The Shaman's Bones, Migratory Farmers: Book 1 by Hunter Kay Wallace

Author:Hunter Kay Wallace [Wallace, Hunter Kay]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-03-08T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 24: Don’t Go Down Without a God

“No sex,” Yolenda said over dinner, the epitome of a good conversationalist. She blushed, wiping her empty wooden bowl with a rag, then pushing it into her pack. “The Nehari tribe will marry you and whoever and you’ll be bound to the jungle people forever.”

Hanna choked on a spoonful of sweet potato curry, then giggled once she could breathe.

“Or if the fool with you is married already, the tribe will kill you. Ceremonially, of course.”

Hanna fell silent, as she should. Yolenda was trying to disseminate important information to her group like Mum would. She couldn’t afford the negligence that led to people getting hurt or killed.

“You know how I feel about ceremonies,” Hanna said. She looked around, then reached for the canteen of fig brandy.

Anyo intercepted it, holding it to his chest like a baby. “That’s for disinfecting wounds or, if we’re in a really tight spot, mixing with unclean water.”

Hanna laughed, seemingly resigned, though now Yolenda knew to keep an eye on the alcohol. The bone collector toyed with one of her beaded copper and black braids. “You’re hardly your father’s son.”

“Good,” Anyo said crisply. Yolenda disliked his streaks of callousness and condescension, but she finally understood why he was the way he was. Between his father, the drunk, and mother, the chronically unfaithful, he had a reputation to set straight. Or he thought he did. At least Mum, though tough and gritty on occasion, thought of how her actions affected Yolenda. She never hindered Yolenda for her own gain.

Yolenda used Sehasi chalk to draw out their route on the hard dirt. Day one was complete and, oh, it felt good to rest. Tomorrow, they’d continue north, heading for the Nehari tribe—the Tribe in the Trees, some called it.

Anyo looked at her like she was being sacrilegious. He plucked away her chalk and used it to make a Barrier around camp.

Yolenda sighed. Be understanding, she told herself. Or at least don't tackle him to the ground.

Early evening faded fast. Yolenda tended to and hobbled Onti, who happily chewed on the grass around camp. Then Yolenda set her pack of marsupial devil bones and travel supplies on the bare ground near the group’s mundane fire. She laid out her bedroll and sat, as comfortable as a Sitting Person in a chair. Clouds rippled through the pink and green sky like waves in the sea. A breeze rustled her hair. To sleep outside was to sleep at home. “I’ll watch for shadow beasts first,” she announced. “Maybe the incidental non-shadow beast. An hour or two a person should do.”

“Wake me when you’re ready,” Utonif said. If being one of Saf’s trained warriors had taught him responsibility, she’d gladly take it. He’d be easy to work with, like Oksana from Mum’s caravan.

“All right; you after me. Then Hanna. Then—Hanna, surprise me. It’ll keep Anyo and Seno on their toes.”

Hanna winked. What'd that mean? She’d already slipped out of her black pants, just her long tunic flowing over her thighs as she admired a bone needle.

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