Grantville Gazette, Volume 73 Read online

  "I have already told you that the white man is not my enemy," Raging Wolf said, his eyes blinking wildly against the cold wind.

  "See this man?" Speaks His Mind stabbed a finger in Fast as Lightning's direction. "The white man's Red God has claimed his soul. I brought him here to show you the horrors that await us all if we fail to act."

  Fast as Lightning didn't know exactly what lie Speaks His Mind expected of him this time, but it was clear he was to make a show of his affliction for Raging Wolf. He began twitching his body as he had seen those who had been bitten by a poisonous snake. He bubbled saliva on his lips as he mumbled words that had no meaning, words that he made up quickly with no thought. He raved and babbled like a madman as his body shook. Two Montauk warriors stepped forward to take hold of him. As they did, he ended his spectacle by crying out, "Red God! Red God come across the waves! Come to us so that we may serve you! All must serve him!"

  Raging Wolf seemed convinced that Fast as Lightning was mad, taking a step back, his hand sliding to touch the hilt of the large knife sheathed on his hip.

  "What happened to this fool?" Raging Wolf asked.

  "As I told you, their Red God has claimed him. What remains of his mind is filled with the god's red fury. Such a fate awaits us all if we do not act and do so soon," Speaks His Mind urged Raging Wolf. "Will you join with us to stand against the white man?"

  Raging Wolf stared at Speaks His Mind in silence. Fast as Lightning caught the wink Raging Wolf gave in the direction of the trees to the west as he raised a hand to scratch his cheek.

  The twang of a bowstring being released followed.

  "A trap!" Fast as Lightning screamed as he felt the power of the Red God flowing through him. He threw himself at Speaks His Mind, plowing into the boy and taking them both to the ground as an arrow flew through the air where Speaks His Mind had stood a moment before.

  From the trees surrounding the clearing came Raging Wolf's Mohegan warriors. They wore war paint with an eager bloodlust in their eyes. Bowstrings twanged as they unleashed a volley of arrows at the Narragansett and Montaukett warriors. One of the Narragansetts took an arrow to the heart and staggered backwards before falling to the ground. Another arrow buried itself in the shoulder of a Montaukett warrior. The man grunted loudly, his features twisting into a snarl. He tore the arrow free from his flesh and charged at the ambushers while drawing his knife. His charge was cut short as two more arrows slammed into him, one piercing his exposed throat, the other plunging into his gut.

  The quiet of the clearing had turned into chaos and violence. Fast as Lightning was up in an instant, leaving Speaks His Mind struggling to get to his feet. One of Fast as Lightning's tomahawks flew end over end through the air as he flung it at one of Raging Wolf's bowmen. The side of the man's skull split open as the weapon's blade sunk into it. Fast as Lightning yanked his other tomahawk from his belt and charged the bowmen. They were already discarding their bows and engaging the Narragansett and Montaukett warriors who had survived their initial attack.

  More of Raging Wolf's warriors entered the clearing from the other side. Fast as Lightning noticed that Speaks His Mind was directly in their path as they advanced into the clearing with maddening war cries. To his credit, Speaks His Mind did not run from them. He stood his ground, though feebly, and met them. Speaks His Mind's tomahawk slashed a wide gash across the chest of the first warrior to reach him. The man shrieked before Speaks His Mind finished him with a savage swing of his tomahawk against the man's neck. Speaks His Mind readied himself to engage the next of Raging Wolf's warriors, his eyes wild but steady and determined.

  An arrow flew from the trees and caught Speaks His Mind in the shoulder. He dropped his weapon, just as he was trying to thwart a blow from another Mohegan warrior standing in front of him. He failed to block the attack, and the Mohegan's war club struck Speaks His Mind's skull and sent him reeling. Blood flowed from Speaks His Mind's forehead as he staggered and then toppled over.

  Fast as Lightning tore into the line of Raging Wolf's bowmen, the power of the Red God blessing him with speed. His tomahawk slashed open one bowman's cheek, knocking him aside, and Fast as Lightning spun to catch a second bowman in the neck with his tomahawk's blade. The man's blood spurted over Fast as Lightning as he kicked the man's flailing body away from him. Fast as Lightning counted over two dozen warriors from Raging Wolf's tribe still facing them, and he saw that Speaks His Mind had fallen and knew this was a fight that he and his allies could not win.

  "Raging Wolf!" Fast as Lightning heard Good Hawk roar. "Face me!"

  Raging Wolf was laughing as he drew his knife and joined the fight, wading through the carnage that now littered the red-and-white trampled ground of the clearing. Good Hawk hefted his war club with a grim expression of determination and rage. He swung the club at Raging Wolf's head, but the Mohegan sachem was quick. Raging Wolf easily avoided the blow, rushing in close to Good Hawk. He rammed his knife's blade upwards and into Good Hawk's ribs. Good Hawk coughed blood, but managed to shove Raging Wolf away. Raging Wolf laughed as Good Hawk's war club fell from his hands. Blood stained Good Hawk's chin as he drew his knife and lurched forward at Raging Wolf. Raging Wolf dodged a flurry of wild swings as Good Hawk slashed at him. Good Hawk's blade struck nothing but empty air as Raging Wolf outmaneuvered him until Raging Wolf finally reached out to catch Good Hawk's wrist with his left hand. Holding Good Hawk's weapon at bay, Raging Wolf slid close to him, ramming his knife into Good Hawk's belly and twisting the blade. Good Hawk howled in pain, blood flying from his lips. When Raging Wolf released him, he dropped to his knees. Raging Wolf spat on him in contempt before a final slash of his knife opened Good Hawk's throat in an explosion of red.

  The fight had drawn the attention of Raging Wolf's warriors, thus giving Fast as Lightning time to reach Speaks His Mind. One of Raging Wolf's warriors stood over the wounded boy. Fast as Lightning struck the warrior in the face with the butt of his tomahawk, shattering the man's teeth. As the warrior staggered from the blow, Fast as Lightning finished him with a swing of his tomahawk that cut the man's face open from forehead to chin.

  Fast as Lightning picked Speaks His Mind up, throwing him over his shoulder. Then he ran, praying to the Red God for speed as he went, his legs aching beneath him as he raced out of the clearing, leaving Raging Wolf and his gleeful warriors behind. The few surviving Narragansett and Montaukett warriors followed after him.

  ****

  The escape from the Mohegan ambush had been a narrow one. Their party had been reduced from thirteen to seven. Three of those seven had taken terrible wounds, Speaks His Mind's worst among them. They had run for what seemed like hours before finally feeling secure enough to stop and do what they could for the wounded. With Speaks His Mind wounded so badly and Good Hawk dead, Fast as Lightning found himself in charge of those who remained.

  A small fire crackled and burned in the center of the small clearing where they had stopped for the night. There had been no signs of pursuit from Raging Wolf's men for some time now, and Fast as Lightning was sure that Raging Wolf and his warriors were done with them. For now, at least.

  Two of the warriors stood watch as the others tended to the wounded. Speaks His Mind lay near the fire. His groaning broke Fast as Lightning's heart. However wise and fearless he might be, Speaks His Mind's life had been cut short, and Fast as Lightning knew the boy wouldn't make it through the night.

  Fast as Lightning knelt at Speaks His Mind's side. Speaks His Mind looked up at him with weary, bloodshot eyes.

  "That did not go as I had hoped," Speaks His Mind rasped.

  "You can't blame yourself, Speaks His Mind," Fast as Lightning tried to comfort him. "Raging Wolf surely always intended to betray us. Your intentions were good. His were not." Anger boiled in Fast as Lightning's blood. The Red God boiled. "I will see to it that he pays for his betrayal."

  Speaks His Mind nodded. "But you do not have many men left, my friend. Not enough to go after him now. Go to Sun Ri
sing. Tell him of Good Hawk's death. He will seek the right vengeance against Raging Wolf."

  Wisdom again was flowing from this young man, this near-death boy whose impressive behavior was growing stronger in Fast as Lightning's mind. Going back to the Narragansett was the right thing to do. They did not have enough men to confront Raging Wolf. Going back to Sun Rising, however, meant certain war. And that was not why they had faced Raging Wolf in the first place, what Speaks His Mind had wanted. What would Sun Rising do once he did learn that Raging Wolf had killed his nephew and next sachem of the Narragansett people? Wage war against the Mohegan, probably. But maybe if Raging Wolf were killed beforehand, that might sate Sun Rising's need for revenge and give them all a chance later to unite against the Ring of Fire. Maybe . . .

  "I will go and kill Raging Wolf myself."

  The camp paused, and every man around the fire stared at Fast as Lightning. Surely, he was mad with what he had just said. Perhaps the Red God had made him crazy after all. Fast as Lightning stood amidst their confused stares. He placed his hands on his hips and stared them all down.

  "I will go with you," one Montaukett warrior said. A Narragansett warrior did the same, and then another, and another, until five of the remaining seven had stood and offered their allegiance for Fast as Lightning's plan.

  "Give me your knife," Speaks His Mind said through a terrible cough.

  Fast as Lightning shook his head. "No, I will not let you kill yourself. You may live yet."

  "Give me your knife!"

  He did as requested, placing the knife into Speaks His Mind's shaking hand. "Now, come to me."

  Fast as Lightning knelt. Speaks His Mind pulled deer skin away from his arm, exposing his wrist. He placed the knife against his skin and drew the blade across it, spilling blood. "Now, give me your wrist."

  Fast as Lightning's heart leapt. He had never done this with anyone; he wondered if he wanted to do it now. But he did as requested, pulling his covering away from his arm. Speaks His Mind cut it quickly.

  They locked arms, their blood pressing together. Fast as Lightning held tightly, squeezing Speaks His Mind's arm until surely it must have hurt. But the young boy never flinched, never moved. Instead, he smiled. "Now we are bound together as brothers forever," he said. "And perhaps I will gain some of the fire that your Red God possesses."

  Fast as Lightning nodded. "And perhaps I will gain some of your wisdom."

  They held arms together for several more minutes. Then Speaks His Mind pulled away. "Go now, my brother, and seek your vengeance."

  ****

  They retraced their steps back to the ambush site, and Fast as Lightning was pleased. The Red God had honored him with fair weather. Snow had not fallen in this place, and the moon was out, so they could easily follow the beaten path left by the Mohegans as they fell back to their village. It was still bitter cold, but Fast as Lightning did not feel it. Now, he felt only anger and sorrow. For even if he succeeded on this raid and Raging Wolf lay dead at his feet, Speaks His Mind might never know the truth. The thought of it made his arm warm where the boy had cut him.

  It did not take long to find the Mohegan village. It was circular, like most he had seen, and surrounded by a wooden palisade. Small fires from the houses flickered in the moonlight, and thin lines of smoke could be seen drifting away in the cold air. It was quiet, save for the bark of a dog. Fast as Lightning counted his men again. Five, including himself. He shook his head. What a foolish thing to come here. Speaks His Mind had been correct, but it was too late to stop now. Somewhere down there, hopefully fat with venison and arrogant and loud, lay Raging Wolf, telling tall tales of how he bested Good Hawk, and left him to die. Fast as Lightning shivered at the thought of it.

  "Let's go!" Fast as Lightning said, and they followed him down the wooded ridgeline and up to the entrance. There was no gate, for this was friendly territory, and what did Raging Wolf have to fear anyway? There were guards, just two, wrapped heavily against the cold. Fast as Lightning walked up to them as if he were a Mohegan coming back from a hunt. They did not notice his differences until he was upon the first guard. The man tried moving to block his passage, uttered a word, then received a thick war club across his face. Fast as Lightning's hand moved faster than he thought possible, the Red God's gift working through his stiff muscles to give him strength and speed. The other guard tried to raise his tomahawk, but was put down with three strikes against his head. Both were down before any alarm could be sounded.

  They pulled the limp bodies to the snow bank and covered them as best as possible. Then they entered the village.

  The houses were lined up in a circle around the village. They took the outer walkway, in between a row of houses and the garden plots that lay fallow and covered in snow and ice. Fast as Lightning could smell seared meat on the wind. He sniffed twice, letting his stomach react positively to the scent. He did not realize how hungry he was. But that would have to wait. Right now, they needed a diversion.

  The house at the very end of the row seemed the most logical. Fast as Lightning nodded to his men. They nodded back, knowing in advance what they were supposed to do. He did not like it, but what other choice did they have? Their women and children had been killed and captured by the dozens.

  The men rushed inside the longhouse, catching the family inside by surprise. There was much screaming, shouting, killing. As he held guard outside, Fast as Lightning shut his eyes and said a small prayer for them. War was a terrible endeavor. He knew this, but maybe some good would come from all this once it was over.

  The chaos inside subsided. Fast as Lightning watched to see if they had sounded any alarm. Nothing so far, and his men emerged from the longhouse, followed by heavy grey smoke.

  They continued their move around the perimeter of the village. The house they left behind was burning strongly now, and people were beginning to notice and file out of their own houses.

  The flow of people towards the fire was constant, and Fast as Lightning was pleased. The diversion had worked. Now all they needed was to find Raging Wolf.

  But Fast as Lightning knew where he was. It came to him now, suddenly, like a dream, as if he had been to this Mohegan village before. He had never stepped foot in it. The cut on his arm burned, and he wondered if perhaps Speaks His Mind had been here before, as a child perhaps, with his father. It was possible.

  Fast as Lightning stood tall, and flanked by his men, he walked proudly, defiantly towards Raging Wolf's longhouse, as anxious Mohegan men and women passed them as if they were not there, their minds fixed on the fire burning through one of their homes.

  Sachem Raging Wolf popped his head out of his house to look at the commotion. Fast as Lightning jabbed him straight in the face with his war club.

  Raging Wolf fell back, and Fast as Lightning followed. The Mohegan leader fell through his fire pit, overturning a spit of venison that charred over the flames. There were two women and three children in the house as well. They screamed as Fast as Lightning and his men poured in.

  "Raging Wolf!" Fast as Lightning said, standing over the older man with war club held firmly for a second strike. "I have returned to avenge Good Hawk's death. We came to you in peace, and you betrayed us. Now you will die, in front of your wife and children."

  Raging Wolf looked small and insignificant in the scattered firelight, his head bleeding profusely. He blinked through the blood and pain and held up an arm as if he were shielding his eyes from the sun. He looked small, indeed, but his words revealed no fear, no worry.

  "You came to my village," Raging Wolf said, raising up on his elbows and looking around the room. He blinked away a line of blood. "With only four warriors? You entered my home with just a few men, and you expect to kill me and escape? Where does that arrogance, that courage, come from?"

  "From the Red God," Fast as Lightning said. "The god of the Ring of Fire. It was a lie what Speaks His Mind said. He does not fill me with madness. He gives me strength and speed. He gave me the coura
ge to come here, and it will be in his honor that I will make you pay for your crimes. All of them"

  Raging Wolf nodded, looked again towards his wife, his children. "Then so be it," he said, lying back prostrate, like the cross with Jesus that Fast as Lighting had seen hanging from a Dutchman's neck. "Your courage should be rewarded. Strike me down, and strike fast."

  What was this? The great Raging Wolf, Sachem of the Mohegans, would not fight? Would not at least try to rise and defend himself? "Stand," Fast as Lightning said, stepping back a pace. "We will fight each other, fairly, and I will show you the power of the Red God."

  Raging Wolf shook his bleeding head. "No. I will not fight you in my own home, in front of my wife, my children. Go ahead and do your duty, for your Red God, and for that Ring of Fire that Speaks His Mind fears so much. If what he says about it is true, then perhaps I should die, for our people will need leaders like you, like Speaks His Mind, to face it. I am old, stuck in my ways. Perhaps we need new thinkers for what awaits us in the future. So, I say again, kill me now, and be done with it."

  Fast as Lighting raised his war club to strike, but he caught the terrified face of a small boy out of the corner of his eye. Raging Wolf's wife too had tears running down her cheek, his daughter as well. All of them could be dead in a moment. All he had to do was swing the club, and vengeance for the Red God, for Good Hawk, would be taken.

  Instead, he lowered his club, held it out like a stick towards Raging Wolf's face. "Let this be a warning, Raging Wolf. You will stop raiding our villages, stop stealing our women and children. You will do so now, or I will return and unleash the Red God upon you all, and there will not be a single Mohegan alive by the end of winter."

  He jabbed the club once again into Raging Wolf's face, breaking his nose, and knocking him cold.