by P. C. Cast
Perplexed, Mari moved her shoulders. “Okay, where?”
Nik pointed up—to the spot above and behind the little burrow that was a secret clearing where Mari and Leda had spent a lifetime drawing down the moon and dancing their names joyously into the earth. And where Mari had buried her beloved mama, near the image of the Goddess Leda had cared for her entire life.
Suddenly finding it hard to speak, Mari nodded, picked up her thick walking stick, and headed back into the bramble thicket, counting on Nik to be sure everyone was safely following her.
“Sheena and Captain, Rose and Fala, you haven’t been inside the bramble thicket before, so you should stay close behind Mari. She’s going to hold the thorny branches aside for you. Davis and Cammy and O’Bryan, you know the drill. I’ll bring up the rear.” He grabbed two more walking sticks, hidden under branches at the edge of the thicket, tossing one to O’Bryan. “Use this to catch the branches as Mari lets them go.”
“Got it,” O’Bryan said.
“Ready, Mari,” Nik called.
It took longer than usual to wind up and around and get everyone safely and mostly unscratched to the clearing. Mari was the first to step out onto the carpet of fragrant blue flowers. She breathed deeply, savoring the scent that would always remind her of her mama.
“This is spectacular!” Sheena said, stepping out into the clearing.
“How did you get these flowers to bloom up here? Isn’t it the wrong time of the year for forget-me-nots?” Rose asked.
“It is,” Mari said after swallowing the knot of emotion in her throat. “And I didn’t get them to bloom. The Goddess did.”
As a group, they turned to the statue of the Earth Mother that seemed to be emerging from the earth, half reclining in the center of a field of flowers. This idol was the largest Mari had ever seen—and rightfully so. It was the idol that had been created and tended by Clan Weaver’s Moon Women for generations. Her skin was the softest of mosses, and her hair was fashioned from the most delicate maidenhair ferns in the forest. Her face was a flawless oval of obsidian, carved to appear both serene and watchful.
Mari began automatically to bow to the Goddess when Davis walked right past her, going to stand directly in front of the idol. He gazed up at her for several long moments, with Cammy beside him being uncharacteristically quiet. Then he bowed deeply, placing his hand over his heart.
When he turned to look back at the group, Mari could see tears washing down his face. “I can feel her! Can’t you feel her?”
Mari decided right then that she was going to stop being surprised by anything this new Pack did.
“She’s beautiful, but I don’t feel anything,” Sheena said.
“I don’t, either,” said Nik. “But I love her face—how she looks calm and ready to leap up to protect her children.”
“None of the rest of you can feel her, either?” Davis asked, looking shocked and a little frightened.
The rest of the group simply shook their heads.
“Mari? You do, though, right? You’re an Earth Walker. She’s your Goddess. You must feel her, too, don’t you?” Davis asked beseechingly.
Mari went to Davis’s side. “I’ve never felt her. I’ve never heard her voice. But my mama did. Often. And, Davis, the Great Mother isn’t just the Goddess of Earth Walkers. She’s anyone’s Goddess who chooses to follow her—or who she chooses. I believe she’s chosen you.”
Davis’s gaze flew to the idol’s face. “Really? You really think she’s chosen me?”
“Ask her,” Mari said.
“How?”
“Follow your heart.”
Davis nodded. Then he moved so that he stood even closer to the reclining idol. He went to his knees, though he didn’t bow his head. Instead, he gazed up into the face of the Goddess, asking in a voice thick with emotion, “Is it true? Great Earth Mother, have you chosen me? May I call you my Goddess?”
There was a long, silent pause, and then the wall of brambles that encircled the clearing began to sway as if a brisk wind were blowing through them—though no wind so much as whispered past Mari’s hair.
“Oh! Thank you! Thank you, my Goddess!” Davis exclaimed. When he stood and turned to the group, his face was alight with happiness.
“She spoke to you, didn’t she?” Mari asked.
“She did! I heard her. Here.” He touched his head. “And here.” He touched his heart.
“What did she say?” Sheena asked.
Mari thought Davis’s smile could have lit a thousand torches. “She said, ‘I have always been your Goddess—it is only now that you know it.”
“Wow!” O’Bryan said, gazing up at the image of the Earth Mother. “That’s miraculous.”
“And it means we’re on the right path!” Nik said, hugging Mari and then going to Davis and enveloping him in a hug, too. “What we’re doing—the choices we’ve been making—they brought you to your Goddess. We’re doing the right thing, Davis.”
“You doubted it, Nik?” Mari asked, feeling suddenly vulnerable.
Nik met Mari’s gaze without wavering. “Not for myself and not for you with me. I never doubted that this is the path for us. But for these others?” He moved his shoulders, looking around the small group at his friends. “I wasn’t sure. I was trying to do what I believed was best for everyone, but I just wasn’t sure.” His gaze drifted up to the face of the Goddess. “Now I’m sure—and not just for you and me.”
“I’m sure,” O’Bryan said. “This is the path I want to be on. None other.”
“And I,” Sheena said.
“Me, too,” Rose said. She grinned and added, “But Fala’s little Chloe knew that before I did.”
Cammy barked then, as if he, too, had known, and everyone laughed.
Nik looked at Mari. “Ready?”
“I think so,” she said. “What do I do?”
“It’s simple and completely natural.” He took her hand, guiding her to his side. “Just follow along. Your father’s blood and the sun will do the rest.” Nik turned so that he was facing the east and the fiery yellow ball that had just risen above the wall of thorns. Mari did the same, and the Companions spread out beside them, all facing east, canines close beside them.
Nik paused then, and Mari could see from his expression that he was concentrating—choosing his words carefully. He lifted his face and spread wide his arms, crying, “Behold the wonder of our Pack! And behold the first beams of our lifeline—our salvation—our sun!”
Mari was watching Nik, and as he spoke his eyes changed color, turning from warm, mossy green to blaze a shining gold—a gold that was mirrored in Laru’s eyes. Then, laughing joyously, Nik opened his arms even farther, and the sleeves of his tunic fell back to expose the delicate filigreed patterns of fronds that Mari now recognized from the Mother Plant as they lifted to become visible, glowing just beneath the surface of his skin.
With the others, Mari mimicked his actions, tilting back her head and spreading wide her arms. She gasped in pleasure as the sun caught her eyes. Instead of blinding her with its brilliance, the sun flushed through her, gently filling her, warming her, strengthening her. Mari glanced at her own arms, and for the first time in her life she appreciated the delicate fern patterns that were rising to the surface of her skin to greet and absorb the power of the sun. She looked down at Rigel to see that he, too, was staring up at the sun and his eyes were blazing golden. Around her she could feel the joy of the Companions. Some of them laughed; some of them shouted a greeting to the morning; some of them whispered their thanks more intimately into the sky.
The rightness of it settled over Mari as she realized this greeting of the sun wasn’t that different from drawing down the moon. Yes, one was cool and one was warm. One ruled day and one night. But the joy was the same, as was the life-sustaining nourishment each gave their people. Content, Mari finally embraced the heritage that was her father’s legacy to her.
CHAPTER 36
Mari stood with Nik under
the big cedar that marked the entrance of the path that would lead him and Davis to Crawfish Creek and the Gathering spot that had brought so much pain and so much joy to them.
“Cammy and I will give you two some privacy,” Davis said. He went to Mari, shyly asking, “May I hug you, Moon Woman?”
“Of course!”
Mari pulled him into a hug, but before he let her go the young Companion whispered into her ear, “The Goddess wants you to take her face with us.”
Mari stepped back, blinking in surprise. “What?”
Davis blushed. “I, um, didn’t want to say this in front of everyone. It felt too private, like something for you to know alone. But she definitely wants to come with us. Bring her face, Moon Woman. She’ll be the first idol we create when we finally get to the Wind Rider Plains.”
“But who will watch over Mama if I take her with us?”
“Oh, Mari! Your mama’s with the Goddess. She’ll be coming with us, too. And you do know that the idol up there or any of those other idols they’re not really the Great Earth Mother, don’t you?”
“I know it here.” Mari pointed to her head, just as Davis had done not long ago. “But not here.” She shifted her hand to her heart.
“Trust your Goddess. She’s everywhere. Remember, she found me in the Tribe of the Trees before I even knew her name,” Davis said. “Good-bye, Moon Woman. I’ll see you, and our Pack, soon.”
“Bye, Davis.” Mari knelt and Cammy trotted up to her. She hugged the little Terrier as he rubbed his head against her happily. Grinning, she looked up at Davis. “What is he doing?”
“He’s giving you what I like to call Terrier lovin’. You’re officially part of his Pack now,” Davis said.
“Why, thank you, Cammyman,” Mari said, taking his face between her hands and kissing him squarely on the top of his nose. With his tail wagging and his tongue lolling with canine joy, he trotted after Davis.
“Is it my turn for hugs and kisses?”
Mari stood and stepped into Nik’s arms. She buried her face in his chest, breathing in the scent of him as she held to him tightly.
“I love you,” she said.
“And I love you.”
“Don’t die,” Mari said.
He leaned back, lifting her chin with his hand so that she looked into his eyes. “I won’t.”
“Swear it,” she said.
“I swear that I won’t die. Not yet. We have a world to build and babies to make,” he said.
She smiled through her tears. “Yes, we do. And remember—you belong to an Earth Walker, and we do not let our mates just disappear.”
His brows shot up. “Mate?”
“Yes, mate. If that’s okay with you,” she added.
“It’s better than okay. Um. Isn’t there a ceremony we should perform, or something?”
“Absolutely, and you’re going to love it, which is all I’m going to say right now. Curiosity will give you more incentive to remain not dead.”
“This is all the incentive I need.” Nik bent and kissed her, filling her world with his touch and taste.
She didn’t want to let him go. She didn’t ever want to let him go.
Reluctantly, she stepped from his arms. “Tomorrow night—or dawn the day after at the Channel. I’ll see you then.”
“Tomorrow night—or dawn the day after at the Channel,” he repeated. “Not even death could keep me away. You have my oath on it.”
“Good. I’ll keep your oath.” Mari turned to Laru. “Take care of him, and take care of yourself, too.” She kissed the big Shepherd on the top of his head. Instead of wagging his tail and licking her, Laru met her gaze, flooding her with love. Mari wiped her eyes, saying, “Thank you, my friend. Thank you.”
Rigel went to Nik, jumping up on him and staring into his eyes. Mari was surprised by the young Shepherd’s behavior—he rarely jumped on anyone. She was also surprised to see that he’d grown so much that his paws almost reached Nik’s shoulders.
“I’ll come back. Safe. I give you my oath, too. You be sure Mari stays safe, too,” Nik told Rigel. Then, acting more like himself, Rigel licked all over Nik’s face.
Rigel went to his sire then. Laru and he touched noses and Rigel bowed his head, exposing his throat to his Alpha. Laru licked him affectionately before he began trotting after Cammy and Davis.
Nik took her in his arms one more time, hugging her so tightly that it took her breath away. Then he was gone, jogging after his Companion, his broad shoulders and muscular back disappearing into the forest.
He didn’t look back. Mari was glad. She didn’t want him to see her clutching Rigel as she sobbed silent tears into her Companion’s soft coat.
* * *
They made excellent time and it wasn’t even midmorning when Nik and Davis reached Crawfish Creek. They followed the path they’d once believed was a simple deer path but now knew it was a trail made by the feet of generations of Earth Walkers going to Gathering. The trail brought them to the west bank of the creek where it was easy to climb down to water level.
“Let’s cross here. This side of the creek gets really steep if we follow it much farther north,” Nik said.
“I remember,” Davis said. “The current doesn’t look bad here, either.” He motioned for Cammy to swim across the creek, which he did with Laru joining him.
The water was cold, but it felt good after their walk, which had been mostly uphill. Nik bent and splashed his face, then cupped his hands and drank thirstily—until he heard the sound.
Davis was already on the east bank, laughing at Cammy as he rolled around in the moss, trying to dry himself.
Nik hurried to Davis. “Did you hear that?”
“All I heard was Cammy.”
Nik moved closer to the water and faced north. Davis hushed the little Terrier, and they all stood, listening, with Nik.
The all too familiar sound drifted down the creek. Nik and Davis, as well as Laru and Cammy, instantly went on alert.
Davis moved to Nik’s side, straining to hear more. The sound came again, accompanied by another—similar yet different.
“Are two people coughing?” Davis whispered to Nik.
Nik nodded. “Sounds like it to me. Could be Earth Walker males who have been infected, like Jaxom and Mason were.”
“At least we know how dangerous they are.” Davis mirrored Nik’s actions as both young men pulled their crossbows from the slings across their backs, notching arrows at the ready.
More wet, nasty coughing drifted to them, followed by a terrible retching sound.
“Definitely that damn Skin Stealer disease,” Nik said quietly. “Look at Laru and Cammy. They’re focused ahead of us and on this side of the creek. Let’s cross again and approach from the west bank. I remember it looks down on the creek and the clearing beside it. If they’re Skin Stealers, we can take them out from the cover of the ridge.”
“And if they’re diseased Earth Walkers?”
Nik sighed. “If they’re Earth Walkers and we can get past them without engaging, that’s what we do.”
“If they see us?”
“Then we protect ourselves,” Nik said grimly.
“This is the first time in my life I’m hoping we run into Skin Stealers and not Earth Walkers.” Davis touched his friend’s shoulder. “You know Mari will understand. She would expect us to protect ourselves.”
“I know. I also know she can heal them so that they’re like Jaxom and Mason after they were Washed—just decent guys who were infected with a terrible disease.”
Davis nodded. “I hear you. I don’t like it, either, but we don’t have much choice.”
“Well, let’s get across the creek and up that ridge and see what’s waiting for us in the clearing. It’s probably a good idea if you send a prayer to that Goddess of yours asking for her help,” Nik said.
“Good idea.” Davis bowed his head and whispered an urgent prayer to the Great Earth Mother: “Please protect us, Great Goddess. It is our ch
oice not to hurt anyone—to get to the Tribe and the Mother Plants without shedding any blood, be it Companion, Earth Walker, or even Skin Stealer. Please help us.”
Davis and Cammy followed Nik and Laru—much more quietly this time—back across the creek. Staying as silent as possible, they made their way up the ridge that overlooked Crawfish Creek and the Gathering Site, dropping to their stomachs as they reached the edge of the steep bank.
Nik peered over, hardly believing what he was seeing.
“Bloody beetle balls! That’s Wilkes with his Odin, and Claudia with her Mariah,” Davis whispered. He started to stand and call to the Companions, but Nik’s hand on his arm stayed him.
“They’re sick.” Nik kept his voice low. “Very sick. Look, Claudia is throwing up over there by that log. And I can see how flushed and feverish Wilkes is from here.”
“Oh, Goddess! Do you think they’ve been infected by the Skin Stealer disease?”
Nik stared at the two Companions. Wilkes was sitting with his back against a tree. Odin lay close beside him. Nik could see that the big Shepherd wasn’t taking his gaze from his Companion, which was a bad sign. The canine was obviously worried.
“Looks like it to—” Nik began, but Davis cut him off.
“Bloody beetle balls!” Davis whispered urgently. “Look at the idol of the Great Goddess. It’s been completely destroyed.”
Nik had to search to find what used to be a lovely idol of the reclining Earth Mother. Her body had been devastated—caved in and then mounded strangely. Most disturbing of all, the moss, ferns, grass, and even ivy had somehow been blighted. In a wide circle around the desecrated image, everything was marred, wilted, blackened.
“Could they have done that?” Davis said.
Nik’s eyes shifted to Claudia. The young woman had stopped throwing up and was staggering to the bank of the creek. Mariah was by her side, watching her with the same worried expression Odin kept trained on Wilkes. Claudia dropped heavily to her knees and carefully pushed up the sleeves of her stained tunic, and Nik heard Davis suck in a breath as they both recognized the angry pustules that clustered at the creases of her wrists and elbows.
