Free The Cats of Tanglewood Forest by Charles De Lint Page A

to find answers.”
    “Are they another tribe—like the Kickaha?”
    “Depends on what you mean by
tribe
. I think of them as a very old tribe, but they are not exactly people.”
    “What do you mean, not exactly people?” Lillian asked.
    “Only that they go back to what the first people call the long ago, when the world was new. People weren’t so settled into their shapes in those days.”
    “Are they friendly?” Lillian asked.
    “Their people and ours don’t really get along,” Aunt Nancy said. “A long time ago we hunted them for their fur and meat. But they may be friendly to you.”
    “You
ate
them?”
    “Not when they were people. Nobody living on the rez today has ever hunted them. But memories are long, especially among the old tribes. You’ll need to go to them on your own.”
    “I don’t understand why the spirits said ‘It doesn’t have to be this way,’ and now you’re sending me all by myself to meet some long-lost enemy.”
    “I told you not to question the advice of the spirits, young lady. One of the boys can take you to where the rez ends, but after that, yes, you’ll have to go alone.”
    “What if they eat me?”
    “They probably won’t.”
    “Probably?”
    Aunt Nancy nodded. “I suggest you approach them with respect.”
    Lillian sighed. Why does everybody always assume I’m going to be rude? she thought.
    “So I’m supposed to go see these bear people,” Lillian said, “and if they don’t eat me, they might help me.”
    “No one’s making you go.”
    “It looks like I don’t have any other choice,” said Lillian.
    Aunt Nancy nodded. “You need to fix this thing, or it’s only going to get worse.” She stood up from the table, adding, “I’ll find someone to get you on your way.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN
Holes
in the Sky
    I
told
you not to go talk to her,” Davy said as he and John walked Lillian along the dappled trail to the edge of the rez. The sun was high and the air crisp, making it a perfect day for hiking.
    Lillian carried a blanket roll on her back, plus a canteen and a small shoulder bag with some food that Mrs. Creek had packed for her: apples and cheese, a couple of fresh fry breads. The boys walked on either side, plying her with questions, while lanky rez dogs ranged ahead under the canopy of the trees. Lillian had tried to satisfy the boys’curiosity as best she could with a shortened version of her story.
    John nodded. “I’ll admit that’s one crazy dream of yours, but I don’t see how it could be real. And all because of that you’re going off to get eaten by a bear.”
    “I’m not going to be eaten by a bear,” Lillian said, feigning a courage that she didn’t feel.
    “Seems like it to me,” Davy said, “which makes me wonder why Aunt Nancy’s sending you to them. I used to think she had a soft spot for you and your aunt.”
    “It’s not really Aunt Nancy’s doing,” Lillian told them. “The spirits told her I should go.”
    “Sure, but—”
    “Anyway, they’re supposed to be some kind of bear
people
. Not bears for real. They wouldn’t just up and eat me.”
    “Well,” John said, “I guess we never told you the story about how stars are the holes left in the sky from when the spiders dropped down.”
    “I guess you never did.”
    John stopped in his tracks and dropped down to the ground, sitting cross-legged in the grass. Davyfollowed suit. Lillian hesitated, then sat down in front of them. The dogs came back and sprawled in a loose circle around them.

    “This happened a long time ago,” John said, “back when the bears lived more like bears than like people. That might seem a strange way to put it, but back then there weren’t many humans, so the animal people mostly just walked around in their animal skins. Anyway, they were going about their business when along comes this little girl.
    “The bears didn’t know what to make of her, so they put her in the bottom of a natural well out in front of their caves