Page 93 of Sun Warrior

“And I am Slayer. I would ask this question, too,” said another man.

“Excellent! And I shall answer your question. Move forward, Fist, River, and Slayer, so that I may see to whom I speak.”

Dove heard the crowd moving and murmuring.

“What is happening?” Dove asked Lily.

“The three Hunters have left the others and are standing before the central fire. The one over which the boar was roasted.”

Dove bowed her head and waited.

“My answer is thus—you were wrong.This statue is not a God. It is dead metal. It matters not at all whether it is an image of a man or a woman, becauseit was never a God.I am Death and I am your God. Not because of this statue. Not for any reason except that I have chosen you as my own. And I thank you for giving me this opportunity to show my divine power to those of my People who aretrulyfaithful.”

Then there was a horrendous sound of screaming metal that was joined by the hysterical shouts of the People as Dove heard something heavy plummet to the courtyard below.

Lily gasped in horror, hiding her face in Dove’s shoulder as she sobbed.

“What is it? What has happened?” Dove shook the girl, forcing her to answer.

“H-he tore the trident from the statue of the God and hurled it into the courtyard. He has killed Fist, River, and Slayer!”

“NEVER QUESTION DEATH!”the God thundered.

“Are the People fleeing?” Dove asked.

“No, Mistress. The People are falling to their knees and bowing to Him.…” Lily paused while she sobbed, finally managing to whisper, “What are we to do?”

“We are going to survive.” She put her arm around her Attendant and let the girl weep into her shoulder as Dove’s sharp, resourceful mind began to make plans.…

CHAPTER 22

The day dawned overcast and cool, with the taste of smoke heavy in the air and in Wilkes’s throat as well. His eyes felt as if he’d rubbed sand in them, and as he stretched and unwrapped himself and Odin from the cocoon-like hammock he’d fashioned late the night before in the great boughs of an ancient pine left untouched by the fire, Wilkes heard his cough echoed around him by his brother Warriors.

“Wilkes! You up there?”

Wilkes glanced below to see Claudia with her Shepherd, Mariah, peering up into the boughs of the pine, face ashen and expression grim.

He cleared his throat painfully and steeled himself for bad news.

“I’m here. Give us a minute. Odin and I will be right down.”

Claudia nodded and sat heavily beside her Shepherd, draping a slender, soot-smudged arm around the big canine as Wilkes quickly reworked his travel cloak into a sling, lowering Odin to the ground before he followed him more slowly, climbing down the broad tree trunk.

“Here, I brought this for you.” Claudia handed Wilkes a wooden cup filled with hot, honey-laced tea.

Wilkes nodded gratefully, blew on it, and then took a big gulp, savoring how the herbs soothed his smoke-abused throat. Then he met Claudia’s gaze. “Okay. Tell me.”

“We found Ethan.”

Wilkes’s stomach clenched with dread. His mate had been missing since the day before. He hadn’t made it to the Channel—Wilkes already knew that—but he’d hoped Ethan was one of the wounded who had lost their way in the smoke and fire and had begun straggling back to the Tribe since the blaze had been extinguished.

“Where is he? Is he hurt badly?”

Claudia stood and rested her hand on Wilkes’s shoulder. “I’m sorry. Ethan’s dead. We found him not far from where the Council was killed.”

Wilkes bowed his head and let the grief wash over him. He and Ethan had been mated for a decade. Wilkes had liked to joke about how much Ethan nagged him, but the truth was that he counted on his partner to keep him grounded. And now—now Ethan was no more and Wilkes felt as if he’d lost his true north.

“What about Ginger? Was she with him?”