Page 151 of Sun Warrior

Mari blinked and came back to herself. “Oh, sorry. Yeah.”

She caught up quickly with the three young women, and together they moved down the wide stone stairs. The evening had been cloudy, and dusk had fallen quickly. The Pack had lit all of the bonfires, and the night was filled with scents of burning pinewood mixed with the aromas of roasting meat and the lavender and salt water that always circled a Gathering. As Danita spotted them and raised the greeting of “Moon Women! Our Moon Women are here!” Mari felt as if her heart might burst with the sense of belonging that rushed through her.I wish you were here, Mama. I wish you could see that I have a place with these people. I finally belong!She searched for Nik among the smiling, upturned faces, even though she already knew he hadn’t returned from her burrow yet because Rigel wasn’t leaping around her, drowning her with slobbery kisses.

“Ready?” Sora asked her.

“Absolutely,” Mari said.

The four of them descended into the heart of their Pack.

“Blessed Third Night to our Pack!” Mari called, tweaking her mama’s traditional Third Night greeting just a little. “Tonight we have much to celebrate. We have two new apprentices who have chosen to dance their introduction to the moon together. Sora and I have agreed to it because we believe in mixing new traditions with old.”

“Like how we’ve mixed Clan and Tribe to form a new Pack,” Sora added.

“Exactly!” Mari agreed. She nodded to Sora, and they moved forward to approach the idol of the Great Earth Mother that seemed to emerge from the center of the clearing. The light of the fires had flickering shadows playing across her beautiful skin of moss. The breeze stirred, brushing through her hair of verdant ferns, giving the impression that she was in motion, rising to greet her people.

Mari and Sora had already decided to open the Third Night bykeeping much of it traditional, out of respect for the Great Goddess and for the gathered women who had, for their entire lives until just recently, been part of a Clan steeped in tradition.

Sora had asked Mari if she would begin, and Mari had easily agreed. Sora’s connection to the Goddess was strong—maybe even stronger than Mari’s. She had never heard the Goddess’s voice, but Sora seemed to chat with her frequently.

“I greet you, Great Mother, with the love and gratitude and respect of your newly formed Pack.” Sora spoke directly to the image of the Goddess.

Mari watched Sora bow reverently to the living sculpture and was then surprised to see her pull a beautiful bead from her hair and tie it into a frond of the Goddess’s hair. Mari heard Sora say, “This is my favorite bead. Keep it here, with you. I know you’ll come with us to the Plains of the Wind Riders, as you are everywhere, but part of you will remain here, in our homeland. And I want you to have it.” Then Sora brushed away tears that were glistening on her cheeks and rejoined Mari.

It was Mari’s turn. She was supposed to announce the ancient call for the men of Clan Weaver to present themselves to be Washed, but as there were no Earth Walker men present, Mari took the opportunity to approach the Goddess.

Mari gazed up into the smooth river stone flecked with sparkles of crystal that had, generations before, been carved into a likeness of the Goddess’s face. From her hair Mari disentangled the perfectly blue feather of a jay. She reached up and placed it snugly within the fern that was the Goddess’s hair.

“Keep this with you,” Mari said softly to the Goddess. “Blue was Mama’s favorite color, so I think you’ll like it, too.” Then Mari stepped back and faced the watching Tribe, pronouncing the words she’d heard her mama speak uncounted times. “Men of Clan Weaver, present yourself to me!”

The silence that filled the clearing was pregnant with anticipation. Mari searched the crowd until she spotted O’Bryan, Sheena, and Davis.They were turned outward, watching the surrounding forest with the sharp eyes of protectors.

Nothing happened. No one moved.

Mari breathed an almost inaudible sigh of relief and was turning to Sora to begin the invocation of the moon when the night erupted into chaos.

First, Rigel rushed to Mari, flooding her with emotions that ranged from relief to anger and worry.

“It’s okay, sweet boy!” Mari crouched beside him, trying to soothe him with her touch. “Where are Laru and Nik?”

Rigel’s head swung around, pointing into the darkness outside the cheery fires that encircled the Pack.

“Moon Woman!” Jaxom’s voice was tortured as he staggered into the clearing.

“Mari, help us!” Nik shouted at the same time, and Laru burst through the circle, running to stand beside her and Rigel.

The gathered Pack gasped, parting to allow Nik and Jaxom through. Between them, they dragged an Earth Walker male. His hands were bound. His head was lifted; his eyes were completely red. He bared his teeth, sweeping the crowd with his scarlet gaze.

“Moon Woman!” he rasped in a voice that was barely human. “Need Moon Woman!”

“Oh, Goddess!” Sora said, backing into Mari. Her eyes were wide and glassy with panic when she looked at Mari. “I can’t! I just can’t, Mari!”

“You don’t need to. I’ll Wash him. Keep Jenna and Isabel behind you.” Mari’s gaze swept the crowd, quickly finding Danita, whose eyes were wide with fear. Antreas was sprinting to her side, though, and Mari was sure Bast had to be close by, too.Danita is fine,she thought with relief. “Rigel! With me!”

It wasn’t just Rigel who responded. Laru remained at her side, and then, within a heartbeat or two, Sheena’s Captain was there, and Davis’s Cammy, as well as the little mama, Fala, and Bast, too. The canines and Lynx surrounded Mari. Each had their ears and hackles raised,growling deep in their chests, their focus poised as one on the red-eyed Earth Walker who was being dragged toward her.

Mari’s hand found Rigel’s head. As she touched him, she opened herself and a wave of strength flooded into her. Mari felt a jolt of shock as she realized the strength she was being flooded with was coming fromallof the Companions, not just Rigel!

Focus! Let them help you ground and then call down the moon and Wash that Clansman back to sanity!Her mama’s voice was strong and clear within Mari’s mind.