The Spirit Walker (BOOK ONE): The Ripple

Chapter Nineteen: The Lodge

The name, "The Lodge," evokes images of a wooden hut, a dirt floor, and a room full of smoke and fire. The reality of the building is nothing like I had imagined.

It is, in fact, in the shape of what I assume a traditional Kituwah lodge would have been, but that is where the similarities end. The entirety of the structure is one large, oval room- the walls made of white marble, the floors and columns of varnished cedar. The great columns- as wide as some ancient trees- support a tiered, oval mezzanine overlooking the ground floor, which boasts a large copper bowl holding a crackling fire at its center.

It is vaguely reminiscent of The Lodge in Tokiyastee, but this one is much larger, and a thousand times more grand. It feels like what it is: a seat of political power.

I follow Calum's example at the great granite bowl at the entrance- dipping the fingers of both my hands into the cool water and splashing it over my face.

Seven well-dressed old women sit on wooden chairs in a circle around the fire, their names seared into my memory by Elder Diyani's teachings:  Machara, Quatie, Moibeal, Vanora, Wahela, Odina, and Galilahi. Standing in a semi-circle behind them are six more- the grandmothers of Clan Murray.

Elder Diyani would be furious with me for forgetting their names.

Quatie's face still fills me with unease, and I avoid looking at her. However, as I trail Calum to The Lodge's center, I am struck by a sudden realization, and curse myself for not making the connection sooner. The fact that Quatie is here, now, means that she is the grandmother of the Laird of Clan Campbell.

My mother was an only child. In this ripple, Quatie has at least two daughters. Ceallach had no siblings, which means the Laird of Clan Campbell is Ceallach's- my- cousin.

How did my mother fall so far in this ripple? As sister-in-law to the previous Laird, she would have been granted every opportunity in life, exposed to men of the highest caliber and status. Yet, somehow, she ended up with my father- a short, scrawny, Scotch/Irish drunkard with little to his name, a hot temper, and a nasty mean streak, who ruined Ceallach's childhood in this Ripple just as he had nearly done to me in mine.

How did Quatie let it happen?

And, more importantly- How did she not use her connections to rescue Ceallach from the man's clutches?

As though sensing my accusing stare, Quatie glances away from her Righ to meet my gaze. She looks as uncomfortable as I feel. Her amber eyes flick away from mine quickly, and I struggle to pull myself from my rumination and focus on the ceremony at hand.

I understand very little of it.

It is all conducted in Sagwu, and while Elder Diyani's teachings have helped me become more familiar with the language, I can only manage to pick out a word or two in every utterance. Machara stands opposite Calum, her elbows bent and her palms upturned. They take turns speaking, and from the very little I am able to gather, it seems like the well-rehearsed lines of a formal speech.

Finally, at its end, Calum gently deposits a seal made of solid gold into his grandmother's waiting palms. She bows her head, closes her fingers around the object, and then turns to the other women assembled with her back straight. In turn, they all dip their heads into respectful bows, acknowledging her as their Righ in Calum's stead.

She tucks the seal into a beaded leather pouch at her hip, and then turns back to Calum with a gentle, fond smile on her features. The words she speaks, this time, are ones I recognize, even though they are Sagwu. They are a traditional blessing Elder Diyani had ensured that I memorized- although I have yet to earn her approval on my pronunciation.