Page 32 of Moon Chosen

“All Earth Walker women with the silver-gray eyes of the moon-touched, step forward and present yourselves to me!” Leda commanded.

Mari gritted her teeth against her desire to answer her mother’s call and to step forward along with the four girls who moved quickly into the center of the gathering to bow before Leda.

Three of the four girls bowed deeply, respectfully. Sora, of course, was different. Though she, too, bowed to their Moon Woman, it seemed to Mari that her movements were too languid to show the proper respect. When Leda released them and the four straightened, Sora instantly lifted her head and tossed back her thick black hair. This night she wore no crown, but her hair was ornately braided with feathers and beads and shells, cascading down her back almost to her curving waist. Mari scowled. Sora’s entire demeanor radiated an arrogant confidence that was wholly inappropriate for one who someday would embody the Great Mother Goddess and hold safe the Spirit of the Clan.

“Before I begin the naming of my apprentice I want to honor these four young Clanswomen.” Leda smiled warmly at each girl. “All have potential. All have talent. I will name only one to train and to eventually take over my responsibilities, but any of the four of you could mature into a wonderful Moon Woman. If I do not name you, you are free to look to another Clan and to set your name forth as one who wishes to apprentice. Do you understand?”

The four young women nodded together. Mari thought three of the four looked nervous. Sora looked like Sora—beautiful and utterly sure of herself.

“Isabel, I see you and acknowledge your willingness to serve your Clan,” Leda began. “Though I do not name you as my heir, I ask the Great Mother to bless you with strength and safety.”

“Thank you, Moon Woman.” The girl named Isabel bowed again to Leda before hurrying with obvious relief back to her place among the Clan.

“Danita, I see you and acknowledge your willingness to serve your Clan. Though I do not name you as my heir, I ask the Great Mother to bless you with health and happiness.”

Danita didn’t look as relieved as had Isabel, but she bowed deeply and smiled at Leda before rejoining her mother and sister on nearby logs.

Though Mari knew her mother was going to name Sora as her heir, she could feel the Clan’s excitement and expectation as the two young, gray-eyed women waited silently for Leda to continue.

They don’t know,Mari realized as she studied the people. Then her gaze went to Sora, who was staring at Leda with such intensity that even from her vantage point above them Mari could feel her desire.Mama hasn’t told any of them that she’s choosing Sora, not even Sora herself.With a jolt Mari understood why.She really did want to name me her heir, and it was only nine days ago that she truly gave up hope of doing so.Mari stifled a sob and put her arm around Rigel. The pup leaned into her, lending her comfort and strength. Mari whispered into Rigel’s ear, “I’ll never be sorry you found me, but I wish it was possible to be both—your CompanionandMama’s heir.” Rigel crawled into her lap. Mari wiped her eyes and kept watching the scene unfold below them.

“Eunice, I see you and acknowledge your willingness to serve your Clan. Though I do not name you as my heir, I ask the Great Mother to bless you with love and laughter.”

Mari didn’t watch Eunice bow and retreat to the clan. Her attention was focused on Sora. Standing before Leda, the girl seemed to blaze with a fierceness that boarded on predatory. She had been born the same fall as had Mari, so they were of an age—but age is where their resemblance ended. Mari was tall, with a body more slender and graceful than was normal for an Earth Walker. Sora was shorter even than petite Leda, but her body was lush with a fullness to her breasts and hips that signaled to Mari that, unlike the rest of the woman of the Clan, the girl did little work.

Is Sora already accepting the tribute due only to a Moon Woman?Mari made an irritated mental note at the thought of a Clanswoman doing something so disrespectful. She’d bring up the subject with her mother. Perhaps a good part of Sora’s apprenticeship should involve hard physical labor.

“Sora, I see you and acknowledge your willingness to serve your Clan. I hereby name you Moon Woman of the Weaver Clan, and my official heir. Do you accept my naming?”

“I do!” The excitement in Sora’s voice shouted above Leda’s.

Leda turned a complete circle as she asked, “Women of the Clan, do you accept my naming of Sora as Moon Woman?”

“We do,” came the Clanswomen’s joined cry. Mari thought it was interesting to note that the women seemed less exuberant in their response than the men, who stood and clapped and whistled.

“So I have proclaimed, and so the Clanswomen have agreed. Sora is my apprentice. Hereafter, the mystery of the moon’s power will reveal itself to her so that the Clan may continue to be Washed of the madness and misery that comes with Night Fever.” Leda, moving more stiffly than Mari liked to see, bowed to Sora as the girl seemed to glow with pleasure.

Mari was thinking about how much she would like to wipe the smug, victorious look from Sora’s face when Rigel’s body turned to stone.

“What is it?” she whispered.

Rigel’s ears were pricked forward, as if he was still watching Leda, but as Mari studied him more closely she saw that his gaze was focused into the distance behind the gathered clan. Completely silent, Rigel moved out of Mari’s lap. He stepped forward, pressing against the holly boundary. His tail lifted, and as it did, all of the fur along his neck and back raised. He turned his head and met her concerned gaze, and Mari was filled with an overwhelming desire to run away—back in the direction they had come—back to hide in the safety of their burrow.

Danger was coming to the Clan, Mari was absolutely certain of it.

She didn’t hesitate. Within her mind she sketched a picture of their home with Rigel sitting before the entrance to the briar patch. “Go home, Rigel! Now!” she said.

Rigel trembled and whined softly, but he didn’t leave her.

Mari held the image in her mind, adding herself and her mother to the sketch. “Go home! Now! Mama and I will be right behind you!”

With one last, miserable look at her, Rigel turned and crawled out of the concealing holly, sprinting back through the brush, retracing the way they had come. Mari made sure he was out of sight before she pushed through the prickly bush the opposite direction. Before she’d actually considered what she was going to say, Mari was already starting to pick her way down the treacherous bank. She squinted and stared into the grove of cherry trees behind the Gathering Site, trying to see through the fading light and catch sight of whatever danger Rigel had sensed.

A movement at the edge of her vision drew her attention. Mari paused, concentrating. Behind the Clan, just before the grove of cherry trees began, there was a thick patch of mature ferns that had begun to shake, as if a sudden gust of wind had blown through them.

But the wind had stilled until there was not even the slightest of breezes. As Mari watched in horror, the ferns burst apart so that men—tall and blond and carrying crossbows notched at the ready—sprinted forward, descending on the gathering.

Mari cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, “Companions are coming!Run!”