Page 104 of Sun Warrior

“We should have a while. The fire was bad. The Tribe will be focused on healing and surviving. All of the floating cages on Farm Island were destroyed. They have nowhere to put captives until those are rebuilt. Unless something dire happens, we may have weeks, even a month or so.”

“In other words, long enough for us to get comfortable and let down our guard.”

“Exactly,” Nik said.

“We’ll have to leave before then.”

“I think so, too.…” Nik paused, then spoke reluctantly. “I have to go back.”

“To get a Mother Plant?”

“Yes. For our children. For the Pack’s children. Mari, I had a thought while you were sleeping. You were swaddled in the Mother Plant when you were an infant, right?”

“Yeah, that’s what Galen was killed for—stealing the fronds of the Mother Plant for me.”

“And the Night Fever all Earth Walkers get—all Earth Walkers except you—do you think if we swaddledallbabies in the Mother Plant fronds that maybe, just maybe, they would turn out like you, immune to Night Fever?”

Mari straightened, intrigued by the idea. “I’ve never thought of it! I always thought I was immune to Night Fever because of my father’s blood, but if there’s even a slight chance that you could be right, oh, Nik! If we could rid Earth Walkers of Night Fever forever, just think what that would mean for our people!”

“Our people—I like the sound of that.”

“So do I. Let’s eat! We need to talk to Sora!”

***

It had taken until midday, but Sora finally had everyone fed, medicated, and freshly bandaged. She’d made sure O’Bryan, Sheena, and Davis were standing guard—thoughstanding guardwas too official sounding. Sora had simply asked the three of them if they could keep an eye open for danger. From where she sat braiding feathers and beads into Lydia’s hair, Sora could see Sheena throwing a stick for Captain, and he, for reasons Sora absolutely could not understand, continually ran after it and brought it back to her. The same stick. Over and over again.

O’Bryan was over by the stream. He’d found line and lure in the birthing burrow and she thought he’d already caught a basketful of trout. Davis and his silly little Cammy canine had gone off to hunt turkey, which she’d promised to roast to perfection if they managed to bring any home.

She’d had to send the Clanswomen to different tasks, mostly to keep them from being too insistent about going off to find their old burrows.She’d sent part of them to where the stream widened to dig in the shallows of the bank for wapato roots, another part to hunt mushrooms, and the rest were sitting in peaceful, chattering groups around the clearing either washing bandages or weaving baskets to store supplies.

Jenna, Danita, and Isabel were sitting cross-legged near the stream, separating herbs and following Sora’s careful instructions—which were actually Mari’s careful instructions—and blending new tonics and salves. Bast was, of course, meticulously grooming herself within sight of Danita. Sora had no idea where Antreas had gotten himself off to. She stifled a snide grin. He probably needed some time alone after she’d explained the Clan’s courting traditions. Danita’s youthful laugher drifted across the clearing, and Sora glanced at the girl. Danita looked happy and, except for some lingering bruises and the pink lines of healing cuts and scratches, she seemed healthy again. Actually, now that Sora really considered the girl, she was more than healthy. She’d grown into a pretty young woman whose laugh was infectious and whose heart, despite what had happened to her, was still open and kind.

Wonder how open and kind she’ll be to Antreas if he does decide to court her.The thought had Sora camouflaging a giggle with a cough.

“Are you feeling okay, Sora?” Rose asked.

“Absolutely!” Sora said. “Just had a tickle in my throat. Would you like me to braid your hair next, Rose?”

“Oh, would you? Yours is so pretty, and what you’re doing to Lydia’s hair is wonderful.”

Sora nodded happily. “Of course! I am running out of beads, though. I saw another basket of beads in the back of the pantry. If you feel up to it, I’d appreciate you getting it for me.”

“I’ll go look. Fala needs a break from nursing her puppies anyway. Would you mind keeping an eye on them while she comes with me?” Rose asked.

“No problem,” Sora said. “All they do after they eat is sleep anyway.”

“True, but they waddle faster than you’d expect when they wake. Just be sure none of them get away from you—not that they wouldn’t sittheir plump bottoms down and scream for Fala as soon as they realized they were lost,” Rose said, stroking the sleeping ball of pups fondly before she began moving slowly and stiffly toward the burrow, with the mother Terrier by her side.

Sora had situated Rose, with Fala and her pups, Sarah, and Lydia on a thick bed of moss beside an old log near the middle of the clearing. The two girls were sore and hadn’t wanted to get out of bed, but Sora knew fresh air would be good for them both and Rose had—very nicely—sided with her in encouraging the girls to come outside. As the morning had progressed to midday and Sora had been able to breathe more easily, she’d decided the two wounded girls would feel better if they looked better. So she’d searched the burrow until she found a small basket of hair decorations and managed to talk Lydia into letting her dress her hair.

Sora had been surprised at how readily the girls had agreed to let her coif their hair—she suspected at first their agreement had been out of apathy, but soon after she’d begun to comb through and then braid Lydia’s hair Sarah had perked up and begun asking questions about the intricate work Sora was doing. And she was thoroughly enjoying herself. Lydia’s hair was thick and had a beautiful natural wave to it. It fell halfway down her back and was an astonishing blond, so light it was almost white. Sora thought it felt like water between her fingers. She could hardly wait to get her hands on Sarah’s hair. It was shorter and the golden color of wheat and so, so very different from the dark hair of Earth Walkers that the novelty of it intrigued the Moon Woman.

As her hands worked familiar braid patterns into unfamiliar hair, Sora’s mind wandered. She tried not to obsess about their situation and their vulnerability. But Nik’s new—what had he called them? Pack! His new Pack was pretty pathetic. They had a grand total of three males, and one Warrior female, to protect them. And with all the coming and going of Clan and Tribe, Sora was pretty sure it wouldn’t take much searching for the Tribe’s Hunters to find them and recapture all of them.

I need Mari to get out of bed with that tall Companion and get hereso we can decide what we’re going to do with this new Pack,Sora thought.

“Ouch!” Lydia squeaked, putting her hand to the side of her head where Sora had yanked too hard.