Read Along: The Snake River

'You...are gonna be somethin else entirely'

At the Snake, the group settle into the camp for a few days, only to have their eyes opened to divinity, betrayal and a visitor.

'It's the Angel of Death! Run!'

At the camp, Saba is immediately recognised. And the welcome is far from warm. The villagers use charms to protect them from the evil they believe Saba brings with her and begin to attack the group as a storm strikes. The 'Sky Speaker' is called for and all heads are turned in the direction of a central platform. This seer is just a young girl, reminiscent of the priestesses used in Ancient Greece to decipher the messages of the gods. She picks Saba out of the crowd and gives an eerie speech about how Saba is surrounded by the dead. The shaman is introduced as Auriel Tai. Naturally, knowing Lugh and his divine skepticism, he is immediately against Auriel's practices. This only further inflamed by Auriel's revelation that the man who taught Saba, Lugh and Emmis father to star-read was Auriel's own grandfather, Namid the Star Dancer. Auriel begins to appeal to Lugh by voicing the thoughts of his mother and father following Allis' birth, and then Lugh's own feelings - 'I ain't never gonna love nobody, it's better that way'.

'Two days an two nights.'

Lugh agrees to stay a while. Auriel explains her story to Saba and Emmy - she was transformed by light and 'went on a journey of the spirit'. She says Namid taught her all she knows but that he recently died. Emmi shows an enthusiasm to become a shaman like Auriel. On the eve of that day, Auriel warns Saba to 'take heed...the deaf boy...he's in love with you'. Saba herself had noticed the 'deep flush' on Tommo's cheek whenever he touches her.

'Fer you Saba all roads lead to the same place.'

Auriel tells Saba of the Pathfinder and it brings to mind for Saba images of DeMalo. It is revealed why people are fleeing west - the Tonton are taking over control of the eastern lands to allow their Stewards of the Earth to work the land there and create New Eden. More and more people arrive at the camp every day.That night Saba dreams of Namid who gives her back her bow. As they make their way around the camp, a woman tells Saba of 'the price' that the Pathfinder has put on her head. He wants her delivered to Resurrection, his home in New Eden. Following this, Saba descends into herself once again and confuses Emmi with Epona. It reaches the point where she asks for Auriel's help.

'I'm ready.'

Saba and Auriel retreat to a 'vision lodge' where Auriel thinks she can heal Saba. Auriel gives Saba herbs and water to make her go into a relaxed, hallucinogenic state. 'From this moment on, the Angel of Death is dead'. She dreams of Namid again, and takes the bow he offers. With it, she kills Lugh, Jack, herself and finally DeMalo. But before any conclusive results can be drawn, Lugh interrupts the session, much to Auriel's dismay, by announcing the arrival of a rider at camp. Auriel expresses deep concern at the 'openness' that Saba is now subject to because she hasn't finished properly.

'Maev!'

It's a dramatic arrival for this lone Free Hawk, whose only words are 'Saba, I found you' before she drops to the floor in an exhausted state. When she is revived, she tells Saba that the Tonton took the Free Hawks out of Darktrees; many died in the fight. But most surprising of all is the fact that Maev was helped to escape by a Tonton - who was Jack. This is clarified by the heartstone that he gave to Maev to prove himself, which she in turn passes onto Saba. All clues seem to lead to same end - Jack has joined the Tonton. 

'Jack. With the Tonton.'

Saba is speechless. They all are. Emmi is the only one who believes that Jack isn't really with them. She reaosns this with the fact that he helped Maev escape. Maev adds a crucial factor to the story - Jack wanted her to tell Saba something from him but he wasn't able to give her the message in time. But the group argues against Emmi even with this; Maev says he probably wanted to tell Saba it was over now that he's joined the Tonton. Lugh points out that only Jack knew where Darktrees was so he must have been the one who betrayed the Free Haws by leading the Tonton there. Lugh resigns that they'll leave the next day and head for the Big Water once again.

'My mind sniffs at the problem.'

Saba tries to puzzle the whole thing out. Emmi pesters her not to believe Lugh and Maev whilst Auriel begs her to return to the vision lodge to complete the session. She concludes that the Tonton 'nabbed' Jack as their 'prize acquisition' just like she was for Miz Pinch. After sleeping on it, Saba is resolved on going toResurrection, on the gut feeling that 'somethin ain't right'. 

'It shouts down death and kicks it in the pants.'

Meanwhile, in the camp, a social is taking place. This is arguably the first time we've seen a large group of people happy and care-free in the Dustlands series. Community unites them; it causes them to forget all the troubles of their godforsaken world and enjoy the moment. Saba gets pulled into a dance by Tommo. Lugh tries to do the same with Maev, but on her rejection, he leaves with Meg, the whore. Saba suddenly figures something out in her head - Maev said there was no moon the night of the Tonton attack at Darktrees but when Jack spoke to her he said 'you shoulda seen us comin by the moon'. It's a coded message for Saba - it relates to what he told her the last time they saw each  other: 'meet me at the Lost Cause, Saba. Be there at the next full moon'. The next full moon is three nights away.

'Jack's in trouble. He needs me.'

Intent on meeting Jack in time, Saba sets out for the Lost Cause alone. It lies in the middle of the Storm Belt, located in New Eden. She plans on taking only the bare essentials, Nero and Hermes. At the stables, Auriel begs one last time for Saba to finish and close the dangerous openness of her mind. At Saba's refusal, she arms Saba with her grandfather's bow and tells her of the Wraithway - a shortcut to the Lost Cause, but also, as its name suggests, a place full of spirits of the dead and danger. Finally she confirms that DeMalo is the Pathfinder and that Saba will cross tracks with him again

'The wolfdog an the crow. Fit companions fer a warrior.'

As Saba heads out, Tracker joins her and they ride out towards who knows what.