ICE BURIAL: The Oldest Human Murder Mystery (The Mother People Series Book 3) by Joan Dahr Lambert Page A

yet sometimes we help a n infant to return to Her if the infant is maimed or suffering and cannot be cured. What is the difference? ”
    “ They are very different, ” Lief answered in his deep, soft voice. “ One is done because of love, the other from fear. ”
    Zena looked at him, impressed once more. Unexpect edly, desire rose inside her, desire so strong that her legs began to tremble. She sat down suddenly, astonished. She had mated only a few times and the experiences had not been very satisfying. She had felt awkward; her body did not seem to know what to do, as if the impulses that seemed to come so easily and naturally to others were absent in her. But now; now she felt as if they must be there. They must be stronger than she had known, too.
    Color rose in her face. How could she think of Akat when they were talking of the possible death of a child? And she did not even know this man, had barely spoken to him. Worse, she was almost certain he had seen her face redden and understood the reason.
    “ You are right, ” she said quickly, to cover her confusion.
    Another thought came to her, driving all thoughts of desire away. “ And when this sacrifice is born of fear, ” she said slowly, “ it could build on itself, so that if a storm should come, or an other disaster, more children would have to be given, then more and more and more... ”
    She broke off, shuddering . , as pictures of what might happen poured into her mind, of infants and chi ldren, some on the brink of adulthood who knew what was about to happen , struggling against their captors. One at a time they were pulled away from their stricken parents , brutally killed so that others could live, but then drought came, or floods or some terrible sickness, and still more had to die…
    She closed her eyes tightly to shut out the terrible images but they would not stop , and for a moment she felt faint .
    Lief knelt in front of her. “ Will you drink this? ” he said gently. “ It is made from special grains that are fermented, and it will give you strength. ”
    Zena took the tall cup and drank deeply of the warm liquid. “ It is good, ” she said gratefully. “ I thank you. ”
    “ The people here make it, ” he explained. “ We must learn to make it ourselves. Too much, though, has a strange effect. ”
    “ What does it do? ” Zena asked, glad to be distracted from her thoughts .
    Lief smiled. “ It makes people act crazy, ” he said. “ They stum ble and fall and cannot think properly. ” He staggered around the clearing with a comical look on his face, demonstrating. “ S ometimes they cannot walk by themselves and must be held up by their friends, ” he added, and made them all laugh with a vivid description of the three people he had met on his travels to the south. He mentioned only the humor in the situation, not the man ’s scarred face or the woman ’s pale eyes or his own sense of unease, lest th ey upset Zena further.
    “ Do not give her any more then, ” Hular joked. “ We need Zena to think well right now if she is to save this child. ”
    The remark made them serious again, and Zena answered soberly. “ You are right, except that I cannot save the child alone. It is a task for us all. Still, for all of us to go to the village where it is to be born might arouse suspicion. I will go first to see what I can learn while you finish the trading here, though perhaps one of you could come with me , whoever is not needed in the trading. ”
    “ I will come with you, ” Lief said immediately. The determination in his voice was evident to all, and no one argued. Lief was a good choice anyway, since he had come as a guide more than as a trader and would be able to find the village better than any of the m.
    Sorlin, who loved going to new places, sighed heavily. “I do not think I can come. I must get back to my young ones as soon as the trading is finished. ”
    “ Do not worry, ” Hular assured her. “ Durak and I will