of hair. Another was too small to belong to an adult.
'These are the Twostone,' he breathed.
Fern's eyes twitched as he scanned them. The whole tribe as near as I can tell,' he said, speaking through the cloth pulled across his mouth and nose. 'Men and women. Young and old.'
Carnelian could not judge how many people were lying there but their bones were like shingle on a beach. An arrow projecting from a ribcage caught his eye. He stooped and withdrew it. It was as long as his arm, with a stump of obsidian where its arrowhead had broken off. It was fletched with black feathers.
He held the thing up for Fern to see. 'Is this a Plainsman arrow?'
Lunging towards him with burning eyes, Fern snatched it. He had to allow his uba to fall away from his face so that he could examine the arrow in both hands. He looked up to say something, then was distracted by something he saw behind Carnelian, causing him to turn.
Osidian and Ravan were coming towards them across the plain, keeping in the narrow shadow cast by one of the crags: a ghost walking upon a path of darkness accompanying a child. Carnelian's sweat went cold. He shook himself free of the illusion; told himself the horror was playing tricks with his mind. 'He's got you seeing omens everywhere,' he muttered. It was just Osidian seeking to protect his skin from the sun.
Osidian's Quya carried towards them on the rising fetor. 'Who is responsible for this?'
'We have found an arrow,' Carnelian said.
'Plainsman?'
'Apparently not.' Carnelian saw with what gaping horror Ravan was surveying the scene.
'Who did this?' Osidian asked Fern in Vulgate, but the Plainsman had noticed Loskai crossing the koppie bridge and was deaf to the Master.
'Plainsmen?' Osidian asked, more insistently.
Fern's face darkened as he seemed to see Osidian for the first time. 'Don't be stupid. Do you really believe one tribe would do this to another?'
Osidian pierced him with his green eyes. 'If not the Plainsmen, who?'
Carnelian had been watching Loskai. With a strange fascination he watched the man grow sickly as his eyes gathered in the enormity of the destruction.
This must be all of them, poor bastards.'
Fern gave him the arrow. Loskai took it and frowned as he turned it in his hands. He looked up and shrugged.
'Whoever did this, might they not still be here?' Carnelian said.
Loskai grew even paler. 'He's right.' Fern was looking in horror to where Krow was coming over the bridge from the koppie. 'We can't let him see this.'
Fern was clearly about to dash back to intercept the youth when Ravan caught hold of his arm. 'What about our people?'
Fern tore free. 'What are you talking about? I don't have time for this.' 'Our tributaries.'
They would've been here well after this happened,' snapped Fern, but Carnelian could see with what intensified horror his friend regarded the carnage.
Bleakly, Ravan looked out across the bone-strewn earth. They might be here…'
Fern advanced on him. They're not here,' he bellowed. They couldn't, be. They weren't meant to arrive here until at least twenty days after the Twostone returned.'
Ravan's face brightened with hope. 'And we delayed them…'
Loskai groaned. He pointed at the massacre. 'We don't even know if the murdering bastards are gone. Even if they are, they might well have been here when the tributaries came through.' He looked back at the koppie. 'We might find our people up there.'
Carnelian felt their misery as if it were his own. 'I'll go with you.'
Fern turned blind eyes on him. 'You wouldn't know what to look for, where to go. Do one thing for me.'
Carnelian saw his friend focus on him. 'Anything.'
'You and Ravan look after the Twostone lad. We'll send the others down to you. Build a fire somewhere within the outer ditch. Keep them safe.'
Carnelian gave a hard nod.
Fern thanked him with his eyes, grabbed Loskai's shoulder and together they ran back towards the koppie bridge. Carnelian, watching them, only after a while became aware of Osidian looking at him with cold eyes.
When darkness fell, Carnelian could no longer deny his fear that something had happened to Fern. He had sat with Krow while Ravan went to marshal the others to build a fire in the ferngarden, beside the earthbridge. Thankfully, dusk now hid the massacre.
Carnelian sneaked a look at Krow's face and saw it was still blank with misery. He had tried to comfort him, but his words had sounded empty.
He gripped the spear he was leaning against his shoulder more tightly and ground its haft into the earth. He glanced round and peered among the dark masses of the surrounding trees longing for Fern and Loskai to return, while all the time, fearing the sudden rush of a murderous attack.
The moon had risen when something came towards them through the ferns. Carnelian leapt to his feet, gripping his spear with both hands as he levelled it at the darkness. Some of the youths were asking questions in shaky voices. He was reassured to see in the corner of his vision Osidian alongside him ready with another spear.
'It's us,' Fern's voice called out as he and Loskai solidified from the darkness.
Carnelian raised the spear with relief. The youths released their tension in laughter and questions as they mobbed the returning men.
'Let us near the fire first,' said Loskai.
The youths quietened and let Fern and Loskai through. Carnelian watched the two men crouch and stretch their hands out seeking the comfort of the flames. Their foreheads moulded into frowns, their squinting eyes sought the burning heart of the fire. Uneasy, everyone settled down to wait until the two men were ready to speak.
At last, Loskai tore his gaze free of the flames and looked round the circle of faces, his burning eyes settled on Krow. They came in from the west across the Bloodbridge. The huskman there failed in his duty and allowed himself to be cast aside. They desecrated many hearths.'
'Why?' Krow demanded with a chilling voice. Loskai shrugged. 'Searching for food; water perhaps, many of the jars were broken.' 'What else?'
Loskai dropped his gaze as if ashamed. They lit fires…' He paused. 'On the floor of your Ancestor House.'
Wide-eyed horror greeted his words.
'Some of them must've lived in there,' said Fern. He braved Krow's stare. The place was filthy.'
Fern's eyes followed a billow of smoke up into the black air. There's more.'
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He opened his eyes, lowered them, quickly glanced at Loskai, then looked at Krow.
They felled three mother trees.'
Carnelian could see Krow's lip trembling.
Then the Mother has abandoned this koppie,' said Ravan.
Krow jumped to his feet. 'You don't know that!' Fern flared his palms. 'He didn't mean -' 'Why? Why did they need to cut down our mother trees?'
To burn their dead,' said Loskai. 'We found a pyre in an outer ferngarden. Charred bones on charcoaled ground. The wind must've blown the ash away.' He opened his hand upon which there lay something like fragments of shell. They were raveners in human shape. Look at these teeth we found.'
Krow took them, his eyes falling on them with burning hatred.
'May I have one?' Carnelian said.
The look Krow turned on Carnelian struck like a blow.
'I might be able to tell you something about them.'
The youth extended his hand and Carnelian took one of the teeth and peered at it. Its human roots tapered to an animal point. He turned the tooth in the flickering light.
