'I didn't want to kill Balderan,' Ayla said.
'But she could have,' Jonokol interjected, which brought another murmur of voices.
'I only wanted to stop him, so I aimed for his thigh. I think he may have a good bruise to show for it. I hit the other man on the arm.' She whistled for Wolf, who came immediately at her call. That also brought a flurry of comments from the assembled group. 'Balderan and the others didn't notice Wolf at first. This wolf is my friend and he will do what I ask him to. When a third man tried to run away, I told Wolf to stop him. He didn't attack him or try to kill him; he bit at the man's ankle and tripped him. Then Jondalar came around the trees with his spear- thrower.
'As we were bringing those men here, Balderan tried to run away. Jondalar used his spear-thrower to cast a spear. It just missed Balderan's ear. So he stopped,' Ayla said. 'Jondalar is very accurate with a spear-thrower.' Again there were chuckles.
'I told you they didn't stand a chance,' Willamar said to Demoryn, who was standing next to him. They were taking a turn at guarding Balderan and the others, who also heard everything that was said.
'When I saw how these men behaved toward me, I thought they were probably troublemakers. That's why we brought them with us, though they did not want to come. It was only after we arrived at the Third Cave of Watchers that we understood how much trouble they had caused over the years,' Ayla said. She paused, looking down. It seemed obvious that she had more to say.
'I am a healer, a medicine woman. I have helped many women give birth. Fortunately, most babies are perfectly healthy when they are born, but some children of the Mother are not born right. I have seen some that are not. Usually, if the problem is serious, they don't survive. The Mother takes them back because only She can fix them, but some have a strong will to live. Even with serious problems, they live and often give much to their people,' Ayla said.
'I was raised by a man who was a great Mog-ur, that is the word the people of the Clan use for Zelandoni. He had only one usable arm and walked with a limp, a problem from birth, and he had only one eye and his weak arm was further damaged when a cave bear chose him and became his totem. He was a very wise man who served his people, and was very well respected. There is also a boy who lives not far from our Cave, who was born with a deformed arm. His mother was afraid that he would never be able to hunt, and perhaps never become a real man, but he learned to use the spear-thrower with his good arm, became a good hunter and gained respect, and now has a fine young woman as his mate.
'When a child is born dead, or leaves this world and walks the next soon after birth, it is because the only way a person who is not born right can be fixed is to return to the Mother, so She takes them back. Although it is much easier to say than to do, one should not grieve for such children, the Mother has taken them back so they can be made right.'
Ayla reached into a haversack she wore over one shoulder and took out a small bowl with a lid. She opened it and held up the two-headed snake. There were startled
'But sometimes someone is born wrong, and it is not obvious. When you look at them they seem normal, but they are not right inside. Just like this little snake, the only way they can be fixed is to return them to the Mother. Only She can fix them.'
Balderan and his men were also listening to Ayla's story. 'We're going to have to watch for our chance soon, if we're going to get away from here,' Balderan said, under his breath. He had no desire to be returned to the Mother. For the first time in his life he began to feel the fear he had so often caused others to feel.
'I think that was a very appropriate way to talk about what needs to be done,' Zelandoni First said as she was walking back to the zelandonia pavilion, along with the First, Ayla, and Jonokol. Wolf was sedately following Ayla, as she had signalled. She wanted people to know that while he was an efficient four-legged hunter, unlike Balderan, he was not an indiscriminate killer. 'It will help people accept it if they can think about sending Balderan back to the Mother to be made right. What made you think of it?'
'I don't know,' Ayla said, 'but when I saw the dwarfed young man who came with Beladora's people, I knew that there was no medicine that could help him to grow into a normal size, at least none that I knew of. Then that little snake made me understand that there are some things only the Mother could fix, if not in this world, then perhaps in the next.'
'Have you met the young man?' Zelandoni First asked.
'No, not yet.'
'Nor have I,' the First said.
'Then let's do it now.'
The three women and the man walked toward the Giornadonii campsite. They stopped off at the Ninth Cave's camp and picked up Jondalar and Jonayla, and Willamar, the only ones who happened to be there. Beladora and Kimeran were at the camp with their children. Ayla wondered if Beladora's mother would succeed in persuading them to return with her and staying for a year. She couldn't blame her for trying, as she wanted to get to know her grandchildren, but Kimeran was the leader of the Second Cave.
The friends greeted each other with cheek rubs and then they went through a series of formal introductions to Beladora's mother, the leader of the Cave, and a few others. Then the young man came forward.
'I wanted to meet you,' he said to Ayla. 'I liked what you said about the snake and some of the people you know.'
'I'm pleased that you did,' Ayla said, then bent down and took both of his small, oddly shaped hands in hers. His arms were also too short and his legs. His head seemed almost too big for him. 'I am Ayla of the Ninth Cave of the Zelandonii, Mated to Jondalar, Master Flint-Knapper of the Ninth Cave of the Zelandonii, and Mother of Jonayla, Blessed of Doni, and I am Acolyte to the First Among Those Who Serve The Great Earth Mother. I was formerly of the Lion Camp of the Mamutoi, who live far to the east. I was adopted by the Mamut to be Daughter of the Mammoth Hearth, Chosen by the spirit of the Cave Lion, Protected by the Cave Bear, Friend of the Horses; Whinney, Racer, and Grey, and the four-legged hunter, Wolf.'
'I am Romitolo of the Sixth Cave of the Giornadonii,' he said in slightly accented Zelandonii. He was fluent in both languages. 'I greet you Ayla of the Ninth Cave of the Zelandonii. You have a lot of unusual ties. Perhaps you could explain them to me sometime,' he said. 'But first, I would like to ask you a question.'
'By all means,' Ayla said, noticing that he seemed to feel no need to recite all his names and ties. Well, he was unique enough, she thought. He seems young, yet ageless.
'What are you going to do with the little snake?' Romitolo asked. 'Are you going to send him back to the Mother?'
'I don't think so. I think the Mother will take him when she's ready for him.'
'You have horses and a wolf — would you let me have the little snake? I will take care of him.'
Ayla paused for a while, then said, 'I wasn't sure what to do with him, but I think that's a good idea, if it's all right with your leader. Some people fear snakes, even those that are not poisonous. You will have to learn what to feed him. I may be able to help you.' She reached into her carrying sack and pulled out the woven bowl with the lid bowl tied on and gave it to Romitolo. Wolf was leaning against her leg and whining slightly. 'Would you like to meet the wolf? He won't hurt you. When he was growing up, he grew to love a boy who had some problems. I think you remind Wolf of him.'
'Where is the boy now?' Romitolo asked.
'Rydag was very weak. He walks the next world now,' Ayla said.
'I am getting weaker. I think I will walk the next world soon,' Romitolo said. 'Now I will think of it as returning to the Mother.'
She didn't deny his assertion. He probably knew himself and his body better than anyone. 'I am a medicine woman and was able to help Rydag be more comfortable. Can you tell me where you feel bad? I may be able to help you,' Ayla said.
'We have a good healer and he has probably done everything that can be done. He gives me medicine to help the pain when I need it. I think I'll be ready to go back to the Great Mother when the time comes,' Romitolo said, then changed the subject. 'How can I meet your wolf? What do I have to do?'
'Just let him sniff you, and maybe lick your hand. You can pat him, if you like, and feel his fur. He's very gentle
