And When They Were Up...
ALL TOO SOON, the trek up the glacier came to a temporary end, when Mudroot halted and pointed out a pathway to take. Charmian couldn't see it, herself, though Winter Born and Pakwa seemed to have no trouble; she suppressed a scowl and squinted to try to make out any difference upon the ground, seeing none. Mudroot wrapped her fur wrap around herself and gestured at the mountain which loomed ahead and to their right.
"Just keep heading up that path. The going's not that difficult at all. I made it almost all the way myself, once, but not to the entryway into the mountain."
"Why not?" Charmian asked.
The old wabano gave her a sour look. "What business have I traipsing up a mountain to talk to the North Wind! I might be brave but I'm not stupid! I figured it was just easier to fight those Whittikos off one by one. You do know that he created them, don't you?" Another vague wave, and she started back down the glacier. "Stop on by as soon as you're done! If you make it out, I mean. No telling what that old man'll have you do..."
The other three stood and watched her wander off. They peered upward a little to see the flat swath of land below where the camp lay, but it looked like nothing more than a bunch of specks. Even further off lapped the waters of the bay, and Charmian squinted hard, thinking that she had spotted Mishupishu still swimming around out there, but she wasn't sure. She turned back around and let out a sigh, waving at the girl and the GeeBee. "Come on, then. Best not to keep Kabebonikka waiting."
They resumed walking. The pebbly earth crunched beneath their feet; small stands of pines arose here and there, looking slanted due to the incline of the ground. They walked in silence for a long while, the sky looking gloomier and gloomier, though it didn't snow or rain. The air did grow colder and slightly thinner, however, the higher they went, and the pines began to grow thicker, to Charmian's surprise. She still found it hard to believe that all of this existed atop the glacier, but every so often they passed a patch of dirty white where the earth thinned out, and she could see a great ribbon of it ascending before them, winding sinuously like a giant snake around the mountains.
Winter Born rubbed her arms. "I didn't know the land could get so high," she murmured, peering up at the jagged peaks.
"It gets a lot higher than this in some places," Charmian said. "Though I hope it doesn't here." She and Winter Born watched silently as Pakwa meandered around a little, sniffing at rocks and rolling a few over as if looking for something to eat. He went on ahead.
"I'm sorry they made me come along," Winter Born said in a small voice. "I know you didn't want me to..."
Charmian sighed and shook her head. "It's not that...it's just...well, I'm not used to looking after--" She cut herself off abruptly.
"Little kids?" When she glanced at Winter Born in surprise the girl shrugged. "That's what you keep calling me."
Charmian felt her face grow hot. "I don't mean anything bad by it! It's just that you're so young. I'm not used to looking out for people; and I keep worrying that I'm going to end up getting you killed! It might seem like fun and stuff, but hanging out with me is dangerous! Just ask Thomas, or Niskigwun, or Mani..." She grimaced. "Or Singing Cedars, or Moon Wolf, or Manabozho...holy cripes...ask any of them."
"So why did you bring me along?" Charmian looked at Winter Born again but there was no malice on her face; she seemed more perplexed than anything. "If it worries you so much?"
Charmian rubbed at her neck, then slowed her step. "It's kind of hard to explain." She halted beside a boulder and turned around. "Has your mother ever told you anything about your powers?" she asked, unsure of where--or even if--she should start. "Anything at all?"
Winter Born frowned a little, peering skyward thoughtfully. "Well...she said I get some from Grandfather...because he's a demon...and that if I keep working hard at it, and look for a good vision, they'll get better..."
"But she hasn't told you anything more than that?" Charmian asked.
Winter Born shook her head. "Not really...why? You mean there's more than that?" she asked, seeing the look on Charmian's face.
"Geezhigo-Quae said you could talk to manitous already," Charmian said. "But you keep asking me to teach you. From what I've seen you're doing pretty well on your own! I saw how you talked to those bugs."
"But that was just a little thing," Winter Born said in disappointment. "I try to talk to manitous and stuff...but I don't know how much they understand me. At least, they don't always answer, like they do you." Her face started to light up. "You're going to teach me! Aren't you? Is that what this is--?"
Charmian gnawed on her lip. "Well...the thing is, Winter Born...I really don't know what I could teach you!" When the girl's shoulders sank she hastened to add, "Because I get this feeling that you ALREADY know more than you ever need to know--you just have to figure it all out!"
Winter Born furrowed her brow. "But I barely know anything."
"You know a lot more than I knew when I first showed up on the Island, and I was a lot older than you! And I still don't know most of that stuff!"
"But manitous answer you all the time."
Pakwa came ambling back, crunching on something--Charmian didn't even want to guess what it was. "Ever think maybe manitous don't feel like talking?" he inquired, sitting down and munching away.
The two of them blinked at him. Charmian put a finger to her chin. "That actually kind of makes sense..."
Winter Born's lip began to stick out. "But they feel like talking to YOU!"
"You're young yet," Charmian said. "Just give it some time--I'm betting that as soon as you have your vision, it'll all start falling into place. That's how it worked with me." She paused. "But what I was going to ask you about was the power you already have."
"I barely have any," Winter Born protested.
Charmian's brow furrowed. "What the heck do you mean--? It's all around you!" When Winter Born started looking around Charmian threw up her hands. "You're GLOWING with it! Mudroot saw it too--I started seeing it after I got out of the quarry! You look like the northern lights! You mean you can't feel it--?"
"I don't feel anything!" Winter Born exclaimed.
"But--what about that big fit you threw back in the voyageurs' camp?" Charmian pressed. "You had everybody all freaked out!"
Winter Born's mouth fell open. "You mean I did do something--?" She hurried forward. "What'd I do? I don't even remember! I didn't scare them, did I--? If I did then I'm really sorry--!"
She sounded more afraid of appearing rude than upset that she'd apparently missed her own demonstration. Charmian waved at her to calm her down. "That's not it! I don't blame you one bit for getting pissed off--considering how they were treating you--I think they deserved it! But you don't remember a bit of it--? You started glowing like crazy--and your voice got all loud--out of everybody with us, your medicine looks to be just about the most powerful!"
She found her voice ringing off the mountainside. Winter Born stared at her for a long while, eyes wide and mouth open; eventually she began to draw in on herself a little, her mouth slowly shutting and her brow furrowing. "Most...powerful...?" she echoed in that small voice, then her stare drifted uncertainly toward the ground.
"That's why Geezhigo-Quae wanted me to bring you along," Charmian explained. "Moon Wolf and Mudroot too. They all sensed it. That you might be the strongest one of us here. I really don't know what to tell you because I have no clue what it means. I was hoping maybe you knew something."
Winter Born shook her head. "I don't know anything." She lifted her head again and started chewing on her lip, her eyes worried. "Charmian...if all of you are counting on me...what do I even do? I don't know how to use any powers! I don't feel any different, or anything..."
Charmian let out a breath. "I think it's a bit early to worry about that just yet," she said at last, rubbing her neck. "Because we still have to find Kabeyun. Maybe, if we find him, then we won't even have to worry about that at all...okay? You can just work on helping me find him. We can start that..." she looked up at the glacier "...by heading up there." She shrugged. "What do you say?"
"Okay," Winter Born murmured, staring at the ground and fiddling her fingers. "I guess."
Charmian sighed in relief. "All right then." She turned and waved. "Maybe we can even make it there before nightfall...and maybe he'll let us stay the night or something."
Winter Born made a face as she hurried to catch up when they resumed climbing. "Stay the night in a mountain? That sounds kind of funny..."
"Well, it can't be much worse than sleeping ON a mountain." Charmian made a face of her own. "Did they tell you about when I had to sleep on top of Arch Rock? THAT was hardly the most comfortable bed in the--"
Something POOFed high overhead and they all scuttled back, gasping and looking up. Charmian's eyes grew and she grabbed Winter Born's arm, pulling her back even further as something fell out of the sky and hit the ground with a loud THUD. Augwak's head popped up out of the jumble of his arms and legs, his eyes goggling, and he glanced from left to right in confusion before seeing them. Instantly his eyes were flaring bright yellow and he untangled himself, storming toward them so hard that pebbles flew out and away from him.
"FLESHLING!!" he bellowed, his voice bouncing off of the boulders and trees. He gouged his fingers into the ground and tore up hunks of earth. "WHAT IN THE HELL DID YOU DO?! If you even TRY doing that again I'll SNAP YOUR DAMNED NECK AND THEN EAT IT!!"
Charmian nudged Winter Born behind herself and clenched her fists. "I didn't do it, dumbass!" she snapped. "It was NISKIGWUN, and you'd do well to remember that he can do the exact same thing AGAIN! Maybe you'll actually LEARN something for once!"
Augwak gnashed his teeth so hard that she could have sworn she heard them squeak. He twisted his head sideways and she stared at him in awe--it looked like it was ready to pop right off his neck. His pupils narrowed into tiny little dots and a very strange noise started escaping his throat, as if he were a teapot getting ready to blow its top.
Winter Born frowned. "Does he usually do that...?"
Charmian slowly shook her head. "No...not really. Come on." They stepped around him and started walking back up the glacier, peering at him as they went past; he turned in a circle so he kept facing them, but other than that seemed to be completely possessed. He raised one hand and his bony fingers shook, claws glinting. "Hey Pakwa," Charmian called out to the other GeeBee, who stood a little distance ahead of them. "Any idea what...stage...he might be going through next?"
Pakwa shrugged. "A stupid one?" Augwak's head twisted the other way and his angry teapot noise just grew. "We should go," Pakwa added, turning and ambling on ahead.
"Yeah," Charmian said. "Good idea." She took Winter Born's hand and resumed walking. "You can come along whenever you...let off some steam or...change into a diamond or...whatever," she said to Augwak, as they went.
"So now we're going up to find Kabebonikka--?" Winter Born inquired, trotting at Charmian's side.
Charmian gave an exasperated nod. "Hopefully! Though at this rate, who the hell knows!"
Winter Born nodded sagely. "Who thahell does?" She shrank a bit when Charmian grimaced. "I said something wrong...?"
"Remind me to give you a list of what words not to say around your dad," Charmian said. "Hey Pakwa! Why don't you try flying on ahead to see if you can find that entryway faster--?"
Pakwa nodded, then leapt into the air, spreading his arms to catch a breeze and drift along. Charmian started to turn back to Winter Born, only to hear a sudden unpleasant thunk, and a glance back up showed her Pakwa tumbling to the ground just as hard as Augwak had. The two of them stupidly watched him fall, his arms and legs twisted and sticking out, his eyes goggling and staring straight ahead--then before they could say a word, rocks were pelting the ground around them. Winter Born squeaked when one nearly hit her in the head.
Charmian gasped and grabbed her arm, pulling her along. "Come on!!" She glanced back at Augwak to see that he'd snapped out of his fit and was also staring skyward, toward the mountain, before throwing his arms up and scuttling along after them. Charmian looked up to see that the mountainside was here broken into various ledges and cleft rocks, and a figure was standing atop one of the lower ones, hurling stones at them. A smaller one struck Charmian's arm and she winced; but she did manage to get a good enough look to see that their thrower appeared to be human, clad in furs and skins like the people back in the camp, his features thin and bony and an infuriated look on his face. He picked up a bigger rock and hefted it at them.
"Charmian!" Winter Born cried. "Is he another Wendigo--?"
"I can't think of anything else!!" Charmian exclaimed, starting to hurry along. She hated leaving Pakwa behind, but as she looked behind them she saw Augwak grasp onto his arm and start dragging him along, just as Pakwa had dragged him along before. His head hit one of the fallen rocks and she winced but kept moving. The two of them, with Augwak following like an ape running on its knuckles, dashed up the glacier path, ducking aside when it turned at a sharper angle and pressing themselves against the mountainside. They stood there for a moment, gasping for breath.
"Why is he throwing rocks at us?" Winter Born asked. "Shouldn't he be trying to freeze us or something--?"
"He looked like he hasn't eaten in ages," Charmian panted. "Maybe his powers are weak!"
"You would know ALL about that, wouldn't you--?" Augwak demanded, before--"Ow!!"--a rock struck his shoulder and he grimaced, rubbing at it. The other two squealed and went running again when their attacker appeared on the ledge above them, still hurling rocks as if they were snowballs.
Snowballs! That's it--!!
Charmian threw up her hand toward him even as she nudged Winter Born on ahead. "Fire!" she yelled--again forgetting that she didn't need to yell it--and a firebolt shot up at him. He gasped, eyes goggling, and hurriedly ducked so the fire struck the mountain and burst into sparks. He swatted them frantically from his clothing, before scowling and picking up another rock. This one was almost the size of Winter Born's head. Charmian's eyes went wide, then she shoved the little girl as far ahead as she could. "GET GOING!!"
She expected her to protest, but as soon as Winter Born saw the look in her eyes, she was gone. Augwak went dashing past with Pakwa; Charmian held up both hands now and aimed them at the stranger. "FIRE!!" A fireball went sailing up the cliff, but its brightness blinded her so that she didn't even see the rock in time to dodge it. It struck the ground right beside her foot and she gasped and then let out a cry when the earth and gravel gave way, and she went sliding down the glacier several yards before managing to come to a stop. As soon as she tried to push herself up, pain lanced through her ankle and she bit off another cry, landing hard on her knees. She looked up at the ledge to see the stranger stooping down to pick up more missiles; she tried pushing herself up again, then gasped when Winter Born was suddenly at her side, grabbing her arm and pulling on her.
"Come on!" she exclaimed, and did her best to support Charmian's weight as they stumbled further up the steep slope. Augwak was ahead, shifting from foot to foot and grimacing, Pakwa still conked out beside him; as soon as they met they all resumed their hasty climb, scrambling along the rough trail until the ledge overhead merged back into the mountain and the only places to hide were the black pine trees and little ice hillocks to the left. They at last slowed their step, gasping brokenly and listening for any sounds of pursuit; but whoever their attacker had been, he didn't seem interested in pursuing them further. Still, they waited a good long while, until the absolute silence convinced them that it was at last all right to sink into a muddled heap against the mountain, their breath coming hard and their lungs burning.
"Wh...what...what the hell was that all about?!" Charmian wheezed, rubbing her aching head.
"Damn stupid fool!" Augwak barked. He shook a fist at the mountain. "If I had my powers, I would fly right up there and BRAIN him--LITERALLY!"
"Charmian," Winter Born panted, and scootched closer to her. "Are you okay...?"
Even as she said it, she reached out and touched Charmian's ankle. Before she could stop it, Charmian was wincing and letting out a pained noise, jerking her leg back toward herself when tears sprang into her eyes; Winter Born quickly pulled her hand back and bit her lip. Even Augwak turned to them now, frowning and looking at her foot. Charmian followed suit, and felt her face go gray when she saw how it was twisted to the side. Immediately her head felt like it was floating away from her body.
"Ew," she managed to croak. "Gross."
"I think it's broken," Winter Born said in dismay.
Augwak's jaw dropped, then he started huffing. "Broken--? Broken?!" He threw up his hands and gnashed his teeth. "We don't have time to be dealing with this!" He looked skyward and started screaming. "WHAT DID I EVER DO TO YOU OTHER THAN EAT A FEW OF YOUR MANITOUS HERE AND THERE?!"
"Do you think you can still make it up the mountain?" Winter Born asked worriedly.
"It...doesn't hurt that bad," Charmian murmured, even while a tiny voice in the back of her head started nagging at her as she tried nudging herself up. Like THAT'S ever a good sign...the last thing I need is to go into shock on some weird mountain with a guy throwing ROCKS at me...! She managed to get onto her good foot, but putting any pressure on the bad one was useless; she nearly fell over again, and Winter Born had to help her sit back down. "Crap...if I could hop up this slope I'd be set."
Winter Born apparently missed the sarcasm, peering upward and then giving her an anxious look. "It's a pretty long slope," she murmured, and started gnawing on her lip again. "Well...maybe I can go up there? It can't be too much further, can it...?"
"I'm hardly going to send you up to Kabebonikka on your own!" Charmian exclaimed, feeling a bit of her strength come back. "No way, no how. I have to think of something else!"
"Oohhhhh," Pakwa groaned, rubbing his head and slowly sitting up with a grimace. "What was that...?"
"A lot of good YOU were!" Augwak groused, shoving him so he fell over again.
"Hey!" Charmian yelled, making him flinch. She glanced at Winter Born, her face pale. "You and Pakwa," she said. "Go back down to the camp and bring back Mudroot, or Stick, or--somebody who knows medicine! Maybe they can set it and I can walk a little bit then. As it is--I think I'd only make it worse!"
Winter Born began shifting from foot to foot. "But what about the rock-throwing man...?"
"Pakwa should be able to help you ward him off," Charmian said. "That way you aren't alone, and you don't have to go up to Kabebonikka alone either. Please can you do this--? I don't think you're strong enough to set it right. It would really help a lot if you did this."
Winter Born appeared to waver a bit longer, then her face set and she nodded, braids bobbing. "Right!" She turned around, waving at Pakwa, who made a pained face but obediently followed. "Come on! We have to hurry!"
Charmian watched as the two of them hurried out of sight, back down the slope and around the curve, vanishing around the mountain. She chewed on her lip a little, then let out her breath and slumped back. She winced and rubbed gingerly at her ankle--it was swelling now, and turning an unpleasant shade of purple--whimpering a little as she did so. Well, at least she could feel it again. Though she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, either.
She sat there listening to the breeze overhead for a good long while, knowing that it would take quite a bit for Winter Born to make it back down and back up with help, but straining her ears nonetheless. Augwak hunched nearby, staring down the trail with a glower on his face as if he wanted to go after them. He gave her an ugly look but she ignored him, shivering in the growing chill and drawing her fur wrap around herself more tightly. She drew her good foot in under herself and tried not to chatter, her eyelids drooping.
Cripes...why am I so tired now...?
Am I really in shock after all...?
I thought that kind of thing only happened when you hit your head! She furiously blinked her eyes. Come on, wake up, wake up!
It's so chilly...dozing a little couldn't hurt that much, could it...?
Before the little voice in her head could nag at her again, her eyes slipped shut, then her head slowly tilted to the side, and her arms and legs relaxed. She sat leaning against the mountain, completely oblivious to everything around her.
Augwak glared down the path for a while, then turned his head to glare at her instead. He frowned when he saw the way she slumped against the mountain, her breathing slow and her face pale. He craned his neck a little and sniffed at the air, then scraped his fingernails against the ground, making a harsh noise, but she didn't even flinch. His eyes narrowed a little. Had she just fallen asleep...?
He blinked, then looked once more at the trail. No one was in sight. He looked back at Charmian, and immediately started salivating. He scowled a little and reached up to wipe his mouth, but a moment later was creeping toward her on all fours, keeping himself as silent as possible. He halted a pace or two away from her, searching for any signs of wakefuless, but found none. He crept closer, reaching out one bony hand, his eyes gleaming.
Winter Born and Pakwa hastened down the rocky slope, skidding now and then, sliding a little, then jogging again. Winter Born kept glancing up nervously, but the man with the rocks didn't show himself; maybe he'd been scared off by the fireball after all. Biting her lip, she put her hand against the rock wall to keep herself balanced as she trotted along, Pakwa keeping pace beside her, and she tried to ignore the pebbles which went skittering away from them, plinking off down the slope and out of sight. She shivered uneasily every time she saw them, and hoped that she wouldn't end up the same way. The camp had to be so very far below...
As she and Pakwa started to round another turn of the glacier trail, a rending scream cut through the air, and they both froze, eyes wide and mouths falling open as it echoed off the mountainside.
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