Amazon Queen a-2

by Лори Девоти

  Her eyes stayed flat and her lips tight for a flicker of a second. Then she shook her head. "The pressure of losing her after we had just saved her, and before I could present her to the goddess. . I didn't mean to. . How could you have expected an attack from above?" She glanced again at my leg, letting her gaze linger there for a bit.

  I adjusted my stance. "True, we couldn't expect it, but it shouldn't have happened. The child should have been safe inside the house, surrounded by the tribe." She had endangered the baby by bringing her here. Apparently she needed to be reminded of that.

  "I was so close. . " she murmured. "To presenting her to the goddess," she finished as if in explanation. Her jaw tense, she picked up the bowl and walked to the edge of the trees with it. Her back to me, she mumbled a few words, then spilled the contents of the bowl onto the ground.

  She seemed to miss that she was the reason the child had been stolen, that she had brought her here. So what if the baby had been "presented" before the sons grabbed her? She still would have been taken. I bit down on the inside of my cheek. "Did you see where the bird went?"

  She shook her head; anger, loss, and disappointment warred in her eyes. "I had my. . I followed him as long as I could, but he was too big, too fast. It was impossible to keep up."

  "What direction did he go?" I made no pretense of politeness. It was obvious we both thought the other had failed.

  She pointed to the north. "Toward the town."

  Our camp was twenty miles from the nearest small town. "He could have been headed to Deep River, or the highway, or Canada." I smashed the end of my staff into the ground. There was no telling.

  Thea twisted her lips to the side and a shadow passed over her face. "What about the other one? What was it?" she asked. "It looked like a wolverine. Do you have wolverines here?"

  I shook my head. "Not that I know of, but that doesn't matter. The sons can shift into whatever animal their givnomai is."

  "So it's true." Despite the fact she'd just seen a bird the size of a small plane swoop down on us, she looked skeptical.

  "You saw for yourself how true it is," I replied, realizing she hadn't believed the stories, not before today. "You saw the son I battled, saw him shift."

  She shook her head. "I saw the wolverine, then I saw the man. That doesn't mean they were the same. But the bird. . obviously what it did wasn't normal. It wasn't normal." She looked at my leg again. This time she knelt down. When her hands touched me they were cool and covered in whatever oil she'd been stirring, then spilled on the ground. As she rubbed the oil over my wound, the smell intensified, but I didn't work with oil either for magic or cooking. I couldn't identify the scent.

  "Trust me. He shifted," I said.

  "I'd heard the stories, but. . " She held up a hand. "Give me your shirt."

  I pulled it over my head. She folded it around her hand and wiped oil and blood from my skin.

  I continued, "What did you think the bird was, if not a son?"

  She refolded the cloth and wiped some more. "A bird. An agent of someone, his moves orchestrated."

  "Orchestrated? By who?"

  "The sons obviously, eh."

  "But you believe it now? Believe they can shift?" I hadn't seen a son shift before today either. I had to admit it was hard to believe they could. Amazons couldn't shift. Why could their sons?

  She tilted her head side to side in grudging agreement. "I believe I underestimated them. I believe next encounter I'll be ready."

  On that we both agreed.

  She returned to my wound, tying the cloth around my leg. When she stood, her expression was tame, almost soft. "The damage isn't bad, puncture wounds only. I expected much worse."

  "Because it was a wolverine?"

  Her eyes unreadable, she replied, "Because it stopped you from doing your job." Then she strolled from the clearing.

  With a growl, I followed.

  Amazons had owned the safe camp since the area was settled. We-not me, being in my nineties, I wasn't born yet-built the farmhouse not long after.

  When Thea and I arrived at the house, the yard was empty. Thinking everything was under control, not knowing we had lost the child yet, the Amazons had gone about their normal tasks. It was approaching time for dinner. The hearth-keepers would be in the kitchen. The warriors were exercising the horses in one of the lower fields, and the one artisan staying with us was off doing whatever artisans did. . drawing or carving or something.

  "Do you have a plan for retrieving the baby?" Thea asked.

  Her voice startled me. I wasn't used to being questioned, not even by the high priestess. But Thea wasn't Alcippe, our old priestess; she was younger, probably used to being bolder and sharing more responsibility in how a camp was run.

  That, of course, didn't mean I had to answer. Especially since the answer was no. I had no idea how to find the sons now. And even if I did, I was fairly certain getting the baby back this time was going to be a lot harder.

  And I wasn't sure how much time we had. But after talking to the son in the woods, I had an idea why they wanted the child. . revenge, pure and simple.

  Payback for every son an Amazon had killed or maimed in the past.

  Chapter 3

  I stayed up most of the night, pacing outside. I had gathered the tribe as soon as they had returned to camp from their various tasks. It had been awkward telling them we had lost the child, that the two sons had stolen her back, but they deserved to know.

  There had been a few dark looks darted from face to face, but that was it. No one questioned us. It wasn't their place. They knew if their assistance was needed, Thea or I would tell them. Until then they were to just go about their regular lives.

  After the circle broke up, I'd stayed outside. . thinking, wishing I could go back in time and stop what had happened.

  I tilted my face up to the sky.

  The moon was full. Artemis was strongest at the crescent, on the sixth day of the new moon. That was when I could count on being filled with her fierce energy, but any night the moon was in the sky, I felt her. And tonight I needed her.

  The baby was back in the hands of the sons. I didn't know how long they'd had her before we rescued her the first time or exactly what they had planned for her, but knowing they had her, could put in place whatever scheme they had at any moment, ate at me.

  I wanted to rally the tribe and race out to defeat them. Problem was, I had no idea where the sons might have gone. The council had given Thea the address in Beloit. I had put in a call to my contact, Kale, when we got home, asking for more assistance, but calls to council members went to voice mail, and mine had yet to be returned.

  I stared up at the moon for a moment longer, praying Artemis would look down on me and gift me with some skill to find the sons and save the child.

  But I knew it didn't work like that, knew Artemis had already gifted me with all the skills I could expect to have. New ones didn't just drop down from the trees.

  So if I wanted to find this baby, I would have to find the talent to do so inside myself.

  I just hoped for the child's sake that wouldn't take too long.

  After only a few hours of sleep I awoke later than normal, but still early. I checked my wounds before leaving bed.

  I'd discovered a second injury on arriving home last night-a bloody slit in my thumb. It throbbed a bit this morning, but was obviously nothing to be disturbed by. I spared a glance at it before moving on to the bigger concern-the bite on my leg.

  As I pulled off Thea's makeshift bandage, I saw she had been right. There were four distinct puncture wounds, two seriously deeper than the others, but none dangerous to me or my leg.

  And none nasty enough to explain the pain I had felt when I stepped into the clearing. The incident was already fading from memory, though. . perhaps it hadn't been as bad as I recalled. I was tense at the time. That amount of anger and frustration could easily have amplified my reaction. I was calm now, though, and ready to find the sons.
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  I left the wound open to the air. It would heal quickly. I could already put weight on my leg with no pain, and I didn't need a bandage as a reminder of what had happened.

  I left my room and stepped into the hall. There were sounds coming from the kitchen-the hearth-keepers fixing breakfast and preparing goods for the farmer's market in Madison, Wisconsin, in three days. It was a weekly event during the summer for us. Technically everything sold at the farmer's market was supposed to be a Wisconsin product, but we weren't big on technicalities, and a small piece of land the tribe owned in northern Wisconsin provided a convenient address for the paperwork. Marketgoers knew us as Amazon Farms, and they loved us. Who wouldn't?

  I personally didn't frequent the market; Lao handled it and handled it well. I seldom went to Madison at all.

  But Thea had said the bird last night was heading north. Madison was north, as were the only two sons I knew how to find. I'd met both of them in the fall, or seen them at least. We hadn't exactly sat around the fire and exchanged war stories.

  One worked for my friend Mel in her tattoo shop as an artist. The other, his mentor, was an older man confined to a wheelchair. His handicap was the result of the old Amazon ways, when we still killed or maimed our sons to keep them from becoming threats.

  If the council didn't call this morning with a new direction, searching out whatever sons I could seemed a sensible step. So a trip to Madison would clearly be in order.

  First, though, I needed to track down my new high priestess. I walked through the living room. Except for the two threadbare couches and a few dirty coffee mugs and plates, the room was empty. The front door, however, stood open.

  Thea stood in the yard with her hands raised above her head. Her hair was wet and her dark curls glistened in the early-morning sun, but it was the expression on her upturned face that stopped me. Her eyes were closed, as you would expect with the sun streaming down on her, but she still looked rapt, like she was soaking in the rays, recharging, growing stronger before my eyes.

  For some reason, I found the idea disturbing. I stepped onto the porch.

  Most of the other occupants of the house had formed a half circle around the new priestess. When I walked out the door, they turned faces filled with curiosity and a bit of wariness toward me.

  I suddenly felt out of place-as if I'd stumbled into something uninvited, but that was impossible. This was my camp. I was queen here and had been for over a decade. Despite the fact that many of the Amazons present were newcomers to this house, I was the one steady factor. Their expressions were unfathomable.

  Unless someone had told them something to make them doubt me, to question my reliability. I scanned their faces, looking for any sign of censure.

  Thea dropped her arms and turned. "The queen joins us."

  The words were innocent enough, but there was something about Thea's tone that caused my body to stiffen.

  I opened my mouth to utter a rebuke, then saw her expression. While not friendly, it wasn't mocking either. I snapped my jaws shut. She was new; we were still getting to know each other. I could easily have been reading her wrong. Most important, though-now was not the time to be taking our aggression out on each other. It would only get in the way of doing our jobs.

  Still, I couldn't bring myself to smile. Not that I smiled much anyway. Life was too serious.

  I walked down the two steps that separated the wide front porch from the yard, then moved toward our new high priestess with my shoulders back and my footsteps tapping on the concrete walk.

  The Amazons who had surrounded the priestess took a step back. I stopped a staff's length away.

  She tilted her head. "We are enjoying the sun. It helps me feel centered, ready to take on any challenge." The fingers of her right hand brushed over her left arm, over Medusa.

  I registered the gesture, realizing it was a habit of hers. What I didn't know was why she did it, what emotion she was feeling at the time.

  "I'll be going to Madison today." I paused, wondering if I should ask her to come along. After only a second of consideration, I added, "It would be best if you stayed here."

  It was normal procedure. It wasn't often the high priestess and the queen were both absent from a safe camp. And I preferred to handle the trip to Wisconsin's capital city on my own. Mainly because I didn't want her with me when I visited Mel's.

  Mel was an outsider now. My relationship with her was not necessarily looked on kindly by others in the tribe. Plus I needed Mel to help me get access to the sons. Bringing a high priestess she didn't know along would not be a help.

  My plan announced, I turned to the other Amazons. The circle had broken into parts. The hearth-keepers were wandering back inside or toward the garden. Our one artisan was still at Thea's side. As I turned away, she began talking to the priestess. The warriors had clustered together under a nearby maple. They were obviously waiting for something. . direction from me, I assumed.

  They were all fairly new arrivals. I knew them from Amazon gatherings, but most had only been staying at the camp since spring. I had, however, been running them through their paces for weeks. Not only did we have a martial arts exhibition at the Illinois State Fair in a month, I needed a lieutenant. I had lost my last lieutenant to our run-in with a son last fall-our first encounter with them. I hoped one of these warriors could fill the position.

  I called to Areto. She was only five ten, small for an Amazon, but she was quick and limber. I'd had the group scale the side of the barn earlier in the week with nothing but a rope and Areto had arrived at the top minutes before the rest. She also reminded me of Mel; it might have just been a superficial resemblance, her dark hair and short height, but I didn't think so. I thought I could trust her, as much as I could trust anyone.

  "You're in charge of the exercises today. Let me know if anyone slacks." She didn't question why and she didn't glance at the high priestess I knew was still standing only a few feet behind me; she just raised her hand in signal to the rest of the group and led them toward the barn.

  Thea was still behind me, still waiting. I walked toward the house. I needed car keys if I was going to drive to Madison.

  "Are you going to inform the high council of what happened?" she asked.

  I turned. My voice steady and sure, I answered, "I have a call in, but we can't sit around and wait. We need to get the baby back."

  She inclined her head in agreement, then motioned for Sare, our lone artisan, who still stood beside her to move along. The girl picked up a leather bag from the ground and wandered off to sit in the sun and do her work-carving totems, I guessed. They sold well at fairs.

  "You can't go alone," Thea said, her voice low.

  I exhaled through my nose. I was not used to being ordered, at least not by anyone below the high council. My arms hanging loosely at my sides, I addressed her. "I don't expect to find the baby in Madison, just information."

  "And you can't get that with a phone call?"

  I couldn't. I needed to see Mel face-to-face if I wanted any hope of convincing her to help the Amazons. She didn't trust us. She might even believe the child would be better off with the sons.

  "No," I replied, then walked away.

  My foot had barely hit the step when she called again. "It was my failure too. I'll get the knife and meet you here."

  I paused. My first instinct was to turn on her, to tell her exactly who was queen and what my orders were, but when I processed her actual words, they stopped me. She had admitted fault. She suffered guilt for it. I could appreciate that, could see how she would want to be part of righting what had happened in the woods. I still didn't want her in Madison, but I couldn't deny her the right to fix what she had been part of screwing up. Not without hearing her out.

  I continued on into the house, torn on what to do.

  Thea was crouched on the ground next to Sare when I came out. I could see that the artisan was drawing rather than carving as I'd guessed earlier.

  As I appr
oached, Thea took a piece of paper from her and rolled it like a scroll.

  Ignoring them both, I got into the safe camp's car, a ten-year-old Jeep Cherokee. The Amazons who came and went had their own vehicles; this one was communal property, meaning for today it was mine.

  Despite my complete lack of acknowledgement, Thea climbed into the passenger seat. I took my hand off the key. I'd told her she needed to stay at the camp. While inside the house, I'd realized no matter her guilt or desire to right her part in our mistake, she needed to comply.

  She tapped the rolled-up paper she'd gotten from the artisan against her leg. "What is your plan?"

  "I am going to Madison. You are staying here."

  My direct response didn't seem to bother her.

  "You haven't explained why you think going to Madison is the answer. Seems more likely we would find out something around here." Her thumbnail flipped the edge of the rolled paper.

  I hadn't explained because I didn't need to explain. I still didn't, but remembering her admittance and not wanting to put more pressure on our strained relationship, I replied, "We know the sons have the baby. We just need to find out where. There are two sons in Madison. Seems logical they might know something about the pair who has the child."

  "And you think they will tell us?" She twisted her lips to the side.

  I tapped my fingers against the top of the steering wheel. "Probably not, but if I ask right, maybe someone else will. Worst case, I can watch the Madison sons. Madison isn't that far from Beloit-the sons who stole the baby probably know the others. With their Beloit cover blown, they may be in contact for help."

  She nodded. "Makes sense, but it seems like there might be a more direct approach." She unrolled the scroll.

  And there was my fairy godfather staring up at me.

  I cursed myself silently. She'd described the son to the artisan and the girl had sketched a portrait. It was a good idea, a much more direct plan than spending two hours in a car and hoping I'd be able to get information out of the sons in Madison.