Nik was standing in the center of a circle of women who were seated cross-legged around him, listening intently as he explained something with great animation. Mari made her way closer, trying to get within hearing distance without interrupting. She settled for sitting, her back to a log, close enough to catch about every fifth word or so.
“He’s talking to them about the cloak things he wants them to weave for the traveling cocoons.” Jenna came up behind Mari to sit beside her friend.
“I’d just about figured that out. It’s funny to see a man teaching Clanswomen, isn’t it?” Mari said.
“Well, yeah, it’s funny strange. What’s seriously funny bizarre is the fact that the man is a Companion,” Jenna said.
Mari turned her head to meet her friend’s gaze. “How are you doing with all of this? Companions killed your father and captured you. It has to be hard, sometimes, to be around them now.”
“I had to make a choice. I could either hold on to my anger and allow it to color the rest of my life or I could let it go, start over, join the Pack, and move into the future. I chose to let it go.”
“Do you think the other women have chosen that, too?” Mari asked.
Jenna studied the women listening carefully to Nik and nodded. “I think the ones who are content made that choice. The others? We’ll know about them soon enough. It’s hard to hide hatred.”
“I missed you so much while you were gone,” Mari said. “And that night—that terrible night your father was killed—I tried to help you. I wanted to help you.”
“There’s nothing you could have done except what you did—get free and live for another day. Because you did, we’re all here right now, starting a new day with a new Pack.” Jenna dimpled at her.
Mari returned her smile. “I’m glad you asked to be trained as a Healer. You’re really good at it.”
“Thank you, Moon Woman!” Jenna said happily. “I did think my best friend was sickly for many years, so I guess you could say I grew up wishing I knew how to cure illnesses.” She paused and then added, “It feels so strange to be getting ready to leave here forever. I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited and so frightened at the same time.”
“I know what you mean. I’m excited about where we’re going, but frightened about leaving our home,” Mari said. “I think that’s how change is, though.”
“It’s what your mama would want for us,” Jenna said.
“She’d be the first one going through the pass!” Mari laughed softly at the thought of how excited her mama would have been about their upcoming adventure. Then her expression sobered. “I am worried about Nik going back to the Tribe.”
“It’s dangerous—that’s for sure—but if anyone knows what he’s doing back there it’s Nik. And Davis and Cammy will be with him. If they get into trouble, you’ll know about it,” Jenna said.
“If I have to go back to that place and get Nik out of there again, I’m not going to be so nice this time.”
Jenna’s gaze grew hard. Her voice lost its youthful lightness. “I hope you don’t have to go back there, either, but if you do, teach them a lesson, Moon Woman.”
“Oh, I will, Jenna. I promise.”
* * *
Wilkes coughed—a terrible, wet sound—and scratched at his elbow. “This is a stupid time to get sick,” he muttered to Odin, who was watching him with worry clear in his intelligent amber eyes. With a moan and more effort than it should have taken, Wilkes stood up from the seat he’d taken on the burned ground at the base of what remained of a blackened pine that used to hold nests for an entire family. “Warriors, to me!” he called, and then coughed again.
From the forest around him, Warriors and their Shepherds stood, shaking off leaves and sleep, coughing fitfully. As a group, they were grim faced and quiet. The Shepherds mirrored their Companions’ state of mind, staying close to them and lending them strength through their bond. When they were all gathered around him, Wilkes spoke, his voice as dark as his mood.
“We now officially change our mission from a search for survivors to body retrieval. Are we all in agreement?”
Nods and muttered yeses washed through the group.
“Okay, then we begin salvaging everything we can from the ruins. Get all of the metals and mirrors that didn’t melt in the fire. Go to each of the lift sites. Let’s hope we can salvage at least a few of the pulleys. I don’t think many of us are up for making a run to Port City to try to scavenge metal.”
“Not with this swarm-be-damned flu that has us all coughing and scratching and thoroughly sick to our stomachs,” Claudia said.
“But at least we’re alive. Our Companions are alive. The faster we rebuild, the faster we can get the wounded off the ground and back to the safety of the trees,” Wilkes said.
“If we have any wounded left,” Renard said. “More and more are dying every day. This sickness is taking them more quickly than their burns.”
“How is your father?” Wilkes asked the younger man.
Renard rested his hand on his Shepherd Wolf’s head. “Not good. He’s very ill. I thought he would recover from the burns, but now…” He shook his head, unable to continue.
“I’m truly sorry,” Wilkes said.
“We are all sorry, but what are we going to do about it?” asked a Warrior named Maxim gruffly.
“We’re going to rebuild. We’re going to survive,” Wilkes said.
“Not without that Scratcher Healer of Nik’s,” said Maxim.
Wilkes narrowed his eyes at Maxim. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about the same thing Thaddeus and his Hunters have been talking about. That Scratcher bitch has some kind of dark magick that cured O’Bryan and Nik of the blight. It makes sense that if she can cure that she can also cure whatever this sickness is that’s spreading through the Tribe, as well as help heal our wounded of their burns.”
“I met Mari. She’s part Companion—that’s obvious by her looks and by the fact that Laru’s pup chose her. And she’s not a bitch at all,” said Claudia.
“She also called down sunfire and saved our Tribe. Is Thaddeus talking about that, too?” Wilkes said.
“That’s all the more reason to find her and bring her here,” Maxim said.
“Along with Nik,” Renard added.
“Nik will return. He said he would, and I believe him,” Wilkes said.
“Sure, but when?” Maxim said. “He’s snugged away with his Scratcher while we’re suffering and barely surviving. If I were him, I sure as bloody beetle balls wouldn’t return—or at least not very soon.”
“Then your word wouldn’t be worth shit,” Wilkes said.
“Which is good to know,” Claudia said.
“Hey, take your judgment and shove it up a wolf spider’s ass!” Maxim told Claudia. “And if you’re sweet on Nik, you better remember he has a woman now—a Scratcher woman.”
Claudia slowly shook her head. “I’m going to forgive you for that. You’re ill and not yourself, although some of us are more ourselves than others.”
“I meant everything I just said!” Maxim insisted.
“And I agree with him,” Renard said. “If only because we need Nik’s woman here as Healer.”
Claudia opened her mouth to respond, anger glinting in her eyes, but Wilkes raised his hand, silencing the group.
“There is a point where each of us must make a decision—do we hold true to that which raises us up, or that which is most base about humans? I believe Thaddeus and his ilk have decided to embrace that which is lowest, most base. I don’t know if he and his Hunters have done it because that is their way to survive, or whether the darkness, the anger, within them that has been brewing for some time now has an opportunity to overflow. I’ve chosen differently. And if surviving means I have to lose everything that is good and kind within me to anger, then I would rather not survive. But that is a decision for each man and woman to make. And part of not falling into hatred is having the ability to let go. So, how many of you agree with Maxim and Renard?” Wilkes asked. “How many of you believe Nik and Mari should be hunted down and forced to come here as captives?”
“I do,” Maxim said quickly. “It’s as Thaddeus says. The Tribe has always acted on what is best for the whole, and if that means Nik and a mutant Scratcher woman are inconvenienced to save the rest of us, so be it.”
“Inconvenienced? That’s what you call captivity and slavery?” Claudia was incredulous.
“Really? You’re going to pretend to be above captivity and slavery now?” Maxim sneered. “It didn’t bother you when we had an island full of Scratcher slaves tending and harvesting crops for us for generations.”
“I didn’t know better then. I do now,” Claudia said. “I met Mari. I listened to Nik. I changed.”
Maxim made a disparaging sound and turned his back to her.
“Who else is with Maxim?” Wilkes asked.
“I am,” Renard said, only not with the arrogance Maxim showed. “I want my father to live, and Nik’s woman is the best chance I have at that.”
“Anyone else?” Wilkes prompted again.
Slowly, one by one, each of Wilkes’s Warriors, except for Claudia, gave an affirmative. Some reluctantly, sending apologetic looks to their Leader, but the majority of them responded more like Maxim—angry and ready to do something about it, even as they coughed and looked miserable.
Wilkes blew out a long breath, staring down at the blackened ground beneath him that just days ago had been carpeted by thick, emerald moss. The world has gone mad, Wilkes thought before lifting his head and looking around the group.
“Then go to Thaddeus. He is your Leader now, as I cannot in good conscience call you my Warriors if you follow his choices,” Wilkes said.
The group stared at Wilkes in disbelief, not moving.
“Go!” he shouted at them. “Go find your new Leader. Plan dark things fueled by anger and fear that will bring you and our people only sadness and suffering. Go!”
Without another word, the Warriors melted away. Except for Claudia and her Companion, Mariah.
“What now?” Claudia asked Wilkes.
“Why are you asking?”
“Because I’m the only Warrior left and I want to know my Leader’s plan,” Claudia said. “I’m sick, I’m sad, I’m exhausted and afraid, but I have not let sickness and sadness drive me to anger and madness. Neither have you. So, I’ll ask again—what’s your plan?”
“I’m going to find Nik and warn him and his woman before he walks into a trap,” Wilkes said.
“You really think he’ll come back?”
“I know he will, and if he does there is no way Thaddeus is going to let him leave, whether Mari is with him or not.”
“All right. When are we going?”
“We?”
“Do we really need to go over this again? I’m with you, Wilkes.” Claudia coughed, grimaced, and wiped her mouth on her sleeve. “No matter how terrible I feel.”
“Okay then. You’re with me.” Wilkes checked the sky. “It’s only about three hours until dusk. To keep Thaddeus from following, we’re going to need to leave when he wouldn’t expect us to.”
“Which means dusk,” Claudia said. “I’ll put together the travel kits. He doesn’t watch me like he does you.”
“Be sure you grab torches and tinder. Once we’re far enough from the Tribe, we’ll light them. They’ll keep the wolf spiders away, if nothing else.”
“Got it. Where are we meeting?” Claudia asked.
“East of here, at the edge of our city.” Wilkes jerked his chin at the ruined forest to his right. “If you get stopped you can always say you’re foraging.”
Claudia nodded. “The travel packs would look like I thought I might get caught out after dark. Makes sense. At dusk, then?”
“At dusk. Let’s go back to camp in different directions. No one should know you’re with me.”
“Agreed,” said Claudia.
They shook hands somberly before separating. Invigorated, Wilkes kicked into a jog, with Odin by his side. The world around Wilkes might have gone mad, but he was determined to hold on to his sanity and to warn Nik—and that determination carried him forward into the unknown.
* * *
“Fix him!” Thaddeus spewed spittle into Ralina’s face as she turned to look at him over Odysseus’s fever-ravaged body.
“I’m sorry. There’s nothing I can do. Whether Odysseus lives or dies is up to him.” Ralina’s voice was filled with pity as she wiped a sleeve across her face.
“That’s bullshit! What did the others say? The other Healers?”
Ralina sighed. “Thaddeus, they said the same after they examined him. Odysseus’s wound is infected. Badly. It’s been packed with herbs and sealed with honey, but he’s stopped drinking and eating. If he doesn’t fight he’s going to die.”
“No.” Thaddeus scooped up Odysseus, shocked anew at how light his Terrier felt in his arms—as if he was already fading away. “No,” he repeated. “You said the fever is killing him?”
“Well, yes. But he only has a fever because of the infection. The knife wound was deep. It got dirty, which isn’t surprising in all of this.” Ralina gestured around them at the ruined forest. “If he fights off the infection, the fever will break.”
“I’ll get the sun-be-damned fever to break—no thanks to you or our pathetic Healers.” Holding Odysseus close to him, Thaddeus strode away as Ralina stared sadly after him, shaking her head.
Thaddeus walked blindly—not choosing any direction, letting his feet guide him. And as he walked, he kept up a steady stream of words to Odysseus.
“They say you’re too hot. Okay. Well. Let’s find a stream and cool you off. You’ll be good as new in no time. Then you and I will go after that bitch who caused this, and we’ll get our payback. Doesn’t that sound good, big guy?”
Odysseus opened his eyes. They were rimmed with red and looked brighter than normal. His tail wagged weakly.
“I knew it! Don’t you worry. You’ll be fine soon, and Nik and Mari will get what they deserve.”
And you deserve power! The thought exploded through his mind—foreign, yet familiar, and becoming more and more familiar.
I wonder if I’m going mad, Thaddeus thought.
Does it matter as long as you rule?
I don’t have a Shepherd. I can’t rule the Tribe of the Trees.
And yet you can, if you have the power to take rather than ask permission!
Thaddeus kept walking—not noticing that the sun was dropping lower and lower in the sky. Not noticing when he entered the edge of Earth Walker territory. All he noticed was the conversation going on within his mind. He didn’t come to himself until he heard the sound of water. Thaddeus blinked, as if awaking after a long sleep. He looked around, hardly believing where his feet had taken him.
Thaddeus recognized the clearing instantly.
“This is where that Scratcher bitch’s mother died.” He glanced down at Odysseus, who barely opened his fever-bright eyes. “See? There’s a creek here and those stupid statue things the Scratchers grow. Let’s get you some water, big guy.”
Gently, Thaddeus crouched beside the edge of the crystal creek, easing Odysseus from his arms and supporting him as he pointed his cracked muzzle toward the water.
“Go on, drink. It’ll help you.”
Odysseus whined softly and turned his head away.
“Look, you have to try. I know you’re not going to like this, but I’m going to hold you in the water.” As Thaddeus spoke, he unwrapped the bandage from around the Terrier’s flank. The scent of rot lifted from the oozing wound. Thaddeus ignored it. “I’m going to carry you into the water. It’ll wash some of that puss and crap out of the wound and cool you down.”
But as Thaddeus lifted his Companion and began carrying him farther into the creek, the Terrier started whining in earnest and squirming so violently that his wound completely broke open.
“Hey, hey! Stop. Okay, okay. I’ll wait a little while.”
Feeling hollow, Thaddeus sloughed from the creek with Odysseus in his arms. He made his way to one of the ridiculous statues and collapsed next to it, leaning against it as he placed Odysseus on the soft moss beside him.
Odysseus’s eyes were closed tightly, but he was panting and whining softly.
I have to help him! I have to stop his pain! Thaddeus screamed in silent impotence. I can’t lose him!
Then, miraculously, the words that had been drifting through Thaddeus’s mind came to him once again, only this time they felt different—as if they were flowing directly from Odysseus.
You’ll never lose Odysseus. Your flesh has joined. Your spirits can now join, too. It is simple. But you must choose. If you choose Life … your Companion will be healed and all will eventually go back to how it used to be. You will be a Hunter, but not the Lead Hunter. Your Tribe will be led, but not by you.
If you choose Death … your Companion’s life will end, but it will fuel a new life for you. Death will lend you power. Death will let you rule. And Odysseus shall always be with you.
Thaddeus went to his knees in front of Odysseus. The little Terrier was lying on his side. His panting was fast and pain filled. Thaddeus framed him with his hands.
“Odysseus, can you hear that?”
The canine opened his eyes and looked directly at his Companion, sending Thaddeus waves of pain and sadness and, finally, acceptance.
“You can hear that! What do I do? What do we do?”
Make your choice. Now!
Slowly, Odysseus shifted his body so that he could bare his neck and belly in open submission to his Companion, though his gaze still met and held Thaddeus’s.
He wants to die, Thaddeus realized.
You must choose.
Thaddeus’s answer exploded from within him. “Death!”
Thaddeus watched as the bright light that had always shined from Odysseus’s eyes faded … faded … and went dark.
He bowed his head and pressed his face against the Terrier’s motionless side, and Thaddeus sobbed his grief and rage—not noticing that from Odysseus’s body the verdant moss around them began to curl and die, turning the image of the reclining Goddess as wilted, as ruined, as Thaddeus’s heart.
And now your true future begins. Listen and learn what you must do to create your followers.…
As Thaddeus dug into the mound of ruined moss, dirt, fern, and vines that made up the Goddess idol and at last placed his Terrier to rest, Death continued to whisper dark words to the grieving Hunter, and Thaddeus listened. He listened very well.