The Plains of Passage (Earth's Children 4)

"You wait, keep horses quiet," she signed to him in the silent language of the Clan. "I make Wolf hide. I go stalk women, keep women away."

"I go," Jondalar signed, shaking his head.

"Women more listen to me," Ayla replied.

Jondalar nodded reluctantly. "I watch here with spear-thrower," he said with gestures. "You take spear-thrower."

Ayla nodded in agreement. "And sling," she signaled back.

With silent stealth, Ayla circled around in front of the two women, then waited. As they slowly approached, she heard them talking.

"I'm sure they came this way after they left their campsite last night, Unavoa," the head Wolf Woman said.

"But they already came to our Camp since last night. Why are we still looking here?"

"They may come back this way, and even if they don't, we may find out something about them."

"Some people are saying they disappear, or turn into birds or horses when they leave," the younger Wolf Woman said.

"Don't be silly," Epadoa said. "Didn't we find where they camped last night? Why would they have to make a camp if they could turn into animals?"

She's right, Ayla thought. At least she uses her head and thinks, and she's not really so bad at tracking. She's probably even a decent hunter; it's too bad she's so close to Attaroa.

Ayla, crouching behind bare tangled brush and yellowed knee-high grass, watched as they drew closer. At a moment when both women were looking down, she silently stood up, holding her spear-thrower poised.

Epadoa started with surprise, and Unavoa jumped back and let out a little squeal of shock when they looked up and saw the blond stranger.

"You look for me?" Ayla said, speaking in their language. "I am here."

Unavoa appeared ready to break and run, and even Epadoa seemed nervous and frightened.

"We were ... we were hunting," Epadoa said.

"No horses here to chase over edge," Ayla said.

"We weren't hunting horses."

"I know. You hunt Ayla and Jondalar."

Her sudden appearance, and the strange quality to the way Ayla said the words in their language, made her seem exotic, from someplace far away, perhaps even from another world. She made both women want nothing more than to get as far away as possible from this woman, who seemed endowed with attributes that were more than human.

"I think these two should return to their Camp, or they may miss the big feast tonight."

The voice came from the woods, and it was speaking Mamutoi, but both women understood the language and recognized that it was Jondalar who spoke. They looked back in the direction from which his voice had come and saw the tall blond man leaning nonchalantly against the bole of a large white-barked birch, holding his spear and spear-thrower ready.

"Yes. You are right. We don't want to miss the feast," Epadoa said. Prodding her speechless young companion, she wasted no time in turning around and leaving.

When they were gone, Jondalar could not resist cracking a big grin.

The sun was descending toward late afternoon of the short winter day when Ayla and Jondalar rode back to the S'Armunai Camp. They had changed Wolf's hiding place, leaving him somewhat closer to the settlement, since it would soon be dark, and people seldom went beyond the comfort of firelight at night, though Ayla still worried that he might be captured.

S'Armuna was just leaving her lodge as they dismounted at the edge of the field, and she smiled with relief when she saw them. In spite of their promises, she couldn't help wondering if they would return. After all, why should strangers put themselves in jeopardy to help people they didn't even know? Their own kin had not even come for the past several years to find out if all was well with them. Of course, friends and kin had not been made welcome the last time they came.

Jondalar removed Racer's halter so he would not be encumbered in any way, and both gave the horses friendly slaps on the rump to encourage them to move away from the Camp. S'Armuna walked over to meet the two.

"We are just finishing our preparations for the Fire Ceremony tomorrow. We always start a warming fire the night before; would you like to come and warm up?" the woman said.

"It is cold," Jondalar said. They both walked beside her to the kiln on the other side of the Camp.