Star of Daylight (Book Two of the Viking Series)

CHAPTER NINE - Night Moon

A/N: She spoke and I had to listen. I had no intention of doing Night Moon's POV, but she decided that it would not work without her lol...so, here are Night Moon's experiences.

Looking into his eyes from that distance was like a pressure building up inside me. I felt the spirit of my heart leave my body. The child within me leapt as that same heart caught and tore in two. I reached out to him, and Raging Bear’s face turned to stone. As we drifted further and further away from land, I heard Star of Daylight. screaming, but I could not understand what she was saying. I could only hear the rage and fear in her voice.

The man who took me from the beach only laughed at her words and hollered back in that same strange tongue. I should have had Sister or Raging Bear teach me. The Spirits knew that there had been enough time in the last three years, and still, I had only learned a few words. The man called her Kata, as if she had never become Star of Daylight, and I realized just who he was. Cold fear sliced its way down my spine. My swollen belly clenched tightly and for a moment I feared the baby would come, but he settled down immediately after. The pain I was feeling in my heart seemed to alarm him.  It was as if he knew what was happening outside of his world.

I knew even then that he would be a boy.  He would have to be brave to endure the world that lay before us. Despair caught me in its stealthy hands as I worried for my child. Star of Daylight had told me how evil her brother was. My heart pounding, I looked back at the shore just as she yelled, “I will come for you, Sister!” I raised my hand and splayed my fingers, as we sometimes did when we were being silly girls together. I watched until they became invisible to my eye, and the man, Vander, kept his own vigil.

Suddenly, he became aware of me again. He moved from the side of the boat in my direction. Slowly, and with this gleeful, evil smile, he circled me. A leer broadening his handsome, bearded face, he looked me up and down. With a smirk of distaste, he spoke to me in those strange words. I met his blue eyes, and I could see the pleasure he was gaining from his thoughts as he went round and round me.

I knew that other people were there, but I was riveted. I could almost read his thoughts, and anger welled up within me. With all the defiance I could muster, I glared back at him. Surprise flashed across his features, but it quickly changed to relish. I could see that my spirit tempted him. He made to come at me, but this old woman put her hand in front of him and said something sharply to him. He seemed to contemplate her words, and to my surprise, he turned away from me and strode to where he had stationed himself before. He looked angry.

The old woman put her hand on my shoulder, and I turned to her fearfully, but she only nodded her head and whispered softly, “Kata,” before walking away herself. I looked after her, wondering what she meant. Her words filled me with a quiet hope. Sister and Raging Bear would not leave me to my fate, and Running Deer would follow her anywhere. I knew they would come for me.  I just prayed it was before the baby was born.  

Star of Daylight had crossed this great water once before. She knew what to look for to guide her on her way. She took her responsibilities as my sister very seriously and was a good provider for myself and He Who Cries. We were sisters of the heart. I was certain she would move mountains to bring me back home safely.

Thoughts of He Who Cries brought tears to my eyes. They stung with the strength of the emotions that flowed through me. I could feel panic well up within me. Taking several deep breaths, my chest heaving and my back beginning to ache fiercely, I tried to calm myself. I would not give Vander the satisfaction of seeing my fear. I could sense that he would love the challenge of my stubbornness, and yet I could not allow myself to fall into a melancholy from which I would not recover. I had to keep my wits about me, and my heart in check.