Page 120 of Moon Chosen

“Oh, Goddess, yes! Time for tea.”

“Not really. It’s time for tea for him. You and I are going to have to wait. I have to get that spear out of his back.”

Sora frowned and her shoulders drooped in disappointment, but she filled the pot with fresh water and hung it over the hearth to boil. Mari hurried to her mother’s pantry. She’d left the medical journal there, with the pages marked that held the instructions she needed to follow. Working quickly and with growing confidence Mari retrieved her mother’s cautery rods from the chest, as well as several lengths of clean bandages and the little wooden box that held Leda’s porcupine quill needles and rabbit gut thread she’d used to stitch wounds. Then she went to the basket filled with goldenseal root and carried the root, the cautery irons, and three large bowls to Sora.

“Cut three thumb-sized portions of this root and muddle them with some hot water, one piece for each bowl. Then fill the bowls with boiling water and submerge these irons in the biggest one of the three.”

“Why?” Sora asked.

“The root is goldenseal. It gets rid of infection. The irons are for cauterizing his wound after I take the spear out, so they need to be as clean as possible. I’m going to wash my hands thoroughly in the mixture once it cools enough to touch and you’re going to wash your hands in one of the other bowls. The third one is for rinsing his wound after the spear is out.

Be sure you refill the water in the pot and keep it boiling, though. I’m going to put together something for you to steep for him—something stronger than the valerian tea I gave him before.” Mari lowered her voice. “It should knock him out, but I don’t know how long he’ll stay out, so we’re going to have to work fast.”

“We?” Sora whispered.

“Do you still want to be a Moon Woman?”

“Of course,” Sora said.

“Then it’swe,” Mari said.

“Okay, that’s logical, but I’m going to heat up some stew. We need to eat so that we’re as alert as possible.” Sora glanced questioningly at Nik, who was unconscious again.

“No, he doesn’t need to eat now. He’ll more than likely puke it up. He will need a broth, though, for later, which you can also make for him. Pick the meat off the last of the rabbit bones and—”

“Stop. Cooking I understand. You worry about him. I’ll worry about feeding all of us.”

“Thank you, that’s a help.” Mari sent Sora a grateful smile. Then she stood, brushed her hands on her tunic, and hurried back to the medical pantry to gather the precious glass bottle filled with the liquid Leda kept on supply for emergencies. Made from the juice of a poppy, it was a powerful potion. Mari reread Leda’s instructions about dosage, and then decided how much to add to the cannabis tea that her mother’s journal said should be brewed for antinausea, antianxiety, and pain relief.

“That should knock him out,” she said to herself. “If it doesn’t kill him.” Then she gathered more bandages, and flipped to the entry in her mother’s journal about a particularly deep puncture wound she’d cared for several winters before. Leda had taken meticulous notes about the cautery, what she did directly afterward, and how she packed the wound with a poultice made of honey, witch hazel, sage, and calendula flowers. Mari smiled at her mama’s final note:Wound healed nicely—no infection—thank the Great Earth Mother and the power of positive thinking!

Trying to only think positively, Mari gathered honey, witch hazel, sage, and calendula flowers. Putting generous portions of each in the bottom of her mother’s largest stone muddling bowl, she returned to the main room of the burrow while she mixed all of the ingredients together.

“His tea’s ready, and I added the boiling water to the three bowls with the goldenroot stuff,” Sora said.

“Goldensealstuff,” Mari corrected, sounding exactly like her mother. “I’ll take the tea. Keep muddling this mixture for me.” She paused and then added, “Please.”

“I’d be happy to.” Sora gave her a tired smile. “Here’s his tea. Give it to him then come back here and sit down for a moment and eat your bowl of stew.”

Mari nodded her thanks and then went to Nik. His eyes opened as she called his name and sat beside him on the pallet. “Drink this. It tastes terrible, but it’s going to make you sleep. While you’re asleep I’m going to get that spear out of your back and sew you up.”

“Good thing I’ll be asleep.” His eyes were clearer than they’d been since they’d left the river, and he was able to lift himself up enough to gulp the bitter mixture. He lay heavily back on the pallet, but when Mari stood he reached out with surprising strength and grabbed her hand. “Could the pup come over here to me? Just until I sleep?”

Mari didn’t answer him. Instead she stared down at her hand trapped within his. After a breath, he let go of her.

“Rigel can sit with you,” she said. Mari glanced at her pup. He was lying in his usual place in front of the door. She noticed that his big wooden food bowl was near him, looking recently licked clean. Mari looked questioningly at Sora.

“Yes. I fed your creature while you were taking care of the other male creature in our burrow,” Sora said. “I knew you wouldn’t let us eat until he’d eaten. I mean the canine, not the man.”

“Huh,” Mari said, too surprised to formulate a real response. Then she turned back to Rigel and made a slight nod of her head. Instantly he padded to her. Mari hugged him and buried her face in the thick, soft scruff around his neck, borrowing strength and security from him. She kissed his nose. He wagged his tail and licked her before going to the pallet and curling up beside it. Mari watched Nik’s hand drop until it touched Rigel. Eyes closed, he slowly stroked the young canine.

Mari joined Sora at the hearth. The girl handed her a bowl. “Thank you,” she said. They ate silently and ravenously. Halfway through the bowl of stew Mari glanced at Sora. “And thank you for feeding Rigel.”

“You are welcome. I’m just glad he didn’t take a bite out of me instead of the rabbit.”

“I’m glad, too,” Mari said, and with a jolt of surprise she realized she really was glad Rigel hadn’t taken a bite out of Sora. “I’m going to need your help with what comes next, and it’s going to be a lot harder than carrying him here was.”

Sora held Mari’s gaze. “Well, then, I guess it’s a good thing that I’m here to help.”