Page 66 of Wind Rider

She looked quickly to find Jaxom and Fortina dancing nimbly between Claudia and Sheena—and her heart swelled at the smile that blazed from Jaxom’s face.

Mari had forgotten that Danita had agreed to dance, but the gasp from the Pack pulled her attention to the very center of their circle. Danita danced there with Bast. Unlike the canines, the Lynx wasn’t beside thegirl, pressed to her side. Instead the feline stood in front of Danita, facing her, and every step Danita took, Bast mirrored. Danita moved with a beauty that reminded Mari of willow boughs swaying with impossible grace, especially when her long, dark hair floated around her like a halo. Bast was every bit as exquisite—her preternaturally sharp yellow eyes never leaving Danita.

Then Nik and Laru were beside her again. “I know you can communicate with Laru. Do you think the four of us—you, me, Laru, and Rigel—can dance together?”

“Let’s try!”

They did more than try—they succeeded in a graceful joining that filled Mari with an indescribable lightness. Soon Mari threw out her arms and laughed. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d known such a sense of completeness and hope for the future. It wasn’t just the dance—it was the joining the dance signified, as well as the voices and instruments of her Pack as theyallcelebrated their togetherness.

This feeling is almost like the one I get when I Wash our people,Mari thought as she danced. And then she realized how dark the sky had grown and her feet faltered, understanding before her mind that soon the Earth Walkers would be suffering with Moon Fever, and her Pack would, once again, need to be Washed.

She was near the drummers and could see that even though the women kept beating out the basis of the melody, their expressions had gone from happy and open to strained and serious. And Mari could see the sickly gray tint begin to creep over their skin.

Her gaze sought out Sora, who had picked up the panting, happy Chloe and was kissing her and continuing to dance with the pup in her arms. Mari caught her eye, and pointed up at the darkening sky.

Sora’s eyes widened in surprise, and she nodded, dancing her way out of the circle.

“Nik, I have to get ready to Wash the Pack with Sora,” Mari said. He and Laru and Rigel paused with her. “No, you and Laru keep dancing. There’s still a little while until sunset.”

Nik kissed her cheek, and then he and Laru danced away together.

Mari met Sora by the campfire. As she’d made her way through the Pack, people murmured compliments, and several people reached out to stroke Rigel affectionately.It’s happening. It’s really happening! Our Pack is becoming one.Even Lily and Dove weren’t being ostracized. They were sitting beside Spencer, who was adding hunks of fish to the stew from a basket Mason and Davis had given her—as well as sneaking small scraps of meat to the puppies that were contentedly sprawled on Lily’s and Dove’s laps. Everywhere Mari looked, she saw her people integrated with those who used to be called enemies.Maybe we’ve left the darkness behind us.

“Great Mother Goddess, that was fun!” Sora said, wiping sweat from her flushed face as she tucked Chloe back into her sling. “I hope we can dance more after we Wash the Pack.”

“I’m sorry I let us dance for so long. I lost track of time,” Mari said.

“So did I,” Sora said. “Gloriously!”

Mari smiled. “I love that you were having so much fun that not even Moon Fever could spoil it.”

“Moon Fever? It can’t be that late. I’m not feeling anything.” Sora looked up at the sky, and her brow furrowed. “Mari, the sun is setting.”

“I know. That’s why I pulled you out of the dance.” Then realization hit her, and her gaze flew to Jaxom.Oh, Goddess! He’s out there close to Danita!Mari wasn’t worried that Jaxom would suddenly attack Danita or anyone. When male Earth Walkers came under the effect of Moon Fever their anger increased, but that anger was rarely directed at anyone but themselves. The moon acted on female Earth Walkers in a slightly different way. Un-Washed by a Moon Woman, they would fall into dark depression and would, eventually, succumb to it, to either waste away in a catatonic state or take their own life.

Mari was the only Earth Walker not affected by Moon Fever—thanks to her father’s Tribal blood and the fact that he had made sure Mari was swaddled in the Tribe’s magickal Mother Plant—a sacrifice that had cost him his life.

“I have to get Jaxom before he frightens Danita,” Mari said, beginning to move toward the dancing circle.

Sora held her wrist, stopping her. “Mari, wait. Something is happening—or rather, something is not happening.”

Mari turned to her friend. “Sora, we can’t let Jaxom—”

“Moon Woman, we need you,” Davis’s tremulous voice interrupted. Mari and Sora turned to see that Davis had his arm around Mason, supporting the young Earth Walker, whose skin had taken on the gray tinge that signaled the beginnings of Moon Fever. “Mason started acting strange—angry—and he went really quiet. Then I remembered it’s a Third Night, and I brought him to you.”

“You did the right thing, Davis. But know that Mason isn’t dangerous. Help him sit over there and we’ll get Jaxom and begin Washing the Pack,” Mari said.

Sora, who still had hold of Mari’s wrist, pulled her so that she had a better view of the dancing circle. “Look at Jaxom.”

Mari did. The Earth Walker was still dancing. Joyously. With absolutely no sign of Moon Fever.

“But, I don’t understand,” Mari said.

“I think I do!” Sora was so filled with excitement that her body was trembling. “Look at me. Look at my arms.”

Mari studied Sora, and as she began to understand what she was seeing, she lifted her friend’s arm, studying her for signs of Moon Fever—and finding none.

“How do you feel?” Mari asked.