THE SHELTERS OF STONE

The fireplace had been set and ready, and he lit the fire with the torch, then walked with her to greet the mare and the stallion. They were used to working together, with each doing separate tasks. Having their hands tied together made it more difficult even to handle the horses, and they found themselves in each other's way.

"Let's go get these thongs off," Jondalar said. "I was glad enough to have them tied on, but now I'll be glad to remove them."

"Yes, but they are a good reminder to pay attention to each other," she said.

"I don't need a reminder to pay attention to you, certainly not on this night," Jondalar said.

Ayla crawled inside the familiar shelter, holding her hand up and back so Jondalar could follow behind. He lighted a stone lamp with the torch, then tossed it into the fireplace outside. When he looked back in, Ayla was sitting on the sleeping furs that had been spread out on the ground over a leather padding that he had carefully stuffed with dry grass. He stopped for a moment and looked at the woman who had just become his mate.

The soft light of the lamp made her shadow dance behind her, and her hair gleamed with highlights from the small flame. He saw the yellowish tunic, open in front to reveal her full, taut breasts, with the beautiful amber pendant of the necklace nestled between them. But something was missing. Then he realized what it was.

"Where is your amulet?" he asked, drawing closer to her.

"I took it off," she said. "I wanted to wear this outfit that Nezzie gave me and the necklace from your mother, and it didn't look right with them. Marthona gave me a small packet made out of rawhide with no decoration for the amulet. It seemed appropriate. She brought it back to the lodge with her. She suggested that tomorrow we bring back the clothes we wore tonight, rather than carry them around with us. She did ask if I would mind if she showed my outfit to some people. I told her I wouldn't mind at all, probably Nezzie would be pleased that she wanted to. I'll get my amulet then. I have never been without it since I was first adopted into the Clan, and it does feel strange not to have it."

"But you don't belong to the Clan anymore," Jondalar said.

"I know, and I never will again. I was cursed with death and can never go back, but the Clan will always be a part of me, and I will never forget them," she said. "Iza made my first amulet and then asked me to choose a piece of red ochre to put in it… I wish she could have been here. She would have been so happy for me. All of the things in my amulet are important to me, they mark important moments in my life. They were given to me by my totem, the Spirit of the Cave Lion, who has always protected me. If I ever lost my amulet, I would die," she said with absolute surety.

It made Jondalar realize how important the amulet was to her, and how much her mating meant for her to take it off, but he didn't like the idea that she believed she would die if she ever lost it. "Isn't that just superstition? The superstition of the Clan?"

"No more than your elandon, Jondalar. Marthona recognized that. The amulet holds my spirit, that's how my totem can find me. When I was adopted by the Lion Camp, it didn't take away my life with the Clan. It added to it. That's why Mamut added my totem to my formal name. Now that I have become a member of the Ninth Cave, it hasn't changed the fact that I'm still Ayla of the Mamutoi. It just made my name longer," she said, then she smiled. "Ayla of the Ninth Cave of the Zelandonii, formerly of the Lion Camp of the Mamutoi, Daughter of the Mammoth Hearth, Chosen by the Spirit of the Cave Lion, Protected by the Cave Bear, Friend of horses and Wolf… and mated to Jondalar of the Ninth Cave of the Zelandonii. If my name gets much longer, I won't be able to remember it all."

"Just so long as you remember the last part, mated to Jondalar of the Ninth Cave of the Zelandonii," he said, reaching over and gently fondling a nipple, watching it draw together and harden in response to his touch. She felt a tingle of pleasure.

"Let's get these thongs off," Jondalar said. "They are getting in my way."

Ayla bent over their wrists and tried to pick apart the knots, but only her left hand was free, and she was right-handed and felt clumsy trying to pull apart knots with only one hand, and her left one at that.

"You are going to have to help me, Jondalar," she said. "I'm not very good at untying knots with just my left hand. It would be much easier to cut it."

"Don't even say that!" Jondalar said. "I never want to sever the knot from you. I want to be tied to you for the rest of my life."

"I already am, and will always be, thong or not," Ayla said, "but you're right. I think this is meant to be a challenge. Let me see that knot again." She studied it for a while, then said, "Look, if you will hold this, I will pull that, and I think it will come undone. It's that kind of knot."