“It doesn’t matter. It always finds me. And when it does, it makes sure to kill someone I care about or have been in contact with.” Once my footwear was in place, I rose and said, “I need to go tell the chief we’re leaving.”
“Do you want company?”
“No, thank you. I feel I should go alone,” I said.
In truth, I was apprehensive about facing the great chief. But it was my duty to tell the wise elder face to face rather than leave him wondering like Marcellious had done when he disappeared. I didn’t want the chief to simply find us gone.
Outside of our teepee, I ghost-walked across the packed dirt, heading in the direction of Grey Feather’s dwelling. The encampment was eerily quiet. I pictured the residents huddled inside their homes, unwilling to venture out lest the darkness hunts them down.
As I approached the chief’s teepee, doubt rolled through me. Grey Feather might not even be awake. What did I plan on doing? Sneak into his lodge and shake his shoulder? What if I startled him, and he tried to attack me? He was an old warrior, and even though he might appear feeble, instincts were instincts.
Outside of his teepee, Earth Bear stood tall and imposing. “The great chief is ready to see you. He’s been waiting.”
I jerked back in surprise, barely able to make out Earth Bear’s face in the pre-dawn. “He is?”
“Yes,” Earth Bear said, pulling back the tent flap. “Enter.”
My stomach cramped as I ducked and made my way into the teepee.
A small fire burned brightly in the center, shooting sparks into the air.
Shadows danced along Grey Feather’s face, giving him an ominous expression.
“Sit,” he said, pointing opposite him.
I lowered into a “legs to the side” position and studied him through the flames.
“What happened last night was a travesty,” he said. “But it’s no cause for your departure. The people will see Laughing Maid’s death was not your fault. They will forgive you.”
My eyebrows flew up. How could he say something like this? Laughing Maid’s deathwasmy fault, and the tribespeople had every right to be afraid of me. “That’s kind of you to say, but that’s not why we’re leaving. How did you even know about our imminent departure?”
He let out a long sigh. “I have been up all night, consulting with the Great Spirit. Wakan Tanka informed me you are leaving.”
I rested my hands in my lap and said, “We are, but it’s not why you think. I need answers. You informed me to look for the journal belonging to Fierce Wind. I believe Fierce Wind is the woman who came to Emily’s father’s land and fell in love with him. Her father, Philip, supposedly wrote detailed journals of their time together. If we find the journals, perhaps we will discover the whereabouts of Fierce Wind’s writing.”
The chief jerked back as if stunned by this news. “This young maiden, this Emily… Her father knew Fierce Wind?”
“Yes, I believe so. I think she is the same woman that he met and then she came here to you. But I’m not completely certain,” I said simply. The heat pouring from the fire made my cheeks hot to the touch, almost too warm, like in the sweat lodge last night. I scooted backward.
“Will you be leaving Hunting Wolf behind?” Grey Feather asked.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “Both Hunting Wolf and Swift Hawk will be accompanying us. Our journey could be fraught with danger, and I need them.”
I studied the chief for a reaction.
His face seemed to melt into an expression of sorrow as he stared at the flames.
“We’ll be back, Grey Feather, I promise,” I said, not wanting to cause him more grief. “But we must find these journals. As you can see, the darknesses are indeed hunting us.”
The chief nodded. After several beats of silence, he bid me farewell and sent me away.
I glanced at him, noting the wet tears that clung to the corners of his eyes. Slowly, I rose and crept from the teepee.
My next stop was Roman’s dwelling. Outside, the faintest glimmer of dawn pushed through the night’s shadows. The same cacophony of bird songs accompanying every morning in the wilds filled the air.
I stepped lightly across the dirt as I headed for Roman’s.
The sound of sharp, angry voices greeted me from Roman’s teepee.
