Page 74 of Wind Rider

“Please tell them how sorry I am,” Dove said.

“I will not,” Mari said sternly. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”

“True,” Sora said. “And you just proved that you are some kind of oracle—or at least have a connection to the spirit world.”

“And that could be a very good thing for our Pack,” Antreas said. “Wind Riders hold those who can communicate with the spirit world in high esteem. There is an entire Herd whose leaders commune with crystals. They are strong and prosperous and called Crystal Seers. I think they would be very interested in Dove.”

“Truly?” Dove said as Lily took her hand and blinked tears from her eyes.

“Truly. You could be one of the reasons they allow us to settle in their territory,” said Antreas.

Dove bowed her head. “Oh, thank you, Great Earth Goddess, Giver of Life.”

“Sora and I will let the Pack know that you sensed danger, but that danger will not come to us as long as we keep moving,” said Mari.

“The Pack will be grateful to have a Seer with us,” said Sora. “Because wearegrateful.”

As the two Moon Women moved away, heading to spread the news to their Pack, Mari spoke quietly to Sora. “So, a Skin Stealer with no eyes can see ancient spirits and may be the reason we’ll be able to make our home in a magickal land where people ride the wind and speak to crystals?”

“Yeah. Proving once and for all the Goddess has a rather strange sense of humor,” said Sora.

“That’s what Mama used to tell me, and I never believed her,” Mari said.

“Leda was right,” Sora said.

“I wish I could tell her,” Mari said.

Sora bumped Mari gently with her shoulder. “She knows, Moon Woman. I promise you, she knows.”

CHAPTER 13

The morning began bright and early, with the Pack breaking their fast with leftover baked wapato roots and scrambled gull eggs with a pinch of Sora’s precious salt. Then, led by their Sun Priest, Nik, the Pack—theentirePack—faced the rising sun and joyously greeted it.

Mari loved watching Sora and Jaxom absorbing the powerful rays of the sun alongside their Companions. She also loved the fact that the Earth Walkers were now eagerly interacting with the canines, especially Fala’s puppies.

The boats were packed and everyone was ready to cast off when Antreas raised his hand and drew the Pack’s attention.

“We have about six hours of river travel before we come to the ruins of the Bonn Dam. This part of the river is wide and, at this time of year, mostly placid. We will pass the ruins of two ancient ships, but it is easy to steer well clear of them. Other than that, there are no major obstacles until we reach Bonn Dam and the home of the Saleesh.”

“Antreas, did you say that we are going to have to leave the river to pass the dam?” Mari asked.

Antreas nodded. “Yes. The river turns to white-water rapids around the dam. The Saleesh are the only people who understand how to traverse it. We will beach the boats on this side of the dam. The Saleeshwill greet us and we will gift them with our offerings.” He paused. “Wedohave offerings for them, correct?”

Adira spoke up. “Yes! We finished weaving two new travel cloaks last night—the kind that can be used to overnight in the boughs of trees like cocoons.”

“And the women did a perfect job with them,” O’Bryan said, smiling warmly at the older woman. “They are even better made than our old ones.”

“Why, thank you, O’Bryan. You were an excellent teacher,” Adira surprised Mari by saying.

“And this morning I woke early and finished these.” Sora held up a woven basket that held several fat sticks of dried lavender, sage, and pine that she’d bound together.

“Will those gifts be enough?” Nik asked.

“I believe they will,” Antreas said. “The Saleesh aren’t greedy. Actually, they are quite wealthy in their own right. The gifts they expect are a sign of respect, and these cloaks and the smudge sticks should be very well received.”

“What happens after we beach the boats? Will we have to drag them across the ground until we get past the ruins of the dam?” Mari asked.

“No. The Saleesh pilots will take over for us. There is a narrow passageway that only the Saleesh can successfully traverse. It goes through the dam area, the rapids surrounding it, and then past the ruins of an extremely dangerous bridge they call Of the Gods—and it’s white water the entire way. They will steer the boats through the passage while we travel across ground—through their campsite—and meet the boats on the other side of the dam, where the water is calm again.”