Vessia
The enemy warriors tied Vessia's hands behind her back. Next to her, Danumoro was also tied.
Vio the Skull Stomper, Vumo, Gidio, and their warriors marched the two prisoners along a turf path. They crossed a bridge made of logs and reached the far side of the river, where their army had set up camp.
The camp was surrounded by sharp pikes for protection. Inside the camp, fires burned in front of temporary shelters—cone-shaped tents made of branches and hides called wikiups.
Men with white legwals, bone headdresses, and skull face paint came to see the new prisoners. Some of them jeered, but one sharp look from Vio made them fall silent.
An extremely ugly woman stomped up to Vumo. Her face was rough with pockmarks. Her sharp chin stuck out like a blade. Her shoulders were hunched, her chest sunken, and her breath stank.
Worst of all was the look on her face—a sneer full of suspicion—and the high, screechy sound of her voice.
"There you are, husband!" she shouted, grabbing Vumo by the ear.
He grinned at her like it was a joke. "Uh, hello, darling Nangi."
"Don't 'darling Nangi' me! You were gone all night!"
"At the parley, my dear! We were talking with the enemy."
"Yes!" Nangi snapped, glaring at Vessia. "I see which enemy you were 'talking' with."
"These are prisoners of war, Nangi," said Vio.
"You don't need my husband to guard prisoners," she said.
She didn't wait for permission. She dragged Vumo off by the ear like a naughty child. He blew Vessia a kiss as he stumbled behind her.
"You can go too, Gidio," said Vio. "I'll take it from here."
"Sure, Vio." Gidio gave Vessia one last longing look, then walked off to another part of the camp.
At the far end of the camp, away from the tribehold, was a holding pen for the army's horses. Beside it stood another cage—this one made from branches tied together.
Inside, several humans crouched. Warriors with skull-painted faces guarded the cage.
Vio nodded, and the guards opened the front of the cage long enough for Vessia and Danumoro to crawl in. Then they tied it shut behind them.
Vio stared down at the prisoners. He couldn't take his eyes off Vessia. She was used to strange looks from men, but Vio's stare was different—strong, focused, and disturbing.
"You were a fool to give yourself up," he said. "You should have run while you could."
He continued coldly, "The Bone Whistler never meant to let the Yellow Bear tribe defy him. He told me to hold a parley and see what I could get without a fight. But I'm to give the signal soon. The army will overrun the tribehold. All the men will be killed. All the women and children taken."
He added, "Any children found to be Imorvae will be killed. Any Imorvae Tavaedi women will be used for the warriors' pleasure. If they bear children—those abominations will be smashed against the rocks the moment they are born."
"You're a beast," said Danumoro. "Worse than a beast."
Vio didn't answer. He looked at Vessia a moment longer, then walked away.
Danumoro sat with his arms over his knees. Tears ran down his face.
"Vessia, you never should have left your clanhold to follow me to this cursed place. This is all my fault."
"Not really," she said. "I do what I want."
He gave a sad smile. "Still the same old Vessia."
Vessia turned to look at the other captives in the cage. They didn't seem interested in her.
At first, Vessia thought they were a couple and their daughter, but soon saw that the third woman was just small. She wore torn blue cloth—what was left of a Blue Tavaedi dancing dress.
The other two, the man and the pregnant woman, looked like they came from the Green Woods tribe. The man had a beard. He held the woman gently in his arms. Her bare stomach was round with child.
"My name is Danumoro, the Herb Dancer," said Danu. "And this is Vessia, the Corn Maiden."
The three stared at them silently.
"Do you have names?" Danumoro asked.
"The less we know about each other, the safer we are," said the woman in blue rags. "Nangi, the Bone Whistler's daughter, can read minds."
"Can't you at least tell me what the enemy already knows?" he asked.
The woman pressed her lips tight. Then she said, "My name is Shula, the Waterfall Dancer. I was a Tavaedi in the Rainbow Labyrinth. When the Bone Whistler began his hunts for Imorvae, I went into hiding. I pretended to be Morvae. I was betrayed and tried to run, but they caught me."
Danumoro nodded and looked to the couple.
The bearded man stayed quiet, frowning.
But the pregnant woman said in a soft voice, "I am Finna, the Falling Leaf. My husband is Obran, the Log Leaper. We are from the Green Woods. Among our people, we are both Tavaedies. I have a Singing Bow. We didn't know the Bone Whistler had taken power, or that he hated Imorvae. We went on a pilgrimage to the Rainbow Labyrinth, and were captured."
Shula looked at Vessia, her face full of worry and warning. "Vio is watching you. I saw the way he looked at you. Be careful. Herb Dancer, protect her if you can."
Danumoro nodded. But Vessia didn't see how he could.
That night, after darkness covered the camp and the mountains blocked the moonlight, Vio returned to the cage alone.
"Take out the new girl," he told the guards. "She'll stay with me tonight."
"No!" said Danumoro.
"Take me instead," said Shula.
Vio gave a crooked smile. "So you can do to me what you nearly did to Chezlio when he tried to force you? Be careful of her, Danumoro. She looks small and harmless, but she has four Chromas, like you. She's led the underground resistance against the Bone Whistler for years."
Danumoro looked at Shula with new respect.
"You almost got away, Shula," said Vio. "Your Green Woods friends nearly saved you. But not quite. Shame on you for hiding behind a pregnant woman."
"No one knew I was pregnant when we made the plan!" Finna said, then bit her lip.
"Then shame on you, Obran, for hiding behind your wife," said Vio.
Obran roared in rage and threw himself at the cage walls. The whole cage shook. The guards shouted and jabbed spears at him until he backed down.
One guard kept his spear aimed at Obran while the other opened the cage door for Vessia.
"Vio, please, don't take the new girl," begged Shula. "I swear I won't fight. Just take me instead."
Vio smiled coldly. "No need to beg. I'll come for you soon enough."
"You snake-hearted scorpion!" Shula shouted. "You stinking carcass of rot and filth!"
Vio grabbed Vessia by the arm and pulled her out of the cage. He led her toward his painted hide tent in the center of the camp.