Wolf-Bound: Unfamiliar Territory (11 page)

Jenny let her gaze travel. The skin covering the Goddess’s breasts bore faint patterns of green and yellow, like that of wild gourds. Her belly was a carpet of pale blue moss, her womanhood a patch of clover. Her thighs were tree boles and her calves intertwined canes of vine. Her toes sprouted mushrooms, her fingers flowers. Her hands were the color and texture of sand, her lower arms gray slate, her upper arms pink granite. From shoulders to hairline, she looked much like a human woman, save for the eyes, gray-blue seas in which Jenny could actually see waves crashing. So different, and yet the whole blended into something wonderful.

58 Rachel Bo

“You’re beautiful,” she breathed. “I never really saw you, that night. You were just a bright, woman-shaped light.”

“Men are never allowed to see me this way.”

“Then, thank you. It’s an honor.”

The Goddess smiled. “Yes. And a rite of passage.”

“A rite of passage?”

Gaia patted the rock beneath her. “Did you think that all bonds were forged in this way?”

Wide-eyed, Jenny nodded. “Well…yes.”

The Goddess cocked her head. “You were not raised in the Way?”

“Um, if by that, you mean raised as a weyr, then no. I’m only half-weyr, and my mother never felt it necessary to tell me. Since my father was human, she wanted to raise me as a human. I never knew what I was until I met my husbands.” She tilted her head curiously. “How come you don’t already know that?”

A deep laugh like the booming of surf resonated through the clearing. “I am Gaia. I know every seedling, every grain of sand, each blade of grass, and every breath of wind in which I reside. The fox and the cat, the jay and the hawk, the ant and the centipede, they are all mine. The animals and the land, I rule, but only within certain boundaries, and I cannot see into the mind of man unless invited.”

“But I thought -- no, never mind.”

“Speak, Daughter.”

Jenny shrugged. “It’s just that, since the night Damien and Devlin and I bonded, I’ve…well, I’ve often felt like you are…with me, somehow.”

Gaia smiled. “Yes. You belong. The Mother’s gift burns within you -- a seed only, for now, but I will teach you to bring it forth, to help it bear fruit. If only you wish it.”

“I’m still confused. What does this have to do with that night?”

The Goddess frowned. “Your parent has much to answer for. Still, you are here, as anticipated.”

“But you just said you don’t really know anything about me. How did you know I was coming?”

“I did not know the Daughter would be you. I simply knew that soon one would come.” She sighed, and a great wind whipped Jenny’s hair about her face. “Briefly, then, I will explain the Way of the Wolf and the meaning of Gaia.

“It has always been thus, that man must accept the Mother in order to carry the flame of Her magic within their hearts. In times long past, every one of the races of man held this power. A bit of Her magic dwelt in all creatures, but only humans could acknowledge or deny, and by their acceptance, the flame burned in them strongest of all. But as humans grew

Wolf-Bound: Unfamiliar Territory

59

in knowledge, they turned away from the Mother, no longer seeking to live in harmony with the natural world, quenching the flame of that power which burned within them. No longer bound to the land, mankind ceased to consider it at all, and the world suffered, and She suffered.

“Yet there were those among men who had fierce hearts and remained sensitive to Her presence. The magic still lived in them, an ember that glowed like a beacon. These ones She called to Her, and gave them the power of transformation, and set them to guard and protect the wild places, and these passed the magic within them down through the ages. These are the weyr, the great wolves who defend the land.

“Yet this was not enough, for while they are powerful and natural creatures, they serve best as protectors, defenders. The magic in them is not as strong as that of yore and offers no sustenance. In order to thrive, the land needs one who nurtures and sustains, giving of their heart and soul, body and blood, and of the magic that lives within them, to enrich the land and those of the land. So our great Mother searched and saw that among the ranks of men, there remained rare souls in whom Her magic still burned as a bright and steady flame. She named these ‘Daughters of Earth’ -- Gaia -- and gathered them to her. Together with the weyr, they work to maintain Her against man’s depredations.”

Jenny wrinkled her brow. “I’m confused. The Mother is…who? Earth?”

“Yes. She is the world. She is every natural thing -- man and beast, soil and rock, leaf and flower. The planet as a whole.”

“But I don’t understand. If she is… Did she create us? If so, how could things get so out of hand? Can’t she -- I don’t know -- shrug, or something. Toss us off and start over, if we’re ruining her planet?”

The Goddess frowned. “Gaia did not create the world. She is the world. She simply became. Over time, Her body changed, and others became -- eukaryotes, prokaryotes, the great lizards, fish and birds and more. All of them, as they developed, carried Her magic within them. Then man became, and suddenly, here was a creature without Her flame. Yet he was seeking, always seeking. And so She offered the eternal blaze, and when mankind accepted, the magic burned within them brighter than ever before.

“But still they sought -- knowledge, power -- and in their continual seeking, turned away. The magic, and their love for Her, died within many of them.

“But She cannot destroy them. Will not. She is the Mother, the bringer of balance, and man is most precious to Her. She works for the day that all of mankind will once again belong.”

“So…I assume you’re trying to tell me I’m like you, one of those that still have the magic.”

Gaia nodded serenely.

“How do you know?”

60 Rachel Bo

“Our Mother called, and you answered. You found this glen, hidden from mortal eyes.

You felt Her spirit, and you spoke to Her. Only your presence allowed the weyr entry into this sacred dell, and She allowed them to bind you here only because the strength of your thrice-joined love consecrated within this, a place of power, increased your bond with the land and the potency of Her magic within you ninefold, and She is in great need of a powerful agent among you.” She chuckled. “Blood is of the Way, but stone and earth are hers.

“Had your mother taught you, you would know that the Way binds through the sharing of the blood, during a full moon, by way of the bite. There would be no knife, no stone, no bowl, no consecration of the union by her Daughter. My presence here was commanded by the Mother. Her good earth mixed with the blood, and you drank of Her essence.”

Jenny remembered rich, dark soil raining into the hollow, mixing with the blood of their joining.

“She bade me reach out to you, and you opened yourself to me, as only a Daughter can.

You became one with me, and so with Her, a Daughter come home. It is now my duty to guide you and teach you, as in time you will become like me.” She laughed as Jenny’s face contorted. “Do not fear. That moment is far into the future. She will wait until your husbands have returned to Her. She would not deprive you of a love so strong. You will have need of their love, their strength, in the trials to come.”

“Please don’t think badly of me. You are beautiful, but not in a way that my husbands would find appealing.”

The Goddess waved a hand in dismissal. “The question is, do you accept? Will you be the Mother’s agent?”

“Does all of this have anything to do with Jacob O’Connail? Earlier, I said to Damien that maybe we were meant to protect him, and I thought I sensed your presence, and I felt as though that was exactly what we’re supposed to do.”

Gaia nodded. “There is a battle looming, and Jacob will play his part, as will you all.”

She sighed. “It is unfortunate that destruction so often hovers near, and paradise remains such a distant dream. Understand this: if Jacob O’Connail does not survive this trial, a time will come when the Mother is destroyed. This earth and everything on and within it will be consumed, and that dark day will happen in your mortal lifetime.”

Jenny’s voice squeaked when she spoke. “So. Save Jacob, save the world?” She touched her tummy, cradling her children protectively. “No pressure.”

“It is a little more complicated than that, but yes. That would be your first task.”

“And if I succeed?”

“Yet more tasks will be perceived, as paths into the future become sharper to our Mother. The farther She looks, the less true Her sight, yet each time we succeed at a task She

Wolf-Bound: Unfamiliar Territory

61

has set, there comes closer a day which She has discerned, when Gaia will span this earth, and the planet will be whole again. Unlike the threat of destruction, which is a constant danger, this promise of peace lies far into the future. Yet when that day comes, we will join with the Mother, and mankind will awaken once more to Her call. Children shall lay nestled amongst the lion’s paws, men will hunt with the fox, and women weave alongside the spider.

And this, too, you would witness, for though the path to that future is far and long, in that time and place you will be Gaia, and one with us.”

Jenny shuddered. “I…I don’t know. It’s so much to take in.”

“The way is there, but it remains to be seen which path each player will tread. Each of us has a choice. You can refuse.

“If, however, you wish to help, you must believe in the Mother, in Her power within you, and in the bond She has forged between us. You must accept me as the sister of your heart and open yourself to my presence and guidance.”

A year ago, Jenny would have been convinced she was hallucinating, but now… She was married to a couple of weyrwolves, pregnant with their children, possibly adopting another weyrwolf child, attempting to save an insane weyr’s life -- why wouldn’t she believe that Earth was somehow alive and that magic, of a sort, was real?

And then she remembered something else. “Once, when I was twelve, we were

camping. I was hiking along a gravel road, and a fawn walked out into the middle of the path. Beautiful. She stood there, and I stopped, just watching. Amazed.

“This car came, driving real slow around the curve. The guy inside, a teenager, saw the fawn and grinned. I thought he was like me, feeling blessed by the sight. But he said something to the guy with him and floored the accelerator, and the next thing I knew, they were speeding by me, laughing, and the fawn was lying in the gravel. Broken. Bloody. I ran over to her. I remember wanting so badly to be able to heal her. I thought…I thought I saw someone, a woman. She looked like an angel, and she asked me if…if I was willing to give of myself to make the fawn well.

“I said yes, and…I felt warm, all of the sudden. Hot. My hands burned. ‘Touch her,’ she said, and I did. It was like when Damien and Devlin change. Her bones knit. Her neck, it was broken, but her head twisted back around, her body healed. She scrambled up onto her legs and dashed off into the trees. I think I fainted. When I woke up, I was back under the trees myself. I thought I had dreamed the whole thing, except there was still blood on the gravel. I checked.” She rubbed at the sudden flock of goose bumps on her arms. “I felt drained, but in a good way, you know what I mean? I never told anyone, and I’d actually forgotten about it, until now. It was Her, wasn’t it? Or one of you. Even then.”

The presence appeared astonished. “She rarely speaks to one untrained or acts through so young an agent. Truly, you are Hers.” The apparition stared off into the distance, losing solidity, becoming almost transparent. “And yet, I sense that your choice is still to be made.

62 Rachel Bo

She feels you were too young to make such a decision binding. She makes the offer again.

Will you accept?”

Jenny didn’t quite fathom the idea that she could play a pivotal role in the world’s future, but in the here and now, there were children, a best friend, and men who needed her, and the bond with nature and with the Goddess felt strong and right. “I do believe, and I accept your presence and guidance.”

The Goddess smiled, her semblance abruptly disappearing from atop the stone and reappearing behind it, hovering cross-legged in the air a few feet above the ground.

Earth filled the hollow at the stone’s center. Upon the rich brown loam rested a dark green seed. Jenny reached out and tucked the kernel into the moist soil. A green shoot sprang up, topped by a cluster of leaves that unfurled immediately, cupping a brilliant, white-hot flame.

Mother chose wisely. The Goddess spoke directly to her mind. Welcome, sister.

When Jenny had joined with Damien and Devlin at last, she had experienced the sensation of something slipping into place within her -- of a missing piece of her soul returning to its rightful place. Her stomach fluttered, and she felt again as though she’d regained a missing bit of herself, moving one step closer to becoming all that she was meant to be.

The Goddess frowned. Cocking her head, she listened to the wind. Go now. Your husbands a e anxious for you

r

r return.

“Thank you.” Jenny turned and strode to the edge of the clearing. She looked back.

“When will I see you again?”

When I am needed, I will be with you.

Jenny nodded and stepped past the limit of the tree circle, glancing back once more.

The glade was gone, an impenetrable stand of close-set boles and twilight darkness taking its place. However, Jenny could sense the sacred circle just out of reach, like a ghost beyond the world she saw, waiting for her return.

Wolf-Bound: Unfamiliar Territory

63

Unavoidable Danger

A few hours later, Jenny watched Damien with wide eyes as he loaded his shotgun. “I thought the plan was to catch him.”

“It is, Jen.” He closed the box of ammo and checked the safety once more. “See? The safety’s on. I won’t use it unless it’s absolutely necessary, but plans have a nasty habit of not always working the way people intend them to.”

Jenny hugged herself, rubbing at arms that were suddenly freezing. “Please be careful.