Ten Years Old
Kavio
He stood behind his father, behind his father's warriors.
Across the defense ditch around their camp, another band of warriors waited. Their leader wore a bright headdress covered in gold. It caught the sun and flashed like fire.
That man was Hertio, War Chief of Yellow Bear.
"He is his father's son," said Hertio. "I want the boy as my hostage—or no deal."
"I have seven sevens of warriors who could serve as your hostages," said Kavio's father.
"You would give them up without a second thought," said Hertio. "But your son is your blood. Even you might pause, if betraying me meant his death."
You don't know my father, Kavio thought. He would never give up his men.
But me? That's different.
His father placed a hand on his head.
"Please don't make me go, Father," Kavio whispered. "I don't trust him."
"Give me your hands, Kavio," said his father.
Kavio lifted his wrists.
His father tied a sinew rope around them, tight enough to hurt. The knot pinched his skin. Kavio swallowed a bitter taste. There was no way out. No words that could change this.
His father pushed him forward and raised his voice.
"My son will be your hostage—and your slave, to command or to kill."
***
Kavio
Kavio snapped out of the memory.
It felt like he had lived it again.
And now—Gremo stood over him, face pale, eyes wide. He had seen the Vision too. Somehow, he had shared it.
But Gremo shook off the daze. His fingers still squeezed Kavio's throat.
Then his other hand lifted—
A clenched fist, ready to strike the final blow.
Gremo roared again.
But instead of smashing Kavio's face or breaking his neck, Gremo suddenly threw Kavio aside.
Then Gremo jumped onto the boulder.
He pounded it with his fists.
At first, Kavio thought Gremo was trying to destroy the rock that had trapped him for so long.
But soon, he saw the truth.
Gremo wasn't breaking the rock—he was rebuilding the magic.
The ropes of lightning wrapped around him. They sparked and glowed as they wove the broken physical ropes back into place.
Gremo coiled the lightning around himself too, binding his body to the boulder once more.
Stronger than before.
When the ropes were complete, the magic light faded.
The storm clouds broke apart and drifted away.
Ruga, Lambo, and Kuruga had come out of the hut at some point during the storm.
Ruga's face turned white. Her mouth moved, but no sound came out.
Lambo looked grim.
Kuruga cried, tears rolling down her face.
Gremo groaned and began to drag the boulder behind him again, step by step.
Ruga ran to Kavio and pulled at his arm.
"You healed him once," she said. "You can do it again!"
"I can't." Kavio gently moved her hands off him.
Pain throbbed through his body. His ribs ached where Gremo had hit him.
"He did this to himself, Auntie," Kavio said. "He used his power to tie himself to the rock again… so he wouldn't hurt you."
"He hates us that much?"
"And he loves you that much," said Kavio. "It's a knot I can't untie."
Ruga hit him with her fists and screamed.
Lambo pulled her away.
Kavio turned to Kuruga.
"You knew," he said.
"I knew he had hate," she said softly. "But I didn't know he had love too. Maybe… maybe if I tell the others what happened, they will look at him differently. Maybe if we all drop our own rocks, Gremo can drop his."
"And if they don't? If he doesn't?" asked Kavio. "Will Ruga spend her life watching over a madman who walks in circles?"
"She'll never leave him," said Kuruga. "She's as tied to him as he is to that stone. He is the stone she carries."
Kavio went to his pack and strapped on the canoe.
Something inside poked him in the back. He set it down to re-pack.
One of the chert spearheads from Nilo had shifted. It was so sharp that it cut his finger when he tried to move it. A few drops of blood stained the leather. Kavio sucked his bleeding finger, then lifted the pack again.
This time it fit, and he even found the weight comforting.