'These people will be leaving all the time, hoping the brownies will come back and fix the place up again,' she declared before taking off through the woods back to camp.
I hadn't thanked her for anything. She didn't coldcock Thea or throw out Padia's tainted food as a favor to me, she'd done it because it was who she was, what she did. To thank her would have cheapened that.
She didn't thank me either, just shoved a couple paper-wrapped sandwiches into my hands and told me not to bleed to death too soon.
With that heartwarming thought, she was gone.
Mel stood beside me on the porch, watching her disappear.
'There may be more, you know,' she stated.
'Hearth-keepers?' I asked, although I knew that wasn't what she was talking about.
'Deserters, Amazons trying other goddesses, or at least fighting for the tribe to return to the old ways.'
I nodded. 'Discovering the sons shook things up. They are afraid.'
'But you aren't.' She stated it as fact, but she was wrong. I was afraid, afraid that no matter what I did or what I became, it wouldn't be enough. . that I wouldn't be able to save the tribe I loved.
I didn't say it to her, though. She'd told me only minutes earlier that she was resuming the search for her son. He was the son of a son. A perfect sacrifice when Panathenaea came around again. . or whatever other ceremony was important to any other goddess who might think to challenge Artemis's hold on the Amazons.
Mel didn't need to know my fear. She needed to believe in my strength.
And, honestly, that's what I needed to do too.
'I'll take care of your mother, get her body returned to the tribe,' she said, perhaps realizing I needed to change the topic. 'Bubbe will do the rites, if you want.'
I nodded. She knew I did. I wouldn't trust it to anyone else.
We stood there another five minutes saying nothing, but finally I couldn't put off my future any longer. I said one last good-bye, picked up my bag, and headed to the highway. Trucks ran down this road at all hours.
I just needed one.
It was getting dark. I walked along the shoulder, lost in my thoughts.
I'd left the tribe and I'd come back. I'd lost my mother and found a brother. The position of queen had been taken from me, and now I was going to force my way onto the high council.
Not one damn thing was like it had been just two weeks earlier.
Behind me a horn sounded, a car. . a beater covered in dents and rust pulled to the side.
I sighed. Not the best candidate for getting to the West Coast. Still, he could surely at least get me to town.
Before I could lean down to check out the driver, the passenger door flew open.
Cautious, I stared inside.
Jack stared back at me.
'Heard a queen needed a ride.'
'Nope. Wrong Amazon. No queens here.' I placed my hand on the door, ready to slam it shut.
He called out, 'Sheep?'
My fingers stilled. 'Definitely no sheep.'
'That's good; wet wool smells.'
I looked up and realized it was raining. Big giant plops of water landed on the hood.
His foot pressed the door open further. 'How about a fairy godfather? Could you use one of those?'
Thunder boomed in the distance. Lightning zigzagged across the sky. I adjusted my bag on my shoulder. Staring at the horizon, I said, 'You know, I never thought I did, but lately. . I've learned I've been wrong. . a lot.'
I got in the car.
