Page 128 of Moon Chosen

“I—I know.” Nik couldn’t continue to meet Mari’s eyes. “I was with her that night. She’s like you. She actually talked with me.”

Mari rounded on him. “Have you seen Jenna since you captured her?”

“No. My job isn’t to tend the Farm or the Scratchers, ur, I mean Earth Walkers. I’m really a Carver. I—”

“Go see Jenna after I get done saving your life and return you to your Tribe. I promise you she’ll be depressed and seem vacant in her mind. She’s a slave, and it will end up killing her just as surely as you killed her father. Do you know how old she is?”

“No, I don’t.”

“She’s only known sixteen winters. Sixteen,” Mari said.

“I’m—I’m sorry,” Nik said.

“Being sorry won’t save Jenna from dying from despair. Being sorry won’t bring Jenna’s father back. It’s my turn to ask the questions now. What were you doing in our territory?”

“I wasn’t wounded in your territory. I was part of a foraging team to Port City. We were ambushed by Skin Stealers. I don’t know if any of the others made it back to the Tribe. I was caught in a run-off after taking a spear.” Nik paused as images of Crystal and Grace flashed through his memory.

“Not then. Before, when you were with the Hunters. The night you captured Jenna and the next day when Mama died. Why were you in our territory then?”

“I was tracking Rigel.” At the sound of his name, the young canine’s ears pricked up and he cocked his head, listening to Nik. Nik mentally shook himself, pushing aside thoughts of those who had been lost during the ambush. Later—he’d deal with all of that later—if this girl actually let him return to the Tribe. If he actually lived.

“That’s what I thought,” Mari said.

“You covered your tracks—his and yours—trying to throw us off your trail. Didn’t you?” Nik asked.

“Yes, Mama and I covered Rigel’s tracks and ours. That’s why we went back to the creek that day.”

There was an awkward silence as the realization hovered between them that because he had been tracking the pup, Mari had lost her mother. Feeling miserably guilty, Nik tried to change the subject. “Rigel looks good—really good.”

That had Mari’s expression changing, almost warming. “Do you really think so? I never know for sure how much or what to feed him. And his fur—it’s so thick and it gets everywhere. I worry that I’m doing something wrong because it’s started to shed off him in hunks.”

Nik chuckled, and then had to grit his teeth against a stabbing pain in his back. Sweat broke out over his body, and he thought he might be sick. Mari was beside him in a moment, lifting the mug of drugged tea to his lips. He shook his head.

“Not yet. There—there are more questions. I’m okay. It hurts, but it’s nice to actually be able to think.” He hesitated, and then added. “Could I maybe have something to eat?”

“I’ll heat up some broth for you, but you need to drink the tea soon. If you don’t stay ahead of the pain you’re going to regret it,” Mari said.

Nik nodded. “Just a little while more.”

She went back to the hearth, and changed out the boiling pot for a small skillet that was black with age. As she stirred it, the mouthwatering scents of meat and garlic and onions drifted to him, making Nik swallow thickly and try to sit up a little straighter.

“The shedding is normal, especially around the change in seasons. You’re not doing anything wrong. We use small fishbone combs to groom the Shepherds, and they need to be groomed daily. What are you feeding him?”

“Rabbit mostly.”

“Feed it to him raw, that’s what’s best for a canine. Add any raw eggs you can find, shell and all, as well as leafy greens. Add apples, carrots, and celery when you can. And don’t feed him as much as he’ll eat. Some of the big Shepherds will eat themselves to death if you let them, and he’s from a long line of very big Shepherds who are very big eaters.” Nik grinned at the pup, who was splitting his attention between Mari and him. “The general rule of canine health is that you should see the indentation of his ribs, but not each rib individually. Rigel’s looking in good flesh—not over or under fed.”

“You know his mother and father?”

“Of course! His mother is Jasmine. She’s almost completely black and is as big as many male Shepherds. His father is Laru. I know Laru very well.”

“Is Laru big, too?”

Nik’s grin grew. “He’s the biggest Shepherd in the Tribe. His Companion is my father.”

“Your father! So that’s why you kept tracking Rigel.”

Nik opened his mouth and then closed it, not sure what, or how much he should say to this strange girl. When he looked at her again, Nik saw that Mari had quit stirring the broth and was watching him carefully.