The Tower of Il Serrohe (38 page)

“
Plan? War? I don’t know what you mean. Like I said, if there’s a fight, I will be there with my mate and the rest of my family,” the Loopohmin indicated the lean female next to him.

Smaller than the leader, her posture and the suggestion of speed and strength beneath her gray robe were obvious. Few among the clans could hope to outrun her or, indeed, the rest of the Loopohmin family.

Don tried not to betray emotion. “Fine. Look forward to seeing you.”

He backed away carefully, trying to look neither afraid nor threatening. Turning to his right he headed toward the two Linksmin. They reacted much like the Loopohmin except they looked more like they were going to flee.

“
It’s all right,” Don said quietly. “I just want you to come to Il Mote tomorrow. We will try to get back your young ones.”

The shorter of the two directed a disgusted look toward Don. “We don’t need help from the likes of you,” she hissed.

The taller one, probably her mate, spoke more soothingly. “My wife is upset. They were our children. Just getting ready to hunt. They won’t understand what’s happened to them. We know all too well the ways of the Soreyes. But our children…”

“
I’m sorry. Like I said, we want to help. They are terrorizing the entire Valle. We are going to fight back, so come to Il Mote and we’ll plan.”

The woman seemed on the verge of either crying or lashing out. “We will be there as my husband says, but I don’t how we can do anything about the Soreyes.”

“
I can understand that. I don’t know either, but I’m trying. We are
all
trying. Together, maybe, the clans can do something about them just as in the days of Teresa, you know, the Tall One.”

At her mention, the two became more attentive. “Of course,” the husband said, “you and she are from the same clan; I see that now. There are stories among the Linksmin. We don’t mix much with the others, but we watch carefully. And we remember.”

“
Good. Then I’ll see you there tomorrow.”

They nodded, showing a renewal of hope.

Don turned around to see Bernie and Nersite staring at him with open mouths.

“
What?”

Bernie laughed, stepped forward, and slapped Don on the back so hard he nearly lost consciousness. “You just walked up to the Linksmin and turned them from suspicion to trust. Amazing! I’ve never seen it. How about you, Nersite?”

Nersite smiled proudly. “Never. See, Don, our trust in you is well founded.” He then seemed to blush. “Of course, I really wasn’t so sure. But, now…”

“
Well, don’t either of you get up your hopes too much. I don’t have a clue what to do next. But I can make it up as we go along.”

The two didn’t know what to make of that, but it was well past time for breakfast, so they all went off to eat. They would worry about what to do next later.

sixty

Don was so full from breakfast and so sore from the previous night’s festivities, he thought it wise to take an extended nap. He awakened around noon, feeling better. He was disappointed to find the Loopohmin and Linksmin had left shortly after he had talked with them.

“
I wanted to learn what rituals or chants they use,” he whined to Bernie.

“
Not to worry, they wouldn’t tell you, anyway. I don’t know much about them. They are both secretive clans, but I’ve never seen anything to suggest they have any special powers.”

“
Which, of course, means they
do
have something because that would be the one thing they would want to keep to themselves,” Don muttered. “Shit! I missed a chance to ask them. Perhaps they would have talked to me.”

“
Fat chance!” Bernie spat out and laughed. “They are hunters, so they may have something like our own hunting chants.”

“
Good, tell me about yours.”

“
It’s not much. We go to our sanctuary and ask the Great Creator to watch over us as we face danger in our hunt and to allow a fellow creature to sacrifice himself for our survival.”

“
Sounds a lot like many Native American rituals, from what little I know about them,” Don said.

“
Who? Anyway, after we ask the Great Creator for a blessing, we dance around the sanctuary as if we are hunting and find our prey. Then, we act as if it was a successful hunt and go out celebrating. Finally, we gather up what we need and leave.”

“
How well does it work?”

Bernie chuckled. “Hard to say. Every once in a while some young punk goes out without doing the ritual. Usually, it doesn’t go too well, and they can even get hurt. Then everyone says, ‘See what happens if you don’t ask the Great Creator for a blessing!’”

Bernie paused for effect, then went on. “I think that attitude sets you up for failure. We have a saying, ‘The Great Creator helps those who help themselves.’ Punks like that don’t know how to help themselves.”

“
Do things ever go wrong even with the ritual blessing?”

“
Sure, but ‘Things happen.’”

“
Yeah, in my part of the country we say, ‘Shit happens.’”

Nersite winced remembering what “shit” meant. Bernie nodded. “Funny how we’re the ones with the Great Creator, but we may respect
more
‘The Way It Is!’”

Don laughed.
How true. I can relate to this guy!

“
So, Bernie, I guess the little guy and I need to hit the trail. We’ll see you in Il Mote tomorrow.”

“
No, stay the night.”

“
Thanks, but we have more talking to do. And I’m hoping Raquela will be well enough to go to Il Mote. I’d like to see her before tomorrow’s big meeting.”

And soon they were off with a hearty farewell and barbecue leftovers for a meal on the trail.

Once into the bosque on the west side of Dream River, Don spoke. “I need some time to think, so in spite of what I said earlier, I’ll not talk for a while if you don’t mind.” He looked at the towering trees, the thickets of willows, and small ponds with cattails already shedding the fuzz of their tails. “Are you sure we aren’t being watched by the Soreyes?”

“
Pretty sure. I don’t smell them, and their smell is hard to miss at a far distance even before you can see them. I missed their approach to the Kastmin village because I was inside their hut and then last night I was asleep.”

“
Yeah, but what about everyone else? How could they possibly smell them coming when even you Nohmin who have sensitive noses…”

“
They even snuck up on the Loopohmin and Linksmin who are hunters, but it was also at night. If they get downwind, they can get close enough before someone sleeping can wake up. Their stench is not strong enough to wake you up until they are very close. But now… don’t worry. I’m smelling all the time.”

“
OK, thanks.”

They trudged on in silence. Don was trying to get organized in his head just like he had when driving to work at St. Jude. 

This is not good. Every clan has something that might be “magical” or might be a ritual to focus their minds and attention. The only thing that could be useful is the Barbamin confusion ritual. That had me going for a while, but if I had been prepared, I could have overcome it. I did overcome it to an extent without realizing it was being used.

Everything these people do is fine for their purposes, but not useful for screwing up an enemy, especially one as crafty and underhanded as the Soreyes. No bolts of lightning, mind-numbing chants, or paralysis curses. If this is all some aberration of my mind, why the hell couldn’t I create people with some real powers?

So does that mean this is real?

Don pinched himself.

Quit pinching yourself! All that proves is that I can create the sensation of pain along with all the rest of this. I’m not escaping this place unless it’s through the Portal or whatever happened there in the Soreye village a few days ago.

Escape? Is that what I want? Yes! But somehow I’m feeling obligated here. Why the hell I am, I don’t know. Just am. Shit, what’s up with that? OK, play this out. The meeting might get these pathetically unorganized folks organized. Maybe old-fashioned fighting will do the trick, or at least give the Soreyes something to think about.

If they get the idea the Valle people aren’t going to continue rolling over and playing dead, maybe they’ll back off. And if they try to bear down harder, maybe they’ll energize the Valle… or discourage them entirely.

So what? If they lose heart, then I’m off the hook and I go back home and try to get my life together. That, or do more drinking and screw it all!

So at the meeting I’ll share what I’ve learned. It seems fairly clear they don’t really know that much about each other. What a weird place this is! All the different types of people—races of people—all crammed together in one big valley. It’s like a whole world of races brought together. I mean these people are more different from each other than the human races of my entire “world.” Those Barbamin are especially odd. Like little cartoon people. Geeze, I either need a drink, or I need to go on the wagon permanently.

Anyway, I explain the various clan rituals and all, and then we put our heads together to decide how to use some of them against the Soreyes. Do we attack? Probably, but will they be waiting for us before we get to “the pass”? What is up with that Tower? Can they see things far off? I don’t think they have the technology. I mean this is a primitive place. Stone Age. No metal. The Soreyes barely use the wheel.

It’ll be good to see Raquela at Il Mote. I hope she’s OK. I don’t know why, but I find it disturbing she was hurt like that. I mean she’s good-looking, but I can’t go there right now after the way Bess treated me. I can’t let myself get interested in someone while I’m still screwed up.

Don’s mind drifted until he entered into a state where he was taking in the landscape they traveled in “the now.” It was comforting to not think so much. Going in circles about the whole situation in the Valle could drive him to distraction.

Suddenly the bushes rattled like bones kicked over sand. Jasin appeared, smiling sheepishly. “Greetings, Nersite and Don! Flit and I have been all over the Valle, even to Lookgosee, the bat’s island. Many will be there. Even the Crotalmin, who I didn’t invite, have heard, and Sliktooth nearly grabbed me to say he will be there.”

Don squirmed. “We’ve met. Almost. He scared the hell out of me the second time I… visited the Valle.”

Nersite patted Don’s arm. “I think he’ll be OK. I heard his clan had a big successful hunt recently and won’t be in the mood for additional meals for a while. They’re usually OK when they’re well fed.”

“
Geeze, you make them sound like some kind of… I don’t know.”

“
Well, it’s true. I mean, are you hungry right now?”

Don shook his head. “No. What’s that have to do with anything?”

“
Well, then you aren’t going to go eating up whatever you can get your hands on right now, so neither will Sliktooth.”

“
You know you people are really disturbing. Some of you are like cannibals, yet you can’t fight off the Soreyes!” Don’s face wasn’t easy for Nersite and Jasin to read. They stood there dumbfounded.

“
We have customs you aren’t used to, Don. Don’t blame us, just give us a hand. We’ll be grateful, honest.”

“
OK, OK. So Jasin, you coming with us?”

“
Not now. I’ll see you there. I’ll bring Flit with me, so I can keep her away from my stuff.”

And off he went like a feather blown in the wind.

Continuing in silence, they arrived in Il Mote near sundown. The glowing golden and fiery salmon colors of the sunset cast a deep red shadow over the whole village. The sturdy wooden homes reminded Don of the friendly welcome from the Taurimin. But this was a village with many more buildings and rudimentary dirt streets leading to a small square with a well in the center. Across from the well was a building larger than the dining hall of the Taurimin fields they had visited days earlier. It was simply called the “Big House.”

Inside were all manner of Valle folk milling about drinking water, milk, and eating sharp Taurimin cheese. On a few tables off to the left side were piles of recognizable fruit and some of the odd fare of the Barbamin. The smoke of three fire pits and the dust raised by the crowd dimmed the light of hundreds of candles.

Don was surprised by how many he recognized as they mingled with the crowd.  Just three days ago, he would have known only Nersite who stayed by his side.  Don was now hungry and piled cheese and fruit on a stoneware plate.

“
There you two are!” a pleasing voice behind them called.

Turning around, Don’s stomach sent a little sharp pain of pleasure up through his heart to his throat. Raquela!

She looked good: healthy, upright, smiling enough to dispel the dimness of the big room.