Wind Rider

by P. C. Cast

  “Well?” River asked.

  Dawn raised a brow at her daughter. “You know as well as I that you wouldn’t be riding Anjo into camp were she not sound.”

  “Then why are you studying her like you think you’re going to find something wrong?”

  “First, out of habit. Second, because I am Rider of the Lead Mare, and I noticed that your filly shows signs of being ridden hard and fast, though I also see you took your time cooling and grooming her.” Dawn rested a hand on River’s leg. “What happened out there?”

  Thinking quickly, River decided it was best to stay as close to the truth as possible. “We were hunted by a Flyer.”

  “Mother Mare! Are you well? If Anjo was even scratched by the creature the poison could cause her problems in the future. And you—did it touch you?” Dawn redoubled her inspection until River slid from Anjo’s back, hooked her arm with her mother’s, and made her walk with them, stilling her.

  “Mother, we are well. Both of us. We were near the cross timbers when it began hunting us. We did have to sprint for the tree line, but we made it.”

  “Is that why you are so late returning? You had to wait for the Flyer to leave?”

  River lifted her chin with pride. “No, we killed the Flyer. We’re late because I made sure Anjo stood in the stream inside the cross timbers to cool her legs, and then I let her graze while I rubbed her down.”

  Dawn stared at her daughter and would have stopped walking had River not pulled her along.

  “You killed a Flyer.”

  “Well, I had the help of powerful hooves,” River prevaricated. “And Anjo and I are going to start practicing spear tossing—right away.”

  “You killed a Flyer with a spear!”

  “Mother, why do you sound so shocked? I’m not a child anymore. As of today I am officially a Wind Rider.”

  Dawn wiped a shaky hand across her forehead, as if trying to soothe a headache. “River, I don’t doubt your capability, but I worry. It is why I wish you’d take an escort with you and stop with these solitary outings. Next year completes Echo’s decade as Lead Mare. You know the Herd is looking to you and Anjo as our future.”

  “I know that, Mother. I’ve never forgotten it—not for one second since Anjo Chose me. But a year is a long time. A lot can happen between now and the Mare Test. Who knows? Maybe the Mother Mare will whisper the name of another pair to the Elders. Skye and her Scout took their maiden ride before Anjo and me, and they’re a well-bonded pair. Maybe the Mother Mare will tell the Elders to choose them.”

  “Impossible. Skye is too self-serving and Scout, while a lovely filly, is too delicate to base the bloodlines of a herd on. No, River, it will be you and your Anjo who will win the Mare Test and be named Lead Mare and Rider by the Council, with my blessing, unless something happens to one of you over the next year. That is why you must remember your responsibility to the Herd and be certain you and your filly remain sound.”

  River stopped to face her mother. “It is my responsibility to continue to learn—to experience—to grow wise, like my mother, and I cannot do that being constantly watched and protected. A cage is still a cage, no matter how well intended the jailor might be. And that is why I insist that I will not ride out with an escort. I must have enough experiences so that Anjo and I trust ourselves—our judgment—our decisions. Please don’t make me sneak around and play a ridiculous hiding game with you.”

  Dawn’s wise hazel eyes studied her daughter. “So, you wish to keep your own counsel?”

  River nodded. “As my mother before me.”

  “But your mother before you knew when to listen to the Elders and to the voice of the Great Mother Mare found within the whispers of the prairie grasses.”

  “Who makes decisions for you, Mother?” River asked pointedly.

  Her mother was surprised by the question, but she answered without hesitation. “I make my own decisions, though I do weigh the opinions of others, especially Echo’s. You know that.”

  “Yes, I do. What I am asking you for is no different from how you live and have lived for as long as I have memory of you.” River touched her mother’s arm gently. “Trust that you have raised me to think before I act, and to consider more than one side of any situation. Let me grow up, Mother. I cannot do that if you smother me.”

  Dawn sighed. “It seems that unless I care to become a benevolent jailor I have little choice but to concede to your will.” Then she added, “But give me your word on something.”

  “That depends on the something.”

  Her mother smiled seraphically before untying one of the waistbelts that draped just above her hips. This particular strand of faceted blue stones was the delicate blue of a winter sky just before snow turns it gray. Dawn wrapped the strand around her daughter’s waist and then stepped back, studying her and nodding.

  “Yes, you should have it. The stones look right on you.”

  River stared in shock at the waistbelt—the first one of her life. Waistbelts were unique to Herd Magenti Riders. Each belt of precious stones proclaimed to the world that the Rider wearing it was also a Crystal Seer and had the ability to awaken the sleeping properties within them.

  “But Mother, I’m not a Seer! I have only begun my training.”

  Dawn pointed to the belt that now hung low around her daughter’s slim waist. “What stone is that?”

  “Chalcedony,” River said.

  “And its major properties are?”

  River answered with no hesitation. “Chalcedony’s major properties are that it encourages peace and brotherhood. It is a stone that nurtures, and when awakened it repels hostilities, anger, and melancholy. It draws feelings of generosity, responsiveness, openness, and a willingness to please.”

  “Very good. And has it warmed to you?”

  River paused, concentrating on the unaccustomed weight around her hips, realizing it was, indeed, warm and pulsing faintly in time with her heartbeat.

  “It has.”

  “Then I would ask that you give me your word that you wear it whenever you and your Anjo ride out—openly and alone—to experience life and grow into a wise leader.”

  River met her mother’s gaze. “I give you my word that I will proudly wear it always as a gift from my mother, whom the Great Mother Mare has blessed with the wisdom to allow her daughter the freedom—”

  “To learn and grow and eventually to lead her Herd wisely,” Dawn finished for her.

  “One step at a time, Mother,” River said as she hugged Dawn.

  “Tell yourself whatever you wish, but remember that the Rider of the Lead Mare is always…” Dawn paused, prompting River to speak the traditional words with her.

  “One step ahead of the Herd,” the two women intoned together.

  River closed her eyes, relaxing in the familiar embrace of her mother as “one step at time … one step at a time…” played around and around in her mind in time with the heartbeat pulse of the stones around her waist.

  CHAPTER 5

  PRESENT DAY—UMBRIA RIVER

  Drawing down the moon awakened the night sky, and the sleepy clouds cleared a little, allowing Mari enough light to do a decent job of cleaning and dressing Nik’s wounds while Sora passed her clean bandages and antiseptic salve made from boiled goldenseal root. She would’ve liked to have sewn closed a few of the deepest wounds—the ones on Nik’s shoulder and thigh in particular—but the lack of light coupled with the rocking of their little boat had Mari quickly deciding he’d be better off with a few nasty scars than the damage she could do poking around at him in the dark.

  “It looks like the bleeding has completely stopped,” Sora said, peering at Nik from her boat.

  “It has. For right now.” Mari frowned at the last wound she was dressing. “But I don’t like that he’s going to have to paddle for the next several hours.”

  “I could trade places with Nik,” Sheena said. “There’s room for him to rest in our boat. Sora and Rose are doing an excellent job of p
addling. Add one of the other women to take my oar and they won’t have any trouble keeping pace.”

  “I’m better,” Wilkes called from where his boat was bobbing on the other side of Mari and Nik’s. “Nik could take my place and I could paddle for him.”

  “No, no no!” Nik said. “And stop talking about me like I’m unconscious! I feel great!” He placed his hand over Mari’s. “I give you my word that if I start to fade you’ll be the first to know.”

  “Fade or feel sick or dizzy or like you’re bleeding again,” Mari insisted.

  “Yes, all of those things.” He lifted her hand and kissed it. “I promise, my Moon Woman.”

  “Mari, we really need to get going again.” Antreas sounded stressed as he paddled close by. “I’ve had a crawling feeling along the back of my neck, and that’s never good.”

  “Okay, well, we’re as ready as we’re going to be tonight,” Mari said, moving to take her place in the rear of the boat.

  “Good! All right, even though the clouds are letting through a little moonlight, I still believe we should remain loosely tied together—if our Moon Women have no objections.” Antreas looked from Sora to Mari.

  “Hey, I’m perfectly fine following your lead on the water,” Sora said.

  “I’m definitely out of my element here, too,” Mari said. “We’ll do what you recommend, Antreas.”

  The Lynx man nodded, then raised his voice so that the Pack could hear him. “Most of you are new at this, so we’ll remain tethered together tonight. Loosely, though, and if a boat begins to get in trouble or lag behind call out immediately. It’s easier to help you before you capsize or drift away. Understand?”

  The Pack murmured agreement.

  “All right. We’ll reach our first obstacle by midnight. Normally, I would wait for sunrise to pass the ruins of a bridge, but I want to put as much of the river between this place and us as possible. So, whether the clouds continue to cooperate or not, my recommendation is that we light our torches and get past the State Bridge tonight. Not far from it is a good place to beach and get some rest before we begin again with first light.”

  “I’ve not traveled on the Umbria,” Nik said. “Do the ruined bridges have the same runoffs as the Willum River at Port City?”

  Nik’s question was reasonable, but Mari could hear the stress in his voice, and she understood. It was one of the Willum River runoffs that brought him to her—and almost killed him.

  “No. The Umbria has worse things than runoffs,” Antreas said. “Though not in the area we’ll be traveling through tonight. The State Bridge is broken in three sections. As long as we pass between those sections we’ll be fine. And we must stay together.”

  “Can we light the torches now?” Sora asked. “I think it would make everyone feel better if we could see better.”

  “Not until we’re farther away from the Tribe,” Antreas said. “Keep in mind that torches on the water will draw attention and make us very clear targets. I’d feel better if we waited until we were near the ruins and are forced to light them.”

  “Might I speak?” Dove’s voice was polite and pleasing.

  “Yes, of course,” Mari said. “We believe every member of our Pack should be able to speak his or her mind.”

  Even in the dim light, Mari could see that Dove’s expression was delighted. “That freedom is something I will enjoy becoming accustomed to. What I wanted to say is that I must agree very strongly with Antreas. Do nothing to draw the God’s attention to us. His moods are capricious and fluctuate from benevolent to cruel rapidly. I believe He will post sentries all around the Tribe’s territory, and if they catch any sight of lights from the river they will report it to Death. And the one thing I know beyond all else about Him is that He always wants more, more, more.”

  “Which means his latest conquest won’t satisfy him,” Nik said grimly.

  “Not for long,” said Dove.

  Mari found it difficult to speak. She kept replaying over and over in her mind the huge figure silhouetted on the ridge and how His eyes seemed to burn her. She was sure that His raised spear and His bellow had something to do with her.

  “No torches,” Sora said.

  “Not until we must light them, and by that time we’ll be well away from danger,” Nik agreed.

  “Just this particular danger,” Antreas reminded them. “There are many others, which is why we will not always be able to travel at night. Nor will we always be able to use our torches, even when we are forced to travel in darkness. So, get used to staying close—always within sight of others.”

  “Pack, I want to be clear on this.” Mari found her voice and stood, balancing cautiously. “It is not a cliché, but rather a fact that we are as strong as our weakest member. We will survive this journey, but only if we work together and remain together. Got it?”

  “Yes, Moon Woman!” came the answer from her Pack.

  “I’m proud of you. All of you.” Mari’s gaze swept the moonlit group that bobbed around her in their collection of little boats. “What you have already accomplished is amazing. And now we’re going to keep going—keep moving ahead one day at a time until we find our new home and make our new world. Antreas, lead and your Packmates will follow!” Everyone cheered, and Antreas looked a lot less grumpy as he struck out at the head of what became a long, loose line of boats.

  * * *

  It didn’t take long for Mari to fall into a rhythm with Nik. They remained at the rear of the line of boats, but that didn’t bother Mari at all. Their pace was slow but steady, and once Mari felt more secure with her ability to paddle, she was able to look around them.

  Her first shock came from how intimidating the river was. Antreas had guided them to the center of the expanse of water. He’d explained days earlier that they would have to travel upstream until they came to Lost Lake, and so Mari wasn’t surprised to have to stroke against a current. She just never imagined the river would be so wide. Even with the silver light of the moon reflecting from the water, both banks were only indistinct smudges against the night.

  She’d never been out on the water at night. Actually, Mari had never been in a boat at all, and she suddenly felt too far removed from the safety of the earth and the familiarity of her burrow, which had her thoughts turning to her mama.

  If only Mama had lived to join us on our journey! She would be so excited—and so proud of us all.

  Then with a little shock of surprise, Mari realized that her words to the Pack about how proud she was of them and how they would survive together could have—would have—been spoken by Leda, and she felt a wash of bittersweet happiness.

  Thank you, Mama. She prayed silently. Thank you for raising me to be ready to take on the responsibility of leadership—even when I thought it impossible that I’d ever become a Moon Woman.

  From the ballast on her right, Rigel whined, clearly feeling her inner turmoil. She shook herself mentally.

  “Hey, sweet boy, all is well. It’s just a lot of water.”

  “Yeah,” Nik grumbled. “A lot.”

  She poked his back gently with her paddle. “Hey, I’ll bet you’ve been out on the river many times.”

  “True, but not this one. Though it really doesn’t matter. I hate all rivers.”

  “Hate? That’s a pretty strong emotion,” Mari teased.

  “Strong, but honest. Actually, I hate any body of water that’s so deep and dark I can’t see through to the bottom.”

  “Would you rather face the river or the Skin Stealers?” Davis, who was in the boat directly in line in front of them, called over his shoulder to Nik.

  “I’d rather face neither,” said Nik.

  Davis chuckled. “Well, look at it this way—the river, no matter how much you hate it, is getting us away from the Skin Stealers.”

  “And Thaddeus,” Mari added.

  “That’s true,” Nik agreed. “And I’ll take the river over Thaddeus any day.”

  “Ah, see! A bright spot,” said Davis
.

  “It’ll be better in the daylight,” said Mari.

  “Yeah, so we can see what’s going to kill us,” Nik muttered.

  “Hey, Jaxom, how’s Fortina doing?” Mari changed the subject.

  “She is beyond wonderful!” Jaxom called back.

  Mari could see that the pup had finally moved off her new Companion’s lap so that he could paddle more easily, but she was still pressed against him.

  “I am glad she Chose you,” Nik surprised Mari by saying. “I saw how Maeve was treating her. I know Maeve was infected by the sickness, but that is no excuse. Wilkes and Claudia were also infected, and they didn’t turn on their Companions. Tribal law has severe penalties for anyone who abuses a canine. It shows how low the Tribe has fallen that Maeve felt free to strike and abuse that pup where everyone could see.”

  “It’s Thaddeus,” said Davis. “His hatred is contagious, though I don’t understand why anyone would choose hate over happiness.”

  “He believes power will bring him happiness,” Mari said. “And for whatever reason, enough of the Tribe believe it, too, so he now has supporters willingly following his hateful lead.”

  “Maeve hurt her.” Jaxom’s sad voice drifted with the current back to Mari. “Not so bad physically, although I know she beat my Fortina.” He had to pause and clear the emotion from his throat before continuing. “It is the mental pain she caused this precious girl that hurt her the worst. Fortina couldn’t understand what she was doing wrong—why her Companion hated her.”

  “Maeve let anger control her after Father’s death,” Nik said. “She wanted someone to blame. Thaddeus gave her that.”

  “She should’ve blamed Thaddeus!” Mari said, stroking the water harder to relieve her frustration. “It was his fault.”

  “Anger does strange things to people,” Nik said.

  “There has to be more to it than that,” Mari said. “I was so, so angry when I walked into the Tribe tonight. Angrier than I’ve ever been in my life, but I wasn’t filled with hate. I’m sorry we had to leave Ralina and the others who seem so decent back there with Thaddeus.”

  “I know about anger.” Jaxom’s voice was hesitant at first, but as he spoke his confidence grew, and his words reflected that. “All Earth Walker men know about anger. I believe it takes more than anger to turn someone into the kind of hate-filled monster you describe Thaddeus and his followers as. It takes self-loathing and self-deceit. I tried to fight the Skin Stealer disease—the anger and the hatred that festered within me with the sickness. But not all of us did. Remember Joshua?”