Nik thought of the secrets his father had shared with him and nodded slowly. “I did know him well, probably better than anyone except my mother, and she’s been dead for years.”
“Well, then the answer should be simple. What would your father say about you being Sun Priest for a new Tribe?”
“New Tribe?” Nik said.
“Yeah,” Davis said. “The old Tribe of the Trees died in the fire, Nik. If it was still home for us—if it was how we really wanted to keep living—I don’t think either of us would have left today. So, we’re a new Tribe. A small one, but still. A Tribe. Will you be my Sun Priest?”
Mari watched emotions flicker over Nik’s face. She could see that he was upset, maybe even frightened, but she could also see another, stronger emotion begin to overshadow the negative ones. She recognized it as hope and was glad, so glad, to see it light his wise, handsome face. He looked expectantly at her.
“I didn’t know Sol long, but I’m almost positive I know what he’d say you should do,” she said.
“Mari, Sun Priest is more than just a title. It’s a life’s work, and a life’s calling,” he said.
Mari nodded somberly. “You’re speaking to Moon Woman for Clan Weaver. I understand about being reluctant to take up your life’s calling, but sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith and then do your best.”
“Hell, Nik, someone has to do it, don’t they?” Antreas said.
“You’re right, Antreas. And that someone is me.” He locked eyes with Davis. “You know what this means, don’t you? What we must do if we are truly starting a new Tribe.”
Davis nodded slowly. “We’ll have to go back for at least one of them.”
“Not we,” Nik said firmly. “Only me. Davis, you have to agree not to follow me—not to try to help me in any way. If I fail—”
“You won’t fail!” Davis said.
“I don’t understand,” Mari said. “Nik, what do you have to go back for?”
“A Mother Plant. We can’t begin a new Tribe without one, not if we want our children and our children’s children to be strong and healthy and filled with sunfire.” Mari began to speak, but Nik interrupted. “Mari, this is one thing I won’t, can’t, compromise on.”
Mari had no idea why the Mother Plant was so important to Nik, but she understood that her father, too, had taken fronds from this magickal fern and that her mother had told her stories about swaddling her in the plant when she was an infant. “All ferns thrive when planted by Earth Walkers. If you get the fern, I’ll be sure it thrives wherever we decide to plant it.”
“Thank you, Mari.” He pulled her into a grateful hug; then he stepped to a spot in the path that was like a mini-clearing. “Laru, to me!” Nik called, and Laru, who had been lying in a bed of moss not far from the trail with Rigel, instantly went to his Companion’s side.
“Cammy, here!” Davis called, and the little blond Terrier, who had been rooting around in a clump of ferns down the trail, sprinted to him.
Davis crouched beside his Terrier, taking his face between his hands and looking into his bright eyes, sharing an unspoken message with the little canine. Then, side by side, the two of them approached Nik and Laru, who stood tall and silent, waiting.
Davis stopped directly in front of Nik. Cameron stopped directly in front of Laru.
“I swear my loyalty to you, Nikolas, son of Sol, Sun Priest of the Tribe of the…” Davis’s voice trailed off and he looked up at Nik questioningly.
“Not Tribe,” Nik said. “Let’s start something completely new. With Mari’s blessing, I say we should call ourselves a Pack.”
“Pack? I like it! It’s a good name,” Mari said.
“Then Pack it is,” Nik said.
“So be it.” Davis continued, “I swear my loyalty to Nikolas, son of Sol, Sun Priest of his Pack. Hereafter, until you no longer have the strength or will to hold the title, you will be my Alpha.” Then Davis leaned forward, twisting his body so that his neck was bared to Nik. Little Cameron watched his Companion and then rolled on his back before Laru, baring his neck and showing his vulnerable belly. Laru sniffed at him and then licked the little Terrier’s muzzle as Cammy wagged his tail, huffing joyously.
“I accept your oath, Davis. And I will protect you with my life,” Nik said, touching his friend’s neck gently and then bowing his head to the Hunter.
“Good. Is that done?” Antreas said. “It’s getting darker every second.”
Nik met Mari’s eyes and said to Davis, “Davis, as your Sun Priest I ask that you swear you will not ever give away the location of Mari’s burrow.”
“You have my word, Sun Priest,” Davis said.
“Mari?” Nik asked.
“That’s good enough for me. Rigel! Lead us home!”
CHAPTER 10
“Hunters! I need you and your Terriers to search for survivors while you put out any hot spots still smoldering. Grab a shovel each and be sure your Companions have their feet wrapped tightly in strips of the thick hide I salvaged from the tanning platform. Even though the rain is helping a lot with drenching the forest, much of the area is still dangerous for paws.” Wilkes faced the group of Hunters who had gathered with the Warriors for instructions.
“Warriors! While the Hunters are searching out survivors within the confines of the city I need half of you to go to the meditation platform and get it set up as an infirmary. Gather all of the Healers you can find, as well as all of the infirmary supplies,” Wilkes continued.
“The infirmary burned to the ground,” said a young Warrior named Renard. He’d been the first Tribesman made Companion when Laru’s last litter had begun to choose. Wilkes thought he looked a little wide-eyed and his young Shepherd, Wolf, seemed unable to leave his leg, but the two had worked well that terrible day and Wilkes was sure they would continue to do so.
“Are you certain, Renard?” Wilkes asked.
“Positive. I saw it happen. There were…” He paused and had to clear his throat and wipe his eyes before he continued. “There were people trapped in the infirmary when the trees and the platform caught fire. It’s not something I’ll ever forget.”
Wilkes passed a weary hand over his face. “Okay. Well then, Warriors, let’s see what we can do about medicine and supplies for a temporary infirmary. And I won’t believe all of the Healers perished. Let’s find them. Maybe they got outside the city before it was too late. The rest of you assess how many nests are usable for tonight. Hang tarp over sections of platform that are safe. People can shelter there for right now. Find as many Carpenters you can and get them started on making temporary shelters—especially something that can be used as a kitchen. Any questions?” When no one spoke, he said, “All right then, let’s get moving. We have about an hour until sunset.”
Wilkes hurried away with the group of Warriors and Shepherds, and Thaddeus watched him leave with undisguised dislike, the thought that was never far from him echoing around and around his mind: Why does he get to give the orders just because his Companion is a Shepherd? I’m smarter and stronger. I should be Leader, and not just of the Hunters.
Odysseus whined pitifully, breaking into Thaddeus’s thoughts. He crouched beside his Companion. “I know it hurts. I’m sorry that bitch caused me to drop my dagger. Hang in there a little bit longer, and then you can rest,” Thaddeus told Odysseus as he retied the bloodstained bandage wrapped around the little Terrier’s flank.
“Thaddeus! Where is Latrell?” Thaddeus turned to see a young Hunter named Sean staggering up to him from the smoldering forest. He looked rough—red and singed where he wasn’t covered with black soot. He was carrying his Terrier, Kitto, whose paws were painfully burned.
“I haven’t seen him for hours.” Thaddeus stood, facing Sean, then added silently, And I hope that pain in my ass won’t ever be seen again. “What is it, Sean? What do you need?”
“When Kitto got burned I was with Latrell on the west edge of the city. He told me to carry him and try to make it to t
he Channel, so that’s what I did. But on the way there the fire shifted and cut us off.”
“Yeah, it’s been shifting all day. Go to the meditation platform. They’re setting up an infirmary there. They can see to you and your Kitto.”
“I will, but that’s not why I was looking for Latrell.” Sean lowered his voice and stepped closer to Thaddeus, obviously not wanting anyone else to hear. “It’s the Council. I—I think they might be dead.”
Thaddeus felt a rush of excitement, which he covered by cloaking his reaction with concern. He pulled Sean by the elbow, guiding him away from the Hunters. “Tell me what you know quickly. Keep your voice down.”
“Cyril called for the Council to evacuate the city and get to the Channel. I know because they were right ahead of me when the fire shifted. Thaddeus, a tree exploded. It set another afire, and then another. It happened insanely fast. One moment there was the wide, clear path to the Channel. The next there was a wall of fire. It cut me off from them, and all I could do was run as they screamed and screamed.” Sean bowed his head, pressing it into his Terrier’s soft neck, and while the little canine whined pitifully in sympathy his Companion sobbed.
Thaddeus pulled the crying man farther away from the others. “Are you sure the entire Council was trapped?”
“They were all there—all twelve of them and their canines.” Sean shook his head. “All those Shepherds—all those Elders. It’s—it’s just too terrible.”
“Where were you? Which trail?”
“The west one—the wider of the two that crosses that little stream. We were only about ten minutes outside the city.”
“All right. You did well telling me. Now go to the meditation platform and get Kitto tended to. I’ll follow the path. Maybe some of them survived. But don’t tell anyone about this until I know for sure what happened to the Council. There’s no point in adding panic to the chaos of today.”
“I pray to the Sun that they survived, but Thaddeus, I don’t know how any of them could have made it out of that blaze,” Sean said.
Thaddeus said nothing. He just nodded concernedly and gestured in the direction of the mediation platform. Sean staggered away, clutching his Terrier and sobbing softly. Then Thaddeus glanced down at Odysseus. Even wounded, the attentive Terrier was watching him closely. “That’s right. We’re going to do a little hunting of our own. Come here, boy.” Odysseus limped to his Companion. Thaddeus lifted him, settling the small Terrier in his arms before they disappeared into the forest.
It didn’t take Thaddeus and Odysseus long to find the Council members—or, rather, what was left of them. A tree had fallen across the path, which was what probably saved Sean’s life—cutting him off from the Council as the blaze spread toward the Council members, rather than toward Sean.
It was impossible for Thaddeus to tell the bodies apart. They had died piled together—humans and canines almost as one. Even with the still-falling rain, that part of the forest was too hot to trek through—and he certainly wasn’t going to put Odysseus at risk by sending him into that smoking mess of rubble and flesh to try to count bodies, even had the Terrier not been wounded. Instead, Thaddeus studied the area, looking for a way anyone could have broken through the blaze and escaped.
“I think they’re all gone, Odysseus.” Thaddeus gently put his Companion beside him on the trail. He crouched down, scratching Odysseus’s black ears. “And I’d say that leaves quite a gap in the ruling Council, as in no swarm-be-damned Council at all. Seems it’s time for a new Council—like I’ve been saying. One that’s not monopolized by Shepherds and their Leader Companions.” Odysseus wagged his tail so hard the whole rear of his little body was wriggling, which caused the canine to whine in pain. Thaddeus laughed. “Hey, be careful. You’re going to start bleeding again. Come on, boy. I’ll carry you back and see what kind of rabbit stew I can find for us.” Thaddeus had just begun to turn toward the trail to return to the city when a weak voice drifted to him.
“Help! Help me. I’m here. I’m alive!”
Thaddeus peered around. “Who is it?”
“It’s Cyril! I’m here!”
“Where? I don’t see you!”
Odysseus began to squirm in Thaddeus’s arms, so that he had to put the canine down. The Terrier yipped and began to limp to the right of the path, leaving it, and standing, three-legged, at the edge of a sheer slope that bottomed out into a ditch almost filled with rainwater and burned debris, where he barked an alert.
Thaddeus rushed to him, stopping in shock when he realized what he’d thought was a charred log moved, rolled over, and opened his eyes.
“Sunfire! It is you!” Thaddeus didn’t think. He started down the slope, moving as quickly and confidently as a Terrier—inhumanly quickly and confidently. He came to a rest beside the old man. “Where’s Argos?”
“Sent him to get help. How—how did you get down here so easily? It’s almost completely vertical.” Cyril was blinking his vision clear and staring at Thaddeus with a strange expression.
Thaddeus shrugged. “Hunters are good at getting in and out of tough places. Lucky for you, right? How bad are you hurt?”
“Don’t know. I feel wrong inside. It’s why we weren’t with the others. My chest and my arm—they were hurting. Badly. I was having trouble catching my breath, so Argos and I stopped to rest. The others went on. The—the others, they screamed. I can still hear them screaming. Why am I alive? I should have died with them.”
“They’re past pain now.…” Thaddeus paused and then added, “Was that the whole Council?”
Cyril nodded weakly.
“Any chance any of them got out like you did?”
A shudder passed through the old man’s body and he closed his eyes. “No. No one could have lived through that.”
“Okay, let’s get you back. We’re going to need you to head up a new Council. Without you in charge shit happens like Wilkes allows Nik and his Scratcher whore to go free, when they’re responsible for all of this. We need to make sure they pay for what they’ve done.”
The old man’s eyes opened and he shook his head sadly. “No, Thaddeus, this isn’t Nik and that girl’s fault. It’s ours. I’ve been lying here, thinking about many things, especially about what happened last night. I was wrong—we were wrong. The Farm was our fault. Because of us, our Sun Priest, a good and honorable man, is dead. The Council is dead.” He closed his eyes again, as if they weighed too much to keep open. Tears tracked down Cyril’s wrinkled cheeks. “I should have been with them. I should have died, too.”
“Hey, you’re not thinking straight. After you’ve rested you’ll be yourself again.”
“I am thinking straight—maybe for the first time in years. I see that I’ve been wrong, and I’m ready to admit it. The first thing I need to admit to the Tribe is that the girl, Mari, is the daughter of a Companion who was one of our finest Warriors.”
“What are you talking about? Are you sure you didn’t hit your head?” Thaddeus tried to inspect the old man’s head, but Cyril weakly swatted his hands away.
“I didn’t hit my head. I told you—I’m finally thinking clearly. Mari was Galen’s daughter. I know because I ordered his death for stealing fronds of the Mother Plant for her when she was an infant. Sol was the Warrior who carried out the death sentence.”
Thaddeus’s brows shot up his forehead. “The mighty Sol actually killed a Companion, and that Companion was the Scratcher bitch’s father? Bet if she knew that she’d feel different about her precious Nik.”
The old man stared at him, his green eyes piercing Thaddeus’s soul. He wanted to look away and then reminded himself that there was no damn reason he should look away from Cyril. What was he, really, except a weak, sick old man?
“You’ve changed,” Cyril said.
Everything inside Thaddeus went very still. “What do you mean?”
Instead of answering, Cyril asked a question of his own. “What really happened to you when you were captured by the Skin Stealer
s?”
“I already told you.”
Cyril grimaced against the pain as he forced himself to a sitting position, clutching his left arm to his side. “No. I don’t think you did tell me everything. You’ve been different since you returned.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Of course you do.” With a shaking hand Cyril wiped rain, sweat, and tears from his face, and then he sat up straighter, as if he’d found his second wind. “I’m Lead Elder, not a doddering fool. I watch everything—everyone. I watch you. I watched you carefully after your abduction. What I’ve observed has me concerned.”
Thaddeus saw the truth in the old man’s sharp gaze and made his decision instantly.
“I have changed. I’m better, stronger, faster, smarter.”
“What did they do to you?” Cyril asked.
Thaddeus smiled, happy to finally be able to share the truth with someone. “They took Odysseus’s flesh and joined it with mine.”
The old man’s eyes widened in horror. “But they only do that to themselves—only with human flesh—and only because they’re all infected with a rotting disease.”
“Well, that’s the thing.” Thaddeus crouched next to Cyril. “Before I went on that foraging trip, my skin had begun to crack and slough.” He shrugged. “Don’t know why, but it had to have something to do with that diseased stag we found.”
“The one you destroyed, but not before his blood spattered your face and body?”
Thaddeus ignored the disgust in Cyril’s voice and continued. “Yes! Exactly! I think it infected me and got me ready for Odysseus’s flesh.”
“Sunfire! You’ve been tainted by the Skin Stealers’ disease. Thaddeus, we have to get you to the Healers. Maybe they can cure you.”
Thaddeus laughed. “Cure me? Why would I want that?” He held out his arms, flexing them. “Odysseus’s flesh has made me better.”
“The disease and his flesh have made you ill. No wonder you were so angry at the Farm. You need help, Thaddeus.”