ICE BURIAL: The Oldest Human Murder Mystery (The Mother People Series Book 3) (25 page)

“To act as you did may have been necessary,
”
Larak said gently
. “
It was the only way to
save the infant
, and that
was most important
.
I
suspect, though, that the Goddess - and you - would prefer less dramatic
methods in the future.
”

Zena
smiled.
“
That is true. I do not think I will use the effects again unless they are absolutely necessary. But I still worry that trying to
persuade
people to return to the Goddess is no different from what Korg and the Leader do when they convince
people
to follow the Great Spirit.
”

Lief answered for Larak.
“
They are very different,
”
he countered strongly.
“
You
do
not
tell people what they should think but show them another way and allow them to choose. Nor would you
punish those who d
o
not agree with you or make
them
afraid
or
force them to obey, as the Leader and Korg do.
That is the path to evil.
”

Larak nodded.
“
Lief is right.
To tell others how to think or to harm them
is not the Mother
’s
way.
We
would
certainly never
sacrifice infants,
”
she added forcefully.

“
But many
who once called themselves
Mother People allow
ed
harm to be done to others
,”
Zena
objected. “They
helped Korg and the Leader
to
punish th
ose who do not
obey
and even to
sacrifice
infants.
They
must have known that to kill a
child
was wrong, but they still watched while it was done.
”

“
They were no longer Mother People,
”
Larak replied, and her voice was stern.
“
They had forgotten the
Mother;
otherwise they could never have acted as they did. That is why your task is so important. You must help them understand
not just what was done to them, but
what they did to themselves when they allowed
themselves to
believe
that what they
did wa
s right, when they knew so well that it was not.
”

“
How is it possible for people to deceive themselves that way?
”

“
Fear,
”
Larak said grimly. 
“
Fear for themselves or others, fear of disaster if they do not obey.
So
metimes
self-deception springs from
a desire for power,
but more often it comes from the need
to be accepted, to act as others act
, to follow what others do
. For most people that may be the most powerful need of all.
”

“
And some people are simply brutal,
”
Lief added soberly.
“
They take pleasure in harming others and welcome a belief that tells them it is right to be violent. Cruelty seems born in them, or perhaps they become so because they have been treated cruelly themselves.
It is almost like a sickness then. Once they have mistreated or killed
o
thers,
these
men cannot seem to stop.
”

“
I fear it is so,
”
Larak agreed sadly.
She
turned to
Zena
and took her hand.
“
Remember always that the purpose of an act - to keep people safe, to ensure more food, to please a spirit or a leader, can never justify cruelty or violence. As the years pass there will be many who will commit acts of terrible savagery to achieve their purposes, but we, the Mother People, must never forget that this is wrong, no matter how good the purpose is made to sound.
”

“
I will remember,
”
Zena
answered soberly.
“
I will always remember.
”

“
Good.
”
Larak smiled.
“
I think we have had enough of serious thoughts for a time. Let us return to the others, see how Mara and her little one are getting on, how Brulet is settling in.
”

Zena
followed her into the
village
clearing.
Hular and
Brulet
and Mara were playing
with Mara-Sun
,
and all of them seemed happy and content
.
N
ever b
efore had she seen Mara
happy,
Zena
realized, and smiled at the sight.
Much
of
Mara’s
joy was due to Mara-Sun
,
but
she
suspected part of it was also due to Hular, who seldom let Mara out of his sight and seemed smitten with both her and her little son.

Leaving them to their games, she
went to find Lief
,
who had gone to
the secluded glen they used when they wanted to be alone.

“
You are smiling,
”
he noted.
“
What makes you smile like that?
”

“
The sight of you
waiting
for me,
”
she replied,
“
but also Mara and Hular. Are they not an excellent combination?
”

“
Excellent indeed,
”
he agreed,
“
though not as excellent as us.
”
Reaching out a lazy hand, he drew her down to the mossy ground beside him.
Zena
t
umbled into his arms,
immensely grateful t
hat they were finally
able
to
enjoy each other
without distractions
.

Lief put her thoughts into words, as he so often did.
“Let us enjoy these precious moments to the full, my
always and greatest love
.
” And so they did, flying
together in Akat to
heights of
delirious
joy
and then tumbling slowly, very slowly, back into the world around them.

Their bliss did not last. A few days later, a messenger came from a nearby tribe to ask
Zena
and Lief and any others who wished, to come to their village and speak of the Mother’s way, which had been lost to them for many years
The story of how
Zena
had saved the infant had impressed them enormously, they said, and they wanted to know more, as did many other tribes.

Zena
wished their reprieve could have lasted longer, but both she and Lief were determined to go. A week later, they set out
with Durak and Sorlin.
Neither Mara nor Hular came this time, Mara because she wanted to stay with
her son
,
Hular becau
se he wanted to stay with Mara.
Hular, so kind and sensitive to others
’
needs, was
exactly the right person to ensure that Mara
’s
next experien
ce of Akat
w
ould be far
better than her first
,
Zena
thought with satisfaction.

For
the rest of the summer
, until the
turning leaves warned them that the
winter snows
would not be long in coming
, they traveled from village to village, speaking of the ways of the Mother, the ways of love and compassion. They met with mixed results. In places where word had spread of the happenings in Brulet
’s
village they were greeted eagerly;
in
others, many people
were deeply suspicious or
afraid
. Often,
Zena
had the strong feeling that Korg and the Leader had been there just before them, warning the people against them
, or that they were lurking nearby, waiting to speak to the villagers once
they
had left.
They never saw the two men, however, nor did the villagers speak of them
, though
Sorlin, expert at hiding so she could overhear conversations, told them that the women spoke
of a
reclusive m
an who
trav
e
led with
Korg and the Leader
and made mead for them
.
No one had ever seen
this man
, the women said,
so
they thought he must be a
spirit, a
powerful
one
who
put spells on those who disobeyed.

Lief disagreed. Spirits didn’t shoot arrows, like the ones that were aimed at them
twice
as
they
left one of these villages
. L
ief got a brief glimpse of a
big
man crouched in the trees before they all scattered and ran. No one was hurt, but it was clear they had an enemy
.
Lief
suspected the man
had been
trying to kill Durak
because he
had taken Rofina away from the Leader
.
Korg and the Leader would not forget such a transgression.
Oddly, though,
some of
the arrows
had
also
come
close to him
.
He
must be more careful, he realized, and he must watch Durak with even greater care. That was no
easy task since
Durak spen
t
long hours wandering alone in the woods,
even at night.

By the time fall came, they were all
exhausted.
There
was little of the freedom he had
enjoyed
when he traveled alone,
Lief
mused, and for an instant wondered what he had given up
.
The sight of the hut t
he others had prepared for
him and
Zena
when they finally returned to their home
banished the thought.
To be in this warm and private place with
Zena
beside him
all through the long winter was th
e most glorious thought he could imagine, and he had no desire to change it.

To
everyone
’s
surprise,
Durak
abruptly
decided to return to Runor
’s
village and spend the winter there
.
Zena
and Lief were concerned at first, afraid of letting him go alone, but when they saw how contented Durak looked with his decision, they did not object.
Perhaps Runor would be able to help him.

“
It is best to let him go,
”
Lief
said
.
“
I do not think
he will be in danger from
Korg and the Leader
there. As Runor said, they will not return to her village after what has happened
.
And
Durak must decide for
himself
whether he wishes to move ahead or to dwell in the past.
”

Larak
agree
d.
“
You
and
Zena
and the others
have done all you can for Durak,
”
she told
him.
“
Now it is up to
Durak
to take the next step
.
”