page109 (1/2)

Ayla and Jondalar finished breaking ca people, packed their supplies and equipment on the horse, rather than in backframes or haversacks which they would have carried theh they had soht Whinney and her colt would be less nervous if they saw her The two of the Racer by a long rope attached to a halter, which he had devised Whinney followed Ayla with no visible guidance

They followed the course of the river for several h a broad valley that sloped down fro hay, seed heads nodding ripe and heavy, billowed in golden waves on the near slopes id air that blew in fitful bursts frolaciers to the north On the open steppes, a few bent and gnarled pine and birch trees huddled along watercourses, their roots seeking thewinds Near the river, reeds and sedges were still green, though a chill wind rattled through deciduous branches, bereft of leaves

Latie hung back, glancing now and then at the horses and the wohted several people around a bend in the river Then she ran ahead, wanting to be first to tell of the visitors At her shouts, people turned and gawked

Other people were coe hole in the riverbank, a cave of some sort, perhaps, but like none she had ever seen before It see the river, but it did not have the randorew on the sod roof, but the opening was too even, too regular, and felt strangely unnatural It was a perfectly symmetrical arch

Suddenly, at a deep emotional level, it struck her It was not a cave, and these people were not Clan! They did not look like Iza, as the only mother she ree eyes shadowed by heavy brow ridges, a forehead that sloped back, and a chinless jaw that jutted forward These people looked like her They were like the ones she had been born to Her mother, her real mother, must have looked like one of these women These were the Others! This was their place! The realization brought a rush of excitele of fear

Stunned silence greeted the strangers—and their even stranger horses—as they arrived at the permanent winter site of the Lion Camp Then everyone seemed to talk at once

“Talut! What have you brought this tiet those horses?” “What did you do to them?” Someone addressed Ayla: “How do you make them stay?” “What Camp are they from, Talut?”

The noisy, gregarious people crowded forward, eager to see and touch both the people and the horses Ayla was overwhelmed, confused She wasn’t used to so , particularly all of the her ears, head high, neck arched, trying to protect her frightened colt and shy away fro in

Jondalar could see Ayla’s confusion, and the nervousness of the horses, but he couldn’t make Talut or the rest of the people understand Thein circles Suddenly, she could stand it no longer She reared up, neighing in fear, and lashed out with hard hooves, driving the people back

Whinney’s distress focused Ayla’s attention She called her naestures she had used to coht her to speak

“Talut! No one must touch the horses unless Ayla allows it! Only she can control theerous if she is provoked or feels her colt is threatened Soet hurt,” Jondalar said

“Stay back! You heard hi voice that silenced everyone When the people and horses settled down, Talut continued in a more normal tone “The woman is Ayla I promised her that no harm would come to the horses if they came to visit I promised as headman of the Lion Camp This is Jondalar of the Zelandonii, and a kinsrin of self-satisfaction, he added, “Talut has brought some visitors!”

There were nods of agreened curiosity, but far enough away to avoid the horse’s kicking hooves Even if the strangers had left that ossip to last for years to co with the river people to the southwest, had been talked about at Sus The Mamutoi traded with the Sharamudoi, and since Tholie, as a kinswoman, had chosen a river man, the Lion Camp had been even n men to walk into their Caic control over horses

“Are you all right?” Jondalar asked Ayla

“They frightened Whinney, and Racer, too Do people always talk at once like that? Wo, and they are so loud, how do you knoho is saying what? Maybe we should have gone back to the valley” She was hugging the iving it

Jondalar knew Ayla was almost as distressed as the horses The noisy press of people had been a shock for her Maybe they shouldn’t stay too long Perhaps it would be better to start with just two or three people at a tiain, but he wondered what he’d do if she never really did Well, they were here now He could wait and see

“Sometimes people are loud, and talk all at once, but mostly one person talks at a time And I think they’ll be careful around the horses now, Ayla,” he said, as she started to unload the pack baskets tied on both sides of the anis

While she was busy, Jondalar took Talut aside and quietly told him the horses, and Ayla, were a little nervous, and needed soet used to everyone “It would be better if they could be left alone for a while”

Talut understood, andto each one They dispersed, turning to other tasks, preparing food, working on hides or tools, so they could watch without being so obvious about it They were uneasy, too Strangers were interesting, but a wo unexpected

Only a few children stayed to watch with avid interest while the man and woman unpacked, but Ayla didn’t mind them She hadn’t seen children in years, not since she’d left the Clan, and was as curious about them as they were about her She took off the harness and Racer’s halter, then patted and stroked Whinney, then Racer After giving the colt a good scratching and an affectionate hug, she looked up to see Latie staring at the young ani

“You like touch horse?” Ayla asked

“Could I?”

“Come Give hand I show” She took Latie’s hand and held it to the shaggy winter coat of the half-grown horse Racer turned his head to sniff and nuzzle the girl

The girl’s sift “He likes me!”

“He like scratch, too Like this,” Ayla said, showing the child the colt’s special itchy places

Racer was delighted with the attention, and showed it, and Latie was beside herself with joy The colt had attracted her fro Ayla turned her back on the two to help Jondalar and didn’t notice another child approach When she turned around, she gasped and felt the blood drain from her face

“Is it all right if Rydag touches the horse?” Latie said “He can’t talk, but I knoants to” Rydag always caused people to react with surprise Latie was used to it

“Jondalar!” Ayla cried in a hoarse whisper “That child, he could be my son! He looks like Durc!”

He turned, and opened his eyes in stunned surprise It was a child of mixed spirits

Flatheads—the ones Ayla always referred to as Clan—were anih

t of by many as “abominations,” half-animal, half-human He had been shocked when he first understood that Ayla had given birth to a mixed son The mother of such a child was usually a pariah, cast out for fear she would draw the evil aniive birth to such abominations Some people didn’t even want to ad with people was more than unexpected It was a shock Where had the boy come from?

Ayla and the child were gazing at each other, oblivious to everything around theht They are usually big-boned and muscular Even Durc wasn’t this thin He’s sickly, Ayla’s trained medicine wo muscle in the chest that pulsed and throbbed and uessed But those facts she stored without thinking; she was looking more closely at his face, and his head, for the similarities, and the differences between this child and her son