The Next Skywatcher: Prequel to The Last Skywatcher Triple Trilogy Series (The Last Skywatcher, Anasazi Historical Thrillers with a Hint of Romance Book 1) by Jeff Posey Page B

a full patrol of regular warriors to Black Stone after the first report of warriors killed by children. Then Chief Tókotsi sent Ráana to Black Stone with his last remaining guard that should be there soon. Everything is happening at Black Stone Town. Why? And with the Summer Council about to gather.”
    Nuva nodded. It was indeed perplexing. The attacks were, for the moment, working in Pók’s favor. It shifted attention from Tókotsi trying to give control of the Másaw Warriors to Ráana. But children? And Black Stone? The towns and villages south of the canyon never resisted the warriors. And even to the north, where skirmishes often took place, children were never directly involved. They needed more information. “I know a woman who lives there,” said Nuva. “Raised in Three Waters, where I used to go once a year. Married a stone worker there. When her husband died, they sent her to Black Stone.”
    “Is she one of us?” Chumana lifted her three tattooed fingers.
    “Yes.”
    “Will she send us a message?”
    “If she is able. I’ll see if any Sisters are going that way, though for their sakes I hope not.”
    “It will be slow. Too late to help us. I need something by tomorrow.” Chumana sat cross-legged and massaged her feet.
    “We will think of something,” said Nuva. “We always do.” She looked around the room, thinking about hiding a girl runner. Haki would certainly send one. They would have to be ready for her.
    “I wonder if Ráana knows about Ihu and the archers?”
    “How would he?” asked Nuva. “Unless Pók sends a runner to him.”
    “He wouldn’t,” said Chumana. “Pók does not like Ráana. He wants him to fail. But Tókotsi might try to send word.”
    “If Pók somehow trained a secret group of children warriors,” Nuva said, “and they defeated Ráana’s men, that would humiliate him and Tókotsi. And The Builder, too, especially after he agreed to give Ráana command over Pók’s special guard.” If Pók were really making a bold move, this could be it. Chumana might be right. “Could Pók really get Ihu and children to work together to do something like this?”
    “Maybe Ihu’s not in on it,” said Chumana. “They said Tókotsi handed Black Stone to Ráana two moons ago. They couldn’t keep something like that secret from Pók. Could they?”
    They both sat in silence for a few moments. Chumana spoke first. “If anything happens to Ráana and his warriors at Black Stone, Pók would strut like a dancer. He must be responsible.”
    Nuva nodded. “You must be right, as unlikely as it seems. Pók’s as unpredictable as he is conniving. So, if that’s so, you must tell The Builder that what is happening in Black Stone Town is not a message from the gods or from the outside—but from someone close to him. Someone here, inside Center Place, is behind the attacks.”
    “That will send Pók into a panic.” Chumana smiled. “I like that.”
    “Will it work to our advantage, though?”
    “It will make it harder for him to make his move, no matter what it is.”
    “Let’s think about it tonight,” said Nuva. “We must be careful.”
    Early the next morning a cough awakened Nuva. She knew the time from the lack of sound. The most quiet part of the night, before the cooks stirred the morning fires. She heard the insistent dry cough again.
    Nuva rolled off her sleeping mat and stood slowly, her back and hips shooting arrows of pain, making her take short, lurching steps into the hallway. The lamp had gone out and all was black. She felt for the three fingers and found them.
    “Tonight, just a little bit ago,” wheezed a girl. Nuva recognized the voice, though she sounded sick. One of the Fat Man’s girls. “An archer talked about Black Stone Town. A few older boys leading a pack of children defeated Ihu’s patrol. They had archers with small bows and short arrows. Ihu took an arrow in each shoulder and his face is sliced open. The archer said Ihu attacked without