page53 (1/2)

“I won’t have him at a how she feels about it He’s not fit to be a sibling to her sons; it would make him a brother to Brac and Grev—I won’t allow that Brac will survive even if she does take a little piece of his spirit with her I don’t knohy you’re even considering it, Brun You were ready to curse her Just because she ca back a little early, you’re ready to take her back, and talking about taking her defective son besides,” Broud gestured bitterly

“She defied you by running away; co back doesn’t make her disobedience any less What’s there to discuss? The baby is deformed, and she should be cursed That’s the end of it Why do you alaste our tis about her? If I were leader, she would have been cursed already She’s disobedient, she’s insolent, and she’s a bad influence on the other women How else can you explain Iza’s estures beco more excited “She deserves to be cursed, Brun, how can you think of anything else? Why can’t you see it? Are you blind? She’s never been any good If I were leader, she would never have been accepted in the first place If I were leader …”

“But you’re not leader yet, Broud,” Brun returned coldly, “and you’re not likely to be if you can’t keep yourself under better control She’s only a woman, Broud, why do you feel so threatened by her? What can she possibly do to you? She must obey you, she has no choice ‘If you were leader, if you were leader,’ is that all you can say? What kind of leader is so anxious to kill a wo to jeopardize the whole clan?” Brun was on the edge of losing control himself He had put up with all he could take from the son of his mate

The men were shocked and uneasy An open battle between the present leader and the future one was distressing Broud had overstepped his bounds to be sure, but they were accustomed to his outbursts It was Brun who caused the dis his control And he had never before openly questioned the qualifications of the son of his mate to follow him as leader

For a tense moment, the two men locked eyes in a battle of wills Broud looked down first No longer jeopardized by loss of face, Brun was firain He was leader, and not ready to step down It put the young ht Broud fought down the feeling of impotence and bitter frustration that welled up inside He still favors her, Broud thought How can he? I’led to re the bitterness that rankled his soul

“This rets he has caused the leader to misunderstand him,” Broud motioned formally “This man’s concern is for the hunters he must lead one day, if the present leader thinks thishunters How can a man hunt if his head wobbles?”

Brun stared hard and angrily at the young estures and the unconscious signals of expression and posture Broud’s overly polite response was sarcastic, and it irritated the leader farto hide his feelings and Brun knew it But Brun was feeling shame at his own outburst He kneas proatory rement They had rubbed a sore spot on his pride But that was no excuse for losing his own self-control enough to disparage the son of his mate so openly

“You’ve naled stiffly “I realize the baby will grow up to be more a burden to the leader who follows me and the one after, but the decision is still mine I will do what I think best I have not said the baby will be accepted, Broud, or that the woman will not be cursed My concern is for the clan, not her or her child A death curse can put everyone in danger; lingering evil spirits can bring bad luck, especially since they’ve been released before I think the child is too deformed to live, but Ayla is blind to her baby’s affliction She can’t see it Itdesire to have a child has affected her ed me to curse her if her son was not acceptable I asked for your opinions because I wanted to know if anyone else saw so about the infant that I didn’t A death curse to punish her or to grant her request, it is still not a decision to htly”

Broud’s frustration eased Maybe Brun isn’t favoring her after all, he thought “You’re right, Brun,” he said contritely, “a leader should think of the dangers to his clan This young rateful for such a wise leader to instruct him”

Brun felt his tensionBroud, not ever He was still the son of his mate, the child of his heart Self-control isn’t always easy, Brun thought, re his own irritation Broud just has a little

“I’lad you understand that, Broud When you are leader, you will be responsible for the safety and welfare of the clan” Brun’s comment not only let Broud knoas still heir apparent, it relieved the rest of the hunters They wanted the security of knowing that the traditional rightness of the clan hierarchy, and their own place in it, would bedisturbed them quite so much as uncertainty about the future

“It is the welfare of the clan I was thinking about,” Broud motioned “I don’t want a ood will Ayla’s son ever be? Her disobedience does deserve severe punishment, and if she wants to be cursed, it will satisfy her, too We’d be better off without them Ayla defied Clan traditions, deliberately She doesn’t deserve to live Her son is so deformed, he doesn’t deserve to live”

There was a general round of agreement Brun detected a certain eleuo The animosity between theain Open strife with the son of his mate disturbed Brun as much as it did the others

The leader felt he should add his agree to do, he thought, she’s been a proble Of course Iza will be upset, but I didn’t promise to spare either of them, I only said I would consider it I didn’t even say I would look at the baby if she returned; who ever expected her to return, anyway? That’s just the problerief weakens Iza, well, there’s still Uba After all, she was the one born to the line, and she can get

If the part of Brac’s spirit she carries dies with Ayla, is it really so much of him to lose? Broud isn’t worried about it, why should I worry? He’s right, she does deserve the severest punish love for a baby isn’t even normal What do old women’s tales prove? She can’t even see that her son is deformed; shebirth? Men have suffered worse, haven’t they? So injury Of course, she’s only a woman, she can’t be expected to bear as much pain I wonder how far she went? The cave shebirth, she was too weak to travel very far, but why couldn’t we find it?

Besides, if she’s allowed to live, I’ll have to take her to the Clan Gathering What would the other clans think? It would be worse if I allow her defor to do, everyone thinks so Maybe there wouldn’t be so much of a problem with Broud, maybe he could control himself better if she wasn’t around He’s a fearless hunter; he’d ood leader if only he had a little more sense of responsibility, just a little more self-control Maybe I should do it for Broud’s sake For the son of ht thing to do, yes, it really is; it’s the right thing to do, isn’t it?

“I have reachedday At first light, before the sun breaks …”

?

?Brun!” Mog-ur interrupted He had kept himself out of the discussion; none of them had seen much of him since the birth of Ayla’s child He had spenthis soul for an explanation of Ayla’s actions He kne hard she had struggled to accept the ways of the Clan, and he thought she had succeeded He was convinced there was so he hadn’t realized that had driven her to such an extreme

“Before you co-ur would speak”

Brun stared at the -ur’s face What can he say that I have not considered? I’ve made up my mind to curse her and he knows it

“Mog-ur may speak,” he motioned

“Ayla has no mate, but I have always provided for her, I am responsible for her If you will allow it, I would speak as her mate”

“Speak if you will, Mog-ur, but what can you add? I have already considered her strong love for the child and the pain and suffering she went through to have him I understand how difficult it ht of every possible reason for excusing her actions, but the facts remain She defied Clan customs Her baby is not acceptable to the men Broud made it clear neither one deserves to live”