The valley of horses_ a novel - Jean M. Auel [299]
They rode for some time before Jondalar spoke. “He was a favorite of the Mother. She wanted him back.”
They went a little farther, and then he asked, “What was that gesture you made?”
“I was asking the Great Cave Bear to protect him on his journey, to wish him luck. It means ‘walk with Ursus.’ ”
“Ayla, I didn’t appreciate it when you told me. I do now. I am grateful to you for burying him, and for asking the Clan totems to help him. I think that, because of you, he will find his way in the spirit world.”
“You said he was brave. I don’t think the brave need help to find their way. It would be an exciting adventure for those who are fearless.”
“He was brave, and he loved adventure. He was so full of life—as though he were trying to live it all at once. I would not have made this Journey if it hadn’t been for him.” His arms were around Ayla as they rode double. He tightened them, pulling her closer. “And I would not have found you.
“That’s what the Shamud meant by saying it was my destiny! ‘He leads where you would not otherwise go,’ were the words. Thonolan led me to you … and then followed his love to the next world, I didn’t want him to go, but I can understand him now.”
As they continued west, the broken land gave way to flat open steppes again, crossed by the rivers and streams of runoff from the great northern glacier. The waterways cut through occasional high-walled canyons and meandered down gently sloping valleys. The few trees that graced the steppes were dwarfed by their struggle to live, even alongside the waters that fed their roots, and their shapes were tortured, as though frozen in the act of bending away from a violent gust.
They kept to the valleys when they could, for shelter from the wind, and for wood. Only there, protected, did birch, willow, pine, and larch grow in any abundance. The same was not true for animals. The steppes were a massive reserve of wildlife. With their new weapon, the man and woman hunted at will, whenever they wanted fresh meat, and they often left the remains of their kills for other predators and scavengers.
They had been traveling for half a moon’s cycle of phases when a day dawned hot and unusually still. They had walked most of the morning, and they mounted when they saw a rise in the distance with a hint of green. Jondalar, prodded by Ayla’s warmth and closeness, had worked his hand under her tunic to fondle her. They topped the hill and looked down at a pleasant valley watered by a large river. They reached the water when the sun was high.
“Should we go north or south, Jondalar?”
“Let’s not do either. Let’s make camp,” he said.
She started to object, only because she was not accustomed to stopping so early for no reason. Then, when Jondalar nibbled at her neck and gently squeezed her nipple, she decided they had no reason to go on, and more than enough to stop.
“All right, let’s make camp,” she said. She threw a leg over and slid down. He dismounted and helped her remove the pack baskets from Whinney, so the horse could rest and graze. Then he took her in his arms and kissed her, reaching under her tunic again.
“Why don’t you let me take it off,” she said.
He smiled while she pulled the tunic over her head and undid the waist tie of the lower garment and stepped out of it. He pulled his tunic over his head, then heard her giggle. When he looked up, she was gone. She laughed again, then jumped into the river.
“I decided to go swimming,” she said.
He grinned, took off his trousers, and followed her in. The river was deep and cold and the current swift, but she was swimming upstream so hard that he had difficulty catching up with her. He grabbed her and, treading water, kissed her. She ducked out of his arms and raced for the shore, laughing.
He went after her, but, by the time he reached the shore, she had raced up the valley. He took off after her, and, just as he reached her, she dodged away again. He chased her again, putting forth all his effort, and finally caught her around the waist.
“You’re not getting away this time, woman,” he said, pulling