The Shore of Women by Pamela Sargent Read Free Book Online Page B

the huts. Bint chattered in that band’s tongue to the boy who clung to his hands, while Geab danced lightly on his feet and then shouted, “The Lady is good.”
    I said, “We are blessed.”
    “And your old guardian,” Geab answered, “is a fool.”
    I stared at my new home. These men had built on high ground that could be defended. Each hut seemed large enough for five men or more, and an enclosure inside the wall held a herd of sheep. There would be much work for me in the settlement, for I saw that such a camp needed the labor of many. But the smiles of the young boys told me I would also find contentment.
    I had been taught to fear strangers; I had thought my own band knew as much as men could know. Now I felt how small and weak we were.
    The boy with Bint handed him a skin. Bint drank from it and handed it to me. “Mare’s milk, Arvil.” I tasted the unfamiliar drink and made a face. The boy laughed. I had grown more used to the horses during our travels, had taken to riding more easily than I had expected; I supposed I would get used to the milk.
    “Look there!” Eagle Eyes cried out. He was gazing toward the horizon, where I could barely make out the shimmering spires and the vast wall of a distant enclave. Five tiny globes suddenly rose from the wall, hovered above it, and then flew in our direction. We gaped at them, marveling at the enclave’s magic.
    The globes grew larger as they approached until I could see that each was even larger than a hut. They glittered in the sunlight. They swept toward the plateau and circled us while several men sang loudly, threatening to drown out the hum of the silver balls.
    “The Lady favors us,” Bint shouted. “She is welcoming you to our home.” The boys near the barrier cheered.
    I could not speak. “Does this always happen when a band joins you?” Geab asked.
    Bint shook his head. “It has never happened before. This must have a special meaning. What a glorious day!” We stood there and smiled at the globes as their glassy eyes winked at us.
    Then the Lady rendered Her judgment.
    Rays brighter than the sun shot out from the globes. I heard a boy scream and saw three huts catch fire. A man near me fell. His head was gone, and his blood spurted over the snow.
    Truthspeaker held out his arms. His face was twisted, and he seemed to be entranced. “Lady!” he called out in the holy speech. “I have stood before You! I turn from You now! I would embrace evil rather than join You in Your realm!” His words were horrible to hear, and, as he spoke, two boys fell at his feet.
    Cor was struck as he ran toward me. One man lifted his spear and launched it at one globe before he fell under another ray. Beams struck along the wall as flames leaped from the roofs of the huts.
    I was stiff with terror, unable to move. The boy near me dropped his skin of milk and screamed as a ray caught him. Bint knocked me to the ground. I rolled down a slope and was caught under a boulder, then threw my hands over my head. I could still hear the screams of both horses and men.
    Tal was right, I thought, then tried to silence my mind, afraid that the Lady would hear my thoughts and find me. Feet ran past me as men fled down the path. Peering through my fingers, I saw the runners fall under the rays of a globe. I heard other voices full of rage, some cursing in the holy speech. Even now, while the Lady was showing Her power, some were refusing to plead for mercy; they would only condemn themselves in the next world.
    Truthspeaker had doomed my band as well as his own. The cries of rage and pain became a single cry, the cry of a maddened beast. Rays flashed as the globes hummed. Their hum reminded me of a swarm of bees, those creatures so loved of the Lady, those creatures that sometimes gave us their honey yet stung those who did not approach their hives with care. I pressed my face to the ground, praying for a quick death, as I listened to the agony of others.
    I lay there for a long