by Jade White
Gerda smiled as she lifted the frail old woman’s head up so she could sip the bitter painkilling brew. “There, it should make you feel less pain at least,” she said as Holda slowly sipped the drug.
“Thank you, child. This will help a bit. Onris there didn’t want to listen to me,” she said as she scowled at the old man. Holda lay back and sighed while closing her eyes. “Yes, that is much better, thank you, Gerda,” she said as she relaxed.
She sat with Onris and Holda throughout the night. She added a few more lumps of deer fat to the stone lamp as the night progressed and Onris handed her some deer jerky to eat. “Oh! I forgot to get Geri some food!” she exclaimed as she jumped up.
Onris placed his hand on her shoulder and urged her to sit back down. “He’s his own man, he can find his own food. As far as we know, he’s probably snoring like a moose in his tent. He hasn’t slowed down since you were taken.”
Gerda nodded as she watched the old woman’s breathing get shallower and shallower as the time ticked by. Suddenly, Holda grabbed Gerda’s arm and pulled her down.
“It’s time,” the old woman rasped as she drew Gerda closer. “This…is…my…last….” She gasped as she exhaled a warm orange glow into Gerda’s open mouth.
Gerda tasted a sweet honey as the warm energy flowed into her lungs as she inhaled Holda’s last shuddering breath deep into her lungs. The warmth rapidly spread from her chest to her limbs and head as the source of her people’s spiritual power spread through her.
After the warm glow subsided, she looked down and saw Holda’s lifeless eyes staring back at her. Gerda gently reached down, closed the lids and looked at her father with sorrow rimming her blue eyes. She then threw herself into her father’s arms as she wept for the entire pack’s loss. Holda was a fixture as old as their people. No one knew what life was like without her. She had caught hundreds of babies as they were born into this world, and Gerda hoped she would have helped usher in the one that was growing in her belly at that very moment.
Onris detangled himself from Gerda’s embrace and made his way out of the tent. “I need to tell the pack Holda has passed. Your first duty as shaman will be to prepare her body for cremation,” he said with deadly seriousness. “Once she is scattered to the four winds with the rest of the spirits, you will be able to mourn with Geri.”
Gerda nodded as she pulled the furs from Holda’s corpse. “I’m going to need help moving her.”
“That can be arranged,” he said. “For now, you need to wash her and get her covered in the sacred blood.”
Gerda understood. When their packs were split, she was the one who helped Onris with the burial ritual whenever one of their own was killed by the Northern Pack, from old age or disease.
Onris brought a basin of steaming hot water into the tent and placed some dried lavender flowers in it. “There you go,” he said as he placed it on the ground next to her. “The chamois cloth is in the chest over there,” he said as he left once more.
She gently undressed the old woman and placed her furs off to the side. Gerda then opened the wooden chest that held all of Holda’s meagre belongings and pulled out the chamois cloth that had wrapped her when she was born. The cloth was old and stiff with age, but became pliable once she put it in the basin of warm scented water. She then pulled out the old woman’s ceremonial outfit and placed it next to her.
Gerda wrung out the cloth and gently washed the old woman’s cooling body, paying extra attention to her brow, heart and belly. She scrubbed each finger one by one with the soft chamois leather. After Holda’s body was ritually cleansed, Gerda reached into the sacred chest that now would be hers and pulled out a pot of fat mixed with red ochre. She smeared the fat all over the body to symbolize the blood of birth, since Holda was about to be reborn into the spirit realm with their ancestors.
After Gerda anointed the old woman, she dressed her in the finery she had set aside. The outfit was a combination of black and white leather, decorated with red beads and porcupine quills. Along the collar was a hood made out of a deer’s head. The outfit was as ancient as the old woman was, whose age number was lost to the seasons. As Gerda dressed the former shaman, many memories flooded back.
Holda didn’t care about the faction split. The old lady came to deliver babies regardless of Eastern or Northern alliances. Hers were the first hands that touched Gerda as she took her first breath, and Gerda’s hands were the last ones Holda felt as she took her last.
Onris came in and looked at the body of his lover one last time. “The pyre is built. We’ll bring her out now,” he said sadly.
Gerda slipped out of the tent while Onris, Freki, Geri, and Bargi entered to bring out Holda’s slight body. Did she really need all four men to carry her? She was so small and frail, Gerda thought, choking back tears.
The four men exited the tent, one at each corner of the fur that cradled Holda’s small body. Geri met Gerda’s gaze and held it for a minute. The two were linked in their sorrow as they proceeded towards the pile of branches and leaves that had been set up on the outskirts of camp. The rest of the camp followed the solemn procession as the funeral stopped at the dais. The men placed Holda’s body down on the pile of wood and stepped back. Mamut was off to the side watching the solemn ceremony with sadness in his green eyes, his shaggy beard hiding most of his features.
Onris stepped forward and handed Gerda the torch.
“We are gathered here today, to mourn the passing of one of the longest lived members of our pack, Holda, her family name lost to the tides of time. She has been with us since nearly the beginning of our people.” Onris paused to collect himself as emotion welled up inside of him. “She has passed her gift, her power, to my daughter Gerda, who is co-leader of the pack along with Geri Fenrison. All is not lost, for what passes gets renewed. The cycle of life shall continue.” Onris looked at his fur clad feet for a moment. “We shall all mourn our loss in our own way, but for the safety for those that remain, Holda’s mortal body must be sent off before it is awoken with sinister magic and she is left to walk this world without respite or compassion.” He nodded to Gerda as he concluded his short eulogy.
She held the torch to each of the four corners of the fur wrap that Holda’s body was laying on. The flames caught rapidly and licked up the greased leather and moved towards Holda’s immobile corpse. Gerda then tossed the torch into an opening in the pile of wood and sticks and all watched as the pyre caught in a conflagration of flame and smoke. Letting bodies stay around was just an open invitation for the deadwalkers to come and claim the dead, and even though Gerda had Holda’s spirit power now, they didn’t want to risk anything like that going to the tribe of the dead.
As the pyre burned, Geri walked over to Gerda and placed his arm around her shoulder in comfort. She rested her head on his strong chest and wept as the permanent fixture of their pack went up in smoke and ash. They didn’t need to say a word as the pyre burnt down to glowing cinders.
The entire pack stood and observed the cremation in solemn silence out of respect for the dead. It took a good long while for the wood and branches to burn down to a pile of coals and ash but eventually the fire burned itself out. As the glow from the smouldering coals disappeared, Gerda stepped forward and took a deep breath.
“As the new shaman, it is my job to scatter the ashes of the dead to the four winds,” she announced. Gerda tapped into the reservoir of power deep inside of her and felt herself reaching outwards and bringing a wall of air towards the camp. “I summon the wind to bring Holda to the spirits of our ancestors!” Gerda cried out as a stiff breeze began to whip the ashes around her up into the sky.
With that, the funeral was over. Geri walked up to Gerda and placed his arm around her shoulders once more. “Would you be willing to stay with me in our tent tonight?” he asked.
“Of course,” Gerda answered. She definitely could use the comfort.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Gerda and Geri crawled into their shared tent and em
braced one another in sorrow at their mutual loss. Geri caressed Gerda’s hair gently as she was finally able to weep into his strong shoulder. All the emotional turmoil of the past few weeks had caught up with her and she needed to let it out. She sobbed into his shoulder for a good half an hour, letting her grief flow freely after being bottled up. She wiped her nose on her sleeve and looked up at Geri through her swollen eyes.
Geri smiled softly at Gerda and bent down to kiss her. As their lips met, Gerda felt a massive wave of relief wash over her. She was home and with her mate, everything up until that point just melted away as they kissed.
She felt his tongue probing between her lips and she opened them up in welcome. She craved his touch. She’ll tell him about her pregnancy after they coupled, she thought. No need to frighten him into stopping. Their tongues stroked each other as they embraced and Geri’s hand searched under Gerda’s buckskin tunic for her full, round breast.
She moaned as she felt Geri’s fingers stroke her sensitive nipple, sending shocks of need through her body. Geri’s hungry mouth started to lick and suck at her sensitive neck as they made their way down to the bed furs.
“Are you alright?” he asked.
“Yes, I need this,” Gerda said as she drew him closer.
Geri groaned as he tore his furs off and flung them into the corner of the tent. He then hastily untied Gerda’s tunic and lifted it over her head. After her chest was unclothed, his mouth went directly to her full breast, devouring it. As Geri suckled, Gerda moaned and laced her fingers in his fine blonde hair. Each powerful draw he took on her sensitive nipple sent exquisite shock waves of lust through her body. She felt her pussy moisten in response to Geri’s insistent touch as he suckled hungrily on her full breasts. She felt his hand undo the laces of her leggings and tug them down off of her full hips.
She felt his fingers probe her moist folds as he devoured her bosom. Geri slipped one of his rough fingers inside her dripping well and slid it out and up to her sensitive clitoris. Gerda let out a yelp of pleasure as she felt Geri’s finger circle the sensitive nub of flesh, causing tremors of pleasure to course through her belly.
As he fingered her, Geri moved his head lower down Gerda’s trembling body. She knew what was going to happen but she still gasped as she felt Geri’s soft tongue probe her folds. He licked one side and then the other, avoiding her throbbing clit as she mewled plaintively for release. Gerda’s womanhood was throbbing, aching to be filled in the only way Geri knew how. She felt Geri’s tongue slither into her dripping opening and she bucked her hips so hard she almost banged his nose.
Geri securely held Gerda’s hips as he lapped up her juices. She moaned and thrashed as his tongue teasingly grazed her sensitive nub as he licked her sex. Gerda felt her climax building as Geri devoured her womanhood with insatiable lust. She felt his strong fingers probe at her depths as he tongued her clit, he pressed upwards as he felt her tensing around his long fingers and sucked on her sensitive nub for all he was worth.
Gerda let out a yell as her climax coursed through her. She saw bright stars behind her clenched lids as wave after wave of ecstasy flooded over her. Geri lapped up the gush of moisture that flooded from Gerda as she climaxed like it was the water of life itself. His cock was straining at his breeches, eager to sink into Gerda’s quivering depths.
He unlaced his breeches and pulled them off while Gerda lay on the furs panting heavily from her release. He bent down and kissed her while he positioned himself between her eagerly spread legs. “You have no idea how much I missed you,” he whispered as he placed the scorching hot head of his throbbing cock at the entrance of Gerda’s sopping wet sex.
“I’ve got a pretty good idea,” she replied as she drew Geri in for a deep kiss.
With one smooth motion, he filled her aching emptiness with his hot, throbbing manhood. Gerda let out a moan as they were finally together in the ultimate union. Geri closed his eyes as he felt Gerda’s heat surround him and he fought to not spill his seed so soon.
Gerda felt Geri’s throbbing member deep inside her and wrapped her legs tightly around him. He was breathing hard to keep in control of his passion as he slowly moved inside her. Each thrust drove Gerda wild. It stroked something deep within her causing her climax to build once more.
Geri groaned as he thrust deep inside Gerda. His control over his climax was getting harder to maintain since it had been so long since they last coupled. He stopped moving and buried his head next to Gerda’s neck so he could kiss and nuzzle her some more. He then moved his fingers down to where they were joined and teased her aching clit some more.
Gerda felt another wave of pleasure building up inside as Geri teased her throbbing nub as he remained buried motionless inside of her. She longed for him to pound away at her, and was confused as to why he was holding off so she ground her hips against his, eliciting a groan of defeat as Geri succumbed to his lust.
He removed his fingers from Gerda’s folds and began to thrust hard and fast inside her hot, moist well. Gerda let out a cry as she felt herself being jack-hammered by Geri’s powerful body. She wrapped her legs around his narrow waist as he rode her to her second climax, feeling each hard thrust pounding away at her G-spot driving her closer to her climax.
She felt a second tide of ecstasy wash over her as Geri grunted his seed into her. He couldn’t hold back anymore as he felt her strong muscles grip his throbbing, aching cock as she cried out her release. Geri released almost a moon cycle’s worth of seed into Gerda’s grasping womanhood as it milked him for all he had.
Geri collapsed and rolled off of his mate in post-coital exhaustion. “We haven’t done that nearly enough,” he said panting.
“No, we haven’t,” she said as she cuddled up to him and rested her blonde head on his hairy chest. “I do have something to tell you though.”
“What’s that now?” he asked as he gazed into her blue eyes with adoration.
“I might be with child. I haven’t had my moon blood since we mated. The last I had it was two weeks before we mated at the Speaking Stone.”
“You’re serious?” Geri said as he bolted up. “You’re with child?”
“All signs are pointing to yes, I’ll wait one more moon cycle to be sure because a woman’s blood can be stopped by stress, and I was stressed.”
Geri was grinning from ear to ear. “Yes, let’s wait on telling the rest of the pack until we know for sure. I hope I didn’t hurt it?” he said as he gently placed his warm hands on her lower belly.
“No, there’s no real way you can hurt it unless there are problems, and those are pretty obvious,” Gerda reassured her mate.
Geri sighed with relief. “I’m glad. We should get some sleep though. I’m going to be taking Mamut to the Raptors with the sacred vessel and drive them away once and for all tomorrow.”
“Are Freki and Bargi going with you?”
“Not this time. They need to go hunting for the main pack. There isn’t enough meat stored for the winter. It’ll just be me and Mamut.”
“It’s going to be dangerous,” Gerda said with concern.
“Not as dangerous if they manage to get up here. You’re safe with the pack now. They won’t take you again,” Geri said.
“Then why can’t we just wait for them to bugger off for another thousand years?”
“Because there’s still a risk. They still have two weeks to come and take you away. We can’t let that happen.”
“Astri is with them,” she said quietly.
“What?” Geri exclaimed. “I killed that miserable mange ridden cur!”
“Yeah, well Sthiss brought him back from the dead.”
“That puts a different spin on things. I’m leaving tomorrow and ripping that undead freak’s throat out and then letting Mamut disintegrate the Raptors with his artifact.”
Gerda nodded, curled up next to Geri and closed her eyes. She tried to bite back the gnawing anxiety that was rising in her chest. She didn’t want him leaving her tomo
rrow. The Raptors would rip him limb from limb if they caught him. She fought back her tears while Geri rolled over and wrapped his strong arms around her.
After a while, Geri was snoring hard and Gerda was still fighting to get to sleep. She stared up at the tent ceiling and wished Geri didn’t have to leave; their reunion was far too brief and if she lost him she wouldn’t be able to cope. She already had lost Holda, her father probably wasn’t too far behind either.
Gerda sighed, rolled back over onto her side, closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, dreading what tomorrow would bring.
CHAPTER 12
The next morning dawned with a cool mist covering the forest. It wasn’t quite winter yet so the last vestiges of warmth still clung to the lands further south. Geri and Gerda crawled out of their tent and walked to the clearing where Mamut stood waiting for them.
“It’s time to go,” Mamut rumbled in his deep voice.
Gerda threw herself at Geri and embraced him fiercely. “You come back, do you understand? I can’t continue on without you.”
“I’ll try. But you will continue regardless if I come back or not, do you understand? The entire welfare of the pack will rest on your shoulders, both spiritually and physically. You will be the leader,” Geri said sternly.
Gerda swallowed hard and nodded. She didn’t want to lead the pack on her own. She wanted her mate to be by her side, ruling and advising the pack on the same level.
Geri tilted Gerda’s head up and gave her a long kiss goodbye. “I’ll be back, don’t worry,” he said as he changed into his wolf form and padded up to Mamut who was cradling a cloaked object in his arms.
“You better be or I’ll find your corpse and bring you back like Sthiss did to Astri,” she threatened.
Mamut cleared his throat. “I’m sorry but only the Raptors can practice necromancy…” he said. “That or the death wind can wake a corpse. When the death wind blows, the corpses become animated, but brainless.”