“But Sora wouldn’t leave you alone,” Nik said.
Mari gave him a sardonic look. “And neither would you. Sora and Nik and Rigel brought me back to life, back to my duties as Moon Woman and Healer of Clan Weaver. Still, the damage has been done. The males are mad with Night Fever, and I don’t know if Washing them will fully relieve their pain and anger and let them come back to themselves.”
“And if they do come back to themselves, how will they be able to live with the things they’ve done?” Danita said.
Mari nodded sadly. “Exactly.”
“That could be why those males attacked us at that deer carcass,” Davis said to Nik. “Does Mari know about that?”
“No, I haven’t had a chance to tell her,” Nik said.
“What is it?” Mari asked.
“It’s how O’Bryan was wounded and got the blight. It was before I went on the foraging mission to Port City—before you found me injured by the Skin Stealers. Davis, O’Bryan, and I were searching for Rigel, and we came upon a slain deer—wasted and hanging to rot.”
“You mean the whole carcass? Someone killed a deer and just left it?” Mari asked incredulously.
“Yeah, and even more bizarre, Earth Walker males were there, waiting, as if they’d set a trap for us,” Nik said.
“But that doesn’t happen. Our males have never trapped Companions, and they definitely wouldn’t waste a deer kill,” Jenna said.
“And yet that’s what happened,” Nik said.
“Yeah, it was bad,” Davis added.
“You’re sure they were Earth Walker males and not Skin Stealers from Port City?” Mari asked.
“Absolutely sure,” Nik said.
“I second that,” Davis said. “I was there. It was a close thing for a while. We almost didn’t escape their trap.”
“Our males are doing things they’ve never done before,” Danita said in a small, frightened voice.
“She’s right,” Jenna said. “Even on a Third Night, our Clansmen can be reasoned with—at least long enough for them to be Washed.”
“They have to be stopped,” Danita said.
“They will be,” Mari said, and then silently added, Either by Washing or by death—they will be stopped.
“What you’re saying is that you want us to watch the perimeter, and I’m assuming to not kill any Earth Walker males who breech it, but to let them through so you can Wash them,” Nik said.
“Yes. That’s what I’m saying. But Nik, I’m also saying keep your crossbow close and ready. Davis, Antreas, be ready, too. I’ll Wash the males, but if it doesn’t work—or if they are too violent to be helped—shoot them. I won’t have anyone else hurt,” Mari said.
“Understood,” Nik said. Davis and Antreas nodded grimly.
“I’m sorry. I know this is my fault. I should have found the males after Mama was killed. I should have cared more about the Clan than my sadness,” Mari said to Jenna and Danita. The two girls shared a long look before Jenna spoke for them both.
“Leda was your whole world, Mari. Of course you mourned; you’re still mourning. And there was a lot the Clan didn’t know back then—a lot that would have been impossible to explain to Night Fever–crazed males. But everything is different now. We understand what you’ve been hiding and why.”
Danita nodded in agreement. “Now you’re our Moon Woman. We follow you. Always.”
Mari felt the weight of their trust as a great pressure around her heart. It warmed her, but it also frightened her. What if I mess up? What if I make the wrong decision and hurt the Clan even more than it’s already been hurt by me?
And then, drifting down the twisting path before them, the lovely sounds of women’s voices raised in joyous song carried through the night.
“Oh! They’re singing!” Jenna said, clapping her hands together in happiness.
“It’s the Clanswomen! Sora must have already Washed them.” Danita cocked her head, listening carefully. Then her face broke into a delighted grin. “It’s a Beltane melody!”
“Beltane? Is it really Beltane so soon? Great Goddess, I’ve totally lost track of time,” Mari said.
“Sora remembered!” Danita jumped to her feet, obviously eager to run ahead, but she paused and turned to Mari. “Mari, do you think I can join the Clan instead of staying inside the burrow?”
“If you feel up to it, of course you may,” Mari said. “Sora’s already Washed the Clan, so if any males have come to the Gathering you should be safe, but Danita, you have to realize there might be Clansmen there.”
Danita ducked her head and spoke to her feet. “The ones who attacked me?”
“Maybe,” Mari said.
Danita lifted her head. “I won’t let what they did to me rule the rest of my life. I want to join the Beltane celebration, just like I would have before.” Her hand stroked Bast, and she spoke directly to the big feline. “Bast, will you please come to me after Mari introduces you and Antreas to the Clan?”
Bast made her strange coughing-bark and rubbed against Danita’s legs, purring like a humming wasp nest.
“That’s a yes,” Antreas said.
Danita sent him an annoyed look. “I know. You’re not the only one who can understand her.”
“What’s happening?” Nik asked.
The weight that had been settling around Mari’s heart shifted, lifted, if only a little. “It’s the Clan. They’re rejoicing in Beltane, and the girls are excited to join them.”
“Beltane? What’s that?” Antreas asked.
“It’s fun! That’s what it is!” Danita shot back over her shoulder at him from where she and Jenna were already straining to run ahead to the Gathering.
“It’s one of our seasonal celebrations,” Mari explained as they headed around the path and then came to the wide stones that had been placed generations ago to form stairs leading up to the birthing burrow. “Beltane is a fertility celebration—fertility for the crops we’ve planted, and fertility for the Clan. There are always lots of babies born in late February and early March—conceived during a Beltane celebration.” She felt Nik’s gaze on her, which had her stomach fluttering like it did when he held her hand. “It’s halfway between Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice, and Clan Weaver always celebrates with a Gathering, good food, and all-night dancing and singing.”
“And spring mead! We celebrate with that, too!” Jenna said.
“Yeah, we sure do. I wonder if Sora managed to unearth any?” Mari’s mouth watered at the thought of the drink that fermented all winter in carved oak barrels Clanswomen buried to unearth, rich and strong and sweet, in the spring.
“Oh, I hope so!” Jenna jumped up and down in excitement. “Come on, Mari!”
“You two go ahead and join the Clan, but Bast needs to stay with us until I make introductions. And put those baskets of supplies by the burrow.” As Jenna and Danita darted ahead, splashing through the stream that wound around the burrow, Mari told the three men, “Remember what I said about watching for Clansmen. They are dangerous—very dangerous.”
“Understood,” Nik said. “Though it won’t endear us to your Clan if we show up and have to start fighting their males.”
“I think it’d be more endearing than standing by and watching a bunch of males crazed with Night Fever brutalize Clanswomen,” Mari said.
“Good point,” Davis said. “And I hope there’s mead, too.”
“Let’s go see,” Mari said.
“After you, Moon Woman,” Antreas said as his Lynx meowed pitifully and stared after Danita.
“Hey, cat man,” Davis teased good-naturedly. “Aren’t you afraid of losing Bast to that girl?”
“No. Losing her to Danita isn’t what I’m afraid of,” the Lynx man muttered so softly that Mari was pretty sure she was the only one who heard him.
CHAPTER 14
Nik, Davis, Antreas, and their Companions followed closely behind as Mari climbed the wide stone stairs to the birthing burrow. She was glad to see that the d
oor to the burrow had been repaired. Before it, Danita and Jenna had placed their laden baskets of aloe, salves, and the supplies Mari had carefully chosen. Mari added her basket of fresh-baked bread to the group and then followed the familiar path that circled around the large burrow, leading to the clearing where the stream widened so that it provided water for the thriving herb and vegetable gardens that surrounded it. From the vantage point of the burrow, Mari paused while the men and their Companions joined her. She looked down at the impromptu Gathering and a wave of homesickness for her mama washed through her.
Mama should be here. She should be leading the rebuilding of the Clan, and the Beltane Gathering.
But her mama was dead, and it was up to Mari and Sora to pick up the broken pieces of the Clan and put them back together.
Maybe we can put the pieces back together to form a newer, better, happier Clan … one that calls itself a Pack!
Below in the clearing bisected by the nourishing stream, Sora had assembled what was left of the Clan and, bizarrely, the refugees from the Tribe of the Trees. As the Clanswomen raised their voices in harmonious sound that mixed beautifully with drums and flutes—not yet making any distinguishable words but instead creating a magical blending of melody and music, Mari saw that the two wounded girls, Sarah and Lydia, were reclining on pallets, with Rose sitting beside them. Fala and her pups slept nearby. Mari searched quickly for O’Bryan and Sheena. The female Companion was easy to find, as her big Shepherd was a fixture by her side. Mari saw that she was carrying a torch and holding a long, dangerous-looking knife as she walked the perimeter campfires set up in a rough circle around the site, her sharp eyes focused outside the circle of light at the dark, quiet forest. Then Mari noticed O’Bryan was doing the same thing—minus a Shepherd Companion, of course. He carried a torch and Mari saw firelight glint off the equally dangerous-looking knife he carried.
“Wow, looks like a party’s going on down there,” Nik said.
“They’re drinking something. Do you think it’s mead?” Davis asked.
Before Mari could say she hoped so, the tempo of the wordless song changed, became more rhythmic, more familiar. Mari’s breath hitched, and Sora stepped to the middle of the circle, standing before the center bonfire. Mari thought she truly looked the part of a Moon Woman. Her skin still glistened with the silver sheen that lingered after she’d Washed the Clan, making her appear as if she was a fairy come alive from one of her mama’s ancient stories. Sora’s thick, dark hair fell loose, reaching to the curve of her supple waist. She’d braided parts of it with flowers and feathers and vines, shells and beads. She was wearing a tunic top that was undecorated except for simple embroidery, but it was all she was wearing and her naked legs and feet were lovely and drew attention to the graceful way she moved.
Sora raised her arms, as if to embrace the night, and the music went silent. Then, in a clear, strong voice, she called, “Some would say we haven’t much to celebrate, but I disagree. We have the return of our Clanswomen, many of whom haven’t taken a free breath for years. We have made new friends, opening our burrows and our Clan to aid them. Some Clanswomen who have chosen to go their own way—the old way—say that we should reject all Companions and let them live or die by their own means. I thought like that before—before your other Moon Woman, Mari, showed me a different way. A way filled with compassion and understanding, like the Great Earth Mother herself. Aren’t we all, at one time or another in our lives, refugees—whether from our families, who may want us to choose a different path than we desire to walk, or from a discarded mate who disappoints us, or even from a new Clan, if our life skills take us to live in a stranger’s burrow?”
The Clanswomen murmured agreement, several of them nodding their heads.
“And now two Companions walk the perimeter of our Gathering, watching for danger, keeping us safe.”
More murmuring came from the Clanswomen, and Mari was pleased to note that they seemed to be in accord with Sora.
From beside her, Antreas said, “Who is that woman?”
“That’s Sora—the other Moon Woman Mari talks about,” Nik answered for her.
“She’s magnificent,” Antreas said.
Mari gave him a sharp look. A quick movement from the corner of her eye had her noticing that Bast was doing the same. Then Mari’s attention was pulled back to the scene below them as Jenna and Danita joined the Gathering. They rushed to Sora, bowing respectfully before her. When they finished greeting her, they whispered excitedly to the Moon Woman, pointing to where Mari stood, surrounded by Companions and their life-bonded animals.
Mari held her breath. As one, the Clan turned to stare up at her.
Mari’s first desire was to duck and hide. She’d spent her life keeping the secret of who she truly was, and that was a hard habit to break, even though all of the Clan gathered below already knew the secret. But their eyes felt hard and judgmental—as if Mari hadn’t just been stripped of the physical disguise that had kept her identity secret, her matted, dyed hair, her dirtied skin, her thickened features—but she’d also been stripped of her emotional defenses and was standing there alone and naked before them all.
Then Rigel’s warm body pressed against her side. He was staring up at her with a doggy grin, wagging his tail and beaming such love and pride for her that the frantic thoughts that were creating negative stories within her imagination began to quiet.
“Mari! Moon Woman, join us!” Sora called joyously.
“It’s Mari! Mari’s back!” Mari recognized Isabel’s voice, and then several other women took up the call.
“Your people want you, Moon Woman. Lead, and we will follow,” Nik said, bowing low and respectfully to her—and in full view of the Clan. Davis and Antreas did the same, and Mari was shocked and amused to see Rigel, Laru, and even Bast bow their heads and take to their knees before her.
Mari lifted her chin and breathed a small, silent, heartfelt prayer to her mother: Mama, help me be the Moon Woman you always believed I could be. And then, with Rigel walking proudly at her side and Nik and Laru, Davis and Cammy, Antreas and Bast flanking her, Mari joined the first Gathering she had ever attended as her true self.
She stopped in front of Sora and began the traditional greeting to a Moon Woman, head bowed, arms spread low, palms up and open, but Sora caught her in a hug, saying, “I’m so glad you’re back! I was worried when the sun set. Goddess, I hate to think about what could be crawling out there tonight.”
Mari hugged her friend back, struggling to contain her emotions. There was no jealousy in Sora’s expression or her voice, only honest concern and relief. How much we’ve changed! Mari thought. Just a few weeks ago I thought Sora was a selfish bitch and she thought I was a sickly, good-for-nothing brat. And now I wouldn’t want to even imagine my life without her as my friend.
Mari gave Sora one more squeeze, then turned to stand beside her friend and fellow Moon Woman, facing Nik, the Companions, and her Clan.
“Blessed Beltane!” she said, hearing the echo of her mother’s voice in her own as the answering call from the Clan lifted around them in the circle.
“Beltane Blessings to you, Moon Woman!”
“I want to introduce my friends to you. This is Nik, and his Companion, the Shepherd Laru, who is my Rigel’s sire.” Nik dipped his head to the gathered Clan and Laru looked dignified, even as he eyed the Gathered Clan with curiosity. “This is Davis, and his Companion, the Terrier Cameron.” Davis was nodding to the Clan as Nik had when Cameron yipped and jumped against Mari’s leg, making her laugh and add, “Well, his name is Cameron, but everyone calls him Cammy.”
“Unless he’s in trouble; then I call him Cam-er-on!” Davis added, emphasizing the three syllables, which made a few Clanswomen standing closest to them laugh and then cover their mouths as if they were shocked a Companion would make a joke.
“And this is Antreas. He isn’t part of the Tribe of the Trees. He’s from the mountains far east of here. His Companion is the L
ynx Bast.”
Antreas waved at the Clan while Bast padded the few feet to Danita to sit beside the girl and groom herself.
Antreas gave an exaggerated sigh. “It seems one of your Clan has already won over my Lynx. Does that make me an honorary member?” He slanted a look at Mari.
“Almost,” Mari said, laughing as Danita stroked the feline attached to her side.
“Mari, what is the news from the Tribe of the Trees?”
Mari searched the crowd until she found the bright-eyed questioner. “Hello, Isabel. It’s good to see you again.”
“And you, Moon Woman. You have been to the City in the Trees, haven’t you? Is it still on fire?”
Mari noted that Isabel was sitting near Rose and Fala’s puppies. She glanced at the pile of pups and sent a silent thanks to the Great Goddess. If you orchestrated this, it was brilliant. There’s not much that touches the heart of a Clanswoman more than a baby—be it Earth Walker or animal. She also noted that Sheena, Captain, and O’Bryan had moved closer and, along with Rose, Sarah, and Lydia, were waiting expectantly for her answers.
“I have been to the City in the Trees, and the forest fire has been stopped,” she said.
There were sounds of relief from Sheena and O’Bryan, as well as Rose, Sarah, and Lydia. The Clan was very silent.
“But I think it appropriate that the new Sun Priest answer any other questions about the Tribe.” Mari nodded to Nik, motioning for him to join her in the center of the circle.
Looking grim, Nik faced the small group of Companions. “First, you should know that my father is dead.”
Mari watched the reactions of the Companions closely. O’Bryan and Sheena, of course, already knew, but none of the rest of them did. Sarah and Lydia began crying softly, hugging each other for comfort. Fala crawled onto Rose’s lap, nuzzling her—though the woman was too shocked to comfort her Companion.