Earth Called, page 39
“It’s gone! His grief is gone!” Then Ralina turned back to the Goddess and dropped to her knees again. “Thank You! Oh, thank You so much.”
Instead of speaking to Ralina, the Goddess turned to River. “When Clayton died, Bard’s grief almost killed him, even though he and his Companion were poorly matched. River, your Anjo and you are perfectly matched. Consider carefully the pain your loss will cause your Companion and your people.”
River’s head bowed. Her shoulders shook with her silent sobs, but when she lifted her head to meet the Goddess’s gaze she wiped away her tears and spoke firmly. “I have considered. Anjo and I are in agreement. I remain willing to be Your vessel. Great Goddess, if Death is not stopped our plains—our world—will be filled with far more grief than the loss of one mare and her Rider.”
“You and Anjo are worthy to lead your people,” said the Goddess. “And I honor your willingness.”
River drew in a deep breath as Anjo trotted to her side. River lifted her hand and rested it on her mare’s neck. “We are ready, Great Goddess.”
“Oh, brave child, I know you are, but you are forgetting the first thing of which I spoke. Death would know it is a trap. I can return Him to the womb of the world and bespell Him to sleep again, but for Me to do so He must willingly come into My embrace, and the only way He will do that is if He believes He awakened Me.”
“How do we make Death believe He awakened You?” Mari’s stomach roiled as she asked the question because she feared she already knew the answer.
“I must be awakened by Him, as He planned.” The Goddess yawned mightily. “But now I leave you. I cannot fully awaken here—so I must return to My slumber. My Storyteller knows what needs be done.” The Goddess moved back to Her original position of recline. Once more, Her gaze locked on Mari’s. “What needs be done … what needs be done … what needs be done…,” the Goddess’s last words echoed around them as the light went out of Her eyes, Her head rested against the mounded bed of fertile earth on the marble floor, and She was again just dirt and moss, fern and flowers, and a lovingly carved obsidian image.
CHAPTER 33
The Herd was subdued that night. Word of the Goddess’s short-lived awakening and the details She provided the matriarchs spread quickly through the valley. As River sat beside Dove at her usual evening place around the Herd’s main campfire, Herdmembers approached. One at a time, they came. Without speaking, they saluted her and left gifts in a sacred circle around her. Some left beautiful feathers. Some left beads. Others placed crystal pendants, wrapped in wire or woven thread, around their Lead Mare Rider. They also honored Anjo, who stood near her Rider, solemn and attentive. River often raised her hand to stroke her mare.
Mari sat across the fire from River. Rigel lay beside her, watching everything. Every few minutes Mari put her hand on him—taking comfort in his warmth and nearness. Nik and O’Bryan were with the Stallion Riders as they made weapon checks, but Sora was there with Mari. She sat quietly near her, sipping a calming tea she’d brewed for their group after they left the nursery. With them were Ralina and her Bear, as well as April, who kept sending her sister worried glances.
“The Herd shows you great honor,” said April. Her voice sounded uncharacteristically soft.
River nodded as she stroked Anjo. “Yes, they do.”
Dove didn’t speak. She just held River’s hand and remained close to her.
“How should I do it?” River asked when the trickle of Herdmembers began to slow. She caught Ralina’s gaze. “What steps do I take?”
“I should do it. You have an entire Herd to lead.” Ralina shuddered. “But I cannot. Forgive me, all of you. I cannot go back to Death. I would rather end my life.”
Bard nickered with low urgency and nuzzled his Rider as Bear whined pitiably and pressed against her.
“I know that’s horrible for you and Bear to hear, my precious boys, but I would rather die than be captured by Death.” She looked around their small campfire circle. “Forgive me for not being braver.”
“It has nothing to do with bravery,” said Dove. “I understand you. I, too, could present myself to Death. He quite possibly would use me as the vessel to call forth the Goddess, but it is more likely that He would not use either of us but simply brutalize us and then slit our throats—causing our Companions horrible grief and ending their lives as well.”
“It cannot be either of you,” said River. “But Dove, Ralina, I look to you for guidance. How do I make Death fall into the Goddess’s trap?”
Mari sat up straighter, listening attentively.
“He must capture you,” said Ralina.
Dove nodded slowly. “Yes, I agree, and He must not realize you mean for Him to capture you.”
River chewed her lip as she considered, then said, “Do either of you believe Death will send His army against us immediately?”
“No,” Ralina said quickly. “It is more like Him to bluster and lie, cajole and manipulate—like He attempted to do today.”
Dove nodded. “Only after it is clear that you see Him for the monster He is and that you will not succumb to Him will He attack.”
“So, perhaps after He attempts to parlay a few more times I agree to meet with Him in person. Would He try to capture me then?” River asked.
“Perhaps,” said Dove.
“To be sure of it you should insult Him,” said Ralina. “Misunderstand what He says to you on purpose and laugh at Him. When He is angry, He acts on instinct.”
“But wouldn’t He just kill her?” Mari asked.
They turned to her and Dove sighed. “Yes. That is a definite possibility.”
“We could pretend to need something outside the walls,” said April. “Death has no way of knowing how well provisioned we are. Wait through a full turn of the moon phases, then be seen sneaking from the valley with a group of Hunters. When He captures you, struggle against Him, but do not overly provoke Him.”
“He wouldn’t just capture me,” said River, shaking her head. “He would capture any Rider team with me. He would infect them. I cannot allow that.”
“Going to parlay with Him in person seems your best option,” said Sora. “But instead of angering Him, treat Death as you would any other leader.” Sora’s gaze found Ralina. “What do you think?”
“He is more likely to be amused by River if she is charming. He will be impressed by her intelligence and beauty—and He will be obsessed with Anjo.” Ralina shuddered again. “But you cannot let Him flay the flesh from your mare. It changed the canines. It will change her as well.”
River gazed up into her mare’s eyes and spoke softly. “She will not survive when my soul flees my body. Death will not be able to change my beloved Anjo.”
April sobbed and wiped at her face. “I-I’m sorry. I don’t know how to bear this.”
“There is still time,” Mari said. “River cannot just walk outside the walls and offer herself to Death. The Goddess made it clear that He would know it’s a trap. So, there is still time.”
April nodded and wiped away more tears. “Yes, there is still time. Perhaps we will discover another way of awakening the Goddess or something—anything—else than sacrificing River.”
Mari said nothing. She only rested her hand on Rigel, who leaned against her.
“What are you thinking?” Sora whispered.
Mari shook her head and answered her best friend quietly, “Nothing. I’m just sad that it has come to this.” Then Mari cleared her throat. “I’m going to sleep. If Nik comes by, please let him know I’m in our chamber.”
The group called good nights to her as Mari left. She could feel Sora’s gaze on her back, and walked faster. She would have to avoid the other Moon Woman. Sora knew her too well. She would get suspicious and ruin everything.
Walking at her side, Rigel whined softly.
Mari let her fingers play through the soft fur on his head. “It’s going to be okay. At first it will be awful, but then it will be okay. I promise. I’ll make sure of it.”
Rigel whined again and sent her a wave of sorrow.
She blinked quickly. There was no time for tears. Not yet. Maybe never.
* * *
River and Dove slowly made their way to the marble building and the lovely chamber the two of them had been sharing since the Herd arrived at the Valley of Vapors. It was late. They’d sat by the campfire long after Mari and the rest of their friends had gone to their own beds.
Even then the two women hadn’t retired. Instead, with their Companions they’d climbed the ramp to the top of the wall and looked out at the forest where they caught glimpses of the yellow fires of Death’s army, flickering through the trees like giant, swollen fireflies. River and Dove didn’t speak. They only gazed out at the army’s fires as they stood together, the four of them, warm and safe and loved.
When River and Dove finally retired to their chamber, their Companions lay down beside each other. Anjo and Tulpar, exhausted from the events of the evening, fell asleep immediately—though both stallion and mare slept restlessly, as if their dreams were filled with nightmares.
From the thick pallet they shared Dove opened her arms. “Come, beloved.”
Gratefully, River went into Dove’s embrace. They held each other without speaking. River could feel Dove’s heart beating against her own chest. It seemed they shared a heartbeat, as well as breath.
When River finally spoke, she couldn’t keep the fear and sorrow from her voice. “I do not want to die.”
Dove’s arms tightened around her. “I know.”
“But I see no other way.”
Dove’s voice was barely audible. “I know.”
“Please tell me you and Tulpar will survive. Promise me. I do not think I can go through with it if I know you will not live.”
“Tulpar will survive, though Anjo is the mate of his heart. And because he would not survive my death, you have my promise that I will live,” said Dove.
River kissed her gently. “I wish we’d found each other sooner. We haven’t had enough time.”
“I will always be yours,” said Dove. “And I will find you again someday, should the Great Goddess allow.”
“Do you think She will?” River whispered.
“Yes. I believe it with all my heart,” said Dove.
River nodded. “Then I will believe it with all my heart, too. Now, let us use the days we have left to love each other as if we have loved already for a lifetime.”
“Yes, beloved. Yes.”
Their lips met and passion burned away sorrow as their bodies came together. When they finally slept, their dreams were filled with laughter and joy and love.
* * *
“Mari?”
Nik’s whisper had Mari turning over and beckoning for him to join her under the thick fur she’d burrowed beneath. Rigel was pressed against her back, sleeping fitfully. Laru sighed as he jumped up on the pallet, circled, and lay down at her feet.
“I saw Sora,” he said as he kicked out of his pants and pulled off his tunic before he slid into their pallet beside her. “She told me you went to bed early.”
“I couldn’t stay out there and watch River’s people leave her offerings. They honor her, but it makes it seem as if she’s already dead.”
Nik pulled her into his arms so that she rested against his chest. “Is there no other way to awaken the Goddess?”
“River does not believe so,” Mari said.
“What about you? What do you believe?”
“I believe it’s going to be very difficult to trap Death into awakening the Goddess,” Mari prevaricated.
“How soon is River going to give herself to Him?” Nik asked.
Mari chose her words carefully. “She started discussing it tonight. Ralina and Dove believe she needs to wait—have Death come to the wall a few more times, and then perhaps she agrees to meet with Him in person. But they can’t decide whether angering Him would work for or against River.”
She could feel Nik nod. “Ralina says His arrogance can be used against Him. River just needs to remember that and decide at the time whether it is best to flatter or threaten…” He paused before he added, “I saw Death watching you today. It made my skin crawl.”
“Mine, too,” Mari agreed. “I’ve felt His gaze on me before, when we paddled away from the Tribe of the Trees that awful day I called down sunfire. I thought He watched me then. Today I realized that I’d been right.”
“Just remember that within these walls you are safe, and that we’re going to defeat Him.” Nik’s voice was filled with confidence. “The Herd is strong and capable. The Goddess of Life is our ally. What does Death have? Mutants whose Companions cannot abide them and reanimated dead things. No, they will not win.”
Instead of speaking, Mari pulled Nik to her and kissed him with a passion fueled by heartache and the knowledge of what must come next.
* * *
It was barely dawn when Thaddeus woke, uncomfortable and annoyed that he’d had to sleep outside the shelter the Hunters erected for him because Death had commanded he watch the bison who had swallowed his blood. Thaddeus stretched, grimacing at the sore spot sleeping on a root had caused in his back. Tonight, Odysseus, if I still have to watch the damnable bison I will tie him to a tree outside my tent. Death did not say where I had to watch the beast.
Thaddeus sniggered at his own cleverness and then a strange sound had him sitting up and staring around. He recognized the sound. He’d definitely heard it before. An animal was coughing and gasping for air.
“Odysseus?” Thaddeus lifted his face, tasting the air hungrily as he sought the scent of his dead Companion. “Odysseus?”
The wheezing cough came again, calling Thaddeus’s attention to the far side of an enormous old oak. On all fours, the Hunter made his way to the tree to find the bull standing with his head down behind it, wheezing and coughing bloody phlegm into the grass. His eyes were glazed with fever. His nose was matted with green snot. He looked terrible—and smelled worse.
… watch this bull. Come to Me the moment he sickens.
Death’s command lifted from his memory and Thaddeus huffed. Well, Odysseus, let us tell Death the bison sickens. Tonight we will for sure sleep snug in our shelter once again.
The God was easy to find. All Thaddeus need do was follow the scent of roasting meat and campfire. Though they’d had to leave Death’s ridiculous throne in the Rock Mountains pass, the army had fashioned Him a new one. It was not much more than a huge fallen tree they had rolled beside the camp’s main fire and then hacked at until it was chair-like, but the God sat on it as if it had been fashioned of gold, as He chewed a hunk of bloody bison meat.
“My Lord.” Thaddeus bowed low before the God. “The bison sickens.”
“Ah, it happened as quickly as I intended.” He stood and tossed the rest of the hunk of meat at several Warriors who sat across the campfire. On all fours, the men snarled and fought for the piece of bison meat, which made the God laugh before He turned to Thaddeus. “Dog-man, lead Me to him.”
Thaddeus did so quickly, moving through the outskirts of the bison herd back to the lone bull, who still stood beside the tree, head down, struggling to breathe.
“Excellent, excellent! Now, dog-man, yesterday did you not say that you found a lake that adjoins the walled city?” Death asked.
Thaddeus nodded. “I did, my Lord.”
“Good. Take Me to the lake, but we must remain inside the cover of trees and move quickly. There is no time to waste. I am eager to have the walls of the Herd’s city fall to Me.”
“My Lord?” Thaddeus wasn’t sure he’d heard Death correctly. The walls of the Herd’s city were high and wide and appeared unbreachable. How could a sick bison cause them to fall?
“Just take Me to the lake. As I must remind you often, too often, watch and learn.” Death jerked His pelt-covered chin in the direction of the Herd’s fortress. “Now, dog-man.”
“Yes, my Lord.” Thaddeus hurried off.
Behind him he heard Death order the sick bison to attend Him, and the beast obeyed, though he staggered and coughed and struggled to breathe.
Thaddeus tried not to speak, but he could not contain his curiosity. Finally, he decided to ask Death the question foremost on his mind as the God probably would not hurt him too badly for questioning Him—or at least He wouldn’t until they arrived at the lake.
“Um, my Lord. I shall watch and learn. On that you have my word. But might I ask one question?”
“Go on. All is going according to my plans and I am feeling magnanimous.” Death gestured for Thaddeus to speak.
Thaddeus swallowed hard and then asked, “How did you know the bison would sicken?”
Death chuckled, a low, bestial sound more like the snorting of a bull than laughter. “Because I used you to sicken it, dog-man.”
At Thaddeus’s shocked look the God chuckled cruelly again. “You carry within you the sloughing sickness. All of the Warriors and Hunters do.”
“But we were cured.”
“Well, ‘cured’ is not an entirely accurate word. Perhaps ‘changed’ would be a better one.” Death shrugged His wide shoulders. As had become His custom, the God wore only a short leather skin tied around his waist so that His massive body was on full display, including His inhumanly thick muscles and the dark fur that covered Him. “Yes, ‘changed’ is much more accurate. The sickness will always live within you. I would think that would be obvious to you, as you, and the other Tribesmen, keep evolving—keep becoming.”
“Becoming what?” Thaddeus could not stop himself from asking.
Death simply shrugged again. “I am not entirely sure, but it is an interesting experiment, is it not?”
“Y-yes, my Lord,” Thaddeus stuttered.
I am becoming more like you, my Odysseus. That is all. And that is good. It is good. There is nothing for me to fear if I am only becoming you.
“My Lord?”
“Ask one more question,” said Death.
“How will the walls fall?”
