Trickster Raven and the Trail to Gitchee-Gami

Book excerpt: Spring 1766. An infant dead at childbirth. A despondent mother. Trickster Raven. Shifting allegiances. Continuing conflict. These are the things Liam Hicks must deal with as he navigates his way through a rapidly changing world. Long-held relationships are passing, and new ones need to be formed. Liam soon learns that sometimes his beliefs and the circumstances he is facing do not line up well. Trickster Raven has fooled the village midwife and Liam’s Ojibwa partner, Deedeens. Raven leads them to mistakenly believe that Deedeens’ newborn son is dead because she was not big enough to carry the baby of a man Liam’s size to term. Even though Ashagi-Manidoo’s dream that Liam and Deedeens will be together forever still holds much power, Deedeens refuses to see a future with Liam if she cannot deliver him future children. After many attempts to help Deedeens see things differently, Liam decides he must leave Aamjiwnaang to give her time and space to heal. Liam is offered the opportunity to go north with his fur-trader friend Charles de Langlade who is heading for the Ouisconsin Territory where the beaver can still be found in great numbers. On his return to Michilimackinac, Liam is asked by the new fort commander, Robert Rogers, to head out with an expedition that will be searching for the fabled Northwest Passage. As the spectre of winter looms, will Liam survive the treachery, harsh landscape, and continuing skirmishes with the Sioux so he can return to Deedeens and salvage their relationship.