by P. C. Cast
Davis shared a long look with his little blond Terrier before he answered Mari. “Okay. Right. Nik trusts you, so we’ll trust you.”
“Okay!” Mari bent to ruffle the blond fur on top of Cammy’s head. “How about we change things up a little? Davis, you and Cammy come behind me, with Antreas and Bast following. Nik and Laru, still bring up the rear.”
“Got it,” Nik said, moving into place.
“Everyone ready?” Mari asked.
Everyone except Davis nodded.
Mari smiled encouragement at the young Hunter before lifting her thick walking stick, snagging the first of the bramble branches, and holding it out of the way so that she and Rigel, with Davis and Cammy close behind, could step inside the enormous thicket of carefully maintained brambles.
For a little while Mari relaxed into the familiar routine of following the labyrinthine pathway around and around her burrow, lifting huge, dagger-tipped boughs aside, guiding those who followed her to the heart of her home. She didn’t think about the Clan Laws she was breaking. A Moon Woman was forbidden to show anyone except her daughter the secret way to her burrow, and of course no Companion was ever supposed to be allowed access to a burrow, let alone the home of a Moon Woman. Mari started to feel sad about it, especially about how the Clan would perceive what she was doing, and then a new thought came to her. What would Mama think about all of this?
Mari knew what Leda would think. She would be pleased that the Clan and the Tribe were finally interacting with trust and compassion. Leda would say the time was ripe for the change she’d desired since she’d met her true love—Mari’s Companion father—when she had barely known eighteen winters.
Mari glanced behind her as she maneuvered around a fat branch of thorns. “How are you and Cammy doing?”
Davis’s face was pale and sweaty and he was holding his little Terrier tightly in his arm, but he grinned bravely at Mari. “We’re okay. But I don’t think I could ever find my way out of here.”
“Oh, it’s a lot easier to get out than in,” Mari said.
“It’s fantastic!” Antreas called from behind Davis. “You know, if we’d thought of using nettles like this, we wouldn’t have to build our dens into the side of mountains.”
Mari heard a flurry of strangely birdlike chirps, which had to come from Bast—though the big feline didn’t look like she should be able to make any of those noises. Then Antreas laughed.
“Okay! Okay! Never mind. And, yes, I love our den, too.”
“What was that?” Nik called from the rear of the group.
“Nothing!” Antreas said, still chuckling. “I forget how possessive Bast can be.”
Mari wanted to ask Antreas a bunch of questions about his feline and his den, but just then she rounded the final turn in the pathway, coming to a small area, clear of brambles, that revealed the arched wooden door that seemed to open into the side of the earth.
“That carving is incredible,” Davis said, putting Cammy down. He started toward the door and the intricately carved figure of the Great Earth Mother that one of Mari’s ancestresses had fashioned with the door, so that it appeared the Goddess supported the burrow and beckoned her Moon Woman to enter the safety of a Goddess-blessed home. Davis paused and looked over his shoulder at Mari. “Do you mind if I touch it?”
“Not at all,” Mari said.
Davis went to the door and slowly lifted his hand, gently tracing the arm of the Goddess. “Is this who your people worship?”
Mari started in surprise, realizing that even though the Tribe of the Trees had taken her people captive and held them for generations, they had never bothered to learn to whom their slaves prayed.
“Yes. That is the Great Earth Mother.”
“She’s beautiful,” Davis said. “I had no idea.”
“It’s the same image your people desecrated when you attacked our Gathering Site by the cherry grove,” Mari couldn’t stop herself from saying.
Davis turned to meet her gaze. “The statues made of the earth? Like they were rising from the ground? Those were of your Goddess?”
“Yes.”
Davis closed his eye and bowed his head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
Mari went to him and touched his hand, so that Davis opened his eyes. “You know now.”
“I’ll never do it again.” He spoke simply, earnestly, and his words touched Mari’s heart.
“I believe you,” she said.
Davis looked up at the graceful rendition of the Goddess. “Do you think she does?”
Mari almost answered him flippantly. Almost told him that the Goddess had never spoken to her, so how was she to know? But there was an expression in the young Hunter’s eyes that stopped her words. For an instant Davis reminded her of a Clansman who wanted nothing more than to know his Earth Mother wasn’t angry with him.
Mari squeezed his hand. “Yes. I think the Goddess hears and believes anyone who honestly speaks to her. Of course, whether she speaks back or not is completely unpredictable—even for a Moon Woman.”
Then Davis, a Hunter for the Tribe of the Trees, Companion to the Terrier Cameron, did something that utterly shocked Mari. He turned his back to her and placed both of his hands carefully on the feet of the carving. Davis bowed his head and said, “I’m sorry I had anything to do with destroying any of your images. I’ll never do it again.” Beside him, Cammy barked and wagged his tail.
When Davis stepped away from the doorway, the smile he sent to Mari was authentic and relaxed. “I’m ready to go inside now.” His gaze found the image of the Goddess again, as if it were fire and Davis was a moth, unable to stay away. “If she guards your home, then it must be okay.”
Mari felt a strange rush of excitement. Was she truly witnessing the first time a member of the Tribe accepted the Great Earth Mother? A man? And a Companion? Mari mentally shook herself. Or maybe she was just exhausted and imagining things.
“That carving is beautiful,” Antreas said, moving up to stand beside Davis. “Do you have this skill?” he asked her.
Mari drew a long breath, trying to sort through her tired brain to explain to the Lynx Companion that she did have a talent for drawing but hadn’t done much carving, when Nik spoke up.
“Mari has many skills, but right now she needs to get inside her home and rest.”
“Right you are,” Antreas said. “After you, Moon Woman.”
With dragging feet, Mari went to the door and opened it, breathing deeply of the rich, familiar scents of home—predominate among those scents was baking bread and rabbit stew. She could see that the hearth fire was lit and there was a steaming cauldron boiling over it.
“Mari! It is you! Thank the Great Goddess! You’re home!” Danita was halfway across the front room of the burrow, arms spread to greet Mari, when Davis peeked his head over Mari’s shoulder. Danita gave a gasping shriek and stumbled to a halt, eyes wide with fear—face blanched white.
Cursing silently to herself for forgetting that Danita might be in the burrow and would still be traumatized from the attack she’d suffered only days before, Mari rushed to the girl, putting her arm around Danita and holding her close. Rigel was by her side, wagging a greeting. Mari breathed a small sigh of relief when Danita didn’t scream and lurch away from the canine.
“Danita, you remember my Rigel, don’t you?”
The girl nodded shakily. “He’s soft,” she whispered, sending the pup a quick glance. Rigel licked her hand and Danita patted him hesitantly on the head.
“He is soft, and he likes you,” Mari said. “I’d like to introduce you to my new friends. They have Companion animals as well, and you have nothing to be afraid of—I give you my word as your Moon Woman. You already know Nik, right?”
Danita nodded, but her eyes were focused on Davis, who had stopped just inside the door, with Cammy sitting quietly beside him.
“Well, this is Davis, a friend of his and—”
“Hey, this den is nice!” Antreas was saying as he s
tepped around Davis.
Another shriek slipped from Danita, and Mari could feel the girl begin to tremble under her hand.
Then Nik and Laru were pushing inside behind Antreas and Bast, moving everyone forward, and Danita broke. With an anguished scream, she pulled from Mari’s grasp. Scrambling hysterically, Danita lurched backward until her legs hit the pallet built into the curved side of the burrow. She blindly climbed onto it; pressing herself against the wall, she hugged her knees to her chest, trying to disappear into a ball, as she trembled and sobbed.
“Danita, it’s okay. No one is going to hurt you!” Mari said, but her words were drowned out by the hysterically sobbing girl and by Nik and Davis, who seemed to be trying to reason with Danita as well, but the girl was beyond reason and all that was happening was the burrow had deteriorated into a cacophony of noise and stress.
Mari started to go to Danita, planning to physically shake the girl out of her hysteria if necessary, but before she could get to her Bast was there, padding confidently to the sleeping pallet. With no hesitation the Lynx leaped up on the bed and locked her gaze with Danita.
Mari moved forward, not sure what she was going to do, but her instinct to protect Danita was undeniable. Antreas was suddenly there beside Mari. He put his hand on her arm. “Antreas, please don’t let Bast—” Mari began, but Antreas spoke softly to her.
“Just watch. Bast knows what she’s doing, and she wouldn’t hurt the girl,” said the Lynx’s Companion.
The big feline sat on her haunches before Danita and cocked her head, watching the girl. Danita stopped her hysterical keening, her wide gray gaze trapped by the Lynx.
Beside Mari, Nik grew still—as did Davis and the orchestra of barking canines. Everyone was watching what was happening between the girl and the feline.
Then Bast did something that completely surprised Mari. The feline began to make soft, sweet chirping noises, as if she was speaking directly to Danita. The girl stopped sobbing, all of her attention focused on the Lynx. Bast moved closer to Danita, interspersing a rolling purr between the chirps. She lowered her head, leaning forward to sniff delicately at the girl. Danita became a statue. Mari didn’t think she was even breathing. Bast sniffed the girl’s hand, then her chest, then her cheek. And then, very delicately, the big feline rubbed her head against Danita, in what seemed an almost maternal gesture, as if to soothe away her fear.
Danita laughed!
It was just a small sound, barely audible. It only lasted an instant, but it changed everything.
Danita’s gaze found Mari’s. “Wh-what is she?” the girl asked in a hushed voice, as if she was afraid if she spoke too loudly the feline would disappear.
“She’s a Lynx,” Antreas answered for Mari. “Her name is Bast, and she is my Companion. My name is Antreas.” He gave Danita a small bow with a flourish.
Danita looked away from him quickly, her eyes sliding back to the purring feline at her side.
“May I touch her?” Danita spoke so softly Mari had to strain to hear her.
“Of course,” Antreas said. “She especially likes to be scratched under her chin.”
Slowly, Danita lifted her hand to stroke the feline, who stretched out her neck and lifted her chin, inviting further petting.
“Do you think Bast would go into the back room with Danita?” Mari whispered to Antreas. “Danita was attacked just days ago by a group of males. It’s still hard for her to be around men.”
“Absolutely,” Antreas answered quietly.
Then he took a step toward Danita’s pallet but stopped when the girl cringed away from him. Bast was on her feet instantly, stepping so that she straddled the girl’s lap, facing Antreas. The big feline arched her spine and hissed a long, low warning directly at her Companion!
Mari stared at Antreas, wondering what was happening, and she saw the Lynx and her Companion share a look. Bast’s yellow-eyed gaze was firm and bright. Mari thought Antreas looked surprised, shocked even, and she saw him shake his head, just slightly.
The Lynx responded with a low growl and a twitch of her short black-tipped tail.
Antreas shrugged. “Yeah, I do hear you, but I’m not agreeing to anything,” he said to his feline before turning to Mari and the rest of the group. “Well, it seems Bast has decided to be this child’s protector.”
“Protector?” Davis said. “Is that normal?”
Antreas gave a little bark of laughter. “Nothing is particularly normal with Bast. But once she’s made up her mind, not much can change it.” He grinned at Davis. “Start walking toward the child.”
Davis glanced at Mari, who moved her shoulders and nodded, unable to help her curiosity.
Davis took a step toward Danita and Bast. Danita cowered back and Bast turned into a demon. The feline’s black-tufted ears flattened to her skull, her back arched, and she bared sharp, white teeth as she hissed a long, low warning followed by a hair-raising yowl.
“Bloody beetle balls! I wasn’t going to hurt the girl!” Davis said, backing quickly away while Cammy stuck to his side, whimpering.
Bast yawned and lay down completely across Danita’s lap while the girl stroked her and watched Davis thoughtfully and, Mari noted, with no fear in her eyes.
Mari thought it was an improvement. Danita wasn’t crying hysterically anymore. Seems like a good time to give her a job to do.
“Danita, do you think you could go into the storage room and gather some sun-dried tomatoes, potatoes, onions, mushrooms, and anything else you can find that might stretch that stew for us? We’ve traveled a long way today, and we need food and rest.”
“Of course, Moon Woman,” Danita said automatically. Then she glanced at Antreas and added, “Will—will she come with me?”
“Bast has a mind of her own, but I’m pretty sure she will,” Antreas said. His big Lynx looked at him and gave a little chirp, which made her Companion chuckle. “She thinks it’s her idea that you two go in the other room. She smells rabbits back there.”
“Come on, Bast,” Danita said softly as she got off the pallet and started toward the entrance to the rear room of the burrow. The feline followed her so closely that her shoulder brushed the girl’s leg.
“Hey, don’t let her eat the live rabbits,” Mari said. “I’ve got breeding pairs back there.”
“She’ll only eat what she hunts for, or what you agree to feed her,” Antreas assured Mari. “Besides, right now what’s on her mind is this frightened child.”
Danita was at the door to the back room when she turned and met Antreas’s eyes. “I’m not a child.” Then, with her hand resting on Bast’s head, the two of them slipped through the woven dividing curtain.
Mari blew out a long sigh. “Sorry, I should have realized Danita might be here. I handled that poorly.”
“Hey, that’s okay. Bast picked up the slack,” Antreas said, looking around the burrow with open curiosity.
“Yeah, why did she do that?” Davis asked as Cammy followed Rigel and Laru to the drinking dish and lapped thirstily at the freshwater. “That was really weird. I mean, she actually hissed at you, too!”
Antreas chuckled softly. “Oh, she’d never hurt me, or even you for that matter. Well, unless you attacked me.”
“Which I wouldn’t do,” Davis said quickly.
“Of course not,” Nik added. “We’re allies here.”
“Right, we’re all in agreement about that,” Antreas said. “Bast isn’t mean. She was simply putting on a show for the child, er, girl.” He corrected himself with a glance at the closed curtain. “Letting Danita know she was safe, even in a den that must feel full of scary males.”
“But it was more than that,” Mari said. “Bast knew right away that Danita needed help. She comforted her—actually stopped her hysteria.”
Antreas shrugged evasively. “There’s no predicting who Bast will take to.”
“Cammy would have let her pet him,” Davis said, sounding defensive. “He isn’t mean, either.”
&
nbsp; “Didn’t say he was, but he’s not as intuitive as Bast—at least where strangers are concerned.”
“What the hell does that mean? My canine is every bit as intuitive as your cat!” Davis seemed to puff up, planting his feet and looking like he’d enjoy nothing more than knocking the smug look off the Lynx man’s face.
“Do not call Bast a cat.” Antreas’s hands balled into fists.
“Un-uh!” Mari stepped between the two young men, anger temporarily chasing away exhaustion. “You will not fight in my home. Ever. Is that clear?”
Antreas and Davis deflated, sending her chagrined looks of apology.
“Yeah, it’s clear. Sorry, Antreas,” Davis said. “I was out of line.”
“It’s clear to me, too. And I didn’t mean to insult Cammy,” Antreas said. “He’s a nice little canine.”
Cammy sneezed at him, and Davis chuckled.
“We’re all tired and hungry. Let’s eat and then regroup,” Nik said. “Mari, is that Sora’s bread I see in that shelf above the hearth?” Before she could answer, Nik was stirring the cauldron and sniffing happily at it, saying, “And please tell me this is her rabbit stew, too.”
“Smells like the answer is a yes to both,” Mari said. She started for the hearth and the carved wooden dishes tucked into cunningly built shelves surrounding it, but her legs didn’t seem to want to mind her. She stumbled and would have fallen had Rigel not been there for her to grab on to. “Goddess! I can’t seem to move without falling. I feel helpless as a newborn.”
“Hey, it’s only temporary. Why don’t you take a seat and let us take care of you for a change?” Nik helped her to the pallet Danita had so recently vacated. “I think I can remember where you keep the dishes, and Davis is pretty good at making stew.”
