Page 47 of Sun Warrior

“Yes.”

Davis closed his eye and bowed his head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

Mari went to him and touched his hand, so that Davis opened his eyes. “You know now.”

“I’ll never do it again.” He spoke simply, earnestly, and his words touched Mari’s heart.

“I believe you,” she said.

Davis looked up at the graceful rendition of the Goddess. “Do you think she does?”

Mari almost answered him flippantly. Almost told him that the Goddess had never spoken to her, so how was she to know? But there was an expression in the young Hunter’s eyes that stopped her words. For an instant Davis reminded her of a Clansman who wanted nothing more than to know his Earth Mother wasn’t angry with him.

Mari squeezed his hand. “Yes. I think the Goddess hears and believes anyone who honestly speaks to her. Of course, whether she speaks back or not is completely unpredictable—even for a Moon Woman.”

Then Davis, a Hunter for the Tribe of the Trees, Companion to the Terrier Cameron, did something that utterly shocked Mari. He turned his back to her and placed both of his hands carefully on the feet of the carving. Davis bowed his head and said, “I’m sorry I had anything to do with destroying any of your images. I’ll never do it again.” Beside him, Cammy barked and wagged his tail.

When Davis stepped away from the doorway, the smile he sent to Mari was authentic and relaxed. “I’m ready to go inside now.” His gaze found the image of the Goddess again, as if it were fire and Davis was a moth, unable to stay away. “If she guards your home, then it must be okay.”

Mari felt a strange rush of excitement. Was she truly witnessing the first time a member of the Tribe accepted the Great Earth Mother? A man? And a Companion? Mari mentally shook herself. Or maybe she was just exhausted and imagining things.

“That carving is beautiful,” Antreas said, moving up to stand beside Davis. “Do you have this skill?” he asked her.

Mari drew a long breath, trying to sort through her tired brain to explain to the Lynx Companion that she did have a talent for drawing but hadn’t done much carving, when Nik spoke up.

“Mari has many skills, but right now she needs to get inside her home and rest.”

“Right you are,” Antreas said. “After you, Moon Woman.”

With dragging feet, Mari went to the door and opened it, breathingdeeply of the rich, familiar scents of home—predominate among those scents was baking bread and rabbit stew. She could see that the hearth fire was lit and there was a steaming cauldron boiling over it.

“Mari! It is you! Thank the Great Goddess! You’re home!” Danita was halfway across the front room of the burrow, arms spread to greet Mari, when Davis peeked his head over Mari’s shoulder. Danita gave a gasping shriek and stumbled to a halt, eyes wide with fear—face blanched white.

Cursing silently to herself for forgetting that Danita might be in the burrow and would still be traumatized from the attack she’d suffered only days before, Mari rushed to the girl, putting her arm around Danita and holding her close. Rigel was by her side, wagging a greeting. Mari breathed a small sigh of relief when Danita didn’t scream and lurch away from the canine.

“Danita, you remember my Rigel, don’t you?”

The girl nodded shakily. “He’s soft,” she whispered, sending the pup a quick glance. Rigel licked her hand and Danita patted him hesitantly on the head.

“Heissoft, and he likes you,” Mari said. “I’d like to introduce you to my new friends. They have Companion animals as well, and you have nothing to be afraid of—I give you my word as your Moon Woman. You already know Nik, right?”

Danita nodded, but her eyes were focused on Davis, who had stopped just inside the door, with Cammy sitting quietly beside him.

“Well, this is Davis, a friend of his and—”

“Hey, this den is nice!” Antreas was saying as he stepped around Davis.

Another shriek slipped from Danita, and Mari could feel the girl begin to tremble under her hand.

Then Nik and Laru were pushing inside behind Antreas and Bast, moving everyone forward, and Danita broke. With an anguished scream, she pulled from Mari’s grasp. Scrambling hysterically, Danita lurched backward until her legs hit the pallet built into the curved side of the burrow. She blindly climbed onto it; pressing herself against the wall, shehugged her knees to her chest, trying to disappear into a ball, as she trembled and sobbed.

“Danita, it’s okay. No one is going to hurt you!” Mari said, but her words were drowned out by the hysterically sobbing girl and by Nik and Davis, who seemed to be trying to reason with Danita as well, but the girl was beyond reason and all that was happening was the burrow had deteriorated into a cacophony of noise and stress.

Mari started to go to Danita, planning to physically shake the girl out of her hysteria if necessary, but before she could get to her Bast was there, padding confidently to the sleeping pallet. With no hesitation the Lynx leaped up on the bed and locked her gaze with Danita.

Mari moved forward, not sure what she was going to do, but her instinct to protect Danita was undeniable. Antreas was suddenly there beside Mari. He put his hand on her arm. “Antreas, please don’t let Bast—” Mari began, but Antreas spoke softly to her.

“Just watch. Bast knows what she’s doing, and she wouldn’t hurt the girl,” said the Lynx’s Companion.