Page 119 of Wind Rider

“You’re right. Ah, the girls found the blackberries.” Jenna turned and gave the boat a thumbs-up before she and Spencer bent to the task of harvesting berries. Wilkes continued, “I’ll watch them and give you updates if you keep your eyes on the water.”

“Will do,” Nik said. “It’s not like I can look away from it without getting a creeping feeling up my spine.”

“Your dislike of water comes in handy right now,” Wilkes said with a smile, though his attention was focused inland on the kids. “Okay, Mason just waved, and now he’s digging.”

“And while I’m staring at the water looking for fish that can swallow canines whole, I’m going to think about all of the delicious things Sora is going to do to those potatoes,” Nik said.

“She’s impressive,” Wilkes said. “Both of our Moon Women are impressive.”

Nik nodded, squinting at a dark shape under the water. He couldn’t quite decide whether it was a shadow from the dock or something more ominous.

“I like that you’re saying ‘our’ Moon Women. I was worried about you being unhappy away from the Tribe,” Nik said.

“Honestly, I was, too—at first. But there’s a freedom to being with the Pack that we didn’t have in the Tribe. Women are the lawmakers, and I find I like that—a lot.” He glanced at Nik and shrugged before returning his gaze inland. “They’re kinder than we are, and they’re also more intuitive. Mari and Sora are making good decisions—not ‘hysterical’ at all, as the Saleesh priests would describe them. They showed excellent judgment with how they handled Dove’s vision. The Saleesh people were warned—menandwomen—and they didn’t do it like impetuouschildren would have. They made sure we were safe and we had a plan.Thenthey confronted the Saleesh. That’s good decision making.”

“I agree. And this journey—though it has, of course, been difficult—alsohasn’tbeen filled with the kind of bickering and backstabbing that had seemed to be commonplace in the Tribe the past several years.”

“Thaddeus…” Wilkes spat into the water as if to get the taste of the word out of his mouth.

“He played a major role in the change in the Tribe, but it wasn’t just him. Think about the Elder Council. Those men had been making decisions for the Tribe for decades.”

“Yeah, once appointed to the Council you’re on it for life,” Wilkes said.

“Exactly. We only had one point of view in the Tribe for a long time, and it was an old, stagnant one. Father and I discussed it often. Sometimes he agreed with me on the changes I talked about, but more often he’d tell me that I’d understand after I was made a Companion. Well, I’m a Companion, and I still believe the Tribe had become tunnel-visioned and stuck only seeing one point of view, which was usually a male’s and a Companion of a Shepherd’s.”

“How long does a Moon Woman lead?” Wilkes asked.

“I’m not sure. I know that Mari’s mother had chosen Sora and Mari as her apprentices shortly before she died—and she wasn’t much older than you,” Nik said. “Mari and Sora are already opening the Moon Woman training to others—something that breaks with their Clan traditions.”

“Mari seems to like breaking traditions,” Wilkes said, and Nik could hear the smile in his voice, though he didn’t take his eyes from the water.

“She does, but she also values lessons that were learned in the past. I like that balance.”

“As do I,” said Wilkes. “I hope the Wind Riders agree.”

“I’d be surprised if we actually joined a Herd,” Nik said. “It’s more likely that we create our own settlement, but I’m really looking forward to seeing a horse. It’s hard to imagine an animal so big it can be ridden.”

“We’re going to have a lot of new things to learn. It’ll keep me young,”Wilkes said. “Nik—Monkeys to the east in the trees. I can see them watching the girls.”

“Keep an eye on the water. I’ll look,” Nik said.

Nik studied the grove of big old pines, and easily saw a whole group of Monkeys filling the branches of the two trees closest to where Jenna and Spencer were harvesting berries. The girls hadn’t noticed them. Their backs were bent, and even from the distance of the boat Nik could see that they were moving quickly and had already filled two of the baskets.

He glanced at Mason, who was west of the girls. He, too, was completely focused on what he was doing. As Nik watched, Mason reached down and lifted a handful of potato vines, shaking the dirt from the little red nuggets of new potatoes before he pulled them free of the vines and put them in the waiting baskets.

A scream came from the trees, and everyone’s head turned to see the Monkeys jumping up and down on the boughs, causing the pines to look like they were shivering. One of the creatures threw a pinecone at Jenna. It fell short, but Nik didn’t hesitate. He sighted his crossbow and let an arrow fly. It embedded in the bough the Monkey was standing on, causing a dozen of them to scatter while they jabbered and shrieked.

“They’re getting restless,” Nik said.

“Hey, what’s that?” Wilkes pointed to a dark shape under the dock, not more than five feet from them.

“I think it’s a Mouth,” Nik said. “I noticed it before, and couldn’t decide if it was a shadow or not. When they come back I’ll watch it. The only things feeding today are going to be our Pack.”

“Did I hear Antreas right when he said we only have a few hours left to paddle today and that we’ll actually get to be on dry land tonight?” Wilkes said, still staring at the darkness beneath the dock.

“You did. He said we’re stopping at a place called Flatrock.”

“Does that mean we’re going to be fighting off Monkeys all night? Not that I’m complaining. It’ll be good to sleep on land.”