Page 31 of Moon Chosen

And above all—Moon Women were revered as the physical incarnation of the Great Earth Mother, and as the Spirit of the Clan.

So where would the Weaver Clan gather this night? Near which cluster of well-concealed burrows? Mari knew where each of the Earth Walker sites were located, she and Leda mapped them frequently, keeping scrolls updated as well as committing them to memory. But there were many Gathering Sites, and Mari had no time for a wrong choice. She couldn’t watch over her mother if night fell before Mari found her. Only a fool or an Earth Walker fully in the midst of Night Fever would wander the forest alone after dusk.

Which way had she gone?

Mari paused, listening intently, hoping she might hear a rustling in the distant underbrush that would give her some indication of which direction Leda had gone, but the only sound was that of a jay in a nearby tree, calling his displeasure at Rigel.

Mari glanced down at the pup. He sat beside her, ears pricked, looking off into the distance knowingly, as if the wilderness around them whispered secrets only he could understand.

That’s it!Mari realized.He does know things I don’t—smell things I don’t—hear things I don’t.Mari crouched beside Rigel and took his face between her hands. She and the young Shepherd locked gazes as she sketched within her mind an image of Leda.

“Find her,” she told him. “Find Mama!”

Instantly the pup went to work. Nose to the ground he began to weave a serpentine pattern back and forth, side to side, until suddenly his tail went up and he stopped, sitting expectantly before a small pathway that led to the northwest and looking back at Mari.

“You’re so smart and handsome!” Mari kissed and hugged the pup. “If this is the path she chose, then the Clan must be Gathering by Crawfish Creek beside that big grove of cherry trees. Okay, remember—silently and swiftly. No one can know we’re watching.”

Then it was Mari’s turn to lead Rigel as she left the little path—not trusting that latecomers to the Gathering wouldn’t overtake her—and made her way northwest, halting only when Rigel pushed ahead of her, whining softly, ears pricked and tail up.

Mari knelt beside Rigel, listening intently. The faint sound of water was carried to her on the wind that brushed against her face, and within the voice of the creek she heard the familiar sound of her mother speaking calmly and slowly. On her hands and knees, Mari crept forward, Rigel beside her, until she came to a holly bush that had grown fat as a spring lilac and tall as a tree. Ignoring the stinging spikes that tipped each slick leaf cluster and scratched at their faces and arms, Mari and Rigel burrowed their way beneath the concealing branches of the needle-like foliage. From the impromptu hiding spot under the holly, Mari peered down and over the steep bank.

Crawfish Creek was usually a lazy stretch of clear water with enough river rock in its bed that it made for easy crossing, as well as an excellent breeding ground for tasty little crawfish, though as Mari studied the area she noted that the creek was filled with spring rain that made it swollen and muddy. The opposite side of the creek had a gentle bank that smoothed gracefully down to create a beautiful little clearing, behind which was a grove of mature cherry trees that were just starting to bud into their pink and white flowers. The Gathering area was one of Mari’s favorites, and she smiled in remembrance of the foggy days she and her mother had spent tending the Earth Mother idols that appeared to miraculously materialize from the ground. There were six images of the Earth Mother in the glade, each easily thrice the size of a human woman, and each in a different pose. Some of them were lying on their sides, stone faces carved with serene smiles and closed eyes, as if in eternal, dream-filled sleep. Some were leaning against boulders that had been carefully placed so long ago that how they had arrived there had been utterly forgotten. And one idol, Mari’s favorite, lay on her stomach, with her head resting on her hands, smiling as if she knew a particularly fascinating secret. Her face had been carved from an enormous gray stone. Her long, thick hair was made of ivy that Mari had pruned just weeks before on a lazy, rainy morning. “Magick or not, theyarebeautiful,” Mari told Rigel softly. Then the people of her Clan drew her attention from the idols as Earth Walkers greeted one another and chose places to sit around the circled images of their Earth Mother.

Mari blinked in astonishment. She had never seen so many Earth Walkers together at one time! Though it wasn’t long until dusk, the Gathering was not a somber waiting, but had the atmosphere of a celebration, and the Clan’s excited voices lifted easily to her hiding place. Mari quickly counted forty-five women, twenty men, and seventeen children—including Jenna, who was rushing to greet Leda.

“Leda! Leda! Is Mari with you tonight?” Jenna asked eagerly.

Leda hugged Jenna. “No, Jenna. Mari cannot join the gathering this night.”

“She’s been really sick lately,” Jenna said sadly. “I miss her.”

“And she misses you,” Leda said.

“Is Mari still not well?” asked Xander, bowing respectfully to Leda.

“Mari’s health is always precarious. You know how delicate she can be,” Leda said, repeating the words that had become a lifelong excuse to keep her daughter separated from the Clan, and to keep her secrets hidden, even from Mari’s only friend and her father.

“But she has your powers,” Jenna insisted. “I know she does. Her eyes are just like yours.”

“That they are, child,” Leda said kindly. “And Mari does have power, but it is as unpredictable as her health.”

“So it is true. You are not choosing Mari tonight,” said Xander.

“I am not choosing Mari tonight,” Leda said firmly.

“I’m really sorry,” Jenna said. “I was hoping she would be strong enough.”

“I was hoping the same, child, and so was Mari,” Leda said. “But it is not to be.”

Mari wrapped her arms around herself as if to keep her heart from bursting from her chest. She wanted to run down the bank, take her place at her mother’s side, and once and for all claim her birthright without being frightened that she would be cursed for her fair hair and sunlight-absorbing skin. She closed her eyes against the wave of longing, feeling so weary of being different that she felt unimaginably sad and alone.

Rigel pressed against her, lending silent comfort and reminding Mari that she wasn’t truly alone, and that her emotions no longer only affected herself. Mari hugged the pup to her, focusing on releasing her sadness, imagining that it washed over and then through her, dissipating into the fertile ground beneath her before Mari returned her attention to her mother.

Leda had moved to the center of the mossy clearing. She lifted her staff and then brought the end of it down on the felled log before her, once, twice, thrice. An expectant silence fell over the Clan. Leda raised her chin and stood straight and strong. The wind caught her long hair, lifting it in a dark, silver-tinged curtain around her.

“I am your Moon Woman. It is my destiny to care for Clan Weaver, and it is because of my destiny that I have heard and considered the concerns of our people. I agree. It is time that I name my heir so that she may begin to walk the apprentice’s path.”

Leda paused, looking from Clan member to Clan member, allowing each one time to nod their agreement and to feel as if it was because of their concerns, in particular, that the Moon Woman spoke. In the dimming light of encroaching dusk, Mari thought Leda looked full of power, wild and beautiful and wise, like one of the forest fae from the tales her mother had told her as a child.