Page 163 of Sun Warrior

“None of the rest of you can feel her, either?” Davis asked, looking shocked and a little frightened.

The rest of the group simply shook their heads.

“Mari? You do, though, right? You’re an Earth Walker. She’s your Goddess. You must feel her, too, don’t you?” Davis asked beseechingly.

Mari went to Davis’s side. “I’ve never felt her. I’ve never heard her voice. But my mama did. Often. And, Davis, the Great Mother isn’t just the Goddess of Earth Walkers. She’s anyone’s Goddess who chooses to follow her—or whoshechooses. I believe she’s chosen you.”

Davis’s gaze flew to the idol’s face. “Really? You really think she’s chosen me?”

“Ask her,” Mari said.

“How?”

“Follow your heart.”

Davis nodded. Then he moved so that he stood even closer to the reclining idol. He went to his knees, though he didn’t bow his head. Instead, he gazed up into the face of the Goddess, asking in a voice thick with emotion, “Is it true? Great Earth Mother, have you chosen me? May I call you my Goddess?”

There was a long, silent pause, and then the wall of brambles that encircled the clearing began to sway as if a brisk wind were blowing through them—though no wind so much as whispered past Mari’s hair.

“Oh! Thank you! Thank you,my Goddess!” Davis exclaimed. When he stood and turned to the group, his face was alight with happiness.

“She spoke to you, didn’t she?” Mari asked.

“She did! I heard her. Here.” He touched his head. “And here.” He touched his heart.

“What did she say?” Sheena asked.

Mari thought Davis’s smile could have lit a thousand torches. “She said, ‘I have always been your Goddess—it is only now that you know it.”

“Wow!” O’Bryan said, gazing up at the image of the Earth Mother. “That’s miraculous.”

“And it means we’re on the right path!” Nik said, hugging Mari and then going to Davis and enveloping him in a hug, too. “What we’re doing—the choices we’ve been making—they brought you to your Goddess. We’re doing the right thing, Davis.”

“You doubted it, Nik?” Mari asked, feeling suddenly vulnerable.

Nik met Mari’s gaze without wavering. “Not for myself and not for you with me. I never doubted that this is the path for us. But for these others?” He moved his shoulders, looking around the small group at his friends. “I wasn’t sure. I was trying to do what I believed was best for everyone, but I just wasn’t sure.” His gaze drifted up to the face of the Goddess. “Now I’m sure—and not just for you and me.”

“I’m sure,” O’Bryan said. “This is the path I want to be on. None other.”

“And I,” Sheena said.

“Me, too,” Rose said. She grinned and added, “But Fala’s little Chloe knew that before I did.”

Cammy barked then, as if he, too, had known, and everyone laughed.

Nik looked at Mari. “Ready?”

“I think so,” she said. “What do I do?”

“It’s simple and completely natural.” He took her hand, guiding her to his side. “Just follow along. Your father’s blood and the sun will do the rest.” Nik turned so that he was facing the east and the fiery yellow ball that had just risen above the wall of thorns. Mari did the same, and the Companions spread out beside them, all facing east, canines close beside them.

Nik paused then, and Mari could see from his expression that he wasconcentrating—choosing his words carefully. He lifted his face and spread wide his arms, crying, “Behold the wonder of our Pack! And behold the first beams of our lifeline—our salvation—our sun!”

Mari was watching Nik, and as he spoke his eyes changed color, turning from warm, mossy green to blaze a shining gold—a gold that was mirrored in Laru’s eyes. Then, laughing joyously, Nik opened his arms even farther, and the sleeves of his tunic fell back to expose the delicate filigreed patterns of fronds that Mari now recognized from the Mother Plant as they lifted to become visible, glowing just beneath the surface of his skin.

With the others, Mari mimicked his actions, tilting back her head and spreading wide her arms. She gasped in pleasure as the sun caught her eyes. Instead of blinding her with its brilliance, the sun flushed through her, gently filling her, warming her, strengthening her. Mari glanced at her own arms, and for the first time in her life she appreciated the delicate fern patterns that were rising to the surface of her skin to greet and absorb the power of the sun. She looked down at Rigel to see that he, too, was staring up at the sun and his eyes were blazing golden. Around her she could feel the joy of the Companions. Some of them laughed; some of them shouted a greeting to the morning; some of them whispered their thanks more intimately into the sky.

The rightness of it settled over Mari as she realized this greeting of the sun wasn’t that different from drawing down the moon. Yes, one was cool and one was warm. One ruled day and one night. But the joy was the same, as was the life-sustaining nourishment each gave their people. Content, Mari finally embraced the heritage that was her father’s legacy to her.