Amanda woke stiff and sore. Connor was out next to her, both of them curled up in the side of the boat. Amanda set up, her elbow aching from laying on the cold metal bottom.
It was still dark. It must be close to morning, she thought. Johan was now steering their boat with Sofia resting next to him, her head in his lap. Johann has switched from mead to coffee after his celebratory toast and was still sipping a cup with his free hand while he watched the river.
Ahead of them Amanda could barely make out the second boat, Courtney at the bow. Around them the trees were thick and it looked more like a Louisiana bayou now than southern Missouri. Trunks stuck out of the water in places and she thought it must be shallow here. The water was sluggish and Amanda couldn't tell if they were going up or downstream, but she suspected they had passed back up stream and were close to the conclave. Or at least, her aching body hoped that was the case.
Birds began chirping and Amanda thought the darkness was slowly lessening. Connor sat up next to her, stretching as best he could. So did Jonathan up in front of them.
"Is there food?" Connor asked, helping himself to the basket. "I'm famished."
"There should be breakfast in there. It's not much, but we are close," Johan said.
Amanda, Connor and Jonathan all looked at Tanner. He was curled up near the front of the boat, snoring. "That's a first," Amanda muttered and the three of them shared a laugh as they sorted through the basket.
The boat rocked slightly as a dark black form rose out of the water, clinging to the side. The otter looked at them uncertainly and then climbed in.
Amanda looked to Johann as if to ask if this was an otter, or a shifter. "Ghost," was his answer.
She looked back to find a tall thin man perched on the edge of the boat, regarding her, his eyes intent and curious. She wasn't sure how to deal with his stare. So she found a piece of smoked fish and offered it to him. "Hungry?"
He took the fish without saying anything and sniffed it.
"Ghost, what do you say?" Johann prompted.
"Thank you, Amanda," the man said.
Startled, Amanda looked back and forth between Ghost and Johann. How did he know her name? She opened her mouth to ask but he had transformed back to an otter. His prize clutched in his mouth, he slid into the water and swam away.
"Daft bastard," Sofia said sleepily. "Don't mind him. He's not right."
Johan called out to the boat ahead to slow down. He pulled past. They were mostly awake as well, Courtney, Jay, Erica, Myrna and Brianna all staring at them as they went passed. "Nearly there," Johann said with a yawn. "I should lead the way."
He led them forward another couple miles, the fog growing dense around them again, dawn's light filtering through and making the world gray. Johan turned into the current suddenly, heading for the bank. The boat slid between two huge trunks. Just when Amanda expected to hit the bank, ground reared up on either side and they slid through a narrow canal into a wide, shallow lake.
On the far edge of the lake the land rose up out of the fog. Numerous boats, ranging from rowboats, fishing boats, canoes and flat bottomed skiffs, lined the banks. There was a wooden village of sorts higher up the bank, tiny cottages in a circle around a longhouse. Amanda's breath hitched. It seemed a magical place, something out of an old saga.
A man was sitting on a stump near the shore, waiting for them. Up closer to the village a few people were moving about but mostly the village was still asleep.
As they reached the shore, Amanda recognized Courtney's father, Michael. He rose and came down to meet them. Johann steered them right up the muddy bank. Connor reached over and shook Tanner awake. Tanner stumbled out of the front of the boat sleepily and pulled it further up the shore.
They all gathered on the bank. Amanda watched as Courtney climbed out of her boat and Michael approached.
"Dad," she started hesitantly.
He held his arms out and she rushed into his hug.
"I'm sorry," she sobbed on his shoulder.
"No," he corrected, petting her head, "I'm sorry. I've been so scared. It was stupid. I love you. I should have been there for you, not pushed you away."
Amanda felt an arm on her shoulder and then Eva's head as she watched the two make peace. Amanda smiled and lay her head against Eva's.
Michael led them up to the village and to a group of cabins to one side. There was a small welcoming party waiting with breakfast, including Courtney's mother, Eva's parents and a handful of others. They had breakfast set and for a moment it felt easy, natural, like the problems of the summer had been forgotten and they were simply young adults enjoying life.
After his tearful reunion with Courtney, Michael disappeared for some time. When he returned his face was grave. "We must go to the Matriarch. As good as it is to see you, your welcome here is not certain."
"They must see," Eva insisted rising. Amanda marvelled that she watched Eva. In one moment she was still so much like Jay, in the next she moved with purpose and inner strength that she seemed like a entirely new person.
They all rose and headed for the long hall. Others were heading there as well, whether for some planned meeting or because they'd heard about the new arrivals, Amanda couldn't tell. Among them she caught many suspicious or curious looks. They fixed on Amanda, as though they recognized her specifically out of the whole. What had Jay said about her all these years?
The otter Matriarch was a short woman with dark hair and eyes so brown they looked like polished wood. She looked to be in her late sixties, her face weathered and wrinkled but her posture still strong as she watched them walk into the main hall.
Mistress Jarvinen sat the head of a long table with her mate at her side. Along the edge of the hall were lines of benches, rising towards the back like pews of an old fashioned church. Already many were filled. Amanda saw Ghost in the corner, watching her cautiously. He wore a faded kilt and shirt over his lean frame. His eyes were sympathetic, soft.
Not so Mistress Jarvinen. She met Amanda's eyes only once, with a look of pain and sorrow that made Amanda gasp to see it. Then she looked away and her face hardened.
"Why have you come here?" she demanded of Eva.
"Mistress," she replied. "These wolves are in danger, and it's a danger we all share. We must help them."
"Mistress," Michael put in as he stood next to his daughter in law. "I had reservations in the past. But I agree. This is no simple disagreement among their kind, but a conflict that will effect all shifters. If we ignore their plight now, we may well regret this later."
Connor licked his lips and bowed. "Mistress. We Leidulf's have the deepest respect for otter clan."
"Ha," the Matriarch replied. "You had no idea we existed until those two befriended you."
"And yet we've grown to respect them, and you," Connor went on. "We've learned more at the council. More perhaps then the Sons of Garm meant to reveal." He glance at Amanda for a second. "One of their number, Haltir, revealed that it's more than dominance of wolf tribes that Fenrir wants. They would dominate all the clans, destroy the bear clan and..."
"Bring about Ragnarock?" the Mistress said. "We know this prophecy."
"And surely we would not see it fulfilled," Micheal put in.
"It's not their presence I object to," the Matriarch replied, her lips tight. "But you would bring Burnson's daughter here?"
Amanda felt light headed at the mention of her father. Eva turned and gave her a surprised look, she apparently had no clue how Amanda's father was known here.
"It was so long ago," Michael said quietly. "Surely we can't hold the daughter to blame for what the father did."
Amanda was staring around the hall, trying desperately to figure out what exactly her father had done.
"She had a mother, too." It was Jacob Jarvinen, the Matriarch's mate. She gave him a sharp look, a clear warning. "No," he said to the look. He slapped the table for emphasis. "No! I've not spoken her name for twenty years for fear of what you'd do. For fear you'd fall heartsick, like..." he trailed off but many eyes went Ghost. He looked down, not meeting any of them. "But it's time you admit the truth, Marie." He grasped her hands. She looked away, unwilling to meet his gaze. "I'm sorry. She left of her own accord. You know it. Whatever anger you have, whatever blame, it falls to her. Curse Melanie's memory if you must but don't turn your back on our only granddaughter."
Amanda's world was spinning. She saw her mother, her sleek black hair, her slender form as she danced around the cabin with Amanda's father. Two people so in love, but so unlike. He big, hairy and broad, her small and slender. She saw her mother the night of the fire, telling her to run, an orange glow at her back.
"Melanie Jarvinen?" Eva gasped, staring into Amanda's eyes. "Your mother was Melanie Jarvinen?"
"They never, I mean, she never told me her maiden name. I thought..."
"You were young when she died," Michael said. "And no, they'd not have admitted that readily anyway."
"I'd have known anyway," Jacob said, kindly. "You've her eyes. Her beauty." He rose and came to her, brushing her cheek. "Welcome home, Amanda."