Read Cloak of the Two Winds for Free Online Page B

breath. He raised his finger and pointed it slowly around the chamber. "Much power. Strong winds. You are like terns, blown off course by the storm. Long voyage. Far away."
    Lonn glanced around at his mates. They stood in the shuddering firelight, enthralled by the shaman's words and the power of his vision.
    "What should we do?" Glyssa murmured.
    Belach blinked. "Don't know. Powers are from far away—far from Iruk seas…Klarn must decide…All of you must hold fast to the klarn." He nodded, as though satisfied with that advice. Then he shook himself. "I will go back to the village now."
    He began to turn away, then stopped and touched his spear-point to Lonn's chest. "If you gain goods in Fleevanport from this treasure, you must share a fair portion with the village. Remember."
    Like many of the younger Iruks, Lonn and his mates were apt to linger when they traded in the Tathian settlements, enjoying themselves till their money ran out. Hence the shaman's stern reminder.
    "Of course," Lonn answered. "We understand."
    The shaman smiled at the others, then stepped toward the entrance. Lonn and Glyssa hastened to untie the flap for him. Belach stopped a moment and placed a hand on Glyssa's shoulder, then bent his head and marched out into the storm.
    "I want to have a meeting," Glyssa announced, as she bent to re-tie the cords. "We need to talk about this."
    "I agree," Karrol said. "The sooner the better."
    Lonn sighed, but made no protest. Any klarn member had the right to call a meeting. And after hearing the shaman's words, it would be well if everyone spoke their piece.
    "Let’s bathe and eat first," Draven said.
    "Yes," Eben agreed. "Whatever we decide, we’re not going anywhere till this storm ends."
    Lonn glanced at the others, who nodded their assent. "All right," he said, picking up a spear. "Then let us put the klarn to rest."
    The Iruks each took a spear from the sled and followed Lonn to the doorway. Glyssa went to a cache in the far wall and brought out a ceremonial cup, made from the skull of one of her ancestors, fitted with gold. She filled the cup with water, then brought a spear and lined up beside the others.
    Glyssa sipped from the cup, then poured out a little water for the klarn soul. She thrust her spear into the ground and said, "For now the hunt is over. Let the klarn be at rest."
    She passed the cup to Karrol, who repeated her words and actions. Each of the mates did likewise, Lonn last of all, so that the klarn soul went out of their bodies and into the spears, which stood as a barrier to guard the entrance of the house.
    The ritual ended, Lonn experienced a familiar weariness in his bones. But the peace and contentment that usually followed the closing of a hunt were missing. Instead, he felt unease at remembering Belach’s warnings, and a nagging apprehension over what the meeting would decide.
    The mates set to work unpacking the sledge and making the lodge house ready. They placed the witch's things against the wall, near the crawl-tunnel that led to the smaller dome. Lonn and Brinda carried the windbringers and the tub of sea-ice to the hearth. Draven and Glyssa lit fires under two massive cauldrons, filled with ice, that stood along the wall. Karrol laid an iron grill over the hearth. Eben opened a cache in the floor where meat was stored in the permafrost. He brought out strips of lamnocc meat and laid them on the grill. Karrol lit two Tathian lanterns, made of bronze and glass, for extra warmth and illumination.
    Lonn started to open the brandy keg but Glyssa said they should drink tea instead. She didn't want the meeting swayed by the recklessness of strong drink. Brinda and Karrol seconded her on this, so Lonn filled a kettle with water and set it over the fire to boil.
    The mates removed their harnesses and boots and warmed their feet on the hearthstones. Kizier and Azzible gazed contently at the fire, the ice in their pails melting away. The red meat thawed on the grill, fat dripping