by Claudia King
But one vision was strong enough to stay with her after she awoke. She stepped into it with a clarity so perfect she almost believed it was real. The world was blue with the light of the moon, and grass tickled her bare feet as she walked across an open field. A growl sounded at her side, and she looked down to see a great white wolf padding at her heel. She reached up to touch her cloak, and found that it was gone.
A smile spread across Netya's lips. "You guided me to this place, spirit?"
The wolf bowed its head solemnly and ran on ahead, calling her to follow. With her guide leading her through the blue world, she ran until another vision came before her: one of a great many people clustered together beneath a raised outcrop. It was the site of the gathering, Netya realised, though the clearing now seemed to stretch as far as the great plains. In every direction faces beyond counting looked up expectantly at the outcrop's summit. The white wolf sat down at her feet, and the grass gave way to rock beneath her toes. She was the one standing upon the outcrop, but she was no longer watching the scene through her own eyes. She drifted away, sensing the physical world calling her back as she watched the dark-haired girl standing alone before the eyes of a hundred clans. But when the girl turned, it was no longer her. She wore someone else's features, familiar, yet different. Netya strained to see the woman more clearly, but the vision was slipping away from her. The white fur of the wolf spirit settled back back into its familiar place around her shoulders, and she blinked herself awake to the sounds of the rising camp and the heat of the afternoon sun beating down on her face.
Caspian shifted behind her, groaning as he rubbed his eyes. He sounded as stiff as Netya felt, and she immediately felt guilty for sleeping up against him while he reclined on the hard rocks.
"I'll ease up once we start running," he grumbled, sensing Netya's concern without her needing to speak. It was a common habit of the Moon People to be able to communicate simple sentiments without words, accustomed as they were to reading the subtle scents and movements of their animal forms, but Caspian seemed even better at it than usual since the night of the summer fires. It comforted her to think of how strong the bond between them had become, and the strange vision she had experienced almost disappeared from her mind as the pack awoke and prepared to journey on.
The rest of the afternoon was spent making the descent to the plains before they set up a temporary camp and commenced hunting. By the end of the night the men had brought down a stag and dragged it back for the others to butcher, despite Fern's warnings that they should focus on less dangerous prey. Kin and his brothers returned from the hunt with a bleeding muzzle and two slight limps between them, but it could not be denied that their boldness had paid off. The large stag carcass was enough to feed everyone, and in addition to their existing supplies it provided enough excess meat to bolster their provisions for the journey home.
The same vision returned to Netya again as they slept on the plains, calling her back to the blue world with the strange woman standing before the gathering. She did not know what it meant, but it seemed the spirits were trying to tell her something.
The night after she dreamt again, though this time it was another chilling memory of the flood in the cave that disturbed her sleep. She awoke with a sharp breath, her fingers tightening against Caspian's clothing, but the steadiness of his breathing told her she had not disturbed him. The unpleasant echoes of the dream left her quickly, and before long it was forgotten as she went back to sleep, peacefully free of any more visions.
Her sleep remained mostly untroubled for the remainder of their journey, but as they returned to the valleys near the den the blue world called her back one more time. Still it was the same. The same clearing, the same outcrop, the same young woman standing before the packs. But this time Netya turned her eyes upward before the vision ended, and there she saw the moon, as wide as the clearing itself, shining down her blue light upon the people below. Syr's children. Netya stared up at the moon spirit as the dream faded, and she awoke with a strange tingle creeping its way up her spine.
In those final moments, had the moon spirit gazed back at her?
—24—
A Thread of the Future
A joyous reunion awaited the group when they made their way back up the familiar valley to their den. Those who had stayed behind hurried out to meet them near the base of the waterfalls, embracing their friends and family with delight before making the newcomers welcome and eagerly picking through the numerous bundles of herbs and seeds Adel had brought back. With the additional supplies the seers could perform many of their rituals once again, and the seeds meant that plants for both food and medicine could be cultivated in the hidden glade up above.
Netya did not realise how fond she had become of the valley in her short time there. Walking back between the lush green cliffs and seeing the soothing mist of the waterfalls in the distance calmed her soul, the mystical beauty of the land calling her back to a place she felt she belonged. It was true, there was something spiritual about the valley they called home. Much like the ancient site of the gathering, it seemed surrounded by the benevolent souls of those who had dwelt there long ago, lingering in the mist like silent guardians. It was good to be back, and it was good to see the others again.
Bolstered by the addition of their new arrivals, the pack now numbered thirty-one in total, almost a third of which were men. Still a small clan, but no longer an insignificant one. As the group milled about making introductions and swapping stories about what had happened in their absence, Netya almost felt like she was back among the familiar bustle of Khelt's pack. She allowed herself to smile, forgetting the impending threat that hung over them for a time as she joined her new brothers and sisters in celebrating all they had accomplished at the gathering. Adel seemed to be of a similar mind, for she spoke no word of Miral until later that day. In the wake of a small improvised feast that used up the last of their travelling supplies, she rose to her feet and called for silence, standing at the centre of the group with all eyes turned upon her.
"We have come far, and accomplished much," she began. "We are no longer a band of wanderers, but a clan with power and territory of our own." Her expression hardened. "And now that we have these things, there are those who are willing to take them from us. In the days to come we may suffer hardships greater than any we have faced yet. I ask you to meet them with the same courage you have shown me in the past, my sons and daughters. We are our own pack, and this is our home. Those of you who are newcomers are free to share in everything we have here, and this pack will treat you well when you offer your loyalty in return." Adel took a deep breath, then explained all of note that had taken place during the gathering, ending with the news that Alpha Miral might at that very moment be sending out his own scouts to hunt them down.
"That is why we are here," Kin announced, thumping his chest with a fist. "We honour the spirits and those who serve them, especially when they are so wise and fair." He gave golden-haired Lyucia a wink, and received a coy smile in response. "If the alpha sends his warriors into these lands, we shall defend them."
"A day will come when we have to rely on your strength," Adel said, "but Miral's pack outnumber us greatly. He will not be defeated by a handful of fighters, no matter how brave they prove to be. If we are to survive, we must be more cunning."
"In the eyes of the other packs, the den mother and her seers are witches," Caspian explained, quickly catching on to Adel's thread of thought. "They fear our clan's power and the wrath of the spirits. Miral may be bold enough to challenge us, but I saw his followers cowering along with the others the night Adel walked upon fire."
The den mother nodded. "It is our magic that must defeat him, not the brute strength of our pack. For many years Octavia has kept him and others at bay with tricks of her own. When I spoke with her she told me of the traps and false trails she had her warriors lay. She coaxes packs of wild beasts into the areas that surround her den, herding prey to lure them and leaving
fresh meat so that they stay. I believe we can use the same means to keep this valley protected."
"But Octavia was the one who betrayed you!" Lyucia said.
"Thanks to my own foolishness," Adel replied. "I should not have spoken a word about our den to her. But friend or foe, she has survived against packs greater than her own for many years. Her cunning is something we can learn from."
"It is not honourable, what that woman does," one of the young men objected. "We came here to fight for you, not hide and play tricks. With the power of your magic to bless us, we will each have the strength of a dozen warriors!"
Adel glared at him, letting the silence of her followers impress upon the young man the disrespect he had shown by speaking out of turn. "You will see the power of our magic in due time. My seers can mix remedies that will rob you of fear and leave your body free from pain. They will imbue you with sight of the spirit world and all the power that comes with it. But there will be a time for such magic, and that time is not yours to decide."
The man shifted uncomfortably, but the prospect of charging into battle with the powers of the spirits at his back seemed to placate him.
Once the tension had settled, Selo piped up with a suggestion of her own. "The bear that lives at the far end of the valley would scare away even the toughest of wolves. We have left scraps for him before when we return from hunting, to keep him far away from the den."
"Yes!" Fern added. "That bear could bring down many wolves if they happened upon him unawares."
Adel nodded. "Good. Then perhaps you can coax him to move somewhere where Miral's scouts might stumble upon him. And we must send out scouts of our own, too. If we are to stand any chance against his warriors, we need to know when they are coming."
"We will keep watch for you, Den Mother," Kin offered.
Adel shook her head. "I have no use for scouts who seek only to pick fights. Caspian and Fern will decide who goes and who stays."
"And what of the rest of us, Den Mother?" Netya said.
"To my witches," Adel smiled, "falls the task of weaving their magic."
All day long and well into the nights Adel's pack immersed themselves within their work, each sunrise bringing with it a plethora of tasks that seemed without end. More mouths to feed meant more regular hunting and foraging. Fresh seeds had to be sown and carefully tended in the hidden glade. The new arrivals required caves of their own to dwell in, along with clothing, tools, and other necessities that needed to be gathered or crafted. Adel apprenticed the four female newcomers to Yenna, Meadow, Ura, and Lyucia's mother for their training, while Pera and the young men, despite their willingness to fend for themselves, fell largely under Caspian's care.
When they were not out hunting or patrolling the nearby land, the younger seers spent much of their time working with Briar to create totems and talismans that would be imbued with the power of guardian spirits. They fashioned clean animal bones that had been collected over the previous months into all manner of designs, staining them with dye and binding them to wooden stakes that would be driven into the ground up and down the valley, or arranging them into designs that could be hung from the branches of trees. Netya was particularly unnerved when Briar showed her how to tie a string of bones together so that the slightest breeze would make them knock against one another, producing an eerie rattle that sounded like no natural noise she had ever heard. It certainly seemed an effective way of warning off those who strayed where they were not welcome.
Before long the grisly wards decorated both ends of the valley, the sightless skulls of birds keeping watch from the trees while more powerful beasts guarded the ground below. The skull of the stag Kin and his brothers had killed took pride of place upon a cairn of rocks in the valley's centre, its ivory scalp painted with streaks of red and its great antlers adorned with tufts of shaggy grass. Adel even showed Netya how to set slow-burning coals within its eyes one night, transforming the totem into the terrifying guise of a demon that haunted the girl long into her dreams. It reminded her of the skulls her people had arrayed upon the stone barrier guarding their farmlands as a warning to their enemies. Those skulls had implied a threat, but these ones were subtly more unsettling. Any warrior clan could display the bones of their defeated enemies as a show of power, but who would do the same with the remains of animals, woven and decorated in such intricate ways? It spoke not of a threat, but a secret power. An understanding of the spirits that only seers held.
The ritual herbs that Adel had brought back from the gathering were heavily rationed until more could be grown, but in their absence Lyucia, perhaps a little foolishly, had discovered that a prominent weed growing in abundance up and down the valley could also be used to induce visions of the spirit world when it was burned and the smoke inhaled. The plant was not exceptionally strong, and its effects fogged the mind and produced sickly feelings long after any visions had faded, but it was a useful substitute for the seers, and before long many of them were using it to seek counsel with the spirits. There were such vast quantities of the plant littering the valley slopes that their supply seemed limitless, and Netya doubted they could have harvested it all even if they tried.
Most of the more valuable herbs the clan now possessed were used to help teach the four new apprentices how to identify all the different plants they would need to recognise as seers. Netya recalled her own exhausting hours of memorising different types of leaves, roots, bulbs, petals, and stalks under Adel's harsh tutelage, and she did not envy the other apprentices' nightly sessions with their mentors outside the den mother's cave.
Her respite from training was not to last long, however. Though she was considerably more versed than the other young girls, Adel was quick to remind her that she still had much to learn if she was to become a fully fledged seer. Most of Netya's training since they left Khelt's pack had been derived from watching and being mindful of the other women, but the time had come for her to begin learning in earnest once more.
The evenings spent in Adel's cave were just as exhausting as she remembered, keeping her up long into the night and leaving her too exhausted to do anything but pass out next to Caspian when she finally returned to their small abode. She learned more of communing with the spirits and refining her knowledge of plants, but most of her instruction focused on treating wounds and learning how to mix herbs into powerful remedies. The skills that would be most useful if Miral discovered their den, Netya reflected.
Adel was as strict a teacher as always, demanding tireless attention to detail and studious focus on the tasks at hand, but she was not without kindness this time. One morning when the fumes of the spirit herbs they were burning made Netya intensely sick, the den mother settled her apprentice's head in her lap with a bowl to vomit into, stroking her hair soothingly as she told a tale of a courageous fish spirit who made the rivers rise to carry away a wicked shaman who was turning the waters of the land to ice. For a time it almost felt as though she was back at the house she had grown up in, being soothed to sleep by the familiar touch of a parent. She sensed a deep kindness in her mentor during those moments. A longing to love, and be loved in return. But she could not reach out to Adel without the woman becoming cold and withdrawn again. The softest touch or the beginnings of an embrace turned her skin to stone, and her shell closed to seal away the kindly woman behind a sheen of ice. So Netya resigned herself to enjoy their moments of intimacy together without ever pushing for more. Perhaps it was enough that Adel was at least allowing the softer side of herself to the surface. Maybe women like her could never truly allow their hearts to guide them.
When she was working outside or enjoying one of her brief moments of rest, Netya often found herself watching Caspian as he instructed the other men, training them to use their minds just as much as their bodies. It was difficult for the newcomers to adapt after having relied on themselves for so long, and many a disagreement broke out, often over even the mildest of things. The males were itching for conflict, and as Netya found h
erself tending yet another gash on the brow of a man whose hunting partner had disagreed with him on how best to use a skinning knife, she began to realise why no other packs had been willing to take the group in. But for better or worse, they were all part of the same clan now. To Caspian's credit he never allowed himself to be pulled into the disputes of any of his charges, maintaining the air of detachment that set him apart and reinforced his position as alpha in their eyes.
"Why do you let them fight?" Netya asked him one morning as she broke her fast with strips of dried venison and a cup of medicinal tea sweetened with stewed berries. She was feeling out of sorts that day, tense and uncomfortable within her own clothing, and the whiff of spirit herbs creeping over from someone else's fire was already making her mildly nauseous. The dream of the blue world had visited her again before she woke, and it was likely to blame for her unsettled mood.
"I'd rather have them fight where I can keep an eye on them," Caspian explained. "I still worry what will happen if they stumble across one of Miral's scouts out there. A dead wolf within our territory will only make things worse for us."
"Khelt would have been more assertive with them. They might not dare step out of line if they fear being punished for it."
"You recall how well that ended with Vaya?" He gave her a wry smile. "Khelt's way was not wrong, but I think it would do us more harm than good right now. What we need from Kin and his brothers is loyalty, not fear. Expecting them to change too much too quickly will only drive them away."
