Part 113: Bitter Bargain

Main story folder & table of contents: "Escape From Manitou Island" 
Previous chapter: "Part 112: The Wintermaker" 

PART ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTEEN:
Bitter Bargain

"AND WHAT DO you get?" Charmian asked.

"Just one small thing," Kabebonikka replied, smiling. "Should you not succeed, your little winter girl will remain here with me."

The cave went dead silent. Charmian's eyes grew to the size of saucers, disbelief welling up inside her. She actually lost her voice for a moment, until she felt Winter Born's fingers digging into her arm; then her senses came roaring back, and the blood rushed up into her face. Kabebonikka raised an eyebrow even before she clenched her fists and launched into her tirade.

"What?" she yelled; then, "NO! I can't give you something like THAT!"

"Oh?" The North Wind raised both eyebrows now. "I take it you are not that interested in finding Kabeyun after all...?"

"Not at THAT cost!" Charmian snapped. "She's not just some bargaining chip I can leave behind! Ask something else! There's no way you can expect me to give you something like that!"

Kabebonikka shifted his arms inside their sleeves, a bored look coming to his face. "There is nothing else I wish for," he said in a bland voice. "Besides...I was rather under the impression that you expected to succeed." He raised his eyebrow again. "Now you are so unsure...?"

Charmian's fingernails dug into her palms and she ground her teeth hard enough to hurt. "It doesn't matter if we succeed or not! You don't just ask for other PEOPLE as bargaining chips! It's not right! You can't possibly expect me to make a bargain like that!"

"I do not know what a 'bargaining chip' is," Kabebonikka replied, "but if you wish to find Kabeyun, this is a bargain you will have to decide on, and soon."

Charmian opened her mouth to shout something foul at him, when Winter Born grasped her arm so hard that she cut herself off and looked down at her. She expected to see tears in the little girl's eyes...but they were perfectly dry, albeit as wide as her own.

"Charmian!" she whispered so loudly that surely even Kabebonikka could hear. "It's okay! You can make the bargain--I don't mind!"

Charmian blinked, all the breath leaving her. She sucked it back in and gawked at Winter Born in surprise before shaking her head wildly.

"N--no! I can't bargain with YOU like that! Your dad would KILL me, for one thing--!"

Winter Born shook her head. "It's okay! If it helps find the West Wind then it can't be that bad! Right--?"

"Winter Born--" Charmian grasped her hand. "I can't make a deal like that no matter HOW much it might help us! You mean way too much!"

"But I thought it was for the Island," Winter Born insisted, brow furrowing. She pressed on before Charmian could speak. "You don't even have to worry! I know you'll make it! We made it this far, didn't we--?"

"It's going to get a lot harder!"

"But you'll still make it!" Winter Born's face lit up, and Charmian couldn't make out the tiniest bit of doubt in her eyes; she lost her words again. "I know you will. You helped the Island TWICE before and didn't let it down ONCE!" Her own fingers wrapped around Charmian's. "It's okay," she said again, her voice soft now. "I won't be upset. I know you'll come back, and we'll go back to the Island together!"

Charmian stared at her, unable to speak, her throat numb. It was suddenly as if her brain had been split in two, the one half filled with images of Black Elk Horn cleaving her head open with his hatchet, Silver Eagle Feather's eyes glowing with hate just before she tossed bad medicine at her, Ocryx rearing up and bellowing before knocking her head off--and in the other half there was an image of only the Island, floating in the vast rainbow-colored waters of Lake Huron. She let out her breath in a whoosh, brow furrowing, and slowly shook her head.

"Winter Born..." She shook her head harder. "I can't..."

"It's for the Island," Winter Born said, and her hopeful look faded into doubt at last. "I thought you'd do anything for the Island."

It was as if she'd just jammed one of Kabebonikka's shards of ice into Charmian's chest with that comment, and Charmian actually flinched. "Well, human...?" Kabebonikka asked mildly, and Charmian turned her head to look up at him. The North Wind stared back down at her with an oddly neutral look. "From the sound of it, this Island of yours is quite important," he said, and raised his chin a little. "Your decision...?"

Charmian stared at him for a moment, then turned back to Winter Born. She could see the two GeeBees still crouching in the passageway, staring back in at them with wide eyes. Winter Born met her own eyes, looking for all the world like she was asking merely to follow Charmian back to the mainland, or tag along toward the west, or some other trivial thing which Charmian would have been inclined to deny her before...but her words, and the voice they'd been said in, still stung more than the injury to her ankle did.

I thought you'd do anything for the Island.

I thought I would, too...

But not that...

I can't do that...

But...

The images of Black Elk Horn, Silver Eagle Feather, Ocryx, all their rage and fury, faded into the image of the Island, and as she watched, it slowly sank into the rainbow waters. Her heart clenched on itself and Winter Born quickly looked down when Charmian's fingers dug into her own. She looked up again, brow furrowing, and Charmian again let out her breath. She stood straight, having to fight just to swallow, and turned around to face Kabebonikka.

"You promise you'll uphold your end...?" she barely managed to say.

Kabebonikka paused for a moment, as if judging her, then lifted his head again. "Even a manitou must keep his word, human."

"But you promise--?" Charmian insisted; when the North Wind nodded, her shoulders slumped slightly. "All right," she forced herself to say. "It's a deal."

Kabebonikka tilted his head and his smile grew, eyes narrowing further. "A good decision," he said.

"But you have to promise not to hurt her, either," Charmian said, cursing herself for not thinking of it sooner.

She saw the manitou's nostrils flare. "I had no intention of it," he said, again sounding just vaguely annoyed. "Sometimes, you are not as creative as you think. Far from it. I had hoped that, seeing as you seem to not be inclined to teach her, perhaps I could see to it." He looked down at Winter Born. "Has anyone told you that you have lights practically flying around you?"

Winter Born gave Charmian a confused look. "Just promise she'll be okay," Charmian insisted. "You have to say it out loud."

Kabebonikka's mouth twisted almost into a sneer. "I see...you've had more than a few run-ins with less than scrupulous sorts. Very well, I promise. She won't be harmed."

"Or get her spirit corrupted," Charmian added.

Kabebonikka rolled his eyes this time. "Or that. You might feel better knowing that I do not even know how to do that, but anyway..."

"And you won't marry her, either," Charmian said, and this earned her very odd looks from both of them. She felt her ears burn. "Promise that too! Just in case."

"I will not wed her," Kabebonikka said in a vaguely sour voice. "Are you quite finished now...?"

Charmian let out a breath and took a step back. "All right," she said reluctantly. "So what do we do?"

Kabebonikka waved at the wall; Charmian and Winter Born both tensed, but all that happened was the ice wall lit up a bit more brightly, seeming to grow even shinier. "You seem rather nervous," the North Wind said. "Relax, I only wish to show you something." He swept his hand the other way and an image formed in the ice. Charmian found herself staring at a vast expanse of grass.

"Head west," Kabebonikka said, "just as you planned to do should your visit here fail. Head for the great western plain. If you make it this far, and no one else in your party meets their unfortunate end, then I will tell you how to proceed. If you do not, then whoever of you are left alive will be told, hopefully in time to save that Island of yours. Though I make no guarantee as to how quickly any of this may be accomplished." He waved his hand and the image faded.

"The plain?" Charmian said, frowning. "We just keep heading west?"

"Actually, I imagine that you must head somewhat southwest," Kabebonikka mused. "But I assume that friend of yours with the baashkizigan will know where to go."

"Bash--bash...?" Charmian tried to echo him, then made a face and shook her head. "I'll pretend I know what that means! You mean we have to go to the Great Plains--? Because those are the only PLAINS I know of to the west of here!" She made another face. "WHEREVER we are!"

"It is not my duty to give you directions," Kabebonikka said boredly. "Just ask your friend with the thundering stick. I assume he and his sort know the way to go. Once you reach there, then I will give you directions."

"You promise it'll be real directions and not just, 'Oh, head west and find some mountains and there's Kabeyun'!" Charmian groused.

Kabebonikka's eye twitched this time. "You are growing annoying, human, and should probably best leave now." He smoothed himself down and lifted his head, collected again. "And be on your toes." The corner of his mouth turned up. "Because I believe I should have quite a good deal of fun, seeing you try to reach there."

"She'll make it!" Winter Born said, making Charmian gasp and jump. "You'll see!" She turned to beam at Charmian, and Charmian felt more than a little queasy. "Don't worry about me a bit, Charmian! I know everything'll be okay! You're the one who defeated Ocryana and Chakenapok--the North Wind should be practically nothing compared to that!"

Charmian grimaced, unable to hide the look. She darted a quick glance at Kabebonikka, but he seemed amused by the comment. His blue eyes flitted toward Charmian and narrowed when they met hers, and she hurriedly ducked her head.

"Um--I'm PRETTY SURE she didn't mean it that way!!" she hastened to say.

"Really," Kabebonikka said; then, "So you are the one who fought that wolf-thing."

Charmian blinked, then furrowed her brow. "Huh--? You know about Ocryana--?" When he shifted his arms in his sleeves her confusion grew. "How do you know about that? I thought you didn't care about the Island."

"Be assured, I barely have the time or interest to watch over every single little human squabble," Kabebonikka said. "But I do like to keep up to date on things happening elsewhere. Part of the reason for my visits with Wabun now and then. He is not the most sociable fellow, but he does like to watch over what happens in his own realm." He tilted his head. "After that wolf demon was defeated, word spread through the air and through the water. No one talked about it terribly loudly, granted...but I like to listen carefully. It seems you have a bit of a reputation."

"So I've heard," Charmian said, wincing.

"You are aware that you yourself may be partly to blame for the current state of the Island?" Kabebonikka went on; Winter Born looked at her questioningly but Charmian couldn't meet her eyes.

"Charmian...?" she asked.

"Never mind about it," Charmian murmured.

"It's rather an interesting tale," Kabebonikka spoke up, gaining the girl's attention. "It seems that as soon as this creature was imprisoned, the Island lost some of its medicine. Apparently, despite her ill intentions, her very existence helps ensure the Island's survival, and this is the reason why none wish to kill her. If either of the demons dies, then the Island dies; and just the same, if the Island dies, then so do they. Yet even 'putting her to sleep,' so to speak, weakened the Island somewhat. And possibly helped open it to attack from our mutual friend the Pearl Feather."

"Well..." Winter Born pursed her lips. "Even if that's so, I'm sure there wasn't anything else she could do." She turned to Charmian once more. "You go on! I'll be fine! Promise!"

"Black Elk Horn is going to kill me," Charmian moaned.

"No he won't!" Winter Born exclaimed cheerily. "I think he's more interested in that red man anyway!" She pointed toward the GeeBees waiting in the entryway. "Remember Turtle! I'll see you when you get back!"

Charmian stared at her for a moment, then bit her lip. An instant later she was hugging the little girl; she felt Winter Born tense, and could practically feel her surprise, but after a brief pause Winter Born hugged her in return. "I will come back," Charmian whispered. "I promise."

She loosened her hold and drew back, trying to keep her eyes from stinging; she didn't want either of them to see her crying. Winter Born's eyes were alight.

"See?" she said, and when Charmian frowned a little a big grin spread across her face. "You just said, 'I promise'! Everybody knows you always keep your promises!" She pulled away and waved her hand. "I'll be okay! If Father asks about me just tell him I'm fine, will you? I don't want him worrying. You know how he is."

That's an understatement, Charmian thought, but nodded. "Promise." She glanced at Kabebonikka, then back at Winter Born, and had to bite the inside of her mouth to keep her eyes dry. "You behave until I come back," she said in the sternest voice she could muster.

Winter Born smiled so that all of her teeth showed. "I ALWAYS behave!" she insisted, and Charmian turned away to start limping toward the entryway.

"Hold on a moment," Kabebonikka said, and she winced, then slowed to a stop and peered over her shoulder. She should have expected some sort of belated catch. The North Wind gave her the same disinterested stare, but he did wave vaguely at her leg. "I couldn't help but notice the way you are walking," he said. "I take it that happened when that late strange fellow threw rocks at you."

"Yeah," Charmian said, trying not to scowl. "And he wasn't strange, his name was No-Tongue."

Kabebonikka's eyes rolled skyward as if he were greatly bored. "Very well...No-Tongue. It rather seems you won't be getting very far, very fast, practically half lame like that."

"I can manage," Charmian said, and now did start to scowl. "If this is your way of trying to con me out of this deal, then forget it! This doesn't change any--"

She gasped and held up her hands, right arm extended, when Kabebonikka lifted his own hand and waved it at her. She felt an icy wind waft against her and hurled a fireball without even thinking. She blinked in surprise; Kabebonikka boredly batted it away when it came near, and it struck the far wall and vanished, not even nicking the ice. Charmian stayed frozen in place for a moment, Winter Born equally frozen, before noticing a change. She slowly untensed her muscles and flexed her ankle. When that didn't result in a painful throb, she frowned; she stared down at her own leg for a moment, then bent down to undo the cords wrapped around the splint. She gently removed this and flexed her ankle again, then tried her weight on it a few times, bobbing up and down.

"Charmian...?" Winter Born asked.

Charmian at last stood on her injured foot, then back on both feet. She looked up at Kabebonikka and furrowed her brow.

"I take it that the Pearl Feather has given you some sort of deadline," he said mildly. "In which case you would be better off on two feet, rather than one." He paused, then his eyes narrowed a little. "Rest assured that I still plan to have my entertainment...but at the same time, I think it should be equally entertaining, if the Pearl Feather misses out in the end, himself."

Charmian continued staring at him, then slowly let out a breath. The enemy of my enemy, she thought, and relaxed. At least he's not really an ENEMY. "I can go now...?" she asked; when he nodded, she looked at Winter Born, then turned once more for the entryway. The ice let out a loud scraping, creaking noise, and Pakwa and Augwak glanced upward before hurriedly scuttling back away from it. "Be good and hold on, Winter Born. We'll try not to take long."

"Bye, Charmian," Winter Born called, now sounding just the slightest bit wistful.

"Human," Kabebonikka called out once more when she reached the entryway, the ice slowly sliding up, and she paused. The cave was silent for a minute or two, then he said, "You do not wish to hear more about how you and this 'Ocryana' are connected, even still...?"

"I already know how," Charmian replied, and waited until the ice had drawn itself up high enough for her to step out of the room, the two GeeBees moving aside.

"Interesting," Kabebonikka said, and she heard the ice begin to descend again. "Because as it turns out, I rather had the thought that your affairs with her were not quite settled as of yet."

Charmian blinked. She whirled back around, mouth opening, only to see the ice settle itself back into place. Kabebonikka and Winter Born stood on the other side, staring back out; the North Wind was smiling just slightly, and Winter Born lifted one hand to offer a sad little wave. Then her vision of the ice cave began to fade, as it either grew dark or Kabebonikka obscured it, somehow. Several moments later, she was staring at nothing but blank ice, and she let out a sharp breath, mist pluming around her.

Augwak snorted. "Can we go now?" he snapped, but Charmian was too numb to even snap back at him. She stared at her reflection in the ice.

What did he mean by that...? Not settled? What did that mean...?

Cold was starting to seep up into her feet but she didn't notice it until Pakwa stepped forward and tugged on her shirtcoat. She jumped a little and glanced down at him. He gestured back toward the mountain entrance.

"Deadline," he said. "Time to get going."

Charmian stared at him stupidly for a moment, then let out a breath and nodded. She turned away from the ice wall and the three of them made their way back through the passage toward the mountain's exterior.

Chakenapok...? she called as they went, and sensed an affirmative. What he just said. About Ocryana.

She felt a pause. There is a reason why you ask me this, Mainlander...?

Well... She rubbed at her neck, feeling awkward. You kind of...threatened to free her, the last time I was on the Island, she said, wincing a bit. So I wondered if maybe...

You can rest assured that whatever he speaks of has nothing to do with me. I never released her. As best I know, she still lies trapped beneath the Island. Another pause. I can go and see, to make sure, if you wish.

"No," Charmian said aloud, and felt her face go red when the two GeeBees peered up at her. It's okay, she thought. I believe you then.

I will check anyway, Chakenapok replied, and she felt him fade away. She sighed to herself, feeling somewhat relieved; she had wanted him to check, but asking him to do so would have felt rude. She mentally waited even as they walked, unsure of how long it would take, before reminding herself that Chakenapok was practically dead, and so traveling from Croghan Water to the Borderlands couldn't take him that long whatsoever. As if to verify this, she felt him return a moment later, and an image appeared in her head; she sucked in a breath when she saw Ocryana, wrapped up tightly in her web of multicolored light. The demon's head was tilted forward, her chin resting against her breast, and her eyes were shut as if she peacefully slept, though Charmian didn't doubt, based on what Chakenapok himself had once told her, that she was currently thinking all sorts of unconscious hateful thoughts about her. The sight made her shiver, and she remembered also just how much the demon frightened her. She nodded after she'd gotten a good look, and the image faded away. She seems to be just as she was left, Chakenapok murmured. What do you think he meant, then...?

I'm not sure, Charmian thought. Normally I would say, I guess we'll find out soon...but I rather don't WANT to!

Remember that the North Wind is a great trickster, Mainlander, Chakenapok said. This may just be his attempt at starting the game. Recall that I used such methods...they tend to work better than the more usual ones.

Charmian nodded again. Thanks anyway, she replied, and felt him fade into the background. She glanced at the man encased in the ice as they passed him, and shivered, suddenly feeling the cold all around them. She picked up her pace, and the GeeBees, noticing this, did so as well.

"About time we started getting somewhere," Augwak grumbled.

"Where to now...?" Pakwa asked.

"Back to camp," Charmian answered, and bit the inside of her mouth. "Then west. If Kabebonikka's true to his word like he claims he is...then hopefully, we'll have an appointment with Kabeyun."

Continue:

Part 114: Kabebonikka's Hospitality  (13+) Winter Born and the Wintermaker debate... #1844776 by Tehuti, Lord Of The Eight

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