself, were spared only because we were away on a hunt. Your woman, Oi’yan, was away fishing with her mother and father. If I had not met up with them on our return it would have been too late.” Miche couldn’t watch the anguish in his brother’s eyes and remain unmoved. He walked to Kahm and clasped his shoulder.

  “I should have been there.” Kahm lowered his gaze and turned away.

  “If you had been there, if I had been there, we would have perished just like the others that fought back…” Miche suddenly gasped and grabbed his side.

  Kahm looked at his brother and noted the pallor of his skin. Miche’s skin usually held the same warm, reddish gold hue that covered Kahm from head to toe.

  “Are you ill?” Kahm asked, just as Miche stumbled and collapsed. It was only Kahm’s agile strength that saved his brother from striking his head on the cave wall.

  “Miche!” Kahm lifted his brother with no small effort and laid him upon his sleeping furs.

  “What has happened to him?” Kahm looked to Oi’yan who knelt at Miche’s side with tears pooling in her eyes.

  “Poison. He was injured by a poison tipped arrow when he tried to save my parents from capture. All who are touched by the Mingha’s poison arrows have died.” Oi’yan studied Miche as he gasped for air.

  It was as she feared and the poison was already spreading through his body. She removed the chest plate that covered his entire torso and used tepid water from her waterskin to cleanse the wound. The wound was serious and if enough of the poison had entered his body, it would surely kill him.

  Sunflower watched in mute shock as the man fell to the ground. She had seen injuries before and she remained calm as the others crowded around the injured man. Sunflower remembered all that her mother had taught her about the healing plants and herbs of the forest and it was her hope that she could offer help.

  Sunflower touched Talon’s mouth with her cool hand and her brother’s lips snapped closed. It was a game they played whenever one of them stared overlong. The gesture soothed Talon more than he could say. He had spent the last few moments shifting between confusion, awe and fear, yet Sunflower was not afraid.

  Talon took a calming breath and knelt beside Sunflower where she had taken a place next to Oi’yan.

  Sunflower tugged upon Talon’s arm so that he would answer her question, which she quickly signed. “What is it?”

  Talon and Kahm had not come up for a word to define poison and so Talon paused for a moment as he thought quickly. He rummaged through his pack and found one of a bracken fern that grew wild in the forest. Once boiled, the stalks were good to eat, but if eaten raw, the plant was poisonous. The root could be used to treat numerous ailments and Sunflower was still learning to work with the plant.

  Talon mimicked eating the uncooked bracken fern and Sunflower sucked in her breath as her eyes narrowed in warning. Talon knew that the plant was dangerous if misused and suddenly, she understood what he had been trying to tell her. The injured man had been poisoned.

  “What poison?” Sunflower looked at Talon for an answer but her brother only shrugged.

  She turned to the one that she had named Warrior and saw that his face was a mask of grief and anguish. It hurt to look at him, but she reminded herself that she must stay detached and calm. Sunflower signed again even as she touched her lips and pointed at Talon and the others. Talon sighed and cleared his throat.

  “Sunflower asks what type of poison was on the arrowhead.” Talon looked to Oi’yan who gave him her full attention and her eyes were kind when she answered.

  “We do not know for certain, but it comes from something in the forest, for they didn’t bring it with them.” Oi’yan turned her gaze back to Miche who groaned in pain.

  Sunflower touched the man’s flesh and found that it was hot like the sun. His eyes were red rimmed and dry. She reached forward and checked the skin of his gums.

  She was dismayed to see that his gums were white with very little pink. She thought of the stories told to her by her mother. Ivy had spent much time with Sunflower sharing the stories of their village and those of her father.

  Sunflower remembered everything that her mother told her. Her memory was far from perfect, but as her mother’s only daughter, she was tasked with carrying the stories with her so that they would never be forgotten.

  The symptoms were familiar to her, but fear for the man caused her heart to beat at a fever pitch even as her thoughts twisted in a jumble of images and long lost sounds. If she closed her eyes, she could almost hear her mother’s voice reciting the various poisons and remedies long known to their people.

  Sunflower withdrew into herself as she sought peace and beauty. Her mother had always told her that everything she knew and everything she was remained at her center.

  Sunflower found a place of calm despite
what was happening around her. The silent world that she lived in often helped her to fall gently into the embrace of her memories. By closing her eyes, she resisted the pull of the world around her completely. Without sight and sound, she was completely alone.

  Talon looked at his sister and frowned slightly. He didn’t know if she was troubled by Miche’s injury or by Kahm’s panicked expression. He was troubled and deeply worried, but he knew that Sunflower folded into herself at times. He waited patiently as she sat with her eyes closed and her mouth relaxed.

  Kahm stood up and walked the length of the cave only to return to his brother’s side and repeat the same action again. Sunflower didn’t stir.

  “Is she well?” Oi’yan washed Miche’s wound again and placed a soft cloth over it as she glanced between Kahm’s brother and the young girl.

  “She is well, this is simply her way.” Talon was surprised by the certainty of his words.

  “You look like First Woman.” Talon blurted out the words and Oi’yan accepted the compliment with a nod of acknowledgement.

  “So I have been told.” Oi’yan didn’t take her eyes from Miche, though she was achingly aware of Kahm. She didn’t have to see Kahm to feel his presence when he was so very close.

  Oi’yan wanted nothing more than to throw herself into Kahm’s arms and weep, but that was not her way. It was true that before Kahm became ill, he had already given her father enough gifts to prove his devotion. Her father had been only too pleased to drag out the time between the beginning of Kahm’s gift giving and a show of approval that would name Kahm her lifemate.

  Yet, Kahm had turned away from her because of his illness, regardless of all that they had shared. He had given her to his brother for safekeeping. Oi’yan nurtured her bruised heart even as she came to realize that she carried Kahm’s child. Only after the destruction of the Chimar Village did she find an outlet for her angst.

  “How old is your sister?” Oi’yan laid her hand upon Miche’s fevered brow. She was curious about the Talon and Sunflower.