Page 183 of Sun Warrior

Bile lifted in Mari’s throat, almost gagging her.Oh, sweet Fortina! I’m so sorry!

Mari watched as the pup’s ears suddenly went up and her sharp eyes began searching the shadows within the forest around Mari’s hiding place. She swallowed hard and steadied herself.I have to keep my thoughts to myself. The pup could give me away, even if she doesn’t mean to.There would be time to feel sick for those poor canines later. Now Mari’s focus had to be on Nik.

Mari closed her eyes. Reaching out with her mind, she concentratedon Laru, sketching a picture of herself, with Rigel beside her, where they crouched in hiding near the meditation platform. She added Laru to the image. It took longer than she would have liked, but finally she felt the jolt of warmth that meant Laru was nearby, and within just a few breaths the Alpha Shepherd padded silently up to them.

Mari was so relieved to see him, beside her and unharmed, that she threw her arms around his wide neck, kissing him and holding him close—sharing her love with him. The big canine’s body had been trembling, but surrounded by Mari and Rigel he settled. Mari could feel him calming and regaining hope.

“It’s okay,” she whispered to him, flooding him with love and reassurance. “We’re going to save him. I promise.”

Mari glanced up at the sky. It was painted with orange and pink and turquoise. She couldn’t see the sun, but she could feel its power fading as the cool majesty of the moon was beginning to grow.

Resolutely, Mari reached into her satchel, pulling out her slingshot and the pouch of perfect stones she kept it filled with. She looked at her tunic and decided against putting it on. Mari shook back her hair, still dressed with jay feathers; she loved that it had gotten long enough that it framed her face in a riotous mess of curls and braids. Then, on impulse, she poured a little of the water from her travel bladder onto a patch of dirt at the base of the concealing pine they crouched behind, quickly working it into sticky mud. Using her fingers, she painted an image of the sun in the middle of her chest. Below it, on her smooth, flat stomach, Mari then painted the image of a moon.

Satisfied, she turned her focus to the two canines as she sketched in her mind a picture of herself striding into the Tribe’s camp. Rigel and Laru flanked her. Their heads, ears, and tails were up. Their massive teeth were bared. Waves of power radiated from the three of them.

“Understand?” she whispered.

Immediately Rigel moved to her right and Laru to her left. Mari stood. Her slingshot was in one of her hands. She tied the pouch of rocks around her bare waist.

With the two Shepherds beside her, Mari stepped from behind the pine tree and strode directly into what was left of the Tribe of the Trees.

***

“Hey, Nikolas! All you need to do is beg us to stop and we will!” Thaddeus taunted.

“Yeah, ask pretty please—you know, like you asked your Scratcher whore for a piece of her ass!” the young Hunter named Andrew shouted, causing the other men—those Thaddeus had already healed—to laugh sarcastically and add their own nasty jibes about Mari.

Nik gave no response at all. When Thaddeus had tied the rope around his neck and hung it from the branch above him, being sure that Nik had to stretch to keep from being choked, he’d chosen a spot in the distance—off in the forest that was still filled with green and life—and he focused on that spot, refusing to look away. Nik filled his mind with thoughts of everything he loved—of Laru and Mari and Rigel, O’Bryan and Davis and little Cammyman, of the Pack he longed to rejoin. He kept his thoughts on them—on the people and canines who were his family, his friends, his future. And Nik waited.

Thaddeus was impetuous and filled with anger. His men—especially the four who surrounded him and who had obviously gone through the same “cure” as had Thaddeus—were likewise so filled with rage that Nik barely recognized them. These were men he’d grown up with, men who had followed his father willingly, men who were now dangerous strangers.

But Nik knew anger did odd things to people. It clouded judgment, requiring actions that fed on chaos and fear—and chaos and fear opened the door to mistakes.

So Nik waited for Thaddeus’s mistake, keeping his mind clear and present as he meditated on his loved ones and refused to play the Hunter’s cruel game.

An arrow whizzed past, slicing through the meaty part of Nik’s shoulder. He didn’t so much as flinch, but it did draw his mind out ofthe dream it had been reliving where Mari’s head rested on his shoulder while Laru and Rigel curled at their feet, sleeping contentedly.

Damn, that stings!Nik struggled to remain expressionless. He could feel the heat of the arrow slices and was surprised to realize that while his mind had been daydreaming with Mari his body had been nicked by so many arrows that his blood covered his chest like a liquid tunic.

“Ah, come on, Nik! If you won’t beg for us to stop, how ’bout you do a little dance?” Another arrow twanged loose from its crossbow, and Nik sucked in a breath as it grazed his side, tunneling another bloody furrow across his naked skin.

A small whimper had his gaze focusing on the canines below him. Mostly, they were quiet. Except for the canines who were Companions to Thaddeus’s group, and Maeve’s pup, Fortina, they lay beside their sick and wounded Companions, trying to absorb the suffering of their humans as they lent love and strength and hope to them.

Thaddeus’s group was different. Their canines were wounded—sick even. They were lethargic and in obvious pain—a pain their Companions completely ignored. It was difficult for Nik to comprehend it. He could no more allow Laru to suffer than he could allow Mari to feel pain. But the Companions who were closest to Thaddeus, the only Tribesmen who seemed to be getting stronger with each moment, paid no attention to their suffering canines. And Thaddeus—the Hunter who had lost his beloved Terrier just the day before—showed no sign of mourning. No sign of grief. Nik had even heard him speaking to Odysseus, as if the canine was still by his side.

The whimper sounded again. Nik’s gaze swept the crowded clearing. It wasn’t coming from any of the adult canines. It was coming from Fortina, the pup who had chosen Maeve not so long ago. That poor little girl Shepherd was unwounded in body, but Nik suspected she was utterly broken in spirit.

Maeve backhanded the pup and Nik had to use every bit of his self-control not to strain against his bonds and demand she leave the young Shepherd alone. He did let his gaze focus briefly on Fortina, wishinghe had Mari’s ability to communicate with other Companions. He’d tell the pup,Run for the Channel! Find the Pack! They’ll help you!

Then a truly odd thing happened. As he watched Fortina, the defeated pup raised her head. Her eyes brightened as her ears went up and she searched the forest behind them.

Oh, sunfire, no! Don’t let it be Laru!Nik closed his eyes, concentrating on his connection with the Alpha Shepherd.Laru! Run! Meet Mari at the Channel!he repeated.

In return Nik felt a delicious wash of reassurance and hope so strong that he wished he could collapse with relief. Laru’s response left no doubt in his mind. His Shepherd had found Mari. Now all Nik had to do was find a way to escape.

Thawp!Nik’s eyes shot open as another arrow ripped across the outside of his left thigh, not far from the wound that was already aching. Warmth washed his thigh as scarlet spread down his leg.

“Isn’t that about enough, Thaddeus?”