The older woman nodded earnestly. “We do know how, actually. But Earth has not yet given permission. We can’t disrupt the soil for our own selfish needs until we find the place where we’ll plant our civilization’s roots. Earth must first send us a sign. Then and only then will we evolve from foragers to farmers.”
“How big a sign do you need?” Glass asked, feeling as though she was walking a dangerous line. “You’ve got an enormous fortress. A perfect space for planting. You’ve even got fruit trees growing in the middle of the grounds—the Heart, you call it? You could easily turn that into an orchard. Then you wouldn’t need to attack innocent people and steal their food.”
The dark-haired woman was reaching out for Glass’s hands. Confused, Glass let her take them, and the woman pressed them between her own rough palms.
“I appreciate your passion,” the woman said, looking into Glass’s eyes. As she released Glass’s hands and backed away, she nodded to the woman in gray and pointed to Glass, some kind of signal that made Glass’s stomach twist. Then she turned to the rest of the group. “Greetings, new friends. It is such a pleasure to meet you all. My name is Soren.”
A cloud drifted past the sun, rearranging the scenery as Glass’s mind scrambled to make new sense of everything surrounding her. She was Soren. Their leader.
“I go by a number of names here,” Soren went on, reaching up to tie her gray-streaked dark hair into a bun at the nape of her neck. “Some call me High Protector, others prefer Mother Protector, or Mother, for short. Most people just call me Soren, though, which is my real name, and that’s fine too!” She laughed, a refreshingly normal sound after all the strange rituals and chanting. “I’m not fussy about titles. The important thing is that you know what my purpose is, and that’s twofold: helping you find a home here, and serving Earth with all of my soul.”
Soren closed her eyes for a long moment. When the older woman’s eyes opened, they looked even brighter and more peaceful than before.
“We’ll have time to get to know each other as we go about our work,” she said, greeting each girl in the line with a smile. “But today, I’d like to leave you with a few thoughts about mothers. I consider myself the mother of everyone here.” She stopped in front of Lina, and smoothed her glossy hair. “You included.”
To Glass’s surprise, Lina blushed and looked at her feet.
“Mothers are wise,” Soren went on. “They care for others, and giving this gift gives them one in return—they’re connected to the soil, to the air, to their intuition in a way that’s special and important.” She laced her fingers together, pivoting to face the others. “Mothers are also strong. They don’t bend to their children’s whims. They instruct. They shape them into the best people they can be.”
Soren’s eyes met Glass’s, but this time, Glass didn’t look away. She couldn’t wrap her mind around the disconnect between Soren’s warmth and the Protectors’ violence. She’d seen them attack her camp. She’d watched them almost kill Luke. Yet standing here, listening to Soren’s calm words, she felt her anger begin to melt away.
“What I want you to take away, as you get to know our little enclave here and the things we’re hoping to accomplish, is that we women must be mothers to our people.” Soren grinned. “Especially the men. They’re children, really! All humans are. They’re innocent, but dangerously reckless in that innocence. They’re takers. We need to show them the way. What has been done to Earth—the greatest mother of all—is nothing short of heartbreaking. Even before the Shattering, this world was overrun with spoiled children and their toys, poisoning the air and the waters, building and harvesting and chopping to suit their own needs. There were gods, religions, but the highest power of all was selfishness.”
Soren’s brow furrowed, and she took a deep breath. “We’ve been given another chance. To do better. To be better. And I’ll need your help to make it happen. You, the women among us.”
Soren pressed her hands to her heart, and to her surprise, Glass felt something stirring inside her own chest. She’d tried so hard to make herself useful these last few weeks, but there never seemed to be a place for her back at camp. She didn’t know how to heal the sick or design buildings. She couldn’t carry heavy loads of firewood. She could never come up with fun games to amuse the children. But maybe Soren was right. Perhaps there was a role for Glass on Earth, one that she could do well, without letting people down.
“We all serve Earth, and if you serve Her well, one day you may stand where I do, as the highest Protector of all… if Earth wills it.” Soren beamed. “That’s a little custom of ours. When one of us says, ‘If Earth wills it,’ we all repeat it, to sort of encourage it along. Shall we give it a try? If Earth wills it…”
And everyone hesitantly repeated, “If Earth wills it.”
“A good start,” Soren said, clapping. “Welcome to our family.”
CHAPTER 13
Wells