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

is possible to clearly understand the language of the animals. Woe betide anyone entering the forbidden place to see and hear what is not
meant to be revealed!’
    Saying this, the Wizard rapidly turned his head towards Piukemán, his two eyes flashing like lightning. No one apart from the boy saw the snake’s tongue dart out from Kupuka’s
slight smile, flicker in the air for a second, then vanish. Kupuka saw how the boy turned white and caught his breath. Satisfied with the lesson he had taught him, he went on with his story.
    ‘The Wizards who live on the islands of the lukus learnt of these new happenings through the fish-women. The oldest Wizard dreamt of them in a dream he usually has before he wakes at the
foot of a tree.’
    As Kupuka spoke, many things began to make sense to the Husihuilkes. The call from the hawks, which the Earth Wizard had to answer as soon as he received it, explained his absence from the
Valley of the Ancestors. And the drums which had sounded so oddly in the forest must have been conveying a similar message. Dulkancellin could contain himself no longer.
    ‘Many things are still dark for me,’ he said.
    ‘If you can see them, they can’t be that dark,’ replied Kupuka jokingly. Then his voice took on a more forlorn tone. ‘The really dark things are those you stumble over
before you even know they exist. But go on, ask away!’
    The warrior bit his lip. On this occasion, Kukupa’s puzzles were annoying.
    ‘Answer me this,’ he said. ‘Why were human messengers chosen? You spoke of other kinds of messenger. Aren’t they more to be trusted? Aren’t their tongues more
truthful than those of men?’
    ‘They may be more truthful, but they are less subtle,’ Kupuka replied. ‘Only human languages can describe the shape of a feather or the roughness of a patch on a bird’s
beak. Human messengers will tell the news in much greater detail than any other creature could.’ The Earth Wizard suddenly became agitated. ‘And men will be far more than the heralds of
these events. They will be the makers. Men will take decisions, choose which direction to take. Afterwards there will be consequences.’
    ‘Let me see if I have understood,’ said Dulkancellin. ‘The Supreme Astronomers have chosen a few persons from all round the Fertile Lands whom they are going to inform of great
events that are happening or are about to happen. Now tell me this: what does this mean for us? Why should my life change more than that of the other Husihuilkes?’
    ‘Oh, my goodness!’ Kupuka protested. ‘Nothing seems to be clear enough for you! You, Dulkancellin, are one of the few whom Magic has chosen. The Zitzahay messenger will knock
at your door, and make you see these things.’
    The Husihuilke family retreated into silence once more. They all knew they still had to hear the most important part.
    ‘Brother, your life will change. You would do well to accept that without protesting. And so will all their lives.’ Kupuka, who no longer spoke in a joking manner, included the
others with a wave of his gnarled hand. ‘The Zitzahay messenger will take you with him. And it will be for a long, long time. Perhaps—’
    ‘Take me with him? Where to?’ Dulkancellin interrupted him.
    ‘Far away from here. To the Remote Realm.’
    Dulkancellin stood up and went over to the Wizard. Kneeling down, he looked him in the eye.
    ‘I am nothing more than a Husihuilke warrior. Here, I live among my living and my dead. Everything I need is in this forest. Tell me the reasons why I have to leave for the lands of the
Zitzahay and become caught up in the labyrinths of Magic.’
    ‘I’ll tell you why,’ replied the Earth Wizard. ‘You have to do so precisely because you are a Husihuilke warrior, because here is where you have your living and your
dead, and because you can find all you need in your forest. And possibly because all that is in danger.’
    Dulkancellin was about to ask him more questions,