by Kamryn Hart
WE MADE IT FAR into the mountains as the sun began to set, climbing higher and higher each passing moment, and hit a thick sea of clouds. Todd had to slow the roader down some so that we wouldn’t hit anything in the growing haze. Visibility was bad, and the atmosphere was eerie. Winds would sweep by and move the fog in unnatural ways, creating dark spaces like gaunt faces with mouths opened wide in a fleeting scream before being wiped clean. None of it bothered Todd, though.
I focused on his calm state of mind to quiet my restlessness. I tried to concentrate on what the others were feeling, but it was as muddied as the fog we were driving in. If Todd hadn’t felt so confident in the direction we were going, I might have wondered if we were lost. Then again, as long as we were on an upward slope, we would eventually arrive at Howling Sky—according to Todd’s reassuring thoughts.
“You’re so reliable,” I thought.
“Most of the time,” he agreed.
It felt like cheating, for us to exchange thoughts like this without anyone else hearing, but we weren’t trying to have secret conversations. It just happened. He read my thoughts. I read his. It was a passive exchange, as sure as my own heartbeat. There were no secrets because everything was open between us. We were as comfortable with each other as if we were wearing each other’s skin. It sounded a little strange, but it was the best way I could describe the sensation.
I wanted to share it with each of them. What if I told them what Todd and I had done and what we had? I would have right away, but Caspian’s words kept replaying in my head. I didn’t know how Aerre would feel. Rodrick refused to have real sex me. I was worried they didn’t want this at all. I told myself it would be okay, that I didn’t need to have what I had with Todd with each one of them. But the thought made me want to cry. I craved them all.
I loved them all.
“I should tell them,” I thought as I fingered the white ribbon around my neck. I was even hiding Todd’s bite from their eyes.
Todd and I were doing something wrong by hiding things from them. Whether they liked it or not, they deserved to know. My heart pinched with the very real possibility of this pushing them away, but I would have to risk it.
Todd glanced at me from the rearview mirror.
“Is that okay?” I asked.
“If you think it’s best,” he replied. “I have nothing to hide.”
“I want what’s best for Phantom Fangs.”
I took a deep breath, steeling myself for what I was about to say. I was just about to open my mouth when the clouds parted. We were still climbing higher, but the fog was behind us now, a swirling sea of whites and grays. We were on a green mountainside, driving to the top of the world. Maybe even past that. This was like the Domain of the Gods. The evening sunlight bathed the world in vibrant golden hues that almost made everything look as if it was painted with a real layer of gold.
Buildings started popping up, one after the other, along with a great wall. There were holes and rubble everywhere, the scars of a brutal war. The place had been under a relentless siege, but it somehow managed to look proud even now. These were the first remnants of Howling Sky.
I watched with bated breath, taking in every detail I could. Plants were everywhere, growing through cracks in the buildings, lining the streets. They were probably cut back and maintained at one point. The soil here must have been excellent because the greens were the brightest greens I had ever seen. Flowers burst with colors, painting the landscape in a rainbow. The effect was amplified by a certain material that bordered, or at least highlighted, every structure. It was pearly and subtly reflected everything around it. It was especially prominent in Howling Sky Castle.
We were still a distance away from it, but I could see chunks were missing from the top of the castle, leaving it in a very similar state to the rest of what I saw of the kingdom. Its asymmetrical silhouette was a bit ominous, and it glistened red in the evening sun. The way the light reflected off that pearly surface reminded me of the full moon murals back in Paws Peak. They were inside the castle, sitting below windows as if they were made to reflect light. Paws Peak didn’t have a lot of this material. It was used sparingly. Howling Sky, on the other hand, had it absolutely everywhere.
“What is that?” I asked.
“The castle?” Caspian replied.
“Yes, what’s it made of?”
“Primarily lunalite. Pretty much all of Howling Sky is, at least when you get deep into the kingdom. I hear the Royal Sector is notorious for the flamboyant use of it. It’s a valuable resource and one of the reasons why Howling Sky was so powerful and became the High Kingdom.”
“Especially during a time when tech was outlawed,” Todd added. “It’s only been fairly recently, about fifty years ago, that tech started coming back. The reintroduction started small, and they say Howling Sky never brought it back. That’s how the vampires took them down so easily. Their tech was too powerful to fight with physical strength and moonlight alone. The rest of us have been growing arsenals since the reintroduction.”
“So we can launch the Hellfire Strike—part two—and destroy everything,” Aerre mused. “Though the comforts tech offers are nice until then.”
“Really?” I asked, horrified.
“No,” Todd said. “I don’t think anyone wants that again, but tech… it’s only destructive if it’s used that way.”
I knew Todd would never use tech to destroy the world, so I relaxed. “What’s it worth then? Lunalite.” I asked.
“A lot,” Aerre said.
“It amplifies moonlight,” Caspian explained. “Lunalite is kind of fickle stuff, a unique mineral, but it can allow werewolves to absorb moonlight even when there isn’t a full moon. You’d need a hell of a lot of it to ever simulate a full moon night with the moon in perfect alignment, though.”
“I saw some at Paws Peak before, I think,” I said.
“You probably did. Howling Sky and Paws Peak were built on the highest peaks their founders could find—though Howling Sky ended up with the higher one. Their goal was to be on top of the world and close to Lake Luminous. Lunalite rests in the lake’s depths; it makes up the entire lake bed. It’s not easy stuff to retrieve even this close though, or you’d see even more of it. The lake is infamous for swallowing trespassers up with its illusions. You might be able to catch a glimpse of it when we get over that ridge if the clouds aren’t too dense.”
“Why doesn’t someone strip all of the lunalite from Howling Sky then?”
“That’s a good question. For Paws Peak, it’s really a pain to get to Howling Sky without going through Wolf Bridge these days, and lunalite isn’t the easiest mineral to transport. It’s fragile. The big chunks are the most powerful and valuable. Little shards pieced together don’t make up for a solid slab of the mineral. As for Wolf Bridge, despite all the problems, we respected Howling Sky on neutral terms. The King of Wolf Bridge felt it wasn’t right to go digging around in their remains—not to mention the precarious situation with vampires after Howling Sky’s destruction. It was much more prudent to keep the kingdom safe, to hole up.
“Besides, the little bit that Paws Peak has really doesn’t matter much. Not when compared to the technology Todd has invented. Tech is proof you can be dangerous and powerful without using moonlight—more powerful if we want to bring the results of the Hellfire Strike into this. And a good fighter like Rodrick will beat anyone wildly using moonlight while using very little in return. Moonlight is important to werewolves and powerful, but it’s not a fix-all.”
“Moonlight is like anything else. It needs to be used properly,” Rodrick said.
“Howling Sky knew it best,” I said.
“I’d say that’s true,” Caspian agreed. “They were really focused on it, on being pure werewolf. They had this kingdom, but they were, in some ways, a lot like those ancient nomadic packs you were talking about before.”
As we continued climbing higher and made it over that ridge Caspian talked about before, he pointed to the left. “
You see that opening in the clouds down there? That’s Lake Luminous.”
I looked out Rodrick’s window to see what Caspian was talking about. At first, I only saw clouds, but they were slowly opening up, creating gaps for a shimmering water surface to shine through. It looked more like a bed of crystals. We really were in the Domain of the Gods.
“We’re officially in the Royal Sector,” Todd murmured.
I wondered why he spoke so softly. Then I felt a jump in the calmness he was emanating. And I saw them. I saw the skeletons. They were piled high against the buildings here. I didn’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this. Shouldn’t we have seen some before we reached this sector? Were these bodies piled here after they died or did the vampires gather everyone into the Royal Sector and slaughter them with… with I had no idea what.
My stomach dropped, and my chest was tight as I looked at the springtime plants sprouting up through rib cages and bursting through empty eye sockets. It was a marriage of life and death in an uncountable number. The air was heavy and thinning at the same time. I was having trouble breathing. I curled up and shuddered.
“Steady,” Rodrick said as he placed his hand on my back. I closed my eyes, taking in the physical comfort while holding on to the lifeline of Todd’s returned calmness.
When we reached the castle, Todd parked the roader right below the many stairs leading to its front doors. The others got out while I stayed glued in place. I closed my eyes and took one more breath before I followed them. The castle had more skeletons than anywhere else. They were deliberately piled high on either side of the staircase. This was a macabre thought, but they were almost like decorations or part of the building itself.
I looked up at the castle and imagined seeing it before it was ruined, before it wore the remains of those who had built it. I could imagine it. If I filled in the cracks and focused on the luminous property of the lunalite, I could see it. Proud, powerful werewolves once walked here, the same ones I saw in my dream. The remnants of that power was evident even now. The finest moonlight wielders. A kingdom of maneaters. The High Kingdom. My origin. Todd’s too. It was many things, but it wasn’t my home. Maybe that dream I had meant nothing and we wouldn’t learn anything here. Maybe the real reason I dragged us out here was because I wanted to see it for myself. What could we learn from a dead kingdom? I didn’t know anymore.
Todd’s thoughts and feelings mingled with my own as he came to stand beside me. He could feel the weight of it all with me, and he could feel my discomfort. He took my hand. I gratefully squeezed his in return. We didn’t have to speak a word, or think words, because we were in perfect synchronization. He knew I needed to hold his hand. I knew he needed to hold mine. It was that simple. This was a lot to take in. This was the place that made us.
“You picked a cheery place for us to ‘avoid distractions,’” Rodrick commented.
I frowned. These werewolves had been left here to rot for the last eighteen years. Almost everyone in Howling Sky died. My mother saved me. Todd’s parents managed to escape with him. I was glad he wasn’t caught in all of this death. I never would have met him. I couldn’t bear the thought. I gave his hand another squeeze.
“I had brothers too, like most werewolves. My parents couldn’t get to them in time. They were only able to sneak me out because I was taking a special test inside the castle,” he shared.
“You were a genius even then. I’m not surprised. It’s something you were born with. But your brothers weren’t?” I wondered.
“I don’t remember much. I just remember that I had brothers. I remember the fire, the screams, and my parents rushing me out. I can barely remember my parents’ faces, and I’ve forgotten the faces of my brothers.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You can’t be sad over something you don’t remember.”
Perhaps that was true, but my lips quivered. With rage. With sorrow. My birth was the cause of all this destruction? I didn’t side with maneaters. I didn’t agree with that mentality at all, but why was there so much destruction everywhere I turned? It was like the air outside of Babaga’s woods was toxic. It was slowly seeping into my brain, like spilled ink overwriting what was previously written with something much darker, something opaque and sticky.
So many thought I was important. So many thought I would bring about a new generation. Some thought I would rule. Werewolves. Vampires. Maybe even humans. There were so many expectations of me. Not even Todd’s calm and constant warmth or love for me could stop me from feeling this overwhelming sorrow.
I dropped down to the ground and pounded on the earth with my fists and cried. I never wanted any of this. I never asked for any of this. If I had been stuck in Paws Peak, if Phantom Fangs hadn’t come to rescue me, I wondered what kind of monster I might have already become in order to survive a world full of monsters.
“Sorissa,” Todd said softly as he crouched down next to me.
Caspian said, “Maybe it was a bad idea to come here after all.”
An ear-piercing screech carried on the wind. It was coming from up the stairs, from the mouth of the castle. The doors were open. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
Startled, I stood up in a rush, wondering if I had imagined the words, imagined the voice. I knew that voice.
Aerre and Rodrick came to stand by us. Rodrick drew his gun from his combat belt, and Aerre mirrored him. A hunched over woman wearing an old gray dress and a green shawl wrapped around her head emerged from the front doors of the castle. Her dress trailed behind her like smoke drifting up into the air with each step down. A breeze picked up and caught her shall, revealing the silver strands of her long hair. She was a woman I knew very well. A great and powerful witch.
“B-Babaga?” I stuttered.
“Thank you for heeding my call, my dear Sorissa. It’s good to see you again.”
CHAPTER 21
SORISSA
I DIDN’T KNOW IF I wanted to give Babaga a big hug or if I wanted to scream at her. My hands clenched and unclenched several times. I wiggled my fingers and tried to remember how to breathe. Phantom Fangs gathered around me, circling me as I stood. No one said a word until I finally asked, “Why?”
It was the only word I could manage. There were so many things I wanted to say, so many questions, but they pretty much all started with why.
Babaga reached the foot of the stairs and stood hunched over with her many years of life. She straightened her back some and then ended up right back where she was. Her hair dangled at the sides of her head, framing it in dignified silver. She was old and wrinkled, and she didn’t look like a powerful witch, but looks were deceiving. This was the woman I considered my mother. Gods, I had missed her. Tears escaped my eyes, and I bit my lip.
“I made a deal with your mother,” she said. “If you hadn’t gone and burned her journal, you would have known that Alana came to me when Howling Sky was burning to keep you safe.”
I was a little shocked that Babaga knew I had burned the journal, but I knew I shouldn’t be. She had always known things, everything, though she never explained how. She was secretive, but that didn’t change my love for her, or my trust—until she sold me to werewolves.
“Alana wanted me to protect you and give you away to Paws Peak when you came of age. You had been betrothed to Prince Charles before the attack, before you were born, and she wished to honor that. She thought it was the best option for you. The price of that exchange was her life,” Babaga said. “I had to follow through. That’s how this works. That’s the price of my power. I deal in equivalent exchange.”
“A deal? It was because of my mother that you sold me to Paws Peak?”
“I didn’t sell you. I returned you to where you were supposed to be as per your mother’s instructions, according to the deal.”
I gritted my teeth. A small point on my forehead throbbed. “What did you mean when you thanked me for ‘heeding your call’? Did you invade my dreams?”
“Yes, I did.�
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“Why? Why now and why this graveyard? Your deal is done. You shouldn’t have anything to do with me anymore. That’s what you’re saying, right?”
“Sorissa,” Todd said quietly, taking my hand. He must’ve felt my rage and confusion and was trying to make me feel better. He was worried. His emotions were trying to mesh with mine, but mine overpowered his and tossed them aside.
“So many have been brutally murdered in this world, and for what?” I asked. “What is it all for? Why is this place so different from the woods? Did you ever love me, or am I as delusional as I’m beginning to fear? Because I loved you.” I swallowed. “I still love you.”
Babaga shivered and reclaimed her shall from the incessant wind, snuggling it around her neck and shoulders. “I don’t like being outside of my woods,” she muttered. Then her sharp eyes snapped up to me. “I came, called you here, because I think of you as my daughter, and I want to help you. I do love you, Sorissa, even though I shouldn’t. I’m impartial. That’s the other price of my power. I’ve always been impartial. I have to be. But not when it comes to you.
“Your mother’s price to use my power was her life. It was her life because the thing she held most dear was spending the rest of it watching over you and witnessing the change you would bring to Prime. I can help you and your werewolves while you’re in Howling Sky. I can help until you need to return to Wolf Bridge. Then we must part ways forever because what I hold most dear is you. That is the price I must pay in order to help you. I’d much rather you live a long and happy life than for things to end in disaster, so it will be well worth it. And this still allows me to see you one last time. I couldn’t ask for a better deal.”
I wiped the tears from my eyes and went to her. I knew Babaga still loved me. I knew it. I gave her a big hug, careful not to snap her old bones. She didn’t hug me back, but I was glad she was letting me hug her at all. “I missed you so much,” I said. “But it’s not fair. There has to be a way around this equal-exchange magic. I don’t want you to leave for good after this. You can stay with us.”
