Free ICE BURIAL: The Oldest Human Murder Mystery (The Mother People Series Book 3) by Joan Dahr Lambert

thought, and a moment later knew she was right. Her eyes still holding Zena ’s , the woman raised a hand and traced spirals in the air. It was the sign for wisdom for the Mother People, the ever-expanding wisdom that came to them from the Goddess. The gesture was so quick no one would have seen it unless they were watching closely. The next instant, the woman was gone.

 
    CHAPTER FIVE
    S adness enveloped Zena . Th at woman , perhaps the whole village, must once have worshipped the Goddess. They had been Mother People and now they were not. That was why Mara had known her name, known the symbols.
    She sighed heavily, too weary suddenly to absorb the information or even to make an effort to rise from the ground. The ceremony had been an exhausting experience, one she would n ever forget.
    Beside her, Durak pulled himself to his feet and extended a hand. Zena clasped it gratefully, glad of his touch. It reminded her that others like her existed, who did not follow the tyrannical ways of the Great Spirit, ways that seemed to her to speak more of fear and malice than of love and compassion.
    The woman who had brought them to the clearing came then to show them the hut that had been prepared for them to use while they were here. They followed her gladly, happy to have a chance to rest and to ta lk among themselves.
    “ The Leader is indeed persuasive, ” Durak remarked as they gathered just outside the hut where the sun would warm them . “ I can see why so many people follow him. W hat he says sounds wrong in many ways, though it seems so right when he speaks. ”
    “ I thought there was truth in some of what he said, ” Hular countered. There was a look of awe on his face.
    “ There certainly is not! ” exclaimed Sorlin indignantly . “ Did you hear what he said about women? How they should submit and obey? ”
    Lief listened with interest . Sorlin was a practical young woman , not easily fooled . The Leader had been unable to impress her , but Hular, who seemed more susceptible to persuasion , had found the Leader’s messages convincing. So would many others, he thought grimly. Especially men.
    He looked intently at Zena, wondering what she thought. Zena surprised him - and herself - by asking first. “ And what of you, Lief, ” she said suddenly . “What do you think of the Leader? ”
    “ I think that his words bind people ’s thoughts as surely as a hemp rope might bind their bodies, ” he replied promptly, recalling his thoughts as he traveled. “ Whether he speaks truth – and I do not think he does – matters less than the invisible web his words weave. ”
    The others looked at him with respect but he was not sure they understood what he meant. For a moment he wished he had not spoken. Perhaps Zena would not understand either. In another moment, he knew she had.
    “ Like a spider ’s web, ” she murmured, looking up at him. “S o fragile and hard to see, yet so strong. ” He nodded, unable to look away. Their eyes held for a long moment.
    “ Except I do not think the web he weaves is real, ” Lief went on slowly, still holding her eyes. “ Everything about the ceremony was u nreal in a way I c annot understand . It is as if some other reality waits just behind the illusion he creates, only I do not know what it is. ”
    Zena frowned, trying to imagine what that other reality might be , but the idea kept sliding away from her . She thought she knew what he was trying to say , but it was so hard to see through the web of fantasy the Leader had created .
    “ Nor do I, ” she answered finally. “ Nor do I. ”
    “S he is very beautiful, ” Durak said abruptly , interrupting their musings. They followed his gaze and saw that he was staring at a young woman walking past the ir hut . “ I wonder what she is called? ”
    “ Why n ot ask her? ” Sorlin teased. Despite his confidence in other areas, Durak was shy with women. This one had an almost child-like quality, as if she had never quite