Sunshaker's War (28 page)

Calvin shook his head. “'Fraid not—but I've learned a lot. More'n you want to hear, probably.”

“If it is much you have learned, then it will take long to tell, and that is a thing best done where it is cooler,” Uki said. “So come if you will, and visit with me a while.”

Calvin and David grinned, though Alec was trepidatious, but they all followed Uki toward a narrow path that snaked down the inside of the gorge and led under the waterfall to a large, dry cavern.

David looked about apprehensively, expecting to find the place crawling with the snakes and giant tortoises it had held before, but there was no sign of them—though the sandy floor bore the twisted marks of their passage.

“Where're the girls?” Calvin wondered aloud, in reference to Uki's two disturbing half-sisters, the Snake Women.

“Gone to the north and south to learn how the land fares, gone to seek council with the mighty.”

“The mighty?”

“With the Red Man of the East and the Black Man of the West and the Blue Man of the North; with Awahili the eagle, and Awi Usdi the Little Deer and Yanu Tsunega the White Bear of Atagahi; and even with Tsistu, Chief of Rabbit kind.”

“I was wonderin' about that,” Calvin mused thoughtfully. “I wondered if there wasn't something you folks could do here.”

“In truth, there is little,” Uki told him, “though we make the effort. Mostly we try to maintain watch on Nunda Igeyi to see that it grows no brighter, and call the clouds often to shade the land. But without Kanati, little can we
do. I have tried to bring the cooling rain, but can no longer find it. I fear Kanati has deserted us.”

“Kanati?” Alec wondered.

“One of the gods,” David supplied. “I think he's Uki's father.”

“He is,” Uki said. “But he is gone from here now and returns only when he pleases. But come, I am a bad host. We will eat and drink and then you will tell me what has transpired.”

They followed the shaman into an adjoining cavern, and David spent almost a whole minute simply inhaling the cool, moist air. Uki disappeared, to return with a white deerskin and a series of pottery vessels. These proved to contain whole chilled mushrooms, honey, blueberries, and some kind of celerylike greens with a tongue-soothing dipping sauce. There was also ice-cold water, which they pulled from a large earthenware pot with gourd dippers.

“Now,” Uki said, when they had refreshed themselves, “what news do you have for me?”

Calvin sighed wearily and told Uki as much as he could about affairs in Faerie, with David supplying the details about the intricacies of Faerie politics.

Uki said little while they spoke, though he did interject a question from time to time. When David got to the part about Lugh using the spear to draw on the energy of the sun, though, Uki hunched forward attentively. “Yes,” he muttered. “This makes sense, for not a day past Nunda Igeyi suddenly grew very hot indeed. And it matches a thing I have been thinking.”

He went on to explain how he believed that when Lugh drew on the power of Faerie's sun, he also drew on the power of the suns in other Worlds as well. Earth's sun was too strong for even a very powerful being to affect it, but the same was not true of Galunlati's weaker one.

“However,” Uki continued, “I think there are more important things you must tell. Did I not hear you say you thought you had found a way to stop this war?”

David nodded and told him of their sketchy plan to rescue Fionchadd.

“So once you have found Dagantu, once you have freed him, what then?” Uki asked at last, giving Fionchadd his Cherokee name, which meant Lizard—because he moved like one, not because of the year he had spent in that shape. “Will not those who have imprisoned him follow you? What is to keep them from entering your Land?”

“Fear, mostly,” David replied. “They don't dare draw too much attention to themselves, since our World doesn't believe in magic and I'm afraid there'd be more magic afoot than the Sidhe like—and that's not even countin' the problem they have with iron.”

“It also depends on where Finny's bein' held,” Calvin added carefully. “We thought he was captive in some part of Faerie subject to Finvarra—like Erenn. That'd make the most sense, but when Liz looked for him, she found him…she's not sure, but geographically it…seemed to be near Atlanta, which is a large city in our world many days walk from us—though we probably won't be walkin'.”

“We really can't tell until we know more,” Alec interrupted. “As it is, we're unbelievably lucky Finno's even on this side of the Atlantic. Otherwise, we'd really be calling in favors we don't have with you trying to get to places from which we could maybe reach Faerie, or asking for teleportation magic, or I don't know what all.”

“Fortunate indeed you are,” Uki said, “and I think your plan is wise. But one thing yet concerns me: You say you fear pursuit into your world if your foe finds you have stolen your friend. That is reasonable enough. But what troubles me is that you have also spoken of a need to get him to the land of his mother's folk—”

“
Grandmother's
folk, actually,” David corrected. “His mother's mother was a Powersmith, her father was brother to Annwyn's queen.”

“I am set straight,” Uki laughed, nonplussed. “But
whatever the relationship, there is a thing you are not telling me, is there not? A favor you wish to ask?”

Calvin nodded sheepishly. “Saw right through us, didn't you? But yeah, we are kinda in a bind. See, Finvarra shouldn't know about Galunlati yet, unless he's got more spies at Lugh's court than we know of, but he does know something's up—knows there's another World that borders ours, just not where it is or how to get there. But I doubt he knows that the land of the Powersmiths can be reached from here. Lugh has nothing to lose by our freein' Finny, so if Finny is being held close to Tir-Nan-Og and we wind up there when we try to teleport, we may be okay anyway—we'll simply turn Finny over to him and have done.”

“But if you do not?”

“That's what I'm gettin' to. If we can't get Finny to Faerie, and can get him to our World, we run the risk of havin' Finvarra follow him into our World. So what I was hopin' is that we could kinda keep the
option
open of bringin' Finny back into Galunlati, at least briefly, if we really have to. Once here, we can either send word to Powersmithland, or else—if you'll let us—go through Galunlati until we're fairly close to where that naval battle's gonna be, and then switch back there.”

Uki nodded grimly and frowned, but he looked relaxed. “I do not like this,” he said finally. “I do not like the idea of becoming ensnared in the workings of other Lands, and I fear to see this war spread through all the Lands. Yet if it is not stopped, if Lugh uses this weapon on Midsummer's Day, we may all be doomed. Surely he knows this.”

“I'm not so sure,” David interrupted. “I think Tir-Nan-Og—all of Faerie—is more secure than Galunlati. I don't think even Lugh would be so suicidal as to knowingly risk his own World.”

“There are many variables,” Uki said. “Too many, yet you have given me much to report to the Council. Still, time is critical, and Edahi has said more than once that it is easier to get forgiveness than permission. Therefore, you have my permission to proceed—but cautiously, and only if there is no other choice, for I do not want attention drawn to Galunlati. Should you succeed in freeing Dagantu, you may enter Galunlati if need be. I would urge that you do so only if necessary. Since there is a battle a-borning to the south, I would also suggest you make the transfer there—you will have less territory to travel through.”

“There aren't any uktenas down there, are there?” Alec asked nervously.

“No,” Uki chuckled. “But I would beware of bears and rabbits.”

David frowned thoughtfully. “Uh, speakin' of critters, there's something I keep meanin' to ask you. I…I keep wonderin' about you and snakes and the uktena. I mean the uktena was your enemy, right? You had us kill it. And you're supposed to be standin' guard over the Snake Women—your sisters; and you don't like havin' snakes around. Yet you wear them as ornaments, and everything I've read since I left here indicates that snakes are important in weather magic. I can't reconcile the two.”

“It
is
a hard thing to understand, is it not?” Uki replied, smiling. “But remember the heart of our magic derives in part from similarities and in part from things that are part of more than one world at once. Snakes move like water, therefore they may help bring the water. They are neither fish, though they have scales; nor beast, though they go upon the land; nor bird, though they lay eggs. In this they have power, and that power may be used to bring rain, which is water between earth and sky, which may be solid or liquid or even air.”

“I see,” David said. “Sort of… But there's another thing that puzzles me.” He paused, swallowed. “If lookin' at an uktena causes death to the seer's family, why didn't our folks die when I turned into one last fall?”

“Because you were not truly in your Land, for one thing,” Uki told him. “There was so much magic afoot
that your power could not get through. But more importantly,” he added, “you were not yourself truly evil.”

David had just started to inquire further when Calvin shushed him.

“No time for that now, White 'possum, we've got other things to talk about.” He eyed Uki speculatively. “We still need one favor. “

Uki raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

Calvin looked embarrassed, an expression David had seldom seen him wear. It made him look younger, and David decided he tended to think of Calvin as being older than he probably was—and then realized he didn't really know his friend's true age.

“Uh, yeah,” Calvin mumbled awkwardly. “I told you we may be able to spring Finno by goin' to wherever he is and simply unchaining him. Trouble is, we don't really know how to get there, since the only way that might work is closed. So we were sort of wonderin' if you could lend us a few uktena scales to burn, so we could maybe try to get there that way.”

Uki frowned. “Those scales are rare and precious and not to be used capriciously. It takes much medicine to prepare them. This you know.”

“Right,” Calvin affirmed. “And I'm afraid our plan may require a fair number, just in case. But we can always bring 'em back if we don't use 'em. And I'd be glad to help you make more.”

“How many?” Uki asked gravely.

Calvin's brow wrinkled in thought as he counted on his fingers. “Let's see, at least two to get there, if he's only one World away and if only two of us go, which is probably the minimum we could get by with: somebody who knows Faerie and somebody who knows Cherokee magic—me and Dave, I guess. And then three to get us back to our World with Finny—or twice that number if he's
more
than one World away. And then three more to get here, if we have to use that option—assumin' we can't jump straight here, which I doubt we can, given that we can't
see
two Worlds away with just an ulunsuti. The last is a contingency,” he added hopefully.

“And more yet to get you to the Powersmiths and more yet to get you home again when this is over,” Uki groaned wearily, though his eyes twinkled. He sighed dramatically and strode off to his chamber once more to return with yet another pouch. He emptied it onto the floor in a cascade of ruddy, vitreous color. “These are all that remain of our winter's labor,” he said, “for only certain scales may be used. I will try to make more, should you need them, but these are all I have now. And remember, it will take three for you to return to your own Land from here this time.”
He sorted through the pile and wound up with thirty scales. “Six hands I have but I cannot give you all. Will four hands and two be enough?”

“More than enough, I hope,” Calvin said after an instant's calculation. “If not—well, we'll just have to wing it.” David watched as Uki swept all but eight of the scales back into the pouch, which he then handed to Calvin, before distributing three of the remainder among the boys.

The shaman disappeared again, to return a moment later with a medium sized leather pouch which bulged in odd places. This too he handed to Calvin. “Should you attempt what I suspect you will, Edahi, you may find the contents to be very useful. Go now,” he added, “and take the scales with my blessing and the blessing of Galunlati. I will do what I can here, but I fear the battle will be mostly yours, and truth to tell, what you have told me sounds too simple, for surely Finvarra will have posted guards. Remember what I have said: use the scales sparingly, for they are rare and cost much to empower—as well you know. Avoid my Land if you can, but if you cannot, make the crossing in the south. Now come, I will call down the lightning.”

David cringed at that, yet knew it was no worse than the flames they had come through to reach this land.

Uki rose and led the way to the shelf behind the falls. Once more he bade them hold their scales aloft; once more
he had them close their eyes and think on home. A word from him, a certain chant and a pattern of claps—and lightning flashed down from the sky and pierced the falls and sent them first into agony and then back into Carolina.