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Ayla crossed the high mountain meadow and drank deeply of the cold water, then stopped to examine the still unripe double and triple clusters of nuts encased in their green, prickly coverings She picked a clu, and cracked the soft shell with her teeth, exposing a shiny white half-grown nut She always liked unripe hazelnuts better than fully round The taste aroused her appetite and she began to pick several clusters and put the, she noticed a dark space behind the heavy foliage
Cautiously, she pushed aside the branches and saw a small cave hidden by the heavy hazelnut shrubs She forced aside the brush, looked carefully inside, then stepped in, letting the branches swing back Sunlight dappled one ith a pattern of light and shadows and dimly lit the interior The small cave was about twelve feet deep and half as wide If she reached up, she could alently for about half the depth, angling more sharply down to the dry dirt floor toward the rear
It was just a sirl to move around in comfortably She saw a cache of rotted nuts and a few squirrel droppings near the entrance and knew the cave had not been used by anything larger Ayla danced around in a full circle, delighted with her find The cave seemed to be made just for her
She went back out and looked across the glade, then climbed a short way up the bare rock and inched out on a narrow ledge that snaked around the outcrop Far ahead, between the cleft of two hills, was the sparkling water of the inland sea Below, she could ure near a thin silver ribbon of a stream She was al back down, she walked around the peri
It’s just perfect, she thought I can practice in the field, there’s water to drink nearby, and if it rains I can go into the cave I can hidein there, too Then I won’t have to be afraid Creb or Iza will find it There are even hazelnuts, and later I can bring soh to hunt This will be an looking for s
Ayla climbed to her retreat to practice every chance she could She found a more direct, if steeper, route to her small mountain meadow and often surprised wild sheep, cha But the anirew accustorassy clearing when she came
When hitting the post with a stone lost its challenge as she gained skill with the sling, she set ive instructions to Vorn, then applied the advice and techniques when she practiced alone It was a ga fun to do; and to add interest, she co was not his favorite weapon, it smacked of an old man’s device He was more interested in the spear, the weapon of the pried tocreatures, snakes and porcupines He didn’t apply hiave her a sense of pride and accomplishment when she knew she was better than the boy, and a subtle shift in attitude—a change that was not lost on Broud
Females were supposed to be docile, subservient, unpretentious, and hu man took it as a personal affront that she didn’t cower a little when he ca to see as different about her, and was quick to cuff just to see a fleeting look of fear in her eyes or to e
Ayla tried to respond properly, did everything he commanded as quickly as she could She didn’t know there was freedo the forests and fields; pride in her bearing, fro it better than so self-confidence in her mien She didn’t knohy he picked on her more than anyone else Broud didn’t know himself why she annoyed him so ed it than she could change the color of her eyes
Part of it was his memory of the attention she had usurped from him at his manhood rites, but the real problem was she was not Clan She had not had subservience bred into her for untold generations She was one of the Others; a newer, younger breed, more vital, more dynamic, not controlled by hidebound traditions from a brain that was nearly all h forehead that housed forward-thinking frontal lobes gave her an understanding from a different view She could accept the new, shape it to her will, forge it into ideas undreamed of by the Clan, and, in nature’s way, her kind was destined to supplant the ancient, dying race
At a deep, unconscious level, Broud sensed the opposing destinies of the two Ayla was more than a threat to his masculinity, she was a threat to his existence His hatred of her was the hatred of the old for the new, of the traditional for the innovative, of the dying for the living Broud’s race was too static, too unchanging They had reached the peak of their developrow Ayla was part of nature’s new experih she tried to model herself after the women of the clan, it was only an overlay, a façade only culture-deep, assu ways around it, in answer to a deep need that sought an avenue of expression And though she tried in every way she could to please the overbearing young an to rebel
One particularly trying athered together at the opposite side of the cave opening planning their next hunt She was glad, for itwith a cup in her hands beside the still water, lost in thought Why is he always so mean to me? Why does he always pick onhe wants What good does it do to try so hard? None of the other men keep after me the way he does I just wish he’d leave me alone
“Ouch!” she cried involuntarily as Broud’s hard blow caught her by surprise
Everyone stopped and looked at her, then quickly looked away A girl so close to womanhood didn’t cry out like that just because a man cuffed her She turned toward her tormentor, her face red with embarrassment
“You were just staring at nothing, sitting there doing nothing, lazy girl!” Broud gesticulated “I told you to bring us sonored me Why should I have to tell you more than once?”
A rising surge of anger flushed her cheeks even more She felt humiliated by her outcry, shamed in front of the whole clan, and furious at Broud for causing it She got up, but not with the usual quick juot to her feet, shot Broud a look of cold hatred before sheclan How did she dare to behave with such brazenness?
Broud exploded in a rage He sprang after her, spun her around, and plowed his fist into her face It knocked her to the ground at his feet and he folloith another s to protect herself with her arht to voice no sound, though silence was not expected under such abuse Broud’s fury mounted with his violence; he wanted to hear her cry out and rained down one crashing blow after another in his uncontrolled rage She gritted her teeth, steeling herself to the pain, stubbornly refusing to give him the satisfaction he wanted After a ti out
Di had stopped She felt Iza help her up and leaned heavily on the woes of pain washed over her as she wavered in and out of nuuely aware of cool, soothing poultices and Iza supporting her head so that she could drink a bitter-tasting brew before she slipped into a drugged sleep
When she awoke, the faint light of predawn barely outlined th
e falow of dying coals in the fireplace She tried to rise Every muscle and bone in her body rebelled at the movement A moan escaped her lips, and a moment later Iza was beside her The woman’s eyes spoke eloquently; they were filled with pain and concern for the girl Never had she seen anyone beaten so brutally Not even her mate at his worst had ever beaten Iza so hard She was sure Broud would have killed her if he hadn’t been forced to stop It was a scene Iza never thought she would see and never wanted to see again
As her memory of the incident returned, Ayla was filled with fear and hatred She knew she should not have been so insolent, but she had no reason to expect such a violent reaction Why was it that she drove hi outbursts?