ICE BURIAL: The Oldest Human Murder Mystery (The Mother People Series Book 3) (29 page)

“
Do they worship the Mother in your
village
?
”
she asked, looking up at him.
“
I heard the old woman, Krone, speaking of the Mother sometimes, and the child Brulet. I would like to live in a place where She is worshipped, not the Great Spirit.
”

“
Yes, they do. The Mother, the Goddess, is much revered in my village. The woman I spoke of, who is called
Zena
, will one day be the leader of the Mother People, and that is why she was sent to save the child.
”

A flicker of something – was it memory? – came into Pila
’s
eyes.
“
Yes,
”
she said slowly,
“
I think I know of that name from before, a long time ago, but now I do not remember…
”
Her voice trailed away.

“
Do you remember how you came to be in Niva
’s
village?
”
Durak kept his voice casual, not wanting to press her.

“
Korg brought me. He carried me because I… He found me, you see. He took me away from them and brought me there.
”

Durak was startled. How strange that Korg, of all people, had rescued her. But who had he rescued her from? Probably the Leader, he realized, wincing. No doubt the Leader had done to Teran what he had done to Rofina and all the other girls. But Teran had said
them.
Had another man assaulted her as well?

Teran, or perhaps he should think of her as Pila, did not offer more information. She looked weary beyond endurance. Durak suspected she had not slept much since she had left Niva
’s
village, and that was two days journey from here at least. He wished now that he had gone there with
Zena
and Lief and the others. Then he would know more. But of course, he had not wanted to leave Rofina. She had been too ill from the potions.

Had they given Pila the same potion? Was that the reason for her shivering? He hoped not. If they had, it might never leave her.

“
If you are tired I will watch while you sleep,
”
he offered, seeing Pila
’s
eyes close involuntarily and then snap open again.
“
I do not think anyone else will come this way.
”
He wrapped the furs around her more tightly.

“
I thank you,
”
she said again. With a sign of relief, she lay down, the child close against her. Durak built up the fire and settled down to watch over them. How strange this was, he thought. Here was another woman who needed him as Rofina had needed him, and the thought came into his mind that Rofina had sent her to him, that she wanted him to care for this woman as he might have cared for her…

He thrust the thought away. It seemed disloyal. And yet…

Durak stopped thinking. One day perhaps he would understand. Now, he could not. Always keeping his eye on the woman and her child, he searched the area for more firewood, set a snare a short distance away and tried to think what else he could find for them to eat. There might be late berries, or tubers. He should dig them up b
efore the ground froze.
He knew already where some were buried because he had searched the area when he had been here with Runor and Rofina. That was fortunate.

When Pila awoke some hours later, it was to the smell of roasting hare. Durak smiled at her and handed her some cooked tubers. She took them gratefully, and he saw that her eyes kept returning to his face, as if she were trying to understand something about him. Perhaps, somewhere deep inside, she did know him.

She was not shivering any more, he saw, and he was relieved. Perhaps the potions had not done to her what they had done to Rofina.

The night passed and part of the next morning. To Durak
’s
relief, the snow stopped and thin sun lit up the peaks above them so that they glittered with their frosty covering. It was a glorious sight. Durak watched for a time; then he
rose
to search for more food. Pila seemed less fearful now, and he decided to venture further, to the shore of the lake where he knew more tubers grew and there might even be shellfish.

He had bent down to dig when movement startled him. Coming over the pass were three people, two women and a short, stocky man with a dark hood over his head.
He was the thickest man Durak had ever seen, with arms and legs like huge trees. One of the women was big too, though the other was slight. Both
wore headscarves. The largest woman seemed ill
and
could hardly hold herself up. The others supported her and trudged along as best they could.

Durak started toward them to see if he could help but changed his mind before they could see him. These were just like the three travelers Lief had described. How strange. Or perhaps it was not; perhaps the three lived in this area. Still, he ducked behind a concealing bush as Lief had, aware that he was uneasy. Lief
’s
story had been amusing, but he remembered that it had made him uneasy then too, despite the humor. Something had seemed wrong to him in Lief
’s
description, something he could not understand.

Another movement brought fear into his heart. Pila – she was running, silent as a deer down the rocky slope away from the three people. She was running fast, too fast for the rock strewn slope. She would harm herself…

Keeping the shoulder of a hill between him and the travelers so they would not see him, Durak ran after her. He had almost reached her when he saw her fall heavily, then she rolled over and over and lay still. The infant was still, too. Had she fallen on it?

Durak
’s heart beat
hard with fear, but to his relief Pila was conscious. She stared up at him in terror and again that frantic determination; then she uttered a moan and bent to look at her child. It blinked up at her and pursed its lips as if to suckle. She pulled the baby close and pressed her cold lips against its head.

Durak crouched down beside her.
“
The baby is all right,
”
he soothed her.
“
And I will not let them harm you.
”

They stayed perfectly still for a time, then Durak peered cautiously over the hill. The travelers were out of sight, but that did not mean they had gone, especially if they lived in the area. He decided not to mention that thought to Pila. She was frightened enough already.

“
They have gone,
”
he assured her.
“
They did not see us.
”

“
He was the one,
”
Pila accused
, looking up at him with tormented eyes
.
There was terror in her voice, but anger, too.
“
I know he was the one; he took me…
”
Crumpling back against the ground, she began to shiver violently again.
“
He could come again, find me…
”

“
Then we will find a safe place
nearby
to hide,
”
Durak told her stoutly, wishing he could take her to his village. There, they really would be safe.

He realized suddenly what she had said.
He
had taken her. That meant it had been the man in the group. Who was he?

“
Yes,
”
Pila agreed, her voice still high with fear and shock.
“
We must find a safe place to hide.
”
Durak helped her to her feet but she winced in pain when she tried to walk.
“
I have hurt my ankle,
”
she wailed, and Durak saw tears form in her dark eyes. Then, with a surge of courage, she put the foot against the ground and took a slow step.
“
I must walk,
”
she said, gritting her teeth against the pain and taking another step.
“
I must get away from them, get the baby away. They could take me back there, take him again…
”

“
The
travelers
have
left
,
”
he
repeated
,
“
and they did not see us. They do not know we are here.
”
He smiled at her reassuringly, but his mind raced. How was he to fulfill his promise to find a safe place? They could not stay out in the open. Anyone passing by would see them. Besides, it was too cold
.

Inspiration suddenly struck - the old shepherd
’s
hut he and Runor had used when they had tried to
wean
Rofina
from
the poppies
. That would be perfect. He could not carry Pila all the way to his own village even if she agreed to go there, but he could carry her to the hut, or at least help her to hobble to it. It was in the trees just below
, invisible from the path in either direction
.

“
I know of an old hut near here. We can go there,
”
he said enthusiastically, pleased with the solution.
“
We can be there until your ankle is all right and stay as long as we like. I lived there for a time, long ago. The hut is rough, but we can have a fire and be sheltered from the wind. No one will see us there,
not
even those who go over the pass. Does that not sound good?
”

Pila nodded.
“
That will be fine,
”
she said faintly. Her face was very pale but composed again now. He knelt to examine her ankle quickly before they started off again and thought that it was not broken, only sprained. Still, a bad sprain could take even longer to heal. Already, the ankle was very swollen. It must be extremely painful.

“
We will wrap it in cold mosses,
”
he told her, trying to sound as if he knew what to do for sprains. It was just as well that he had spent so much time in Sorlin
’s
company, he reflected. All he knew of healing had come from her.

Pila hobbled to the hut with a determined courage that reminded him of Teran. Nothing had ever stopped Teran from doing what she thought she must do, he remembered. That was good. They had not destroyed her utterly, as they had destroyed Rofina.

“
You remind me of someone I once knew,
”
he told her as she limped along.
‘s
he too was very determined when she
decided
she must do something that was hard.
”

Pila smiled at him, grateful for his encouragement, but he was not sure she
thought about his
words. She had suffered too much, he thought, to
pay attention to what might have
happened before. Later perhaps, he would be able to help her remember.

The hut had the cold and musty smell of long emptiness, as well as memories of Rofina. Durak ignored both and got busy building a fire in the small fireplace he had constructed during his last visit. There was plenty of dry wood left over and soon the fire crackled, banishing the feeling of cold and emptiness. He made a kind of nest near the fire from some old furs that had been left there too, and settled Pila in it.

“
I will run back for the furs and other things we need. Do not worry; the travelers are far from here now and I do not think anyone else will come. I will be back very fast, too.
”

When he returned, with cold mosses as well as the items left on the hillside, he was relieved to see that Pila was almost asleep. He thought she had been keeping her eyes open only with an effort until his return.

“
I will put the cold mosses on your ankle and then you must sleep again,
”
he told her.
“
Or you can sleep at the same time if you are able to with such a cold ankle,
”
he joked.

Pila did not laugh but she did smile, a wider smile than he had seen before, and Durak was pleased. He would tell her stories about his
village and the people,
and all that had happened
to them
, he decided, while her ankle healed. Perhaps then she would be willing to go there.

Pila
’s
ankle slowly healed, but by that time there was so much snow that Durak knew they could not go to his village. It was a long hard journey that took them across more passes. In deep snow that was foolhardy, if not impossible. They would probably die in the attempt.

They would have to wait until spring,
he
realized, and once the decision was made he ceased to worry about it. Nor did he think again of going into the lake. He was needed here. He could not go into the lake until he had brought Pila back to
Zena
. That would be wrong. Besides, Pila needed him to protect her.
If t
he travelers they had seen live
d
in this area
, they
could come back at any time. It was a horrifying thought.
The man was especially frightening. He looked extremely strong, with arms that could crush even the strongest adversary.