by K. A. M'Lady
“My people have ruled lands that have turned to dust thrice before the humans ever dreamed to walk this Realm. I have been enslaved by great enemies, captivated the Wild Mist and have too been held prisoner by the Goblin Horde until you released me. And today, Rihker Tennai of the Ivy Tenna-ai. Today I pledge thee my honor, my skill, and my life. With Deneau—Lady Justice of the Fey, The Chosen, with you, I follow The Way.”
With wild abandon, like a screech from the grave, a mad, violent shriek erupted from Jet, her sleek black body contorting as she fell to the carpet, writhing in what appeared to be excruciating pain. The violent disruption pretty much ended our little ceremony. Bringing reality crashing back.
The taint of old blood, Darkness and the singe of rotting flesh solidifying my prior thoughts of something not quite being right with those around me as distant memories stirred dark emotions.
Something evil had snaked its way into my personal sanctum. By the taste of the old blood, I had a pretty good idea just whose stench I was dealing with. The why behind it was another story all its own.
With all that had happened between our escape from the Land of Light, Maebe’s secret warnings and my flashback into Goblinvill Hell, I still hadn’t learned why Jirvel had set Jet free. Or what other unseen Darkness we were dealing with.
I had a pretty good idea we were about to find out.
Chapter Six
O little sister, I should have warned you
Don’t eat the meat, if it makes you cough blood
From Lamenting Widow – Ho Xuan Huong
Translated from the classical Chinese and Nôm by Marilyn Chin
The permeating stench of rot filled the air while we momentarily stood stricken with an absurd fear. It crawled over our skin like mealworms, larvae on carrion that burrows into putrefied flesh and we were too dumbstruck to stop it.
Jet’s screams echoed off the small enclosure of the bedroom, reverberated in my mind and my soul until finally I could stand still no more. Subconsciously I knew the Darkness was an illusion, having felt its evil touch before, having heard its tainted whispers in my mind’s darkest recesses while I cowered, cried and suffered my own hours of despair. My fear feeding it, allowing it to grow.
Today, however, I knew a little more than I did then. Had suffered and survived its vile touch. Had the wounds to prove it. Today, I knew where my Darkness ended and my Light began. Today, I knew that to dispel it, I simply needed to tap into it.
A quiver of uncertainty passed through me while Jet’s body continued to convulse. Spasms racked her lithe frame and her body became awash in perspiration. Her dark chocolate eyes swam in a flood of tears; glowing like obsidian diamonds. The torture contorted her again and I knew that the change was upon her. Knew that if she transformed now it would be violent and horrible. That possibly it might even destroy her.
She screamed once more and the distinct sound of bones popping filled the stunned silence of the room. The heavy musk of fur rushed past my senses and I knew the exact moment Jade and Mercy smelled it too. Their eyes widened with panic. Worry and fear was etched heavily on their brows. Jade understood more than the others the violent pain of a forced change.
Hell, even Mercy looked positively pale. This was the same type of thing Modgav had tried to do to her during our visit to the Land of Light. The forcing of one’s will upon another. The forcing of one’s beast to become.
The power of the Darkness held us all immobile, our fears feeding it, our uncertainty causing it to grow. Fueling its power of lies and deceit with panic and horror while it poured over each of us. It dispelled all hope. Reducing any possibility for an outcome other than its own to nothing but dust and fading memories. Brewing blackness and certain death.
In the unswerving core of my being, however, I couldn’t release my image of Jet. The Jet that I had grown to know. Grown to love. The little ‘Devil Darkness to Ivy’s ‘Lady Light’. She was as wild as the jungles she came from. Sleek, strong and unswerving in her loyalty. Berg her lone companion. Her only comforting link in a house full of Others. But Berg wasn’t here. She had no source of strength and calm in this mad terror that threatened to consume her. Only the Darkness that ripped through her, her destruction and death its primary focus.
Suddenly she flipped to her back, arms flailing, tearing at the bedding, the carpet while another wave of pain rode her. Her back bowed, eyes stricken with panic until they found mine. “Please, Rihker,” she pleaded her voice rough, hoarse and gravely in the whiskey pitch of her Were. “Help me!” she begged.
Her plea sounded so hopeless and distant. Desperate beyond measure. Whatever her sins, whatever had happened that would allow her release from Jirvel’s nightmare, she didn’t deserve this. No one deserved this kind of torture.
With my decision made, I reached for that place in my center where I knew my peace and Light resided. I reached for the place where the small Light of love for Jet lingered. I tried to focus on her scent; the richness of musk and fur that was her scent alone. I honed in on a thought of a windswept jungle while I tried to block out the vile, repulsive stain of death that was trying to force its way inside me. Inside each of us.
I focused on the scent of earth; warm and rich, heated from the sun. The full ripe aroma of flesh and fur warmed with life; the strength and purpose of the Light that fills each and every one of us. That frees us. Gives our spirits room for growth and space to soar. And I reached for the possibilities of hope. The kind of hope that would see us from this dark moment into our place in the Light.
Within a space of heartbeats, I found my she-wolf waiting. Slowly she crept forward, sniffing my aurora. With a nudge of recognition, her muzzle brushed against my hand as if to say ‘What kept you?’
I wrapped my arms around her, burrowed my fingers into the warmth of her cinnamon fur and pulled myself into her warmth, her comfort and felt the return of a oneness I only found in the soothing return of her form. I then took that feeling of peace, completely opened myself to it/her and allowed us to become one.
It was so strange the automatic release my body felt as I subtly shifted, bones sliding, muscle shifting. Changing. Suddenly free of my human form. Fur spilled from my flesh in a tingling rush. Once free, I put my muzzle into the air and called my brethren, releasing them from the nightmare that held them in the talons of the Darkness’ vile grasp.
I had never called the full power of my Light in the shape of my wolf before, but with time running out, Jet’s screams shaking the core of my being, I called Jade to my side. The change for him had been swift; the brilliance of his sleek, silver-white body strong and hail before me; his partial Werewolf form no longer to be seen.
Together we gathered around Jet; Gimlit, Mercy, Prism and I. They all blinked lethargically, dazed as the Darkness shook free and began to recede.
My Light however, was still gathering. Preparing itself for the coming storm.
Quickly coming to their senses Gimlit and Prism took note of the situation. Without instruction they moved, one taking a place at Jet’s head, the other her feet; all while she writhed and bellowed in agony. The moment they reached their places I felt something shift inside of me again, a blaze of Light erupting within me. Howls broke the silence, tearing through the room like a sonic boom. A miasma of color exploded, my haunches grew tight while the feeling of a lightning storm rushed through me, spilling itself into the night.
Jet, whose eyes had clenched shut in her last onslaught of torturous, evil-induced spasms, were now wide open. Their color, normally a velvet chocolate color, glistened with a glowing blaze of gold like a high full moon against the twilight. The sheen of perspiration began to thicken, congeal as her flesh danced and bubbled before our eyes, bones shifting madly, muscles constricting beneath.
Fear passed over her eyes, a brief flicker. I sensed her hesitation and the instant she surrendered herself to my trust. Quickly, so the Darkness could not finish her off, I took all of the power of the Light I held within me, shimmer
ing and quaking, rolling and rumbling for release and shoved it into Jet with all of the resolution I could muster.
I let the vision of green fields and darkened forests pour through my mind. The lush, rich scent of ash and elms, the vibrant stain of peat moss, and the tender growth of ferns after the first dusting of a subtle Spring rain rise up through me like mist. I let it flow from my heart as though a waterfall thundering beyond soaring rough cliffs before easing like the warmth of a high June sun. I surrendered to the power and prayed that my choice was true as I put my own trust in the Light.
Her change was immediate. A blur of flashing light, a coil of unprecedented power. Flesh became an oil spill consumed by sleek black fur with green-gold eyes infused with Light. The mad rush of exploding flesh and splash of gook was replaced by a serene change filled with calm, ease and subtle wonder. One moment Jet was a roaring, screaming ache of pain and suffering, the next a beautiful, deadly panther, dark as midnight and just as lovely to gaze upon. The roar of gratitude and appreciation that escaped between razor-sharp teeth was stunning and heartfelt.
And so was my relief.
Moments passed before I felt my heartbeat return to a normal rhythm, everyone seeming to take their time finding their own sighs of relief. Her choking startled all us. It certainly surprised me.
Cripes, couldn’t for once in my life I just win a round? Couldn’t I just kick the Darkness in the ass and get on with my night?
As soon as she started to make that grunting, chortling sound, her whole body pumping and heaving, I was certain I was going to lose it right there. Thank the Prophets I was still in the shape of a wolf and she couldn’t see the disgust I was certain my human face would have shown. When she hacked up a blob of mucky, bloody flesh, I darted from the room. Certain I wasn’t ready to know whose hunk of flesh it had been.
Some nights even a whacked-out, pseudo Pixie half-breed Changeling, or whatever it is I was becoming, can only cope with so much. Here’s praying to the Prophets that there will be anti-indigestion tablets on the way to Hell.
Chapter Seven
Wind plays in the branches. They bend.
Lovers at last coming together.
From Baghdad Song – Ibn Al-‘Arabi
Translated from the Arabic by Michael Sells
The forest beyond my house became filled with the soothing rhythms of the night. Life coursed through earth and woodlands. Humanity narrowed down to a hush. A hum of insects and the pulse of wandering creatures scurrying in the underbrush. Time measured in moon and wind. Breath and hope. And I wanted to hide in its lush folds forever.
It was comforting. Peaceful. It seemed to beckon to us. Called to each of us in some sort of primordial, purely animalistic voice that only another beast of nature could recognize. The type of sound that soothed the savage soul. Normal.
Oddly, it was a normality I was quickly growing accustomed to as two wolves and a sleek black panther took to the night.
We ran hard. Gone in a blur of green. The wind ruffled our fur. The earth churned beneath padded paws. We ran from demons we knew we’d never escape, each toting our own dark, violent nightmare that in some small portion of our brain we knew if we allowed it control over us, it would never bring us another moment of peace.
So instead we ran. Like beasts were meant to do. In great huffs, we gulped down the cool night air. Fierce, strong bodies easily skirting land we’d grown to know like it were a part of our soul. Freedom and peace surged through our minds, our bodies as we attempted to dispel the Darkness. Dislodge its hold over us. Striving to escape the murky sludge of shadows that stalked us in the night.
For me however, I knew I could never outrun the Darkness again. It had become a part of me—a reflective pattern in shadowed glass. A part of my soul I now truly recognized and accepted. It was just another complex piece of me that made the other half whole.
On we ran, the motions a dance with my shadow as it kept time with my beast. For me the running brought a simple measure of understanding; a small moment of simply being another part of myself. The running allowed my wolf to be me and me to be my wolf. It allowed me to feel the earth and magic, beast and Darkness, life and Light. To feel the night rush through my limbs and the wind to flow through my fur. To become all that was the night and have it course through my veins like a pulsating river of life.
For this instant, I reveled in its simplicity, allowed myself to be.
When the running finally seemed to quiet our souls, we caught the scent of game. Herded it, tracked it. Hunted and killed it, like we were meant to do. The blood became the sacrifice to the Prophets. Our silent offering. Our wordless prayer for strength, hope and the possibility of freedom from all the demons that haunted us.
Quietly, together we crept back towards home. Jade, my ever-present shadow at my side. Jet a darker shadow still. We guided her, offered her our comfort. Our support.
Tonight she would sleep off the weariness of the change. The weight of knowledge. The price of fear.
There were but mere days until Halloween. I was beginning to wonder how, in that time, I was to come up with a plan to save our family? For that is what they had become to me in this very short time. More than just people I shared my time with, my home and my life. They were entwined in my future, true. But each one had slowly left their own mark upon my heart, wormed their way past barriers I hadn’t known I’d had, and each was laying the foundation of friendship. Companionship. And, strange as it may seem to me, their absence affected me. Wounded me. Angered me.
So how in all that was right in the Light was I to destroy Jirvel’s Darkness, rescue Kieran and the others, get back whatever it was that Lucien expected me to steal back from that evil pasty she-bitch, retrieve the Book of The Way and set to rights the Land of Light? Oh, and manage not to go insane by all of this? How was I to trust the Light when the Light wasn’t providing me any damn answers?
My heart grew heavy with worry. Tainted with hatred. Limned in fear. This was going to take a freaking miracle. Or, a maker of miracles, I suddenly realized. Magical, power-filled miracles. Question was—would the Court let me speak to the one person who could show me how to tap into them? And, would she be forgiving enough that I’d helped to lock her in a Vortex of Suppression that she’d willingly offer her assistance?
Only one way to find out.
“You’ve an idea,” Gimlit stated, wrapping the length of my red robe around me. He’d waited at home for the night to run its course, to dispel the Darkness from us. To help us find some peace. I briefly wondered what he did to ease his own dark suffering. How did my Gim let loose the vile stain so that the Light could clear his mind and once more shine within him?
“You are my Light, mistress. Where you find peace, so too do I follow,” he whispered softly as he brushed the lightest of kisses against my forehead. I had no idea what I did to deserve Gimlit, but as I stood in the comfort of his embrace, his solid arms holding me, I said a silent prayer of thanks to the Prophets. Of all the gifts bestowed upon me, no matter how great or small, Gimlit’s protection, love and guidance all these years since he found me as a babe in the forest where my despicable mother left me for dead, I could never be more grateful for. His was a debt I could never repay.
“Your heart speaks loudly where no words of thanks are needed, mistress.”
“Gimlit, I…”
He tipped my chin up so I could stare into the drowning sea of his turquoise eyes. In them I found nothing but love staring back at me as he silenced me with his lips.
They were as soft as I remembered them. Briefly the image of his first kiss surfaced, the need, the urgency, and the fear. Then it all fell away and I was left with nothing but the feel of his lips on mine. Gimlit, my beautiful, dangerous Ogre. My ancient warrior. My knowledgeable healer. The Guardian of my life, my heart and my soul.
The weight of his lips on mine fluttered through my belly, causing things lower to constrict with need. He swept his tongue in my mouth at the same ins
tant he swept aside the edges of my robe and the feel of his hands on my body sped my heart rate, increased my hunger. Then he deepened the kiss.
I had the barest of thoughts that things had never progressed this far with Gimlit. A kiss igniting an inferno of need, sparking a fire of desire. His hands on my skin, scorching a path of hunger so great I felt as though I would implode if he didn’t touch me soon.
While one hand cupped the span of my ass, the other wound its way up the side of my waist before meandering down to where I pulsed with need. His fingers were a whisper from the juncture of my yearning when he paused, pulling back from the kiss.
“Tell me stop, Rihker,” he growled, need and his own burning desire heavy in his voice. The fire of hunger burned in his eyes turning them to a stunning sea-foam flame.
My pulse hammered so fiercely I could feel it in my throat. My body quivered with a need so immense I felt I’d turn to dust on the spot if I didn’t have him buried deep inside of me. I could literally see the world tinted in a haze of smoldering red desire.
“Stop.” The voice was familiar and close. Demanding and powerful. I felt a distant stir deep inside of me; the movement of fur and remembered touches. I blinked. Once. Twice. Then realized that it wasn’t me who’d said the word. My head turned, the barest of movements and my peripheral vision was caught in the crimson glow. A glow that was coming from Gimlit’s heart.
“By all the Prophets!” I whispered. My shock was instant, my confusion immeasurable.
Gimlit blinked as if coming to himself; a fog seemed to lift from his mind with each rapid succession of blinks. Cleansing his mind of desire and lust.
