She wasn’t sure it would, but it would have to be enough. Already Alrik was being stripped naked, his hands tied to the back of a horse, with enough lead rope to allow him to run behind the racing stallion for as long as he could. After that, he would be dragged to death.
Kalie went home to sleep beside her husband, warm and alive, and nearly free of fever, although still far from recovered. He would not sleep until Kalie had told him everything that had happened.
“I can’t believe I never saw what Alrik was,” said Riyik.
“None of us did,” said Kalie. “Least of all Kariik.”
“I thought he was one who would lead the others to a better future. When I looked at him, I saw…”
“Yourself?” Kalie gathered Riyik into her arms. “You’ve been away from treachery for far too long, my love. You’ve learned to see the good in others, but not always the bad.”
“On the steppes, that would be a fatal weakness,” said Riyik.
“Not here,” said Kalie.
“Only because we won. This time.” Riyik ran a hand over the short tufts on Kalie’s head, where her hair was starting to grow back. “But perhaps with you at my back, I don’t need to worry about next time. I won’t forget it was you who saved me from Alrik.”
Kalie settled contentedly into his arms as Riyik drifted off to sleep. “We’ve saved each other,” she whispered. “Too many times to count.”
The bridge had held, though the water was still barely an arm’s length below the bottom of it. Nothing remained of the nomad camp on its eastern side. And here it was that Varlas, with six of his warriors, met with Kariik, and six of his advisors. Orin was not bothered by playing the role of a subordinate, nor was Riyik, who should still be in bed as far as Kalie was concerned. Between them, Janak and Borik lent a certain gravity to the proceedings, and Kalie and Alessa stood to remind all of Vargas’s people exactly who their neighbors would be from now on.
It was agreed that more than oaths would be required for the former enemies to live in peace, especially after the fighting nearly flared up again when Varlas learned he would have to give up his captives, including Kariik’s sister and nieces—along with any women who wished to leave. While few of women took the opportunity, such a blow could have cost Varlas his kingship.
So both sides agreed to exchange hostages. Two of Varlas’s sons would live among the people of the Goddess for year, and two boys (both acolytes, but now elevated to the status of princes) would live with the nomads. But Varlas, who had been reduced to nothing but five hundred men and a few horses, would now have flocks and gold, and his remaining women would learn how to make the fine fabrics he had come to crave—all courtesy of the settled folk. He would choose to see it as tribute from inferiors, but in fact it carried the subtle warning that all of it could be taken away as easily as it was given.
Kalie, who had been roused from a two day sleep to attend the ceremony, planned to spend little time at the feast that followed, but she knew there were people she must speak to—perhaps for the last time.
“Have you decided where you will go?” she asked Ruleen as they sat with the other Keepers, sharing thin stew and watered wine.
“At last, yes,” said the older woman. “It was given to my brother in a vision. There are many islands in the Great Southern Sea. Some, we believe, house the oldest temples to the Goddess still standing. We will travel there, and teach the ancient wisdom to any who wish to learn, and hide the treasures which tell the stories, so whatever may happen, the Goddess will never be lost.”
“I wish you the blessings and the protection of the Goddess,” Kalie said formally, but she also meant it.
“And you?” she asked Otera who was already directing her women in packing their things.
“North of the Black Sea there is a barren wild land, with decent grazing, and almost no people,” replied the tall woman, whose face and body were now covered in scars and her blond hair shorter than ever. “We will create a new tribe of horse warriors.” She smiled wickedly. “But only women. We will be an entire tribe of women.”
“Won’t that make having a next generation rather difficult?” asked Kalie.
“Oh, we’ll visit men in places like this at least once a year. But I think our numbers will grow mostly from recruits. And since our nearest neighbors will be Varlas and his rabble, the rest of you may someday be grateful for our presence.” Otera gazed of in the distance. “We shall take an oath to protect each other—but also anyone in need of help. And, like Ruleen and her Keepers, we will never let the Goddess be forgotten, though we shall worship Her in a new way.”
“May the Goddess smile upon your new life,” Kalie said, taking her leave.
Crossing the bridge back into the town, she found Kariik alone, staring into the water. “My king—“ she began formally.
Kariik glanced up at her and smiled. “Not anymore,” he said. “And never yours.”
“What’s happened?” Kalie asked, growing concerned.
“You probably know that I never wanted to be a king in the first place.”
She began to relax. “That I did. But I did not think a king could step down other than into his grave.”
“On the steppes, perhaps. But here?” Kariik sighed and threw his arms wide. “For the first time, I have choices.”
And Kalie laughed with the sheer joy of how often she had heard those words this past year. “And where will your choices lead you?”
“Hunting, riding, teaching those of your people who want to be warriors. Who knows what else? I am finally responsible only for myself. Those of my tribe who wish to keep with the old ways will leave with Varlas in the morning. The rest will find lives for themselves among your people. I’ll stay here because this is where Alessa will be, but…” He trailed off. Kalie waited. “I do not think we shall remain together. Ours was never a love match. And she will have many duties. And…most likely take other men. Now that I’m without a wife and a crown, I may have to learn how to court women—for the first time.”
“Speak with the priestesses in the temples,” said Kalie. “I’m sure they will be happy to provide instruction.”
Kariik chuckled. “And what of you, Kalie?”
He was, she realized, the first person to ask her. “I don’t know yet. There will be no shortage of work for me here. I suppose my calling now will be to create a new world out of two very different cultures.”
Kariik raised an eyebrow. “You will not seek to convert us all?”
“To what?” Kalie retort was sharper than she intended. “I have killed my fellow humans, and I do not regret it. The Goddess I worship now has many new aspects. I barely understand them myself, so how can I teach others?” Then suddenly, Kalie found her question answered, although she had meant it rhetorically. “I think, after all this time, I may return to pottery. I will create images of the Goddess in her form as Mother—a mother bear, fiercely protecting her children.”
“I look forward to seeing them,” said Kariik. “In fact, I may want one to guard my tent—or house, or wherever I land.” To her surprise, Kariik reached out and offered a tentative embrace. To her greater surprise, Kalie accepted it.
“Good luck,” they both said at once.
She found Riyik, engaged in debate with two of Varlas’s men, despite his promise to return home to rest as soon as the ceremony was over. “Time to go home, dearest,” she said firmly, placing a hand on his good arm and tugging, none too gently.
Riyik smiled and nodded to the warriors. “I look forward to continuing our conversation.”
“Is this what our king’s ‘peace’ will bring us?” asked one. “Am I now to be ordered about by my wife?”
“No more so than before,” laughed the other.
Home at last, Kalie and Riyik lay upon their fur covered bed. Yarik was asleep in his own bed, while Melora and Riana shared a crib. Kalie had not only kept her milk, she had enough for both of them.
“There are so many orphans,�
� she mused. “What do you think of taking in one or two more?”
“I think we’ll need a bigger house,” said Riyik.
“That can be arranged,” said Kalie. “Once the land has recovered and the crops are in, and trade has resumed.”
Riyik chuckled, even as he drifted off to sleep. “An amazing people you are, my love. Men came to enslave you and destroy all you had, yet you speak only of rebuilding, and teaching them to be your friends.”
“It’s the way it has always been in this land,” said Kalie. “So perhaps it will continue for a while longer.” Then she drifted off to sleep in Riyik’s arms.
Epilogue
“Are you sure you have everything?” Kalie asked Melora, as they left the house she had been born in thirteen years earlier. It was a large house now, with a second story, and many rooms, but soon it would feel empty.
“I’m supposed to travel light Mother, remember?” Melora, who had only recently completed her Ceremony of Womanhood, had been determined to join Otera’s Amazons since she was five years old. The day had finally arrived.
They walked to the temple, where seventeen-year old-Yarik would soon complete his apprenticeship and be initiated as a healer. Alessa had seen the gift in him early, but even she was surprised by his skill. He would be one of the great ones.
“Time to leave, sister?” Yarik asked, his limp still noticeable, but never an impediment. He tugged one of Melora’s honey brown braids.
“Once father arrives,” she said impatiently.
Kalie and Yarik exchanged a knowing glance. “He has a special gift for you,” said Yarik. “One I think you’ll find worth waiting for.”
Varena and Noris, followed by their noisy brood of children approached, although they had already said goodbye at a rowdy feast at their farm the night before. That farm wasn’t so isolated any more, as the town had grown out toward it, and other farms crowded in, to meet the food needs of a growing population.
“I wish Barak and Riana could be here,” said Melora.
Barak had traveled the long trade route to the Great Southern Sea, to find out if the life of a sailor would appeal to him, and to see how Ruleen and her Keepers fared. Riana, now an acolyte, had traveled nearly as far as Melora would today, to study some of the oldest mysteries with an elite group of priestesses.
Riyik arrived leading the most beautiful silver gray mare his daughter had ever seen. And Melora had cared for little beside horses since early childhood.
“Oh, Father, she’s beautiful!” With practiced ease, Melora swung up and settled herself astride the animal.
Kalie’s mount, beautiful and beloved, though never quite able to replace Blossom, stood waiting patiently beside the excited filly.
“I’m afraid after all these years, I will need help,” she said, pushing a strand of gray hair behind her ear and turning to smile at Riyik. He boosted her into the saddle. Kalie was grateful the journey would be short, but she was not looking forward to returning alone.
Then, as she turned to say goodbye to Riyik, Kalie found him mounted on his own horse, bedroll and saddlebags behind him, clearly ready to leave.
“Riyik, you can’t come with us!” Kalie was both scandalized and regretful. “You know the rules the Amazons have about their new recruits. No men may accompany them.”
“Perhaps it is time for those Amazons to learn that a father might wish to see his daughter safely to her new home as much as a mother does. And if they do not, then I shall wait for you at the edge of their territory until the initiation is complete.”
Kalie glanced at Melora, but she showed no sign of concern or embarrassment at the strange nature of parents—only a barely contained impatience to get started on this journey. “It’s better if father comes with us,” she said finally, turning her horse as if she meant to leave by herself if the two old folks didn’t hurry. “You’ll be glad for his company on the way home.”
Kalie sighed as a great warmth filled her. Yes, indeed she would.
“The town has changed,” she said to Riyik as Stonebridge fell away behind them.
“This whole land is changing,” Riyik replied. “I think for the better. Don’t you?”
“In some ways. But not all. Ruleen was right when she predicted that most of the traders and scouts and messengers who traveled the land would be men now.”
“Sadly, it is safer that way,” said Riyik. “But many of the tribes who follow the old ways have turned to trading instead of raiding, and the Goddess has been accepted by nearly all of them.”
“Only as the consort of the great thunder god,” Kalie sighed, thinking again of Ruleen and her predictions.
“But there are women in every trade and craft and council in the land,” Riyik argued. “And many of them began their lives as the property of warriors. And don’t forget the stories of great cities rising across the islands Barak has gone to visit, where Ruleen’s people are now leaders. I look forward to learning more about that when he returns.”
Kalie nodded, her good humor restored. “And our daughter will soon become a warrior in a sisterhood which has no equal.”
Riyik grinned. “I have heard that Varlas’s youngest daughter plans to join them when she comes of age.”
At that news, Kalie laughed out loud. But as the fertile land fell away behind them, and barren lands, suited only for the hardiest of animals and humans rose in the distance, she wondered if the day might come when the sky god would replace the great earth goddess entirely. But that time would be long in the future. And if it truly did come to pass, it would not mean the end of the way of life Kalie knew, for there would still be women warriors. And there would still be their opposites in distant places who kept alive the memory of a goddess of peace and cooperation.
The world would never be the same as the one Kalie was born into. But as she rode with her man and their daughter in companionable silence, she decided that the one they had now was a fair trade.
Note to my Readers:
My journey to bring these books to life has been no less amazing than Kalie’s own journey. I have loved hearing from those of you who have posted comments and reviews, every bit as much as I have loved writing these books. I look forward to hearing from all of you as time goes on.
But as one journey ends, another begins. Kalie’s story is finished, but lately, others have been tugging on my imagination, demanding that I write their stories as well. Most notably Otera. (Can you imagine saying no to someone like her?) If anyone would like to read a book (or series) about Otera and the founding of the Amazons, please let me know, through my website, my Amazon Author page, Goodreads, Facebook (my page or the Prehistoric Readers and Writers Campfire) or e-mail.
I won’t start writing Otera’s story unless I know there’s an audience, but until then, please consider taking an entirely new journey with me through my next novel, From the Ashes, which will be released in the summer of 2015. From the Ashes is different from any novel I have written. It’s alternative history, in a world where Nazi Germany has won WWII. But it’s also very different from the host of others in that genre.
For everyone who has gone on Kalie’s Journey with me, please accept my deepest thanks for reading my books and coming this far. And for those who come on other journeys with me in the future, I look forward to our time together.
Acknowledgements:
For this final novel of the Kalie’s Journey trilogy, I can only repeat my thanks to everyone who has made it possible for me to get this far: all the members of the Whensday People writing group (especially Adrienne, who created the map), my wonderful family, all my teachers back at Aragon High School—most notably Dr. Philip Fisher, who was able to turn an Amazon review into a reprise of an English lesson I remember from 1976—George MacDonald and Donji Collumbine for technical wizardry and artistic genius, and finally, all of you who have read these books.
Sandra Saidak graduated San Francisco State University in 1985 with a B.A. in English. She is a high school E
nglish teacher by day, author by night. Her hobbies include reading, dancing, attending science fiction conventions, researching prehistory, and maintaining an active fantasy life (but she warns that this last one could lead to dangerous habits such as writing). Sandra lives in San Jose with her husband Tom, daughters Heather and Melissa, and two cats. Her first novel, “Daughter of the Goddess Lands”, an epic set in the late Neolithic Age, was published in November, 2011 by Uffington Horse Press. Learn more at http://sandrasaidak.com/
Contents
Dramatis Personae:
Map
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Interlude
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Interlude
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Interlude
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Epilogue
Note to my Readers
Acknowledgements:
Keepers of the Ancient Wisdom (Kalie's Journey Book 3) Page 30
