by P. C. Cast
“Hey, you’re talking to a Healer. Give me the details.”
Nik sighed. “Jaxom said he found a small group of Earth Walker males yesterday. They were from your Clan. They were all dead. Their skin had completely sloughed off their bodies. They died in terrible agony, in pools of blood and pus.”
“That’s horrible.” Mari felt her own skin crawl.
“Just another good reason to leave this place. The poison of Port City is spreading,” Nik said.
“I’m with you. But leaving is going to be hard. I’m trying not to think about it too much, but—” She broke off, blinking fast and willing her threatening tears to go away.
“It’s okay. I understand. It’ll be worth it, though. I promise.”
“I know. We all do. Change is good, but hard.” Mari paused and then continued. “Nik, can you ever feel Rigel?”
“Feel him?”
“Yeah, like you share with Laru, only maybe not as strong, or at least not as intimately. But do you ever pick up emotions he’s sending to you?” Mari asked.
“Nope, can’t say that I have.”
“How about any other canines? Like maybe Laru when he was your father’s Companion?”
“No. Well, Laru and I have always been close, but that’s how it often is with the children of Companions.”
“How about your father? Or anyone else from your Tribe?”
“No. Companions can be very close to other people. For instance, I feel close to Davis’s Cammy. He’s a good little guy and very friendly. Davis and I are friends, so it’s natural that Cammy and I are, too. But I’ve never picked up any actual emotions from him. Why do you ask?” Nik gave her a perplexed look.
“Tonight when you and Jaxom brought Mason to me and the canines with Bast surrounded me, I could feel them. Like Rigel, only not as clear. But I could. Actually, it was really interesting. Bast has a much calmer feel than I would have thought. She reminded me of the touch of moon magick when I draw it down—cool and powerful in a very feminine way.”
Nik had come to a halt and was staring at her. “Laru!” he called, and the Shepherd, who had been padding several yards in front of them, checking for wolf spiders, sprinted to his side. Nik squatted beside his Companion. “Could you send Mari a feeling?”
Laru’s tail wagged, and suddenly Mari was washed in happiness.
She giggled. “That’s really nice, Laru! Thank you.”
Nik stared up at her. “You felt it, too?”
“Sure—happiness. Laru’s a sweetheart.”
Nik stared from Mari to Laru, finally blurting, “Why are we just now finding out Mari can accept emotions from any Companion?”
Laru barked twice, sharply. Then Nik and Mari spoke at the same time. “Because no one asked before now!”
Mari laughed again as Nik took her in his arms and kissed her hard and quick. “You are magnificent!”
“Well, thank you, Nikolas.”
“As far as I know, and all members of the Tribe of the Trees learn our history—whether we want to or not—never in the history of the Tribe has there ever been an account of a Companion being able to receive from other canines, let alone a feline.”
“Huh. I’m glad I didn’t know that before. I probably would have been too shocked to focus and draw down the moon.”
“I doubt that. Mari, I think you can do anything you set your mind to.”
Nik took her hand and Mari was so happy she felt as if her feet hardly touched the ground the rest of the way to her burrow.
* * *
“Nik! What did you do?”
Mari had stopped at the entrance to her home. She’d expected it to look different. They’d spent the past days going back and forth from there to the birthing burrow, carrying medicines, cookware, clothes, and supplies—leaving only what was needed for their last night. What she hadn’t expected was to step into a fragrant wonderland of color.
Nik had collected flowers, hanging fragrant lavender upside down from the ceiling and placing colored flowers in roughly carved wooden containers. There were brilliant maiden pinks, bursting with color, white star showers in another, with the gorgeous blossoms dripping from clusters of small, emerald stems, orange daylilies that were as fragrant as they were beautiful, a magnificent cluster of hard-to-find purple and yellow irises, and interspersed among all of them were bouquets of honey-scented forget-me-nots.
Mari went to a bouquet of the unforgettable blue flowers. She lifted a shaking hand, touching the velvet petals as she inhaled their familiar honey scent.
“Do you like it?”
Mari turned to Nik, tears washing down her face. “I love it.”
“Then don’t cry!” He pulled her into his arms. “I wanted to make you happy, not sad.”
“These are happy tears—mostly. Did you know these blue flowers are called forget-me-nots?”
“No, but I thought you’d like them because Rigel took me to them. They cover the little clearing above your burrow, totally surrounding that pretty Goddess image. But you already know that.”
“They were Mama’s favorite flower. They’d never bloomed there until I buried her beside the Goddess; then all of a sudden the clearing was filled with them.” Mari sniffed and wiped her eyes. “The Great Goddess loved Mama. I think that’s her way of showing me—though I already knew it.” Then Mari noticed what was sitting in the center of her sketching table, and she went to it, picking up the little figurine and exclaiming, “Oh, Nik! This is exquisite!” She turned the figure over and over, studying its graceful lines and its strange beauty.
“It’s a better version of the equine you asked for,” he said. “I’ve been working on this one in secret for days.”
“The detail is amazing!”
“My mother used to draw them, so I’ve been intrigued by them since I was a little boy.”
“And she said the same thing Antreas has been telling us—that they’re big enough to ride?”
“Absolutely.”
“It’s hard to imagine,” Mari said.
“Well, we’re going to see for ourselves,” he said. “Won’t that be something?”
“It will.” Mari put the carving back on her desk and turned to Nik. “You’re leaving tomorrow.”
She didn’t ask it, but he answered anyway. “I am. As soon as I help you take the rest of your things to the birthing burrow. I didn’t know if you were going to stay here the next two nights.”
Mari didn’t answer quickly because her initial reaction was to say, Of course I’m going to stay here—it’s my home. But the more she thought on it, the more she realized that she should be with the Pack on the last nights in Earth Walker territory. They would need all of their Moon Women—and she would need them. Being here would just be too sad, especially if Nik was late getting back and she and Rigel were all alone.
“Tonight will be my last night here. With you and Laru and Rigel. Tomorrow, after you leave, I will, too. I’ll join our Pack at the birthing burrow, wait there for you. It’s the right thing to do. It’s past time Moon Women stop isolating ourselves.”
“I’m so glad you said that!” Nik hugged her. “I hated the thought of you being here, alone except for Rigel.”
“It’s going to be hard enough to leave. I don’t want to be alone. I’ve been alone too much,” Mari said. Then she took Nik’s hands and looked into his loving moss-colored eyes. “Nikolas, would you take me to bed?”
“Sure! You must be tired after…” His words faded away as he understood her shy smile and the excitement in her eyes. “Oh! Bloody beetle balls, yes, I’ll take you to bed! I mean, crap! That wasn’t very romantic.”
Mari giggled. “I think it was. I appreciate your enthusiasm.”
He took her hand and they walked together to the soft pallet that had been Mari’s for her whole life.
“Would you sit there for a moment?” she asked him.
“Mari, I’d do anything you asked me to. And that includes stopping if anything doesn’t feel
right to you,” Nik said.
“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that. There’s something you should know about Earth Walker women.” He sat, and she took a small step back. “Once we decide to share ourselves with our mate, we do so fully, joyfully, and without embarrassment. Or at least without much embarrassment.”
“That’s good to—” Nik began, but when Mari reached up and with a single motion pulled her tunic over her head and then untied her pants and let them pool around her feet his words stopped.
Mari stood before him, naked. She felt the heat of the hearth fire against her back and the heat of Nik’s gaze on the rest of her body. She’d thought of this moment often, imagining her nervousness and her excitement. But she’d never imagined the pleasure she felt as Nik’s eyes devoured her.
“You are so beautiful—so perfect.” His voice had deepened.
“Your turn,” she said, but when he started to yank off his tunic she moved close to him, stilling his hands. “I want to do it. Is that okay?”
“Mari, anything you want is okay.”
She dimpled. “Be careful with that kind of talk, Nikolas. It could get you into trouble later.”
“Well, my beautiful Moon Woman, do you know the trouble with trouble?” He raised her hand to his lips, kissing her wrist and then moving slowly, sensually, up to the inside of her forearm, to the pulse point at the bend of her elbow. There he stopped and looked up at her, a mischievous grin lifting his lips. “It starts out as fun.”
“Let’s see what kind of fun we can get into.” She pulled off his tunic, dropping it to the floor. Then she let her hands explore his naked shoulders and chest. “I like how you’re hard where I’m soft. And I like this, too.” She pulled playfully on the springy blond hair in the middle of his chest. Her hand drifted lower, caressing his muscular abdomen and finding the waist of his pants, causing Nik to suck in his breath. “Is what I’m doing okay?”
“More okay than you’ll ever know.”
“Oh, good. Would you stand up?”
He did as she asked, and she slid his pants down; then she stepped back, studying him.
“You look a lot different now than you did last time I saw you naked.”
“I was sick and half dead then. I hope you mean different as in better,” he said.
“Definitely better.” She reached out and touched him, feeling him tremble under her caress. “You’re shaking.”
“I know. I can’t help it. Your touch feels like sunfire.”
“Should I stop?”
“No! Never stop touching me.”
Nik pulled her into his arms, falling back on the pallet, kissing her deeply, thoroughly, lovingly. And Mari discovered the simple but miraculous truth—they fit together perfectly.
CHAPTER 34
As dawn broke, Death was partying. He and his newly made Reapers had crowded onto the God’s balcony and were spilling out into the main chamber as well, filling the Temple with the raucous sounds of half-drunk men and giggling women.
Dove crouched just inside the opening to the private room she and Dead Eye had sectioned off from the rest of the chamber. Dove touched the fragrant curtain woven from dried lavender. The scent used to remind her of love and happiness. Now all it did was make her sad and remind her of all that she’d lost when her lover surrendered himself to the God of Death.
Dove had lost all hope that her Champion would wake again—would come back to consciousness, if only for a few moments. She still craved his protective arms around her, and she wished she could speak with her lover just one more time. But her focus must now be on survival and escape—for the two were one and the same.
Screaming giggles drifted to her from the other side of the God’s chamber. Dove didn’t need eyes to understand enough of what was happening out there that she wanted to stay hidden. She could hear the sounds of the God’s men chasing her Attendants as the women pretended to flee from them—only to be caught and carried to pallets or caught and ravished right there in front of the rest of the men as they cheered their brother Reapers on.
And in the center of it all, Dove could hear Death’s booming voice calling encouragement.
She hated the sound of His voice with an intensity that sometimes left her breathless.
She heard the soft footfalls of one of her Attendants approaching and knew before she spoke that it was her only friend and confidante, Lily.
“He demands your presence, Mistress.” Lily’s voice was filled with regret.
Dove nodded and smoothed her hair. “I’ve been expecting His call.”
“Would you have me tell Him you are ill? Perhaps that it is your monthly moon time?”
“He’d know it was a lie. I’ll go to Him.” She stood. “How do I look?”
“Lovely, like a Goddess yourself,” Lily said.
“I didn’t know people thought I was beautiful,” Dove said. “And then my Champion turned his eyes to me, and he told me that I was fair of face and body, and I was so, so glad. Now I wish I was an ancient, wrinkled crone, like the Watchers used to be, so that He would leave me alone!” She almost spit the words.
Lily moved closer to her Mistress. “I’ve heard them talking. They leave this evening for the Others’ City in the Trees. They attack after sunset.”
Dove squeezed Lily’s hand tightly. “Then we must leave today, too! Are we ready?”
Lily nodded, moving closer to her Mistress so that they would not be overheard. “I’ve done all that you asked.”
“Good. I will find a way to be absent without Him suspecting that I am gone. As soon as I do that, we will leave this place, as I will never join that monster in the trees, or anywhere else!”
“Dove! Come to your God!”
Lily flinched at His shout, and Dove squeezed her hand again, before letting it go. “Remember,” she whispered to Lily. “Our God is a Goddess—we follow the Great Mother Goddess now, Life herself. Be ready. I am sure She will help us flee Death.” In truth, Dove wasn’t sure at all, but she kept thinking it, kept praying it, kept believing it, hoping by her will alone she would make it true.
“I’ve hidden our packs outside the Temple. I wish I’d had more time to prepare,” Lily whispered back.
“Dove!” the God roared.
Dove began to walk quickly out to the chamber she knew so well, but Lily caught her up, taking her elbow.
“Don’t come with me. I want you out of His sight as much as you can be. I can find my way easily inside the Temple. You know that, Lily.”
“Not today you cannot. There are Reapers and your Attendants coupling in places you wouldn’t expect.” Lily’s voice was filled with disgust.
“Oh. I understand. Yes, please guide me.”
Together the two girls made their way through the crowded, chaotic chamber. Dove could smell the thick, sour scent of sex mixed with the sweet tang of the fermented apple drink they were all guzzling. She swallowed several times to keep from getting sick.
Dove loathed them all. Each day the God’s army of Reapers grew stronger. They also grew more arrogant and more animalistic. Gone were the rites and rituals that used to fill the Temple. Gone were the traditions that kept alive the worship of a metal statue. The God had awakened, and He desired more than quaint traditions and ancient rituals.
Dove had decided that Death desired nothing as much as He desired chaos.
“Ah, there you are, little bird!”
She bowed gracefully to Him. “My Lord, what may I do for You?”
“Nothing from way over there, but come here to my lap! I have something for you that isn’t so little.”
Dove recognized the sarcastic laughter of Death’s Blade, Iron Fist, as well as the chuckles of several of the God’s favorite Reapers, and she realized they surrounded Him, which meant the God wanted her to go to Him—and to allow Him to take her there, intimately, in front of all of His men, as well as her Attendants.
She set her jaw and lifted her chin. “My Lord, I would be pleased to welcome Y
ou to my bed, but not here.” With her hand she beckoned to Him. “Come with me to a more private place.”
“I am happy to stay where I am, surrounded by my Reapers. They are making free with your Attendants—and your women have not complained. Have you, my dears?”
A chorus followed of her Attendants insisting, “No, my Lord!” and, “We welcome your Reapers, as we welcome You, my Lord!”
“See, little bird! They freely share themselves. I insist you do the same.” The God’s voice had gone from the pretense of sweetness to a more truthful hardness.
“Will your Goddess be so free with Herself, my Lord?” Dove spoke in a sharp voice as she held herself straight and strong. The only evidence of her fear was the bloody gouges her fingernails were drawing in her palms as she fisted her hands, stealing herself for whatever might come next.
There was a long pause as the Balcony of the God fell silent. Dove could feel everyone’s attention focused on her. Then Death laughed—long and hard and loud.
“What a strange girl you are, little bird,” Death said. “You seem timid, childlike even, and yet here you are, evoking the Goddess as if you speak for Her.”
“And who should speak for Her?” Dove demanded, holding herself rigid. “Would You? Does that mean You would allow the Goddess to speak for You?”
“Careful that you do not go too far, little bird. Don’t make me clip your wings.”
“Apologies, my Lord.” Dove dropped into a deep, graceful bow. But when she stood she struck out verbally against the God again. “Is this not the Temple in which the Great Earth Goddess will reside once you have awakened Her?” Dove made a sweeping gesture that took in all of her young, nubile body.
“It is indeed,” the God said.
“Then until She claims what will be Hers, I believe it is my responsibility to keep this Temple sacred for Her, and that means I will not fornicate with You for the entertainment of Your Reapers.”
“How dare—”
“I dare because I have spent my life as Oracle to the Gods! I know something of what they require from a Temple.” Dove’s voice silenced His. “If I overstep myself, I assume the Goddess will correct my error once She takes control of my body. Until then, I ask that You respect me as You would Her Temple.”