Earth called, p.35
Earth Called, page 35
“Rand listened to and helped us,” Ralina said. “He was the only member of Herd Ebony who did.”
“Daughter, I ask you to pardon Rand and his Merlin. Though he chose to follow Clayton, he has more than atoned for that mistake,” said Dawn.
River’s gaze returned to Rand. The Stallion Rider bowed low to her.
“I acknowledge my mother’s wisdom. Rand, Rider of Merlin, you are pardoned.”
He straightened and wiped tears from his cheeks. “Thank you, Lead Mare Rider. I will spend the rest of my life atoning for my mistake.”
“As you should,” River said.
Sora approached O’Bryan. “You are whole and not broken by your journey?”
O’Bryan’s open, kind face was pale, and he was thinner than when he’d left. Dark circles bruised his eyes. He nodded wearily. “I am whole and unbroken.”
Sora reached up and tugged on his shirt so that he bent down. There, in front of everyone, she kissed him—passionately and completely. Then, while he stared at her with a dazed smile lifting the corners of his lips, she reached into the pouch slung across her chest and pulled out the squirming, grunting Cubby, who immediately began covering his dirty face with kisses.
“Good,” Sora said. Then she turned and pushed her way through the crowd.
“Mother,” River drew the group’s attention back to her. “How many days behind you is Death’s army?”
“One for sure, but we hope two or more,” said Dawn grimly. “We have raced here, pushing our Companions to the edge of exhaustion to try to pull farther ahead of them.”
“What? One? How could that be?” River shook her head. “An army on foot cannot possibly be as swift as our Companions—not even one led by the God of Death.”
“They are not on foot,” said Dawn. “Death enslaved a herd of bison. The mighty beasts carry Him and His horrible army across our plains. They will be here soon.”
“Oh, Great Goddess!” Dove cried out, and pressed her face against Tulpar’s golden neck.
“We will not panic.” River’s voice carried throughout the crowd. “We are safe within the walls of our sanctuary. We are prepared. Herd Magenti will not be ruled by Death.”
Tulpar trumpeted his agreement. His voice was joined by each stallion in the Herd and echoed by Anjo.
“As my daughter said, we will not be ruled by Death, especially as we have with us one who knows how to defeat Him,” said Dawn as she turned to Ralina. “Speak, Storyteller. Tell them how Death will be vanquished.”
Ralina straightened her shoulders. Even exhausted, thin to the point of emaciation, and covered with travel dirt and sweat Mari thought she looked regal and confident—and when she spoke her voice was filled with a strength that belied the haggard look of her body. “Death will be vanquished by the Goddess of Life, and I know how to awaken Her.”
* * *
The Lead Mare Riders and Herd Stallion Riders spread the word throughout the valley that Death’s army approached. There was no panic—no weeping or hysteria. There was only action. Arrow stations along the valley wall were filled. Vats heavy with fat were added to the stations. They could be lit and poured down on soldiers foolish enough to attempt to breach the walls.
At dusk River called for Ralina, Mari, and Sora to join her, Dove, April, and Dawn with the Mare Council in the gleaming white building that housed the older women and their Companions. The building was large, though not as big as the nursery. In the main room was a fireplace so massive Mari thought she and Sora could have easily stood within it. It burned steadily—as did a myriad of candles placed all around the spacious room. The light from the flickering flames turned the white room golden and made shadows dance across the walls.
They met in a semicircle before the great hearth fire. The Mare Council, including Dawn, sat on carved wooden chairs facing out at the room where River and Dove, Mari, Sora, and Ralina stood. Behind them were their Companions, including canines, silent though observing everything carefully.
River opened the meeting by introducing Ralina and Bear to the Council. Ralina, who had bathed, changed out of her filthy travel clothes, and eaten a warm meal, looked substantially better, though still too thin and pale. She faced the Council with her back straight and her chin lifted. Bard was the only Companion present who refused to remain on the fringe of the group. Instead, the big black stallion was always within touching distance of his new Companion—something no Rider questioned.
“Ralina was Storyteller to the mighty Tribe of the Trees,” said River in a clear, strong voice. “Her canine Companion is the Shepherd Bear.” From where he lay beside Rigel, Bear barked at his introduction, which had the Mare Council smiling. River continued. “And you see her stallion, Bard, here beside her.” Instantly, the Council sobered, bowing their heads in acknowledgment of the new Rider pair. “Ralina traveled as Death’s captive, escaping only with the help of the Goddess. Her story impacts us all. Not only does she have intimate knowledge of Death and His army, but she also knows how to defeat Him.” River motioned for Ralina to take her place before the Mare Council.
With Bard at her side, Ralina stood in front of the semicircle of wise women. Mari stood not far from the Storyteller, beside Sora and little Chloe, who was asleep in the pouch she was almost too big to fit in comfortably. Mari listened raptly as Ralina told her gruesome story.
The brave Storyteller began with the extinction of the Tribe of the Trees—recounting in detail how Death had lured what was left of the sick Tribe to see off Him and His army of mutating Hunters and Warriors as they launched their boats on the Umbria River, only to loose an arrow and set aflame the forest, murdering what was left of the once mighty Tribe.
Mari closed her eyes and wiped tears from her cheeks. She loved Nik and those members of his Tribe who had joined their Pack so very much. Even though the Tribesmen who followed Thaddeus in taking Death’s cure were reprehensible and beyond salvation, she pitied the poor Tribe members who had been innocent of Thaddeus’s betrayal and had been slaughtered by Death. I’m so glad Nik isn’t hearing this. He knew they were likely dead, but this fiery end would break his heart.
Ralina’s strong, clear voice continued, taking them with her on a horrendous journey. She recounted the end of the Saleesh people, and the reanimation of their corpses by spirits long dead.
“Storyteller.” Morgana raised her hand to interrupt Ralina. “Do you know what spirits dwell in the reanimated bodies?”
Ralina sighed and brushed back her hair. “The Milks, which is what we named them for their dead, white eyes, are very difficult to communicate with, so this is only a guess, but I believe they are the spirits of the ancients that died in the gorge during the sunfire that ended their world.”
“Do you know why they reanimated?” River asked Ralina.
“All I know is what Death told me—that they must atone, though for what and how not even the God knows,” said Ralina.
“Can these Milks be killed?” Morgana asked.
Ralina nodded. “Oh, absolutely. They died in hordes during our journey. They drowned as we crossed Lost Lake. They fell from the side of the Rock Mountains pass. But they also show no fear at all for their lives, which makes them dangerous soldiers.”
“Interesting … Go on, Storyteller,” said Morgana.
Ralina continued, taking them into the Rock Mountain pass and recounting how Thaddeus and his Hunters and Warriors had continued to change physically and emotionally—until they were more beasts than men—and how their Shepherds and Terriers began to avoid them.
“Even at the very end, when Renard, Rand, and I watched Death approach and capture Clayton and his Herd, it was obvious. We could see that the behavior of the canines was unusual. They grouped together—well away from their Companions.” She glanced back at Mari and Sora. “You know how strange that behavior is.”
Mari gave Rigel, who was curled up only a few feet from her, a fond look as Sora caressed her sleeping pup’s head and said, “We do.”
“As do April and I,” said River, who motioned to their pups, Kit and Cleo, who slept on the rumps of their horses.
“The cure changes humans—that much is obvious,” said Ralina. “But what no one realized at first was that it also changes the humans’ Companion animals. Though I can tell you it didn’t seem as if Death, or Thaddeus, or any of the Hunters and Warriors noticed the difference in their Companions. My intuition says that is important information for us to know.”
“The more we know about Death and His army of horrors the better prepared we are to defend ourselves and defeat Him,” said Morgana. “Continue, Storyteller. You have our full attention, as well as our appreciation.”
Ralina told of how Death called the doe and then murdered her and shackled her spirit to Him as His guide and when she disappeared how He drew to Him the king of bison—to murder and enslave. “But what is most interesting about Death’s two guides is that the God told me the Goddess of Life was responsible for freeing the doe’s spirit from serving Him. It was about then that the Goddess sent me a vision in a dream. She told me that my time with Death had ended and when it began to snow I should follow the white doe to freedom, which is what Renard, his father, Daniel, and I did…” She paused and added, “Daniel died cutting the suspension bridge from over the gorge. We tried to slow Death, though He managed to continue through the pass anyway.”
“You did what you could,” said River. “It was you against an army and a god.”
“I wanted to leave. Every single day I wanted to leave, or I wanted to follow that poor young priest who was the only Saleesh Death allowed to survive. I watched him drown himself in Lost Lake.” Ralina’s gaze fell to the smooth marble floor. “I would have done the same had it not been for Bear and Renard, Kong and Daniel. Back then they were all that kept me alive, but as we got farther and farther into the mountains I began to believe that I was alive for another purpose. That I must gain all the information I could from Death Himself—and with that information I would discover a way to defeat Him. I believe I have that information.”
Morgana leaned forward on her chair. “Tell us, Storyteller. How do we defeat Death?”
“We do not,” Ralina said. “He cannot be killed. I am sure of that. He must return to sleep in the arms of the Goddess of Life. Only then will order be restored to our world, but the Goddess is on our side. As I traveled with Death I hoped She would be, and now I know She is. She sent the doe to save me—not once but twice.”
Dawn spoke up. “I can attest to that. The doe led us to Ralina.”
“What do we need to do to help the Goddess defeat Death?” River asked.
“We must awaken Her,” said Ralina. “And hope that by our doing so, the Goddess of Life can take Death into Her arms and return to the bowels of the earth with Him again.”
“And how do we do that?” Morgana said.
“Death told me how He planned on awakening Her,” said Ralina, her voice bright with excitement. “He is going to infect a woman with the skin-sloughing sickness and then pack the living flesh of a doe into her wounds and bleed her until she is on the verge of dying. Then He will command the Goddess to awaken in the body of the vessel He chose, and She will be compelled to come.”
“Did Death say which woman?” River asked.
“Early, He did not speak with me about a specific woman, though I overheard Him talking with Thaddeus about her.” Ralina turned to Dove. “Death spoke of an eyeless girl named Dove.”
“He will not have Dove.” River’s voice was filled with anger.
“It wasn’t just Dove Death spoke of,” said Ralina. Her gaze found Mari. “He calls you the Sun Warrior, Mari. Death watched you call down sunfire just before His people attacked the Tribe. He is obsessed with you.”
A chill fingered its way down Mari’s spine, but her voice was strong and sure. “Death will not have me, either.”
“Death will not have either of us,” said Dove from her place astride Tulpar. Her golden stallion turned his head so that his Companion could gaze through his eyes at the group. “Death’s description of how He will call forth the Goddess is much like how He was awakened. My Dead Eye, the boy I loved, was infected with the sickness. One night he cut himself and almost bled to death at the base of the idol our people used to worship—though Dead Eye and I always railed against the belief that the idol was anything but an empty shell.” She shook her head, suddenly looking much older than her tender years. “Dead Eye must have shouted at the God—commanded that He awaken—and then He did, though my Dead Eye was still there, still within his body, but only for a short time. Death packed the living flesh of a stag in Dead Eye’s wounds, and my love was killed—forced from his body so that Death might live.” She turned to Ralina. “Any human who calls forth the Goddess will suffer the same fate. She will be no more.”
Ralina nodded. “Yes, I believe that, too, which is why I think together we should call Her forth. The Goddess of Life made it clear that She does not wish to awaken—not permanently. She told Death as much, though He refused to listen.”
“Then one of us will have to sacrifice our life to the Goddess,” said Dove.
“Perhaps not,” said Ralina. “Look at the strength of the matriarchy surrounding us.”
Dove said, “Ralina, you said the Goddess spoke to you in a dream, correct?”
“Yes.”
“She has also spoken to River and Mari and me,” said Dove. “That seems to support your belief that matriarchs might awaken Her, but the truth remains—a human may not be able to survive the indwelling of an immortal.”
“Yes, I agree, which is why I believe matriarchs should try to awaken the Goddess, but with a surrogate who can be a temporary vessel for Her,” said Ralina.
“A temporary vessel? Explain,” said Morgana.
Ralina lifted her hands and then let them fall by her sides. “I do not know. All I know is that the Goddess of Life led me to you and put the thought of a surrogate in my mind, so there must be an answer here.”
“The idol!” Sora stepped forward to stand beside Ralina. “The Earth Mother idol we have fashioned in the nursery building!” She spoke quickly, her words filled with excitement. “What better vessel could there be for the Goddess of Life? We have created Her from fertile earth and clothed Her with verdant plants. The Goddess could inhabit the idol and then go to Death!”
Ralina turned to Dove. “Could it work?”
“I think it is worth trying,” said Dove.
“Then after Death’s army arrives we will attempt to call forth the Goddess and awaken Her within the idol,” said River. “Dove, Ralina, do you know what we will need to do this?”
“Our matriarchs,” said Dove. “Those the Great Goddess has already touched.”
“Blood,” said Ralina.
“The power of the moon,” said Sora and Mari together.
“Then that is what we shall do,” said River.
“It has been said!” Morgana shouted.
“It has been said!” Women’s voices echoed eerily from the marble walls as firelight made their shadows dance.
CHAPTER 30
It was a Third Night, so after the meeting with Ralina and the Mare Council Mari and Sora drew down the power of the Moon and Washed the Earth Walkers and any of the Herd who so desired free of Moon Fever and illnesses. Dawn insisted her whole group, including Ralina and Renard, be Washed. Then the Herd ate as they did every night—communally. The nights had turned cold and the trees within the valley were showing off with bright crimson, rust, and yellow displays of their changing leaves, but it was still warm enough for the Herd to gather outside around campfires as they ate. They were subdued. The Herd usually played music and even danced on the wide, flat main street of the valley by torch- and firelight. This night there was no music, no singing, no dancing.
Sora loved the Valley of Vapors. They had only been there a relatively short time, but the green growing things spoke to her. The scent of minerals that perfumed the air grounded her. The gorgeous crystals were amazingly beautiful, and the hot springs intrigued her almost as much as did the white marble buildings of the ancients that turned golden in firelight.
“When this battle with Death and His army is over, where do you see us living?” Sora asked Mari, who sat beside her picking meat from the last of her pheasant.
Mari’s brows lifted. She kept her voice low as she answered, “On the Wind Rider Plains, of course.”
“Well, I know that,” said Sora. “But I mean where on the plains? Herd Magenti is nomadic. Is that what you’d want to be?”
Mari shrugged. “I haven’t given it a lot of thought, though the cross-timbers area at the Pawhuska Creek by the Tribe’s spring settlement did have lovely caves that could be converted to burrows, as well as strong oaks in which our Tribesmen and -women could build nests.”
“So you’re not thinking of being nomadic?” Sora pressed.
“I would be surprised if we decided to travel with the Herd,” said Nik, who sat on the other side of Mari. He tossed bones to Laru and Rigel before he continued. “Of course Dove will travel with Magenti. She won’t be separated from Tulpar. And I also wouldn’t be surprised if Jaxom traveled with the Herd, but I think most of us want to put down roots.”
Mari gave Nik a surprised look. “Jaxom? Really?”
Nik lifted a shoulder. “Why not? Any Earth Walker who has been Chosen by a canine is free of Moon Fever. Jaxom was Chosen by Fortina, so he can travel without worrying about returning to a Moon Woman every Third Night to be Washed.” His gaze went to Sora. “He’ll never forgive himself for what he did to you when he was infected with the skin-sloughing disease.”
Sora said nothing. Though she’d come to be easier around Jaxom, she agreed with Nik. She would not deny that seeing Jaxom could jar her back to that terrible day when he and two other Earth Walkers, infected by the skin-sloughing sickness and out of their minds with Moon Fever, attempted to brutalize and rape her.
