Gulf Coast

Hask Kaf, December 1738

After Shakbatina’s death, her husband, Koi Chitto, has traveled to various places, visiting family and friends. At the end of the day, weary from his travels, he lights a fire. Soon, an alligator joins him, mesmerized by the fire. When it refuses to return to the water, Koi Chitto realizes “it must obviously be a gift” (loc 1914) and kills the alligator. As he cooks the meat, an elderly woman approaches him and Koi Chitto realizes it’s a porcupine spirit, warning him that he must return to Yanàbi Town because “[t]rouble is coming” (loc 1914).

Koi Chitto thinks the spirit is exaggerating, as “[p]orcupine spirits are the nervous types, prone to fits” (loc 1926). He knows he will need to return to Yanàbi Town for Shakbatina’s bone-picking ceremony, but believes he still has three months before that happens. That same night, however, Koi Chitto dreams his daughter is dead, and realizes that “[s]omething is very wrong. He must reach Yanàbi Town, his daughters are in danger” (loc 1937).

He stops to visit cousins at the village of the Houmas. There an old friend of his father’s offers him a canoe to travel more quickly and tells Koi Chitto that “the Houmas are preparing for war” (loc 1937).