Victoria's nose nearly brushed the earth.
Hi, Little One. You have good friends here. They have helped me, and they will help you. And when they do, they will call you by your name. And your name, my daughter, is Aura.
From deep in the forest came the roaring howl of an approaching wind thundering through the pines like an enormous animal. Victoria threw herself over Aura, and Claire braced herself instinctively just as the gale whipped into the clearing. It slammed into her side, rocking her. Fear and elation raced through her. Whatever was happening was either very good or very bad, but she had a clear sense that the naming had somehow made it happen.
The wind tore through the center of the clearing. Claire worried it would fan the flames of the ceremonial fire, scatter the sparks into the flailing, fluttering undergrowth, but it didn't. The fire simply died, blown out like a candle.
As quickly as it had come, the gust stopped, leaving the wolves shaken. They crouched in the dark clearing, their fur full of leaves and twigs. Stunned. Silent.
Marie shook out her coat, padding quickly over to Victoria. Is Aura all right?
Victoria hesitated. I think so. She seems to be.
On the ground, still swaddled in her blankets, the baby began to fuss in an empty, pathetic sort of way.
I would like to pick her up. To be sure. She sounds as though she may be hungry. Victoria looked from Aura to Marie and back, her ears flicking wildly.
Of course. I would normally say a few closing words, but the ceremony is—obviously—over. I have never—she stopped. Well. Let us transform. We can discuss it then, before Claire finishes demonstrating her skills. We will have to relight the fire, but that's as good a way as any to separate the two ceremonies.
Marie turned to the rest of the wolves. Claire eased out of her defensive stance, her muscles shaking in protest.
You may transform, Marie announced.
Victoria was the only one who immediately changed form. She scooped Aura up and hurried off to find her clothes. The rest of the wolves ranged into the woods, searching for the clothes that had been scattered by the wind. It didn't take Claire long—the scents of detergent and human skin stood out in the forest. She transformed among the trees, dressing quickly and then reaching up to retrieve a last sock that had been caught in the low branches of a scrubby tree.
She hurried back to the gathering, wrapping her arms around herself against the cold, trying to shut out her confusion about what had just happened. She wasn't sure if she should be expecting celebration or condemnation in the clearing—she had either seriously helped Victoria or seriously misled her. The other wolves were already in the clearing, huddled
close for warmth. Victoria sat on a fallen log, nursing Aura.
"Claire's back," Katherine said.
The others turned to look at Claire. She waited, her heart pounding—pouncing—in her chest.
"You should be very pleased," Marie said to Victoria, pride glittering in her eyes.
"I didn't do it alone," Victoria said. "Claire helped me."
"Really?" Marie looked startled.
"I tried to," Claire said. "Victoria helped me so much with the fire—I was just trying to do the same for her." The frenetic beat of her heart let up the tiniest bit. "So—that was supposed to happen?"
Beatrice said "more or less" at the same moment that Judith said "Yes."
Beatrice snorted. "Come on, Judith, be fair. At every naming I've ever been to, we've watched the fire—and hard—for any sign that even a little part of it had gone out. Once, years ago, my mother spoke of a naming where a branch fell out of the fire, putting out its flames as it rolled."
Katherine shivered. "I've never seen anything even remotely like that."
Marie smiled. "You see, Claire, the Goddess takes part of the fire as her tithe—it is the sacrifice we make for the name. The story goes that the more fitting the name that is chosen, the greater the sacrifice—the larger the portion of the fire that is extinguished."
Claire turned the words over in her mind, happiness stretching inside her like a bent-winged bird. "So, since the whole fire went out—"
"Not just 'went out,'" Beatrice crowed. "It was blown out, Young One."
"Yes," Marie said. "It means what you think it means. That the name was exactly right."
Victoria glowed. She stared down at Aura, and her whole body was suffused with light and happiness. Claire felt her throat tighten. There would be no bad luck for this baby. Not with all the blessings they'd given her. Not with a name that had gotten that sort of reaction.
"All right, everyone," Marie said. "It is getting late, and there is still much to be done. Victoria, perhaps you should take Aura. There is no need to drag her through any more tonight, and you cannot take her on the hunt, anyway."