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CHAPTER

THIRTEEN

THE WOMAN

BEFORE

T he woman let her eyes fall gently shut as the liquid magic took her away again.

It was colder tonight, and the hut was not so large or so sturdy as the one where her journey had begun. But she knew that it was worth it.

Everything she had sacrificed, everything she had fought for, would be worth it when the time came.

She felt her thoughts beginning to drift. The cold and the unsettling newness no longer mattered. There were bigger things for her mind to seek.

It took a little while for Mother to come, but at last she did, slinking down through the ceiling of the hut and curling herself up in front of the woman.

There was no longer a floor or walls. Only stars, stars in all directions, even beneath the woman’s body, an infinite glittering pit where she floated without effort.

“Hello, Mother,” the woman said. “Our plans are going well.”

The snake let out a little hiss, but she did not sound displeased.

“I see that my people have made it to their new home at last,” Mother replied, her reptilian lips unmoving.

“Yes. Everyone is well. I have made sure of it. I know it is my duty to take care of them for you.”

“Very good.”

The snake paused for a moment and then began to move, slithering around the woman and examining her from all sides and angles. The woman could feel her wherever she was. The snake’s flicking tongue touched her forehead as she passed, seemingly tasting something that the woman could not understand.

“The time is near,” Mother said softly. “Like my beloved tribe of long ago, I will lead my new people to the truth. I will lead them to their home amid the stars.”