10. Caves

CASCADE

CHAPTER 10

Cascade felt a cold, numb dread at the thought of seeing his uncle again. The image of his father being stabbed and then tumbling helplessly off the cliff among the boulders had replayed in his mind all morning. Each time, his hand instinctively grasped the cutting stone in his leathers. He imagined using it against Harlak, pictured himself driving the implement deep into his neck. He had always disliked the man, but now he hated him.

When he and Entin finally reached Main Cave—the hub of his people—the sound of chanting echoed out from within. As the pair passed under its threshold, Cascade felt relief at the sight of the Great Fire ablaze in the center of the room. A pair of deer were roasting on spits along one side, and the smell of meat and the relief of home made his emotions spin. Despite everything, being here brought an involuntary smile to his beleaguered face.

They'd made it.

"Welcome to Mountainhome, Entin," Cascade said quietly.

He put his arm around Entin's shoulder as the interloper took in his people's inner sanctum. High above, stalactites glimmered pale white in the shadowy heights of the cave's ceiling. It rose many spans above them. The chanting, coming out of a side tunnel, took a turn then, becoming mournful and haunting.

"And what are these?" Entin asked.

Cascade followed the man's wide-eyed gaze to the nearest section of the cave wall. He smiled when he saw what had caught his attention.

"These," Cascade began, "are the stories of my people and how they came to Mountainhome."

He grabbed Entin's hand and pulled him toward the mural. The images were painted from charcoal and soot, and the various colors were made from burning seashells, grinding them down, and mixing ocher and clay with water. The result was a mural that wrapped nearly the entire interior of Main Cave. It was intricate, covered in depictions of the ancestors, of the snow-covered land they came from, and the ancient Journey they'd made across the world to outrun the Wolves.

He watched as Entin knelt and regarded a section near the floor. It showed a great woodland and, beyond, a set of peaks far taller than those of Mountainhome. Even the Slumbering God was small in comparison to these. Beyond was a never-ending meadow that stretched out until it touched a distant ocean. Giant horned beasts and huge, terrible birds roamed the expanse.

"Yeah, this section was always one of my favorites, too," Cascade said quietly.

"Is it real? These pictures are all part of the story of your people?" Entin asked wonderingly.

"Most of it, yes," Cascade said. "Although some parts, like the one you're looking at, are rumored to have been here when the original ancestors arrived at Main Cave after the Journey. And I tend to believe them for one reason: we can't make this color."

He gestured at the deep blue-green of the trees. It was the only section of the wall that had the pigment, and it was curious to him that it had been the first thing to draw Entin in. He couldn't shake the notion that the spirits seemed to be pushing them toward something, maybe each other, and he shivered despite the crackling warmth of the Great Fire at his back.

"Cascade? Is that you?" a voice interrupted.

Cascade's heart surged at the familiar tone.

"Mom," he replied instantly.

"I thought the gods had taken you!" she cried.

And then they were hugging each other furiously. His much smaller mother was clutching him frantically all over, inspecting him like he might be hiding some terminal wound.

"I'm fine, Mom," he said gently.

She grabbed him by the cheeks and stared up into his face.

"And your father?" she asked in a hushed whisper.

"Murdered by Harlak. It was no accident, despite what he may have told you. But we mustn't act until we can count on the support of the others. I'm sorry. I couldn't save him."

Her look grew distant as he spoke.

"I knew he was lying," she spat. "Curse him."

"When the time is right, we will give Father the honor of vengeance," Cascade assured her. "You can count on it."

"You will make the ancestors proud. It is what must be done," his mother agreed.

Her eyes, though sad, were filled with righteous fury. A part of Cascade chilled at the reality of what they were setting into motion. Destabilizing the tribe in this way, at such a prone time, felt like the wrong decision. But what choice did he have? A blood debt had to be repaid. He sighed wearily, then turned to Entin.

"Mom, this is Entin. He's to be my trainee. He was taken from Summerhome, down on the plains."

Cascade had noticed Entin retreat against the wall while they spoke, apparently wishing to disappear into the shadows as the mother and son reunited. The look of discomfort and awkwardness on his face made it impossible for Cascade to suppress a chuckle. At times, he seemed more like a lone wildman than someone who had grown up surrounded by a tribe.

"Don't be shy," Cascade said.

He reached out, took Entin's hand, and pulled him to his side. Cascade felt Entin try to squirm away from his grip, resisting Cascade's overt display of their affection in front of his mother. But Cascade didn't care. He felt no shame for what they had done and didn't want Entin to, either. His mother's eyes traveled to their interlocked hands and paused. She flicked her eyes once to Cascade and then to Entin, and then she smiled weakly.

"Good. Two is always better than one in such times. Go. Make yourselves scarce. Harlak has been eating Dream Caps all morning. Better that I be the one to tell him you've returned. I'll bring some food to your cave later on. Tomorrow, Harlak plans to start training. If you reunite with everyone then, it will be safer," she urged.

The chanting stopped abruptly.

"Go!" she rasped. "We will speak about all this later."

"I love you, Mom," Cascade said.

"I love you too," she replied. "Welcome, Entin. If you matter to Cascade, you are kin to me. Be safe."

She looked uneasily in the direction the chanting had been coming from, then shooed them away with a flick of her hand. Cascade took heed of her worry and pulled Entin out from Main Cave and back into the dazzling sunlight of the mountainside.

"Come. Let me show you my home," he said at last.

And with that, he finally let go of Entin's hand, and the pair set off to the much smaller cave he called his own.