The Last Sundancer (41 page)

Tamol hesitated as he stepped forward
.  Instead of a smile of greeting, Antuk bared all of his teeth at the battered warrior. 

“Where are we?” Kaichen’s voice was as dry as sagebrush but he forced the words from his parched throat.

“I rode the horse overland to reach you.  There is a canyon that would have brought me directly here had I been familiar with it but I thought it was safer to travel around it than to risk entering an unknown canyon.  Even the raiders do not travel that way, their horses cannot take the steep rocks and sudden overhangs.  No man is fool enough to risk a horse’s life unnecessarily.”

Kaichen swallowed more of the water after seeing to Antuk’s thirst first.   His friend smiled in appreciation as he listened to
Tamol. 

“We will return through the canyon.  We are already on borrowed time.” Kaichen’s jaw was firmly set as he made the decision for them.  There was no time to waste and
the raiders had the advantage in all ways, except this one.

“You plan to journey through the canyon? It is death to any man to enter a canyon without knowing the way out.”
Tamol’s voice was the voice of reason, but Kaichen moved forward without speaking. 

Silently
, Kaichen pressed his smallest finger back into place and then bound the finger against the next with a strip of Antuk’s parka.  His friend handed him the cloth as he watched Kaichen with great interest.

Kaichen
gathered the rope that had been used to tie them to the stakes in the ground.  With effort he removed four of the stakes and inspected them, they were made of hollowed bone.  He tied these together and knotted the rope which he wrapped from shoulder to elbow until he created a coil of useful length. 

“We will walk until our strength returns and then we will run.” Kaichen’s voice went unchallenged.  All three men felt a shared sense of urgency, for varying reasons.  

Tamol’s sole focus was upon Denoa.  Images of her bruised and battered body tormented him along with his failure at being unable to protect her from harm.  He also felt Kaichen’s anger over his words and he felt the younger man’s unspoken words of blame.  If Denoa was dead it would be his fault. 

Kaichen’s every footstep was for Amara.  He had promised to return to her and even though he could not have imagined the delay in his return, he could not fathom a world in which Amara no longer existed.  It would be a world without music, a world without joy.  

Antuk for his part, considered the enormity of the tasks facing them and he kept his silence.  He would walk by Kaichen’s side as his friend, just as he always had and he would watch and remember the story of their people. He had finally found his purpose and nothing except death would keep him from his goal.  

Tamol
allowed his horse to drink the last of their water and then he led the animal forward.  The silence was thick between the men as they walked without speaking.  Kaichen knew the dangers just as well as Tamol.  Lightning storms and ground fires were common during the time of the warm season.  Dust storms were to be expected.

Flash floods were common occurrences and to be caught in an unknown canyon with water rising swiftly all around them was to welcome death.  Rattlesnakes, scorpions and worse hid in the shadowed places waiting to strike.  Excessive heat and strong winds could cause injury or loss of life.  Water was only a dream born of wishful thinking. 

With a deep breath Kaichen fell freely into the familiar rhythms of the warrior’s way.  The teachings of Azin were all that he had left to aid him.  He allowed the warrior’s way to fall over him like a cloak and it owned him, sifting between the place where soul and spirit collide.  He became the embodiment of all that Azin had taught him.  He moved forward with a predatory strength that possessed him and urged him forward.  He did not look at his companions as each man focused upon the beckoning canyon and the dangers inherent within.

Kaichen’s thoughts spiraled back to the night when he had sat with Amara and Antuk, teaching them both the warrior’s way.

“Have you ever tried to talk to the sky people?” Amara was with Kaichen as they both welcomed the warmth of the fire.  Kaichen’s voice was a soft murmur, it was filled with soothing tones of friendship. 

“I have never heard of the sky people.” Amara was intrigued by Kaichen’s storytelling.  He told a story the way that others spoke of times long ago.  Antuk sat nearby listening in but he did not shift or move even a muscle.  Without speaking it was obvious that Antuk wished to hear Kaichen continue.

“Ah, then this is a story that you will enjoy.” Kaichen shifted forward so that he could place more sticks, twigs and branches upon the fire.  “Even with so great a fire as this you have only to look up at the heavens and see the sky people looking down.”

Amara instinctively lifted her face to the glorious canopy of stars overhead.  “The luminaries?”

Her words were softly spoken so as not to interrupt the cadence of the story.   Kaichen simply smiled and Amara’s heart was captured.  She had rarely seen him smile and never had she heard his laughter, although she yearned to hear the joyful sound.

Would it be a soft chuckle, welling up from the depths of his belly or would he let out a boisterous chorus of amusement that was infectious to the listener?  Amara did not know.  It was this that drew her to Kaichen.  The mysteries within the man before her were many and rare.  She only wished that she could be certain he felt the same. 

“There is a world that exists beyond ours where the sky people live.  Their worries are not our worries and their burdens are not our burdens.  It is said that each light that graces the night sky is born on the day of their birth, it shines on their behalf in tribute.”

Kaichen saw the excitement of a newly spoken story shimmering in Amara’s dark eyes and he held on to the words that would quench her thirst for more.

“I first learned of the sky people when I was just a boy.  My mother told me all the stories of my father and this was simply one of many that I was to learn and remember.  The telling of it came on a night like this one and the sky appeared much like this, although I was seated upon a high rise deep in the canyons and my brother was with me.  We were children unafraid and my mother explained that the sky people took interest in our world and those that walked upon it.”

“They can see us clearly though to us they appear far away.  When the storms come and the thunder rumbles across the sky, it is a dark utterance from the sky people about the goings on in our world.  We have been remiss in the keeping of balance in the world that we liv
e in and it must be restored.  Floods, lightening strikes and dust storms remind us that there are powers greater than ours at work.  Man lacks humility more so than any other trait and the sky people wish to remind us of our lowly place in the existence of all things.”

“Why does a hunter allow his arrow to pierce the heart of a second animal, when he has already taken the first?  How much meat does one man
need to feed his family and what will he do if there is waste?  These are the questions that young boys must learn to answer before they attempt their first hunt.  Even when a child sets his first trap he must ask that he only snare one animal, enough to fill his mother’s stewpot and nothing more.  When a hunter walks the land, buffalo and deer will come to the call of his arrow, if he is worthy.”

“The sky people watch over the world to see that balance is kept by all.  But there are some men that do not heed the admonition to walk with humility.  Some would prefer to gain all that they can and leave nothing for the rest.   The sky people look on silently and the thunder clouds come.  The harvest is ruined by floods and the swell of insects that eat the green leaves needed by the harvesters.   Anger blooms in the hearts of men and battles are fought.  Those that know the wrath of the sky people never forget.  Their hearts either become weighed down with sorrow or full of anger.  If sorrow is what they feel then they stand a chance of righting the wrong and restoring balance.  If anger guards their hearts, soon coldness finds their souls and darkness crowds out the light.”

Kaichen grew silent for a time and Amara thought that his story had come to an end. Amara remained silent as Kaichen blinked a few times and then turned his gaze upon her. 

She sucked in h
er breath at what she saw there, the last dregs of power shimmered within his gaze.  His eyes were so dark and thickly framed by lashes that Amara could barely make out the whites of his eyes.  

“The sky people do not wish us harm.  The luminaries are there to remind us that we are never alone.  It is said that in each generation one person is chosen to receive a rich reward given freely as a gift to our world from theirs.   They ask for one thing and one thing only.” Kaichen’s face was a mask that appeared unreadable and then his eyes closed as he returned to the world of dreams where stories lived.  “The one that requests a blessing from the heavens must first pay tribute.”

“What type of tribute?” Antuk’s voice brought Kaichen’s eyes open and Amara’s gaze clashed with his. 

Without turning to face Antuk he considered his question.  Kaichen stared into Amara’s upturned face, its delicate lines were beautifully highlighted by the soft glow of the fire’s light.

“The legend does not say.  Only the seeker knows if his request is fulfilled.  Only the seeker knows if his gift of tribute is accepted.” Kaichen inclined his head to acknowledge the end of his story.  Amara chewed upon her upper and lower lip as she gave his words careful thought. 

“How many times did you hear that story before you were able to remember it fully?” Amara felt that she was close to understanding Kaichen better.  She held her breath as she waited for his answer.  His silence told her that he considered keeping his response to himself and then he did something that stole her heart completely.  He gave her his trust by speaking the truth for her ears alone.

“Only once.” Kaichen allowed the dream world that the story had created to fade away. 

He stifled the feeling of remembered grief as he blinked the world into focus.  Siada was no longer with him.  They were no longer two boys
lying on their bellies high upon the canyon walls as they listened to the voice of their mother. 

He looked into Amara’s wide eyes and he saw innocence and the lack of harsh
judgment.  He also saw a question lingering in the light that caused her eyes to shimmer.  She lowered her head, unwilling to allow him to see more.  Kaichen hid a smile.  Amara was the first person to pull a story from him with such ease.  She had only to tilt her head in inquiry and the words spilled from his lips.

“Thank you for sharing the story.  It is not one that I will ever forget.” Amara’s voice was certain and Kaichen nodded in understanding. 

“It is good.” Antuk announced as Amara smiled shyly and Kaichen nodded.  He was right.  It was very good indeed.

Leading T
amol and Antuk, Kaichen pulled the memory of that night with Amara to him.  He could almost see her wide eyes as she looked at him.  He forced his mind to remember Amara and all that he felt for her so that strength would continue to flow into his body, pushing him onward. 

T
amol did not look well.  Kaichen had a feeling that Tamol’s wounded thigh was causing the man considerable pain.  Antuk stumbled a few times, as he followed along but when Kaichen glanced at his friend he saw only the familiar smile that Antuk often wore. 

“Tell me of Ni’zin
and Tonaka.” Kaichen’s voice was a continuous rasp, almost indistinguishable and he began to worry that his thirst would never be quenched.  There was no water to be found in the canyon, nor was it expected.

“What do I know of those men?” Tamol
scowled, unwilling to say more.

“
They are the brothers of the man that was once your closest friend.” Kaichen’s anger blazed as Tamol stared at him without speaking.  “I wish to know more about my father’s family.  Tell me what you know of them.”

T
amol was silent for a moment as he checked the hooves of his horse.  He walked around the animal and came to rest in front of Kaichen.

“Ni’zin is the youngest of the three sons
, Tonaka was born second.  Your father was the firstborn son.” Tamol eyed Antuk and his scowl deepened. “Does he ever stop smiling?”

Kaichen looked at Antuk and he knew that at any other time he would have given in to laughter.  His friend’s sincere smile often turned into a sneer when he looked upon T
amol.  Even now Antuk’s usually amicable face was a mask of displeasure as he bared his teeth at the man.  “Continue.”

“Ni’zin was a boy when
your grandfather rose to power.  Your father had become a hunter by then, he was a man of his village and unmatched in talent.  But that was not enough for your grandfather, he wanted a leader for his warriors.  Ni’zin was never considered for the honored position of leadership.  He was too young and often frail.  Your father and Tonaka were well matched although your father was the favored son, having a close resemblance to your grandfather.” Tamol picked up the pace of his footsteps to match those of Kaichen but the young man stopped walking briefly to stare at him.

“
Am I the image of my father?” Kaichen did not know how he was certain of such a thing, but he was.  His mother had often told them how much he and Siada both resembled their father.