Thunderer by Dan Davis

Author:Dan Davis [Davis, Dan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2021-02-23T22:00:00+00:00

22. Hunting

She was too hungry to stay away much longer and when she returned to the village she was relieved to find that the canoes were gone. The men were hunting and so she would not have to face Alef and the others.

While she ate the fish soup old Alara made for her she sat on her heels watching the others as they worked. Alara’s daughter At’ara had been born in the same year as Sif, just two moons apart, and yet she had a son stomping around and playing with the stack of hazel wands while At’ara sat weaving baskets with the others. And she noted that At’ara’s breasts had swelled since last she had seen her. Indeed, she could hardly avoid noticing, for At’ara sat in only her skirts despite the cold wind coming off the sea and Sif suspected the young mother was flaunting the fact that she would this year bear another child. No one knew who the father of the first child was, for At’ara had always enjoyed flaunting herself and inviting the hunters to lust after her but all suspected that Alef had fathered the child and it was likely then that their rutting had resulted in another now growing inside At’ara.

It annoyed Sif to see her sitting there so proudly, her nipples hard from the cold and dark against the skin still pale from winter. Not because Sif wanted it for herself but because her flaunting was so petty. Since they had been children, At’ara had always seen herself as living in a kind of competition with Sif, with Alef as the prize, and what was worse was that At’ara always seemed to think she was winning it. Leaning forward and stretching out to reach a distant stick for her basket, At’ara turned suddenly, her bright blue eyes flashing as they locked with hers.

Sif looked away but not before she had seen the triumphant expression.

“Thank you for the herring,” Sif said to old Alara as she got to her feet.

“Now you have eaten,” Alara said without looking up from her work, “you should know the chief needs healing again.”

“So soon?”

“Is it soon?” Alara asked mildly. “Where have you been, girl?”

“Looking for Zani.”

“You find her?”

“Not yet.”

“That man of yours has been looking for you?”

“Alef?”

Alara snorted a laugh. “Satara.”

“He’s no man of mine,” Sif snapped and turned on her heel to stomp up the beach, through the dunes and into the village.

Satara is looking for me, is he? Because he wants to join with me? Or because he means to murder me, too? I will not be caught out like Sama was. I shall not sleep here tonight, she promised herself. It will not be safe here until I find a way to deal with Satara.

At the chief’s house she stood outside the doorway listening and took a moment to calm herself as it would not do to bring bad spirits into the house with her lest they do great harm to the chief. Once she was cleansed she ducked inside, pushing back the leather door covering.

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