The Wrathful Mountains Read Online Free

favorably to bring
the rains as needed. It was the least she could do.
    With a wave to her
brothers, she proceeded to her own house. Greeting her were two dogs, one a
black-and-tan herding dog named Doozle, and a smaller red-and-white dog named
Flip. They greeted her with gusto, nearly knocking her to the ground to lick
her face.
    “Settle down,
boys,” she told them. “You behave for Mum while I’m away.”
    The dogs looked at
her with all-too-knowing eyes. They missed her already.
    “None of that,” she
said, stroking each on their backs and scratching at their ears. “I’ll be back
soon.”
    Grabbing a leather
bag from her closet, she stuffed it with her warmest clothing and a blanket. Despite
it being summertime here, higher elevations would still be bitterly cold. As
she opened the door to leave, the dogs bolted into the field, greeting her
brothers and prancing playfully. They were in good hands.
    Kassie stood on the
porch, waiting for her daughter to pass by. As Kaiya moved into sight, Kassie
called, “Take this with you.”
    Kaiya retrieved the
bundle containing a fresh loaf of bread and some dried fruit. “Thanks, Mum,”
she said. Her mother had always prided herself in her kitchen, and no child of
hers ever went away hungry.
    “You stay safe,”
her mother said, squeezing her close.
    “I will,” Kaiya promised.
“You take care of Papa—and yourself too.”
    Glancing back only
once, Kaiya pressed on along the rocky path that would lead her into town. It
was the best place to start her investigation. News didn’t reach the farmlands
quickly, but the town was always full of chatter. Besides that, there was a friend
she had neglected to visit.
    Continuing along
the path, she couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was tracking her
movements. She turned around and scanned the area but spotted no one. Still the
feeling remained. It was different than the feeling of being watched. She
couldn’t quite describe it, but it was as if someone were aware of her
movements, without being able to see or hear her. It could only be using magic,
which troubled her further because she could not sense who or what it was. This
was a force unknown. Whether it was friend or foe remained to be seen.

Chapter 3
     
    S quinting her
eyes at the afternoon sun, Tashi cursed its brazenness. How dare it rain down
its light while Annin still lay abed, suffering convulsions and fever? What
right did the world have to continue to turn when one so beautiful was dying?
Tashi was no fool. She knew her sister would not last the day. Whatever she
did, Annin would perish, and no god would intervene. How she hated them, both
the good and the evil. What use were they to anyone?
    Over the past few
days, Tashi had gone from doubting all gods to begging for their assistance.
She had finally come to this conclusion: Anything being worshipped as a god was
a god, whether real or imagined. All that was certain was that she detested
them all. They had refused to help her people, and that made the gods her
enemy.
    As High Priestess
she was expected to tend to the spiritual needs of her tribe, but how could she
continue to do so when she no longer had faith? If she spoke against the gods,
her own tribe would exile her. That meant she would not be allowed to care for
her sister’s child. Tashi had no option but to play along, filling the role she
was born to until the day she died. And then the burden would pass to her
niece.
    The child, who
would not earn a name until she passed one year of age, would be forced into
the same life as Tashi, never being free to choose any other path. Perhaps
the girl will truly be able to converse with the gods, assuming they listen to
anyone, Tashi mused. She had failed, but there was always a chance for the
child, as long as she managed to survive. So far she had taken well to the
goat’s milk, readily suckling it from the tip of a ram’s horn fashioned by the
doula. The thought of her lovely niece brought a