The Badger woman stopped peeling roots.
"Those Badger men are such cowards!" cried Red Hawk, puffing from his exuberant fight with his imaginary opponent.
Star whirled. "Our men are brave! They were outnumbered!"
Red Hawk froze. "Silence, woman." He glanced at Falcon and demanded, "You must train your woman better than that! She has no place in our stories."
"Except as a captive," observed Falcon dryly, lounging by the fire.
Red Hawk glared at Star. "If she were my woman, I would silence her!" he said with menace.
"But she is not your woman," pointed out Falcon.
Reluctantly, Red Hawk returned to his storytelling, but he was less exuberant and cast frowns at Star every once in a while.
She returned to peeling roots. She finished her task and rose. So did Falcon. "Come," he said. "Let us join your Badger women. You have heard enough Jaguar stories."
She glared at him. "I am not afraid of Jaguars! I do not fear their puny words."
He eyed her, amused. "I know you do not. But I would like to hear a Badger story for a change."
She smiled then and it was not a pretty smile. "Oh, you will hear a Badger story," she promised. "And it will strike fear into your cowardly falcon heart. You will then know that you deal with a proud, resourceful people."
Behind him, Falcon heard Red Hawk's gasp of outrage. "Perhaps Red Hawk would like to join us for the story," he taunted.
"No, I would not!" shouted Red Hawk. "I was badly mistaken to think that a Badger woman would make a good wife. I see now that she would not. You have her and you are welcome to her!"
Falcon smiled and sauntered over to the Badger brides' fire. Sageflower smiled at Star and glared at Falcon. Falcon bent and put a stick on the fire to hide his amusement.
"Why did you bring him?" hissed Chokecherry, unaware that her words were overheard.
"I had little choice," Star said with a shrug. "He wants to hear a story." She glanced over her shoulder at the Jaguars. "A Badger story."
She yawned. "Jaguar stories are boring."
Chokecherry snorted, but Sageflower smiled a cunning smile. "Oh, yes, Star, do tell him a story. And when you are done, he will know how wise we Badgers are and how great is our heritage!"
Star's delighted laughter surprised Falcon and he found himself wanting to hear more of it. He chuckled as he stuffed another stick into the brightly burning fire. This Badger woman amused him. To tame her might prove interesting.
Chapter Thirteen
Star gnawed at the meaty venison rib and ignored the Jaguar man who lounged at her side like a great, lazy cat as he listened to the Badger women's chatter.
She sniffed. She pretended not to notice him. Lately, however, she had caught herself watching him whenever he was unaware of it. There was something about him that intrigued her, but she did not know what. Was it his strong body? Was it the wariness with which the other men treated him? Was it those black eyes that seemed to devour her whenever he gazed at her? She dragged her thoughts away from the man lounging at her side. She much preferred her Badger friends for company. Truly she did.
Wild onion and juniper berries flavored the meat that Sageflower and Pine Woman, who was an excellent cook, had roasted, and the deer juices
dripped pink. Star closed her eyes as she chewed the meat, savoring every bite.
When she opened her eyes, he was watching her. Holding her with his narrowed gaze, he picked up a hot chunk of roasted meat and popped it into his mouth and chewed. She shivered, wondering if he would chew her up in the same way. He was a ruthless man, a man she must be wary of, and she wished she were not traveling to Jaguar territory with him, and not destined to share a life with himbe it as a slave or a mate or a wife.
Escape is my best choice, she decided as she took another bite off the deer rib. I must escape back to Badger territory and find my mother. She surveyed the other women, counting up how many of them wanted to escape also.
Elk Knees used a rock to crack open a thick deer thighbone. Fawn helped her, anxious to get at the delicious marrow. Neither the comely widow, Elk Knees, nor the giggling Fawn would attempt a second escape, guessed Star. Elk Knees had protested the last escape and Star had barely been able to persuade Fawn to join her.
Chokecherry and Sageflower sat side by side, whispering. They would accompany her, Star guessed, because they did not want Jaguar husbands. Chokecherry had already confided to Star that she longed for Finds the Marten. And Star had heard Sageflowerdear, sweet Sageflowercrying at night, when she thought the others could not hear her. Those tears were for Wolverine, her promised man. But both Wolverine and Finds the Marten were now captives sold to the Fish
Eaters. Chokecherry and Sageflower had no hope of rejoining them.
Pine Woman sat by herself, licking meat juice off her fingers. Every day on the trail, Pine Woman laughed and talked with Lance, the hefty Jaguar who had fought with Red Hawk over Star. Frequently, Pine Woman shot Star dark, jealous looks. Pine Woman might warn the Jaguars if she discovered that Star planned to escape again.
Star sighed. Though escape was appearing less likely the farther they walked from Badger land, she could still remember the location of the Badger camp. In her mind, she could see the exact place where the forest, the large rocks, the grass plain, and the river met. Yes, she could find it again, she knew that.
The fire flickered up in a tiny burst. Orange flames reflected on the women's faces. Star stared at the fire. Her stomach full, she sat back with a satisfied groan and wiped her mouth. Time to put the arrogant Jaguar in his place.
''This meal reminds me of the time the Ancient Ones held a feast," she said, sliding a wary glance at Falcon. When he merely stared at the fire, she added, "Many times my mother told me about the Ancient Ones and how they killed the seven monsters and held a great celebration."
"Ho. There is little to celebrate at this meal," said Chokecherry with a pointed look at the lounging Jaguar. He yawned.
"Long, long ago," continued Star, "when my grandmother's grandmother walked the earth"
"Oh, no, it was before that," objected Elk
Knees. "It was in our great-great-great-great-grandmother's time! That is what my mother told me."
"Very well. In our great-great-great-great-grandmother's time there lived a beautiful woman named Darkstar"
"Whom you are named after," said Sageflower.
Star could feel her face warm. She did not want the Jaguar to know about her.
"Darkstar is the Ancient Mother of our people," added Sageflower proudly.
The Jaguar had an amused smile on his rugged face. It softened the harshness the scar imparted to him.
Star took a steadying breath and continued resolutely, "One day Darkstar went walking by the river. She searched the muddy banks for wapatoo, the large tuber whose milky meat always tastes so sweet once it is roasted. Her hungry brothers and sisters and parents had demanded that she go and dig wapatoo for the evening meal.
"So Darkstar did as her parents bade her. But, alas, her mind was not on the search for the wapatoo roots. As she walked along she sighed many times, for Darkstar's was a lonely heart."
"Yes," chorused Pine Woman and Fawn, caught up in the tale.
"She longed for someone to love," added Fawn. "Besides her many brothers and sisters and her parents and grandparents, of course."
"Someone of her own to love," explained Sageflower.
All five women grew silent and Star smiled to herself when she heard two more little sighs
Chokecherry and Sageflower. Falcon's eyes were closed and he appeared to be asleep. She frowned at his inattention. At that moment, his eyes flew open and captured hers.
Startled, she continued, "Butbut Darkstar could not find the wapatoo roots she sought. She wandered farther and farther along the river, farther away from her people, until the black of night descended and she realized she was lost."
"That happened to me once," said Chokecherry.
"Hush," said Pine Woman.
"Night descended," said Star, "and Darkstar did not know what to do. So she lay down under a pine tree and went to sleep. In the morning, a Badger awoke her. He did a Badger dance and then he said, 'I give this dance to you. Now follow me.'
"Darkstar felt no fear; she knew he was a spirit animal. It would be wise to follow him; perhaps he would lead her home. She followed the Badger to a cave and when he entered, so did she."
"She entered the Cave of the Dead," said Chokecherry.
"Yes, and the light in the Cave of the Dead was poor; she could barely see the Badger moving along ahead of her. At last it got so dark that she had to feel along the walls to find her way. Then suddenly came a terrible shuddering and shaking of the earth. Dirt fell and stones tumbled all around her. When she turned back to run out of the cave, she found the entrance had been blocked by a huge rock."
"This is the fearsome part," said Chokecherry.
"Hush," said Pine Woman.
"Darkstar was trapped in the cave! She called out to the Badger, asking him to guide her, but no answer came forth. She waited a long time for the Badger, but he never returned from the depths of the cave. She was all alone! Very afraid now, but still courageous, Darkstar felt her way along the rock walls, going deeper and deeper into the blackness of the Cave of the Dead. Once she called out, but only her echo returned to her. She knew the cavern must be vast.
"Suddenly she heard loud grunting noises. Slowly she crept forward and felt her way around a curved wall. There she saw light! It was very dim, but it was light. She moved toward it. There, in the dimly lit cavern, she spied a herd of huge animalsmonsters!"
"Aiieee!" cried Fawn.
"Hush," said Pine Woman. "We call them mammoths. The Ancient Ones told many tales of them."
Fawn still looked frightened.
"The monsters were pushing and shoving against the rock cavern. Darkstar crept closer to see what it was they were doing and then, to her surprise, she saw that they were licking the walls! Something about the walls tasted good to the monsters. Later she tasted the walls herself. They were salty."
"I am never going into a cave again," said Fawn.
"Ha," said Elk Knees. "The mammoths are all dead now; no one I know has ever seen one."
"Not in our grandfather's time, either," added Pine Woman.
"I do not care," said Fawn. "I am still not going into any caves."
"Once my uncle saw a monster frozen in ice," said Chokecherry. "He was out hunting for the great sheep that live in the mountains, and he came to a big mountain of snow. As he got closer he saw a head with a long thin leg on it, such as he had never seen before. The head and leg stuck out of the ice. He ran away."
"Aaiiee," shuddered Fawn. The women looked uneasily at each other.
"After a while," continued Star, "the monsters left the cavern and Darkstar followed them. She could see that the monsters knew their way, as if they had been to the cavern many times."
She could feel Falcon's black eyes on her. "When Darkstar emerged from the Cave of the Dead, she saw that the monsters, or mammoths, had gone down to a gravel beach and were drinking from the Lake of Green Waters. She crept after them. She heard them snort and talk among themselves but she could not understand their speech.
"Darkstar followed the mammoth family for many days, eating the same grasses and leaves that they did and drinking from the cold water that ran into the Lake of Green Waters. One day a young mammoth got separated from the mammoth family and suddenly began screaming. Darkstar crept over to see why.
"Hunters were attacking it! Hunters whom Darkstar had never seen before. They wore shaggy bear robes and carried sharp spears. Many times they ran at the wounded mammoth with their spears, trying to kill it. They succeeded and then they saw Darkstar. One of them, a swift runner, ran after her and caught her."
Star glanced at Falcon. Darkstar's predicament seemed too much like her own.
He smiled. As I captured you, his knowing smile said to her.
"Thethe hunter took Darkstar to live with his people. She stayed with them for some time. They treated her neither kindly nor cruelly."
"I wonder if that will happen to us," murmured Sageflower.
"Then came the winter many died. Great snowstorms and ice mountains covered the lands. The people Darkstar was with began to starve. The shaggy bear hunters could not find enough food for the people. The children cried in the night, their bellies hungry for food. Old people moaned and grew thin and listless."
"Oh, no," moaned Chokecherry. "I do not like fearful winters like that."
"Neither do I," said Pine Woman.
"That is why we dry elk meat and store it away for winter," said Elk Knees practically.
"Darkstar remembered that though these new people were not friendly to her, they had fed her. She pondered this. Finally, she made a decision. She led the hunters to the Cave of the Dead where she had seen the mammoths licking the walls. Silently, they crept into the cave. Inside, licking the walls, were seven monsters. The hunters killed every one of them!"
"Oh," breathed Fawn.
"Now the people had much meat. There was a
feast and singing and dancing. The people had so much meat that the hunters did not have to hunt for the rest of the winter. All the people survived. The children had full bellies and the old people grew fat. They lived in the cave for protection from the cold and they ate the mammoth meat. They painted pictures on the cave walls to celebrate the great hunt."
"Ah," said Fawn.
"The people, the Ancient Ones, were so happy with Darkstar's kindness to them that, in her honor, they called themselves the Badger People. And they gave her as wife to their best hunter."
"To the man who had caught her," interjected Falcon.
Star shifted uncomfortably and stared at his mouth. "Well, yes, it was him."
Chokecherry was eyeing Star and Falcon speculatively.
"They married," continued Star stolidly, "and they had eight children, each one named after the eight points of the earth.
"But this was the strange thing: never again did the Badger People find mammoths to hunt after that winter. It was as if the mammoths had gone far away to another land. After that time, the Badger People hunted only elk and deer. Darkstar taught them to dry the meat, so it would last far into the winter."
"I like to eat elk meat," said Fawn.
"Darkstar lived for many happy years with her children and her husband. And when she died," continued Star, "she turned into a star in the skythe Darkstarthe one that can only be seen at certain times. But whenever her Badger People have need of her, she appears as a bright light in the sky and guides them to safety."
"We have need of her now," said Chokecherry mournfully.
"Sometimes she sends a badger to help them," added Star.
There was a long silence. Star glanced furtively around to see if a badger hid in the rock crevices. Chokecherry was correct. The Badger women needed help. Desperately.
Chapter Fourteen
Falcon was amused at the Badger woman's tale. So they looked for someone to save them, did they? Well, they could look all they wanted, but they were still promised to Jaguar men. He would have to warn Claw. Star was probably already planning another attempt to "guide her people to safety." They must keep close watch on the Badger brides.
"We arrive at my people's camp tomorrow," he said.
"Oh, no," gasped one of the brides.
"Hush, Sageflower," said another.
Sageflower was slim and had a delicate face. When she smiled, she was beautiful. Once he might have wanted a wife like her. She even reminded him of Tula. He wondered if she had Tula's deceit.
"It is time to rest," he said to the women. "We will travel a long way on the morrow. The men are anxious to be back at our camp."
All the women, except Star, obediently lay down and covered themselves with furs and blankets. Star glared at him, her dark eyes bright, her black ha
ir hanging in a thick fall down one side of her bosom. A snarl curved her upper lip.
"Come," he said to her. "Let us walk."
The light was fading as they walked away from the camp and into the grass that grew near the creek. Falcon turned away from the entrance to the Canyon of the Doves and headed north, to where giant rocks closed off the canyon's end. Crickets stopped their singing. Frogs ceased their croaking.
"It is a fine evening," he said. The sky was a red and purple and gold roof in the cold clear air.
When Star gazed up at the sky, he said, "It is too early for Darkstar."
She faced him defiantly.
"Do not expect any help," he warned. "What I have taken, I will hold. And so will the other men. You Badger women have no hope of escaping, so do not try it. We will track you and find you and bring you back."
"If it were you that was forced away from your people, would you go willingly?"
He laughed. "No," he answered at last. "Not at all."
"Then do not expect that I will!"
He smiled. "It is different for a man."
"Is it?" she asked, her eyes bright on his.
"Yes," he answered. "A man fights back. He expects to escape, or tries to. A woman, well, a woman must put up with what happens to her.''
"Think you so?"
He liked it that her voice was quiet. It showed that she saw the wisdom in what he was telling her.
"Yes. A woman, if she is wise, will go along quietly, tanning the hides, gathering the roots, tending the fire. That is what the other Badger brides will do. They know that they will have a good life with us, that they will have fine husbands, and they accept that. You, however, do not. I warn you not to fight against it. Your life with me will be better if you do not."
"I am not fighting," she pointed out. "I am very calm."
"And that surprises me," he confessed. "I think you plan to run away and take the other brides with you. I am warning you not to do that."
Her smile was cold. "I will certainly consider your warning."
Why did he feel she was not speaking openly with him?
Broken Promise Page 8
