by Melinda Hyde
Orin stuttered an unintelligible response, but the girl slithered around in front of me, wearing a nasty grin. “Yeah, my name is Mallory.”
I glared hatred right at her, but I bit down on the sharpness of my response. “I understand why you brought the men, Orin. Honestly, what good could this slip in the wind do you,” I snapped to Orin, instead. “Besides, even as equipped as the men are for the job, they won’t last a minute against Lenora’s creatures.”
Orin sighed, as he took the girl by her shoulders, forcing her to move to the side. “You know, as well as I, that they will need to become like me—man-beasts. I want you to change them, Leonia.”
I shook my head vigorously, swishing my hair around. “I don’t know, Orin. I don’t know if that’s a good idea, and besides, I don’t even know if I could.”
In two lengthy strides, Orin crossed the space between us to stand in front of me. He tucked his thumb under my chin with one hand and cupped my cheek with the other. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a dark look pass over Mallory’s beautiful features, and she made an impatient noise in the back of her throat. I took note of it, but I kept my eyes trained on Orin.
“You can, my love. I know you can,” Orin coaxed. I parted my lips to protest, but he captured them with his own, devouring my doubt.
“Okay, I’ll try,” I relented with breathless satisfaction, as Mallory stomped haughtily from the room. “Who’ll sit with Lance, though? I can’t change them in here. I’ll need space.”
Orin’s lips rearranged themselves into a triumphant smile. “Mallory can sit with him while you change the men. Then the men can sit with him while you change her. You two are going to be great friends—you’ll see. She’s a great girl.”
I didn’t allow the disappointment show on my face, but my insides rolled with jealous fury. I didn’t like Mallory, and the idea of her sitting with my son prickled at my nerves.
4.Disquieted
Lenora
Orin was up to something; I could feel it in my bones. It was a whispering sense of wrongness. What he was up to, I wasn’t quite sure, but it was certainly troubling. He had come through a little while ago, followed by a brawny band of strangers. As if that wasn’t odd enough, one of them happened to be a woman.
I stomped anxiously around the dimly lit space of my cave, as I wracked my brain. It was seldom I had time to myself. Fortunately, this was one of those times. Aleksandra was sleeping peacefully in my bed. Thank goodness for the small things, I thought to myself, chewing at the end of my chipped nails.
I glanced at the slumbering girl with the fiery red curls, then walked to the entrance of the cave. There wasn’t much daylight left. The sun was slowly sinking down behind the leafy treetops. I peered over to the lonely cabin, wishing I could hear what was going on within its crude walls.
The shuffling of hay sifted through the air, and I turned my head to find Aleksandra’s big, blue eyes staring up at me. Her curls stood on end around her head in a wild mass of tangles, and her lower lip was puckered out. I sauntered over to the child and lifted her from the straw, dusting it from her crinkled gown. She pointed into the fragments of light that filtered into the cave, wearing a frightened expression.
I rocked her gently, wondering what had upset her. A bad dream, I supposed, but looking out into the fading day, I couldn’t help but wonder if she knew something that I wasn’t yet aware of. After all, it still wasn’t clear what gifts the child possessed, or how much of her mother’s abilities flowed through her veins.
∆ ∆ ∆
When the sun had fully sank, and there was only darkness left, my creatures began to stir. I waited patiently for them to catch their bearings. Once they were fully awake, I stood up, shifting Aleksandra on my hip.
I fixed my eyes on the woman with the rat-brown hair. “Izzy, I know you’re probably ready to be on your way, but I have a favor to ask of you.”
Izzy eyed Aleksandra in my arms with lively suspicion. “What favor would that be,” Izzy asked, narrowing her eyes on me.
I peered down at Aleksandra, as Izzy had done. “I just need you to watch her for a little while, Izzy. It’s important.” My eyes shifted back to Izzy’s, and her shoulders fell despondently.
“I suppose I’ll keep up with her for a while.” She cocked her head to the side, as she took the girl from my arms. “What’s amiss, anyway?”
I pressed my lips into a thin, thoughtful line. “I don’t know, yet. I’m going to find out, though,” I responded, forcing more confidence into my voice than I felt.
I could feel Izzy’s eyes locked onto my back, as I tiptoed out into the night. I paused outside the cave to take a deep breath of fresh, night air. The atmosphere was different outside the cave. It wasn’t stagnant; it was very much alive and flowing with energy.
The wind flitted through the stands of my fine, white hair, and I peered around the clearing. The night was well-lit with strands of silvery light. A full, unobscured moon hung proud in the fathomless sky. I could almost feel the vibrations of energy passing through me; something was definitely going to take place. I glanced at the trees, just dark jagged shadows against the bluish backdrop. My eyes shifted again. The place where Leonia and I had sat around so many fires was now almost gone. Tiny sprigs of grass were barely visible, pushing their way through the blackened, charred soil.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something stirring in the dark, near Leonia’s cabin. As Orin, followed by a group of people, exited the cabin, I pressed myself into the protection of the shifting shadows. To my surprise, Leonia was among them. There was no mistaking her slim, elegant figure. I narrowed my eyes, wondering what they planned to do under the cloak of night. With Leonia just having given birth, she should have been nooked away inside her home, not gallivanting through the darkness.
The figures rounded the side of the cabin, and I slipped stealthily from my hiding place to follow them at a distance. When I came to the corner of the cabin, I reluctantly peeked around the side. They were still marching on, further into the night. I chanced a glance over my shoulder at my cave, then drew in a long, shaky breath. I eased around the corner, keeping close to the roughened, bark-covered wall. The last thing I needed was to be found spying on them.
There was a small, slanting slope behind the cabin, and it was fully illuminated by the bright, silvery moon. I observed as they travelled single file up the hill. To my left, was the makeshift barn and a meager corral. I could hear the horses snorting, and the heifer inside the coral moved about in an agitated fashion.
I needed to be closer, but beyond the barn, there would be nothing to shelter me from detection. Dejected by my limitations, I ducked low to the grassy ground, and I scurried over to what little shadows the barn had to offer.
At the top of the hill, Leonia and the small band stopped. She turned her face up to the sky, and the moon glowed off her pale skin and black, glossy hair. I cocked my head to the side, narrowing my blue eyes. There was something about the look on her face, mingling with her tense, meaningful posture, that made me bristle inside.
Leonia shifted so that her back to me, and she gazed around at the hulking men surrounding her. Her attention seemed to linger on Orin for a moment longer than the rest, and I noticed a smug, proud gleam in his shrouded eyes. Leonia began to speak, but other than the bell-like ringing of her voice, I couldn’t make out what was being said. Her hands moved expressively at her sides, and the men nodded eagerly, glancing nervously at one another.
One by one, the men slipped their shirts over top their heads, and they tossed them on the ground by their feet. The silvery light washed over their bare skin, exposing their perfectly defined physiques. I scrunched my brows together, confused by what was taking place.
Leonia spoke again, the wind carrying her words away, and the men all eased themselves back onto the ground around her. I squinted my eyes harder, unconsciously taking a step back. Something wasn’t right; a sensation of danger infiltrated my instincts. Su
spicious bells went off loudly in the back of my mind, but I couldn’t turn my eyes away.
Leonia sauntered on deft, padded feet to one of the men, and she stooped low beside him. She took out her dagger. The moonlight bounced off the sharp, dangerous blade, as she drug it along his brawny shoulder, in a pattern that I couldn’t quite discern. I tilted my head, uncertain of what her intentions were. The little bit of light that washed across the man’s rugged features exposed a slight grimace of pain, but that was his only visible response to her actions.
Leonia flitted around the circle, etching the same bloody pattern into each of the strangers’ flesh. I sank further into the growing shadows. I still wasn’t certain what this was all about, but I knew it wasn’t good. When she was done, Leonia returned to her place in the center of the circle. Orin eyed her with smug hunger, as she shifted, glancing at each of the men—or were they victims? I shuddered.
For a brief moment, Leonia’s face tilted in my direction. Her dark, chocolate eyes were fixed downward, but the moonlight showered over enough of her features to expose the pinched expression she was wearing. She turned away again, facing the black line of tree. She lifted her hands up above her head, and the tempo of the wind increased, lifting her hair from her dainty shoulders. Sparks of green danced around her slender hands, then swirled, in shimmering waves, down the length of her arms.
She began to speak. Her voice carried easily down from the top of the hill, echoing in the valley below. The words she was saying weren’t clear; they were just bouncing snippets of chiming sound ringing through the night. Her tone was sober and distant. She wasn’t speaking to anyone in particular; she was casting a spell, I realized.
I didn’t need a mirror to know I had gone deathly pale. I could feel the blood rush from my face. The green light around Leonia drove itself down, consuming her entire body, but it didn’t stop there. With the wind rushing around her ankles, Leonia slowly lifted from the ground. I bit back a curse. This was powerful magic.
Like serpents seeking out their unfortunate victims, the tendrils of green, glowing mist found their way to the ground. They slithered out in different directions, stalking their prey. I watched, with a growing sense of horror, as the green light found its way to one of the men, and his body became rigid. His shoulders snapped back loudly, and his sweaty chest was extended forward, in an exaggerated, protruding fashion. He let out a hoarse, horrified cry at the unexpected agony, and the eerie light enveloped him, lifting him from the ground.
The other men tried frantically to scurry up from the damp earth, but it was far too late. One after another, the light seized them, bending them to its will. Once the last of them was inescapably tangled in Leonia’s tangled web of magic, Leonia turned her palms up to the sky, then flicked them outward. I cringed, watching some invisible force take hold of Leonia’s body, forcing her into an awkward, impossible position. My heart cried out, but I remained silent. The last time Leonia had attempted something of this magnitude, I thought I had lost her.
The green, misty veil drew in around Leonia, packing itself into a perfect, circular orb. The mist became thick and restless, before exploding out over the men and down the hill in rolling, dissipating waves. The tall grass whooshed and swayed under the onslaught. The horses inside their stalls pawed nervously at the ground, knocking against their wooden stalls, and I involuntarily took another step back. I didn’t want to see the rest; I wanted to turn away from what was to come, but I couldn’t.
The light became soft—weak, but it didn’t entirely retreat. It held firm to the levitating bodies, slowly easing them back to the ground. The men came first, resting lifelessly in the tall, willowy grass. I searched for any sign of vitality, but there wasn’t any to be found. The tell-tale lift of their broad chests was no longer perceivable.
Then, with great reluctance, my gaze found its way back to Leonia. Her bare feet grazed the damp grass, then buckled from under her. She weakly sank down, onto her knees. Her shoulders slumped forward laxly, and head bowed, allowing her thick hair to form a curtain around her face. The forceful gusts of wind had died down, leaving behind only soft, soothing currents. They grazed my sister’s hair, lightly sifting it in stringy locks around her frame.
Leonia weakly brought her head up to gaze about at the unmoving forms that surrounded her. When her face pivoted in my direction, I could make out the moonlight beaming off her wet cheeks. I wasn’t sure if she was crying because of the complete drainage she was experiencing, or because she had failed. It pained me to see her in distress, but I was thankful that the folly had come to an end.
Leonia appeared to be weakened, but, otherwise, she seemed fine, I assured myself. I heaved a sigh of utter relief, but as I turned to make my way back to my shelter, I caught a faint trace of movement from the corner of my eye. I slowly shifted my fear-filled eyes back to the top of the hill.
One of the men’s body began to twitch. Then the rest followed suit. I shook my head rapidly, in denial. Their bones crawled around under their skin, restlessly changing position. The man’s hands curled themselves around the clumps of grass at his side, and his beefy fingers bedded themselves into the soil beneath. A horrible sound tore through his lips and echoed around the clearing. His face snarled up, and his nose broadened and elongated, sprouting tiny stems of night-black hair.
Everything inside of me screamed at me to turn away, but my feet had become one with the ground, steeling me in place. He grunted and groaned, as his skin began to crawl, becoming discolored. His lengthy arms drew up, shortening, and his fingers curled into stubs. He screamed again, but the sound came out mangle somewhere between an animalistic yowl and a cry of agony.
I stood trapped, watching the atrocious scene unfold. In a matter of minutes, that seemed more like hours, it was over. The only man left atop the hill was Orin. He strode on lengthy legs, gazing down at Leonia with a pride-filled expression.
Leonia’s watery eyes searched his face, not bothering to hide the anguish that tortured her. Orin muttered something to my sister, his lips coming up in a sick, sadistic smile. I couldn’t hear what was said, but Leonia snatched her gaze back to the grass swaying in front of her. I wasn’t sure, but something seemed to spark behind her brown eyes. Her shoulders squared, and Orin knelt down, tucking his thumb beneath her chin, forcing her eyes to meet his own.
One of the creatures, a large, stealthy panther, made a rumbling sound deep in his chest. Orin flung a glance over his shoulder, then whirled to face the creatures. I had seen more than enough; I needed to go. My head was swimming as I made my swift retreat. I moved as quietly as I could through the shadows, but I knew my movements were clumsy in their haste. There was a numbness inside me that seemed to be spreading.
I flew into the dim cave to find Izzy pacing in tight circles around the confining space. Aleksandra was in her arms, resting her chubby cheek against Izzy’s shoulder. She had the tip of her teensy thumb in her mouth, and her blue eyes were fluttering on the edge of sleep. My focus wasn’t on her, though. I barely took note of her, at all.
I rushed up to Izzy, and I took her shoulders in a harsh grip. “Izzy, they’ve done the unthinkable. I don’t know what we’re going to do, now,” I cried, trying to sort through my jumbled thoughts.
Aleksandra lifted her head, and her lower lip began to tremble. “Who? What are ye’ carrying on about,” Izzy snapped, jerking away from me. “Yer’ frightening the child; I almost had her down for the night.” Izzy’s mouse-brown eyes had a storm brewing behind them.
I closed my eyes, taking hold of my tumultuous thoughts, then directed them at Izzy. “There’s more of them, Izzy—more like Orin.”
Izzy hissed, pulling the upset child closer to her bosom. “How many,” she growled, a flash of silver driving across her irises.
I shook my head from side to side, glancing back out into the night. “There’s enough of them, and I’m afraid of what’s to come. There’s only one reason Orin would allow Leonia to create more. He hates ma
gic.” A chill swept down my spine, like the ominous ghostly whisper of a warning.
5.Tempted
Orin
My little witch-wife’s energy buzzed through the crisp, night air. Green mist zipped around us in a jagged fashion, nearly thick enough to cut with a knife. The overpowering presence was almost enough to make me nauseous, but I reminded myself that it was necessary. After that night, Leonia wouldn’t have to use the devil craft again—I wouldn’t allow her to. I didn’t want my son growing up in a world that was tainted by the hands of evil.
When the spell was complete, and my army began to stir, I allowed my eyes to drift over each of the men. They were mirrored images of what I looked like when I shifted. Their glossy pelts were pitch-black, and their feline frames were dangerously clad with well-defined muscles. They yawned lazily and stretched their long, massive legs out in front of themselves, adjusting to the feel of their new form. I bit back a triumphant smile, as I glanced over at Leonia’s drooping figure.
I wasn’t sure whether Leonia was aware or not, but her sister had been watching from her hiding place in the shadows. She had made a valiant attempt to keep her presence concealed, but with my heightened senses, I had detected her right away. It filled me with a sense of dark, gleeful satisfaction to know that Lenora knew what was coming.
Leonia looked ill; she was slumped forward with her chin nearly touching her chest. She had exerted a massive amount of energy casting such a vast spell. I strode over to her, and her face turned up to gaze at me. She was beautiful—the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes on. The moonlight hit her pale skin just right, lending it a soft, heavenly glow. Her locks of ebony hair danced around her shapely form, begging me to bury my hands in their silky strands. Then, there was her eyes. They snapped and danced like living fire thrived within their sparkling depths.
