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I’ve got to stop this, she scolded herself, wiping tears aith the back of her hand I should be glad you have people who love you, Durc And when you’re older, Ura will coood woman for you Ura isn’t deformed, either She’s just different, like you I wonder, will I ever find a mate?
Ayla ju sohts The meat was h The wild carrots, sy taste She missed the salt that had always been available near the inland sea, but hunger provided the right seasoning She let the rest of the hare cook a little longer while she finished scraping the skin, feeling better after she ate
The sun was high when she decided to investigate the hole in the wall She stripped and swa up the tree roots to cli the nearly vertical wall,her wonder if it hile even if she found a cave She was disappointed anyhen she reached a narrow ledge in front of the dark hole and found it was hardly more than a depression in the rock The scat of hyena in a shaded corner let her know there must be an easier way down froer
She turned to start down, then turned farther Downstreahtly lower on the other wall, she could see the top of the rock barrier that jutted toward the bend of the river It was a broad ledge, and at the back of it there appeared to be another hole in the face of the cliff, a e point, she saw a steep but possible way up Her heart was beating with excitement If it was a cave of any size at all, she’d have a dry place to spend the night About halfway down, she juate
I ht as she started up It was just too dark to see She remembered, then, that an unknown cave should always be approached with caution, and she returned for her sling and a few rocks
Though she had very carefully felt her way down, in good light she found she didn’t need handholds Over the millennia, the river had cut sharper into the opposite bank; the wall on this side wasn’t as steep As she neared the ledge, Ayla held her sling ready and advanced with caution
All her senses were alert She listened for the sounds of breathing or sns of recent habitation; smelled the air for the distinctive odors of carnivorous ani her mouth to allow taste buds to help catch the scent; let her bare skin detect any sense of waruide her as she noiselessly approached the opening She stayed close to the wall, crept up to the dark hole, and looked in
She saw nothing
The opening, facing the southwest, was small The top cleared her head, but she could reach her hand up and touch it The floor sloped down at the entrance, then leveled out Loess, blown in on the wind, and debris carried in by animals that had used the cave in the past had built up a layer of soil Originally uneven and rocky, the floor of the cave had a dry, hard-packed, earth surface
As she peered around the edge, Ayla could detect no sign that the cave had been used recently She slipped in, silently, noticing how cool it was coe, and waited for her eyes to adjust to the diht in the cave than she expected, and when she h a hole above the entrance and understood why She also understood a et out without filling the upper reaches of the cave, a distinct advantage
Once her eyes adjusted, she discovered she could see surprisingly well Light coe but not s until they cahly triangular, with the apex at the er than the west The darkest place was the east back corner; the place to investigate first
She crept slowly along the east wall, watching for cracks or passageways that could lead to deeper recesses holding hidden menaces Near the dark corner, rock cleaved from the walls lay on the floor in a jumbled heap She climbed the rocks, felt a shelf, and emptiness beyond it
She considered getting a torch, then changed her ns of life, and she could see a little way in Putting her sling and stones in one hand, wishing she had stopped to put on her wrap so she would have a place to put her weapons, she hoisted herself up on the shelf
The dark opening was low; she had to stoop to move inside But it was only a recess that ended with the roof sloping to meet the floor of the niche At the back was a pile of bones She reached for one, then cli the all back to the entrance It was a blind cave, and, except for the s to unknown places It felt snug and secure
Ayla shaded her eyes against the bright sunlight as she walked out to the far edge of the cave’s terrace and looked around She was standing on top of the jutting wall Below her on the right was the pile of driftwood and bones, and the rocky beach To the left, she could see far down the valley In the distance, the river turned south again, curving around the base of the steep opposite wall, while the left wall had flattened into steppes
She exaiant deer, aged and dry, with teeth et at the nawed, looked familiar, and yet not It had been made by a feline, she was sure She knew carnivores, better than anyone in the clan She had developed her hunting skills on them, but only the smaller and e cat, a very large cat She spun around and looked at the cave again
A cave lion! That must have been the den of cave lions once The niche would be a perfect place for a lioness to have her cubs, she thought Maybe I shouldn’t spend the night in it It ain But this is so old, and the cave hasn’t been used for years Besides, a fire near the entrance will keep animals away
It is a nice cave Not ood dirt floor I don’t think it gets wet inside, spring floods don’t reach this high There’s even a setup the fire Ayla hurried back down to the beach She spread out the tent hide and her fur on the ware when she returned, and put the basket inside the cave, then brought up several loads of wood Maybe I’ll get soain
Then she stopped Why do I need hearthstones? I’ for people I’ve got to find them before winter…
What if I don’t find people? The thought had been hovering for a long time, but she hadn’t allowed herself to fra What will I do if winter comes and I still haven’t found any people? I won’t have any food put away I won’t have a place to stay that is dry and warm, and out of the wind and snow No cave to …
She looked at the cave again, then at the beautiful protected valley and the herd of horses far down the field, then back at the cave again It’s a perfect cave fortiather and hunt and store food There’s water, and h wood to last the winter,I need is right here—except people
I don’t know if I could stand it, being alone all winter But it’s already so late in the season I’h food stored If I haven’t found an
yone yet, how do I knoill? How do I know they’d let me stay if I did find the Others I don’t know them Some of them are as bad as Broud Look what happened to poor Oda She said the men who forced her, like Broud forced me, were men of the Others She said they looked like ain at the cave, and then at the valley She walked around the perie, stared off at the horses, then came to a decision
“Horses,” she said “I’ I can start looking for the Others again Right now, if I don’t get ready for winter, I won’t be alive next spring” Ayla’s speech to the horses was uttural She used sound only for names or to ee she spoke with the graceful flowing e she remembered
Once her decision was ht of leaving this pleasant valley and facingthe parched windy steppes, dreaded the thought of traveling any more at all She raced down to the rocky beach and stooped to get her wrap and amulet As she reached for the slitter of a small piece of ice
How can there be ice in theit up It was not cold; it had hard precise edges and s its facets sparkling in the sun Then she happened to turn it at just the right angle for the prisht into the full spectruht her breath at the rainbow she cast on the ground Ayla had never seen a clear quartz crystal
The crystal, like the flint and many of the other rocks on the beach, was an erratic—not native to the place The gleareater force of the element it resembled—ice—and moved by its melted forlacial stream
Suddenly, Ayla felt a chill colder than ice crawl up her spine, and sat down, too shaky to stand thinking of the stone’s o, when she was a little girl …