Spirit Walker Read Free Page A

Fin-Kedinn limping onto the walkway.
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At that moment Oslak swayed, and the wicker rocked.
Dari's mouth went square, and he began to howl.
Fin-Kedinn stood firm. "Oslak," he called.
Oslak lurched backward. "Stay
away!
    Fin-Kedinn raised his hands to reassure him that he wasn't coming any closer. Then, as the clan watched in taut silence, he sat cross-legged on the wicker. He was six paces from the bank, and if Oslak pulled the rope, the walkway would collapse; but he looked as calm as if he were sitting by the fire. "Oslak," he said, "the clan chose me for Leader to keep it safe. You know that."
    Oslak licked his lips.
"And I will," said Fin-Kedinn. "I will keep you safe. But put Dari down. Let him come to me. Let me take him to his mother."
Oslak's face went slack.
"Put him down," repeated Fin-Kedinn. "It's time for his nightmeal. . . ."
The power of his voice began to work. Slowly Oslak unwound the boy's arms from his neck and lowered him onto the wicker.
Dari gazed up at him as if seeking permission, then turned and crawled toward Fin-Kedinn.
Fin-Kedinn shifted onto one knee and reached for him.
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The pine-cone auroch slipped from Dari's fist and into the water. With a squeal Dari grabbed for it. Fin-Kedinn caught him by the jerkin and swept him into his arms. On the bank, the Ravens breathed out.
Torak's knees sagged. He watched the Raven Leader rise and edge sideways toward the bank. When he drew near, Thull grabbed Dari and held him tight.
On the walkway, Oslak stood like a stunned auroch. The rope slipped from his hand as he gazed at the churning water. Silently Fin-Kedinn went back for him and took him by the shoulders, speaking in words no one else could hear.
    Oslak's body slumped, and he let Fin-Kedinn lead him to the bank--where men seized him and forced him down. He seemed puzzled, as if unsure how he'd got there. Torak found his way to the shallows, dropped his spear in the sand, and began to shake.
"Are you all right?" said Renn. Her dark-red hair was wet with spray, her face so pale that her clan-tattoos were three dark stripes on her cheeks. He nodded. But he knew she wasn't fooled.
Farther up the bank, Fin-Kedinn was speaking to Saeunn, who'd climbed down from the Rock. "What's wrong with him?" he said as the clan gathered around them. 24
The Raven Mage shook her head. "His souls are fighting within him."
"So it's some kind of madness," said Fin-Kedinn.
"Maybe," replied Saeunn. "But not a kind I've ever seen."
"I have," said Torak. Quickly he told them about the Boar Clan hunter.
As the Mage listened, her face grew grim. She was the oldest in the clan by many winters. Age had blasted her, polishing her scalp to the color of old bone, sharpening her features to something more raven than woman. "I saw it in the bones," she rasped. "A message. 'It is coming.'"
    "There's something else," said Renn. "When I was hunting, I met a party of Willow Clan. One of them was sick. Sores. Madness. Terrible fear." Her eyes were dark as peat pools as she turned to Saeunn. "The Willow Clan Mage sends you word. He too has been reading the bones, and for three days they've told him one thing, over and over. 'It is coming.'"
People made the sign of the hand to ward off evil. Others touched their clan-creature skins: the strips of glossy black feathers sewn to their jerkins. Etan, an eager young hunter, stepped forward, his face perplexed. "I left Bera on the hill, checking the deadfalls. She had blisters on her hands. Like Oslak's. I did wrong to leave her, didn't I?"
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Fin-Kedinn shook his head. His face was unreadable as he stroked his dark-red beard, but Torak sensed that his thoughts were racing.
    Swiftly the Raven Leader gave orders. "Thull, Etan. Get some men and build a shelter in the lime wood, out of sight of camp. Take Oslak there and keep him under guard. Vedna, you're not to go near him. I'm sorry, but there's no other way." He turned to Saeunn, and his blue eyes blazed. "Middle-night. A healing rite. Find out