Nightly Howls

by Madeline Blake

  We enter through the door, and I am surprised by the simplicity of it all. There is nothing in it besides a few chairs, a desk and cabinets, and a small bed. It rather resembles a normal hospital room, and even that seems more homely than this one. It is very different from everything else I have seen on this floor.

  An old, yet striking lady is murmuring to herself, seemingly stirring together a strange concoction in a large mixing bowl. She is dressed in all black and has beady eyes, with dark hair that stretches to her lower back. If I didn’t know better, I’d think that I have just seen a witch.

  “Ella, meet our herbalist, Marsha.” Griffin smiles at her, and I extend my hand cautiously. She turns to look at me, stares at my hand for a minute, and then turns away.

  My cheeks burn as I hastily drop my hand to my side. Griffin doesn’t seem to notice my embarrassment, acting as if she hadn’t just snubbed me in front of him. “She will be taking care of the ritual, Ella. You have nothing to worry about. She is the best of the best.”

  He obviously expects me to be eased by this knowledge. Honestly, it upsets me even more. This lady looks like she could kill me. Not only kill me, but not care about it in the slightest.

  “Leave.” A small croak comes from Marsha, and we both take a step back. “I must deal with her alone.”

  Marsha. What a witchy name.

  Griffin shakes his head. “I’m sorry Marsha, but the Council said-“

  “I do not care what the Council said!” She shakes her head definitely, her voice cracking on every other word. “I am doing them a favor right now, and they know it.”

  Griffin stares at me pleadingly. “Yeah, yeah, I get it,” I mutter underneath my breath, “go wait outside.” Smiling, he pats me on the head and walks out of the door.

  “I’ll be right here! Call if you need me!” He throws over his shoulder, and then the door shuts with a frightening CLANG!!

  Now I am alone with this scary witch-lady. I knew I never should have gone along with this.

  She gestures to the bed, and I quickly scramble upon it. The energy I had before is completely gone. How did I lose my confidence so quickly?

  “Ella, I am going to have to ask you to relax,” she says calmly over her shoulder, “I can feel your teeth chattering like footsteps on a rainy day.”

  What? What did that analogy have to do with anything?

  She finishes her mixture, and then takes a cup out of the cabinet and pours some of the concoction into it. “Parsley, Gingerberries, Red Snaps, Fargleweed, Cabbage, and Tawniberries. Pretty normal ingredients, except for the Gingerberries, until swirled together for thirty minutes, boiled for ten minutes, and then allowed to fester for three days. Now it serves as a concoction that is so potent you cannot drink but a sip before the agony overtakes you. It is the first step to ridding yourself of your mate.” After explaining, she takes a dropper and dips it in the cup. I am only thinking of one thing.

  Gingerberries?

  GINGERBERRIES?

  “Secondly,” she continues, “I have to take another thick mixture, using extremely rare ingredients, and spread it across the mating mark you wish to remove. I have been informed that this mark is near your neck.” Stepping over to me, she places the dropper on a small bedside table and went to get something else.

  “Afterwards, I will use Fargleweed to soothe your evaporating mating mark and the pain in your chest. However, it may continue regardless for hours. Even if you are hurting after I am through with this step, I must give you the elixir or it will never be complete. This is the potion that messes with your mind, fiddling with your memories and truly making you forget him.”

  “Let’s get on with it then,” I mutter, lying back against the single pillow. “Bring on the pain.”

  She smiles, a wicked smile that chills me to the bone. “As you wish.”

  A few minutes pass as she arranges things on the table. I spend time thinking about what I was going to lose. Throughout this process, will I lose myself? Why did I even agree to do this?

  Oh yeah. The pain.

  That is so funny to me, and I start to laugh. So in order to escape from the pain, I must drink something that gives me pain. What a messed up world.

  Marsha arches an eyebrow, and I shrug. “I’m weird,” I offer as an explanation. I’m sure she thinks I’m crazy now.

  I think she is ready, for she is picking up the dropper. “Open up, Ella.” Obediently I do as she asks, closing my eyes in the process. The word why keeps flitting through my thoughts.

  Why, why, why, why, WHY?

  A small droplet of liquid hits my tongue, and I begin to scream. It seems as if my body is on fire, lit into flames by that one single spark. She was right. The pain really does overtake you.

  I can feel Marsha’s hands on me, forcibly holding me down. Strange bindings are suddenly around my feet and arms. Anger at her sears me like a red-hot iron. What the crap was I thinking when I agreed to do this?

  Crashes r heard outside, along with shouting and other strange noises. I barely notice, mainly because I am busy writhing in pain.

  “Not too much longer dearie,” Marsha cackles, her aged hands spreading a gooey paste around my neck. At about this time, an even larger crash occurs, and I can hear Griffin yelling, “Guards! GUARDS!”

  I think Marsha has messed up for some reason, because now I can feel the paste on my shirt and jeans. Some of it gets on my belly and sides because my shirt had ridden up slightly. The burn intensifies when this happens, and I am unable to stop from screaming again.

  “What are you doing to her?” A voice anxiously asks, a voice that is familiar to me. “What are you doing to Ella?!”

  Marsha doesn’t say anything from the silence that follows, and then croaks in my ear. “Drink this.” A cup touches my lips and a sweet liquid slides into my mouth. Not much, though, but something knocks the cup from my lips.

  “Stop!” Another voice yells, and fighting ensues. I finally decide to open my eyes, to figure out what is going on.

  A face hovers above me, streaked with moisture. It takes a minute for my eyes to focus, but then I realize it is him. My body starts to shake and stars dance in my vision. “Ella, it’s me,” the familiar voice whispers, “Nico. I came back.”

  A strange exhilaration fills my body. He… he came back. For me. Somehow it is impossible to believe.

  “I may not ever see you again,” he whispers, “because the guards are coming this way to kill us. But I had to see you just one more time. I love you. I can’t live without you.”

  My heart nearly explodes.

  Through all the burning pain, I focus on my one desire that rises above the others; the urge to escape… with Nico, with Griffin, with everyone. Somehow, I needed to save them all. Even if I die in the process.

  Places appear before me randomly. The werewolf mansion. My orphanage. My school. Strange valleys, and creeks, and towering mountains that I have never seen before.

  Another vision settles before me, a vision of dark rivers and forests, vast oceans and dark grey skies. There.

  I reach for it, grasping for the place that has haunted my dreams since the very first Shifter attack. The others cannot reach us there. We will be safe.

  In my strange state of delirium, I run and catch it in my hands, and then stare at it, expecting something. Anything.

  And then something happens.

  The light from the place grows, consuming my hand, my arms, and my body. It sucks up everything, until nothing is left. Surely I have gone mad. What have I done?

  My consciousness leaves me as I finally pass out, due to the agonizing pain.

  What a nightmare.

  Like A Phoenix

  I feel nothing. I am nothing.

  The voices build up inside of me until they are overwhelming, beating like the ceaseless echo of a drum. There is no worth to my soul. I should just die now and let God condemn me forevermore.

  I can feel the heat rushing to my face as these words cross my
mind, the redness swallowing my cheeks. There is no lucidity to these words, no reason whatsoever. I doubt that I could ever explain these logical fallacies.

  All I know is that these thoughts cannot be true. There is nothing that words can do to bring me down. The wickedness must end now. No weaknesses will be accepted.

  A sound erupts to my right, and a battle immediately begins.

  My eyes flicker open, and the harsh sights berate me like the side of a sharp sword. Immediately I jump to my feet as focus returns, trying to survey my potential opponent. Surely it knows that it would not be able to catch me off guard. Though I suppose if it thought it could, this underestimation would serve as an advantage.

  I look at the unfamiliar creature before me, a small girl who looks barely over the age of five. My eyes narrow at this strange development. What wily tricks enemies try to play… donning disguises that would make me hesitant to strike.

  Quickly I reach to my belt, grasping for a sword or weapon of some kind. To my dismay, nothing is there besides air. Alarm only enters my mind for a second, and then I race towards a tall and intimidating tree to rip off a weighty branch. This will have to do.

  The creature tries to say something, but I refuse to let any words slip out of its tiny mouth. I leap forward as it forms the words, covering her mouth with my hands. Terror dances across her eyes as she stills with my movement, seemingly stunned with shock.

  What petty tricks. Does she really think that I will fall for a gimmick like that? Vulnerability is only a façade, manipulated by the strong and embraced by the weak.

  With lightning-quick movements, I raise my tree branch slightly above her and hit the top of her head lightly. With a body like this, only a tap should be enough to knock the creature out until I decide what to do with it.

  Of course I am right, as the eyes of the child slip to a close almost immediately. Only now do I allow myself a smile, pleased with the manner in which I handled this incident.

  The smile vanishes as a larger man appears from the cluster of trees a few feet away. He looks at me, and then the girl, his startling green eyes widening in shock.

  “Ella, what have you done?”

  What in the name of…

  “Who are you?” I put my hands in the air, trying to gain some time. Slowly I stand up, stepping over the little girl. “How do you know my name?” I try not to let fright and confusion dictate my thoughts. Survival comes first.

  He steps into the sunlight with one graceful, sweeping movement. The first thing I notice is his sparkling blue hair, almost blinding me in the sunlight. Strange recollections start to hit me like a ton of bricks.

  “Do you not recognize me?” He asks, and I can sense hurt in his voice. Strangely, I do, no matter how much that surprises me. Memory after memory resurfaces with a speed that unnerves me.

  “Nico.” The word leaves my mouth, leaving me surprised and confused. How did I know that? How did I know him?

  The man tries to form his next words, and fails. After a few seconds, he tries again.

  “Ella, why did you knock out Danae?”

  I start backing away immediately. Now more memories are coming back, and I don’t like the things I remember. Danae. My only friend that is a woman, and she isn’t even human. What the crap have I become? Surely all of these bizarre memories are not real.

  “Speak to me,” he says, his voice commanding and prompting an immediate response. I start to reply, then immediately stop myself. I do not need to answer to this man.

  I abruptly turn on my heel and run as fast as I can. Trying to stay calm, I think over this matter as I bolt through trees and underbrush. What could Nico possibly want with me? How can I escape this unfamiliar monster with a name that I somehow know?

  Darting to the side as I feel footsteps behind me, I know immediately that running is pointless. He can track my scent like a hound dog and if he caught up to me this quickly; he must also be much faster.

  “Ella!” He calls, to no response. He may kill me now, but he is not getting anything out of me. Within seconds he is right behind me, his breath brushing against the back of my neck.

  I don’t acknowledge him even as he stops me, putting his arms around my torso with a speed and strength that surprises me. It is only when he picks me up that I begin to get extremely annoyed. “Put me down,” I say calmly, trying to mask my irritation. “You have no right to be treating me like this. Just leave me alone. You don’t know me.”

  “I think I do, considering that you are my mate. I think I know almost all of you.” A handsome smile appears on his face as his sinewy arms tighten around me, keeping me in place. Humiliation finally breaks through my wall of steel, and I can feel my face turning cherry red. I know what he is talking about.

  “Screw this. Screw you.” I mutter under my breath, trying to banish these terrible thoughts from my head. However, at his snarky words, I cannot forget the recollection of his lips as they had danced across my body.

  So this was the man that had turned me into a weakling.

  * * *

  “She refuses to accept that I am her mate,” Nico explains to another annoyingly handsome man with slanted eyes, “she is completely different than before.”

  “Well, I mean, they did perform the Sharuken ritual on her,” his companion replies… Yi, I think his name is.

  “The old hag never finished! I think.” He protests rather feebly.

  “I honestly don’t understand why you had to tie her up. Surely she is not that dumb to think she can escape from us, weird amnesia problem or not.”

  “You don’t understand, Yi. She is acting crazy.”

  “I doubt it. More than likely, you are the one who is acting crazy.”

  “Oh yeah? Well, you go talk to her then,” Nico huffs with a note of frustration.

  “I think I will.”

  The willowy werewolf stands up and saunters over to me, smiling wildly. I feel the urge to punch him in the face, but I can’t do anything with these bonds that are so tight that they nearly cut my skin. “Hey, Ella. What’s up?”

  “Nothing much, Yi. Just minding my own business.” I do not smile or frown. It is best not to let anything slip.

  “So… uh…” He looks disconcerted by my response, a little confused. “You say you aren’t mates with Nico?”

  “Yes.” Honestly, that is the only thing I don’t really understand out of all of this. This mate business. I don’t understand this nonsense coming out of their mouth. Yes, I willingly allowed myself to be kissed by him and to let myself fall for his antics, but mates? I’m not even sure I know what that means. This Sharuken stuff is confusing me as well.

  “I think I can prove that you are mates with him,” Yi smiles comfortingly. Not that I need to be comforted. I need a way out of this mess.

  “Shoot.”

  “Could you show us your neck?”

  Now I know these perverts are insane.

  “Good idea, Yi!” Nico said loudly, “I didn’t think of that.”

  “That’s because you are dumb, Nico.” Yi replies, deadpan. He turns his attention back to me. “There should be a mating mark, there near your neck. Do you remember when you tried to kill yourself in the forest?”

  “Yes. That was a moment of temporary weakness. Don’t expect anything shameful like that from me again.”

  The two both look at me as if I have said something weird. “Uh, okay.” Yi speaks first, rather dubiously. “Well, Nico saved you and mated with you that night.”

  “I don’t know what you are talking about. He just saved me, and that was it.” I am surprised at the way I am able to stay so cool and collected, considering that these captors of mine are making such untrue accusations.

  “Just show us your neck,” Yi demands exasperatingly. “Please.”

  Annoyingly I tug down the neckline of my rugged t-shirt, showing a small expanse of white skin. I haven’t always had creamy and smooth skin, but no blemishes have been on this body of mine since I bec
ame a Spier. “See? You guys are insane.”

  Yi turns away, looking at Nico with a shrug. “I guess they really did pull it off.”

  A dark shadow crosses Nico's face. He looks away.

  "Mind letting me out of these bonds anytime soon?" I ask them slowly, "I don't really deserve to be treated like a criminal." Of course, the two both ignore me.

  Thanks a lot.

  A small figure enters my vision, coming towards me from the edge of the clearing. "Ella, you gave me quite the shiner," she laughs. It is a beautiful laugh, full of femininity and self-assurance. Blue and black marks her forehead with an intensity that causes me to gasp.

  "But I only tapped your forehead.. I don't understand how..."

  "I think you underestimate your strength, Ella. It felt like a freight train was being dropped on my head. Lucky for you, you didn't get to see the bloody wounds before they healed a few hours ago. It was bad."

  I suppose I didn't really spend much time examining the effects of my attack before Nico distracted me.

  "I apologize," I say awkwardly, looking off to the side and narrowing my eyes. For some reason, I feel strange and uncomfortable. I know these people, but they have become strangers.

  And most of all, my past self has become a stranger to me. These memories simply don't make sense. How could I let myself become so vulnerable? How pitiful of a life have I been living up until this point?

  Nico stands up, glances at me solemnly, and walks away. I feel a shameful tug at my heart.

  "I understand that you probably don't know how to react right now," Danae begins, "even though I don't understand the particulars of your internal struggle." I roll my eyes, though secretly interested. "My advice to you would be to always go with your heart. No matter what."

  "Thanks," I smile sardonically, then laugh for the first time since I have become... different. "I will keep that in mind."

  She turns without smiling, walking away back into the forest. I look around at the area, seeing the tall trees and dark gray skies. The smell of sulfur is barely prevalent, and the ground is covered in dark vines and dirt. It is if I am just now truly noticing my surroundings.