The Mammoth Hunters (Earth's Children 3)

He hadn’t actually Promised, though. True, he had seriously considered it, and would have if she hadn’t been dedicated. She was the one who had refused a formal Promise, fearing it would anger Mut and cause Her to withdraw Her blessing. Well, Ranec thought, the Mother could not have been too angry if She had drawn from his essence to make Tricie’s baby. He guessed that was what she wanted to show him, that she already had a child to bring to his hearth, and one of his spirit, be

sides. It would have made her irresistible under other circumstances, but he loved Ayla. If he’d had enough to offer, he might have considered asking for them both, but since a choice had to be made, there was no question. Just the thought of living without Ayla put a knot of panic in the pit of his stomach. He wanted her more than any woman he’d ever wanted in his life.

Ayla called out to Deegie, and when she caught up with her, they walked together.

“I see you’ve met Tricie,” Deegie said.

“Yes, but she seemed to need to talk to Ranec, so I was glad I saw you. It gave me the chance to get away and let them be alone,” Ayla said.

“I don’t doubt she wanted to talk to him. It was all over the Camp last season that they were planning to Promise.”

“She has a child, you know. A son.”

“No, I didn’t! I’ve hardly had the chance to say more than hello to people, and no one told me. That’s going to make her worth more and raise her Bride Price. Who told you?”

“Mygie did, one of the red-foots. She says the boy is of Ranec’s spirit.”

“That spirit moves around! There are a couple of young ones with his essence. You can’t always tell for sure with the other men whose spirit it is, but you can with him. His coloring comes through,” Deegie said.

“Mygie said this boy is very light, and red-haired, but looks like Ranec, in the face.”

“That would be interesting! I think I may have to go to see Tricie later,” Deegie said with a smile. “The daughter of one headwoman ought to pay a visit to the daughter of another headwoman, especially of the host Camp. Do you want to come with me when I go?”

“I’m not sure … yes, I think I would,” Ayla said.

They had reached the curved arch entrance of the lodge from which the unusual sounds were coming. “I was going to stop here, at the Music Lodge. I think you might enjoy it,” Deegie said, then scratched on the leather door covering. While they waited for someone to untie it from inside, Ayla glanced around.

Southeast of the entrance was a fence made of seven skulls of mammoths plus other bones, filled in with hard-packed clay to make it solid. Probably a windbreak, Ayla thought. In the hollow where the settlement was located, the only wind would come from the river valley. On the northeast she counted four huge outdoor hearths and two distinct work areas. One appeared to be for making tools and implements out of ivory and bone, the others must have been primarily concerned with working the flint which was found nearby. Ayla saw Jondalar and Wymez, and several other men and women who were also flint workers, she guessed. She should have known that would be where to find him.

The drape was pulled back, and Deegie beckoned Ayla to follow her in, but someone at the entrance stopped her.

“Deegie, you know we don’t let visitors in here,” she said. “We’re practicing.”

“But, Kylie, she is a daughter of the Mammoth Hearth,” Deegie said, surprised.

“I don’t see any tattoo. How can she be Mamut without a tattoo?”

“This is Ayla, daughter of old Mamut. He adopted her to the Mammoth Hearth.”

“Oh. Just a moment, let me ask.”

Deegie was impatient while they waited again, but Ayla looked more closely at the lodge, and got the impression that it had slumped, or fallen in somewhat.

“Why didn’t you tell me she’s the one with the animals?” Kylie said when she came back. “Come in.”

“You should know I wouldn’t bring anyone here who wasn’t acceptable,” Deegie said.

It was not dark in the lodge, the smoke hole was somewhat bigger than usual, and allowed light inside, but it did take awhile for eyes to adjust after the bright sunshine outside. At first, Ayla thought the person Deegie was talking to was a child. But when she saw her, Ayla realized she was probably somewhat older, not younger than her tall, stocky friend. The misimpression was caused by the difference in size between the two women. Kylie was small with a slender build, almost dainty, and next to Deegie, it was easy to mistake her for a child, but her lithe, supple movements bespoke the confidence and experience of maturity.

Though the shelter had seemed large from the outside, there was less room inside than Ayla had imagined. The ceiling was lower than usual, and half the usable space in the room was taken up by four mammoth skulls, which were partially buried in the floor with the tusk sockets upright. The trunks of small trees had been placed in the sockets, and were used as supports to brace the ceiling, which had slumped or fallen in. It struck Ayla, as she looked around, that this lodge was far from new. The wood and the thatching had the grayness of age. There were none of the usual household goods or large cooking hearths to be seen, only one small fireplace. The floor had been swept clean, leaving only dark traces of the former major hearths.

Ropes had been strung between the supporting uprights, and drapes, which could be used to divide the space, hung from them, bunched up at one end. Thrown over the ropes, or hanging from pegs on the posts, was the most unusual array of objects Ayla had ever seen. Colorful outfits, fantastic and ornate headgear, strings of ivory beads and seashells, pendants of bone and amber, and some things she couldn’t begin to understand.

There were several people in the lodge. Some were sitting around a small fireplace, sipping from cups; a couple more were in the light streaming in through the smoke hole, sewing garments. To the left of the entrance, several people were sitting or kneeling on mats on the floor near large mammoth bones, decorated with red lines and zigzags. Ayla identified a leg bone, a shoulder blade, two lower jawbones, a pelvis bone, and a skull. They were greeted warmly, but Ayla felt they were interrupting something. Everyone seemed to be looking at them, as though waiting to find out why they had come.

“Don’t stop practicing for us,” Deegie said. “I brought Ayla to meet you, but we don’t want to interrupt. We’ll wait until you are ready to stop.” The people turned back to their task, while Deegie and Ayla sat down on mats nearby.

A woman who was kneeling in front of the large femur began tapping out a steady beat with a hammer-shaped section of reindeer antler, but the sounds she was producing were more than rhythmic. As she hit the leg bone in different places, a resonant, melodic sound emerged, which changed in pitch and tone. Ayla looked more closely, wondering what caused the unusual timbre.