As per promised, I am trying hard to stick to my New Years Resolution, which isn't that easy. But I hope you like this chapter :)
Jana of three rivers stood up.
"Everybody's excited by the river." She told Karn
"Maybe Jet fell in," Karn said. "No, that's too much to hope for. Jana, what am I going to do? He wants to mate me, but I just can't picture it. I want someone interesting, somebody different..."
She held up the half-finished necklace. "So what do you think?" Jana barely glanced at her. Karn looked wonderful, with short brown hair, her glowing slanted grey eyes, and her mysterious smile. The necklace was attractive; red beads alternated with delicate milky white teeth.
"Fine, beautiful. You'll break every heart at the gathering. I'm going down to the river." Karn put down the necklace.
"Well, if you insist – wait for me."
The river was broad and fast flowing, covered with little white-capped waves because two tributaries had just joined it. Jana's people had lived in the limestone caves by the three rivers for longer than anyone could remember. Karn was behind her as Jana made her way through new green cattails to bend the river. Then she saw what the fuss was about. There was a stranger crouching in the reeds. That was exciting enough – strangers didn't come very often. But the stranger was unlike any man that Jana had ever seen before in her life. "It's a demon," Jet whispered, awed.
It was a young man, a couple of years older than herself. He might have been handsome in other circumstances. He had dark brown hair, his face was well-made; his tall body was lithe. Jana could almost see almost all of that body because he was only wearing a brief leather loincloth. That didn't bother her; everybody went naked in the summer when it was hot enough. But this wasn't summer, it was spring and the days could still be chilly. No sane person would be travelling without clothes. But that wasn't what shocked Jana, what held her standing there rigid with her heart pounding so hard that she couldn't breathe. It was the rest of the boy's appearance. Jet was right – he was a demon, it was as clear as a crystal. His eyes were wrong, more like the eyes of a lynx or wolverine rather than the eyes of a person but the colour of them was tinged with blue. They seemed to throw the sunlight back at you when you looked into them. But the eyes were nothing at all when you saw the teeth. His canine teeth were long and delicately curved. They came to a sharp and very non-human point.
Almost involuntarily, Jana looked down at the fox tooth that she still held in her palm. Yes, that was exactly what they looked like, only bigger, much bigger. The boy was filthy, caked with mud from the river; his dark hair ruffled crazily, his eyes staring wildly from side to side. There was blood on his mouth and chin.
"He's a demon all right," one of the men said. Five men with spears, others with hastily grabbed rocks. "What else could have a human body with animal eyes and teeth?"
"A spirit?" Jana said. She didn't even realise she'd said it until she asked. But now, with everybody looking at her, she drew herself up tall and did the most logical thing she could think of in that moment.
"Whether he's a demon or spirit, you'd better not hurt him. Old Mother is the one who should decide what to do with him. This is a matter for the shamans."
"You're not a shaman yet," another one of the men said. It was Arno, a very broad-shouldered man who was the leader of the hunters. Jana didn't like him. And she wasn't sure why she'd spoken up in favour of the stranger but there was something in his eyes. The look of a suffering animal and Jana couldn't let him suffer, she had to do something. He seemed so alone and so frightened, if the roles were reversed, Jana had no doubt that she'd feel the same.
"She's right, we'd better take him to Old Mother," one of the hunters said.
"Should we hit him on the head and tie him up, or do you think we should just herd him?" But at that moment, a high thin sound came to Jana over the rushing of the river. It was a woman screaming.
"Help me! Somebody come help me! Ryl's been attacked!"
Jana turned and hurried up the riverbank. The woman screaming was Sada, her mother's sister, and the girl who was stumbling beside her was Ryl, Jana's little cousin. Ryl was a pretty little girl, ten years old. But right now she looked dazed and almost unconscious. And her neck and the front of her leather tunic were smeared with blood. "What happened?" Jana gasped, running to put her arms around her cousin. "She was out looking for new greens. I found her lying on teh ground – I thought she was dead!" Sada's face contoured in grief. She was speaking rapidly, almost incoherently. "And look at this – look at her neck!" On Ryl's pale neck, in the centre on the blood, Jana could make out just two small marks. They looked like the marks of sharp teeth – but only two teeth. "It had to be an animal," Jet breathed behind Jana.
"But what animal leaves only two marks of teeth?" Jana's heart felt tight and oddly heavy ant once – like a stone was falling inside of her. Sada was already speaking.
"It wasn't an animal! She says it was a man, a boy! She says he threw her down and bit her – and he - drank her blood." Sada began to sob, clutching Ryl to her. "Why would he want to do that? Oh, please, somebody help me! My daughters been hurt!" Ryl stared dazedly over her mother's arms.
Jet said faintly, "A boy..."
Jana gulped and said, "Let's take her to Old Mother..." But then she stopped and looked toward the river. The men were driving the stranger up the bank. He was snarling, terrified and angry, but when he saw Ryl, his expression changed. He stared at her, his wounded animal eyes sick and dismayed.
To Jana, it seemed as if he could hardly stand to look at her, but he couldn't look away. His gaze was fixed on the little girl's throat. And he turned away, his eyes shut, his head falling into his hands. Every movement showed anguish. It was as if all the fight had gone out of him at once. Jana looked back and forth in horror from the girl with blood on her throat to the stranger with blood on his mouth. The connection was obvious and nobody had to make it out loud. But why? She thought, feeling slightly nauseated and dizzy. Why would anyone want to drink a girl's blood?
No animal and no human did that. He must be a demon after all. Arno stepped forwards. He gripped Ryl's chin gently, turning her head toward the stranger. "Was he the one who attacked you?" Ryl's dazed eyes stared straight ahead – and then she suddenly seemed to focus. Her pupils got big and she looked at the stranger's face. Then she started screaming. Screaming and screaming, hand flying up to cover her eyes.
Her mother began to sob, rocking her. Some of the men began to shout at the stranger, jabbing spears at him, overcome with shock and horror. All the sounds merged together in a terrifying cacophony in Jana's head. Jana found herself trembling. She reached automatically for little Ryl, not knowing how to comfort her. Jet was crying, Sada was wailing as she held her child. People were streaming out of the limestone cave, yelling, trying to find out what all of the noise was about. And through it all, the stranger huddled, his eyes shut, his face was a mask of grief. Arno's voice rose above the others.
"I think we hunters know what to do with him. This is no longer a matter for the shamans!" He was looking at Jana when he said it. Jana looked back, she couldn't speak. There was no reason for her to care what happened to the stranger – but she did care. He had hurt her cousin... but he was so wretched, so unhappy. Maybe he couldn't help it, she thought suddenly. She didn't know where that idea had come from, but it was the kind of instinct that made Old Mother say she should be a shaman. Maybe... he didn't want to do it, but something drove him to do it. And now he's sorry and ashamed, Maybe... oh, I don't know!
Still trembling, she found herself speaking out loud again. "You can't just kill him. You have to take him to Old Mother."
"It's none of her business!"
"It's her business to take care of him if he's a demon! You're just co-leader, Arno. You take care of the hunting. But Old Mother is the leader in spiritual things." Arno's face went tight and angry.
"Fine, then," he said. "We take him to Old Mother." Jabbing with their spears, the men drove the stranger into the cave. By then, most of the people of the clan had gathered around and they were muttering angrily. Old Mother was the oldest woman in the clan – the great grandmother of Jana and Ryl and almost everybody. She had a face covered with wrinkles and a body like a dried stick. But her dark eyes were full of wisdom. She was the clan's shaman. She was the one who interceded directly with the Earth Goddess, the Bright Mother, the Giver of Life who was above all other spirits. She listened to every story seriously, sitting on her leather pallet while the others gathered around her.
Jana edged close to her and Ryl was placed in her lap. "They want to kill him," Jana murmured in the old woman's ear when the story was over. "But look at his eyes. I know he's sorry, and I think that maybe he didn't mean to hurt Ryl. Can you talk to him Old Mother?" Old Mother knew a lot of different languages; she'd travelled very far when she had been young. But now, after trying several, she shook her head.
"Demons don't speak any human languages," Arno said scornfully. He was standing with his spear ready although the stranger squatting in front of the old woman showed no signs of trying to run away.
"He's not a demon," Old Mother said, with a severe glance at Arno. Then she added slowly, "But he's certainly not a man, either. I'm not sure what he is. The Goddess has never told me anything about people like him."
"Then obviously the Goddess isn't interested," Arno said with a shrug. "Let the hunters take care of him." Jana gripped the old woman's thin shoulder. Old Mother put a twig-like hand on Jana's. Her dark eyes were grave and sad.
"The one thing we do know about is that he's capable of great harm," she said softly. "I'm sorry, child, but I think Arno is right." Then she turned to Arno. "It's getting dark. We'd better shut him up somewhere tonight; then in the morning we can decide what to do with him. Maybe the Goddess will tell me something about him as I sleep." But Jana knew better. She saw the look on Arno's face as he and the other hunters led the stranger away.
And she heard the cold angry muttering of others in the clan. In the morning the stranger would die, no question about it. And unpleasantly if Arno had his way, and there wasn't a doubt that he wouldn't. It was probably what he deserved. It was none of Jana's business. But that night, as she lay on her leather pallet underneath her warm furs, she couldn't sleep. It was as if the Goddess were poking her, telling her that something was wrong. Something had to be done, and there were nobody else to do it. Jana thought about the look of anguish in the stranger's eyes. Maybe... if he went somewhere far away... he couldn't hurt other people.
Out on the steppes there were no people to hurt. Maybe that was what the Goddess wanted. Maybe he was some creature that had wandered out of the spirit world and the Goddess would be angry if he were killed. Jana didn't know; she wasn't a shaman yet. All she knew was that she felt pity for the stranger and she couldn't keep it in any longer. A short time before dawn she got up. Very quietly, she went to the back of the cave and picked up a spare waterskin and some hard patties of travelling food. Then she crept to the side of the cave where the stranger was shut up. The hunters had set a sort of fence around the cave, like the fences that they used to trap animals. It was made of branches and bones lashed together with a series of cords. A hunter was beside the fence, one hand on his spear. He was leaning against the cave wall, and he was asleep with his mouth open. Jana edged past him.
Her heart was pounding so loudly she was certain it would wake him up. But the hunter didn't move. Slowly, carefully, Jana pulled one side of the fence outward. From the darkness inside the cave, two eyes gleamed at her, throwing back the light of the fire. Jana pressed her fingers against her mouth, a sign to be quiet, then beckoned. It was only then that she realised just how dangerous what she was doing was. She was letting him out – what was to stop him from rushing past her and into the main cave, grabbing people and biting them? But the stranger did no such thing. He didn't move. He sat and his two eyes glowed at Jana. He's not going to come, she realised. He won't. She beckoned again, more urgently. The stranger still sat.
Jana's eyes were getting use to the darkness in the side cave and now she could see that he was shaking his head. He was determined to stay here and let the clan kill him. Jana got mad. Balancing the fence precariously, she jabbed a finger at him, then jerked her thumb over her shoulder. The gesture obviously meant. You – Out! She put it all behind the authority of a descendant of Old Mother's, a woman destined to be co-leader of the clan someday in the future. And when the stranger didn't obey immediately, she reached for him. That apparently scared him. He shrank back, seeming more alarmed than he had at anything else that had happened so far. He seemed afraid for her to touch him. Afraid he might hurt me, Jana thought.
She didn't know what put the idea into her mind. And she didn't waste time wondering about it. She simply pressed her advantage, reaching for him again, using his fear to make him go where she wanted him to. She herded him into the main cave and through it. They both moved as if shadows among the shelters built along either side of the cave, Jana feeling very certain that they were about to be caught at any moment. However, nobody caught them. When they got outside she guided him toward the river. Then she pointed downstream. She put the food and the waterskin in his hands and made far-flung gestures that meant, go far away. Very far away, very, very far. She was going into a pantomime indicating that Arno would do with his spear if the stranger ever came back when she noticed the way he was looking at her., The moon was up and so bright that she could see every detail of the strange boy's face. And now he was looking at her steadily, with the quiet concentration of a hunting animal, a carnivore. At the same time there was something bleak and terribly human in his eyes. Jana stopped her pantomime. All at once, the space around the cave seemed very large, and she felt very small. She heard night noises, the croaking of frogs and the rushing of the river, with a particular intensity.
I should of never brought him out here, I'm alone and out here with him. What was I thinking? There was a long pause while they stood looking at each other silently. The stranger's eyes were very dark, as bottomless and ageless as Old Mother's but there was something about them that mesmerised her. Jana could see that his eyelashes were long and she realised again, dimly that he was handsome, no he wasn't, that was by far an understatement, he was gorgeous. He lifted the packet of travelling food, looked at it, then with a sudden gesture he threw it on the ground. He did the same with the waterskin. Then he sighed.
Jana was bristling, going from fear to pure annoyance, and then back again several times. What was he doing? Did he think that she was going to poison him? She picked up the food packet, broke a piece off and put it in her mouth. Chewing, she extended the packet toward him again. She made gestures from packet to mouth, saying out loud, "You need to eat food. Eat! Eat!" He watched her steadily.
He took the packet from her, touched his mouth, and shook his head. He dropped it at his feet again. He means it isn't food to him or he is just one stubborn son of a... Jana realised it with shock. She stood and stared at the strange boy. The food isn't food to him and the water isn't drink. But Ryl's blood... he drank that. Blood is his food and drink. There was another long pause. Jana was very frightened. Her mouth was trembling and tears had come to her eyes. The stranger was still looking at her quietly, but she could see the fangs indenting his lower lip now and his eyes were reflecting moonlight. He was looking at her throat. We're out here alone... he could of attacked me at any time, Jana thought. He could attack me right now. He looks very strong. But he hasn't touched me. Even though he's starving, I think.
And he looks so grieved, so sad... and so hungry. Her thoughts were tumbling like a piece of bark tossed on the river. She suddenly felt dizzy. It hurt Ryl... but it didn't kill Ryl. Ryl was sitting up and eating before we all went to sleep tonight. Old Mother said she's going well. If it didn't kill her, it wouldn't kill me. Jana swallowed, she looked at the strange boy with the glowing animal eyes.
She saw that he wasn't going to move toward her even though a fine trembling had taken over his body and he couldn't seem to look away from her neck. What good does it do to send him off starving? There's no other clan near here. He'll just have to come back and I was right before; he doesn't want to do it, but he has to do it. Maybe somebody put a curse on him, made it so that he starves unless he drinks blood. There's nobody else to help him. Very slowly, her eyes on the stranger, Jana lifted her hair away from one side of her neck. She exposed her throat, leaning her head back slightly.
Hunger sparkled in the strange boy's eyes – and then something blazed in them so quickly and so hot that it swallowed up the hunger. Shock and anger. He was starring at her face now, not her neck. He shook his head vehemently, glaring. Jana touched her neck and then to her mouth, then made far-flung gestures once again, eat and then go away. And for Goddess's sake, hurry up, she thought, shutting her eyes.
Before I panic and change my mind. She was crying now, she couldn't help it, she clenched her fists, gritted her teeth together and waited. When he touched her for the first time, it was to take her hand. Jana opened her eyes; he was looking at her with such infinite sadness. He smoothed out her fist gently, the kissed her hand. Among any people, it was a gesture of gratitude... and reverence. And it sent startling tingles through Jana. A feeling that was almost like shivers, but warm, comforting. A lightness in her head and a weakness in her legs. A sense of awe and wonder that she'd only ever felt before when Old Mother was teaching her to communicate with the Goddess. She could see a startled reaction in the stranger's eyes, he was feeling the same things, which in a way was a relief, she wasn't staring to go insane. Although she could tell that these feelings were equally new to him, Jana knew that.
But then he dropped her hand quickly and she knew that he was also afraid. The feelings were dangerous – because they drew the two of them together. One long moment while they stood and she saw the moonlight in his eyes, a hint of blue. Then he turned on his heels to leave. Jana watched him, her throat aching, knowing he was going die. And somehow that wrenched her insides in a way that she'd never experienced before. However, she kept standing still, with her head held high, she could feel the tears running down her cheeks. She had no clue to why she felt this way – but it hurt her terribly. It was as if she were losing something... Infinitely precious... before she'd had a chance to know it. The future now seemed grey, empty and alone...
"Jenny! Jennifer Shepard! Wake up!" Someone was shouting, but it wasn't a voice from her cave. In fact it sounded – faraway – and seemed to come from all directions, or maybe from the sky itself. But the name that this person 3was shouting was foreign to her, it wasn't her name. "Jenny, wake up! Please! Open your eyes!" The faraway voice was frantic.
And then there was another voice, a quiet voice that seemed to strike a deep chord inside Jana. A voice that was even less like sound, and that spoke in Jana's mind. Jenny, come back. You don't have to relive all of this. Wake up. Come back, Jenny – now. Jana of three rivers closed her eyes and went limp.
Jenny opened her eyes.
Wow, I haven't updated in quite a while. I hope that you all liked this chapter. The next chapter shall be an interesting one. Jenny and the modern day Jethro meet. Hmmm... I would really really really appreciate if you guys took a minute or two to review? It would make my day! I love reading reviews and your opinions XD
