Syndil signaled to Skyler to take her position at the corner of the immense bed of soil prepared for the two pregnant women. Natalya and Lara took the lower corners. A hush fell over the cave until the only
sound heard was Raven's labored breathing.
Syndil's arms rose into the air and the other three women followed suit. Her feet began a pattern of dancing, her body swaying gracefully as her hands flowed in elegant lines. Skyler waited several heartbeats, humming the melody in perfect tune with Syndil until her feet took up the rhythm and she started the first line of the chant two lines behind Syndil. Lara took her cue from Skyler, waiting instinctively until her feet and hands, of their own volition, began to move. She felt the song of healing rising from inside to burst out. The air shimmered with power. And then Natalya joined them.
Their voices rose in song and they danced an intricate pattern to the sound of their bare feet patting the dirt as if drawing music from the very center of the earth. Lara felt the song, felt the dance, through the soles of her feet. She knew each step before she took it, each graceful movement of her hand and sway of her body before she made it. The song was loud in her mind, in perfect harmony with the other three dancers, perfectly tuned to the notes of the earth itself.
Oh, Mother Nature, we are your beloved daughters. We dance to heal the earth. We sing to heal the earth. We join with you now. Our hearts and minds and spirits become one.
As she sang the song, this time it was right, the women merging into one unit with the earth, in accord with the sky above them and the hot core beneath them.
Oh, Mother Nature, we are your beloved daughters. We pay homage to our mother and call upon the North… Syndil bowed low and swept into a circle.South , Skyler repeated the move in perfect synchronization with Syndil.East . Lara dipped low, a sign of respect, spinning with the other two women as Natalya went next.West . All four women completed the fourth bow and turned at the exact same moment.Above and below and within as well .
Power burst through the chamber, alive now, visible threads linking all of the women in the room, drawing on their energy.
Our love of the land heals that which is in need. We join with you now, earth to earth. The cycle of life is complete.
The soil warmed beneath their feet. Raven and Savannah gasped as the wave of heat washed over them. The color of the soil darkened even more into a rich, fertile black, sparkling with minerals.
Lara felt the joy of the earth through the soles of her bare feet, moving up through her legs to infuse her body with strength and happiness. As part of a cosmic whole she was one with the women, one with the universe and had a complete feeling of confidence and accord. For that one moment in time, she had no fears, no vulnerabilities, part of a greater whole. She was flooded with almost a euphoric feeling of well-being, transcended by the energy and peace surrounding her.
The dancers stopped swaying and the women buried their hands in the richness of the fertile soil, far more valuable to them then the richest gold mine. They all should have been drained and weary, but the soil infused them with energy.
Syndil's face reflected the joy Lara was feeling, her eyes shining with wonder.
«This is what our soil should be for our women,» Syndil said. «And with four of us, we can do so much now.»
«I feel a difference already,» Savannah said, relieved. «My cramps are far less.»
Raven bit her lip and shook her head. «It isn't helping me. The contractions are getting stronger.» Despair was in her voice.
Lara, one with the other women, reached to connect with the child. Fear swamped her mind, pain followed. She had the sensation of being torn from her safe haven. She choked back a ragged cry. The little boy was conscious of what was happening to him and he kept reaching out to his mother.
Raven tried to shield him from the pain and the continual battering on his tiny body. More than the physical assault against him, Lara felt the subtle flow of something else. She frowned, glanced at Natalya and then the others to see if they caught it as well. They were all caught in the same fear and grief of losing the child.
Lara touched her tongue to her suddenly dry lips, reaching instinctively for Nicolas. At once he was there, his warmth surrounding her, his strength giving her confidence. Steadied, she took a breath and let it out, trying to follow the thread of dark influence working against both child and mother. Before she could find the source, the child slipped farther away.
Raven began to cry, deep wrenching sobs that tore at Lara's heart. «I can't lose another child. He's too tiny to send into the next life without a mother. I have to go with him.»
A collective gasp went up and the women visibly paled.
«You cannot,» Shea stated. «Absolutely not.»
«Mother,» Savannah protested.
«Raven,» Francesca's voice was the sound of calm. «If you choose to follow your son, Mikhail will follow you into the next world. Our people need both of you. You are distraught and not thinking straight.»
Raven continued to weep brokenly. Shea sank down into the soil beside her, wrapping her arms around her while Savannah clasped her hand.
«I don't understand what that means, that Mikhail will follow her,» Lara whispered to Natalya.
«Lifemates cannot exist without one another. If Raven chooses the next life with her child, Mikhail will have no choice but to follow, or he will turn vampire. This cannot be a choice for Raven, especially with Mikhail. He is our leader. Unless Savannah could take his place, our enemies have won and our species will be extinct.»
Lara went very still, fingers of fear trickling down her spine. Nicolas could have turned vampire. She had left the world by her own choice, never fully understanding the dire consequences to him or to the people around him. He had never said a word to her, not one word of recrimination. Nicolas was an experienced hunter. Had he turned, he would have killed many before he was destroyed.
She scooped more of the rich soil into her fists as she looked at Raven's tear-streaked face. «You cannot take the chance with your lifemate's life.» As she had done. Selfishly, without thought of the consequences to anyone else.
Looking around the chamber at the women gathered together to heal the earth and to save the lives of
three children, she realized that each person was valuable in their own way, that each contributed to the greater good. She was part of the circle of life just as Nicolas was, just as Raven and the unborn children were. Each of them was special and important and had a contribution to make. Maybe none of them knew what it was, but they had to revere life-fight for it-count each individual as important.
«Raven, you're needed here by so many,» she murmured aloud, understanding for the first time that individuals made up the whole. «We would all be diminished by your passing.»
«I need you,» Savannah said, gripping her mother's arm. «I need you with me. I'm your daughter. If you only have me, aren't I worth staying here for?» She looked panic-stricken, very white in contrast to the black soil. «Mom, you can't leave me.»
«I know. I know.» Raven put her arms around her daughter. «I just can't bear losing another child. He's so tiny and he wants to live. He's so far away.»
Francesca caught her arms, gave her a little shake. «Raven, look at me.» She waited until Raven focused on her. «You re panicking. You have to be calm so he can stay calm. You have to believe we can save him so he'll believe it.»