See Chapter One (A) for Disclaimers
Chapter Nine
Within moments, the still-groggy Terrons had been bound and gagged-the trio of siblings had proved particularly inventive in finding ways to subdue their enemies. But there was one who remained without a gag for a few extra moments. This was the man who had attacked Dar from behind.
Atalla had been particularly brutal while binding his wrists and feet. Strangely, he had borne the pain in silence. But as she began searching around for a cloth with which to gag him, the man said, "I ask one thing of you, BeastMaster. It's not for me, but for my woman."
Ryf kicked the man hard in the side, drawing a grunt of pain, and snarled, "You have no right to ask anything of him, or any of us! We have all suffered because of your kind, Terron! My brother, sister and I are all that's left of our tribe, thanks to you!"
"Three of your tribe, three of the Sula. That's better than most tribes have fared against the Terrons," the Terron answered. Ryf started for the man again, but Dar stopped him. The Terron looked up at the BeastMaster, and continued, "You have no reason to spare me, BeastMaster, but I have a reason to live. My woman, Gosia. I will not beg for my life, but I will beg for hers."
Ryf spat and said, "Terrons are incapable of love! Hatred and destruction, that's all they know, all they understand. This is a trick, BeastMaster. This one wants us to rescue a woman who does not exist, so the Terrons can capture us. I survived them once . . . they will get no more chances to kill me."
"I am not asking you, boy. I ask the BeastMaster. I know the queen of the Varoni is your sister, BeastMaster, and I know that as a Healer, she is under the protection of the goddess Pelagia. Gosia will give birth in three months. She will then be killed by King Zad, for my failure to capture you. My son, or my daughter, will be raised by King Zad. I am begging you. You can stop this," the Terron said.
"He speaks the truth," the goddess of mothers said, materializing at the side of the Terron warrior. Ryf, Atalla, and Daneurth all took a step back, and Pelagia continued, speaking only to the Terron, "You know I can do nothing for you, not without provoking a war with my brother. But I will do what I can to protect Gosia."
"The Mother Goddess! Eladne!" Atalla gasped, her eyes widening. Dar looked at the goddess, and then at the girl, surprised. Atalla sank to her knees in front of the goddess, leaning forward until her forehead touched the ground. Pelagia knelt and helped the girl to her feet.
"None of that, child. I require only your loyalty and your understanding, not your obeisance," the goddess said. Atalla turned bright red, but bobbed her head. Pelagia kept her arm around the girl's shoulders as she turned to face the two brothers, adding, "And as I said, the Terron speaks the truth. Within the Terron camp is his woman, Gosia. She will give birth within the next few months, and then . . ."
She looked away. Daneurth said softly, his eyes flickering from the Terron warrior to the goddess, "You just told him that you could do nothing to help him, since he's a Terron. Yet, you can protect his woman? Why?" If it had been anyone other than Pelagia, Dar would have cringed.
"Because as a Terron, their king is under the protection of my brother. The god of sorcery and deception. A war is coming, make no mistake of that. But I want to make sure my people can defend themselves when that time comes. Why can I protect Gosia? Because she is pregnant, and thus, a mother. Do you understand?" the goddess asked.
"I think so . . . but how will we know when we're ready for this war you speak of?" Daneurth asked. Ryf had begun checking the bonds of the other Terrons, but it didn't take much to realize he was angry. No, Dar thought, that's not right. He's frightened. As I was, after the Terrons destroyed almost everything I had ever loved.
"This is not your war to fight, young one . . . but when it does come, you will be caught in the middle. There is no way around that. That's why I want to make sure you can defend yourselves when the time has come," Pelagia answered. She added, "But there are other things to discuss now. Like what you will do with your prisoner."
Dar started to speak, but again, Daneurth interrupted him, saying, "He will remain here. But I will go to the Terron camp for his woman." From his position beside one of the other Terrons, Ryf started to protest, but Daneurth continued, "I will go alone, if need be, Ryf! But I will not allow harm to come to a pregnant woman or her unborn babe!"
"You won't go alone, Daneurth . . . I'll come with you! The BeastMaster and Tao must get the babe to safety, and they cannot do that if they are rescuing the Terron woman," Atalla said very decisively. Dar saw Pelagia's mouth tighten . . . that was not what was planned for this girl, obviously.
It was just as obvious to Daneurth, who said, "No, little one. You will go with the BeastMaster and Tao. You have much to learn from the Varoni queen." Atalla was already starting to protest, but this time, it was Ryf who silenced her as he rose to his feet.
"Listen to him, little sister. You will go with the BeastMaster. Daneurth and I will rescue the woman of the Terron, and meet you seven days hence," Ryf answered. Now Pelagia's approval was just as evident as her displeasure had been only a few moments earlier.
Tao spoke for the first time, asking, "Can either of you read maps?" Both brothers nodded, and the Eiron continued, "Then I will draw you a map, taking you from the Terron camp to the Varoni village. We will give your descriptions to the queen, so she knows to welcome you, rather than . . . well . . . she must think of the safety of her people."
"Of course. That would be greatly appreciated," Daneurth replied sincerely. Tao smirked at Dar, who just rolled his eyes. He walked over to the bush where Aveta had been placed when Atalla began helping to tie the men up. The baby was kicking her legs frantically and Dar began talking soothingly to the child.
He lifted her into his arms, and Pelagia moved quickly to his side, asking, "Are you all right?" Dar nodded, though the torn skin of his lower back stung from the teeth of the mace, and Pelagia rolled her eyes, muttering, "Stubborn Sula. You're just like the progenitor of your tribe. Stubborn. And a terrible liar to boot. Hold still."
She placed the palm of her hand in the small of his back, where he had been struck, and the burning sensation eased. Dar said softly, "You speak as if you know him. Did he actually exist? The legends speak of Sula, the father of our tribe, but I always thought he was just that, a legend. That he never really existed."
"Oh, he existed . . . and continues to exist in Gynt, the domain of my sister Ylara. And don't let Zad fool you . . . she no more protects him than I do. She's the goddess of the afterlife, not war. Sula is also my nephew, the child of a demigoddess," Pelagia answered. That was something else which Dar hadn't known. The legends had never specified his parentage, but it made sense that he was a child of the gods.
That meant something else . . . according to Dar's father, their line was directly descended from Sula himself. That was why, Ril had told Dar shortly after the boy's fifteenth birthday, BeastMasters usually came from their line. Or so he had been told by HIS father.
Pelagia continued, "Because of his parentage, he was supposed to be immortal, but my father the god-king decided that Sula would just have an extraordinarily long life. My nephew wasn't pleased about this at first, but after a while, he became grateful for that particular gift."
"The legends say he lived more than a thousand years. And that when he died, the goddess Ylara took him into her arms, made him young once more before taking him to Gynt," Dar observed in a low voice. Aveta had stopped whimpering and kicking, and he kissed her forehead.
"Well, that depends on your definition of young. To me, he was still young when he died, but he appeared as an ancient, ancient man to the rest of your tribe. If you're saying, she returned him to his appearance when he was in his thirties and forties, that's true," Pelagia explained.
Dar nodded and Pelagia said, "Now. Go. You have unresolved issues with your sister, and you must find this wee babe a good home. Atalla will be fine with your sister, and the boys need to get Gosia to safety, before that cretin Zad decides he finds pregnant women attractive after all."
"She's with child, he can't . . ." Dar began and the goddess just looked at him sadly. The young BeastMaster felt all the color drain from his face. He had forgotten for a moment of whom he spoke. He looked down at the child in his arms, then looked at the goddess, asking, "Was Zad . . ." Pelagia shook her head, and Dar released his pent-up breath.
She gently touched his face, saying softly, "And enough has been said. I will go back to the Terron camp, and look after Gosia. My brother has not the power to keep me from the side of a pregnant mortal slave. Get Aveta and Atalla to safety. I will return to Varono soon."
She kissed his cheek lightly, a mother kissing her son good-bye, then disappeared. Atalla walked to his side, murmuring, "I wonder how many names Eladne has? When you spoke to her, you called her 'Pelagia.' Does every tribe have a different name for her?"
"They might," Dar replied, turning to the girl with a smile, "but she remains the same entity . . . wise and powerful. We should go. Do you need a few moments to say good-bye to your brothers?" Atalla looked away and Dar called to Tao, "Could I speak to you for a moment, Tao?"
His friend nodded and Dar nudged the girl toward her brothers. Atalla hesitated, then threw her arms around both Dar and the baby, hugging them both fiercely. She whispered, "Thank you, BeastMaster. For everything." Dar leaned into the hug, though he didn't know why she was thanking him.
Just as quickly, Atalla released and headed over to her brothers, muttering, "Just watch. Those two oafs will get into trouble without me around to keep them in line." Dar smiled to himself. She really did remind him of Curupira, in a strange way. Tao joined him.
"I like your method of letting them say good bye to each other," his friend observed and Dar responded with an innocent look, which was probably spoiled by the wide grin he couldn't help. Tao laughed and added, "She's quite a girl. So, do you have any ideas about a family for Aveta? And just what will Atalla do? It's not like your sister really needs a servant." Dar had actually thought about that, but he had faith that Mira would think of something.
~*~*~*~
If she could have read her brother's mind, the queen of the Varoni would have strongly disagreed. She was having something of an identity crisis at the moment. Torn between her past and her present, between her birth tribe and the tribe into which she had adopted. She didn't even know what her name was anymore. Was she Carrin or was she Mira?
At the moment, Gereon was on a scouting mission, trying to learn more about the plans of the Lothians, so she was alone. The former allies of the Varoni were laying low, perhaps because it had been leaked to them that the BeastMaster was the brother of the Varoni queen.
Perhaps that was why no actions had been taken for holding the one Lothian prisoner, and leaving the others to die. Which, the queen had just learned, they had. As soon as the Varoni entourage had left the field of battle, the beasts within the forest had emerged to eat the survivors. Doubtless, as revenge for attacking Dar and Tao.
"Well, it was SOMETHING like that. They weren't told to attack, but . . ." a familiar voice said, and the queen whirled around to face Curupira. Or so she thought at first. The young demon smiled impishly, adding, "You really shouldn't do that, you'll hurt yourself one of these days."
A second glance told the queen that while this newcomer looked like Curupira, she wasn't. For one thing, her visitor had feet like her own. For another, she was clothed in blue, instead of green. The entity added, "I am Maya, guardian of children, and Curupira's twin sister."
She continued, "I must speak with you about this decision you face. My grandfather has forbidden my mother, aunts, and uncles to speak to you, but he said nothing to me. I was probably included in that edict, but since he didn't say anything specifically to me . . ."
She giggled, sounding like the young girl she appeared to be, and the queen said softly, "I am grateful for your counsel, goddess. I am so grateful to have my brother back, but I find myself facing a decision. It sounds foolish, but am I Sula or am I Varoni? Am I Carrin or am I Mira? And how do I bring these two halves of me into one?"
Maya sat down on the queen's bed and held her hand out. The Sula woman took the hand of the demi-goddess, and sat down. The guardian of children said quietly, "You are being foolish, my queen, for even trying to make this decision. There is no choice to be made, for you are both Sula and Varoni. You are the bridge between two tribes, the sacrifice which allowed the Sula to be reborn into the Varoni."
Sacrifice . . . the meaning of her name. Perhaps hearing her thoughts, Maya went on, "You wonder if your mother knew the future when she named you. I can tell you. She did not. But you became your name. First, when you led those hunters away from your brother."
"First?" the queen asked, frowning, "what other sacrifices were there? And that wasn't a sacrifice, that was a choice. A choice to protect my brother, and I should have found a better way. I should have hid him in the hollow of a tree, rather than making him run for the village."
"You did the best you could in those circumstances," Maya refuted. She continued, "And no, that wasn't the last sacrifice you made. You made another sacrifice when you chose to become part of the Varoni tribe. When you told your foster father how to save the others, by explaining my sister's rules to them. That was a sacrifice."
(Continued)
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