17. Spirits, and Other Considerations

CASCADE

CHAPTER 17

Entin hadn't woken in nearly a week. To Cascade's dismay, Harlak had forced the training to continue without him. His uncle had even demanded the meat of the stag Entin had slain for himself. The beast's antlers had been so heavy it had taken T'reer and Sivek together to carry them to Cascade's cave once the animal had been processed.

In the following days, Aiel cared for Entin as best she could. Cascade knew little of medicine. It simply wasn't something his tribe had much knowledge of. And so he'd only been able to watch on, helpless, as she tended to the many wounds and bruises covering Entin's limp body.

Cascade wiped the sweat off his forehead as he ascended the trail to his cave. He was eager to see if Entin had improved since he'd departed that morning. As he entered, he regarded Aiel, searching for signs that things had worsened since he'd been training. Her stern face revealed nothing, though. He grimaced, knelt across from her, and looked on as Entin battled the spirits. The unconscious man's eyes roved feverishly behind his lids. Entin was covered in furs—yet somehow sweating and shivering simultaneously.

"I'll kill you if he doesn't make it," Aiel murmured.

She'd made the threat many times in the days since the stag.

Cascade sighed. "And I will gladly let you if I lose him."

To his relief, they were interrupted by the sound of footsteps at the mouth of the cave.

"Harlak says the trainees are ready for their Journey," T'reer announced from the entrance. "Any who fail will be cast out. He says we don't have the resources to spare getting them home as promised, nor letting them stay here if they can't fight the Wolves."

He, his brother, and their two trainees had just returned home for the evening after another long day of practice.

"But they'll surely die if we cast them out? What is he thinking?" Cascade said.

"Only scared dogs bite their family. He's a beast, not a man. There's no reasoning with someone like that. He will act out of fear as he always has," Sivek said darkly.

Cascade reflected on his peer's words. Sivek was the younger of the two brothers. He had always been playful and lighthearted ever since they'd been boys. Cascade realized now that, at some point, Sivek had grown into a man.

"So he intends for the ceremony to begin tomorrow?" Cascade wondered aloud.

"That's what he's telling the tribe, yes," T'reer replied.

"Bastard," Cascade groaned.

"And what of him?" Aiel asked. She gestured to Entin.

"It's up to the gods now," Cascade murmured.

He drew the furs around Entin's neck and kissed him on the forehead.