The Plains of Passage - Jean M. Auel [296]
“There are things I must do for my contribution to your feast. We will be back tomorrow,” Ayla said. Then she added, “Jondalar still needs his outer fur, Attaroa. Of course, he will return the ‘cloak’ he was wearing.”
The woman pulled the parka up over her head and gave it to the man. He smelled her female scent when he pulled it on, but he appreciated the warmth. Attaroa’s smile was pure evil as she stood in the cold in her thin inner garment.
“And the rest of his things?” Ayla reminded her.
Attaroa glanced at the entrance to her lodge and motioned to the woman who had been standing there for some time. Epadoa quickly brought Jondalar’s gear and put it on the ground some feet away from him. She was not happy about returning his things. Attaroa had promised some of them to her. She had particularly wanted the knife. She had never seen one so beautifully made.
Jondalar tied on his belt, then put his tools and implements in their places, hardly believing he had everything back. He had doubted if he’d ever see them again. For that matter, he had doubted that he’d ever leave alive. Then, to everyone’s surprise, he leaped up behind the woman on the horse. This was one Camp he would be glad to see the last of. Ayla scanned the area, making sure no one was in a position to try to prevent them from leaving, or to cast a spear after them. Then she turned Whinney and left at a gallop.
“Follow them! I want them back. They aren’t getting away that easily,” Attaroa snarled to Epadoa, as she stomped into her lodge in a hot rage, shivering with cold.
Ayla kept Whinney at a fast pace until they were some distance away and heading down the hill. They slowed when they entered a wooded stretch at the bottom, near the river, then doubled back in the direction they had come, toward her camp, which was actually quite close to the S’Armunai settlement. Once they settled into a more steady pace, Jondalar became aware of Ayla’s closeness, and he felt such an overwhelming gratitude to be with her again that it almost took his breath away He put his arms around her waist and held her, feeling her hair on his cheek and breathing in her unique warm woman-scent.
“You’re here, with me. It’s so hard to believe. I was afraid you were gone, walking in the next world,” he said softly. “I’m so grateful to have you back, I don’t know what to say.”
“I love you so much, Jondalar,” she replied. She leaned back, pressing herself even more into his arms, feeling such a relief to be with him again. Her love for him welled up and filled her to overflowing. “I found a bloodstain, and all the while I was following your trail, trying to find you, I never knew if you were alive or dead. When I realized they were carrying you, I thought you must be alive, but hurt bad enough that you couldn’t walk. I was so worried, but the trail was not easy to follow, and I knew I was falling behind. Attaroa’s hunters can travel very fast, for being on foot, and they knew the way.”
“You got here just in time. It’s a good thing you arrived when you did. A little later and it would have been too late,” Jondalar said.
“I didn’t just get here.”
“You didn’t? When did you arrive?”
“I came right after the second load of horsemeat. I was ahead of both of them at first, but the ones carrying the first load caught up with me at the river crossing. It was lucky that I saw two women going to meet them. I found a place to hide and waited for them to go past me, and followed them, but the hunters with the second load of meat were closer than I knew. I think they might have seen me, at least from a distance. I was riding at the time, and I rode away from the trail fast. Later I went back and followed again, but I was more careful, in case there was a third load.”
“That would explain the ‘commotion’ Ardemun was talking about. He didn’t know what it was, he just knew everyone was nervous and talking after they brought in the second load. But if you’ve been here, why did you wait so long to get me out