Page 80 of Sun Warrior

And then Death, wearing the skin of her Champion, her lover, her life, ravaged her there on the hard, bloody floor of the balcony while the silent God looked down and wept scarlet. Dove forced her body to accept Him, to be soft and submissive, though inside her mind she screamed over and over and over.…

CHAPTER 19

Sora woke to chaos and complaints, and she instantly wished she hadn’t been so insistent that Mari leave, because she definitely didnothave everything handled. What she had was a group of people who were wounded, weary, and sad—or healthy, restless, and bored.

Sitting in front of the hearth fire, Sora muddled honey with lavender and poppy pods with one hand as she stirred a rich barley mushroom soup with the other.

“Jenna!” Sora called, trying to be heard over chattering women’s voices and the surprisingly loud baby animal noises the very awake and very annoying litter of puppies was making.

“I’m here, Sora!” Jenna hurried from the back room with Danita shadowing her. “Can I get you something?”

“Yes, more mushrooms. This stew needs to stretch.” She paused as Cammy came racing up to her, huffing doggy laughter with two of Fala’s pups tangled around his feet. “Do that outside!” she snapped at the little blond Terrier, then immediately felt bad, as his head and tail went down and he stared at her with big eyes while he whined pitifully.

“Don’t let him fool you,” Davis said as he hurried to catch his Companion. “Cammy knows better than to play rough in a nest. Er, or burrow. I’m sorry, Sora. I’ll take him and the pups outside.”

“There’s a nice spot in the clearing by the stream where we Gatheredlast night,” O’Bryan said, ruffling the fur on Cammy’s head before picking up the two rambunctious pups. “I’ll help you take all of them out. Sheena’s already there, trying to catch some fish to add to the stew.”

“That sounds good. Would you also keep an eye out for mushrooms? That’ll help stretch the—” Sora’s words broke off as she felt a warm, soft little body curl up on her feet. She looked down and, sure enough, there was the sun-kissed pup, blinking innocently up at her.

“Where is the other girl pup?” Rose was saying as she limped the length of the long burrow, peering around pallets and into woven baskets, searching for the young canine.

“She’s over here,” Sora said with a sigh.

“I’ll get her!” O’Bryan said. “Sorry about all these canines in your way.” He reached to remove the pup from Sora’s feet, but her hand on his arm stayed him.

“Oh, she’s fine. She keeps my feet warm.”

O’Bryan’s eyes glinted as if he knew a secret Sora was unwilling to share, but all he did was shrug. “No problem. If you get tired of her, we’ll be by the stream.”

“Take Rose, Sarah, and Lydia with you. Go slowly and let them rest in the shade. Fresh air will do them good. I’ll have the poppy tea and a change of dressings ready about the time the stew is done cooking,” Sora said, shifting her feet so the pup could find a more comfortable position.

“I don’t know if Lydia and I can walk down to the Gathering spot,” Rose was saying as she stroked Fala, who kept throwing what Sora interpreted as suspicious glances at the sun-kissed pup who was now soundly asleep on Sora’s feet. “We woke up so stiff this morning that it’s hard to move at all.”

“So, here’s what I read about burn recovery from the Moon Woman journals,” Sora said matter-of-factly. “Yes, if they’re too bad, the patient must remain inside and very still while the dead skin is debrided and then covered with wet, clean cloths soaked in water, honey, and garlic. Rose, you and Lydia were not burned that badly. You’re sore and stiff, but if you stay inside and don’t move the damaged parts of your bodiesyou’ll remain sore and stiff, even after the wounds turn to scars—tight, uncomfortable, unsightly scars.” Sora almost felt bad for adding the part aboutunsightly. She’d made that up, but Rose and Lydia were young women, and if she couldn’t appeal to their desire to be healed, then she would try to appeal to their vanity.And, oh yes, the Tribe is very vain with their tall blond bodies and their ability to channel sunlight.“You decide,” Sora concluded, shrugging one shoulder and going back to muddling the tea mixture.

“I’ll join the others outside. And I’ll make sure Lydia and Sarah do, too,” Rose said. As an afterthought she added, “If you get tired of the pup, call for Fala. She’ll hear you and let me know we need to come get her.”

“Will do. And I say again—to anyone and everyone—stay close to the burrow and don’t go anywhere alone. If you see an Earth Walker male, donottry to reason with him. Get me immediately. I’ll take it from there.” Though what she was supposed to do with diseased and dangerous males wasn’t entirely clear to her. Sora’s best guess at how to handle the situation was to knock a male over the head, tie him up, pour poppy tea down his throat, and wait until the moon had risen to Wash him.

“Understood,” O’Bryan said as Rose, Davis, and Jenna nodded in agreement.

“And Jenna, tell Danita that she’s worked in the pantry long enough. Take her with you to the stream to hunt for mushrooms, and while you’re hunting—stay close to the burrow—I want the two of you to practice hitting targets with the slingshots we brought from Mari’s burrow. None of us should be going anywhere unarmed for a very long time.”

“Good idea. I’ll get her.” Jenna disappeared into the back room that held the birthing burrow’s extensive pantry system.

“Can you use a slingshot?”

Sora glanced up to see O’Bryan watching her with his usual mixture of good humor and intelligence sparkling in his eyes.

“No. I cannot. Or at least, not well. Mari showed me a little, but I’mpretty bad at it.” Sora shook back her thick, dark hair and sighed. “I kept hitting myself with the rocks.”

“Have you considered trying a crossbow?”

Sora met O’Bryan’s gaze. “Earth Walkers don’t have crossbows.”

“But Companions do, and I’m a Companion.”

“You’d teach me?” Sora asked, intrigued. Since the males had attacked her, she had felt vulnerable and frustrated at her lack of skill in protecting herself. It amazed her that just weeks ago her biggest worry had been which tunic looked best and when she would announce Jaxom as her choice of mate. And now… now she couldn’t look at Jaxom without seeing a monster and she was sitting there talking to a sworn enemy about learning to defend herself—the Tribal way.