by Dakota Chase
I dug my elbow into his side and hissed. “Shut up, Ash!”
He twisted around and gave me a shove. “You shut up!”
I pushed back. “You’ve got a big mouth, you know that? She’s been nothing but kind to us since we got here, and what do you do? You disrespect her.”
“Oh, bullshit. She didn’t hear me.”
“She’s an older woman, but she’s not deaf, you idiot. Of course she heard you!”
“Well, good, then! I’m glad. What I said is the truth. Gray Wolf is right to want to find the Deer Clan. What if they come here and start a fight?”
“So you think we should just go and wipe them out? Did you think maybe they have families too? Children at home waiting for them? What’ll happen if the Deer Clan hunters don’t ever come back? Those kids will starve!”
Ash scowled at me. “Then they should never have come here looking for a fight!”
I sighed in exasperation. “That’s just it. Don’t you get it? We don’t know they came to make war on the Bison Clan. All we did was hear someone scream. What if they just came to hunt? Maybe someone was attacked by an animal or had an accident. Or maybe they saw us and tried to scare us away. We don’t know, and we won’t ever know if we kill them.”
He grunted, which told me I’d scored the point, but he didn’t want to admit it. I pressed on before he could form an argument. “And what if war does break out? Do you think they’re going to sit around being targets for the Bison Clan spears? No. They’re going to fight back. Which of the kids inside that cave are you okay with being orphaned?”
This time he growled and stood up. He stalked away, and I could hear him grumbling. Oh hell no. He was not getting away with acting like a freaking child, not with me. I jumped up and followed him toward the tree line.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
He looked back at me, then kept walking. “To pee. What? Do I need a hall pass or something?”
I refused to back down and followed him into the deep shadows between the trees. “Well, that’s just typical Ash, isn’t it? Walk away when somebody disagrees with you?”
“Shut up and leave me alone!” He started to run, pushing deeper into the wood. I followed close on his heels.
“I won’t shut up. Not until you admit you run when things get difficult.”
He snapped at me from over his shoulder. “Oh, brother. And this is just typical Grant, always needing to win the argument, no matter what.”
“I did win it.”
Ash finally stopped moving, turned around, and squared off against me. His eyes blazed, and his hands clenched into fists. “Bullshit you did!”
It’d been a while since I’d seen him so angry, and I wondered what was setting him off. Not our fight—we’d fought worse than that before. In fact, our first fight still held the record of being our worst, crashing around in Merlin’s office, throwing insults and punches, and managing to destroy it in the process. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
He sputtered and stalked off deeper into the wood, but I followed again. “Leave me alone, dammit! You’re not my babysitter!”
“No, but I am your friend. Arguing about the Deer Clan didn’t get you this strung out.” I reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder and tried to make him turn around. “What’s eating you?”
His shoulder jerked away from my touch as if I’d burned him. “You are.” He looked back in the direction of the cave. “Or they are. This place is! This time… aw, shit.” He seemed to deflate right before my eyes, growing thinner and smaller and younger than he was. “I don’t know how to do anything here. The other times and places Merlin sent us, I’ve been resourceful, you know? I knew things or learned them pretty damn quick. But here? I’m useless.”
“No, you’re not!”
Ash barked a hoarse laugh. “Seriously? You feel the need to argue with me even about this?”
Even I could see the irony. “Yeah, I guess so.” I leaned in and rested my forehead against his, and finally, he didn’t pull away from me. “Look, I know things are crazy right now. We need the damn talisman to go home, and it seems the only way we’re going to get it is to go hunting freaking mammoth with spears we can barely throw, for God’s sake. Now we find out the practically prehistoric cavemen we’ve hooked up with are in a war with other practically prehistoric cavemen, and we might be in the middle of a practically prehistoric war. It’s nuts.”
“Don’t forget being attacked by an overgrown cat with scimitars for teeth.” He sighed, long and deep. “Sorry I went off on you. Things just got to be too much, too quick.”
“I understand. We’ve been through a helluva lot before. We should be used to it by now.”
“Yeah, I guess, but we’ve always been plopped in the middle of civilized people, at least. Even when we went to ancient Egypt, they had the freaking wheel, for crying out loud. Here? Nothing. They barely have fire.”
I chuckled a little. “I know, but you have to admit they’re still good people. At least, they’ve been good to us.”
“I know, I know.”
“We can do this. I know we can, and you know what? I’m pretty sure Merlin thinks we can too.”
He pulled back and looked at me. “You really think so?”
I nodded and slipped my hand to the back of his neck, urging him forward. “Yup.” My voice was a whisper. Our faces were so close, his breath warmed my skin. We were alone in the dark forest, feeling friendly toward each other again, and I took full advantage of it. When I kissed him, it was warm and soft at first, but it wasn’t long before we were fighting another sort of battle—one full of lips, tongues, and teeth. We tottered and walked in a stilted tangle until Ash’s back was against a tree. Our breath came in hot pants as our hands found all the similarities in our bodies and explored the small differences that made us unique.
Time stood still for those few hot, long moments in the forest. It didn’t matter if we were in prehistory or back home at Stanton’s. We totally existed in the now, in the space of those few heartbeats, and it was extraordinary.
In fact, we were so caught up in our moment, we almost missed the crackle of deadwood under a foot announcing we were no longer alone in the woods.
Chapter Thirteen
I DON’T know what came over us, sucking face like nobody’s business with our hands sliding here and there and everywhere, but I also couldn’t care less. All I cared about was Grant’s hot mouth against mine, his tongue slipping into my mouth, and his taste. God, he tasted good. He felt good too, pressed up against me. Felt right. Perfect.
Then a sound startled us apart. In the otherwise quiet forest, where the only noise was us panting and pawing at each other, a branch snapping sounded as loud as a gunshot, and as out of place. We stared openmouthed at each other, then quickly realized what the sound meant. Someone or something was nearby.
We began scouting the trees, turning this way and that, trying to get an angle on where the noise had come from and what had made it. Was it another Smilodon? A boar? A deer? Teeth, tusks, or antlers could be equally lethal.
Or was it something else, something that wielded a spear?
“Do you see anything?” Grant whispered, but my nerves were stretched so thin, it sounded like a roar.
I shook my head. “You?”
“No.” He paused. “Wait. There. Your three o’clock.”
I looked in the direction he indicated. At first, I didn’t see anything but leaves, trunks, and underbrush. But then I caught the tiniest movement and began to make out a shape within the foliage. An arm. A leg. A face.
She was our age, maybe a little younger. Her oval face was painted with ochre streaks across her cheeks, and she wore her long brown hair pulled back in a single thick braid. Fear flickered in her wide brown eyes as she stared wordlessly at us.
One thing was immediately clear—neither of us had ever seen her before. She wasn’t Bison Clan. That could only mean one thing—she was Deer Clan, or from one
of the other tribes who lived along the Green River.
It was also clear she was just as surprised to see us as we were to see her. Her dark brown eyes flashed open wide, and she gasped and tried to run away.
“Wait!” Grant took off after her, leaving me no option but to give chase too. Seriously, what did he think he was going to do if he caught her? Did the Deer Clan and the Bison Clan even speak the same language? I didn’t see a spear, but what if she had a knife? Those flint knives the Bison Clan used were sharp enough to cut through the toughest meat and leather.
“Grant! Wait!” I pounded after them, pushing through the forest, feeling small branches whip my face. It stung, and when I felt something warm and wet trickle down my cheek, I swiped at it. My fingers came away red. I was bleeding! I put on more speed, ignoring the branches. I didn’t care about catching the girl. It was Grant I was after, and I was going to beat the living crap out of him when I caught up.
The girl ran, Grant ran, and I brought up the rear of our weird little marathon. We must’ve covered at least a mile at breakneck speed before the three of us began to slow. Once we did, it wasn’t long before we stopped, one after another, gasping for breath.
When the girl turned to face us, there was a familiar-looking stone knife in her hand. It was very much like the ones the Bison Clan used, and I eyed it warily. “Don’t get too close, Grant. She can sever an artery with that thing.”
Grant’s attention seemed focused on the girl. He smiled at her and held out his hands to show her they were empty. “Hey. Don’t be afraid. We’re not going to hurt you.”
She didn’t look convinced. “You are Bison Clan.”
“No, we’re not. Not really. I’m Grant and this is Ash.”
“Grass and Ash? Those names are not Bison Clan.”
“No, they’re not. I told you, we aren’t Bison Clan. We’re friends with them, though.”
“Then you are my enemy!” The girl hissed and held up the knife again.
I stepped up to where Grant stood. “No, we’re not! We’re Switzerland, here. Completely neutral in whatever fight your tribes have going on.”
“You speak words I don’t understand.” She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. I can’t trust you.”
“Why not?” Grant and I asked at the same time. Great minds think alike, I guess.
“Because you are Bison Clan. And if you aren’t, then you’re strangers, which is just as bad.”
I grunted. She was really starting to annoy me, and when I got irritated, and I did what I normally did—I went on the offensive. “You’re Deer Clan.” It wasn’t a question.
Her chin lifted at a defiant angle. “I am.”
I put my best warrior face on—or what I hoped would pass for one. “What are you doing in the Bison Clan hunting grounds?”
The hand holding the knife shook a little, and her face bleached white. For a minute I thought my warrior face must’ve been positively terrifying. But then the girl seemed to collect herself and stand straighter, taller, and brandish her knife more fiercely. Her courage was pretty impressive, given she was outnumbered two-to-one. “I am Silver Water, daughter of High Rock, leader of the Deer Clan.”
“Look, just give up your weapon, and come with us. Gray Wolf will probably want to speak with you.” Grant was trying to be tough, but it was clear he wasn’t very convincing because she definitely wasn’t buying what he was selling.
She practically snarled at him. “You’ll have to kill me first.” It sounded a lot like a dare, one I had no intention of letting Grant take her up on.
Someone had to intervene before they attacked each other. “Silver Water. That’s a pretty name.” I smiled at her. Hopefully I’d be able to get through to her. “We don’t want to hurt you. Just talk.”
She huffed at me, and the hand holding her knife didn’t drop an inch. “No Bison Clan wants to ‘just talk.’ They are bloodthirsty savages. Everyone knows this.”
I could practically feel the hostility rolling off Silver Water in waves. She was no fan of the Bison Clan. I had to wonder what had happened in the past to make her feel so strongly about them.
“We get it. We do. The Bison Clan and the Deer Clan are not friends. Okay. Fine. But it’s in everyone’s best interest to settle this peacefully. If everyone just kills each other when they stumble on one another, where does it end? Rabbit is a kid. He hasn’t hurt anyone in his entire life. Why would you want him dead?”
“He is a child now. He will become an adult, a hunter, and he will try to kill my people.”
“He wouldn’t! He’s a good kid, Silver Water. Look, come with us, and you can meet him. See for yourself. I promise nothing will happen to you. You’ll be safe.”
“The Bison Clan lie!”
“But I’m not Bison Clan.”
She glared at me and made a short stab at me with her knife. It didn’t come anywhere near me, but her intention was clear. If I took a step in her direction, she would cut me.
Grant and I exchanged a look. It was almost as if I could hear Grant’s voice in my head. I gave a tiny nod, then looked back at Silver Water. “Hey! I have news for you. The Bison Clan are nice people. Good people. It’s the cowardly Deer Clan who came sneaking onto the Bison Clan hunting grounds to cause trouble. I want to know why.”
Her attention was focused on me, and my insult to her people didn’t go unnoticed. She was furious and bared her teeth at me. Grant had moved a few steps to her left and chose that moment to lunge, grabbing the arm holding the knife and twisting it behind her back. She dropped the knife, howling and struggling to shake him off. She punched him with her free arm until I caught it. It took the two of us to hold her, but she still fought us. She had moxie, I’ll give her that. She wasn’t making it easy.
We were still tussling, but I tried to calm her down. “Stop fighting us! We don’t want to hurt you. We only want to find out why you’re here.”
“Liar! My father will take your heads for this. He will mount them on spears in front of our shelter so everyone will see what the Deer Clan do to those who attack us!”
I got a mental picture of Grant’s head and mine stuck on poles, staring blank-eyed and openmouthed, necks dripping gore. Fabulous imagery. Not. “We haven’t attacked you. You pulled a knife on us!”
Grant still had her arm twisted behind her back. His other arm was slung around her chest, trying to hold her. “You’ve lost, Silver Water. Stop fighting. We aren’t going to hurt you. We just want some answers.”
She put on a new burst of energy, fighting against us, but it quickly dissipated. She sort of sagged then, as if all the fight drained out of her in a whoosh, and I was surprised to see tears in her eyes. “Go ahead. Kill me. Get it over with. I am brave. I will go to my death singing the praises of the Deer Clan.”
I looked at Grant. “Is she stupid, deaf, or just nuts? We keep telling her we don’t want to hurt her, but it’s like we’re talking to a wall.”
Grant stared at her, and I could practically see the gears turning in his little pointed head. “You know, it sounds a lot like people who’ve been in a cult.”
“A what?” What was he talking about now? “Tell me you saw this in a documentary, and I’m going to have to hurt you.”
He hissed at me. “Threats aren’t going to help the situation, not even if they’re against me and not her.” Then his lips tilted into a halfway smile. “Actually it was an article I read in the paper about a kid who was rescued from this creepy cult out west. The kid’s parents were part of it for years, and he was born there. He grew up believing the lies they told, this really awful racist stuff. Anyway, when they got him out, he couldn’t explain why he believed what he did, only that he did. Turns out, he’d been brainwashed since he was born. It took a long time and a lot of therapy and patience to bring him around.”
“I hate to break it to you, but we have no time, no therapists, and I’m fresh out of patience.” I caught Silver Water’s gaze and held it. “Listen to me.
We’re going to let you go. All I want is an answer to my question—why are the Deer Clan here?”
She tried to avoid answering, but we made it clear we weren’t letting her go until she did. Finally, she sighed. “Game has become scarce in the land of the Deer Clan. The grasslands are dying, and the great herds no longer graze there. We had to come north, looking for food. We hoped to hunt enough to see us through the winter. Then in spring, we would move the tribe north to find a new place to live.”
“And it would be easier to take the cave and hunting grounds of the Bison Clan than find new ones, right?” Grant wasn’t giving her an inch of wriggle room. I had no doubt he didn’t trust her, and I was beginning to see why. Her confession sure made it sound like she and her people meant to take the Bison Clan lands.
She didn’t answer, but the black look she gave Grant made me believe that was the Deer Clan’s plan. Then she asked her own question. “You said you are not Bison Clan. Who are your people, then? How did you come to be with the Bison Clan?”
Grant just glowered at her, so I answered. I was really going to have to talk to him about his people skills. “We were out hunting when we found one of the Bison Clan. He was hurt, and we brought him to his cave.”
She looked surprised. “Why?”
I cocked my head and frowned at her. “Why what?”
“Why bother bringing him to his cave? Why not kill him?”
My mouth popped open. “Why would I kill him? He was a kid and hurt and hadn’t done anything to us.”
“He wasn’t of your tribe.”
Grant made a rude noise and scowled at her. “So, the Deer Clan make a habit of killing anyone they come across who isn’t Deer Clan?”
“Better to kill them before they kill you.”
“Wow, talk about a poisoned mind!” Grant growled. “I don’t know if we should bring her back to the cave, Ash. How do we know she doesn’t plan on trying to kill everyone there?”
I shook his head. “Silver Water, are you really saying you hate everyone who isn’t Deer Clan? Enough to kill them on sight? Why? We’re not Deer Clan, and we didn’t try to kill you.”
