Read Online The Days of the Deer by Liliana Bodoc - Free Book Online Page B

let you see
it as evidence of my faithfulness to the Astronomers and their commands.’
    Cucub dragged his bag close to the oil lamp, and knelt down to rummage in it. The Husihuilkes took advantage of this to get a good look at him. They found it hard to understand how he could move
easily beneath all he was wearing. Kuy-Kuyen stared at the green stones set in his earrings, his arm-band and the seven loops of his necklace.
There are
no stones like that in the forest.
And the people who come down from Wilú-Wilú
never bring them either
, she thought. Thungür’s attention was drawn to a slender rod hanging from the
Zitzahay’s belt, which flexed without snapping as he knelt. For her part, Old Mother Kush preferred to look at the string of seeds that kept appearing and disappearing among the folds of his
clothes. ‘Those seeds he has strung on a thread must be from the cacao tree,’ she said to herself. Wilkilén was amused by Cucub’s short, wiry hair. Dulkancellin noticed the
blowpipe he was carrying. However hard he tried, though, he could not make out where the darts and poison were concealed. The Zitzahay’s astonishing appearance meant that all the Husihuilkes
forgot their good manners as hosts, and stared at him openly.
    Cucub meanwhile had removed almost everything from the bag. Things were not going well for him; they grew worse when Dulkancellin returned to the charge.
    ‘What’s wrong? You should have no doubt where you put the feather.’
    Despite the abruptness of his question, Dulkancellin was sure Cucub was going to find the proof at any moment. But this certainty evaporated when the Zitzahay looked up, his face pale. Glancing
across at the warrior, he began to speak hesitantly:
    ‘It was here ... I know it was ... here somewhere. I put it away carefully, but ... now I can’t find it.’
    ‘You say you can’t find it?’ Dulkancellin said. ‘You’re telling me you have lost the proof that you are the true messenger, that the feather was there, and now it
isn’t? And you expect me to believe that?’
    ‘Yes. I mean, no,’ stammered Cucub. ‘I don’t expect you to. You’re right, quite right. I understand it must be hard to believe me. But let me look again. That Kukul
feather has to be somewhere.’
    The Zitzahay started going through his things all over again. He looked in every cranny, turned the bag over, shook it hard. No use. ‘It has to be here ... it has to be here,’ he
kept repeating. He wiped his brow, patted his clothes despairingly, then began the search again. Finally, after admitting to himself it was impossible, Cucub gave up: the Kukul feather had
vanished, and he could give no valid reason for it. There was no excuse for losing the token the Astronomers had given him to prove he was the true messenger. Cucub knew that not being able to
produce it put him in a dreadful position, and put his future in doubt. He peered round, hoping against hope he might spot the special green colour of a Kukul feather in some corner of the room. No
luck there either. Straightening up and seeing the Husihuilkes looking gravely at him, he attempted to smile.
    ‘Listen, Dulkancellin,’ he said. ‘I can’t tell you how this has happened. I don’t know if an ill wind blew it away, or if an enemy has turned it into grains of
dust. Whatever it was, it must have been close to here, because just before I arrived I made sure I still had the feather. I saw it with my own eyes! Believe me, warrior, I am the messenger Kupuka
and you were expecting.’
    ‘I will not believe you,’ said Dulkancellin. ‘It’s impossible for me to believe you. The Earth Wizard was clear. You were supposed to show us a Kukul feather to prove
that your words and your intentions are one and the same. You have been unable to do that, and anything you say from now on will only confirm you as a traitor.’
    ‘We ought to wait for Kupuka,’ said Cucub, trying to postpone the decision Dulkancellin had