Page 12 of Wind Rider

“But just a little while ago you were so sick,” he said.

“I was, but that had more to do with seeing that creature on the ridge than sunfire exhaustion. Jaxom, pass Fortina to me. I’ll settle her, and then you and I can trade places.”

Nik acquiesced as they balanced carefully—first passing the pup over, which Rigel and Laru watched carefully, tails thumping in encouragement. Then Mari touched Nik’s damp cheek. “We will stay close by,” she reassured him before she and Jaxom exchanged places.

Rigel whined from his ballast.

“It’s okay, sweet boy,” Mari said quickly. “I won’t be far away.” Davis’s little blond Terrier, Cameron, huffed a greeting and licked Mari’s face, which made her laugh. “And Cammy will keep an eye on me.”

Mari ignored Rigel’s snort and petted Cammy while the Terrier wriggled with happiness.

“Easy, Cammyman. Don’t want this canoe to overturn,” Davis said, and his Companion instantly quieted.

“Jaxom, did you get holes punched in all of the remaining boats?” Nik asked.

“All but one or two at the very end of the row—they were both single seats. I focused on the bigger crafts first. I—I hope that was the right thing to do,” said Jaxom.

“It was,” Nik said. “Well done. And now I’m less worried about being followed.”

“The Tribe is too busy fighting the Skin Stealer army to bother with us,” Jaxom said. “I watched as long as I could, and saw no one coming after us.”

“I feel terrible for them.” Mari shuddered.

“Them?” Jaxom said. “You mean the Tribe that tried to kill you and Nik?”

Mari met his gaze. “No, I don’t mean Thaddeus and the twistedWarriors he’s creating. I mean the rest of the Tribe—Ralina and the others—the ones not filled with hate.”

Jaxom grunted and said nothing as he picked up Mari’s discarded paddle and took her place in the rear of the canoe.

Davis and Mari exchanged a look. “It’s difficult to have empathy for a people you don’t know,” Davis said softly. He touched her hand as he handed her Jaxom’s paddle. “Thank you. Thank you for knowing and for having empathy.”

She nodded and smiled sadly at Davis, longing for a world where empathy wasn’t such a sparse commodity. Then she took her place in the rear of the canoe. “I’m ready.”

“Okay, let’s lean into it and stroke hard. The faster we catch the others, the sooner Nik can be healed,” said Davis.

Mari bent to the task of slicing her paddle into the deep, black water. She tried not to think about the darkness below her. She didn’t have any particular fear of water, but as an Earth Walker raised in Clan Weaver, she hadn’t spent much time on the water. She could, of course, swim. All Clanmembers learned when they were children. They did fish, but only in the streams and lazy creeks that traversed Earth Walker territory. Never in the Willum River—it was controlled by the Tribe in the west, and the Skin Stealers in the east. Mari had never even glimpsed the Umbria River, which she thought might very well prove to be a good thing. That night she couldn’t see the shore—not on either side of her—so Mari pretended that it was much closer than she had a feeling it actually was.

When they’d made the decision to voyage up the river and through the mountains to the plains of the Wind Riders, Sheena, Davis, and O’Bryan—led by Antreas—had given the Earth Walkers quick lessons on how to paddle the canoe-like watercraft the Tribe used. So, Mari bent to her task and drew on the reservoir of strength she’d managed to retain from calling down sunfire, paddling as hard as she could. She ignored her burning shoulders and listened for Davis’s direction, “That’s good, Mari. Keep it steady. Stroke… stroke… stroke.”

When she could, Mari glanced behind her—each time relieved to see the bow of Nik’s boat still within view. She lost all track of time, and was shocked when Davis called out, “Hello, the Pack!”

“Davis!” O’Bryan’s familiar voice responded before Mari could differentiate Nik’s cousin from the floating blobs that were suddenly coming into view. “Do you have Nik and Mari?”

“Yes! We’re here!” Mari called back. “But Nik’s wounded. He can’t go on much longer. We have to stop long enough for me to call down the moon and help him heal.”

“Come closer!” Antreas’s voice carried easily from the lead position back to them across the inky water. “Tie up with O’Bryan and the rest of us will circle back to you.”

“Will do!” Mari said.

Nik called out. “Jaxom and I are right behind Mari and Davis. We’ll tie up with them.”

Mari wondered what Antreas was up to. They needed to get to shore so she could call the moon to her, but perhaps tying up was part of that plan. Regardless, she was incredibly relieved when she saw the rest of her Pack paddle into view.

“Great Goddess! I am so glad to see you!” Sora cried as her boat drifted to them. It was bigger than Mari’s—large enough for Sora to share it with Sheena and her Shepherd, Captain, as well as Rose with her little mama Terrier, Fala, and Fala’s litter. Mari could see Sora’s pup, Chloe, and her bright little eyes peeking out from the sling Sora had rigged to carry the canine close to her heart. “Nik?” Sora looked around worriedly. “Where’s Nik?”

“Here, just behind us.” Mari gestured to him.

“How badly is he hurt?” Sora asked as she began searching through a woven basket by her feet.