Clan Ground (The Second Book of the Named) Read Free Page B

and scratches from the frenzied Firekeepers.
    Ratha felt sick and ashamed. Driving him away or giving him an honorable death would have been better than unleashing the torchbearers on him. He would have died last night had I not seen the light in his eyes . Why didn’t you die, she thought at him sulkily. Then I wouldn’t have to bother with you.
    She caught the scent of medicinal herbs and knew that Thakur had applied a chewed-leaf poultice to the Un-Named One’s burns. They probably looked and smelled better than they would have otherwise. Thank you for showing him some kindness, Thakur. She looked at the herding teacher and felt her gaze soften.
    “Lie down if you want,” she said to the Un-Named One. He dropped his hindquarters, but the rest of him remained upright. Ratha felt irritation creeping up on her again. She pressed her tail under one hind foot to keep it from wagging. Every look and move the stranger made seemed softly defiant. Inside that starvation-ravaged carcass, she could see the build of a powerful young male, and she found herself wondering what sort of opponent he would be at his full strength.
    “Do you still wish to join us?” she asked.
    “Orange-Eyes came to join clan. Is all Orange-Eyes wants, leader.”
    “Here in the clan we use names when we speak to each other. You know Thakur. I am Ratha. You will also be given a clan name if you stay with us.”
    “Will take clan name and learn clan ways, Ratha-leader.” The silvercoat flinched at his mistake and added, “Is not ‘Ratha-leader’ but ‘Ratha,’ yes?”
    She relaxed. He was trying to please. Perhaps his defiance was all in her own mind.
    “Yes.” She took her foot off her tail.
    “I’ll take him to the meadow with me and he can watch while I teach the cubs,” Thakur offered. He turned to the Un-Named One. “Do you feel strong enough?”
    “Legs still ...,” the other said, groping for a word. He raised a paw and flailed it, giving Ratha a rueful grin.
    “Shaky,” Thakur supplied.
    “Legs still shaky, but belly much better. Not learning bad for Un-Named One, yes?”
    “Yes, you do seem to be learning quickly,” Ratha agreed. “All right, Thakur. Take him with you. If you want more leaves for his burns, I found a new patch by the stream near the meadow trail.”
    “Good. I’ve nearly stripped my old one bare.”
    Something small and active jumped from the Un-Named One’s pelt and landed near Ratha’s foot. She hopped away as he scratched himself.
    “I suggest, Thakur, that you make him roll in the fleabane before you do anything else, or we’ll all be scratching.”
     
    During the next few days, curiosity nagged at Ratha despite her trust in the herding teacher. It was too soon to tell how Orange-Eyes would take to life among the Named. Thakur did say that his strength was coming back and he displayed a sharp interest in the teaching sessions, but as the days went by, she itched to see for herself.
    Meetings with the Firekeepers and minor disputes over whose den was dug too close to whose kept Ratha busy. This morning she decided to creep away before anyone else could find her.
    The day was bright and hot. Sun and shade dappled the trail through the broken forest to the meadow. Birds flew from oak to scrub thorn, dipping so low over the trail they nearly brushed her back. When she reached the meadow, she made her way through the dry grass, craning her neck to peer above the waving stems and spot the herd. There it was; a small flock of three-horns and dapplebacks that the herding teacher had taken from the larger herd in order to exercise his students.
    Thakur and the yearling cubs stood together on one side of the flock. The youngsters gathered around him, their ears cocked, their spotted rumps squashed together, their short tails lifted. He was explaining something; she could hear the rise and fall of his voice, but couldn’t understand what he was saying. The cubs seemed attentive. No. Wait. Wasn’t one