“Boys,” Thunder said in his deep, rumbling voice, “Do not listen to him. He has been tricking you. He is evil and plans to devour you and all your people.”

“No,” the Ukten hissed. “I am your friend. He is the one who is evil. He will kill you.”

“My grandsons,” Thunder rumbled, “hear me. I am the one who is truly your friend. Now shoot him in the seventh spot on his body.”

Those boys knew that Thunder’s words were true. They saw that the Ukten had been using its magic to deceive them. They fired their arrows at the seventh spot on the Ukten’s body and it fell away.

So it is that ever since then our Tsalagi people have been the friends of Thunder.

My father only wants to bring something good to our people. His words and his actions have always been kind and friendly. Still, those doubters think that his pleasant manner is just a disguise. It hides something dark and dangerous. Witchcraft!

That is why this test has been set up by our village chief. Agili now believes in my father’s work. But Agili is wise enough to know that it will take something dramatic to change the minds of those who are so afraid of this new thing my father has made that they think is evil. So afraid that they have now begun to talk openly about killing Sequoyah and his family—just as those boys killed the Ukten long ago.

I look around the Council House. It seems as if everyone in Willstown is here. All of my former friends and their families are among them. I try to make eye contact with some of them. But they turn their faces away or look down as soon as I look their way. I bite my lip, wondering once again if this is the right thing for us to do now. So much is at stake today!

The Council House is so full that there is no room for everyone. There are as many outside as there are within its walls. And everyone’s mood is one of expectation. The sound of people talking in hushed voices as they wait for the test that has been set for today is like the sound of a strong wind through a grove of pines. The feeling in the air is like that before a storm.