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Chapter Ten
Eris
I had a busy day after my run, and by the time I was free from chores and tasks, the sun had set and my body and mind were all-too aware of how long it had been since I slept. My sleeping place was barely what anyone would call a home. Barely a dugout, just large enough to crawl into and be protected from the weather, there was no room for anyone to share, which was just how I liked it.
Privacy was priceless, and I had earned this space only since turning down the mating. How upset would the elders be if they realized this punishment was anything but? I’d been forced to dig the mini-shelter myself, as an additional penalty, but under cover of darkness, my wolf took over and sent earth flying between her legs. She didn’t like to share her den with those who weren’t kind to her person anyway.
Rested by morning, I went to where the star maps and books were kept, in a small shelter adjacent to the alpha’s, but when I slipped inside it was to find a nearly empty room, only a few scraps of paper and an overturned shelf remaining from what had been a space filled with the history and science of our people.
All. Gone.
How had this happened? For a second, I entertained the idea that there might be a new, better storage area. Because this one wasn’t very well sealed and when I came in here, which I did often, I always spent time cleaning and sweeping, trying to do everything possible to keep our history safe from the passage of time and neglect.
But now?
What happened?
My throat was closing up in panic as I searched the corners, as if the missing books and records would suddenly appear out of nowhere. But of course they didn’t and weren’t going to. Had one of those visitors who were always showing up from the other groups come and stolen them?
Surely someone would have noticed. With my pulse fluttering, I darted out of the shelter and into the elder’s gathering place right next door where I barged in without requesting permission to enter. The men sitting in their chairs around the cold fire pit looked at me. “Someone has stolen the historical records,” I blurted out. “We have to find them.”
Their stare moved from me to one another before the eldest responded. “No one has stolen the records, you foolish child.”
“B-but they’re gone. All of them. Come and see.” I backed toward the door, arms windmilling in my anxiety. “Hurry. Maybe we can catch them.”
Their laughter sent a chill down my spine. And a suspicion into my mind. “Why aren’t you standing up?”
“Because there’s no crime. What did you think? That some miscreant came miles across the plains just to drag off a bunch of old books? Who would do that?”
Another put in, “It’s thinking like that that led to the decision we were forced to make.”
“We blame you,” added a third.
They all looked so smug, I wanted to scream at them, but they wouldn’t hear me no matter how loud I got, so I tried a lower voice. Even. Calm. “You blame me for the missing records and books? I didn’t take them. I’ve made their care my mission, and I only have a ‘home’ slightly bigger than a coffin. Clearly I have nowhere to put them.” They had to be out of their heads to make such an accusation. “Those books are the treasure of all of us. I wouldn’t be so selfish, even if I had a place to put them.”
“Nobody thinks you took the books. You’re deliberately misunderstanding,” hissed the elder nearest me. “Just as you have chosen to misunderstand what those old tales mean. They aren’t guidebooks for the future, just stories.”
“That’s not true,” I protested. “What did you do with them? Please tell me you didn’t destroy them.” The very idea sickened me. “They are all we have. Almost everything has been destroyed. We live like animals.” I mentally apologized to my wolf who would live much better than this if given a chance. “What have you done with them? They were already so exposed to the weather where they were. Please tell me you didn’t hurt them. Let me get them and put them away, and then I’ll do whatever you want.” I hastened to add, “Except the mating.”
“And there you have it.” The same elder by me was smug. “Your meddling in tribal rulings and tendency to continually quote those dusty old things at us has led to their being removed from everyone’s access.”
I turned and left. They would continue to send the blame for actions they took in my direction, and arguing with them would do no good. But when I got outside, I spotted Amos sitting on the ground, sharpening his ax. The woodsman of the tribe, he was largely responsible for our having wood for the cooking fires, at least beyond what we could gather here. But since it was almost nonexistent, he didn’t have much to do.
“What’s wrong, little one?” he asked. “What have they done now?”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said, although it did, so much. “I didn’t mean to disturb you.”
“You’re not. Come and tell me what has you so disturbed.”
What did I have to lose? He didn’t have a way to help, but at least he was willing to listen.
