by P. C. Cast
“And I also like this new tradition of baring our legs, especially when we dance our names,” Sora added, smoothing the side of Isabel’s tunic that was embroidered with lovely red flowers.
“The males in our Pack will certainly like it,” Jenna said with a cheeky grin.
Mari gave her a sharp look, wondering if there was a particular male she was thinking of—Davis? O’Bryan? Maybe Jaxom, if he returned?
“Mari? Hello? Are you coming?”
Mari blinked and came back to herself. “Oh, sorry. Yeah.”
She caught up quickly with the three young women, and together they moved down the wide stone stairs. The evening had been cloudy, and dusk had fallen quickly. The Pack had lit all of the bonfires, and the night was filled with scents of burning pinewood mixed with the aromas of roasting meat and the lavender and salt water that always circled a Gathering. As Danita spotted them and raised the greeting of “Moon Women! Our Moon Women are here!” Mari felt as if her heart might burst with the sense of belonging that rushed through her. I wish you were here, Mama. I wish you could see that I have a place with these people. I finally belong! She searched for Nik among the smiling, upturned faces, even though she already knew he hadn’t returned from her burrow yet because Rigel wasn’t leaping around her, drowning her with slobbery kisses.
“Ready?” Sora asked her.
“Absolutely,” Mari said.
The four of them descended into the heart of their Pack.
“Blessed Third Night to our Pack!” Mari called, tweaking her mama’s traditional Third Night greeting just a little. “Tonight we have much to celebrate. We have two new apprentices who have chosen to dance their introduction to the moon together. Sora and I have agreed to it because we believe in mixing new traditions with old.”
“Like how we’ve mixed Clan and Tribe to form a new Pack,” Sora added.
“Exactly!” Mari agreed. She nodded to Sora, and they moved forward to approach the idol of the Great Earth Mother that seemed to emerge from the center of the clearing. The light of the fires had flickering shadows playing across her beautiful skin of moss. The breeze stirred, brushing through her hair of verdant ferns, giving the impression that she was in motion, rising to greet her people.
Mari and Sora had already decided to open the Third Night by keeping much of it traditional, out of respect for the Great Goddess and for the gathered women who had, for their entire lives until just recently, been part of a Clan steeped in tradition.
Sora had asked Mari if she would begin, and Mari had easily agreed. Sora’s connection to the Goddess was strong—maybe even stronger than Mari’s. She had never heard the Goddess’s voice, but Sora seemed to chat with her frequently.
“I greet you, Great Mother, with the love and gratitude and respect of your newly formed Pack.” Sora spoke directly to the image of the Goddess.
Mari watched Sora bow reverently to the living sculpture and was then surprised to see her pull a beautiful bead from her hair and tie it into a frond of the Goddess’s hair. Mari heard Sora say, “This is my favorite bead. Keep it here, with you. I know you’ll come with us to the Plains of the Wind Riders, as you are everywhere, but part of you will remain here, in our homeland. And I want you to have it.” Then Sora brushed away tears that were glistening on her cheeks and rejoined Mari.
It was Mari’s turn. She was supposed to announce the ancient call for the men of Clan Weaver to present themselves to be Washed, but as there were no Earth Walker men present, Mari took the opportunity to approach the Goddess.
Mari gazed up into the smooth river stone flecked with sparkles of crystal that had, generations before, been carved into a likeness of the Goddess’s face. From her hair Mari disentangled the perfectly blue feather of a jay. She reached up and placed it snugly within the fern that was the Goddess’s hair.
“Keep this with you,” Mari said softly to the Goddess. “Blue was Mama’s favorite color, so I think you’ll like it, too.” Then Mari stepped back and faced the watching Tribe, pronouncing the words she’d heard her mama speak uncounted times. “Men of Clan Weaver, present yourself to me!”
The silence that filled the clearing was pregnant with anticipation. Mari searched the crowd until she spotted O’Bryan, Sheena, and Davis. They were turned outward, watching the surrounding forest with the sharp eyes of protectors.
Nothing happened. No one moved.
Mari breathed an almost inaudible sigh of relief and was turning to Sora to begin the invocation of the moon when the night erupted into chaos.
First, Rigel rushed to Mari, flooding her with emotions that ranged from relief to anger and worry.
“It’s okay, sweet boy!” Mari crouched beside him, trying to soothe him with her touch. “Where are Laru and Nik?”
Rigel’s head swung around, pointing into the darkness outside the cheery fires that encircled the Pack.
“Moon Woman!” Jaxom’s voice was tortured as he staggered into the clearing.
“Mari, help us!” Nik shouted at the same time, and Laru burst through the circle, running to stand beside her and Rigel.
The gathered Pack gasped, parting to allow Nik and Jaxom through. Between them, they dragged an Earth Walker male. His hands were bound. His head was lifted; his eyes were completely red. He bared his teeth, sweeping the crowd with his scarlet gaze.
“Moon Woman!” he rasped in a voice that was barely human. “Need Moon Woman!”
“Oh, Goddess!” Sora said, backing into Mari. Her eyes were wide and glassy with panic when she looked at Mari. “I can’t! I just can’t, Mari!”
“You don’t need to. I’ll Wash him. Keep Jenna and Isabel behind you.” Mari’s gaze swept the crowd, quickly finding Danita, whose eyes were wide with fear. Antreas was sprinting to her side, though, and Mari was sure Bast had to be close by, too. Danita is fine, she thought with relief. “Rigel! With me!”
It wasn’t just Rigel who responded. Laru remained at her side, and then, within a heartbeat or two, Sheena’s Captain was there, and Davis’s Cammy, as well as the little mama, Fala, and Bast, too. The canines and Lynx surrounded Mari. Each had their ears and hackles raised, growling deep in their chests, their focus poised as one on the red-eyed Earth Walker who was being dragged toward her.
Mari’s hand found Rigel’s head. As she touched him, she opened herself and a wave of strength flooded into her. Mari felt a jolt of shock as she realized the strength she was being flooded with was coming from all of the Companions, not just Rigel!
Focus! Let them help you ground and then call down the moon and Wash that Clansman back to sanity! Her mama’s voice was strong and clear within Mari’s mind.
Mari moved fast. She stood directly in front of Jaxom and Nik and the struggling Night Fever–filled Clansman. His head was lolling, and Mari could see through the tatters of clothing that remained on his body that his arms and legs were covered with oozing pustules. Then he raised his face again, blinking blindly around him, and Mari got a second shock.
It’s Mason! Jaxom’s younger brother! He is barely sixteen winters old!
With no more hesitation Mari lifted her arms as if she would cradle the not yet visible moon between the open palms of her hands. She closed her eyes and concentrated with all of her will, sketching within her mind a huge, silver moon and thick ropes of radiant power falling from it down, down, down, to wrap, glowing, around her. When she felt the cold power beginning to flow, she opened her eyes and recited:
“Moon Woman I proclaim myself to be!
Greatly gifted, I offer myself to thee.
By right of blood and birth channel through me
The Goddess gift that is my destiny!”
Mari reached forward at the same moment she imagined the ropes of silver moonlight power emptying into her, using her as a conduit, and pouring into Mason. She placed both hands on his head and murmured, “Mason, I Wash you free of all anger and sickness and gift you with the love of our Great Earth Mother.”
The cold c
ascaded through Mari’s body with such intensity it caused her teeth to chatter and her body to tremble. But she didn’t take her hands from Mason’s head. She didn’t allow her concentration to be broken. She kept the moonlight washing through her and into Mason, illuminating him with a light that made it appear as if his skin had turned silver, until finally the young man lifted his head and met her gaze.
His eyes were a healthy brown, though he looked more than a little confused. He blinked several times, smiled shyly, and in a voice that was raspy and weak replied with the traditional response, “Thank you, Moon Woman.”
Mari nodded in acknowledgment of Mason’s response and then swallowed several times, refocusing her energy. She turned to Jaxom, who was standing beside his brother, still supporting him, though she could see that Jaxom’s eyes were beginning to glow red and his skin was fully flushed with gray. Seeing her attention had shifted, he bowed his head to her. Mari placed her hands on him and focused on channeling more of the lifesaving moonlight.
“I Wash you free of all anger and sickness and gift you with the love of our Great Earth Mother,” she said.
Jaxom lifted his head immediately. His smile was radiant. “Thank you, Moon Woman! Thank you!”
Mari turned to Nik then. He was watching her with eyes filled with love. Mason was standing on his own by then, so Nik stepped toward Mari and knelt, bowing his head in the traditional manner of a Clansman waiting to be Washed by his Moon Woman.
Gently, Mari placed her hands on his head, thinking of how much she was coming to love and respect this unique man. She imagined the moon flooding him with health and healing as she intoned, “I Wash you free of all pain and infection and gift you with the love of our Great Earth Mother.”
His body glowed silver briefly, and then he lifted his head, his smile beaming up at her. “Thank you, my Moon Woman, my love!”
Mari meant to turn gracefully and move back to stand beside Sora so that they could continue Washing the Pack together, but her legs refused to cooperate. Her graceful turn became a staggering near fall, and she was saved from ending up on her butt and being embarrassed in front of her new Pack by Rigel and Laru. They were there, pressing into her from each side, supporting her, filling her with love and strength. And Fala was there, too, as well as Cammy, lending their love and support. She could even feel Bast’s presence. Her feline energy felt completely different from the canines—wilder and more reminiscent of moon power with its cool strength.
Then Sora was in front of Mari, taking her hands and forcing her to look into her eyes. After Mari’s gaze focused on her, she said, “Bow your head.”
Too exhausted to argue, Mari did as her friend requested.
Sora released Mari’s hands and raised her own, cupping the unseen moon in her palms. In a voice strong and sure, she recited Leda’s invocation, word for word:
“Moon Woman I proclaim myself to be!
Greatly gifted, I bare myself to thee.
Earth Mother, aid me with your magick sight.
Lend me strength on this moonlit night.
Come, silver light—fill me to overflow
So those in my care your healing will know.
By right of blood and birth channel through me
The Goddess gift that is my destiny!”
Sora placed her hands on her friend’s head, and Mari felt a wonderful coolness flow into her body. It wasn’t the flood of power that she’d channeled into Mason and Jaxom and Nik. It was sweet and soothing, and it chased away the weakness within her. Mari stopped trembling. Her stomach, which had felt as if it were trying to turn itself inside out, calmed. She drew a deep, thankful breath and lifted her head, grinning at her friend.
“Thank you, Moon Woman!”
Sora touched her cheek gently. “Thank you for doing what I couldn’t.”
“You didn’t have to. There are two of us now,” Mari said.
“Three,” Danita said, stepping up beside Sora.
“Four,” Isabel said, moving to Sora’s other side
“Five, if you count a Healer.” Jenna dimpled at Mari.
“You count. You all count!” Mari said. “Now Sora will Wash you, and then you can dance your names to the moon.”
“Are you not feeling okay now?” Sora asked, studying Mari more closely.
“I am, but Mason has wounds that have to be cleaned and dressed. I thought I’d do that while you Wash the rest of the Pack.”
“No, Moon Woman. You stay. Wash your people with Sora. With your permission, I’ll take my brother into the burrow and begin cleaning his wounds,” Jaxom said. “He’s himself again, thanks to you.”
“I’ll go with him.” Rose had stepped from the silently watching crowd. “My wounds are healing well, so I don’t need to be Washed, and I’ve been helping with Lydia’s and Sarah’s dressing changes. I know where the goldenseal is, and how to clean wounds with it. I’d be happy to help.”
Mari opened her mouth to insist that she could handle it—she should handle it. She was the Moon Woman. But she was stuck by the realization that this was exactly what she used to complain to Leda about—the fact that she insisted on doing everything herself. She took on the pain and fear, love and losses, of the Clan, and it made her old before her time and, too often, filled her with sadness Mari couldn’t touch.
“Thank you, Rose,” Mari said. “That would be very helpful.”
“I’ll come help you after I’ve danced my name,” Jenna said.
“So will I,” Isabel added.
Mari wanted to throw her arms around them all and tell them how spectacular they were, but her throat closed with emotion and all she could do was nod and smile at them while blinking tears from her eyes.
When Jaxom and Rose moved off with Mason walking unsteadily, but without being supported, between them, Sora turned to Mari.
“So, Moon Woman. Ready to proceed?”
Mari went to her friend and hugged her, right there in front of the Pack, surprising everyone with her show of affection—including Sora, whose eyes began to fill.
“With my Pack beside me I am ready for anything!”
CHAPTER 33
“Okay, tell me everything!” Mari said as soon as the four of them—Nik, Laru, Rigel, and she—were alone, making their way slowly back to her burrow with full stomachs and even fuller hearts. “How did you find Jaxom and Mason?”
“I didn’t. Rigel found them.”
Mari glanced down at her young Shepherd, who was trotting beside her carrying a slobbery stick in his mouth. The stick was the size of one of his legs.
“Now you really have to tell me everything.”
“There’s not much to tell. I was just finishing up at the burrow. The door was open—I like the evening breeze.”
“Me, too,” Mari said, slipping her hand in his.
He grinned at her. “So, the door was open and all of a sudden Rigel starts air scenting, and he gets agitated.”
“Air scenting?”
“It’s like the tracking he can do when he sniffs the ground, only he’s sniffing the air.”
“Oh, I understand. Okay, go ahead,” Mari said.
“Next thing I know, Laru’s air scenting, too, and growling. I could tell that he recognized the scent, and that he didn’t trust it. So, I grabbed my crossbow.…” Nik paused and patted the bow that was slung across his back. “And I told Rigel and Laru to take me to what they were scenting. I found Jaxom struggling with that very sick, very violent kid. I was going to shoot him, but Jaxom called me off, told me Mason is his brother—and that we had to get to you so that you could Wash them both, immediately.”
“Jaxom wasn’t acting strange?”
“Not at first. It was almost dusk, but the sun hadn’t set yet. I had to knock Mason out, but then we tied him up and started half dragging, half carrying him to you.”
“Did you mess up your hand?”
“My hand?”
“Yeah, knocking him out.” Mari was examining the hand sh
e was holding, finding it uninjured, and reaching for his other hand when Nik stopped her.
“Oh no. I didn’t mess up my hand. I used my crossbow to conk him across the head. It’s okay, too,” he said. “And it was only after the sun set that Jaxom started acting strange. I have to admit that he handled it well, though. He talked to me about what was happening, and told me not to panic when his voice, his skin, and even his eyes started to change. He said he could control it since it was a Third Night and he wasn’t infected with the Skin Stealer disease anymore—and he was right. I mean, I wouldn’t have wanted to be around him, say, tomorrow night had you not Washed him, but Jaxom basically just stayed Jaxom—only a meaner version.”
Mari nodded. “That’s usually about what happens to Earth Walker males on a Third Night. As long as they’re Washed, they can control themselves.”
“And Earth Walker women get sad but not catatonic and mortally depressed if they’re not Washed, too?”
“Yes, exactly. Women seem like they can go longer than men without being Washed, but that’s only because they don’t become violent. Depression is every bit as serious as anger,” Mari said.
“Do you know why Earth Walker men become angry and women become depressed?”
“I know what Mama told me. She said that Night Fever strips away who we are and reveals the basest, most negative parts of us. Men focus on the external with anger that can lead to violence, usually against themselves. Women retreat internally, and destroy themselves through sadness and self-hatred.”
“But Earth Walker males attacked Danita and Sora—violently,” Nik said.
“As far as I know, that’s never happened before. Nik, I really believe it’s the Skin Stealer disease that caused our males to be so aggressive to others.” Mari gave the dark forest around them a nervous glance. “I wonder how many more Earth Walker males there are out there, and how many of them have been infected with that horrible disease?”
“I asked Jaxom the same question. He doesn’t think there are many. No, actually, Jaxom said he doesn’t think there are any left alive at all. He said some began to turn against each other. Others died.” Nik closed his lips tightly, obviously not wanting to say more.
