Page 37 of Moon Chosen

“Well, Jenna, it seems our Earth Mother has spoken for me, as after tonight there is no doubt that Mari carries my gift.”

“Sora won’t be happy to hear that,” Xander said.

“Sora is young. She’ll have many winters to discover that the path to one’s destiny is rarely straight or clear of obstacles,” Leda said.

Mari let out a long breath, not entirely sure of what to make of her mother’s response, but her growing worry for Rigel was like an itch beneath her skin, and she found it more and more difficult to concentrate on anything else.

“Mama, are you ready?” Mari asked, offering a hand to help her mother stand.

Leda took it and stood. At first she moved slowly, carefully, as if expecting the dizziness and pain to return. Tentatively, she drew a deep breath, and let it out with a smile. “Thanks to you, my gifted daughter, yes I am ready. My bones are healed, as is the injury to my head.”

Before Mari could respond, Jenna and Xander faced her.

“Thank you, Moon Woman,” Jenna said formally, bowing to Mari.

“Thank you, Moon Woman,” Xander mimicked his daughter’s actions. “As is proper, Jenna and I will gather walnuts to bring as tribute to you next Third Night,” Xander said. “I remember Jenna saying that you use their shells for your ink.”

Leda lifted her brow and gave Mari a little nod of encouragement.

“Th-thank you, I do. And I will gratefully accept your tribute next Third Night,” Mari spoke the words she’d heard her mother say countless times in the past, though it felt odd, almost as if she was trying to dress up in Leda’s precious fur-lined cape and pretend to be someone she was not quite grown up enough yet to be.

“Fare thee well until we meet again,” Leda said formally, hugging Jenna and grasping Xander’s hand. Then she turned to Mari. “I will follow your lead, daughter.”

Mari nodded and paused at the ivy curtain, listening intently. All was silent beyond, so she parted the vines and crept from their hiding place. Mari stopped, waited, listening and looking—and when the forest remained silent and safe, she motioned for her mother to join her.

Leda slipped through the curtain and fell into step beside her daughter.

“Are you really well, Mama?” Mari tilted her head down to her mother and whispered the question.

“Yes,” Leda whispered back. “I am so proud of you, Mari. What you did back there was extraordinary.” Head still bowed to her daughter’s, Leda asked, “Rigel?”

“I sent him home just before the attack. Rigel warned me they were coming.”

“I thought as much,” Leda said.

“Mama, one of the Companions talked about Rigel. I heard him. They came here because a man named Nik is searching for a Shepherd pup. It has to be Rigel. What are we going to do?”

Leda squeezed her daughter’s hand. “We’ll figure that out at home. Right now focus on reaching out with your mind and sending Rigel reassurance. Your canine must be frantic without you.”

Mari did exactly that—she imagined Rigel sitting in front of their burrow and focused on her connection to the pup, and then she sent waves of reassurance and love to him through that connection, sketching a happy homecoming scene between the three of them in her mind’s eye.

It was then that Mari made her biggest mistake. The first lesson of the forest was to never, ever take your concentration off of your surroundings. From the time she had been old enough to toddle about, Leda had been teaching her warnings with rhyme and repetition:

Be safe! Concentrate!

Where old logs lie there are dangers to spy!

Always prepare to beware!

Eyes on the trail—eyes ahead—

If you are to return safe and sound to your bed!

But that night was different. For the first time since Mari had been a small child, she was out in the forest, well after full dark, and her focus was not on the dangers that surrounded her. Leda, too, was unusually unfocused. Worry for Mari and Rigel, Jenna and Xander, as well as the Earth Walkers who had been taken and killed filled her thoughts, distracting her so much that her mind did not note the low, warning hum until she and Mari were already surrounded.

A skittering of leaves and forest debris had Mari pausing. Her instincts screamed danger at her and had adrenaline surging through her body, heightening her senses and shifting her focus, before her conscious mind fully processed what was happening.

And then the hum registered in both women’s minds and the night changed irrevocably.