Plains of Passage (108 page)

That was the signal to Jondalar, who opened the entry door. As the cold draft blew in, Ayla, bending close to the bare spark smoldering in the dried moss, blew gently. Suddenly the moss flared up and enveloped the tinder, bringing on a chorus of surprised and excited remarks. Kindling was then added. In the darkened shelter, the flame cast a reddish glow illuminating everyone’s face and seemed larger than it actually was.

The people began talking, rapidly and excitedly, full of wonder, and it relieved the tension Ayla had built with the suspense. Within moments—to the Cave it seemed almost instantaneous—a fire had been kindled. Ayla heard a few of the comments. “How did she do it?” “How could anyone start a fire so fast?” A second fire was kindled from the first in the Ceremonial Hearth; then the One Who Served the Mother stood between the two areas of glowing flames and spoke.

“Most people who have not seen it do not believe that stones will burn, unless we have one to show, but burning stones are the Great Earth Mother’s gift to the Losadunai. Our visitors have also been given a gift, a firestone; a stone that will make a fire-starting spark when it is struck with a piece of flint. Ayla and Jondalar are willing to give us a piece of firestone, not only to use, but also so that we will recognize it if
we find any. In return, they want enough food and other supplies to get them over the glacier,” Losaduna said.

“I’ve already promised that,” Laduni said. “Jondalar has a Future Claim on me, and that’s what he asked for—not that it’s much of a claim. We’d give them food and supplies anyway.” There was a refrain of agreement from the gathering.

Jondalar knew that the Losadunai would have given them food, just as Ayla and he would have given the Cave a firestone, but he didn’t want them to feel sorry later about giving up food supplies that could leave them stretched thin if spring and the new growing season came late. He wanted them to feel they were getting the best of a good bargain, and he wanted something else. He stood up then.

“We have given Losaduna a firestone for everyone’s use,” he said, “but there is more to my claim than it seems. We need more than food and supplies for ourselves. We don’t travel alone. Our companions are two horses and a wolf, and we need help to get them across the ice. We will need food for ourselves, and for them, but even more important, we will need water. If it were just Ayla and me, we could wear a waterbag full of snow or ice under our tunics next to our skin to melt enough water for us, and maybe for Wolf, but horses drink a lot of water. We can’t melt enough for them that way. I will tell you the truth; we need to find a way to carry or melt enough water to get us all across the glacier.”

There was a chorus of voices full of suggestions and ideas, but Laduni quieted them. “Let’s think about it and meet tomorrow with suggestions. Tonight is Festival.”

Jondalar and Ayla had already brought delicious excitement and mystery to enliven the usually quiet winter months of the Cave, and to give them stories to tell at Summer Meetings. Now there was the gift of the firestone and, as a bonus, the challenge of solving a unique problem, a fascinating practical and intellectual puzzle that would give them all a chance to stretch their mental muscles. The travelers would have willing and eager assistance.

   Madenia had come to the Ceremonial Hearth to see the firestone demonstration, and Jondalar could hardly help noticing that she had been watching him closely. He had smiled at her several times, to which she had responded by blushing and looking away. He walked over to her as the gathering was breaking up and leaving the Ceremonial Hearth.

“Hello, Madenia,” he said. “What did you think of the firestone?”

He felt the attraction he often had for shy young women before their First Rites, who didn’t know what to expect and were a little afraid, especially those he had been called upon to introduce to the Mother’s
Gift of Pleasures. He had always enjoyed showing them Her Gift during their First Rites, and he had a special feeling for it, which was why he was called upon so often. Madenia’s fear was well grounded, not the amorphous worries of most young women, and he would have considered it an even greater challenge to bring her around to knowing the joy rather than the pain.

Jondalar looked at her with his amazingly vivid blue eyes, and he wished they were staying long enough to participate in the Losadunai summer rituals. He genuinely wanted to help her to overcome her fears, and was truly attracted to her, which brought out the full power of his charm, his sheer male magnetism. The handsome and sensitive man smiled at her then and left her nearly breathless.

Madenia had never experienced a feeling like it before. Her whole being felt warm, almost on fire, and she had an overwhelming urge to touch him, and to have him touch her, but the young woman had no idea what to do with such feelings. She tried to smile; then, embarrassed, she opened her eyes wide and gasped at her audacity. She backed away and almost ran to her dwelling space. Her mother saw her leaving and followed after her. Jondalar had seen Madenia’s reaction before. It was not unusual for shy young women to respond to him that way, and it only made her more endearing.

“What did you do to that poor child, Jondalar?”

He looked at the woman who had spoken, and turned his smile on her.

“Or need I ask? I remember a time when that look very nearly overpowered me. But your brother had his charm, too.”

“And left you blessed,” Jondalar said. “You are looking well, Filonia. Happy.”

“Yes, Thonolan did leave a piece of his spirit with me, and I am happy. You seem happy, too. Where did you meet this Ayla?”

“It’s a long story, but she saved my life. It was too late for Thonolan.”

“I heard a cave lion got him. I’m sorry.”

Jondalar nodded, and closed his eyes with the inevitable frown of pain.

“Mother?” a girl said. It was Thonolia, holding hands with Solandia’s eldest daughter. “Can I eat at ‘Salia’s hearth and play with the wolf? He likes children, you know.”

Filonia looked at Jondalar with an apprehensive frown.

“Wolf won’t hurt her. He does like children. Ask Solandia. She uses him to entertain her baby,” Jondalar said. “Wolf was raised with children and Ayla has trained him, and you’re right. She is a remarkable woman, particularly with animals.”

“I guess it’s all right, Thonolia. I don’t think this man would let you
do anything that might harm you. He is the brother of the man you’re named after.”

There was a loud commotion. They looked to see what the trouble was, as the girls ran off together.

“When is someone going to do something about that … that Charoli? How long does a mother have to wait?” Verdegia complained to Laduni. “Maybe we need to call a Council of Mothers, if the men can’t handle it. I’m sure they would understand the feelings in a mother’s heart, and pass judgment fast enough.”

Losaduna had joined Laduni, to lend him support. Calling a Council of Mothers was usually a last resort. It could have serious repercussions and was used only when no other way could be found to solve a problem. “Let’s not be hasty, Verdegia. The messenger we sent to talk to Tomasi should be back any time. Certainly you can wait a little longer. And Madenia is much better. Don’t you think so?”

“I’m not so sure. She ran away to our hearth and won’t tell me what’s wrong. She says it’s nothing, and tells me not to worry about it, but how can I help it?” Verdegia said.

“I could tell her what’s wrong,” Filonia said under her breath, “but I’m not sure Verdegia would understand. She’s right, though. Something does have to be done about Charoli. All the Caves are talking about him.”

“What can be done?” Ayla asked, joining the two.

“I don’t know,” Filonia said, smiling at the woman. Ayla had come to see her baby and had obviously enjoyed holding him. “But I think Laduni’s plan is a good one. He thinks all the Caves should work together to find and bring the young men back. He would like to see the members of that band separated from each other, and away from Charoli’s influence.”

“It does seem like a good idea,” Jondalar said.

“The problem is Charoli’s Cave, and whether Tomasi, who is related to Charoli’s mother, would be willing to go along with it,” Filonia said. “We’ll know better when the messenger gets back, but I can understand how Verdegia feels. If anything like that ever happened to Thonolia…” She shook her head, unable to go on.

“I think most people understand how Madenia and her mother feel,” Jondalar said. “People are mostly decent, but a bad one can make a lot of trouble for everyone else.”

Ayla was remembering Attaroa and thinking the same thing.

“Someone’s coming! Someone’s coming!” Larogi and several of his friends came running into the cave shouting the news, making Ayla wonder what they had been doing outside in the cold and dark. A few moments later they were followed in by a middle-aged man.

“Rendoli! You couldn’t have come at a better time,” Laduni said, his relief obvious. “Here, let me take your pack and get you something hot to drink. You made it back in time for a Mother Festival.”

“That’s the messenger Laduni sent to Tomasi,” Filonia said, surprised to see him.

“Well, what did he say?” Verdegia demanded.

“Verdegia,” Losaduna said. “Let the man rest and catch his breath. He just got here!”

“It’s all right,” Rendoli said, shrugging off his pack and accepting a cup of hot tea from Solandia. “Charoli’s band raided the Cave that lives near the barrens where they’ve been hiding. They stole food and weapons and almost killed someone who tried to stop them. The woman is still badly hurt, and she may not recover. All the Caves are angry. When they heard about Madenia, it was the final blow. In spite of his kinship with Charoli’s mother, Tomasi is ready to join with the other Caves to go after them and put a stop to them. Tomasi called for a meeting with as many Caves as possible—that’s what took me so long getting back. I waited for the meeting. Most of the nearby Caves sent several people. I had to make some decisions for us.”

“I’m sure they were good ones,” Laduni said. “I’m glad you were there. What did they think of my suggestion?”

“They have already taken it, Laduni. Each Cave is going to send out scouts to track them—some have already left. Once Charoli’s band is found, most of the hunters of each Cave will go after them and bring them back. No one wants to put up with them any more. Tomasi wants to have them before the Summer Meeting.” The man turned to look at Verdegia. “And they would like you to be there to make a charge and a claim,” he said.

Verdegia was almost appeased, but still not happy about Madenia’s reluctance to participate in the ceremony that would officially make her a woman, and, with luck, able to bear children—her potential grandchildren.

“I’ll be glad to charge and claim,” Verdegia said, “and if she won’t agree to First Rites, you can be certain I won’t forget it.”

“I am hopeful that by next summer, she will change her mind. I do see progress since the cleansing ritual. She is out mingling with people more. I think Ayla helped,” Losaduna said.

After Rendoli went to his dwelling space, Losaduna caught Jondalar’s eye and nodded to him. The tall man excused himself and followed Losaduna into the Ceremonial Hearth. Ayla would have liked to follow them, but she sensed from their manner that they wanted to be alone.

“I wonder what they are going to do,” Ayla said.

“I would guess it’s some kind of personal ritual,” Filonia said, which made Ayla even more curious.

   “Have you brought something you made?” Losaduna asked.

“I made a blade. I didn’t have time to haft it, but it is as perfect as I could make it,” Jondalar said, taking a small leather-wrapped package from inside his tunic. He opened it to reveal a small stone point with an unretouched edge that was sharp enough to shave with. One end was worked to a point. The other end had a tang that could be fitted into a knife handle.

Losaduna looked it over carefully. “This is excellent workmanship,” he commented. “I feel certain it will be acceptable.”

Jondalar breathed a sigh of relief, though he hadn’t realized he was so concerned.

“And something of hers?”

“That was harder. We have been traveling with only the bare essentials, for the most part, and she knows where she puts everything she has. She has a few things packed away, gifts from people, mostly, and I didn’t want to disturb them. Then I remembered that you said it didn’t matter how small it was, so long as it was very personal,” Jondalar said, picking up a tiny object that was also in the leather package, then went on to explain. “She wears an amulet, a small decorated pouch with objects from her childhood inside. It’s very important to her, and the only time she takes it off is when she’s swimming or bathing, and not always then. She left it behind when she went to the sacred hot springs, and I cut away one of the beads that decorate it.”

Losaduna smiled. “Good! That’s perfect! And very clever. I’ve seen that amulet, and it is very personal to her. Wrap them back up together and give me the package.”

Jondalar did as he was told, but Losaduna noticed a questioning look when he handed it to him.

“I cannot tell you where I will put it, but She will know. Now, there are some things I must explain to you, and some questions I must ask,” Losaduna said.

Jondalar nodded. “I will try to answer.”

“You want a child to be born to your hearth, to the woman, Ayla, is that right?”

“Yes.”

“You do understand that a child born to your hearth may not be of your spirit?”

“Yes.”

“How do you feel about that? Does it matter to you whose spirit is used?”

“I would like it to be of my spirit, but … my spirit may not be right. Maybe it isn’t strong enough or the Mother can’t use it, or maybe She doesn’t want to. No one is ever sure whose spirit it is, anyway, but if a child was born to Ayla, and born to my hearth, that would be enough. I think I would almost feel like a mother myself,” Jondalar said, and his conviction was obvious.

Losaduna nodded. “Good. Tonight we honor the Mother, so this is a very propitious time. You know that those women who honor Her most are the ones who are most often blessed. Ayla is a beautiful woman, and she will have no trouble finding a man or men to share Pleasures with.”