Chapter 11 - Stone
2091 Words
“What’s wrong with her?” Stone asked Red Moon, staring down at Rabid’s motionless body. Her eyes were open, wide, and she was still breathing, but she hadn’t moved since she had blacked out nearly half a day ago. Red Moon squinted her wrinkled, wise eyes, and examined Rabid. The girl looked like a deer in the woods, who was desperately searching for the hunters that she sensed but could not see.
“She is not ready to face the truth, so her mind is protecting her.” Red Moon said, moving closer and placing her shriveled hand on Stone’s. “Leave her be, child. She’ll wake when she’s ready.
Stone stared at Rabid again. Her face was unnerving. He hoped that what was going on in her mind would prepare her for what’s coming. As he stared at her, a memory sat heavy in Stone’s stomach: the girl looked just like Alea had. Shoving the memory away before it did too much damage to his sanity, he stepped back.
For the first time since he’d heard the still, small voice that whispered comfort and direction into his mind, Stone felt a sliver of understanding for his clansmen. He had always thought they were foolish, for not caring about regaining their connection or seeking the Great One. After years of feeling deserted, nearly all had forgotten the Great Spirit completely. More than that, they were bitter and angry—they would refuse the gift of the Great One’s voice even if it was offered to them. Now, after the destruction of all he had sworn to protect, Stone was angry at the spirits, too.
“Why did he do this?” Stone asked. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, forcing back the emotions that tried to well up inside him. Then, he met Red Moon’s level gaze. “If we had stayed a few days longer, or been there a day late, we could have protected them.”
“We do not know the Great One’s mind. We simply trust his plan.” She replied, sighing heavily. Then she forced a weak smile, trying to reassure him. A shaft of light fell on them as Chief Blood Wolf opened the tent flap and stepped inside.
“We must address the people.” He said. “They gather as we speak.”
“What will you say?” Stone asked. The chief crossed him arms and stared at him levelly.
“This is not for me to speak on. You took her. You put this responsibility on us. This is your doing.”
Stone swallowed and nodded, stepping toward the door, but Blood Wolf caught his arm and flashed him a dark look.
“Best not mention the spirits, not today.”
Stone nodded and pushed past him. He knew his father was right. Even if the Great One had brought him to this place, all responsibility fell on him. It was his decision, regardless of who’s voice had led him to make it. Stepping into the afternoon sun, a crowd was already forming near the fire pit. Akecheta was standing toward the back, facing him.
“Gather the rest of them, we’re meeting right now.” Stone said, Akecheta nodded once and strode off, motioning to a few other men to spread the message.
Stone walked toward the fire pit, stopping where he and Rabid had sat on the night of their union celebration. He stared at the packed earth, the site of so many other unions, so many more celebrations that were better received. But he shoved the thoughts of Rabid from his mind and turned to face the steadily growing crowd.
“We are not going to war for that girl.” Spraw said, as soon as Stone had turned. She was an older woman, skinny and sullen, with a loud mouth and too many opinions. Her thin, wild hair fell loose over her knobby shoulders, making her small frame look even smaller.
“She’s not even Omari!” another woman agreed, from the back of the crowd. A few more shouted in agreement at that.
Stone raised his hands to calm them.
“Wait. Wait for everyone.” He said. As they waited, less than patiently, one or two from each household quickly flooded the center of the village, each mumbling their own personal opinions on the matter at hand. They rarely had everyone in one place, the clearing between the tents was hardly large enough to hold them all.
Stone glanced over the growing crowd, each one looking more angry and resentful than the last, as something stirred in his heart. When Akecheta returned, standing with folded arms at the back of the crowd, he met Stone’s eyes and nodded swiftly. Black Bird and White Hawk stood on either side of him. Red Moon and Chief Blood Wolf stepped out of their teepee, remaining a safe distance behind the hostility.
Stone took a deep breath. None of them were coming to his aid: this was his to do alone. He raised his hands, bringing the attention to himself.
“By now, you have heard that the Napua village has been burned to the ground. This violation cannot stand.”
“The Hauk’s have left us alone!” Spraw screeched, interrupting him. Her skinny arms waved wildly around her. “You would fight them unprovoked?”
“Unprovoked?” Stone silenced her with his booming voice. “How much longer until they come to our home, Spraw? Come for our children? We are the warriors of Minaloa. If we will not fight them, who will?”
“We do not need to fight. They got what they wanted, they will move on.” The man Dove Tail stepped forward, chiming in.
“You really believe they will go so easily?” Stone said, shaking his head. “Am I the only one who remembers what they took from us?”
Spraw cackled, a sound seemed to crawl down Stone’s back.
“You were a boy when the Hauks last came. You don’t know anything! By taking this girl as your responsibility, you would doom your own people to bloodshed.”
Stone felt anger surging within him, emotions that he had worked hard to control his entire life bubbling up like a deep well coming back to life. He looked around at the crowd, searching for any sign of agreement to his words. He looked at his father, whose mouth was pressed tight, disapproval written in every line of his body. None of them were on his side. No one trusted him, not like they used to. It was suddenly too much to bite down.
“I watched her die because of what they did to her.” Stone growled at Spraw. “Do not speak of what I do not know.”
Spraw stepped back, pressing her mouth in a straight line, then glanced away, ashamed. Stone continued,
“They have taken one village. Burned it completely to the ground. This is not the first time they have come for your daughters and it will not be the last. There is no number that will ever satisfy them, they will be back!”
He had the crowd now, he could tell. They were avoiding his intense glare, each reminiscing their own terrors.
“Would you have us abandon our duty, hide in our village until death comes to our door?”
Akecheta’s deep voice caught him off guard, booming from his place in the back of the crowd.
“You would have us fight and die for a girl who is not even our blood, from a clan who wanted nothing to do with us for generations. How long have they turned their backs on us? How long did they hate us? They would have wiped us from the earth if they weren’t such cowards, even as we spilled our blood to keep them safe.”
Stone met his dark eyes.
“The past is dead.” he said. “We were moving forward, we…”
“She. Does not. Belong here.” Akecheta said, his voice clipped. His declaration caused a stir in the crowd. A chorus of voices rang out,
“You have never seen war like we have!”
“She should not be our responsibility!”
“Send her away and correct this mistake you’ve made!”
For the first time in a long time, Stone let go of his cool head. He felt a spirit building inside of him that he had, for so long, kept shut away in the deepest parts of himself. But he had little tolerance for fear: that was not the Omari way, the way of the warrior. Years of tolerance and avoidance and a lack of battle had made so many of them cowards.
“Where would she go?! Is there a home for her among the dead?” Stone yelled, his outburst shocking them into silence. He let the silence wrap around them like a blanket, letting his words sink in.
“You would have me cast off my woman. Where is your honor? Where are the great warriors of Minaloa I grew up dreaming of?” he paused, searching the eyes in front of him. Several men couldn’t meet his gaze, which encouraged him to continue,
“Where are the mighty men I stand beside on boar hunts? Who I train next to in the fields? Where are the men my father led to victory against the Hauks the last time they stole something from us?”
Stone looked deep into Akecheta’s glare, then. Akecheta’s jaw was working, his arms still crossed across his bare chest. Stone addressed him, now.
“You stood beside my father and entered unknown lands. You chased an army out of Minaloa, and gained a place among the Omari. You avenged our dead a hundred times over. You refused to go silently.”
Stone could sense the crowd’s shame, they were shifting uncomfortably before him, unable to make any more excuses. He was igniting something in them that had long been asleep.
“‘Aish tähmid kävä! The fire will never go out, yet you stand here and try to douse it yourselves?” He spoke the Old Tongue as though it had never left the common speech, thrusting a closed fist against his chest. The age-old Omari chant caused a stir among the people, and he knew that he had done his job.
Looking once more to Akecheta, he let a wry smile cross his lips.
“I thought you missed to thrill of battle.” He said. Akecheta nodded, a slight grin touching his mouth. When he saw it, Black Bird whooped and slapped Akecheta’s shoulder.
“This is our chance to rid our lands of those filthy Hauks once and for all!” Black Bird yelled. “‘Aish tähmid kävä!”
The people began to chant in unison, “‘Aish tähmid kävä! ‘Aish tähmid kävä!”
Stone yelled over their chants, adding as much fuel to the fire as he could.
“This is not about the Napua! We are the blood-thirsty Omari. Who else wishes to reclaim that fear that once bound the Hauks to their corner of the world?” men whooped in agreement, several fists pumped against the air.
“‘Aish tähmid kävä!
Akecheta pushed his way through the crowd, grabbing Stone by the forearm and gripping until his long fingers dug into the muscle.
“I cannot deny you are right.” He said, solemnly. “But, if we do this, we do not do this in haste. It’s been too long since we’ve had a real war, and they are not ready for this.”
Stone nodded.
“You will be in charge of training.” He said, shaking Akecheta’s arm once in agreement. Akecheta marched off to start preparing immediately. Stone turned back to his people, now buzzing with excitement at the prospect of victory. He beat his chest with a fist in time to their chanting.
“‘Aish tähmid kävä!”
- Writer
