Daughter of the Night: A Book of The Moon People

by King, Claudia

  “It doesn't work!”

  “Not if you do it like that,” Jarek said, selecting another stone from the bank and skimming it expertly across the pool. “You looked like you wanted to throw that stone at me.”

  “Well, where else would I want to throw a stone right now?!”

  Jarek laughed again. “You've a quick tongue. You'd tell great stories.”

  “A waste of time, just like throwing rocks.” Adel tried casting another stone across the pool, only for it to splash and sink again.

  “Is it a waste if it makes you happy?” Jarek approached her again and closed his fingers gently around her wrist, turning her hand over and pressing another stone into her palm. “Hold it in the crook of your finger. There. Now turn your palm like this, and throw from your side.” He moved behind her and eased her arm back, guiding it by the wrist in a throwing motion several times. His touch felt strange, but something about it held any protests Adel might have voiced in check. Scolding Jarek only seemed to make him laugh at her anyway, so what was the point? Besides, she wanted to learn this technique of skipping stones, even if it was just a silly distraction.

  “Alright, let me try now,” Adel said. Jarek stood back, and she continued moving her arm in the motion he had shown her. After a few more practice movements she put all of her strength into the swing and flicked the stone off the edge of her finger, letting it sail out over the surface of the pool. She tensed, waiting for the splash. A spray of water erupted as the stone made contact. For an instant her heart sank in disappointment, then she saw the small piece of rock spinning as it skipped once, twice, and then submerged half way across the pool.

  A swell of pleasure rose in her breast, but she swallowed it down, tempering her elation with a satisfied smile. Jarek, however, had no such compunctions about expressing his excitement, and he let out a triumphant whoop as the stone bounced.

  “Adel, master of magic stones!”

  His glee was infectious, a far cry from the stern approval she was used to receiving from her elders whenever she succeeded in a task. She felt it buoy her up, lifting the swell of laughter from her chest and letting it spill from her lips in a throaty giggle.

  “Ah, so you can smile,” Jarek said.

  “Of course I can. I just...” Adel's expression fell, her brow furrowing. “I don't often have any reason to.”

  “Does it not feel good, though?”

  “I suppose. I used to laugh often when I played with my sister, but only children do that. I am a woman now.”

  “Men and women can still play. And if it feels good, why not?”

  Adel shook her head, straining to pull her feelings back to the space they had occupied before skimming the stone. “Life is not play. I should be back at the den resting, preparing myself for my duties tomorrow, or running on the plains to make myself strong.”

  “Well, I am glad you chose to come here and waste your time with me instead.” Jarek tossed her another stone, and this time when she fumbled it his laugh stirred another tickle of amusement from within her. “Try again, you can make it go farther!”

  She hesitated for a moment, then tried to remember the motion of her arm and cast out another throw. She only managed one bounce this time, but it was bigger than before, and once again Jarek's whoop of excitement made her feel like skimming stones was the wisest possible decision she could have made that night.

  Before long she was joining in with his laughter, her den and her pack forgotten. Only when the sun began to rise did she feel guilt at having stayed so long, not even realising how much time had passed. There would be more guilt too, in the days that followed, as she thought back on that night and realised what it had meant to her. But in the elation of the moment, she forgot her worries and remembered what it was like to laugh. Because, for just one precious night, it had been as if she was there at the pool playing with Uriel again.

  —7—

  Friendship

  Adel longed to return to the secret spot, but her good sense told her to restrain herself. No one had missed her when she returned in the middle of the morning after having let the entire night slip away with Jarek, but she was tired and distracted the entire day, and she made several mistakes while trimming and sorting plants for her mother.

  “This is not like you, Adel,” Freia said after her daughter once again cut a handful of stalks too short, making the dosage awkward for the seer that would eventually stew them into a remedy for stomach illness.

  “Forgive me, Mother,” the girl replied. “I did not sleep well.”

  “You have stayed awake for days without losing your wits before. Did your father speak to you again?”

  “No. Why?” Adel glanced up at her mother, suddenly cautious.

  “Hm. It is not my place to say, but you have asked now. He means to see you mated again this summer. I expect he shall tell you himself soon.”

  A terrible weight dragged Adel's lingering happiness back down to the bottom of her stomach, leaving the hollow within her fresh and raw again. “My answer has not changed.”

  “Do not test him again, my daughter,” Freia sighed. “You know what will happen. One day you must be mated, and you will only make your father angrier the longer you try to delay it.”

  “Let him be angry.”

  A look of concern crossed Freia's face, and she put a gentle hand on Adel's shoulder. “I do not want to see him hurt you again. It pains both of us as much as it does you.”

  “I care not for his pain. He should leave me to make my own choices if it unsettles him so much.”

  “Adel,” the den mother said, more sharply, “sooner or later you must accept your responsibilities to the pack. I could not ask for a more perfect apprentice as a seer, but as a mother you bring me nothing but worry. Ulric is your alpha. Every time you disobey him you hurt his own status as much as you do your own. It may mean nothing to you now, but how do you think the other alphas will see him when they learn that he cannot command his own daughter? When they begin to ask why year after year you still remain without a mate?” She lowered her voice. “He could have forced you to take a man, you know. Whether you believe it or not, he cares for his daughter. That is why he wants to persuade you to make the decision for yourself, rather than giving you to a warrior as he would a girl taken from another pack.”

  “If he must beat me into accepting it then what difference is there? He only wishes to pretend he has done the right thing.”

  “He is alpha, Adel. His will is the right thing. You simply refuse to see it.”

  “Then let him do whatever he wishes. I will not take a mate.”

  Freia shook her head, taking the stalks Adel had been cutting away from her. “What can I say to make you see things differently?”

  Her daughter said nothing.

  “You should go to him, then,” the den mother said, a note of sad resignation in her voice. “Disappoint him again, and let it be done now rather than later. I will be here to tend you afterwards if you need me.”

  Refusing to meet her mother's eyes, Adel rose to her feet and exited the seers' den, pushing the painted leather drapes aside with weary arms. She longed to run away back to the pool, but Jarek had said he would not be there again until the next night of the full moon. Once a moon he would come, and until then she would be alone.

  It did not matter, she thought, as she made her way across the camp toward her father's den. She would simply endure, as she always had. She did not need silly play and laughter to comfort her.

  And yet, it would have helped her feel better about what was to come had she known there was somewhere to turn afterwards. Somewhere free of judgement or reprimand, where all she had to worry about was skimming stones.

  Her father asked again, and again she refused. He tried to persuade her with the same insistent words, but no argument could sway his daughter's resolve. This time she left the alpha's dwelling with one eye swollen shut and a terrible throb in her ribs that promised broken bone. She ignored
her mother's offer of help, tending to her injuries on her own. She would have fled the camp entirely, stifled her tears in peace beside the pool, but the ache in her side was too painful for her to take the shape of her wolf. She shouted away anyone who came to her hut, wishing that she did not have to hear their distant murmurs of conversation about the alpha's disobedient daughter.

  She hated him. She hated his honour, his status, and most of all she hated that he had to be alpha. Well, she would have her own status. She would be den mother some day, and then...

  She covered her eyes with a hand, gritting her teeth as tears wet her palm. That was what she wanted. Power. Respect. The ability to lead, and to have others listen. To make her own path through life. Or at least, as much of a path as a woman could. But as she thought back to the previous night, she also wanted something else. She wanted to forget all of the things that tormented her, all the strain and effort of pursuing the goals she desired. For if she had no pack, no duties, no status, and if she could spend her days laughing as she had with Jarek...

  Was he her friend? Could she call him that now? She had not considered anyone a friend since her sister died. She was beyond such things, dedicated only to the seer's path. And yet, if she was beyond the frivolous, childish desires that others pursued, then why did she so long to relive the time she had spent with the boy from Neman's clan?

  Adel rarely cried. It was easy, really, when she focused on ignoring the hurt and pushing through it. Today, though, the hurt was greater than usual. Every time she thought of her happy night by the pool her soul seemed to lurch in a different direction, reminding her of her times with Uriel, followed by a return to the overwhelming sadness that had gripped her when she realised she would never see her sister again. She did not want to feel like that. Nothing should make her feel like that. Never again. But as hard as she tried, Adel could not hold back her tears that day. She crushed her face into her sleeping furs, ignoring the pain it brought to her swollen eye as she stifled her sobs in the armful of bedding.

  Unlike the previous year, Ulric did not drop the subject of Adel's mating after he had punished her. She was subjected to no more beatings, at least for the time being, but her father was always keen to comment on the matter whenever she was within earshot. Her mother and brother began to speak of it more often too, no doubt at the behest of the alpha. They sought to wear her down, to convince her that she was in the wrong, to heap their disapproval upon her shoulders until it became too much for her to endure. And at times, they almost succeeded. Only her trips to the pool and the hope of seeing Jarek there at the next moon kept her resolve intact. For as much as Adel sometimes felt like an outsider among her own clan, she still cared for them. When they ate together she did not join in with many conversations herself, but she always listened. She hoped that her two cousins, both of whom were now with child, would deliver their offspring safely. She felt sad whenever the old seer who had taught her stitching forgot things and needed to be soothed by the others as she grew confused and upset. She admired the skill with which the craftspeople worked flint and bone and wood and hide into tools and trinkets, and she could not help but feel ingratiated to the hunters who returned home with fresh meat and exotic catches to present to the seers.

  It was because she cared that the insistence of her clan, moreso than that of her father, began to weigh so heavily upon her. It was easy to hate Ulric, to reject his decisions as wrong or selfish, but to hear the same words from those who shared her everyday life made her question her own resolve. She was sharp-witted for her age. Wise, some even said, but was she always right about everything? The constant talk of her mating began to make her question it, and the uncertainty was maddening. Half of her wanted the power to silence the gossip, to make everyone listen when she bid them hold their tongues, while the other half wanted to run away and forget everything they had said, leaving the weight of responsibility behind her as she skipped stones with Jarek across the pool.

  They were troubling days, wracked with much guilt, but as the night of the full moon approached she felt a glimmer of excitement building within her again. She could run away from it all soon, speak with someone who cared nothing for her mating, free herself from worry, and ease the burdens that had begun to crush her spirit.

  As the moon slipped out to join the stars she crept from her hut upon the paws of her wolf, hurrying through the shadows between the few fires that burned as she made her way to the edge of the camp. Not that anyone would have stopped her, for night was the time for wolves to run wild and be free, and many of the others spent their evenings out upon the plains seeking their own private pleasures. Perhaps some even had secret meetings of their own with outsiders from other clans.

  Still, Adel's secret was a precious one, and she never wanted anyone from her pack to discover it. The secrecy was what made it special, allowing her to distance herself from the world when she was alone by the pool. Alone, or in Jarek's company. He might have been a fool, and she was still hesitant to consider him a friend, but in the days since their last meeting she had looked forward to seeing him again. Her excitement spurred her on, urging her to run faster so as not to waste any of the night. She splashed across the river ford barely breaking her stride, and a short while later she was shaking her coat dry as she crept into the shady grove around the pool.

  The first thing she noticed was Jarek's outstretched hand urging her to remain still, and a moment later the skittish growl of a wild animal. He was crouched by the edge of the stream on his side of the pool, eyes focused intently upon a bushy-tailed fox crouched over a small pile of berries a few yards away. The creature, seemingly torn between finishing its meal and bolting from the predator that had just emerged from the undergrowth, hunched down over the berries and bared its teeth at Adel.

  “I knew she was bold, but I have never seen a fox try to face down a wolf before,” Jarek said softly, a grin evident in his voice. “You had better change shape before she startles.”

  As smoothly as she could, Adel obliged, leaving the animal to blink in confusion for a few moments before returning to nibbling at the berries.

  “I used to leave food for her when I came here a few summers ago,” Jarek said, beckoning Adel over. “It looks like she still remembers me.”

  “You could have eaten those berries yourself.”

  The young man turned to Adel and made an absurd, open-mouthed expression at her. “By the spirits, you are right! Now I shall surely starve.”

  Adel scrunched up her face in annoyance, before feeling that tickle of amusement work its way into her breast again. She could not help but titter, prompting the fox to prick up its ears and stare at her.

  “Go on,” Jarek said, rising to his feet and making a gentle shooing motion at the animal. “Seer Adel is here now. I can manage the company of only one woman tonight, Mother Fox.”

  Picking up the last of the berries in her mouth, Jarek's russet-furred companion turned and bounced away into the undergrowth.

  “Those creatures are rare to see here,” Adel said. “Is that why you like to watch that one?”

  “No. There are more of them closer to the forests. I just like Mother Fox.” He flashed his teeth at her. “She reminds me of you.”

  “She looks nothing like my wolf.”

  “Maybe not, but in spirit she is similar. She faced down a wolf. I think you would do the same.”

  “Or face down an alpha,” Adel muttered.

  Jarek cocked his head at her, placing his hands on his hips. They had talked little of the world beyond the pool in their previous meetings. He seemed unwilling to pry, but more than happy to listen. Adel would have been content to keep it that way, but for whatever reason she felt compelled to voice some of the thoughts that had been festering at the back of her mind since the last full moon.

  “Do you think it is a woman's duty to be mated?”

  Jarek pondered for a moment, then shrugged. “Her duty to her heart matters more.”

  �
�And what if she does not know her own heart?”

  “Then she should listen to it more carefully.”

  “You cannot— Ugh!” Adel grumbled, folding her arms. “Why would I ask you for counsel, all you are good for is fooling around.”

  Jarek nodded absently, then hopped over to Adel's side of the stream and took her hand, tugging her down to sit beside him. “Maybe I don't know words of wisdom like you, but I still say what I think. You should listen to your heart, and do what it wants. Now, my heart,” he blew a mouthful of air through his lips, raising his palms in exasperation, “it wants a little of everything. Sometimes I want to be out here, sometimes I want to swim the great water, other days I want to go south until I find the old land my grandfathers tell tales of.”

  “Then how do you ever decide to do anything?”

  “I just consider what I want the most. I could make that journey south, but...” The side of his mouth perked upward as he shot her a playful look. “I might be hunted down by the Sun People. I might get hurt and need a seer. So, I decide, it's better for me to stay with my pack. But if someone ever gave me a reason to go? If my brother came and said ʻJarek! We travel to our homeland today!ʼ then I think perhaps my choice would be different.”

  “Many people say things like that to me,” Adel said, “but they are not the things I wish to hear. No one gives me a reason to follow my own heart.”

  “Maybe some day, someone will.”

  The young seer nodded slowly. “Yes. One day, when I am den mother, they will have to.”

  Jarek laughed. “That is not what I meant, but who am I to doubt a den mother's wisdom?”

  “Maybe you are wise in your own way, if only because you are not like the others.”

  “Not many people would call that wise.” The faintly strained look that Adel had glimpsed once before crossed Jarek's face again, and for a moment he seemed almost sad. “Only a fool says the things I say.”