Icegoddess! He thought how all their lives they ran from her, protected themselves from her. Now she had struck them gently. Nothing was as quiet as the fall of her skirts over the wood, the white flowers that fell from her hair. She had covered the fox carcass and the hearth and turned the overhead branches into strange shapes like little white animals. The wood was silent as if there were no creatures left alive.
Oak stirred and Juniper put out his hand.
‘Icegoddess! Don’t move or she’ll grip you by the neck.’
For a while they lay in silence. Suddenly Juniper laughed out loud. His deerskin trembled and another layer of snow slipped down.
‘Of course! Kora and his snow hut!’
He pushed the snow off Oak.
‘Get up! We’ll build a snow hut before Windgod comes down to cut up the air.’
Oak shivered and slowly stood up. Before they set to work they waded through the snow to the cliff edge. There was no one left. The river was freezing over and a thick layer of snow covered the remaining carcasses. The sky was grey with low snowy cloud. They hurried back to their camp and Juniper showed Oak what to do.
They shovelled snow into a circular wall and over it laid intertwining twigs packed with snow. They tunnelled a long entrance that would keep out Windgod.
‘I’ll go in first,’ said Juniper. Inside the hut they could only kneel or stand with their backs bowed.
‘It’s made for little children,’ grumbled Oak, ‘but at least it’s a shelter from the wind. I should think Kora’s hut was bigger than this!’
Juniper laughed. ‘Not if he made it as quickly as we did!’
They uncovered the fox carcass and cut off some meat and bones. The hut was so small they buried the rest of the carcass by the entrance. Oak had a few dried twigs and moss and several sharp blades in his bag. He made a small fire in the middle of the hut and kept it going with tiny damp twigs. The smoke made his eyes water and he crawled outside. He could hardly get his breath. Windgod was already cutting the air to pieces and Icegoddess would soon return. At least the snow hut sheltered them!
Together they collected more damp wood and stacked it inside the hut.
‘There was something growing near here,’ said Juniper. He scraped away the snow from the ground and found a patch of grass and a few shrivelled Hares lettuce. He pulled up what he could and crawled back into the hut. He was just in time. Icegoddess was riding down on the back of Windgod and her white skirts beat the ground.
Windgod howled and great ridges of snow leaned in his path. Wood and sky merged in whirling snow and the riverbank was lost. How long will we have to stay here, wondered Oak. He built up the fire and the smoke nearly choked them. Their eyes watered and they sat, shielding their faces. Juniper cut off slices from the carcass and flung them on the ashes. When they had eaten he peered behind the hide hanging at the end of the tunnel. Snow had already drifted against their hut, blocking the air. He crawled back.
‘I can’t stand, I can’t breathe . . .’
Oak angrily threw him the fox’s shin bone.
‘If we’re foolish now,’ he said, looking straight at his friend, ‘we’ll lose everything.’
Juniper drew on the shin bone with a sharp flint. He made a deer with frightened eyes.
Snow and wind raged round the little hut and snowdrifts sloped across the wood. They both suffered from crouching down and from the swirling smoke but knew they would never have survived outside. At night they heard a bear scraping at the walls of the hut. Its huge claws scratched the snow, its musky smell hung in the air. They listened to it eating their meat.
‘If it wasn’t for the fire,’ said Oak, and stoked it into life. They sat still for a long time until the bear went away.
The storm raged and they grew cold and weak. The next day they discovered the bear had taken all the meat so they made a thin soup from snow and bones. Time passed but it was always dark. Would the storm last forever?
At last Oak gave in. ‘We have to find food or we’ll die.’
Juniper rubbed his aching leg. He had already been punished for defying the law. He looked intently at Oak. ‘You know it’s sacrilege to take from someone else’s hunting pile.’
‘It’s all we can do,’ said Oak.
‘We’ll have to wait for the storm to pass,’ said Juniper. To fill the time they made a snow boat, tying together twigs and branches they had collected for the fire. They wound a hide cord round both ends so they could each hang on when the snow was too deep.
At last the storm gave way. Sungod walked above the trees and the snow shone. They half covered their eyes with fox fur in case Icegoddess blinded them, then they dug their way out of the drift, pulling the snowboat behind them.
Everything was still but they knew Icegoddess wasn’t ; far away, freezing the air with her sharp breaths.
It took them a long time to make their way down to the cliff. They peered over. There were no men below, only a wolf licking snow off one of the carcasses.
‘Reddi?’
Juniper nodded. ‘She must be living in the woods.’
They waited for a while but no one came. The river was still, carcasses were frozen into the ice and piled up by the edge of the cliff, where it was more sheltered. But even the protected places were covered with snow and ice.
Juniper pointed to a jutting ledge.
‘I’ll go down with the cord round me. You can hold the other end in case I slip. It’s not too steep. I’ll take another cord and drag back a carcass.’
‘What about the defile?’
‘The snow’s too deep.’
‘I’ll go,’ said Oak, but Juniper didn’t give in.
‘You’re stronger and heavier than me. You stay here and pull me up.’
He clambered down the cliff, clinging to the cord, kicking against the icy side. When he reached the ledge he untied himself and half slid, half staggered down to the river. Several times he nearly fell but at last he reached the bottom and signalled up to Oak that all was well. Reddi pricked up her ears. She let Juniper come close but wouldn’t give up the meat. The force of his hunger made Juniper lift a stone but there was something in Reddi’s eye that stopped him from throwing it. Instead he unburied another carcase and tightened the cord round it. The body was very heavy but slipped easily enough over the ice. It began to snow again and as he pulled the carcass back Juniper wondered when the hunters would return.
He was beginning to feel weak and could only struggle half way up the cliff. He stopped to bind another cord round the body and swung the remaining length up towards Oak who was standing on the ledge. Oak pulled on the cord and slowly dragged the carcass up. Then he untied the animal and lowered the cord for Juniper.
‘You’re thin and light! I’ll have no trouble pulling you up!’
Oak had already tied another piece of cord to a tree that overhung the cliff above. It dangled, half frozen, down to the ledge where they now both stood. Oak tied it round his stomach and hauled himself up, then lowered the cord again for Juniper to secure the carcass. Oak heaved and heaved until the great body lay under the tree beside him. Then he undid the cord, lowered it for Juniper and pulled him up.
By now darkness had fallen and snow was coming down heavily. They were exhausted and slowly dragged the deer back through the woods.
Juniper built up a fire with wood from the snowboat while Oak hacked up the carcass. He flung several large portions on the fire and stored the rest in the inside walls of the hut. They eat ravenously in silence and meat juices ran down their faces. Afterwards Juniper lay on his hide and slept straightaway. But Oak sat up picturing the sacred hunt and the sacrilege they had been driven to commit. He thought he heard angry voices in the wood, but they were carried away by Windgod who had come back, muffled in snow.
He placed his spear carefully beside him and at last Sleepgod came and sprinkled black dust into his eyes. He dreamed of a golden mammoth who came down from the mountain. It walked round him in a circle
and then paced back up the mountain where the snow had turned to flat surfaces of light and dark blue. Oak held out his hand but the mammoth disappeared into a crevice and he was left in complete darkness.
BOOK THREE
HOMECOMING
Chapter 18
THE SALVI
Juniper leaned up on one elbow and looked down at Oak who hadn’t been woken by the sounds outside the hut. Was it a Salvi? he wondered. He clutched his spear and his engraved bone and crawled out into the snow. Sungod shone in the still sharp air and dazzled the white forest.
A boy was standing in the path looking at the hut. His eyes were black and shiny and he was wearing a fur hood that went over his head and shoulders. His deer hide was belted and his feet and arms were covered.
As Juniper stood up the boy turned in fright. He lifted his feet high and made his way back to the cliff edge. Juniper clambered behind him and when he caught up with the child he turned him round and smiled. He forced the engraved bone into the boy’s hand. It was the only sign of friendship he possessed. The child’s gaze was direct and questioning and he disappeared quickly into the snowy trees by the cliff edge.
Juniper looked down. The hunters were back, poking at the frozen carcasses. Further along the boy was sliding and stumbling down the cliff edge. Juniper watched him thrust the engraved bone into the hands of a hunter who fingered it and showed it to the man beside him. They talked together intently then looked up, scanning the cliff. Soon everybody was staring up at him.
Juniper dropped his spear and put his hands above his head to show he was carrying no weapons. One of the hunters beckoned, indicating the way to come. At last he had a sign! He hid his spear under the tree where Oak had tied the cord and slowly made his way down.
Oak was sitting in the snow hut with one
hand on his spear.
‘Come out.’
Juniper was on his hands and knees at the entrance.
‘They’re here, Oak. The Salvi. They want us to go with them.’
‘What about our belongings?’
‘Bring the hides and leave the rest. They’ll look after us.’
Oak shook his head and slung what he could over his arm. He took a last look round the hut. Spear heads were scattered about, pieces of meat were buried in the walls and one of Juniper’s deer hides lay against the wall.
‘You’ll have to get it,’ he shouted. ‘I can’t bring everything.’
‘I’ll leave it,’ said Juniper. ‘I’ll leave my deer hide behind as a sign of trust.’
Oak sighed and cursed but there was nothing he could do. Juniper would never change! He crawled out of the cave, laden down, holding his spear close to his side.
The Salvi were tall men, like Juniper, with the same leaf-shaped eyes and black hair. The one with the hoof dangling from his neck spoke abruptly then turned to lead the hunters through the snow.
‘We have to follow,’ said Juniper, in a low voice. ‘They accepted my engraving. The little deer. They accept us just as we are.’
‘Where’s your spear?’
‘Under the tree where we tied the rope. I’ll leave it as a sign of faith.’
‘Another crazy sign,’ said Oak.
He followed Juniper and the hunters through the thick snow, along the cliffside and down to the slippery track that led to the heap of carcasses below.
The sky had already changed. Dark grey clouds were flooding down over the river and trees. The man with the hoof dangling from his neck, who seemed to be in command, turned to Juniper and Oak with a wide gesture that embraced all the
hunters.
‘Salvi, Salvi.’
Then he pointed to himself.
‘Shako.’
Juniper turned to Oak. ‘He must trust us— he’s given us his name.’ He smiled: ‘Juniper. Oak.’
Shako nodded. ‘Make sledges.’
He pointed to the carcasses, showing with his hands that he needed help.
‘He means snowboats,’ said Juniper but Oak wouldn’t put down their belongings.
‘I’ll guard our things! You can do what you like!’
The group broke up and everyone but Oak set to work. Some climbed the cliff to hack down branches, others shaped and pulled them together with lengths of cord, yet others, like Juniper, secured the carcasses or looped cord round the sledges to pull them over the ice.
As he tied up the dead animals Juniper thought of Hornbeam and prayed to his spirit. Surely Hornbeam was here, smiling at his first meeting with the Salvi.
They worked quickly to beat Icegoddess and by the end of the day they were ready.
Oak piled their belongings on top of a carcass and together he and Juniper pulled the last sledge.
The frozen river wound between tall cliffs. There was no sound except the scrape of branches, the panting of men, the crunch of sliding footsteps. The sledges moved easily, taking the great weight of the dead animals. The men’s breath came out of their mouths in frosty clouds. Oak adjusted the cord so he could pull more easily. Where does the river lead, he asked himself, this white, sliding path that seems to go on forever? Suddenly Moongoddess shone between the heavy clouds and at the top of the tall white cliffs he saw a bear watching them. His hand tightened round his spear. He was wary of the Salvi but perhaps it was safer to be with them.
They hauled the carcasses upriver until they reached a place where the cliffs on either side gave way to more gentle slopes. On the left a path wound upwards into the woods. By now moonlight played on the snow and ice and lodged in white slabs over the pine trees. Voices rang out and Shako shouted something between his cupped hands. Oak saw more hunters emerge out of the shadows at the top of the white slope. Shako held up Juniper’s engraved bone and several men slipped down the winding path to stare at it and look back at Oak and Juniper. Are we really accepted? wondered Oak.
The path took them to a depression in the snow where they left the sledges. The hunters made a circle round a fire at the edge of the hollow and Shako pushed Oak and Juniper behind a tree from where they were allowed to watch the ceremony.
Shako put on a reindeer head and ran outside the circle, waving his arms and shouting loudly. He leapt over the laden sledges and stood at the centre of the hollow with his arms raised. He shouted the same word over and over again:
‘rankooni rankooni rankooni’
The hunters raised their hands and struck their chests as if they were killing themselves while Shako leapt out of the hollow and wove in and out of the circle of hunters. He took a flaming torch from the fire and held it to his head. The great antlers, the holes where eyes had been, the sharp red brown fur were lit up as if the man himself was Deergod. The Salvi circled round and chanted, while one hunter stepped forward and threw a ball of snow at Shako. He swayed, trying to avoid other snowballs that were coming at him thick and fast. At last one struck his torch and the flame went out. Then Shako knelt down with his arms raised and several hunters stepped forward to remove the deerhead from his shoulders and place it on the fire. The chanting stopped and they all watched the deerhead burn, the antlers carrying the slow flame back into the heart of the fire.
Oak turned and cursed to see Juniper’s eyes shining. He’s fallen under their spell, he thought, he has no knowledge. The ceremony had come to an end and now they all hurriedly pulled the sledges a little way further up the hillside, following the course of the river.
It began to snow.
The shelter was under a huge overleaning outcrop of rock and earth that was covered with snow laden trees.
On the flat platform of rock and grass, tents had been set up. Women and children were stoking a huge fire near the entrance of the shelter where hides hung from the overhanging ledge and were secured to stakes in the ground. They provided a little barrier to the wind and snow that slanted across the wood. A female wolf was nuzzling her cubs by one of the stakes and just inside the entrance a male wolf was nosing at the bone pit. Oak hung back and eyed the shelter cautiously but J
uniper followed Shako who led him to an old man sitting on a log by the fire.
‘Chenti.’
‘Shako.’
They talked loudly together until Shako held out Juniper’s engraved bone. Then Chenti nodded and pushed Juniper down on his knees and touched his head. Oak was right, thought Juniper. He must be careful. He knew nothing of the Salvi customs.
The old man urged him to stand up and spoke to him, very slowly indeed. Juniper thought he knew some of the words although they were said in a different way. Greenwater’s like that, he thought. It speaks different words to different stones yet it’s always the same river.
The old man had no teeth, and when he smiled as he did now, his gums were pink as the rock rose.
‘Hornbeam,’ said Juniper, for no reason, save that he was remembering him.
Chenti leaned forward and offered Juniper a hide cup. He held it to his lips so firmly it was impossible not to drink. The old ones from Greenwater came into Juniper’s head, sitting in the shadow of Birch’s cave and passing the water stone from one to another.
Afterwards he felt careless, lightheaded. He swayed on his heels and rocked from side to side. Shako showed him a place by the fire where a deerskin had been spread out for him. Almost at once Sleepgod came down in his huge black cloak, sweeping it round and round until Juniper could see nothing but darkness. He sank into it as relaxed as if he was back in his mother’s body where little Cradlegod lived and fed him from a fountain of warm milk.
Chapter 19
JUNIPER MAKES HIS MARK
Juniper woke to the sound of high voices. He put his hand out for Oak. Where was he? He staggered over to the entrance of the shelter where Oak was sitting upright with his hand on his spear. A man was pointing to the weapon, making a cutting gesture across his throat. People had gathered round.
Juniper thrust his way through the crowd and knelt down beside Oak.
The Dream Cave Page 9
