by P. C. Cast
“An awakening.” Dead Eye spoke the words without willing himself to, as if they had escaped from a place so deep within him that he was no longer Dead Eye. But instead of being frightened by this strange, powerful force, Dead Eye embraced it, accepted it, and found he longed to join with it even more fully.
* * *
Bearing the hunks of butchered boar meat between them, Dead Eye and his Reapers returned to the Temple to the cheers of the grateful People. On the hike back, Dead Eye noted that the men’s bodies were already beginning to absorb the boar’s flesh and the group of men walked with stronger steps, showing little strain from carrying their allotments of the huge animal’s carcass.
Dead Eye dropped the meat in the courtyard. His attention had left the Reapers and even the excited, welcoming People surrounding him, celebrating him, worshipping him. His eyes were scanning the God’s balcony, looking for Dove.
Suddenly her Attendants appeared all along the balcony’s ledge. The People caught sight of them, and as one they turned to look up.
Like a gently rippling pool, the Attendants moved, lifted, and Dove was standing on the ledge. The firepots were lit all around her, and their orange and yellow flames threw strange, undulating shadows across her half-naked body, as if the dark caverns of her eyes were shifting from her face and moving along her skin.
“Does our Champion return?” she asked in a sweet, soft voice that somehow filled the world around them.
“I do, my Oracle!” Dead Eye called. “I return with an army newly reborn. Henceforth, they are not Harvesters or Hunters; they are all Reapers of the God—mighty and terrible to behold!”
“I celebrate with you!” Dove raised her arms and shouted with joy. “Come to your God and to me!”
Her call vibrated through his body. He did not try to resist it, even as he realized he could not resist her. The People parted, opening a pathway for him to the Temple. Dead Eye swaggered through them, feeling swollen with strength and need as he drew closer to her. Instead of entering through the Temple courtyard at ground level and taking the crumbling stairs, Dead Eye gathered himself and leaped, using the vines and broken tiles that covered the outside wall of the Temple to climb up and up and up, until he reached the God’s balcony, where he gathered Dove in his arms and kissed her passionately while the People cheered. Lost in the kiss, Dead Eye almost did not notice that behind them the arm of the Reaper God that beckoned down to the People changed, rippled, and with a delicacy that others might mistake for shadows cast over Her metal skin by the blazing firepots, the massive copper statue drew Dead Eye and Dove more intimately within Her embrace.
Dove gasped against his mouth, her lips hot on his.
“You feel it too, my precious one?” Dead Eye whispered. “The God moves!”
Dove’s eager lips kissed a path along his neck to his ear, where she whispered words that would alter their world forever.
“I do, but that is not why I gasp. What I feel more truly is the God moving within you.”
Dead Eye leaned back, so that he was pressed against the arm of the Reaper with Dove in his embrace. He lifted his face to the sky and bellowed a stag’s mighty roar of power and pleasure.
CHAPTER 9
Mari had never been so tired or wet or miserable. When she’d carried her mama’s body all the way from Crawfish Creek to bury her above their burrow near the image of the Great Goddess, Mari had been exhausted and filled with grief, but she had felt like herself. A sad, broken version of herself, but she’d still been Mari.
But not this day—not after she’d called down sunfire and created a blaze so fierce that it had stopped a forest fire. This day Mari wasn’t entirely sure who or what she was.
Beside her, Rigel whined, looking up at her with an expression that was so clearly filled with worry that Mari didn’t need to use their Companion bond to know what was bothering the young canine.
“I’m going to be okay,” she tried to assure him as she kept staggering forward, placing one foot before the other while she focused all her remaining energy on staying upright and in motion. But her voice sounded as odd and weak as her body felt, and Rigel barked fretfully, causing Nik, who was walking just in front of them, to hurry to her side.
“Do you need to stop?”
His expression was as worried as Rigel’s. Mari shook her head and put a hand on his arm. “I’m afraid if I stop I’ll never start again.” She’d meant it as a small joke, but she realized as she spoke that it was the truth. If she sat down she honestly didn’t believe she would be able to get up again.
“I’m sorry it’s taking so long. I know you’re in bad shape,” Nik said, wrapping her arm through his. Laru trotted to her and sniffed Mari, then licked her hand encouragingly.
“We all agreed to take the path along the gorge. It’s farther, but so close to the edge of Skin Stealer territory that we’re pretty much assured we don’t run into any more of the Tribe,” Mari said. It was hard for her to talk—hard to formulate words—but as she spoke with Nik she decided that it was good for her to get out of her head, even if it took more energy than she wanted to spare.
“That plan’s worked, and I’m glad. We haven’t seen anything or anyone except for the animals running from the blaze,” Davis said. He’d been following behind Mari, keeping watch on their rear while he hunted, but the trail had widened enough for him to join Nik walking beside her. His Terrier, Cammy, hurried to Rigel, huffing happily as the young Shepherd gave him a good sniff and lick, and then both dogs shook heartily, which did little good, as the rain remained steady, soaking the small group over and over. “Which turned out to be really good for dinner tonight!” Davis held up the half dozen rabbits he and Cammy had caught and killed on the journey.
“Sora will be glad of them.” Mari tried to smile but thought her expression probably looked more like a grimace.
“Maybe we should rest. Just for a moment. Mari, you look—”
“Nik, Mari, you need to see this!” said Antreas, who had been scouting ahead, as he and Bast, with their preternatural sense of direction, materialized silently from the forest before them.
“See what?” Nik began, but Antreas hushed him with a swift gesture and then motioned for them to come with him—silently.
It took all of Mari’s will to follow Nik and Antreas and Davis. The Lynx man led them to the lip of the gorge they’d been traveling parallel to, where they did as Antreas did and crouched silently behind a group of boulders and ferns. Antreas pointed down at the stream that flowed through the bottom of the gorge, but he needn’t have made any motion at all, as the battle that was taking place beneath them was many things—disturbing, unbelievable, violent, and loud. Really loud.
Mari’s gaze followed the sounds of struggle. At first she wasn’t sure what she was seeing. A huge, painted man was locked in combat with an equally monstrous boar. The boar was snorting and squealing, and the man was making odd bellowing sounds that reminded Mari of a rutting stag. She cringed, thinking she was going to watch the man’s terrible death—gored by the angry beast. But she realized quickly that she’d misjudged what was going on. The man was defeating the boar—easily!
The battle didn’t last long and ended in victory for the man, who called a group of men from concealment, and then they began tying up the boar.
“Oh, Great Goddess, what are they doing to that poor beast?” Mari whispered.
“They’re Skin Stealers.” Nik lowered his voice, but Mari could still hear a world of contempt within it. “I don’t know what they’re doing. They should just be gutting it, cleaning it, and then taking it back to Port City, but you can never tell what those monsters will do.”
“Skin Stealers,” Antreas said softly. “I’ve heard of them. Never seen one, though. Great Stormshaker! Is he flaying that boar alive?”
“He is,” Davis said, crouching beside them. “We thought they only did that to humans, but when Thaddeus was captured by them a few weeks ago he said they flayed the flesh f
rom his Terrier, Odysseus.”
“Isn’t that how he supposedly escaped them?” Nik said.
Davis nodded. “What Thaddeus said was Odysseus made so much noise when they started to cut the skin from him that he was able to slip away, unnoticed.”
“And Odysseus somehow, miraculously, escaped, too, alive and relatively unharmed.” Nik didn’t attempt to hide the sarcasm in his voice.
Antreas looked at Nik. “You don’t believe that’s what happened?”
“I don’t believe anything Thaddeus says. He has one agenda—whatever is best for Thaddeus. Look down there. That huge Skin Stealer and his men are having no trouble incapacitating a boar that must weigh upward of three hundred pounds. Why would a frightened Terrier that weighs not much over twenty pounds be a problem for men like that to handle?”
“It doesn’t make sense,” Antreas agreed. “But neither does what they’re doing.”
“They believe they can absorb your essence if they flay your flesh from your living body, and then press it into their body,” Davis said. “None of it makes sense.”
“But that’s not what they’re doing,” Mari said, feeling nauseous but unable to look away from the grisly scene below them. The huge man who had been straddling the boar and stretching his head back suddenly leaned forward and slit the hog’s throat, ear to ear, so that scarlet showered in an arch around the dying beast. “That’s not a human—it’s a boar.”
“It’s strange,” Davis said.
“Maybe they flay the flesh of animals before they eat them,” Antreas said. “It could be part of their customs.”
“Look!” Mari said. “That big one is placing the boar’s flesh over the skin of the rest of those men.” She leaned forward, squinting to try to see better, Healer curiosity temporarily overriding her disgust. “I can’t tell for sure from here, but I think I can see open wounds on his men’s bodies—though I don’t see any on the Leader’s.” She grimaced in disgust. “Ugh, I take that back. I see what he’s doing now. He’s packing that boar’s bloody flesh into his men’s open wounds, like the flesh is a poultice.” She shuddered. “It’s unbelievable.”
“And beyond disgusting,” Nik shivered and looked away.
“But why?” Mari spoke more to herself than aloud. “What would be the reason behind packing the flesh of a boar into a man’s wounds? It’s only flesh. He hasn’t even added healing herbs or ointments.”
“They don’t need a reason. They’re Skin Stealers, which means they are completely insane,” Davis said.
“Maybe,” Mari said. “But look at him. He’s being so careful. And he’s covering the wounds with strips of moss and using vines to tie the bandages in place. His actions mirror much of what I did to heal your blight wounds, Nik.”
“But you did it with salves and herbs,” Nik said. “Not the flesh of a line animal.”
“I did what I knew would work to heal your wounds. Maybe this Skin Stealer knows something about healing his people that we don’t,” Mari said.
“Or maybe he’s as crazy as Nik and Davis report,” Antreas said.
“Let’s move,” Nik said. “We don’t need to deal with Skin Stealers today.”
“Agreed,” Davis and Antreas said together.
“I’ll go back to point. I don’t think we’re far from the lowlands now,” Antreas said, and he and Bast disappeared silently into the forest.
Mari, Nik, and Davis crawled back from the edge of the gorge, and Mari didn’t argue when Nik put his arm around her waist so that he almost carried her with him. Mari gritted her teeth and forced herself to keep moving, keep walking—keep heading toward home.
* * *
“Lowlands, straight ahead!” Antreas called back to them through cupped hands.
Mari almost dropped to her knees with relief. “We’re within Clan lands now. Not much farther. We don’t have to go much farther tonight.”
“Um, where exactly are we going tonight?” Davis asked, jogging to come up beside Nik and Mari.
Mari looked up at him, blinking as if to clear her vision when in truth she was trying to clear her mind. “Home, of course,” she said.
“To your burrow?” Nik asked. “I thought we were going to what you call a birthing burrow. Isn’t that where you said Sora was leading the others—Earth Walkers and Companions?”
“Yes, she is.” Mari struggled to think through the fog that had become her mind. “She’s taking everyone to the birthing burrow. But it’s farther from here than home is, and I’m pretty sure we won’t make it there tonight. So, we need to go to my burrow.”
“Mari.” Nik pulled her to a halt. “It’s not just me. It’s Antreas and Davis, too. Are you sure you want to take them to your burrow?”
Mari furrowed her brow, trying to concentrate on Nik’s words. Of course she wanted to go home. She needed to go home. She’d be able to rest there. She’d be able to find herself again there. She frowned up at Nik. “Nik, I want to go home.”
“Hey, I know.” He spoke gently, touching her cheek. “And I’ll get you there, but Mari, if we go there tonight Antreas and Davis will be with us. Are you okay with that? Will your Clan be okay with that?”
Nik’s words finally broke through Mari’s stupor, and she felt a rush of panic. “Oh, Great Mother, I’d forgotten!”
“Forgotten?” Davis asked.
Mari didn’t look at Davis. She stared into Nik’s compassionate green eyes. “I’d forgotten that they can’t know where I live. Nik, what’s wrong with me?”
Nik pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. “It’s what happens to Sun Priests after they call down sunfire. I’m amazed you’re still walking and talking at all. But nothing is wrong with you! You’re going to be fine.”
“Wait, did she just say we can’t know where she lives?” Davis said.
Nik kept his arm wrapped around Mari’s shoulder as they turned to face Davis at the same time Antreas and Bast jogged up to them. “We can’t afford to pause again. The sun is setting and the swarm won’t be the only creepy-crawlies looking to feast tonight,” Antreas said.
“I think we need to decide where we’re going now that we’re entering Earth Walker territory,” Davis said, looking pointedly from Nik to Mari.
“I thought we were headed to a birthing burrow,” Antreas said.
“It’s too far away. Mari can’t make it tonight. Or at least she can’t make it there until she’s rested and eaten something,” Nik said.
“But she doesn’t want us to know where she lives,” Davis said.
Davis’s tone was unexpected to Mari. Even through her exhaustion she could tell that her words had hurt and surprised him. She looked at the young Companion, meeting his clear, honest gaze.
“It’s not what you think,” Mari explained. “It’s not that I don’t want you or Antreas specifically not to know the location of my burrow. It’s Clan Law that no one knows the site of a Moon Woman’s burrow—not even any other Earth Walker.”
“It’s for her protection,” Nik added. “She’s more than just Healer to her Clan.” He hesitated, glancing at Mari before continuing. “But that’s Mari’s story to tell, not mine.”
“Ah, I see. It’s a security issue,” Antreas said. “Understandable. We rarely share the location of our dens. Would it help if I gave you my den oath not to divulge the location of your home?”
Mari studied the Lynx Companion. She knew almost nothing about his people and had no idea if his word could be trusted. “What is a den oath?”
“The strongest promise I can make. Our dens are sacred to us. It is through our bond with our Companion Lynx that we choose the spot for and then build our den. If I broke a den oath it would be like breaking my Bast’s heart—and I would never do that.”
Mari nodded slowly. She saw truthfulness in the man’s eyes. She turned to Davis. “And you? How can I be sure you won’t tell anyone where I live?”
Davis’s smile seemed sad. “I won’t tell anyone where you live if my Sun Pri
est commands me not to.”
“Your Sun Priest is dead,” Nik said.
“No. My Sun Priest is standing in front of me,” Davis said.
“He can’t be talking about me,” Mari said.
“He’s not,” Nik said. Then he shook his head. “No, Davis. I am not the Tribe’s Sun Priest. There has been no vote. No Council Meeting. No ritual Call to the Sun for approval. I am not the Tribe’s Sun Priest,” he repeated.
“Laru chose you,” Davis insisted stubbornly. “You’re Sol’s son. The whole Tribe knows he wanted you to be his heir. Sol was only waiting for you to be chosen by a Shepherd to make it official. And that has happened, so there’s nothing in your way now.”
“Davis, I cannot call down sunfire! And the Sun Priest must be able to—”
Mari’s hand on his arm stopped Nik’s words. “But, Nik, have you tried to call down sunfire?”
“Of course! All of the youths try it,” Nik said. “I’m no good at it—never have been.”
“But have you tried since Laru chose you?” Davis asked.
“I’ve been a little busy,” Nik said sarcastically.
“You helped me control the sunfire I called down,” Mari said, touching his bandaged hands gently.
“Well, yes, but that doesn’t mean I can call it down myself,” Nik said.
“So, was it all talk?” Davis blurted.
“All talk?” Nik said.
“Yeah, was it all just talk—that stuff you’ve been saying about needing to change things, to make the Tribe more modern, more inclusive of everyone?”
Mari saw Nik hesitate. He shook his head slowly. “No. It wasn’t just talk. I disagree with many of the old Tribal Laws. I believe it’s time for change.”
“I agree,” Davis said firmly.
“But that doesn’t mean I’m your Sun Priest,” Nik said.
“What would your father say?” Antreas asked.
They turned to stare at the Lynx man. “What do you mean?” Nik said.
Antreas shrugged. “I didn’t know Sol well. Just met him a few days ago, but he seemed smart and trustworthy—a true Leader. Your Tribe clearly respected and revered him. You’re his son. Obviously, you knew him well, correct?”
