Nazca Star

Bride of the Condor Series, Vol. 2

by Terry L. White

Follow Qwana as she leads the old priestess A'ruz, Lalan, Mouse, and the starman Rowlland, when they flee the High Priest Xilpu's malice and search for a place of safety high in the Andes. Nazca Star is the second in the popular Bride of the Condor series by Terry L. White.

ISBN 1-59431-609-2 Romance / Saga / Series

Cover Art by Shelley Rodgerson

Also available in RTF and HTML formats



Preface

Qwana, the last priestess to the Goddess Moon livedon the Nazca Plain in Peru where she serves in the temple of the Moon Goddess. Once, the temple housed many priestesses, but The People have changed, and turned to a brutal worship involving human sacrifice by those who served the Sun. Qwana lives in the temple with A'ruz and Mix'la, who have taught her the secrets of the sisterhood. They taught her as a young girl, and stand beside her as she is initiated into the mysteries of service to The Mother.

But Qwana has no protection in the temple, and she is foully abused by the High Priest Xilpu, who wants total control of The People and their beliefs. As a girl, Qwana escaped to the plain to watch the workers as they inscribed pictographs of strange fish and animals in the yellow-pink dirt, but once she is initiated into the temple she can no longer range about the city and plain as she did when she was a child. She must turn her attention to the needs of her people and service to the Goddess, and while these duties are light, she takes them seriously, for she is the last priestess to the Goddess.

Her initiation became a meaningful journey for Qwana, who mated the condor in the spirit world and raced the jaguar, learning the ways of spirit. Little did she know that one day she would watch a falling star to the east and that she would be sent to learn what magic the descending light carried.

Compelled by the High Priest, Qwana and her elder sisters venture out onto the frigid plain in dark of night to examine this object. She is not afraid to complete this task, but she worries about the older priestesses, who are not used to walking long distances, especially on the frigid plain at night. She fears they will become sick from exposure and hurries to see what has fallen on the plain.

Secretly, the High Priest Xilpu wishes Qwana and her sister priestesses to perish on the plain. He dreams their death from the deadly claws of the jaguar, never guessing that Qwana's power animal would protect her from harm - whether from humans or animals.

Leaving the older women in a safe place when she realizes they cannot continue to walk so far in the cold of the plain, Qwana continues her journey, coming at last to the object that fell from the sky. She is stunned when she realizes that a star had not fallen to Earth at all. A strange covered boat, long and silvery stands on spider legs that straddle the boulders of the plain. Men in shining suits, men with fair hair and blue eyes, scurry about the ship, hammering at rocks, picking up soil samples, busy with inexplicable chores.

Qwana means to back away quietly but she is discovered and led into the interior of the sky boat where she meets Rowlland, commander of an expedition to explore the universe. His father had told Rowlland about Earth and the fair children who lived there, and he knows the moment he meets the young priestess that she is the one he has searched for throughout the galaxies. He has come home at last, and he vows he will help the young woman he loves and take her from the danger that threatens her life.

Slowly, Rowland wins the confidence of the young priestess as they learn each other's language. Slowly, Qwana sees that the stranger from the stars means her no harm, and allows him to escort her back to the older priestesses and then back to the city where the High Priest awaits her report.



Chapter 1

Qwana sighed. Learning to talk with the star travelers was much more difficult than she had hoped when she saw that the visitors with fair hair and blue eyes were made much as those of her own people. She looked at Rowlland, commander of the ship and yawned. She had left the temple at dusk and much had transpired since she led A'ruz and Mix'la onto the plain. While it was true the three priestesses had served the temple of the Moon Goddess, she was unused to staying awake and busy throughout the small hours.

Rowlland chuckled. "You have been up all night, young woman. I expect you would like a nap."

"Nap?" Qwana's grimaced when she realized Rowlland meant she should lie down and rest. Now that she could communicate with this man she saw no evil in him, but she was terribly concerned about her elder sisters, who were surely shivering on the plain. "I must go to my sisters," she replied in an unsure mixture of his words and sign language. "They are waiting for me and will fear I have been killed by a jaguar or some enemy."

"The jaguar has killed her and taken her back to his den for his children to eat," the priestess Mix'la moaned as she watched the light of the false dawn fade from the sky. The darkness seemed even more dangerous than ever, so she focused on the morning star and wished that the sun would rise. She could not see A'ruz's face, could not see the anxiety that mirrored her own.

"The jaguars hide in trees and hunt at dusk. They doze at dawn," A'ruz said in unsure tones. "Our daughter is in no danger from them in any case, you old fool. The great cats are her spirit helpers." A'ruz's voice was calm, but she too thought Qwana had been gone far too long. The night had nearly ended and they both knew what evil faced them if she did not return. Whatever could have happened to the girl? What could they tell the High Priest?

"We'll see," Mix'la said doubtfully. She wondered if it would be within the realm of wisdom to suggest that they return to the temple of the Mother, but she knew A'ruz. Nothing would budge That Ancient One from this forsaken plain until Qwana had returned to them, or they knew for sure she never would.

What difference would it make if they died of cold on the plain or by the High Priest's knife? The long sleep of cold and starvation could be no worse than the bite of the priest's blade. The only thing that troubled Mix'la was that if she died on the plain then her earthly body would not be allowed to rest in the cold, dry winds of the high places with her ancestors.

She whimpered and wished with all her heart the girl would hurry back to them so they could return to Loa and forget all about things that fell from the sky on moonless nights.

"Do you hear something?" A'ruz asked suddenly after a long silence. Her sight had dimmed over the years, but her ears were keen for an old woman's.

She was sure she had heard the rustling of footsteps disturbing the grasses, but silence reigned once more, as dark and sinister as the fading darkness of night.

"I heard nothing, old woman," Mix'la shifted her lower limbs which had gone quite numb from sitting too long in the damp night air. She jerked at the mantle they shared, tearing the covering from her companion's grasp. "Some things never change," A'ruz grunted, reclaiming her share of the precious covering that afforded the two any warmth and comfort at all in the dark hollow in which they cowered.

Her hand brushed a ceque, a little shrine, left by a long departed pilgrim. The rattling of jik'llita, pottery shards and tiny vessels, used to make offerings to the elements caused her to freeze. The scent of lam'pu, llama fat, well on its way to decay, assailed her nostrils like the perfume of death from the Sun's courtyard. Who would have thought a holy place such as this might be the scene of their deaths?

Deep inside, both women knew if Qwana did not return, they might as well stay on the plain forever. The High Priest would surely end their miserable lives in pain and terror if they dared return to the city without her.

"Mothers?" Qwana's voice came to them from out of the dark. "I have returned to you safely, but we must hurry now to be back at the city gates by daybreak."

"She's alive," Mix'la breathed. "The jaguars did not eat her."