Moon Chosen

by P. C. Cast

  Mari frowned down at Sora, but didn’t say anything because Danita had stopped sobbing and was gazing up at her with big, frightened eyes.

  “I—I remember,” Danita said, her voice trembling.

  “Well, when her hair’s clean, it’s a strange color.” Sora caught Mari’s frown and hastily added, “Not strange. I didn’t mean strange. I meant different—and different isn’t anything for you to be afraid of, right?”

  “Right,” Danita said tentatively, studying Mari.

  “Hi, Danita. See, it’s just me. How about you come out of the pantry and tell us what happened?” Mari said gently.

  Danita met Mari’s gaze. “I don’t think I can.” Her gray eyes were awash with tears that were leaking down her cheeks. It was then that Mari noticed the blood that spotted her tunic along with the tracks of her tears.

  “Danita, honey, are you hurt?” Mari asked.

  The girl’s face crumbled and she nodded. “They hurt me.”

  “They?” Sora said.

  “Clansmen,” Danita whispered the word, and then she hugged her legs to her chest and began to rock back and forth. As she rocked Mari got a glimpse of the girl’s naked thighs. They were purpled with bruises and smeared with dried blood.

  “Danita, are the Clansmen still here?” Mari asked quickly.

  “No. I haven’t seen them for days. No one is here.”

  “We’re here now,” Sora said, stroking her shoulder. “We’ll take care of you.”

  “Sora and I are going to fix a pallet for you and get a fire burning in the hearth.” Mari uncorked her water skin and held it out to Danita. “Why don’t you drink some water and wait here while we do that.”

  Danita’s hand was dirty and it shook badly, but she took the water and began to gulp it. Mari motioned for Sora to follow her back to the main room.

  “I think she’s been raped,” Mari whispered as soon as they were out of Danita’s range of hearing.

  “What!”

  “There are blood and bruises all over her thighs.” Mari started going through the medicine pack she’d brought. “Can you get that fire going? I need boiling water.”

  “Yes, of course.” Sora rushed to the hearth.

  “I’m not going to try to put a bedframe together. I’ll just pile up these pelts and blankets, and make a quick pallet. Sora, I couldn’t tell if she’s still bleeding.”

  Sora looked over her shoulder at Mari. “You can do this. You can help her.”

  Mari nodded and finished making the pallet. Then she gave Sora a small bundle of herbs. “Brew this for her. Damnit! I didn’t bring hardly any medicines with us. That pantry is usually filled with them. All I brought are things for nerves and melancholy.”

  “What is this?” Sora sniffed the herb pack Mari had given her. “Smells like something you’d give Nik.”

  “It has valerian in it. It should calm her.” Mari pawed through her satchel, scowling in frustration at her lack of choices. “Well, maybe there’s something useful left in that mess of a pantry.”

  “What do you need? The herb garden is near the stream.”

  Mari thought for a moment, and said, “Sage would be great if you can find it. The bigger the leaves, the better. It stops bleeding.”

  “I hope I can find it. I hope even more that you don’t need it,” Sora said.

  “I’ll coax Danita out here.”

  “And I’ll get water and sage,” Sora said.

  “Keep that club with you, and I’ll keep my slingshot close. If you even think you hear or see a Clansman, scream. Loudly.”

  “Oh, don’t worry. Rigel will probably be able to hear me all the way back at the burrow.”

  As Sora hurried outside, Mari drew a deep, calming breath, and then headed back to the pantry.

  Danita’s body jerked in terror and she tried to scramble backward again, as if she could make herself disappear into the burrow’s wall while she made small, panicked sounds.

  “Danita, it’s just me again, Mari.” She squatted in front of the girl, careful not to get too close too fast. “Sora is going to brew some tea for you and I have a pallet all made up so that you can be more comfortable. Would you come out into the other room with me?”

  “What if they come back?”

  Mari pulled the slingshot from the front pocket of her tunic. “I will shoot them with this. I’m an excellent shot.”

  “Shoot to kill,” Danita said.

  Mari swallowed hard. “I will. Sora and I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”

  “It already has.”

  “Will you let me examine you? I can help.”

  “Where’s Leda?”

  “Mama is dead,” Mari said.

  “That’s what they said, but I didn’t want to believe it—I didn’t want to!” Danita shook her head back and forth, back and forth, and covered her face with her hands, sobbing brokenly. “Then this won’t end.”

  Mari moved closer to Danita and gently pried her hands from her face, holding them securely in her own. “Mama trained me. I can help you. I’m training Sora. She can help you, too. It’s going to be all right—I promise. Will you please come into the other room with me?”

  “I don’t think I can stand up,” Danita said.

  “Then we’ll stand up together.” Mari stood, pulling Danita up by her hands. Then she put her arm tightly around the girl, noting how thin she felt and how cold and clammy her skin was, and helped her walk slowly to the pallet.

  Danita cried out in pain as she sat back on the mound of blankets and pelts. Carefully, Mari lifted her legs, arranging pillows under her knees.

  Sora walked briskly past them, handing Mari a fistful of fragrant sage plants. She was carrying a dilapidated bucket that sloshed water on the floor from several of the holes in its battered metal. “This is the only thing I could find to boil water in. There’s not one kettle or skillet anywhere. Oh, and I didn’t see sign of anyone out there—man or woman.”

  “They’re gone. They’re all gone,” Danita said.

  “The Clansmen?” Mari asked.

  “I—I hope so.” Danita pulled the blanket up to her chin, trembling again. “But I don’t know about them. It’s the women who are gone. All of them.”

  “Wait, what?” Sora turned from hanging the bucket over the hearth fire.

  “The Clanswomen left. They said Leda was dead. They said you’re dead, too, Sora.”

  “Me? I’m definitely not dead.”

  “Some of the women went to your burrow, hoping that maybe you could draw down the moon for them. They said your burrow was destroyed.”

  “They were right. The men did it, but I wasn’t in it when they did it. I’ve been with Mari.”

  “They think Mari’s dead, too. And Jenna.”

  “Jenna’s captured, not dead,” Mari said. “Danita, are you sure all of the women left?”

  “Positive. There was nothing to stay for except sadness and Night Fever. Some of the women went south to the Miller Clan. Some went to the coast to the Fisher Clan. And the men—the men are all completely mad. We had to get away from the men.” Tears started leaking down Danita’s face again, and Mari sat on the pallet beside her, smoothing back her hair.

  “Why didn’t you go with them?” Mari asked gently.

  “I did!” Danita hiccupped a little sob. “I was going with the group who chose the coast, but then I remembered the beautiful tapestry, there.” Her trembling hand pointed at the shredded curtain. “My grandmother wove it specially for the birthing burrow. I miss her—my grandmother.”

  “Of course you do,” Sora said as she steeped Danita’s tea. “She was a wonderful weaver and a good Clanswoman.”

  “See, you understand. When I realized the women had forgotten to bring it with them, I volunteered to go back for it.” She curled her trembling hand over her heart, pressing her other hand over it as if she was trying to calm the frantic beating inside her chest. “They came in while I was taking it down. They—they screamed at m
e to draw down the moon—to Wash them. It wasn’t even night!” Danita’s wide, liquid gaze flicked from Mari to Sora. “I told them I couldn’t. Not even if it had been night. And—and they—they attacked me.” Her shoulders shook with the force of her wrenching sobs. “They hurt me.”

  Without speaking, Mari pulled the girl into her arms and, just as Leda had done so many times for her when she was hurt or sad or scared, Mari rubbed Danita’s back and held her close, letting her know she understood, she was safe, she wasn’t alone.

  “The tea’s ready,” Sora said softly.

  “Danita, Sora has a nice tea for you. It’ll help you feel better. Will you drink it?”

  The girl hiccupped and nodded. Her hands were trembling badly, so Mari held the cup to her lips, then she helped her lie back.

  “Do you mind if I wash you a little? Sora has warmed water over there.”

  “I hurt,” Danita said. “Especially there.” She pointed between her legs.

  “I know, honey,” Mari said. “I’ll be careful.”

  At Mari’s nod, Sora dunked strips of bandages into the hot water and gave them to Mari before she went to Danita’s head and took her hand. While Mari washed and examined the girl, Sora kept up a steady stream of chatter, talking about everything from recipes for flatbread to the lack of rain until the girl’s eyelids fluttered and finally closed.

  Mari motioned for Sora to follow her to the hearth, and they tiptoed to the other side of the room and tilted their heads together.

  “How bad is she?” Sora asked quietly.

  “Bad. She’s torn, but the wound’s several days old—too old to stitch. I washed and bandaged her with the sage leaves, but they abused her horribly. Sora, I don’t know if she’ll be able to have children.”

  “What else can we do for her?”

  “She needs rest and poultices to fight infection.”

  Sora shook her head. “I can only imagine what kind of pain she’s been in. Mari, she can’t stay here. She has to come back to the burrow with us.”

  “I know,” Mari said.

  “She can’t know about Nik. If the Clan found out you’d saved a Companion, I don’t know what they’d do—to either of us.”

  “I know,” Mari repeated.

  “So, what are you going to do about him?”

  Mari let out a long breath and made her decision. “I’m going to send him back to his Tribe. Now.”

  38

  “Nik, wake up. You have to wake up!” Mari shook his shoulder hard enough to jostle his wound.

  Nik frowned and pushed her hand away. “I don’t need any more tea. I’m already sleepy.”

  “You can’t be sleepy. Nik, you have to wake up. You have to go back to the Tribe. Now.”

  His eyes opened. “Back? Now?”

  She nodded, handing him the biggest clothes she could find. “Yes. Now. Get dressed or you won’t make it back before dark, and that’s not going to be good for you.”

  Stiffly, slowly, Nik sat. “Then why can’t I wait until morning? Then I’ll be sure to make it back.”

  “Because you have to go. Sora’s bringing a girl here. She’s been hurt pretty badly and there’s no where else for her to go.”

  “And she’s an Earth Walker?”

  “Of course she’s an Earth Walker, and her seeing Rigel is going to be hard enough to explain. I’m not going to let her see you, too.”

  “Why not? You’re a Healer. She’ll understand that you’ve been healing me, just like you’re going to heal her.”

  “Nik, there’s a chance that the Clan would kill me if they found out I saved you—me and Sora.”

  “Oh. I didn’t think of that.”

  “I know you’re still weak, and you really shouldn’t be making this trip for several more days, but there’s nothing I can do about it.” Mari talked as she helped him put on the tunic. “I’ll go with you until we reach Crawfish Creek, then you’ll have to go the rest of the way by yourself.”

  “Is it cloudy or sunny today?” he asked.

  “Sunny and hot,” Mari said.

  “Good. That’ll help.”

  “How?”

  Nik’s smile curved up on one side more than the other. “Take me outside and I’ll show you.”

  * * *

  Mari made Nik say his good-byes to Rigel at the burrow.

  “I know it’s a lot easier for you to track Rigel than it is to track me. So, will you give me your word that you won’t come back and try to track him?” Mari asked when Nik complained about leaving Rigel behind at the burrow.

  Nik blew out a long breath. “I might not tell you everything, but what I do tell you is the truth, so I can’t make that promise to you without lying.”

  Mari shook her head, giving him a dark look. “I saved your life and you’re still after my Rigel?”

  “No! A canine and his Companion should never be parted. Mari, did it not occur to you that I know if I find Rigel I’ll find you again, too, and I might want to find you again?”

  Mari’s forehead scrunched. “No, that didn’t occur to me.”

  “I thought we were becoming friends. I don’t put my friends in danger, or at least I try not to. I’d never lead the Tribe into your territory to try to find you.”

  Mari fidgeted. “I believe you, Nik. Or I guess what I really believe is that you’re telling me the truth right now, but after you’re back with your own people, the truth could easily change.”

  “I promise I will never do anything that would cause you and Rigel to be separated. No matter where I am or who I’m with I will keep that promise.”

  “Even after you return and show everyone that your blight has been healed by a Scratcher woman?” Mari said.

  “They’re called Earth Walkers, not Scratchers,” Nik said and grinned cheekily at her, then he sobered and added, “Mari, please share with me the recipe for the poultice and the tea you used to cure me. It would saves lives and drastically change my entire Tribe.”

  “Absolutely, but only after all of the Earth Walkers you keep as slaves are released and your Tribe agrees never to hunt us again.”

  “I can’t promise that I can make that happen. That’s something the Elders and the Sun Priest must decide.”

  “Then I will keep the cure for the blight to myself. When you can make that promise to me or, better yet, when I see the captive Clanswomen returning to their burrows, then I’ll reconsider sharing with you and your Tribe,” Mari said. “So, say bye to Rigel inside because I’m not going to let him follow us.”

  Nik was sitting in the chair by the desk. “Rigel, come here, little man.” Rigel looked at Mari, who nodded, and then he trotted to Nik. He bent, petting him and staring into the young canine’s eyes. “I’m so glad I found you alive and well. I never forgot you—I never will forget you. Take care of your girl. She seems to need a lot of care. And it would be nice if you bit Sora, just a little, for me.”

  Nik hugged Rigel and ruffled his thick scruff. She could see that tears were tracking down Nik’s cheeks and she looked away while he wiped his eyes and collected himself.

  “Okay, I’m ready.”

  She went to him and wrapped the blindfold around his head, completely covering his eyes before she led him out of the burrow. She was pleased to see that he was able to walk by himself, though he leaned heavily on one of the walking sticks. Mari had told him to follow close behind her, reminding him about the brambles. With a hand resting on her shoulder, Nik limped slowly after her.

  Once they were free of the bramble thicket, Mari put his arm around her shoulder, helping to take some of the weight from his injured leg. It was slow going, and they were both sweating and breathing heavily by the time they were far enough away from the burrow for Mari to turn Nik around and around, completely disorienting him, before taking off his blindfold.

  He wiped the sweat from his face and blinked against the light. “Good, we’re not under the canopy yet. This will be easier out here.” Nik glanced up at the sky, an
d then turned so that he was facing the sun. “You should do this with me. You’ll probably need the energy to doctor the wounded girl. I can’t imagine you’ve been getting much sleep.”

  “What am I doing with you?”

  “Soaking up the power of the sun, of course,” Nik said. “Have you never done that?”

  Mari moved her shoulders. “I’m not sure.”

  “But you set the forest on fire with the power of the sun,” he said.

  “I didn’t mean to,” Mari said. “Can you set the forest on fire?” she asked tentatively.

  He laughed, and then grimaced at the pain in his back. “No. I can’t. Not many of the Tribe can actually call down sunfire. My father can. A few of the Elders can. But that’s it. If we had more time I could help you—show you how Father does it.”

  “I wish we did, but we don’t have more time. Actually, we don’t have any time,” Mari said. “So, do what you need to do quickly. Your wounds are still too fresh for you to be safe, and if you get caught out in the forest after dark the swarm will find you quickly, and all of my healing will have been for nothing.”

  “Okay, I hear you. This is all I need to do.” Nik tilted back his head and spread wide his arms. “Fill me, blessed Sun. Lend me your strength so that I can return safely to the Tribe.”

  Entranced, Mari watched Nik’s eyes begin to change color, shifting from a deep, moss green to a shining amber that reminded her of Rigel. Then, starting on his palms, which were lifted and opened to the sunlight, a delicate and familiar pattern began to rise to the surface, glowing golden.

  And suddenly Nik didn’t look like a wan, wounded stranger. He looked strong and tall, and surprisingly handsome. Disconcerted by the sudden change in her perception of him, Mari forced her gaze from Nik, glancing down at her bare arms where the same filigree pattern was beginning to glow.

  “You do it, too, Mari! You, too!”

  Feeling strangely shy, Mari couldn’t meet Nik’s eyes. “I don’t know how.”

  “It’s the easiest thing ever. Just open your arms and accept the gift that is your right to claim through your blood.”