massacre of her people.
'I'll look after her,' Akaisha said, softly.
Carnelian nodded and carefully transferred Poppy's grip to Akaisha's robe; then, kneeling, he kissed her before going off to help Sil tug a blanket from the clutches of the mud. When it came free, they scraped it as clean as they could and put it on a drag-cradle that was propped up against a ginkgo. They were returning for another when a cry of anguish made them stop and turn. Osidian was standing among women shouting at him in anger.
Carnelian touched Sil's hand. 'I'd better…' 'I'll come too,' she said.
Osidian saw them. 'Carnelian, tell these savages I slew him and so he is mine.'
The women caught Carnelian in their crazed stares. Ginkga came to his rescue, ordering the women all back to work, growing angry when they resisted her. 'First let's get things back to normal. After that there'll be plenty of time for retribution.'
As the women moved off they revealed the corpse lying at Osidian's feet. He was not Ochre. He wore a black hunter face and his hands were painted blue.
There was a slap on Carnelian's arm. He whisked round, angry. Seeing it was Ginkga who had struck him,
Carnelian let go of his rage and went back to pulling blankets from the mud.
The Tribe assembled at the centre of the camp around the frame Osidian had made from two drag-cradles and from which the corpse hung, naked, dangling its blue hands. A livid cut across its shoulder was pulled open by the weight of its head. The sight of one of their attackers had awoken snarling hatred among the crowd.
Akaisha came to stand beside Osidian and called for silence. Grimly, she counted out for them their losses. Five mothers had had young children carried off. Two women had miscarried. One man had lost his wife; another had spilled his brains into the mud; five had sustained cruel gashes.
A young, pregnant woman spat out a chilling description of what she wanted to do to the body.
Akaisha shook her head. 'Mutilating this dead man will not bring your son back, Ceda.'
'What will then?' the woman cried. She looked around her with narrowed eyes and every man she looked at averted his gaze. She gave a snort as she placed her hands on her swollen belly. 'You're all such men when it comes to making babies, but you'll not bleed to keep them.'
Ravan pushed past Krow to stand beside the corpse. He reached down to lift its hand, then turned the painted palm in all directions. 'Can everyone see the colour?' He dropped the hand with disgust and wiped his fingers down his robe. 'We know his Tribe.'
'The Bluedancing,' cried the crowd.
'Let's take our revenge on them. Let's go and bring our children back.'
Several of the younger men cried out their support.
Ginkga shoved Ravan out of the way and glowered at the Tribe. 'Yes, this bastard is Bluedancing.' She turned to Ravan, contempt on her face. 'Do you know how many men the Bluedancing have, boy?'
Ravan gave a shrug as if he could not care less.
'Well, if you don't know…' She pointed at each of the youths who had shouted out support for Ravan. 'Can any of you young fools tell us? No? Well let me tell you. For every one of us, they have two. Heed my words; even were the numbers on our side, fighting would be risky: against such odds, it would be madness.'
Harth came to stand beside her. 'Ginkga speaks the truth. We've lost enough already. We'd lose more in attempting revenge.'
That's easy for you to say,' a woman cried out. Others joined their voices to hers.
Harth raised her arms, then waited until they fell silent. 'Why is it, you think, the Bluedancing attacked us at all?'
Carnelian felt the blood draining from his face. He put his arm over Poppy to stop her trembling.
'I'm sure it's well known to you by now that, recently, the Master
…' she looked round at Osidian, 'put some of our lads up to starting a brawl with the Bluedancing in which several of their people were badly hurt and -'
'We didn't start it!' Ravan bellowed as he advanced on the woman.
Harth and the other Elders regarded him with horror.
Akaisha interposed herself between Harth and her son. 'Who do you think you're speaking to?'
Harth stepped out from behind Akaisha. 'If the Bluedancing had seen the Master, they could've betrayed us to the Gatherers, bringing disaster down on the Tribe.'
Ravan grimaced, dropped his head, shaking it as if he was being confronted by an exasperating child. He lifted pleading eyes to his mother. 'It wasn't like that. The Master made certain they could not see him.'
When his mother's frown deepened, he pointed at
Harth. 'Can't you see she's lying? It wasn't like that, it -'
Akaisha's slap across his face brought Ravan to a halt, gaping, accompanied by the crowd's catching of breath. Akaisha's voice carried clear and harsh. 'Never again will you dare address an Elder in that insolent way.'
Ravan bared his teeth in cold rage. 'Every man here knows the arrogance of the Bluedancing's been swelling with every passing year. Are we to accept that any number of brawls, whoever started them, is justification for killing us and carrying away our children?'
'This was the action of some hotheads,' cried Crowrane. 'It couldn't possibly have been sanctioned by their Elders.'
'What does that matter?' a woman cried out and was answered by a surge of approval.
Carnelian was sharing the general feeling when he felt Osidian speak something in his ear. He turned and looked into his eyes.
Tell them,' said Osidian in Quya.
Carnelian shook his head. 'I will play no part in your games, Osidian.'
Then I will use another.'
'What are you saying?' demanded Harth.
Carnelian shook his head. 'I will take no part in this.'
Osidian began to speak in Vulgate. Harth asked her husband to translate. He frowned.
'He said that, even though their numbers are greater than ours, they still feared us enough to attack at night like cowards.'
Harth smiled slyly. 'Does the Master counsel us to make war upon the Bluedancing?'
Osidian narrowed his green eyes as Crowrane told him what his wife had said.
'And who would we put in command of this expedition?' Harth continued as if she were reeling in a fish. She raised her eyebrows waiting for an answer. Osidian seemed not to hear her.
The Master himself, no doubt?' she said and smiled.
Osidian spoke and Crowrane, scowling, refused to translate. Harth began to look uncertain.
Ravan turned to face the people. The Master says that perhaps under his command we might find the manhood we lack.'
The Tribe erupted in outrage. The men, who had been feeling the humiliation, cried out that they had no need of the Master to find courage. They boasted of their bravery in the hunt.
Carnelian saw Harth's horror as she realized she had lost control. The mothers who had lost children and husbands; the men who had lost wives, fixed up the anger of the Tribe until there was a universal baying for war. Harth, Akaisha and other women Elders tried to calm them with commands, then appeals, but the crowd's mood overwhelmed their opposition. Shouting against the tumult, Galewing, Crowrane and other Elder men gave their leave for war. Watching in horror, Carnelian froze when he saw the smile Osidian was making no attempt to conceal.
As the Tribe scattered to their preparations, Carnelian approached Osidian. 'Why did you smile?'
The eyes Osidian turned on him were those of a stranger. 'Matters have come to pass according to my will.'
Carnelian went cold. He considered asking Osidian how he had brought this disaster down on them, but knew he would get no answer. 'Why?'
'It is the God's will.'
