by Quinn Loftis
Mona rode through the Carpathian Mountains, the cold winter beginning to become a memory as spring started to emerge from its long rest. Mona rolled her eyes at the life flourishing in the forest, the blooming plants and trees bearing fresh new leaves. It gave her a bit of satisfaction knowing that Octavian’s dark hooves killed every living thing on the ground which they landed. The evil that filled her could no longer be contained and was leaking out into the areas around her. She laughed a soul-cringing laugh that bounced off the rocks and trees, creating a disturbing echo. Once she left the cover of the forest, she tried to avoid major towns or cities. She didn’t rest at night, and only stopped briefly to water Octavian. Yes, she was an evil witch, but even evil witches needed to make sure their mode of transportation was properly cared for.
Time slipped away as she rode on. Mona’s thoughts were consumed with the plan she was concocting. She had done some research while she had been in the In Between and discovered that she might have the ability to raise an army like no other. The Fae weren’t the only ones with a veil, turns out that the veil leading into the underworld had a doorway, one that had been closed and sealed long ago because of the evil that lay behind it. She needed to know more. She needed to make sure that she could control the darkness that she planned to unleash – the darkness that would orchestrate the ultimate destruction of her foes.
Mona finally crossed the Bulgarian border and followed the Yantra River into the Balkan Mountains. The warlock had told her that the one she needed to speak to would find her and that she just needed to make herself known. He said that the mountain and the trees would let them know of her intentions and to be wary. So once she entered the forest she brought Octavian to a slow walk and kept her eyes moving constantly, roving over the landscape around her. After several hours she felt a presence; it was nearly as evil as her.
“Show yourself, brother of the craft.” Desdemona spoke confidently into the silence.
After several seconds a tall figure emerged. He was shrouded in a deep green cloak that blended well with the lush forest around him. His hair was black as night and he had pointed ears – his face was close to human in form although his nose was sharper in appearance and his lips were so thin they were nearly nonexistent. Most strikingly, his eyes were almond-shaped, a little more separated than a human's, and glowed an eerie yellow like that of the harvest moon. . He was strong of stature with a broad chest and long powerful legs.
Even with the unusual features he was dazzling. Mona thought she might have found him attractive if she cared for that sort of thing – which she didn’t. He carried a sword across his back, and various other knives decorated his form.
“Why do you bring your evil stink into my forest, witch?” The power that rolled off of him and through his words told Mona that what she really had hoped was indeed the case. This was a royal warlock.
Not just royal, no, Mona thought to her pleasure. This was Cypher, the King of the warlocks.
Mona laughed, a sound that came out as an evil hiss. “The evil that permeates these woods is not disturbed by me, Warlock King. My evil simply adds to the allure, don’t you think?”
Cypher took a step closer to Mona, not to threaten, but more as a warning. “Since when is there a witch left in this realm? Did not the Fae take care of your kind?”
“I am the last of my kind. I am not so easily destroyed.” Mona lifted her chin and arched a brow. “To business then, I do not come to bring you problems, I come seeking information and perhaps a trade of some sort.”
Cypher scoffed. “What could you possibly possess that I would want to trade for?”
“Tsk, tsk, great King. Do not so quickly dismiss me. Will you not at least hear my proposition?”
Cypher stood silently. His eyes narrowed as he considered her request.
“Fine. I will hear you and then you will leave.”
“If I recall correctly,” she began slowly, “there was a time when the warlocks were very interested in the stones of the Fae. In fact, I think your kind was seeking them rather fervently.” Mona watched as the warlock King straightened at her words.
“The Fae have been absent from this realm for quite some time. I have come to tell you that I have seen the stones.”
Cypher took several menacing steps toward her. “Why should I believe you? The Fae would never be so reckless with such powerful objects.”
Mona laughed. “Oh, they would if they were threatened by an extremely powerful witch out to destroy the Canis lupis and steal two gypsy healers.”
“What!” Cypher was taken aback by her words. “The wolves have healers? How long has it been since a healer has been a part of a pack?”
“Too long,” she replied.
“Even if you have seen these stones, how could you possibly get close enough to steal them? What is it that you want so badly that you are willing to take such a risk?”
"I have my reasons. Now is neither the time nor place to discuss them," said Mona sharply.
"Damn your reasons," Cypher spat. “Get out of my realm, witch."
“Have you taken a mate, great King?” Mona asked quickly, before the King could get away.
Cypher turned, slowly freezing her with his narrow, eerie, glowing eyes. “What would know of warlocks and their mates?” His words were a growl and the threat in them was not lost on Mona.
“I know that the females of your race are dying out. I know that your own magic has waned ever since the Fae left this realm and took so much of the power with them. I know that you, like the wolves, are much more powerful when mated.” Mona began to walk in a slow circle, taking measured steps as she reeled the warlock King in with her promises. “What if I told you that I can get you a mate? You can begin to rebuild your race and, with the stones, you can ensure that you get your magic back.”
She could tell immediately that Cypher was intrigued. His lips tightened as he considered.
Finally he spoke. “I need to consider your offer and discuss it with my clan.”
“Surely you, as their King, do not need their permission.” Mona sneered.
Cyper growled and was in her face in the blink of an eye. “Watch yourself, witch. Appearances are not always what they seem. Speak to me with such disrespect again and you will discover firsthand whether or not we have lost as much magic as you assume.”
Mona raised her hands in surrender and took a slow step back. “I meant no disrespect, King. I will be close, so simply speak my name on the wind and I will hear you.” She backed away, careful to continue facing the King, and climbed onto Octavian.
“One more thing,” she said as she turned to go. “Consider this – are your people moving forward or backward? Can you survive the future in your current state? Where do you see your clan in a decade, or a century?” With that, she turned her steed and took off at a run.
Cypher watched as the witch took her leave. He realized that she knew she was pushing her limits with his patience. He had to admit that her offer was very tempting. But he was a realistic being; he knew it would not be as simple as she made out.
“Desdemona,” he thought to himself. He knew of her, knew of the evil that had taken root deep inside her. If she had come to the point of doing something as desperate as trying to steal the stones of the Fae, then there was no hope left for her, regardless of what she had planned.
He also knew of the darkness inside his own spirit. Over the centuries, Cypher’s clan had slowly been forced into extinction because of the Fae’s selfishness and disregard for the other supernaturals in this realm. He had willingly turned to dark magic in an attempt to save the females of his race. What he did not know was that once the evil was allowed through even the smallest opening, even with the best of intentions, it could not be controlled. It had a will of its own, creeping into the dark places of a being’s heart and feeding said being’s thoughts and desires.
One day he had woken up and realized that the help had only been an illusion, a lie so carefully cr
afted into such an appealing idea that he hadn’t even realized it had slowly ensnared him and his clan. He believed that he had reached the point of no return. He was convinced that his heart was so dark that any amount of light that attempted to pierce the darkness would be immediately extinguished. If this was the case, then aiding Desdemona wouldn’t be adding to the darkness inside him. But, if by some small miracle there was a chance for him, then helping the witch might seal his fate, and he would be controlled forever by the evil that he'd naively welcomed with open arms.
~
Peri sat with Adam and Elle in the library of the Serbian pack mansion. She had summoned them after leaving the council of the Fae and asked them to help her gather information through their underground connections in the supernatural realm to see if there was any word of Mona or her workings. Peri had talked to a warlock that confessed to speaking with Mona, but he would not discuss what they had talked about. Adam and Elle had been able to follow a faint trail of magic from the In Between Veil through the Carpathian Mountains. Based upon the direction Desdemona was heading, Peri believed that she was heading into the Bulgarian Mountains. That couldn’t be a good thing, considering that according to the last rumor Peri had heard, there was a warlock King and his clan residing there.
“Desdemona must be getting desperate if she's seeking help from someone who could destroy her,” Adam pointed out the same thought Peri had just had.
“She’s getting desperate if she would even consider unleashing demons from the Veil on this world.” Peri added.
“What are we going to do?” Elle asked. “If our own people won’t help what chance do we have?”
Peri took a deep breath. Adam and Elle had known Peri for a very long time and this was the first time they had ever seen her truly worried.
“I’m going to use the stones to petition the Great Luna.”
Elle gasped. “It’s that bad?”
Peri looked at her two friends, her comrades in arms. She wouldn’t lie to them. It wouldn’t be fair. After all, they were sacrificing to be here with her.
“The Werewolf Wars and the Great Purge were cakewalks compared to what it will be like if those demons are allowed on this side of the veil.” Peri stood. “You two need to lay low until the meeting tomorrow night. I’m going to have to get closer to the Veil so that I can draw on its power and add it to my own and that of the stones.”
“Perizada, you watch yourself.” Adam’s eyes narrowed. “You know there are many who would not hesitate to send you into the next life to get their hands on those stones.”
Peri’s lips curled up in a small smile. “Adam, even as old as you are you are still so very young. You do realize who you are speaking to, correct?”
Elle grinned and Adam tried to hide his own. “Yes, I know you are...what does the Serbian’s mate say? A bad ass?”
“You’d do well not to forget that, fairy boy.”
Adam rolled his eyes at the nickname she had no doubt picked up from the American girls.
Peri left them staring after her as she headed once again into the Transylvanian Alps.
Chapter 7
“If you think the life of a Canis lupis historian is interesting, you would be wrong. No offense, but seriously? Sitting, waiting on your Alpha to send you data to archive gets old really quickly. Going through ancient archives and converting them to digital; format? Boring! Some days I think stabbing myself in the eye with a spoon would be more interesting, so you can imagine my excitement at having the Great Luna appear. I’ll remember next time not to get excited until after she tells me what she wants.” ~Wadim
Wadim laughed as he read the latest t-shirt his sister had sent to him. This one was probably not something to wear around the pups – not that there were any in their pack. He frowned at that thought.
“Historians do it over and over and over…” he read the shirt aloud, smiling at the slight jab she was adding to the sexual innuendo. They continually argued over the fact that history was doomed to repeat itself. Her argument was that people change and, therefore, history had to change. His argument was, “I’m the historian and I know more than you”. She always growled when he threw that one at her. He folded the shirt haphazardly and laid it on the end of his desk, amongst the many papers and files. He had been working on getting the most recent happenings of their pack into the database. Vasile had been adamant about recording the reappearance of the gypsy healers, and the dormants being mated to full-bloods. Wadim was trying to keep events up to date in the system and continue to work on finding archives that pertained to the current crisis. The older archives were still in paper form, which made the job very time-consuming. He was operating on very little sleep and knew that he needed rest. Having his eyes cross at the computer screen due to exhaustion wasn’t exactly conducive to accurate record keeping.
He checked his watch and saw that it was only 6pm. Bedtime or not, he was going to fall asleep at his desk or his bed, wherever he landed.
“The bed it is,” he spoke into the empty room, heading for his quarters.
He was asleep before his head hit the pillow.
Wadim knew that he was still asleep even as he sat up on the edge of his bed. Looking around, he realized he wasn’t in his room. The room he was in was illuminated with a soft light that seemed just bright enough to keep darkness dancing several feet away. He stood and turned in a circle, looking around him. The walls were stone grey and all around there were sconce lights. In between each sconce was a picture of a wolf, or group of wolves. Wadim could tell by the sheer size of them that they weren’t natural wolves. These were Canis lupis. There was a large, round, deep purple rug in the center of the room. A glass table was on the rug and around the table was various chairs, including a love seat and a chaise lounge.
He took a step forward, toward a white, wing-backed chair. The air rippled around him and caressed his face gently. He looked for a window or door, something that would have brought the breeze. He once again turned in a full circle. Standing behind him where the bed had been was a beautiful woman. She was tall and had long white hair that glowed with a soft halo of light. Her eyes were also white, no pupils, and seemed to glow with the same light. She had a straight nose and full, pink lips that were turned up in a soft smile. A shimmering cloak shifted from silver to purple with her movements.
Wadim watched in awe as she walked toward him, although with the grace that she moved it was more like gliding. He couldn’t look away as he waited for her to speak. When she finally did, her voice was a soothing balm that eased every worry and quieted every busy thought.
“Welcome, Wadim, keeper of the knowledge of the Romanian pack, child of mine.”
Wadim wasn’t sure if he should bow, kneel, or kiss her hand. He didn’t know the protocol for meeting the Great Luna, for he was sure that it was her that stood before him
“A simple ‘hello’ will do, keeper.” Her laugh was a musical chime that brought a smile to his face.
“You can read my mind?” He asked tentatively.
“Of course. I created you; I know everything about you,” she told him.
Wadim ran a hand across his face with a small groan. “Man, that cannot be good.”
Again with the musical laugh. “I have not brought you here to discuss your own life, Wadim. Not yet, anyway. There are bigger happenings going on in your world, bigger than any one being of any one species.”
She motioned for Wadim to take a seat and she took the one across from him.
“I have been petitioned by one of the great Fae, Perizada. She has come to me on behalf of the wolves, my wolves. How much do you know about the situation unfolding in your world?”
“I’ve been recording all the recent events but haven’t had much time to talk with Vasile. He's been helping Decebel get the Serbian pack reorganized.”
Wadim spoke of his pack as if she knew them; he figured she must since she was the one who created them.
“Much has happened since
the battle between the witch and my wolves. Desdemona is on the move. She is seeking out an ancient evil horde to release on your realm and she has been pursuing the one being that has the knowledge to open the Veil in order to allow that evil to cross over. Now she has found him. As of right now he has not decided if he will help her. His heart is not yet consumed with evil. There is still good deep within him – good that needs just a tiny light to pierce through the darkness that is attempting to overshadow him.
“Desdemona holds a great temptation before him, though whether she can deliver what she promises has not yet been determined. Perizada of the Fae has been a great friend to my wolves and long continued the task I set before her. The others of her race have grown complacent and comfortable in the peace they have enjoyed for so long. I will not allow them to sit comfortably behind their Veil while the human realm is destroyed.”
Wadim listened attentively, feeling her passion and love for her creations, and even those that she did not create.
“What are you going to do?” he asked.
“I am going to stir things up a bit,” she answered, with what could only be described as a smile full of mischief. “I have decided that I can create a situation that will be good for all concerned. My wolves are dwindling in numbers due to the lack of true mates. This was of my own doing, for which I am truly sorry. When I saw the destruction they were bringing amongst themselves I made it very difficult to procreate and, over time, this has caused a population with too few females. The tide is turning. My wolves are beginning to gather themselves once again. The love of the half-blood mate of the prince, the fierce faithfulness of the dormant, and the pure heart of the healer are bringing a new era to the Canis lupis species. Because of this, I am going to help my wolves replenish their numbers. I will bless them with offspring that will bring joy to their packs and I will unite them with another supernatural species.” She paused as Wadim processed all that she was saying. “My wolves need mates. Since their creation I have only allowed them to mate within their own species. I cannot allow them to mate with full-blooded humans and form true mate bonds, of course, because the humans lack magic. However, I can make it possible for another magical species to become compatible.”
