Rigel’s excited barking woke Mari—or, rather, brought her fully conscious. “What’s happening? Rigel? Where’s Rigel?” Her mouth tasted terrible—dry and disgusting. Her head ached, and she felt like it’d been days since she’d eaten.
“He’s here, Mari. Everything is fine. He’s just telling you that you’re home.” Nik relaxed his grip on Mari, and it was then that she realized he’d been carrying her.
“How long have I been unconscious?” Mari asked, rubbing her face and blinking her vision clear, though she was so dizzy that her head felt as if it were filled with smoke.
“You’ve been in and out of consciousness since we got to the lowlands,” Nik said, wiping sweat from his face.
Mari touched his damp cheek. “Oh, Nik, I’m sorry! Let me see your back. You shouldn’t be carrying anyone. Your wound isn’t even fully healed. And your hands! They’re bleeding through the bandages!” She tried to lift his hands to examine them more closely, but dizziness overwhelmed her and she would have fallen had it not been for Nik’s strong arms keeping her upright.
“How about we get inside your burrow and you tell me which one of Sora’s vile teas I can brew to make you feel better?” Nik said.
“Actually, the vile teas are mine. Sora brews delicious tea.” Mari hated the worried expression on his face and made an effort to smile reassuringly up at Nik.
Nik bent and kissed her softly.
“Um, I hate to break up this nice little scene, but the pup has come to a halt sitting in front of that huge nettle thicket. Maybe Mari’s exhaustion has affected him, too?” Antreas said.
Nik grinned at Antreas. “Nope, Rigel has it right. Watch and learn, cat man; watch and learn.”
“So, he’s calling me cat man now, huh?” Antreas grumbled in Bast’s general direction. The big feline looked up from licking herself with an expression that was so long-suffering that had Mari had the energy she would have burst into laughter.
But, having no energy, she called to Rigel, “Bring me my walking stick, sweet boy!” As always, Rigel did exactly as Mari asked, half dragging, half carrying the long, sturdy stick to her. “Thanks, Rigel. And good job getting us home!” With an effort, she crouched and kissed his nose, petting the soft, thick fur at his neck while the young Shepherd wagged with happy relief that she was conscious again. Mari looked at Nik. “There should be another walking stick, a lot like this, hidden under the brambles where Rigel found mine. You’ll need it to help me be sure Davis and Antreas don’t get cut on the way in.”
“Okay, no problem. I’ll find it, and I did watch you and Sora do this, so I think I can safely bring up the rear.” Nik dug around under the dagger-tipped thorns, quickly finding the second stick. “I’m ready if you are.”
Mari rallied her strength—almost home, I can almost rest—and then she moved to the hidden entrance. “All right. Antreas, you and Bast follow right behind me, as close as you can. Then Davis and Cammy. Nik, you and Laru bring up the rear.”
“No problem,” Nik said as Antreas and his Lynx moved to stand beside Mari.
“Uh, hold up just a second,” Davis said.
Mari and Nik turned to him. He and Cammy were a few feet from them—both Companion and Terrier were eyeing the enormous bramble thicket dubiously.
“Yeah?” Nik asked.
“We’re not actually going into that mess, are we?”
“Oh, sorry,” Mari said. “My mind isn’t working like normal, or I would have explained. Yes, we are going into that mess. That mess protects and camouflages my burrow—my home. It’s perfectly safe, but only if you know the way through, so stay close to me.”
Bast finished her toilette and padded over to sniff the area directly in front of Mari. She made an odd little coughing noise that Mari thought sounded out of place for such a graceful creature.
“Yeah, like Bast said—your den’s safe, hidden, protected, and I’m assuming dry?” Antreas said.
“Of course,” Mari said, trying not to sound too defensive. “Contrary to what most of the Tribe of the Trees think, Earth Walker burrows are actually very nice.”
“Well, I’m not part of the Tribe of the Trees, so I don’t have any preconceived ideas about your den or, as you call it, your burrow. I’m really just curious,” Antreas explained.
“Mari’s home is cozy and beautiful,” Nik said.
“Thank you, Nik.” Mari smiled wearily at him. “Okay, so I’m going to go first with Rigel. Antreas and Bast, come right after me. Like I said, stay close to me. Also, keep your arms tight to your sides—those thorns can really cut you up. Davis, you might want to carry Cammy if he’s as nervous as you are.”
“How about I stay out here? Cammy and I’ll rig a cocoon in a tree. I saw a big cedar not far from here that should work. Maybe, um, maybe Nik could bring us out some dinner if it’s not too much trouble?”
Mari just stared at him, wishing she could concentrate better. Davis hadn’t shown any hesitation about following them to her home, but now he had gone pale and his voice sounded strained and strange.
“Did you say a cocoon? I don’t understand,” Mari asked.
“It’s why Companions, especially Hunters, always carry rope and wear travel cloaks. If any of us get caught outside the Tribe at night, we can wrap up with our canine and tie ourselves to the arms of a big tree. It looks kinda like a cocoon, which is why we call it that. And we’re safe,” Davis explained.
“But you’ll be safe in my burrow, too. And dry. And warm.”
“I’ll—um—be fine in a tree, too,” Davis said nervously. “And Cammy and I don’t need to stay dry. We won’t melt.”
“What’s this about?” Nik asked Davis.
Davis wiped a hand across his damp face and blurted, “I’m claustrophobic!”
Mari frowned. “But it’s a burrow, a home—nothing to be claustrophobic about.”
“Dens are good things, man,” Antreas said. “Way better than tying yourself to a tree in a thunderstorm.” His gaze went up to the sky above the huge bramble thicket. “Here’s hoping we can start a hearth fire and cook up something hot for dinner. Don’t see any hearth smoke up there.” He sniffed the air, looking oddly Lynx-like. “Don’t smell any, either, though the damnable forest fire might still be messing up my nose, especially since I could swear I caught the scent of baking bread a second ago.”
Mari stared at him, at first confused. Then with a start she realized what he was saying. “Oh no, forest fire or not, you wouldn’t see my hearth fire from here, but let’s hope you do smell bread.” Just thinking of Sora’s fresh-baked bread had Mari’s mouth filling with water.
“You have to come out here to cook?” Antreas shook his head. “No, that won’t do. It’s raining like crazy. I can show you how to make a chimney flue that will work great in a den—if I don’t have to dig through too much rock.”
“Oh, I have a hearth, and many flues. So many that my smoke dissipates all around here. You’ll never track a single Earth Walker hearth fire to a burrow. Instead, if you’re careful and observant, you might notice areas of smoke, drifting foglike around the lowlands, and once in a while you might smell baking bread, or rich mushroom stew—though I promise you’ll never be able to follow those scents to an individual burrow.”
“Huh! That’s a convenient system. Obviously excellent for keeping your den hidden. You’ll have to show me how they’re made sometime.”
Mari raised a brow at the feline Companion. “Only if you get permission from the Great Earth Mother.”
“Guess I’ll have to work on that,” Antreas said, scratching under Bast’s chin while she stretched languidly.
“Just so I’m clear about this—there’s fire inside that burrow in the ground?” Davis asked, looking even paler.
“Well, sure. My hearth fire,” Mari said.
“I—I’m sorry, Mari. I don’t mean to show you any disrespect, but I don’t think I can go in there.”
“Davis,” Nik began after sighing in frustration, but Mari rested a silencing hand on his arm.
“I think I understand how you feel, Davis. When Nik took me to your City in the Trees, I was terrified of how high up we were. I wanted nothing more than to get back on firm ground, but once I was up there, and saw how special it was—how beautiful—I relaxed. And, most important, I trusted Nik to be sure I was safe. Will you trust me, Davis? I give you my word that you’ll be safe inside my burrow, but if you’re still nervous about it once you’re inside I also give you my word that I’ll guide you right back out here so that you can set up your cocoon and I’ll be sure you have a hot meal.”
Davis shared a long look with his little blond Terrier before he answered Mari. “Okay. Right. Nik trusts you, so we’ll trust you.”
“Okay!” Mari bent to ruffle the blond fur on top of Cammy’s head. “How about we change things up a little? Davis, you and Cammy come behind me, with Antreas and Bast following. Nik and Laru, still bring up the rear.”
“Got it,” Nik said, moving into place.
“Everyone ready?” Mari asked.
Everyone except Davis nodded.
Mari smiled encouragement at the young Hunter before lifting her thick walking stick, snagging the first of the bramble branches, and holding it out of the way so that she and Rigel, with Davis and Cammy close behind, could step inside the enormous thicket of carefully maintained brambles.
For a little while Mari relaxed into the familiar routine of following the labyrinthine pathway around and around her burrow, lifting huge, dagger-tipped boughs aside, guiding those who followed her to the heart of her home. She didn’t think about the Clan Laws she was breaking. A Moon Woman was forbidden to show anyone except her daughter the secret way to her burrow, and of course no Companion was ever supposed to be allowed access to a burrow, let alone the home of a Moon Woman. Mari started to feel sad about it, especially about how the Clan would perceive what she was doing, and then a new thought came to her. What would Mama think about all of this?
Mari knew what Leda would think. She would be pleased that the Clan and the Tribe were finally interacting with trust and compassion. Leda would say the time was ripe for the change she’d desired since she’d met her true love—Mari’s Companion father—when she had barely known eighteen winters.
Mari glanced behind her as she maneuvered around a fat branch of thorns. “How are you and Cammy doing?”
Davis’s face was pale and sweaty and he was holding his little Terrier tightly in his arm, but he grinned bravely at Mari. “We’re okay. But I don’t think I could ever find my way out of here.”
“Oh, it’s a lot easier to get out than in,” Mari said.
“It’s fantastic!” Antreas called from behind Davis. “You know, if we’d thought of using nettles like this, we wouldn’t have to build our dens into the side of mountains.”
Mari heard a flurry of strangely birdlike chirps, which had to come from Bast—though the big feline didn’t look like she should be able to make any of those noises. Then Antreas laughed.
“Okay! Okay! Never mind. And, yes, I love our den, too.”
“What was that?” Nik called from the rear of the group.
“Nothing!” Antreas said, still chuckling. “I forget how possessive Bast can be.”
Mari wanted to ask Antreas a bunch of questions about his feline and his den, but just then she rounded the final turn in the pathway, coming to a small area, clear of brambles, that revealed the arched wooden door that seemed to open into the side of the earth.
“That carving is incredible,” Davis said, putting Cammy down. He started toward the door and the intricately carved figure of the Great Earth Mother that one of Mari’s ancestresses had fashioned with the door, so that it appeared the Goddess supported the burrow and beckoned her Moon Woman to enter the safety of a Goddess-blessed home. Davis paused and looked over his shoulder at Mari. “Do you mind if I touch it?”
“Not at all,” Mari said.
Davis went to the door and slowly lifted his hand, gently tracing the arm of the Goddess. “Is this who your people worship?”
Mari started in surprise, realizing that even though the Tribe of the Trees had taken her people captive and held them for generations, they had never bothered to learn to whom their slaves prayed.
“Yes. That is the Great Earth Mother.”
“She’s beautiful,” Davis said. “I had no idea.”
“It’s the same image your people desecrated when you attacked our Gathering Site by the cherry grove,” Mari couldn’t stop herself from saying.
Davis turned to meet her gaze. “The statues made of the earth? Like they were rising from the ground? Those were of your Goddess?”
“Yes.”
Davis closed his eye and bowed his head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
Mari went to him and touched his hand, so that Davis opened his eyes. “You know now.”
“I’ll never do it again.” He spoke simply, earnestly, and his words touched Mari’s heart.
“I believe you,” she said.
Davis looked up at the graceful rendition of the Goddess. “Do you think she does?”
Mari almost answered him flippantly. Almost told him that the Goddess had never spoken to her, so how was she to know? But there was an expression in the young Hunter’s eyes that stopped her words. For an instant Davis reminded her of a Clansman who wanted nothing more than to know his Earth Mother wasn’t angry with him.
Mari squeezed his hand. “Yes. I think the Goddess hears and believes anyone who honestly speaks to her. Of course, whether she speaks back or not is completely unpredictable—even for a Moon Woman.”
Then Davis, a Hunter for the Tribe of the Trees, Companion to the Terrier Cameron, did something that utterly shocked Mari. He turned his back to her and placed both of his hands carefully on the feet of the carving. Davis bowed his head and said, “I’m sorry I had anything to do with destroying any of your images. I’ll never do it again.” Beside him, Cammy barked and wagged his tail.
When Davis stepped away from the doorway, the smile he sent to Mari was authentic and relaxed. “I’m ready to go inside now.” His gaze found the image of the Goddess again, as if it were fire and Davis was a moth, unable to stay away. “If she guards your home, then it must be okay.”
Mari felt a strange rush of excitement. Was she truly witnessing the first time a member of the Tribe accepted the Great Earth Mother? A man? And a Companion? Mari mentally shook herself. Or maybe she was just exhausted and imagining things.
“That carving is beautiful,” Antreas said, moving up to stand beside Davis. “Do you have this skill?” he asked her.
Mari drew a long breath, trying to sort through her tired brain to explain to the Lynx Companion that she did have a talent for drawing but hadn’t done much carving, when Nik spoke up.
“Mari has many skills, but right now she needs to get inside her home and rest.”
“Right you are,” Antreas said. “After you, Moon Woman.”
With dragging feet, Mari went to the door and opened it, breathing deeply of the rich, familiar scents of home—predominate among those scents was baking bread and rabbit stew. She could see that the hearth fire was lit and there was a steaming cauldron boiling over it.
“Mari! It is you! Thank the Great Goddess! You’re home!” Danita was halfway across the front room of the burrow, arms spread to greet Mari, when Davis peeked his head over Mari’s shoulder. Danita gave a gasping shriek and stumbled to a halt, eyes wide with fear—face blanched white.
Cursing silently to herself for forgetting that Danita might be in the burrow and would still be traumatized from the attack she’d suffered only days before, Mari rushed to the girl, putting her arm around Danita and holding her close. Rigel was by her side, wagging a greeting. Mari breathed a small sigh of relief when Danita didn’t scream and lurch away from the canine.
“Danita, you remember my Rigel, don’t you?”
The girl nodded shakily. “He’s soft,” she whispered, sending the pup a quick glance. Rigel licked her hand and Danita patted him hesitantly on the head.
“He is soft, and he likes you,” Mari said. “I’d like to introduce you to my new friends. They have Companion animals as well, and you have nothing to be afraid of—I give you my word as your Moon Woman. You already know Nik, right?”
Danita nodded, but her eyes were focused on Davis, who had stopped just inside the door, with Cammy sitting quietly beside him.
“Well, this is Davis, a friend of his and—”
“Hey, this den is nice!” Antreas was saying as he stepped around Davis.
Another shriek slipped from Danita, and Mari could feel the girl begin to tremble under her hand.
Then Nik and Laru were pushing inside behind Antreas and Bast, moving everyone forward, and Danita broke. With an anguished scream, she pulled from Mari’s grasp. Scrambling hysterically, Danita lurched backward until her legs hit the pallet built into the curved side of the burrow. She blindly climbed onto it; pressing herself against the wall, she hugged her knees to her chest, trying to disappear into a ball, as she trembled and sobbed.
“Danita, it’s okay. No one is going to hurt you!” Mari said, but her words were drowned out by the hysterically sobbing girl and by Nik and Davis, who seemed to be trying to reason with Danita as well, but the girl was beyond reason and all that was happening was the burrow had deteriorated into a cacophony of noise and stress.
Mari started to go to Danita, planning to physically shake the girl out of her hysteria if necessary, but before she could get to her Bast was there, padding confidently to the sleeping pallet. With no hesitation the Lynx leaped up on the bed and locked her gaze with Danita.
Mari moved forward, not sure what she was going to do, but her instinct to protect Danita was undeniable. Antreas was suddenly there beside Mari. He put his hand on her arm. “Antreas, please don’t let Bast—” Mari began, but Antreas spoke softly to her.
“Just watch. Bast knows what she’s doing, and she wouldn’t hurt the girl,” said the Lynx’s Companion.
The big feline sat on her haunches before Danita and cocked her head, watching the girl. Danita stopped her hysterical keening, her wide gray gaze trapped by the Lynx.
Beside Mari, Nik grew still—as did Davis and the orchestra of barking canines. Everyone was watching what was happening between the girl and the feline.
Then Bast did something that completely surprised Mari. The feline began to make soft, sweet chirping noises, as if she was speaking directly to Danita. The girl stopped sobbing, all of her attention focused on the Lynx. Bast moved closer to Danita, interspersing a rolling purr between the chirps. She lowered her head, leaning forward to sniff delicately at the girl. Danita became a statue. Mari didn’t think she was even breathing. Bast sniffed the girl’s hand, then her chest, then her cheek. And then, very delicately, the big feline rubbed her head against Danita, in what seemed an almost maternal gesture, as if to soothe away her fear.
Danita laughed!
It was just a small sound, barely audible. It only lasted an instant, but it changed everything.
Danita’s gaze found Mari’s. “Wh-what is she?” the girl asked in a hushed voice, as if she was afraid if she spoke too loudly the feline would disappear.
“She’s a Lynx,” Antreas answered for Mari. “Her name is Bast, and she is my Companion. My name is Antreas.” He gave Danita a small bow with a flourish.
Danita looked away from him quickly, her eyes sliding back to the purring feline at her side.
“May I touch her?” Danita spoke so softly Mari had to strain to hear her.
“Of course,” Antreas said. “She especially likes to be scratched under her chin.”
Slowly, Danita lifted her hand to stroke the feline, who stretched out her neck and lifted her chin, inviting further petting.
“Do you think Bast would go into the back room with Danita?” Mari whispered to Antreas. “Danita was attacked just days ago by a group of males. It’s still hard for her to be around men.”
“Absolutely,” Antreas answered quietly.
Then he took a step toward Danita’s pallet but stopped when the girl cringed away from him. Bast was on her feet instantly, stepping so that she straddled the girl’s lap, facing Antreas. The big feline arched her spine and hissed a long, low warning directly at her Companion!
Mari stared at Antreas, wondering what was happening, and she saw the Lynx and her Companion share a look. Bast’s yellow-eyed gaze was firm and bright. Mari thought Antreas looked surprised, shocked even, and she saw him shake his head, just slightly.
The Lynx responded with a low growl and a twitch of her short black-tipped tail.
Antreas shrugged. “Yeah, I do hear you, but I’m not agreeing to anything,” he said to his feline before turning to Mari and the rest of the group. “Well, it seems Bast has decided to be this child’s protector.”
“Protector?” Davis said. “Is that normal?”
Antreas gave a little bark of laughter. “Nothing is particularly normal with Bast. But once she’s made up her mind, not much can change it.” He grinned at Davis. “Start walking toward the child.”
Davis glanced at Mari, who moved her shoulders and nodded, unable to help her curiosity.
Davis took a step toward Danita and Bast. Danita cowered back and Bast turned into a demon. The feline’s black-tufted ears flattened to her skull, her back arched, and she bared sharp, white teeth as she hissed a long, low warning followed by a hair-raising yowl.
“Bloody beetle balls! I wasn’t going to hurt the girl!” Davis said, backing quickly away while Cammy stuck to his side, whimpering.
Bast yawned and lay down completely across Danita’s lap while the girl stroked her and watched Davis thoughtfully and, Mari noted, with no fear in her eyes.
Mari thought it was an improvement. Danita wasn’t crying hysterically anymore. Seems like a good time to give her a job to do.
“Danita, do you think you could go into the storage room and gather some sun-dried tomatoes, potatoes, onions, mushrooms, and anything else you can find that might stretch that stew for us? We’ve traveled a long way today, and we need food and rest.”
“Of course, Moon Woman,” Danita said automatically. Then she glanced at Antreas and added, “Will—will she come with me?”
“Bast has a mind of her own, but I’m pretty sure she will,” Antreas said. His big Lynx looked at him and gave a little chirp, which made her Companion chuckle. “She thinks it’s her idea that you two go in the other room. She smells rabbits back there.”
“Come on, Bast,” Danita said softly as she got off the pallet and started toward the entrance to the rear room of the burrow. The feline followed her so closely that her shoulder brushed the girl’s leg.
“Hey, don’t let her eat the live rabbits,” Mari said. “I’ve got breeding pairs back there.”
“She’ll only eat what she hunts for, or what you agree to feed her,” Antreas assured Mari. “Besides, right now what’s on her mind is this frightened child.”
Danita was at the door to the back room when she turned and met Antreas’s eyes. “I’m not a child.” Then, with her hand resting on Bast’s head, the two of them slipped through the woven dividing curtain.
Mari blew out a long sigh. “Sorry, I should have realized Danita might be here. I handled that poorly.”
“Hey, that’s okay. Bast picked up the slack,” Antreas said, looking around the burrow with open curiosity.
“Yeah, why did she do that?” Davis asked as Cammy followed Rigel and Laru to the drinking dish and lapped thirstily at the freshwater. “That was really weird. I mean, she actually hissed at you, too!”
Antreas chuckled softly. “Oh, she’d never hurt me, or even you for that matter. Well, unless you attacked me.”
“Which I wouldn’t do,” Davis said quickly.
“Of course not,” Nik added. “We’re allies here.”
“Right, we’re all in agreement about that,” Antreas said. “Bast isn’t mean. She was simply putting on a show for the child, er, girl.” He corrected himself with a glance at the closed curtain. “Letting Danita know she was safe, even in a den that must feel full of scary males.”
“But it was more than that,” Mari said. “Bast knew right away that Danita needed help. She comforted her—actually stopped her hysteria.”
Antreas shrugged evasively. “There’s no predicting who Bast will take to.”
“Cammy would have let her pet him,” Davis said, sounding defensive. “He isn’t mean, either.”
“Didn’t say he was, but he’s not as intuitive as Bast—at least where strangers are concerned.”
“What the hell does that mean? My canine is every bit as intuitive as your cat!” Davis seemed to puff up, planting his feet and looking like he’d enjoy nothing more than knocking the smug look off the Lynx man’s face.
“Do not call Bast a cat.” Antreas’s hands balled into fists.
“Un-uh!” Mari stepped between the two young men, anger temporarily chasing away exhaustion. “You will not fight in my home. Ever. Is that clear?”
Antreas and Davis deflated, sending her chagrined looks of apology.
“Yeah, it’s clear. Sorry, Antreas,” Davis said. “I was out of line.”
“It’s clear to me, too. And I didn’t mean to insult Cammy,” Antreas said. “He’s a nice little canine.”
Cammy sneezed at him, and Davis chuckled.
“We’re all tired and hungry. Let’s eat and then regroup,” Nik said. “Mari, is that Sora’s bread I see in that shelf above the hearth?” Before she could answer, Nik was stirring the cauldron and sniffing happily at it, saying, “And please tell me this is her rabbit stew, too.”
“Smells like the answer is a yes to both,” Mari said. She started for the hearth and the carved wooden dishes tucked into cunningly built shelves surrounding it, but her legs didn’t seem to want to mind her. She stumbled and would have fallen had Rigel not been there for her to grab on to. “Goddess! I can’t seem to move without falling. I feel helpless as a newborn.”
“Hey, it’s only temporary. Why don’t you take a seat and let us take care of you for a change?” Nik helped her to the pallet Danita had so recently vacated. “I think I can remember where you keep the dishes, and Davis is pretty good at making stew.”
“Yes, I am!” Davis grinned at her, and Cammy huffed happily. “Hunters learn to cook whatever they catch. Cammy has a knack for snagging rabbits, so my rabbit stew is excellent.” He blew on the wooden stirring spoon and took a taste of the steamy stew. His eyes widened in pleasure. “But I admit not this excellent! Now this is stew.”
“If you think her stew is good, wait till you taste Sora’s bread. She told me once that the inside is light as clouds. I didn’t believe her, but I was wrong,” Mari said, rubbing her eyes sleepily.
“Who is this Sora person?” Antreas reached for the spoon, but Davis nimbly put it back in the cauldron and kept stirring.
“I think it’s best if you just meet her. Describing her is kinda difficult,” Nik said, sharing a look with Mari.
“I can’t wait to hear what she says about Bast,” Mari said. “She still calls Rigel the creature.”
“Is she mad?” Antreas asked.
“No,” Mari said.
“Probably,” Nik said at the same time.
The curtain that separated the burrow’s two rooms moved, and then Danita emerged, carrying a basket filled with potatoes, mushrooms, and a variety of dried vegetables. She paused. Bast left her side and padded to Davis. The room fell silent as everyone watched to see what the feline would do next. Mari could see that Davis was holding very still and Cammy moved quickly so that he was lying between Rigel and Laru, who were curled up resting before the door.
Bast put herself between Davis and Danita, then made a rolling chirp sound that called to the girl. Danita nodded and, without looking directly at Davis, she walked to him and, with Bast still standing protectively between them, passed him the basket of vegetables over the big feline’s body.
“This should help stretch the stew,” Danita said.
“Thank you,” Davis said, taking the basket carefully.
Bast chirped at Danita again before padding to the pallet. She jumped up, making room beside Mari. Then the Lynx glared pointedly at Nik, who was sitting on the other side of Mari, and hissed sharply.
“Okay! Okay!” Nik said. “I’ll help with the food.”
As soon as Nik left the pallet, Danita hurried over to sit snugly between the big feline and the Moon Woman.
“You’re going all out, aren’t you?” Antreas said to his Lynx. Bast made a coughlike sound in reply, which had her Companion shaking his head, though Mari thought he didn’t really seem annoyed at the feline.
“Did you stop the forest fire?” Danita asked Mari.
“I did. Well, with Nik’s help I did,” Mari said. “It did a lot of damage first, though. So many people were killed—” she began, and then closed her mouth. She had no idea if Davis’s family had escaped the blaze. Quickly she changed the subject. “Where’s Jenna?”
“Before Sora left to try to find you, she sent Jenna out to collect as much aloe as she could find. She brought one big basket of it back here but went out again to collect more. I was just starting to worry about her. It’s almost dark, isn’t it? I can feel the sun setting.” Absently, Danita rubbed her arms, which hadn’t yet begun to flush gray with the setting sun.
“Don’t worry. Jenna’s smart. She’ll be back any moment, and I’ll Wash the both of you.” If I can, Mari added silently. I’m so tired that I feel used up.
“That’s okay, Mari. Sora Washed Jenna and me last night. We’re fine. And, um, you don’t look so good.”
Mari brushed a limp strand of blond hair from her face and sighed. “I’m just tired.”
“Here, this will help.” Nik handed her a steaming bowl of stew with a big hunk of Sora’s fresh bread. Mari barely took time to thank him as she shoveled the food into her mouth.
“Danita, would you like some stew, too?” Antreas asked.
Mari felt the girl’s body startle and begin to tremble. Bast reacted instantly. She leaned against the girl, purring loudly. With a motion that already appeared automatic, Danita stroked the feline. Then she answered Antreas, in a clear voice that hardly shook at all.
“No, thank you. I can wait until extra is ready. Feed yourselves and the animals first.”
Which was exactly what the men were doing when the door to the burrow opened, letting in a cool evening breeze that carried with it Jenna and the scent of smoke. The young woman almost fell over Laru, who was closest to the door.
“Rigel! You’re back, so Mari must—” Jenna began happily as she turned to put down the basket filled with aloe plants and noticed that the canine she’d tripped over was much larger than Rigel. “Oh! Mari?” Jenna’s wide gray eyes darted around the burrow, taking in the men, the canines, the Lynx, and finally Mari.
“Jenna!” Mari met her at the door, hugging her tightly. “All is well. They’re friends,” she whispered, and felt the tension relax from her friend’s body.
“Hi, Jenna,” Nik said. He was sitting at Mari’s favorite spot behind her desk, mouth partially filled with bread dunked in stew.
“Nik, I’m glad to see you’re safe,” Jenna said. She lifted one dark brow at the other men and the Lynx.
“This is Davis, and his Companion Terrier, Cameron,” Mari said.
“Hello, Jenna. And we call him Cammy most of the time. Well, unless he’s in trouble.” Davis grinned at his Terrier, who barely looked up from his bowl of stew.
“And this is Antreas. His Companion is Bast, the feline who has decided to stay protectively close to Danita,” Mari said.
Jenna nodded a greeting to Antreas, but it was Bast who had her full attention. “I’ve never seen a feline before. She’s lovely.”
“She’s a Lynx,” Antreas said. “And thank you.”
“I’ve heard rumors of Lynx Companions, but I thought they were mostly just tall tales made up by Storytellers to amuse Clan children,” Jenna said, moving closer to peer at Bast, who returned her gaze steadily. “But she’s most definitely real.” Jenna glanced at Antreas, smiling incredulously. “This gives me hope that maybe the stories of Wind Riders across the mountains to the east are true and Whale Singers in the oceans to the north and west, too.”
“I can’t tell you about the Whale Singers; I’ve never met anyone from that Tribe, but Wind Riders are definitely real.”
Mari saw Nik’s head jerk up. “Really? You’ve met a Wind Rider?”
“Several of them, actually. I guided a small group of Healers from a northern Tribe through the Rockies to the plains that are Wind Rider territory. They wanted to trade their balms and salves for some of the Wind Riders’ crystals—you know their rocks and crystals have powerful properties, don’t you?”
“Yes, yes, of course.” Nik nodded, motioning for Antreas to continue.
“That’s about it. I led the group into Wind Rider territory, and then went back after the next full moon, ready to guide them on the return trip through the mountains, but none of the Healers were there. I waited two days. No one came. So Bast and I left.”
“Didn’t you ask a Wind Rider about what had happened to the Healers?” Mari said, not so much because she wanted to know but more because Nik was listening so intently.
“Wind Riders are only found when they wish to be found, and they didn’t wish to be found.”
“Wind Riders—they’re mostly women, right?” Davis said.
Antreas nodded. “I only met women. And their equines, which are as magnificent as they are dangerous. I’d never seen a creature so big! They’re larger than even the mightiest stag. And they carry their Companions on their backs, as they run like the wind—even faster than a Lynx can run, I do believe,” he finished, sending Bast a teasing look.
“But their equines couldn’t be as soft and wonderful as Bast.” Danita spoke up as she petted the Lynx. “Plus, they’re all the way over the mountains, and she’s right here.”
Jenna turned her attention back to the feline. “Her fur does look incredibly soft.”
Showing more animation than Mari had seen her show since she’d been attacked, Danita asked the feline, “Bast, do you think you could let Jenna touch you? She’s my friend.” The Lynx cocked her head, listening intently. Then she chirped and rubbed against Danita’s hand.
“That’s a yes,” Antreas said.
“I know!” Danita told him, though she didn’t look directly at the cat man.
“I’d love to touch her,” Jenna said. Then she paused, making a quick gesture at the big Shepherd who had resettled himself in front of the door. “Um, who is the other Shepherd? He looks like a huge version of Rigel.”
“That’s my Companion, Laru. He should look like Rigel—he’s his father,” Nik said.
“Laru?” Jenna stopped halfway across the room. “But that’s the name of the Sun Priest’s canine.”
“He was the Sun Priest’s canine,” Nik said quietly, and went back to studying his stew.
“But isn’t the Sun Priest your father?” Jenna said.
“Yes. He was.” Nik didn’t look up from his food, though he’d stopped eating. “He died yesterday.”
“Oh. I’m sorry, Nik,” Jenna said.
Mari motioned for Jenna to join her on the crowded pallet, scooting over to make room. “Nik’s father was killed saving my life,” Mari said.
“Nik,” Jenna said, and he finally looked up at her, tears in his eyes. “I’ll say a prayer to the Earth Mother for him and burn a branch of rosemary in remembrance.”
“Why? Why would you do that?” Danita blurted. “He was the Leader of the people who killed your father and enslaved you!”
“He also helped Nik get me out of there, and you heard Mari—his father lost his life saving our Moon Woman. Danita, I miss my father every day. I think I always will. But sometimes you have to let love shine through or the hate will consume you.” She looked from Jenna to Mari and then Davis, Antreas, and finally Nik. “That’s what I learned from being captured and forced to be a slave by the Tribe of the Trees.”
Danita bit her lip and pressed her face into Bast’s fur. “I’m not as good as you, Jenna. I don’t think I could forgive the Tribe if I’d been through what you have because of them. I—I don’t know if I can forgive the Tribe for causing the death of Leda, which made our men lose their way and attack me.” She peeked up at Nik and Davis and then added softly, “I’m sorry.”
“Danita, there is no more Tribe of the Trees,” Nik said firmly. Davis started to speak, but Nik’s raised hand stopped him. “When we rebuild—and we will rebuild—our Pack won’t be like the old Tribe. No Pack member will ever capture an Earth Walker—not as long as I am their Sun Priest.”
“Which is exactly why I’ve sworn to follow you as the new Sun Priest,” Davis said earnestly. “I agree with Jenna. There has been too much hate. The fire finished that for me. I want something more—and I don’t want that something to be at the expense of another people’s freedom.”
“Clan Weaver is no more,” Mari said. All attention turned to her. “The Clan was broken when my mother died. I agree with Davis. I want more than to just rebuild a Clan that I had to hide my true self from. I want a Clan where we can be ourselves, in our best and truest forms.”
“Then let’s rebuild together,” Nik said. “You and I, Mari—Sun Priest and Moon Woman. We can bring alive our dream—for us, and for people who want the same things we do.”
Mari felt the warmth of Nik’s words wash through her. “Yes, Nik. Yes. Let’s rebuild together.”
“And make it better,” Jenna said.
“Happier and safer,” Danita said, hugging Bast.
“Weirder,” Antreas said with a laugh.
“Better, happier, safer, and weirder. Cammy and I are in!” Davis said while the canines barked in agreement and Bast’s purr rolled like spring thunder through the cozy burrow.