by P. C. Cast
Will you help me? I cannot fly any farther by myself! The little dove’s voice was inside Mari’s head as the bird fluttered around her, obviously at the end of her strength.
Instinctively, Mari began to lift her arm to give the dove a place to land, but then her mama’s voice was inside her head, too.
Help her, but the price of your aid is her vow to be truthful.
Mari met the dove’s gray-eyed gaze. I will help you, but you must promise to always tell me the truth.
If you ask it of me, I will give you only the truth—but you must ask it of me, Moon Woman.
Then I’ll help you. Mari lifted her arm, and the dove landed gracefully on it.
Mari felt pressure on her arm, and her eyes shot open.
“Hey, wake up! You and Chloe are such lazybones!” Sora was shaking Mari’s arm.
Mari peered up at her, blinking sleep and confusion from her eyes. “You’re not a dove.”
“What?”
Mari hesitated and still half asleep said, “If you see a dove, be careful with her. Help her. I think she important, but only if you make her tell you the truth.”
“By the smooth thighs of the Goddess, what are you talking about?”
Mari rubbed her eyes and sat up as Chloe whined a sleepy puppy complaint, Sora’s tone bringing her full awake. “Sorry, I was dreaming.”
Sora’s gaze sharpened on her friend. “Dreams can bring omens and signs, especially the dreams of a Moon Woman.”
“Okay, yes, I know.”
“So, tell me what you saw.”
“In my dream a dove flew away from the Tribe of the Trees as it was being destroyed by painted Warriors. She came to me looking for sanctuary. Mama’s voice told me to help her, but only if she vows to a Moon Woman to tell the truth as the price of my aid.” Mari shrugged. “Does that mean anything to you?”
“Not a thing, but I’ll keep an eye out for doves,” Sora said.
“And if you find one, help her,” Mari said.
“But only if she vows to tell me the truth. Okay, yeah, I heard you.”
Feeling strangely relieved, Mari combed her fingers through her hair and looked around. Danita was still over by the stream, carefully dancing the pattern of her name around the mossy clearing. “It’s nice that she gets to practice it like this before she dances in front of everyone. She seems to be doing well.”
“Yeah, if anything I’m worried that her desire to be perfect will get in the way of the joy she should be feeling when she dances to the moon. And you said joy is a big part of it, right?”
“That’s what Mama taught me. How about you and I join her tonight, so she doesn’t feel too much like she’s on display?” Mari said.
“Nice idea. So, we’re Washing the Pack again tonight?”
“Actually, I thought we’d only Wash those who were injured. Third Night is tomorrow. There really isn’t any problem with anyone who’s healthy waiting until then to be Washed,” Mari said.
“Yeah. They don’t need to get into a habit of us drawing down the moon every day. It takes a lot out of me. Is it like that for you, too?” Sora asked, sitting beside Mari and taking the still-sleeping Chloe from her friend.
“It can be, but Mama would remind us to keep some of the moon magick for ourselves, even though she usually forgot to take her own advice,” Mari said.
“It’s hard because I still feel like I only have a limited amount of time I can handle drawing down the moon before it gets to be too much for me. So, I want to give it all to the Pack.”
“I think that’ll change as we practice. Plus, now there are two of us.” Mari jerked her chin in the direction of Danita. “With a very likely third. So, we can start sharing the duties. Did you know Bast told Antreas that Danita does have the power to draw down the moon?”
“That cat knows stuff,” Sora said. “It’s a little creepy. Canines are much better.” She nuzzled Chloe, who made sleepy annoyed puppy noises in response.
“Oh, please. Just a few days ago you were complaining about Rigel and all creatures canine.”
“Well, I’ll still complain about Rigel, but this little girl is spectacular.” Sora kissed Chloe, waking her completely so that the pup started whining in earnest. “Oops, I shouldn’t have woken her. She’s hungry. Gotta take her back to Fala.”
“I’ll come with you. I need to check on Lydia’s and Sarah’s wounds.”
“Should we call Danita?”
Both gazes went to the earnest dark-haired girl who was diligently dancing a pattern that spelled out the letters of her name across the soft, waiting earth.
“Nah,” Sora said. “Let her practice. It helps her nerves. And she’s within calling distance of the rest of the Pack—no harm in leaving her here.”
“Okay.” The two Moon Women began to follow the stream back to the burrow. “Hey, I’m starting to think Antreas may actually be interested in Danita—as in potential mate interested.”
“Well, he did listen when I told him how to court an Earth Walker,” Sora said.
“He asked?”
“More like he put his foot directly into his mouth with Danita and then I educated him. But he seemed to listen.”
“Life just gets more and more interesting,” Mari said, ruffling Chloe’s fur.
“I did used to say I never wanted to be bored,” Sora said.
“So, all of this is your fault?” Mari teased.
“Probably. And you’re welcome.”
CHAPTER 29
“Okay, one more time,” Danita told herself aloud. She spread her arms, tilted back her head, and began to trace a D into the earth while she attempted to do as Sora had instructed—be graceful and joyful. Danita had decided to settle, at least for the moment, for not tripping over her own feet. She moved alongside the stream, adding letters to her dance and feeling more and more confident—especially after Sora and Mari had left. Danita liked both Moon Women—very much actually—but she was also extremely self-conscious around them. They always seemed so sure of themselves! Maybe she’d be like that one day in the future. “I hope so,” she sighed to herself as she finished the last letter in her name, and then she went to the stream, lifted up the mid-calf-length tunic she was wearing, and waded gratefully into the cool, clear water.
Danita splashed water on her face and arms while her feet found smooth stones. Her toes dug into the mixture of river rock and mud. The feeling was delightful. She kept wading in the stream, not paying much attention to the fact that she was moving with the small current away from the burrow. A sparkle caught her eye and Danita bent to pick up a crystal of a size that fit perfectly into the palm of her hand.
“It’s the shape of a heart.” She spoke softly. Closing her eyes, she gripped the crystal, holding it close to her breast. “Thank you, Great Goddess. Thank you for this sign of your favor.” Reluctant to leave the stream and the magic moment it helped to create, Danita waded farther downstream, keeping a sharp eye out for any more special signs of the Goddess’s favor. Finally, her feet getting cold, she climbed out of the water and onto a gently sloping moss-covered bank. Choosing a wide, flat boulder not far from the stream, Danita lay back on it, staring up at the sky creatures the puffy clouds were creating.
She was drifting off to sleep when a strange sound brought her senses instantly alert. Danita turned, sliding quietly off the boulder to crouch beside it, silently cursing herself, heart hammering in her chest. I should have never waded so far alone!
A flash in the trees on the opposite side of the stream caught her eye, and Danita turned so that she could peer across the water and remain concealed by the boulder and the thickly clumped ferns that surrounded it.
At first she didn’t realize what she was seeing—it seemed so strange, so impossible. Could this be real, or am I asleep and dreaming?
Her breath caught in her throat as she realized she was indeed awake and what she was witnessing was very real.
Antreas and Bast were racing through the forest. But
they weren’t simply running, or even jumping over fallen logs and other forest debris. Bast and Antreas were leaping from tree to tree! Lynx and man appeared to fly, and they were playing some kind of silly game, where Bast would run up and swat Antreas on the butt (or anywhere a paw could swipe) and then she’d take off and it would be Antreas’s turn to race after his Companion until he could tag her and then the game repeated all over again.
Danita stared at Antreas as he shouted at Bast, “Hey, watch those claws! You scratched my butt!”
The Lynx chirped at him, in a voice so filled with sweetness that Danita knew the big feline was making fun of her Companion.
“Oh, you think that’s funny, do you? Watch yourself. I’m going to be pulling that black-tipped tail of yours!” And Antreas took off after his Lynx, chasing her around, over, and up trees, logs, and boulders.
Danita was surprised to find herself grinning broadly at the two of them. Of course Bast was spectacular. Danita adored the big feline. What was unexpected was the reaction Danita was having to Antreas. He looked so young and happy that for the first time Danita thought she might consider him handsome. She kept watching him and received a second surprise. His hands! They’re changed! Danita squinted as the afternoon sunlight caught what should have been a human hand, glinting off dagger-sharp talons that had taken the place of fingernails.
“Wow. That’s incredible.”
Danita hadn’t meant to speak aloud—hadn’t even realized she had until Bast’s head snapped around and her preternaturally sharp eyesight focused on the rock and then on Danita crouching beside it. With a delighted yowl that turned into a chirping, happy greeting, Bast broke off the game of chase she was playing with her Companion and raced to the stream, leaping it with one flying jump, running directly to Danita. She giggled as the big feline almost knocked her over, rubbing against her, purring loudly.
“It’s good to see you, too!” Danita kissed the Lynx on the head between her charcoal-tufted ears.
Danita had been so happy greeting Bast that she’d almost forgotten about Antreas. Then he spoke as he crossed the stream in a more sedate manner and joined them. “What are you doing here?”
“Thinking,” Danita said.
“Pretty far from the burrow to be thinking all by yourself.”
“Well, part of getting away to think means getting away. And I’m not all by myself. You and Bast are here now. What were you two doing? It looked like you were playing a game.”
“I’ll tell you if you tell me what you were thinking about,” Antreas said, sliding up to sit on the flat-topped boulder.
Danita gave a well, why not? shrug and climbed up beside him, with Bast jumping up gracefully with her. “I was thinking about being a Moon Woman. And I’m nervous about dancing my name to the moon tonight,” she admitted.
“Aren’t Isabel and Jenna dancing with you, too? They were also accepted as Moon Woman apprentices.”
“No, we’re dancing one at a time, and I’m first. It’s really a personal thing—an introduction through the Great Mother to the moon as another face of the Goddess. Tradition says it’s more intimate, more respectful, to do it one at a time.”
“Then that’s all you need to remember tonight,” Antreas said.
“What is?”
“That it’s personal. It’s between you and the Goddess. That’s all you need to care about—not the watching Pack, not even Mari or Sora. It’s just you and the Goddess out there. No one else.”
Danita studied him thoughtfully. “That’s actually helpful. I’m not nervous about the Goddess; I’m excited. And if she’s all I think about, I can pretend like no one else is even there tonight.”
“Exactly! And you don’t have anything else to be nervous about. You’re going to make a great Moon Woman.”
Danita’s brows hit her hairline. “Why would you say that?”
“Because it’s the truth and it’s a nice thing to say. Or at least I meant it to be nice. The way you’re looking at me right now, I’m not so sure.”
“Oh, it was nice to say. I’m just confused about why you said it.”
“I thought I covered that in the first part of my answer. Because it’s the truth. You’re going to be a great Moon Woman.”
“How do you know?”
“Bast told me,” Antreas admitted.
Danita turned her head to meet the Lynx’s yellow-eyed stare that was so much like her Companion’s. “You think I’m going to be a great Moon Woman?” she asked the feline.
Bast chirped at her, then coughed, then purred like a storm as she rubbed against the girl.
“I know I don’t have to tell you, but for the record that’s a yes.”
“I get that.” Danita blew out a long breath. “And that’s a relief.”
“So, you believe her?”
“Of course.” Danita frowned at him. “Don’t you?”
“Yes! I always believe Bast, even when I don’t want to,” Antreas admitted.
“So, your turn. What were you two doing flying around the forest?”
Antreas chuckled softly. “Flying?”
“That’s what it looked like.”
“I guess it would,” he said. “Bast and I were playing a chase and tag game. It keeps us sharp. Plus, it’s fun.”
“It looked fun.” Danita’s gaze slid down to Antreas’s very normal-looking hands. “Something happens to your hands when you play the chase game. They change, don’t they?”
Antreas’s eyes found hers. “Yes. They change. Does that frighten you?”
“No!” Danita said, surprised that he would ask. “Not at all. Um. So, your hands change sometimes. Like when you’re flying from tree to tree. Can you make them change whenever you want them to, or does it only happen when you’re in the trees?”
“Since Bast chose me and we completed our bonding, my hands have changed, but it’s a change I control.” There was an awkward pause and then he added, “Other things about me are different, too.”
“Oh, you mean like your hair?”
“How did you know that?” Antreas asked as his hand automatically lifted to touch the back of his neck and the Lynx-like pelt that grew there and down his spine.
“Well, it’s obvious. Your hair’s long, but I can see Bast’s fur within it. I figured there’s more of it. Is that normal for Lynx Companions? Did you have that fur before you met Bast? What else has changed? Your eyesight? Bast has awesome eyesight. Or maybe your hearing?”
“Slow down! One question at a time!” Antreas’s smile was surprised and pleased.
“Oh, sorry. It’s just that I’ve been spending a lot of time with your Lynx—but you know that.”
“I do. Bast loves you.”
Danita’s gray-eyed gaze met Antreas’s golden stare. “I love her, too,” she said with no hesitation. The silence between them stretched and stretched. Danita wished Bast would say or do something to interrupt—the Lynx was rarely silent—but just then she was curled up between them, appearing to be asleep, though Danita doubted it. She cleared her throat. “Um, that’s why I want to know all this stuff. It’s fascinating because Bast is fascinating.”
“Is that the only reason?”
“Should there be another?” Danita shot back at him with one brow arched.
“Not necessarily. Okay, so, here goes: Yes, I can make my claws come out whenever I want them to. No, I didn’t have claws or Bast’s fur or enhanced vision or hearing until she chose me and I passed her test.”
“Wait; now you need to slow down. I want to hear about this test, but first would you mind showing me your claws?” Danita gave him a hesitant smile. Bast’s purr heated up.
“I wouldn’t mind, as long as you don’t scream or anything like that.”
“Scream? Why would I do that?” Danita asked.
“Let’s just say that women who have never been around a Lynx Chain can sometimes be sensitive to things like claws,” Antreas said.
“Well, they must be silly women. I wo
n’t scream. I give you my word.”
“Okay then.” Antreas held out his hand, shook his wrist slightly, and from the beds of his fingernails thick, pointed claws emerged.
Danita sucked in a breath. “Wow! That’s fabulous! May I touch them?”
Antreas met her gaze. “Yes.”
Danita wasn’t hesitant. She reached out and ran a finger down the claw of his pointer finger, pressing it softly against the tip.
“That’s really sharp,” she said. “So, it’s because of these claws that you can fly through the trees like Bast?”
“Yes, that and my enhanced strength. My bond with Bast is deep. When she bit me and I didn’t die, it changed who I am at a basic level.”
“Bast bit you!” Danita blurted, her eyes going to the Lynx, who still pretended to be napping but whose yellow eyes could be seen slitted through partially closed lids as her purr rolled around them.
“Yep, and it was the best day of my life.”
“You’re going to have to explain that,” Danita said, curling closer to Bast so that she could stroke the Lynx’s soft fur as they spoke.
“It’s part of the choosing process. When a Lynx picks his or her Companion, she bites her choice. Do you want to see?”
“Yes!” Danita leaned forward eagerly as Antreas rolled up his sleeve, exposing his right arm and the bite scar that was there, surrounded by a tattooed pattern of vines and leaves. “That looks like it hurt.”
“It did, but it didn’t kill me, and when it didn’t kill me that meant Bast and I were bonded for life,” Antreas said.
“You mean it could have killed you?” Danita was staring at the bite scar.
“If she’d rejected the den I built for us, yes. But Bast didn’t, so the venom in her bite changed me, made me stronger, faster, better—instead of killing me.”
“What about these vines and leaves?” Danita reached out and let her finger trace a vine.