Children of the Dawn by Patricia Rowe Read Free Book Online Page B

the People. She is wise,
     and has enough love for every creature.”
    Tlikit grumbling brought him to the most important thing they must know about Ashan. At the moment it was the only power Tor
     had over them.
    “You must believe this,” he said in a threatening voice. “The Moonkeeper knows magic.
Deadly magic.
She can save your life, or kill you, just by thinking it.”
    Maybe some believed it, but a tight, angry knot of young Tlikit men stamped away toward their village, hurling words over
     their shoulders like rocks.
    “Go away! You’re not welcome here!”
    “We’re not afraid of a dead woman, or a slave!”
    “We will kill you if we see you again!”
    Tor said, “Tsilka, stop them.”
    “Why don’t you wake up the dead woman and have her kill one or two?”
    Some of the Tlikit were following the angry young men. The Shahala were finding their voices.
    “We don’t want to live with savages!”
    “If we want this place, we will take it!”
    “Tsilka, please,” Tor implored.
    Tsilka squinted up at him. “Oh, all right. For you, I will try.”
    He didn’t trust her, wished he could see what was in her heart as she spoke to those of her people who were still there.
    “We are not savages,” she said in a loud voice. “We do not have to fight these strangers—not yet. I welcome them.”
    Holding out her hands, Tsilka went to a Shahala woman standing near her. She smiled warmly.
    “People of Tor, I welcome you.”
    Mani took Tsilka’s hands. She hadn’t understood the words, but she understood the meaning.
    “You are kind,” Mani said.
    On that bright, cold morning in autumn, the Tlikit who had stayed welcomed the Shahala to the Great River.
    Tentative, uncertain, doubtful welcome that it was, Tor felt relieved, even lucky. With Ashan unable to use her powers, he
     could imagine what might have happened. It bothered him that they’d done it because of Tsilka, not because of him. Had they
     understood anything of what he’d said about the Creator’s plan and Ashan’s power? He didn’t know, but they seemed to accept
     each other—
for now,
he realized, seeing the dark thoughts hidden behind some of their smiles.
    At least they won’t kill each other today.
    Putting people and their problems out of his mind, Tor went to the medicine circle and stood gazing down.
    Oh, Amotkan
…
    It took faith to look at Ashan and not choke. She hadn’t moved since he found her on the ledge. Her breathing was too faint
     to see. But her skin was golden with reddish tones, a healthy color. She had never seemed more beautiful to him, or more helpless.
     He swallowed.
Why now, Amotkan? We have never needed her more.
    Tor sat just outside the ring of stones, with his arms around his knees. He stared at his soulmate, then dropped his head,
     closed his eyes, and pushed the world away.
    Ashan. Ashan
…
    Motionless, he tried to recapture the trance between them. But his spirit couldn’t find its way out of his body. Even if he
     could have left himself, only Amotkan knew where to find her now. Fear pricked Tor—she needed him to find her wayback—and fear made it even harder to concentrate. He finally gave up, telling himself that a Moonkeeper’s death usually lasted
     three days, and he would have another chance.
    It surprised him that the sun had passed the middle of the sky when he opened his eyes again.
    He looked at Ashan… still the same, except that someone had strung a hide between sticks to give her shade. Standing, stretching,
     he looked for Kai El, but saw no Shahala little ones. He hoped they had been sent away for safety. The rest of his people
     and some of the Tlikit were still there. A few were trying to make friends, but most clumped with their own kind—uneasy—hostile.
    A voice in his mind whispered,
They need a leader.
    I don’t care. I promised not to leave her.
    He argued with himself.
You must—just long enough to get them settled in the village.
    But I promised…
    If fighting