Daughter of the Moon (The Moon People, Book Two) (45 page)

"Kin," she said softly. "Will you carry me on the journey back? I cannot run by myself."

The male gave her a stiff nod. "Of course."

Netya would have liked to pretend she was giving him a chance at atonement, but in truth she was more concerned with keeping him out of trouble while Fern led the way. He would be less likely to run off again if he had someone to carry.

"We must get Pera upon Eyan's back," Netya said. "We can use this cord Fern made to bind him in place, but it will be difficult with him in the shape of his wolf. Use your clothing to pad his chest and keep the pressure away from his wounds if you can, especially the one that pains him most."

With nothing more than a simple nod of acknowledgement, Eyan took the shape of his wolf and lay down next to Pera, the difference in size between the two of them almost absurd. Eyan was nearly as big as a horse, large enough that the youngster would have difficulty slipping off if he was bound securely.

The other three men, however, were slower to act. They cast apprehensive glances between Netya and their captive, clearly waiting on her solution to their other problem.

"Go and help with Pera," she said, her tone firm but gentle. They obeyed, yet all three of them kept one eye on her as she knelt down by the fire and picked up a crude skinning blade someone had fashioned to dress the spoils of their hunt. It was little more than a hastily split flint biface, but the cutting edge was still sharp.

The bound man's dull eyes flicked up to meet hers as she approached him, filled with something that almost looked like relief.

"My clan will avenge me," he murmured, his dry voice cracking with pain.

"There is nothing for them to avenge," Netya said, and she leaned down to cut the length of bramble twined around his neck, then the second piece binding his scratched wrists together. A moment of silence followed as both the captive and the other men struggled to understand what Netya's actions meant.

"You may go back to your pack," she said. "We will not stop you. There is no need for any more blood to be spilled."

The man narrowed his eyes, remaining seated. "Truly, you would spare me? Then you are a fool. You know what my alpha will do when he learns of this."

"Even he agrees," Kin muttered under his breath, but he made no move to intervene.

"I understand," Netya said. "But killing is not our way. We must hope that your alpha is wise enough to see that there is no need for more fighting." She did not believe it, but she had to hope. She had to justify her decision to take mercy on the man somehow. Was she a fool? Perhaps. But she was not wicked. She would not kill another in cold blood if it could be avoided.

The man staggered to his feet, still regarding her with a look that seemed to expect betrayal at any moment. "You would rather fight us with spells and curses, wouldn't you? I saw your den mother call spirit fire from her fingers at the gathering."

"If your alpha comes to our lands then we shall be forced to, and then you will face worse than fire. But I will put no curse upon you today. Go. Leave us to tend our wounded friend."

The man waited, watching the others, a flicker of hope lighting up his eyes. He rubbed his raw wrists, backing away a few paces. When no one made any move to stop him, he drew himself up to his full height and regarded Netya again.

"A fool you may be, witch, but an honourable one." He paused, thinking carefully before he continued. When he did, it was in a lighter, almost matter-of-fact tone. "It will take me near three days to return to my alpha and bring him back here, if he departs right away. And I expect he shall. For sparing my life, I tell you this."

"Then your alpha has not left to fight Octavia?"

The man deigned not to answer. He had revealed all he was willing to. One small gesture of mercy for another. "Three days," he said. "Time enough for you to flee your den and spare yourselves from my alpha's wrath, as you have spared me from yours."

"But we must carry our wounded friend and let him heal. Your alpha would not come if you did not—"

"I am loyal to my alpha. I will hide no truths from him," the man said, shooting the others a glance that challenged them to try and stop him. "But... I must rest and hunt before I depart."

"Thank you," Netya said quietly, offering him a smile of gratitude.

He did not smile back, only inclining his head in a gesture of mild respect before turning away and taking the shape of his wolf. A moment later he was gone, the sound of his paws splashing through the creek the only residue of his presence.

Three days. Perhaps a little longer if the scout was true to his word and stopped to rest. Then they would see whether Miral's clan possessed the skill to track them back to the river, and into the valley beyond.

—31—

Blessings and Curses

They had barely left the thicket before Pera's cries of pain brought them to a halt. The youngster was squirming and clawing at his bearer, and the moment Netya dismounted she saw blood running from Eyan's neck where Pera had bitten him. The soft padding of clothing had not been enough to keep the boy's wounds from troubling him. For all Netya knew the journey might be making his condition even worse, but the only alternative was to wait and watch his strength slip away bit by bit.

Dry sticks crunched beneath Fern's paws as she paced agitated circles around Eyan, who lowered himself to the ground in stoic silence so that Netya could tend the small wolf writhing on his back. It was not simply a matter of easing Pera's pain; if he continued to struggle, he would eventually break the grass cords holding him in place.

Realising that she had no other choice, Netya withdrew one of the nightwood berries from the small medicine pouch she kept tucked inside her clothing. Sticky juice ran down her finger as she pierced the fruit with a fingernail, scooping off a small piece and lifting it to Pera's muzzle.

"Here, this will help. It will make the pain go away," she murmured, tilting his head upright so that she could place the piece of berry on his tongue. Once he had swallowed it she waited, wondering how long it would take for the grip of the spirit world to embrace him. The moments stretched by agonisingly, and still Pera's whimpers of pain continued. Eventually Kin reverted from the shape of his wolf and insisted that Netya give him more of whatever medicine she was using.

"Too much will make him sick, it may even kill him!" she whispered sharply, hoping Pera had not heard. "Be patient."

They continued to wait, and all the while Netya struggled to remember how much of the nightwood berry poison she had taken on her first journey into the spirit world. Pera was smaller than her, and so he would need less. She remembered that much from Adel's teachings. But was it not also true that some berries and leaves, even those from the same plant, were sometimes stronger than others? What if the ones she had picked were too weak?

Eventually she scooped off another tiny piece of the fruit and made Pera swallow again, her agitation growing as she realised that the day was wearing on. Every moment they lingered was another moment closer to Miral learning of what had happened. It occurred to her too late that she should have sent one of the others on ahead to warn the pack, but just as she was about to voice the thought she realised that Pera had fallen silent. The young wolf's eyes were still open, flicking back and forth like flecks of light on a rippling pond, but they seemed blind to the world around him.

"Pera?" She said softly, resting a hand on his side. His fur prickled beneath her touch, but otherwise he seemed completely unaware of her presence. Netya breathed a sigh of relief, backing away and calling Kin over. "The spirit world has taken him. Let us hope he remains there until we return to the valley."

With their wounded youngster offering no more than the occasional snuffle and squirm of discomfort, they set off again to the east. The rain had all but scattered the scent trail they had left two days ago, but they made better time despite the lack of guidance on their uphill trek. Kin and his companions had been chasing their stag in and out of every thicket lining the valley's base on their original journey, and Fern and Netya had been preoccupied with trying to follow their scent. Now, with nothing to hunt and no trail to stalk, they were free to make directly for the river, and by the time the sun had started to dip below the mountains they were paddling across the water back toward their own territory. Netya was reluctant to give Pera any more of the berries, for she knew too little about their dangers to be confident in what she was doing, but when the boy began slipping out of his trance late in the afternoon she was forced to give him another tiny sliver of fruit that quickly dragged him back into the world of dreams.

Pera showed no more signs of discomfort, but he seemed weaker than ever. The wound that had been bothering him began to bleed again, reaffirming Netya's decision to bring him back to Adel as quickly as possible. Wolves of the Moon People did not simply start bleeding once their wounds had already closed; their quick healing made such things virtually unheard of, and certainly far beyond the scope of Netya's knowledge to heal.

She urged the others silently on as she rode upon Kin's back, gripping his sides tight with her knees as she grit her teeth through the steady tug of weight that had been building on her arm all day. Almost as if she had been in the shape of her wolf alongside them, they seemed to intuit her determination without the need for words. Not once did they slow or stop without her instruction, not even to rest or drink. That she had somehow ended up in a position of authority over the small hunting pack was just as shocking as everything else that had happened, but since there were more pressing concerns to worry herself over she paid it little mind. Somehow she had struck obedience into them in the way that only their kind could, through sheer force of will or determination. Their animal nature had reacted instinctively, bowing to the alpha, allowing her to exercise the same power over others that Adel commanded. She would need to give it deeper thought, commune with her wolf and feel for the questions that her two-legged self could not answer. If she ever had the chance, of course.

The moon was clear in the sky by the time the eerie rattling of bone chimes reached their ears, white stars glistening their beauty across the heavens in stark contrast to the leering eye sockets of the totems that lined the path around them. The stag skull upon its cairn in the middle of the valley welcomed them home, the polished ivory glinting a faint red in the distant firelight.

Netya dismounted before Kin had even brought his lumbering body to a full halt, stumbling on the rocks and hissing through clenched teeth as her wounded arm struck against his side. The urgency of their arrival had brought several of the others to their feet around the fire outside the central cave, and a moment later Meadow was propping Netya up with both hands, the woman's usual meek expression galvanized by fear.

"You are wounded! I thought you were only going to the river. What happened?"

"Fetch the den mother," Netya replied, brushing away the hands that plucked anxiously at her arm dressing. "Pera is badly hurt. He is on Eyan's back, be careful when you lift him down—" A rush of the same lightheadedness that had struck her when her wound was fresh returned, bringing a flutter to her eyelids as she staggered back and tripped.

A pair of strong arms caught her, encircling her waist firmly as she came to rest against a broad body whose presence was immensely welcome.

"Bring Adel, Meadow," Caspian said, his voice like the warmest herbal tea soothing its way into Netya's ears. "I will take care of her."

With a long exhalation of breath, Netya finally allowed the pressure that had been building upon her soul for the last few days to break and rush out of her, bringing with it tears of weariness and relief as she clutched Caspian's hand and squeezed. It was as if some spell over her had broken, allowing her to realise how closely she had cavorted with death out in Miral's territory, how hungry and thirsty she was, how tired, how numb, and how much her body ached.

Eyan was standing upright on two legs again, Pera's wheezing body held in his arms as Fern fretted alongside him. The towering male seemed oblivious to the raw marks the grass bonds had cut into his neck and shoulders along the journey. His only concern was for the injured boy as Adel swept down the slope and examined him quickly, cast a pained glance in Netya's direction, then ushered them back up the hillside to her cave. Kin stood apart from the rest, still in the shape of his wolf. His eyes began to stray in Netya's direction when he sensed her watching him, but he looked away again before they could make contact. The young male turned and slunk away into the darkness, unseen and forgotten by everyone save for Netya and Caspian.

"Kin was responsible for this," he observed, his tone expressing disappointment rather than surprise or anger. "Do you need the other seers?"

Netya shook her head. "Let them help Pera. Can we go back to our cave?" She wanted nothing more than to lie down with Caspian and let him hold her.

"Of course." He kissed the side of her mouth tenderly, then hoisted her into his arms before she could protest.

She let her cheek fall against his shoulder, breathing in his welcoming scent. "I am sorry," she murmured, giving in to her meandering thoughts. "I cannot have bathed for days."

Caspian's chest twitched with a silent chuckle. "You smell of blood and the forest."