by P. C. Cast
“I would like to hear any stories you know of the journey to the Plains, and of the Wind Riders themselves.”
“Yes, my Lord,” she said, bowing nervously. “Now, my Lord?”
“No, not tonight, but soon. I also want you to create stories about me. So, remain vigilant and observant. When I am settled into this new forest dwelling I will call for you often and ask for you to tell me the stories of journeys to the Plains, of the Wind Riders, and, most importantly, of me leading my people to victory and prosperity. Can you do that for me, Storyteller?”
Ralina knew she had absolutely no choice. “Yes, my Lord.” He began to turn His back to her dismissively, and she swallowed her fear and spoke up. “My Lord, might I please be allowed to go through our makeshift infirmary and collect the salves and bandages left behind? Many of my people are wounded. And the stew, my Lord, it is made from tainted meat. My people will sicken again if they eat it. Could our Hunters be allowed to bring game to us that is not poisoned?”
Death met her gaze, and Ralina felt as if His dark eyes were a bottomless well she would fall into and drown in should she look too long. “You say that they are your people—they are not. All of this—” Death flung out His arms in a wide circle, taking in the whole Tribe of the Trees. “All of this is now mine—my forest, my city, my Tribe. Yes, you may collect the supplies from the infirmary. The Hunters who are allied with Thaddeus may do as they wish. If they desire to provide game for you, then I will not dissuade them. But know this—there is a cure for the sloughing disease. I discovered it, and that cure makes those taking it stronger, faster, more than they were before.”
Yeah, it also makes them mutate into something that isn’t human or animal, she thought silently. Aloud she said, “Thank you, my Lord, but many of us would rather avoid getting sick again.”
Death shrugged. “That is your mistake.” Then His sharp gaze caught hers. “You say that you would rather avoid getting sick again. Some of you were ill and then were cured?”
Ralina bit her cheek and nodded, realizing that she had probably said too much.
“How? Who cured the skin-sloughing disease?” Death demanded.
Mari wasn’t part of the Tribe, but Ralina appreciated what she’d done for them, and she had always respected Sol and his son, Nik, and expected Nik to be Sun Priest after his father. She definitely didn’t want to cause Mari and Nik problems, but they were gone, and she was here—suffering Tribesmen and women were here. So, she drew a deep breath and then reluctantly answered the God.
“It was a young woman named Mari. She’s part Tribe, part Scr—um, I mean Earth Walker, and she’s a Healer. She cured the disease, but I’m sure if we eat tainted meat we’ll get sick again.”
“Indeed, I’m sure you will. And this Mari, how did she cure you?”
Ralina hated every word she spoke, and as she gave the God the information He sought she silently sent a prayer up to the sun asking that Mari’s path be easy and swift, and that she hasten far, far away from here.
“Mari drew down power from the moon and cured us with it. I do not know how she did it—it’s some kind of Earth Walker magick.”
Death nodded His massive head. “So I hear … so I hear.” Then He turned away from her, gesturing dismissively. “Leave me now so that I may think. Collect whatever supplies you can carry and take them back to your campsite, and as I rebuild this city I will be sure to fashion a home for you, my Storyteller.”
Sick to her stomach, Ralina rushed from the platform and began gathering baskets and filling them with medicines and anything else she could find that might help her people, and then she hurried back to her little campfire and the few members of the Tribe who had listened to her—had refused the tainted meat and waited for what she could provide. Ralina knew one thing beyond any other—that whoever remained here, under the control of Death and Thaddeus, was doomed.
CHAPTER 9
CURRENT DAY—UMBRIA RIVER—THE PACK
A soft kiss and the fragrant aroma of steaming tea woke Mari. She blinked blurrily, yawned, and rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she sat. The fragrant mug was beside her, pressed down in the sand so that it wouldn’t topple over. She could see that the Pack was stirring, but when she looked for Nik he was nowhere in sight.
“Nik?”
Rigel rushed up, wagging happily and licking her face. She put her arms around the young Shepherd and kissed his nose. “Good morning, sweet boy! Where are Nik and Laru?”
“They’re hunting gull eggs in the interior of this mini-island,” Sora said as she sat beside Mari with her own cup of tea. “He brought you a mug of tea before they took off on their hunting mission.”
“Gull eggs? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
“Neither have I, but Nik and the rest of the ex-Tribers got super excited when Antreas announced that he’d found a gull nest with eggs in it.” Sora pointed her chin at the mess of scrub, river debris, ferns, and tenacious pines that filled the interior of Spirit Island. “Apparently they’re delicious, so they asked me to wait to ladle up the leftover stew until the group of them return, hopefully with eggs to poach and add to it.” She sighed and leaned back against the log Nik and Mari had used as a backrest the night before. “I can’t say I mind the break.”
“Didn’t you get any sleep last night?” Mari asked, sipping her tea.
“Oh, sure. All two or three hours that I wasn’t on watch.” She yawned. “Which wasn’t enough. Goddess, I wish we could rest here for the day.”
“You know we can’t.”
“That’s why I said ‘I wish.’ And I do agree with Antreas. We’re still way too close to Port City and what’s left of the Tribe of the Trees to take a break. I wonder what is left of the Tribe of the Trees.”
Mari shook her head. “It’s bad, Sora. You should’ve seen them. The entire Tribe was infected with the skin-sloughing disease, and Thaddeus, of course, was rallying them under a cry of hatred and anger. But for all of their hate they were in no shape to fight the Skin Stealers. Unless the Death God takes prisoners, I can’t image many of them living.”
Sora met her gaze. “You sound upset by that.”
“I am! You weren’t there. The Tribe was suffering. Good people, bad people, the skin-sloughing disease doesn’t care. It infected all of them, but some were still good, like Wilkes and Claudia. I really hate that the Storyteller, Ralina, didn’t come with us. I would’ve liked to have gotten to know her better. And, Sora, the canines—they would have broken your heart. Thaddeus’s men had flayed skin from them, packed it onto their own bodies so they healed, but they then ignored the agony of their canines. It made me angry and sick.”
“That must have been why Fortina left her Companion and Chose Jaxom. She knew what her Companion was getting ready to do to her.” Sora lifted her lip in distaste. “I had that horrible illness, and I can tell you that I would never have hurt Chloe to make myself feel better.”
“Right? I’m starting to agree with the hypothesis that the Skin Stealers’ disease reflects who we truly are. And there is something very wrong with many members of that Tribe—many, but not all of them.”
“Yeah, it made me lose my patience and react in an angry manner, but I hated how I felt. I didn’t want to be angry—I fought it.”
“Maybe that’s it—whether an infected person has the will to fight the anger the disease brings or not.”
“Or whether an infected person actually likes the anger. Well, hopefully, we’re leaving all of that behind us as we head into our new future.”
“From your mouth to the Great Earth Mother’s ears,” Mari said reverently.
“Hey, speaking of new futures, what do you think of them?” Sora’s gaze flicked to the spot almost directly across the camp’s fire pit, where Dove and Lily were rolling up their bedding and then beginning to walk slowly toward the secluded area that had been designated as the Pack’s temporary latrine.
“I think Lily is young and sweet. And I think Dove is as
layered as an onion. But I have to say that I’m starting to like her.”
“So, you trust her?” Sora asked.
“I’m going to trust her until she gives me reason not to. What about you?”
“That’s where I’m at, too. She did swear an oath to us, and she seems forthcoming. Plus, it’s obvious that her people have abused her. Her option is going back to them or wandering around the forest with Lily until something kills them.” Sora sent Mari a pointed look. “Why? Are you getting pushback from the Pack about accepting them?”
“Not the Pack—Nik.” Mari shrugged. “But that doesn’t change my decision. Actually, it opened up a discussion about respect between the two of us.”
Sora grinned. “I’ll bet that didn’t go well for Mr. Sun Priest.”
“I’ll just say that I think he has a better understanding of my leadership style now,” Mari said.
Sora snorted.
“Sora! There you are!” O’Bryan called as he jogged up the sandy shore toward them with a little black fur ball chasing him.
“Chloe! My baby girl! Come here to me!” Sora gushed.
The instant Chloe spotted Sora the puppy attempted to sprint over the sand to her Companion, but her little legs kept getting caught by rocks and shells, slowing her until she began a yipping whine that sounded like someone was beating her.
“Goddess, she’s loud!” Mari said, eyeing Sora, who remained seated. “Aren’t you going to save her?”
“No, I can’t. Rose told me that Chloe’s getting spoiled by me carrying her around all the time—that she needs to develop her baby muscles—so I can’t save her.” Sora put down her mug of tea and leaned forward, encouraging the puppy. “Come here, baby girl! You can do it!” She clapped her hands and then stretched her arms out to her pup.
Complaining all the way, Chloe finally made it to her Companion and Sora picked her up, showering her face with kisses as she told her how brave and strong she’d been.
“That little girl definitely has a voice on her,” O’Bryan said, joining Mari and Sora with his own mug of morning tea. “She was done nursing and Rose asked me to bring her here because as soon as she was full, Chloe sat her butt down and started crying for you.”
Sora smiled at O’Bryan over the top of Chloe’s head. “Thank you. I was just going to finish my tea and then go find Rose.”
Mari watched the blush Sora’s grateful smile caused as it worked its way up from O’Bryan’s neck to his cheeks. Sora, of course, didn’t notice. She was too busy kissing and cooing to her Chloe.
“You’re not gull-egg hunting with Nik and the rest of them?” Mari asked.
“No, they have plenty of help. I was working with Jaxom and Mason to reload the boats. Antreas said we need to get back on the water as soon as we’ve eaten.”
Sora groaned. “So soon? The sun isn’t even over the trees yet.”
“Hey, don’t worry. Your stew will give you plenty of energy, especially with the addition of gull eggs!” O’Bryan said.
“Again with those gull eggs. I’m hoping they’re worth the hype,” muttered Sora.
“You know what? I am going to join the hunt for eggs—just to be sure you do know how delicious they are.” He ruffled the top of Chloe’s head, causing her to squirm with happiness, and then headed inland.
Mari raised a brow at Sora.
“What?” Sora said.
“You know what.”
“No I do not. Tell me what.”
“He likes you,” Mari said. “A lot.”
“Well, I’m likeable,” Sora said.
“Humph.”
“What’s that mean?”
“You know what it means,” Mari said.
“Enlighten me,” Sora said.
“He really likes you.”
“Yeah, you already said that. And I know he likes me. I like him, too. So what?”
“So, what are you going to do when he starts courting you?” Mari asked.
“Courting me? We just began a journey to practically the other side of the world. No one has time to court,” Sora said.
“Nik does.”
“That’s Nik. He’s weird. I’ve known it since the first moment I saw him.”
“I’m pretty sure Antreas is courting Danita, whether she knows it or not,” said Mari.
“I thought Bast was courting Danita for Antreas.”
“Same thing, isn’t it?”
“Well, they’re weird, too—and by ‘they’ I mean Bast and Antreas, though I like them. O’Bryan isn’t going to court me. He’s too—I don’t know—‘unsure of himself’ I guess is the best way to describe it. Plus, he’s probably already figured out that it’s not such a good deal to be with a Moon Woman. Our first responsibility is always to our Pack.”
“We’ll see. And I think you’ve misjudged O’Bryan. He ran back into a forest fire to save puppies—this puppy is alive and bonded to you because of him.” Mari tickled little Chloe under her chin.
“You do have a point there, and I didn’t say he lacked bravery, but he definitely lacks experience with women, and I am a woman who prefers a confident man.”
“Give him time, Sora. I have a feeling about O’Bryan.”
“You know, you didn’t use to be so nosy,” Sora said.
“You wanted to be friends, remember?”
“Can I take that back?” Sora teased.
“Nope, too late. But I promise not to say ‘Told you so’ when O’Bryan starts courting you.”
“Drink your tea,” Sora said.
Mari did, but only after she stopped giggling …
* * *
“Tell me again why we’re looking in the scrub and debris on the ground for these eggs instead of in the trees,” Danita asked Antreas as she trudged after him, picking her way over fallen logs and around nettle clumps.
“Gulls don’t ever lay their eggs in trees. They build a mound of grasses, twigs, and really anything they take a fancy to, but they build it on the ground,” explained Antreas. Bast chirped at him, alerting him to another spot of nettles. “Careful there.” He pointed. “Bast says there are more stickers ahead.”
“Ugh. But thanks. I hate nettles.” Danita moved lithely around the sharp-tipped clump. “So, gulls just aren’t very smart? I certainly wouldn’t build my nest on the ground. That seems like I’d be asking for danger.”
“They are smart. Remember why this island is called Spirit Island?”
“Yeah. You said that it disappears when it rains.”
“Most of the winter and spring almost this entire island does, minus a few of these bigger, heartier hackberry trees, which means the island is uninhabited. The gulls wait until the spring rains are over and then they build their nests. Nothing can get them out here, except another bird.”
“Huh. I guess that is pretty smart. I think I’d still build my nest in a tree, though,” she said. Then her eyes were caught by a large mound of grass and dry twigs that was on top of a pile of water-whitened logs. “Hey, I think I found a nest!”
Antreas hurried to her side and followed her pointing finger. “I think you did, too! I’ll climb up there and—”
“Hey, no way! I found the nest—I’m going to collect the eggs.” Danita hurried to the pile of river debris and began climbing it. When she came to the spot that held the nest she reached in and then lifted a large, speckled egg. “Is this one?”
“Yes! Good job! There should be more, though.”
“There are! There are three of them.” Danita took the three eggs, putting them carefully in the bodice of her shirt, before she began climbing down—but part of one of the logs gave way beneath her foot and she tumbled backwards, windmilling her arms as she unsuccessfully tried to regain her balance.
Bast yowled and sprinted toward Danita, but Antreas was closer. He caught her as she fell, knocking them both to the ground, though he was careful that Danita landed on top and not under him. “I got you!” he said.
“Great Goddess, I hope I did
n’t break my eggs!” Danita peered down her shirt, and sighed happily. “All safe and uncracked.” Then she swiveled at the waist to look at Antreas—whom she was sitting on. She grinned. “Comfy?”
“You’re like a feather,” he lied. “And I could lie here all day and barely notice that you’re sitting on me and cutting off my breath.”
Bast coughed at him, and Danita punched his shoulder. “Feathers don’t cut off breathing. We’re delicate and light and ever so lovely.”
Antreas grinned. “Must be the eggs weighing me down.”
Danita returned his smile. “Definitely the eggs.”
Bast sat beside them to groom herself and purr as Danita and Antreas laughed.
Somewhere in the middle of their laughter Antreas realized he had never been this happy in his life—that in this moment, with Danita sprawled on his lap and Bast curled beside him, he had never felt so fulfilled, so content.
And that’s when he made his mistake.
Antreas didn’t think—he acted. He shifted Danita’s slight weight and sat, putting his arms loosely around her so that she was snug on his lap. She turned to look at him, laughter still shining in her eyes, and Antreas kissed her.
Danita froze. She didn’t pull away. Not at first. At first she simply stopped moving—later Antreas realized she’d even stopped breathing. Then slowly, hesitantly, her lips softened under his and for the space of a few breaths she melted into the kiss and her arms even found their way to his shoulders.
Antreas loved the taste and feel of her. She was sweetness and salt—and her body was warm and soft against him. Without even thinking about it, Antreas tightened his arms around her—and Danita changed instantly.
She shoved against his chest. Hard. “No, stop!” she cried, scrambling, crablike, off his lap until her back was pressed against the mound of debris she’d so recently fallen from. There she sat, her arms wrapped around her chest, staring at Antreas with big, glassy eyes.
Bast reacted first. She rushed to Danita, chirping sweetly to her and rubbing against the girl. Automatically, Danita buried her hands in the big feline’s fur, obviously trying to stop their trembling.