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Call of the Moon
By Ronda Thompson
Dorchester Publishing
Copyright © 2004
Ronda ThompsonAll right reserved.
ISBN: 0-505-52515-1
Chapter One
The Legend ...
All became quiet around Jason. Tala stood in the center of the
cavern. Flaming torches were mounted along the walls, and a
fire burned in a pit at the room's center. The soft light
silhouetted her slim form, cast her shadow long against one
wall. God, she was beautiful, he thought. The soft buckskin
dress hugged her lush curves. Her hair hung down her shoulders
like black silk. She was a mixture of innocence and
sensuality. Irresistible.
Her head had been slightly bowed, now she glanced up, her gaze
moving over her tribal members before it came to rest upon
him. "A time long ago, when the Tribes Of All People first
roamed the land, Father Sun forsook his mate, Mother Earth,
and left her for another. Without Father Sun's love, Mother
Earth grew bitter and cold. All that sprang from her union
with Father Sun began to disappear. The trees died, the rivers
froze, and darkness fell over the land. The Tribes Of All
People began to die, as well. They could not stay warm against
Mother Earth's chill. They could not find food to eat, or wood
to burn for fires. They forgot about their petty wars with one
another, and all joined together, appealing to Mother Earth's
mercy."
Tala walked a line of those listening, pausing before Jason.
"Mother Earth heardtheir wails of hunger, carried to her by
the sacred North wind. She looked into her empty heart, and
found a small place that still lived. In her mercy, Mother
Earth granted the Tribes Of All People a special wish to help
them survive the destruction her broken heart had wrought upon
the land. She told them to choose a few among them, and she
would make them into whatever animal would most serve their
needs."
The fringe on her bottom of her dress made a soft swishing
noise against the rock floor when Tala paced before her
audience. "The Tribes Of All People thought long and hard
about their decision. They argued among themselves. Some said
the mighty mountain cat should be their choice, others, the
deadly badger. But when the decision was made, all agreed that
the wisest choice would be the wolf. The wolf was a respected
hunter. The wolf hunted for the pack, and not for itself. The
wolf taught and cared for its young. The wolf fed those in the
pack too old to feed themselves. The wolf protected the pack
from intruders. The wolf lived a life almost parallel to their
own."
Jason felt a prickle of unease, but found himself enraptured
by Tala's voice, by the melody of her words. He wondered if
her people had trouble following along since she told the
story in English for his benefit. Jason also felt that Haidar
had chosen this particular legend for his benefit, as well.
Tala's voice recaptured his attention.
"The Tribes Of All People then chose a group of its most
seasoned warriors, and the same number of its strongest women,
and placed them inside a circle. The People chanted for Mother
Earth to keep her promise and change those chosen into wolves.
But they asked for more. Afraid the ones chosen would not
remember the human within them and recognize the tribe as
their pack, they asked Mother Earth to give those chosen the
power to become both wolf and human. Mother Earth warned The
People that no man or woman she changed could ever drink of
human blood, or eat of human flesh, or their human souls would
be lost.
"Mother Earth said that in order to give the rest of her
creatures still living a chance at survival, those chosen
could only change by the light of a full moon. The Tribes Of
All People agreed to Mother Earth's laws, and she granted them
their wish. The ones chosen were changed. By day, the chosen
were humans who helped with the duties of the tribe, but by
night, beneath a full moon, they shed their human skins and
became wolves. They hunted for the tribe, they protected them
against other animals, and soon, they became the tribe's most
valued ones."
Tala paused, Jason assumed for effect, before she began her
pacing again. "For many years, those who had been chosen
provided food for the tribe, pelts from the animals they had
killed to keep The People warm, and protection against
predators. They were treated like gods among the tribal
members, and all were happy to serve as Mother Earth intended.
But then, one day, the world changed again."
Tala's gaze moved over every face. He supposed the tribal
members had heard this story many times, but when he glanced
around him, the group looked as if they were hearing it for
the first time. He waited, like the others, for her to
continue.
"Father Sun came back to Mother Earth. He seduced her with the
warmth of his touch, the brightness of his smile, and he
melted her cold heart. Life returned to what it had once been.
Trees shot from the soil, rivers formed from ice that covered
the land. The Tribes Of All People could hunt again. They no
longer needed the thick pelts that had kept them warm against
Mother Earth's chill. Soon, they no longer needed the chosen
among them."
Bowing her head, as if saddened by the turn of the events,
Tala let her words sink in. Somewhere in the group, Jason
heard a woman weep softly. When the storyteller glanced up, he
saw tears shining in her dark eyes.
"Much returned to the way it had once been. The Tribes Of All
People began to war amongst themselves. They split into bands,
separate from one another. None wanted the ones chosen among
them. They were different. They were outcasts. Given little
choice, the outcasts formed their own band, but there were
those among them who were angered by The Tribes Of All People.
Angered by the sacrifices they had made in their behalf.
"The angry ones wanted to be treated as if they were special
again, but instead, they were sneered at, laughed at, forced
from contact with those whose lives they had saved. Some of
the chosen one's hearts turned bitter, and to punish The
Tribes Of All People, they began to hunt human prey. They ate
of human flesh, they drank of human blood, and they became the
beasts that Mother Earth had once warned The Tribes Of All
People against.
"The Tribes Of All People remembered their promise to Mother
Earth and they hunted the sica. But the evils ones had the
cunning of the wolf inside of them, and they spread their
curse among those who hunted them. The Tribes Of All People
came together once more. They begged the outcasts whose hearts
had remained pure, to help them kill the beasts. The pure of
heart agreed, and in exchange for their sacrifice, Mother
Earth blessed the ones chosen with special powers. She gave
them wings to fly, and the ability to become anything their
minds envisioned.
"But still the evil ones spread their curse, and grew in
numbers greater than those who hunted them. They lost their
human souls and were no longer ruled only by the moon, but by
the stars, as well. Mother Earth lifted the moon's power from
her warriors so that the evil one's did not hold an advantage.
But it was not enough. Many were slain by the evil ones, or
turned to the dark side. Only a handful of the former chosen
remained true to their cause, for Mother Earth had blessed
them with one thing greater than all of their powers combined.
She had not taken their human hearts, or the trials that came
with such a gift. She knew that some would falter upon their
paths, and some would lose their way, but Mother Earth did not
fear for her chosen warriors. It was the way of the world for
good to conquer evil, because evil had no heart, no spirit, no
wings to fly."
There was a short silence, then Tala walked away. The tribal
members began to whoop in appreciation of her story. Jason
clapped his hands and whistled, although doing so received
several baffled glances from those seated around him. Tala's
uncle leaned close.
"She is not so good of a storyteller, my niece," he said under
his breath. "She left out some parts of the story."
He wondered which parts. Jason also wondered why Tala left
when he saw her slip from the cavern. Although Jason had
enjoyed the sound of Tala's voice more than the story, he
understood the reason Haidar had chosen this particular
legend. It was to remind him that he was an outcast. The
leader didn't want him getting too comfortable among his
people, or too friendly with his younger sister.
Although Tala's story was only a legend, from what she'd told
him, what he'd seen with his own eyes, it was one that
followed the beliefs of her people closely. She called herself
the one chosen. She said she had powers, and he had seen some
of them. Because Tala had been born with some type of special
abilities, had her tribe placed her in the role of an outcast?
As a chosen one from their ancient legends?
The drums started again. Shadows moved against the rock walls
of the cavern as The People took up their dancing. Someone
snatched his hand and pulled him up into the circle of
dancers. Jason wanted time alone. Time to think. Tala's story
had started suspicions in his mind. He wanted to talk to
her-to tell her he was sorry if he hurt her earlier. Maybe to
discuss the injustices done to her by her own superstitious
people.
As he was prodded into a circle of dancers, Jason decided that
would have to wait for another time. Tonight, Tala's people
honored him for his courage. Tonight, he felt accepted again
for the first time in a long time. Tonight, he would dance,
because tomorrow, he would still be an outsider. Tala was not
the outcast. He was. She believed that she could save him
because of the silly teachings of a legend made up long ago. A
legend about the pure of heart. She couldn't help him. And if
she couldn't help him, Jason realized that it was time for him
to leave. Before he did, however, he would talk some
modern-day sense into her.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Call of the Moon
by Ronda Thompson
Copyright © 2004 by Ronda Thompson .
Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
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