Page 178 of Moon Chosen

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Holding his dying cousin as he writhed and fought to breathe, Nik waited anxiously for Mari to do something—anything—and save O’Bryan. What he didn’t expect her to do was dance. But there she was, arms held wide, hands turning and fingers fluttering as if in accompaniment to the tinkling of the countless strands of crystals and glass and beads and shells that decorated the trees, Mari began to dance. She moved around him, tracing a pattern with her steps. Her face, that face that was such a unique mixture of Tribe and Clan, was alight with joy and moonlight, and her blond hair curled around it caressingly.

Nik thought she was the most exquisite woman he had ever seen.

When she started to speak it was in a hesitant, singsong voice that reminded him of a storyteller.

“Moon Woman I proclaim myself to be

Greatly gifted I bare myself to thee.

Earth Mother aid me with your magick sight

Lend me strength on this moon-touched night.”

Still dancing around him, her voice became stronger and more confident.

“Come, silver light—fill me to overflow

So that those in my care, your healing will know.”

She paused her dance before O’Bryan’s ruined right leg and sank gracefully to her knees beside him. Gently, she rested one hand on his calf, directly over the wound. The other she lifted above her, holding it with her fingers spread wide, palm open to the moonlight. In a voice filled with power she spoke the end of her invocation.

“By right of blood and birth channel through me

That which the Earth Mother proclaims my destiny!”

For the rest of his life, Nik would be able to conjure the image of Mari, hand and face lifted to the moon, eyes blazing silver. She seemed to become a beacon for the moonlight as it poured down on her, suddenly illuminating Mari and, through their nearness, O’Bryan and even Nik. He felt his cousin’s body jerk, as if she’d shot something into him. It touched Nik, too. He felt the cool power of it, as if he’d paddled too close to a waterfall. The wound in his back that had been throbbing with an ache in time with his heartbeat, especially after he’d carried O’Bryan, was suddenly gone. The pain in his thigh—the constant heat and pulling—released.

And suddenly Nik realized O’Bryan was no longer writhing with seizures. His body had gone completely limp. Instead of struggling for breath, he was breathing deeply and evenly. Actually, he seemed to be asleep.

Nik couldn’t stop looking at Mari. Spotlighted by moonlight she was a goddess come to earth—powerful, alluring, and mysterious.

She moved then, turning her face from the sky to look at him. As he watched, the silver fire in her eyes faded until they returned to her normal gray again, but the joy didn’t leave her face.

“I did it!” she said. “I drew down the moon!” She shook her head, and a little laugh bubbled from her. “I wasn’t sure I could do it, but I did. He’s healed, Nik. O’Bryan is going to be just fine now.”

“What are you?” Nik asked in a hushed, reverent voice.

Mari smiled. “Like you said, it’s just me.”

“No, you’re so much more thanjustanything. You’re—”

O’Bryan coughed, spitting out the stick and wiping his mouth. He blinked several times, and then focused on Nik. “Cuz? Where am I?”

Joy blossomed inside Nik and he grinned at his cousin through happy tears. “You’re with Mari and me. You’re going to be okay now, O’Bryan. You’re going to live!”

O’Bryan’s forehead furrowed as he glanced around them, finding Mari kneeling next to his leg, her hand still resting on his calf.

He smiled tentatively at her. “Hi. I’ve heard a lot about you. It’s good to meet you, girl on fire.”

Mari dimpled. “Nice to meet you, too, O’Bryan. Let’s take a quick look at this.” With dexterity, she unwound the bandage and Nik stared in wonder at O’Bryan’s leg. It was still swollen, but the striations were already fading. Mari removed the hemp wrap holding the poultice securely on the wound, and Nik gasped.

“The ulcers are completely gone!” he said.

“So is that terrible smell,” Mari said. “I’m really glad that goes away fast.”

O’Bryan used Nik to help brace himself, then he sat up, peering at his leg. When he looked at Mari, tears were streaming down his cheeks.