Reincarnation (2 page)

different times. Lately, though, the numbers of Clan People had increased. They had moved

into larger and larger caves ever closer to The Ice Beings. There had been many skirmishes,

though none as big as the one May was now witnessing.

As she watched the battle below, a hopeful thought came to her. Instantly ashamed, she

snuffed it out before its

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tiny spark could light into flame. She'd thought it, though; there could be no denying that.

Perhaps Lenar would be killed in the fight.

Maybe this was the gift, the release from living death that The Great Mother meant to

bestow on her. If so, May would be ashamed to have caused his death. Still...

... it would make her life much better.

Kye opened his eyes and slowly turned his head, taking in the nearby field visible through

the forest. The sky torch was low, throwing long shadows. He lay at the base of a tree, his

arms and legs outstretched. Pushing up slowly on his elbows, he remembered being

wounded in the fight and fleeing into the trees before collapsing here.

Pain banged in his head, traveling like a line of fire along the sides of his skull into his jaw.

When he touched the spot where it ached, he winced sharply and pul ed his hand back,

alarmed at the hot liquid he'd felt. His palm dripped red. He wiped it on his chest.

Where were the others? Even the thundering beasts were gone.

It was not the way of The Ancient People to simply leave a fallen companion behind.

Perhaps they could not find him.

Staggering to his feet, he leaned heavily against the tree. Had he been dead and come back

to life?

He had not seen spirits of his ancestors. They had not

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come out to guide him to The Great Bird who would carry him to the spirit world.

This was what he'd been led to expect in death. It was what the old ones sought when they

went on their dream walks, preparing to depart for the spirit world.

For Kye, there had been only blackness -- and now he was back.

He forced himself to move forward. This part of the forest was unfamiliar and the day's light

was dying. All he knew for certain was that he should travel in a direction away from the

sinking sky torch. If he didn't find his way before that one guide was gone, he'd be deeply

lost.

Memories of the battle cascaded a torrent of images into his mind.

He'd locked eyes with The New Ones hunter just as he had raised his spear. The lean, flint-

eyed male had towered over Kye, his muscular arm raised, white-knuckled hand gripping his

spear.

Kye had lowered his head and charged in the way of the butting mountain ram. If he

knocked this foe off his feet, he could easily overpower him. But at the moment he made

contact, The New One thrust his spear down hard. Kye bolted to the right as the spear cut

him across the forehead.

The New One thrust his spear again, this time jabbing Kye in the throat. Gasping for breath,

and with blood from his forehead blinding him, Kye stumbled away. Another jab would

finish him.

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He ran for the cover of the forest.

Remembering how he had fled made him flush with shame.

Had he disgraced himself? Would The Ancient People think his cowardly actions made him

unworthy to be their next leader? Would they be right?

Perhaps it would be better if he didn't return home at all, if he let them continue to believe

that he had been killed fighting The New Ones.

He trudged along with no clear direction. In the dying light the forest was alive with the

movement and sound of darting creatures and rustling leaves. Wings echoed overhead and

Kye was not sure if they were birds or bats.

He was not going to make it out of this forest before dark, not with his mind cloudy from

the head injury he'd suffered. The movement of animals in the undergrowth made him

mindful of finding some kind of shelter for the night.

He walked a bit farther until he came back to the gorge where he'd lingered the day before.

He spied a natural rock bridge seeming to lead into the vertical face of a rock cliff. Looking

up, he saw that it ascended very far up but that there seemed to be a cave above its ledge.

On the other side of the bridge, a narrow path ran along the base of the cliff and turned

inward, entering the mountain. Perhaps a more gradual ascent lay within the rock in the way

that melting ice often carved paths and caves within stone. Maybe it would bring him to the

cave above.

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A night spent in a good cave would let him heal and give him time to consider what he

should do next. He'd have to be cautious and make sure the cave was uninhabited, which

meant hiding and watching for a long while. If it was empty, he would spend the

night there.

Lenar stood in the entryway of the central cave, arms folded, nodding agreeably to the

passing well-wishers who offered him their praise for his part in the successful hunt. He

watched as they crowded excitedly around the massive, horned beast that he and the other

Clan hunters had brought down once they had defeated The Ice Beings on the hunting field.

Though it had been a group effort, Lenar had been the one to first plunge his spear deeply

into the bison's side, dropping it to the ground.

The admiring people held torches against the darkening sky. In the eerie jumping light of

the moving fires, the immense creature threw a huge wavering shadow as though its spirit

were hovering protectively outside its carcass.

Word was spreading through The Clan of how fiercely he'd fought against The Ice Beings.

Even when one of their squat, hairy hunters had charged him, barreling into his stomach

with his misshapen, bony head, Lenar had managed to wound the savage and chase him

from the field. He'd killed two others by the time the whole pack of them retreated into the

forest.

In truth, he had been startled by the ferocity and vigor

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of these Ice Beings. The wild fury in the eyes of The Ice Being as he raced toward him,

growling and with his thick, muscular arms outstretched, had truly terrified him. He was able

to bring his spear down on his attacker's head in time, before the powerful beast-man could

rip him apart with his massive hands. It made him proud that he'd thought quickly enough

to survive the attack.

Gaj, their leader, was approaching, the edge of his reindeer-skin cloak trailing in the dirt. He

had already donned the heavy elk horn necklace that he wore for the traditional celebration

after the kill.

Gaj put his hand on Lenar's shoulder, a signal that the younger male was permitted to raise

his head: a sign of approval. He spoke words of praise to Lenar, and Lenar responded with

humble thanks. Gaj's mate had birthed only female children. Gaj was watching the males

carefully in order to select his successor.

He kept his hand on Lenar's shoulder as he steered him over to their great prized bison.

Lenar's eyes traveled among the cheering crowd, searching for May. He'd pinned his hopes

on this moment. He had been counting on this day going well as a way to impress her.

Though May was not of high rank because her mother's mate was dead, no other female

intrigued him in the same way. He recalled clearly the day he first noticed how lovely she

had become and realized that he longed to touch her. But her beauty wasn't the only thing.

There was power in

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her. It shone from her eyes and could be read in the sure-ness of her movements. It was in

her to be the mate of a leader, his mate.

He recalled the disdainful way she had gazed at him when he kicked old blind Asa's pet hare

from his path. A hare was food -- it had no place running freely among them, leaving its

droppings to foul their eating quarters. If blind Asa wanted it as a pet, it was the

responsibility of his mate to clean up after it and keep it penned. By kicking the animal, he'd

shown that he knew and respected the ways of The Clan, and that he would not let softness

for one keep him from doing whatever was needed to maintain the good of the greater

number. It was a gesture Gaj would have witnessed with appreciation, even if May did not.

If May saw him now, so revered by the people, she might understand where he was headed,

why he behaved as he did. She would see all the good things that she would partake of as

his mate, all that he had won for them.

Sha, another female of The Clan, smiled at him; her eyes lit with admiration. He knew Sha

would gladly have him as a mate. She had her own allure, with her bright eyes and reddish-

brown curls, but she was not May. She did not possess May's beauty or her sureness. It was

only May that he wanted.

Where was she?

Gaj pulled an axe from the belt of the fur tunic lie wore

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beneath his cloak. With a powerful swing of his arm, he brought it down on the creature's

head, severing one of its impressive curved horns. The beast's hot blood spurted and it ran

down Gaj's arm as he presented the horn to Lenar.

"You will lead after I am no longer," Gaj announced in the language of The Clan.

Bowing his head deeply, Lenar accepted the honor, thrusting the horn into the air for all to

witness. All around him, the people thundered their approval, shouting and pounding on

the beast, shaking their torches excitedly so that sparks flew through the darkness.

The scene swirled around him under a fat, yellow, night-sky creature that stayed especially

low, as though even
it
had come unusually close in order to see Lenar's triumph.

Looking up, he stared into the cheering, moonstruck crowd, willing May to appear, if only by

the sheer force of his desire to see her there -- and to have her see him.

She was not there. And it caused a frustrated rage to roar within him.

May knew she was expected to return. It was dark once again and she was long overdue.

Somehow she could not bring herself to leave the peace of this solitary perch. Was Lenar

still alive after the battle and the hunt?

He had probably survived. He was fierce.

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But as long as she did not know for sure whether he was dead or alive, there was hope. She

preferred the not knowing to the prospect of returning to discover the truth.

A snap in the bushes made her turn sharply toward the sound. The weasel was awakened

from its curled sleep and lifted its head.

She was being watched! The feeling was strong.

Standing, she peered into the darkness. Whatever had made the sound was in the brush by

the path, near the side of the cave. Not moving, hardly breathing, she waited.

A breeze lifted a handful of dead brown leaves that had collected at the cave's base. They

lifted and fell, rustling along the rocky ground.

May relaxed her shoulders, inhaling slowly.
Anything
could have made the sound. As her

anxious pulse quieted again, she settled back on the ledge, watching the glowing night

creature continue to climb the light-speckled sky. The night creature was especially full and

round, glowing yellow in the darkness, a color different from its usual silver light.

May felt The Great Mother's presence all around her -- in the breezes ruffling the leaves and

trees, in the chirp and buzz of night insects. She heard it all as a song.

She began to hum, her voice plaintive, aching to reach The Great Mother, the longing so

intense that it became physical. Making musical sound released the loneliness, fear, and

confusion. The sound suffused her body, pouring

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from her mouth, lighting fires of feeling within her. This new emotion made her chant

higher, wilder, until her voice was an aching throb lifting into the night air.

Though her song was all ache and wail, she prayed to The Great Mother as she sang, using

the language of her people. "What use is a green stone? Reveal your meaning, O Mother! Is

it a treasure I can use to be free of Lenar? Will it give me rank of my own?"

She continued to sing as her mind raced.

A rank of my own.

That must be it! With the green rock, she would gain rank without Lenar. She would be the

keeper of The Clan's treasure.

There were female spirit women who had rank due to the healing secrets of plants they

possessed and knew how to use. The stone that The Great Mother had shown to her would

give that kind of rank to her, as well.

But where else could this valuable green rock be found? She could not dig it out of The

Great Mother's belly.

Her song grew higher, louder, and more desperate. She stopped making words and let her

song become pure musical tone. This desperate chanting welled up from the base of her

being, filling her with emotion.

Feeling safely hidden by a bush, Kye listened, captivated by the female's song. When she

had arisen, alerted by the branch he'd snapped, he'd considered overtaking her. She

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would be a prize he could bring home to make his people forget his shame in the battle. He

might even keep her for a mate.

That idea pleased him, for he felt drawn to the female. She raised a keen desire within him.

He got onto his haunches, considering if he was truly strong enough to win a scuffle with

her. Blood had stopped running from his wound and was caking on his face. His head

throbbed but he was growing used to it. Yes, coming home with this female and claiming