Kyla and Jenny ran out of the meadow, their faces flushed with color.
“Great catch, you guys!” Kyla went to Eva and Elise and stroked the little girl’s head. “Where did you go, wee one?”
“Is everybody okay?” Jenny panted. “What was that crazy light in the sky?”
“A guiding signal from our Mothers.” Jess was lowering herself stiffly onto a folded blanket. “We wouldn’t have found Elise in time without it.”
“Dana, let’s take care of your arm.” Brenna went to her pack to take out her satchel of medical supplies and almost walked into Kyla as she pushed past her to reach Dana.
“Demon’s bile. What happened?” Kyla lifted Dana’s arm gingerly and stared at the two sets of bloody bite marks.
“Our Elise ran into a wolf pack,” Jess said. “Dana tackled a charging she-wolf in full flight. It was an amazing feat, adanin.”
Brenna smiled at Jess, knowing she had deliberately voiced this praise when others could hear it.
“Well done, youngster.” Vicar gave Dana a gruff nod of approval.
“Shucks.” Dana shivered visibly. “I’m still spooked by how close it was.”
“Look, you did a wonderful thing, and that’s great.” Kyla was still examining Dana’s arm. “But these bites are still bleeding, Dana.” She flicked Brenna a glance that held real fear. “Is there any chance these wolves were rabid?”
“Nah, Jess said they were normal.” Dana smiled. “Just looking after their young, like us.”
“Kyla?” Brenna got one of their canteens and brought it to Kyla. “I want to get Elise settled. Would you wash out those punctures? I’ll be right there.”
“Sure, of course.” Kyla tugged Dana gently to the campfire and sat cross-legged on the grass beside her.
Eva and Jenny had gotten Elise seated on a fur, but she was fretful and whining and looked far from ready for sleep. Brenna went to Dana’s pack and pulled out their rolled map of the City. She selected a slim chunk of cold charcoal near their fire, and brought them to the little girl. She spread out the blank side of the parchment in front of her.
“Here, honey. Could you draw us a picture of the wolf puppy?”
“Okay.” Elise accepted the charcoal and peered at it curiously. “He had blue eyes.”
Coming down off their latest adrenaline-fueled escape, the Amazons prepared efficiently for sleep. Brenna checked Vicar and Jess, then doctored Dana’s arm and let Kyla take over bandaging it. Selene was fully visible above the trees by the time Brenna lay down beside Jess.
Elise had switched off halfway through her drawing and lay curled on the fur, still clenching the charcoal stick. Eva and Jenny had settled near her, both of them yawning widely. Jenny lifted herself on her elbows and sought out Brenna. There was a question in her eyes, and Brenna read the friendly compassion in Jenny’s gaze as if she’d known the woman for years. Brenna smiled assurance that she was all right.
Kyla and Dana were talking quietly together beside the fire. Their tones were hushed, but their words still carried in the still night air.
“Just don’t let these get infected.” Kyla was tying off the last bandage around Dana’s arm, the strips gleaming white against her tanned skin. “I really hate it when you’re hurt, Dana. You need to take better care of yourself. See? You’re still shivering.”
Brenna lifted her head from Jess’s shoulder and saw Dana seated next to Kyla, counting slowly on her fingers.
“Nah, I’m all right. I’ve just been sitting still too long.” There was a hollow note in Dana’s voice. “When I’m not moving, I start to count them up again.”
“Count who, honey?” Kyla slid closer to Dana and slipped her arm around her waist.
“The people I killed on this mission. Four or five, maybe. I don’t know if the men I shot in the Clinic are dead. I may have killed one of those guards before we got in.” Dana was watching the flames. “I keep remembering knifing that kid in the gut.”
“Oh, baby.” Kyla stroked Dana’s back. “That must be so hard.”
“It’s weird not knowing the exact number.” In the firelight, Dana looked years younger, open and unguarded as she gazed at Kyla. “This shouldn’t bug me, right? I mean, they were all clean kills.”
“It’s probably going to bug you all your life, Dana. And I thank Gaia you have the conscience for that.” Kyla touched Dana’s face. “Our Grandmothers honor your bravery in defending Tristaine, sweetie, but they cherish your noble heart even more, and so do I.”
The wonder rising in Dana’s eyes was intended for Kyla alone, and Brenna lowered her head to Jess’s shoulder again and tried to relax. She listened to Jess’s steady breathing. She wanted her home and safely bedded in their cabin, now, tonight.
“Sixteen.” Jess’s voice was a low rumble in her ear.
“Sixteen?” Brenna murmured. “And you’re supposed to be asleep, Jess.”
“The number of Tristaine’s enemies I’d killed, when I was Dana’s age.” Jess sounded drowsy. “I used to shake sometimes, too.”
You still shake sometimes, love, after a battle. Brenna kissed Jess’s shoulder. You’re our clan’s perfect warrior, Jesstin, with all the burdens that honor entails. “You’ll never take joy in killing, Jess. The Army didn’t teach Dana that a true warrior must revere life. She’s learned that from you.”
“As I learned it from Dyan.” Jess shifted beneath her. “We’re almost home, lass. Sleep, now.”
Across the campfire, Brenna saw Dana and Kyla draw closer to each other. They hesitated, their lips inches apart, and then Dana kissed her. Their first kiss was tentative, and then their mouths melded again, soft and lingering. Brenna smiled, and closed her eyes.
She prayed she’d find a vision of Tristaine in her sleep. She needed to know how Shann fared, and how serious the rebellion in the village had grown. But Brenna knew while her psyche was out searching the heavens, she would listen desperately for one loved voice.
Sammy? Are you out there? Tears welled behind Brenna’s closed lids. Come and tell me you’re all right. Please.
Chapter Fifteen
The yearning for home grew stronger in Jess as they neared the mesa, and she knew the sisters riding with her shared that pull. Even their horses sensed the welcome of Tristaine’s stables, and they broke into a weary lope after they crested the last forested rise that led to the mesa. Twilight had faded to full dark, but they needed no illumination to follow this well-loved path.
“Jess!” Brenna urged her horse alongside Bracken. “There’s trouble.”
Jess took in the distant sheen in Brenna’s eyes. She reined in and signaled the others to stop. “What do you see, Bren?”
“It’s what I’m hearing.” Brenna turned her head slightly, with a look of intense listening. “Women’s voices. Shouting. Lots of anger and fear.”
Jess began to signal formation, but then a distant sound reached her, too. Not the cries of women, but the faint clapping of horses’ hooves through the underbrush.
“Jesstin?” Vicar called from the rear of their pack.
“Aye, Vic, I hear.”
“They’re running, Jess.” Brenna’s eyes were filled with dread. “They’ve left the mesa.”
Jess whistled sharply, and Bracken exploded into a full gallop with one nudge of her knees.
The trees were still dense this side of the mesa, and Jess gave Bracken his head to weave through them. She ducked to avoid low-slung branches, part of her focus trained on the adanin riding in quick formation behind her. Jess heard a metallic creaking ahead, around a closely studded stand of maples.
The Amazons fleeing the mesa had taken a wagon, drawn by two horses. Its wooden bed held half a dozen children of various ages, their frightened faces flashing by Jess as she urged Bracken faster. Besides the two women driving the wagon, Jess saw three mounted warriors riding escort, and a low rage kindled in her gut. She whistled complex instructions to her cadre to surround their targets, and to fight without harm.
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br /> Startled faces turned toward them as they broke through the trees. One of the drivers lashed the horses and the wagon lurched, careening through the thick brush. Jess feared the cretins would dump their fragile cargo if they hit a rut. The warriors rode close by the wagon, and Jess pointed Bracken toward the one in the lead.
Cries of alarm rang out, and the high, fearful screams of the children, and she knew this had to end quickly. Jess drew aside the lead warrior, gathered herself, and leaped off Bracken’s back. She knocked the woman sideways off her horse, and they smacked the ground with a teeth-rattling impact. Jess dismissed the pain coursing through her and twisted on top of the warrior’s flailing body.
She knew this Amazon’s face, and her smell. Perry’s adonai considered fresh mint a protective charm, and she always wore a sachet of crushed leaves around her neck. Jess swiveled and pinned her to the ground, but not easily. Her strength was flagging, and it would be a close match if this came to blows.
Seeing their escort fall had broken the nerve of the wagon’s drivers, and they let Kyla and Brenna grab their horses’ bridles and slow them to a stop. Jess saw, with some relief, that the other two warriors had not so flagrantly forsaken their vows that they drew arms on their guild’s leaders at first sight. They sat rigidly on their horses, under Dana’s close watch and Vicar’s notched bow. Jenny held Elise while Eva climbed into the wagon’s bed to check the young.
Jess sensed a flurry of movement beneath her and reacted, answering Perry’s jabbing knee by pounding her own into her gut. Breath gushed out of Perry’s lungs and she tried to bend double, but Jess straight-armed her flat again.
“Don’t vex me, Amazon,” Jess hissed. “You disgrace your glyph by defying our queen’s law.”
“Jesstin, the sickness is everywhere!” One of the warriors was Kadisha, the mother of twin daughters. “The City remedy Hakan brought us doesn’t work!”
“I’m breathing proof it works, you witless dunce!” Vicar spat, still sighting her arrow carefully on the warrior’s leg.
“Hear me, Perry.” Jess had seen the furtive glances the other women sent Perry’s way, and knew she was the leader of this ill-advised plot. “We will do what we must to turn this wagon back toward Tristaine. If you insist on letting these little ones see their mothers injured or killed, let’s have it done.”
“Jesstin.” Perry was still gasping from the blow to her gut. “I tried to reason with Shann—”
“Silence, woman.” Jess shoved Perry down again and drew her dagger in one swift motion. “You can argue this betrayal to your guild and the Council. Your only choice now is to fight us or sur—”
“Please, Jesstin.” The third warrior, Kaden, broke in. “You know we honor you—”
Jess whipped her dagger into whistling flight, and its tip thudded deep into a branch just inches from Kaden’s wide left eye. Jess realized she should have considered the possibility that her concussed aim would be off, but she was too angry now for regrets.
“Don’t talk to me about honor, warrior. You abandoned our queen at Tristaine’s darkest hour. You shame Dyan’s memory.” Jess got to her feet and hauled Perry up with her, suppressing any hint of the grinding effort involved. The night air was quiet except for the harsh breathing of their horses. Even the children were silent as Perry and Jess faced each other.
Jess eyed her evenly. “Will you stand down, adanin?”
Perry was struggling to compose her features. She glanced over her shoulder toward the wagon, and then met Jess’s gaze. “We’ll go back with you, Jess.”
“Wise decision.” Jess couldn’t look at her anymore. She liked Perry, and respected her, and that made the sting personal. That warriors under Jess’s guidance had joined this rebellion galled her deeply. “You warriors, into the wagon. Dana, gather their horses.”
“You heard her, bait.” Vicar nudged Kadisha none too gently with her foot. “Move.”
Jess rested her hands on her knees and pulled in a deep breath. She felt Brenna’s light touch on her back.
“That fall did me absolutely no good,” Jess complained, before Brenna could say it. She straightened stiffly. “The bairns are all right?”
“Yes, they’re fine.” Brenna looked her over quickly. “You sure you’re okay?”
“Aye, Bren.”
“Jess, I’m still hearing them.”
Jess saw that Brenna’s shoulders had lost none of their tension. “The screams in the village, lass?”
“I need to be there, Jesstin.” The dreamy cast had left Brenna’s features, and her gaze was direct and sharp. “I’m riding ahead.”
Jess realized Brenna was not asking her permission. She spoke with a sure certainty that brought Shann strongly to mind. Jess gave the hand signal that acknowledged an order from an Amazon queen. “Aye, Brenna, I hear. We’ll follow you fast.”
*
Brenna pulled herself onto Hippo’s back and urged her to a gallop. The little bay seemed startled that her gentle rider’s touch suddenly held such command, but she obeyed gamely. They cantered up the rising path that led to the top of the mesa only minutes later.
After one stunned look at Tristaine’s village square, Brenna just kept riding. It seemed half the clan had gathered there, carrying blazing torches, an angry mob incarnate. She nudged her horse into the midst of the roiling women, trying to pick out individual voices from the shouts cutting the air.
“Let us see Shann!” An invisible cry sounded behind Brenna. “If this City drug can save us, why hasn’t it cured our lady?”
Small pockets of Amazons clustered together, arguing furiously. Brenna saw Bethany and Martine in one such group, their faces flushed with anger.
“My grandmother took that potion two days ago, and she’s no better!” Jaisa, one of the weaver’s guild, stood on a log bench, tears streaming down her face. “Let our mothers take their children out, it’s their only chance!”
“Our lady’s rule is clear, sisters!” Oisin jumped onto another bench and raised her hands for silence. “No one leaves the mesa. Hakan tells us that Shann will address us in the morning. Our lady must rest tonight—”
“Our lady is too weak to leave her bed!” Bethany spun on Oisin. “Shann might be dying, warrior! This miracle drug she promised us is worthless.” Someone cried in agreement, and Bethany lifted her fist. “We’ve lost seventy Amazons, sisters! How many more must die before you let us take our young out of this pestilence!”
“Brenna!” Sarah was making her way toward her, brandishing a cane to clear her path. She slapped her gnarled hand over Brenna’s. “Thanks kindly for finally getting your lily-white butt back here, girl.”
Brenna saw the genuine relief and affection in her elder’s eyes. “It’s good to see you, grandmother. But this is an ugly welcome.”
“Isn’t this the snotrag-sorriest mess you ever saw?” Sarah spat on the ground as shouting rose around them again. Brenna leaned down to hear her. “Hakan got here yesterday morning with the City’s brew. She’s with Shann in her lodge.”
Brenna’s chest tightened. “How’s our lady, Sarah?”
“Knocked flat off her feet with grief, youngster.” Sarah’s wrinkled face softened. “Brenna. Have you heard?”
“Yes, I know Sammy’s gone.”
The old warrior nodded and patted Brenna’s hand again. “Shanendra took a bad turn for the worse, but she’s got that drug in her now. Seeing your face will do her a damn good turn. But first...”
“First we have butts to kick, lily-white and otherwise.” Brenna smiled grimly. “Stay close, Sarah.”
“I’ll be right here, lady.” Sarah stepped back and smacked her cane in her palm smartly, and Brenna turned Hippo toward the center of the village square.
Other voices called her name now, as more women sighted her. Brenna clicked Hippo to a trot, and she didn’t pull up when she reached a snarl of arguing Amazons. They scattered from her path with yelps of alarm, and Brenna kept riding.
The rugged ston
e block that rested in the center of the village marked holy ground in the eyes of every Amazon who dwelled there. It sanctified the spot where once rested the diabolic altar of a deranged and demonic queen. The sculpted rock now served as a monument to the warriors lost in the battle that vanquished her. Brenna lifted one leg over Hippo’s back and stepped nimbly onto its flat, chiseled surface.
She heard more than one gasp break out among the milling women as she faced them, and heads turned her way from every corner of the square. Touching the altar was no sacrilege—many women in the clan had draped themselves on its rough length, prostrate in grief, more than once. But something in the easy command of Brenna’s stance on the stone claimed it as her royal pulpit.
The noise and clamor abated slowly, but then Brenna was in no hurry to speak. She saw that Jess had arrived and was riding Bracken around the outskirts of the crowd, studying it with diamond-sharp eyes. Sarah and Aria were watching Brenna, their postures tense and ready.
Brenna’s breathing was even, her pulse slow and measured. She waited for silence with the same certainty that filled her when she tended Tristaine’s wounded. Jess had sensed it, the strange confidence that filled her now, and so had Sarah. Whoever Brenna might be tomorrow morning, tonight she was an Amazon queen.
The warrior Jackson, holding a blazing torch, stood in the inner ring of women around the stone. Brenna extended her hand, and Jackson stepped forward and tossed her the torch. She caught it easily and lifted it, bathing the monument in a red-gold light.
“Adanin, hear me!” Brenna shouted the words—not in anger, but to reach every ear. “I stand on a shrine raised to honor our Amazon dead. The warriors remembered here died defending Tristaine, and their courage and sacrifice are sacred to us. Now we face another battle, no less deadly than the one that killed our valiant sisters. And we must attack our enemy with equal courage.”
“We hear, Brenna!”
Brenna heard Shasa’s cry, and continued. “We’ve asked for your patience as our healers fight this plague, but patience isn’t enough. We must draw upon all the courage that courses through Amazon blood to hold faith with each other now. We must fight this battle as a united clan.”
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