by Melle Amade
“Well that’s how it feels,” she smiles. “When I turn into a coyote, it feels like nothing can stop me.”
Mom sits with Lydia and they’re talking, heads close together. They’ve been having a lot of conversations over the last couple of weeks as things went in to transition. Mom has seen what Lydia has done for me and for the family. And she knows about Guinevere, that she can shift even as a twelve-year-old.
“What are you two cooking up?” I call with a smile.
Mom looks up, her eyes bright. She takes a deep breath and grabs Henry’s hand, who has sidled over to her. “We’ve decided, Shae. We have seen Evie and I’ve talked to Lydia and she made it clear. It’s still possible for both of us. With the help of the guardians and Earth magic…”
I lean forward, holding my breath, but I can tell by the rapture on Henry’s face what they’ve decided.
“We are both going to do it!” Henry bursts out with excitement.
I squeal and race over to them, grabbing them both in a tight squeeze. “When?” I ask.
“Right now,” Lydia says.
Mom pulls back, startled, but sucks in her cheeks quickly before she speaks to me. “I’ve come this far and watched you grow and become so strong. You showed me how much fear I’ve been living in, how much risk I’ve been unwilling to take.”
“You’re sure about Henry?” I’m barely able to contain my excitement.
“It is his choice.” She smiles down at him, pulling him close.
“Yes!” He cries, wriggling out of her hug. Laughter bubbles out of me.
“We have been controlled by fear, controlled by laws, controlled by the Order. I will not be controlled any longer.” She smiles over at Roman as she speaks. “Besides, if I don’t do this, I’m stuck eating that nasty poison mushroom concoction for the rest of my life.”
And just like that, it’s happening. The Pomos quickly assemble, as if they knew this was going to happen. When we go to the grounds there is already a blanket of fire awaiting us. The fire will help Mom and Henry become shifters.
Henry sidles up next to me.
“I hope I’m a dove,” he whispers.
“It doesn’t matter what you are when you shift,” I say. “All that matters is you are willing to be everything you are. Everything you were made to be.”
The Pomo chants have become so familiar to me, even in the short time we’ve been training and they’ve been teaching me how to use my fire. Lydia has even gotten in the game by always being there to help put out the fires I inevitably start.
“The fire also protects our loved ones,” Lydia says. “We take on the flames to provide them with safety.”
I remember how the first time I walked, we were trying to heal Lord Van Arend.
Mom and Henry stand at one end of the fire. “Remember,” Lydia says. “You do not need to walk now. It is only when the spirit and ancestors call that you are safe to walk freely across the flames. If you do not hear the voice, you don’t go.”
I watch Henry’s face for a moment, because he frowns and I have a feeling he’s going to go no matter what. I don’t know what that means. I don’t know if it means he hears the ancestral voices and they’re already calling him, or if he will get burnt.
My palms sweat with nerves for my brother. But there is nothing I can do. This is the moment he has been waiting for ever since he found out I was a shifter. Or, maybe since he first read Beauty and the Beast or Dracula. This is the magic moment my brother has longed for since he first found out I could shift during Murtagh’s revolt. And there is nothing that will stop him from walking across those flames.
I hold my breath, but it’s Mom who walks first. She steps proud and strong across the flames. Her chin is held high, with no doubt about the grace surrounding her. And she gets to the other side Lydia steps forward, wafting sage smoke over Mom with the sacred eagle feather.
This firewalk is relaxed and sure. No flames rise from Mom’s hands, but a look of pure joy and happiness comes over her face. She opens her arms wide and her body shrinks not down, but up. She beats her wings in the air, a beautiful black raven, stark against the pale lavender morning sky.
The embers of the fire are still hot and burning as Henry, with sheer delight painted all over his face, watches Mom become a raven. She beckons him to come across the flames. Perhaps my brother doesn’t need the voice of the ancestors to invite him, he just needs his mom.
Evie stands on the other side waiting for him, her smiling face full of encouragement and delight for her young friend. I’m so grateful for having her in my life. She’s starting to feel like the younger sister I never had. I can only imagine how devastated Jacqueline was to lose Cory.
My breath catches in my throat as Henry steps onto the fire. I think this must be the last thing I ever imagined I would see in my life. My little brother willingly stepping on fire and me doing nothing to stop it.
Callum reaches out and grabs my hand. He doesn’t say any words, but I know the feelings he’s having are the same as mine. He has stay just long enough to see new Ravensgaard join the ranks. I am sure now he will return to where he belongs; Lord Van Arend’s side as the Ridder.
A look of pain crosses my brother’s face and I lurch forward, ready to jump in the flames and grab him, but Callum holds me back. This is Henry’s journey and he must take each step as his own. He is in the middle of the flames and I see there’s something wrong with his feet. Something isn’t working right. But he takes a deep breath. It’s almost like the breaths that our mother taught us.
Breathe in the flowers.
Blow out the candles.
He blows them out and completes the walk to the other side, stepping off the carpet with some effort. My mother floats above us in her raven’s form. The beating of her wings helps blow the sage smoke over Henry.
But nothing happens.
My eyes shift to Callum. What could be wrong? I look at Jacqueline, but nobody makes eye contact. They’re all looking at Henry. My gaze falls on him. A gasp rises from the crowd as his body shrinks and feathers sprout from his skin. In seconds, he is beating his wings and rising in the air, a majestic and pure white dove.
A deep cooing rises from my throat and glides up into the heavens.
My brother is a dove!
There are more of us.
My father and I are no longer alone.
And as I stand gripping Callum’s hand, watching my raven mother and dove brother fly in the lavender dawn, I know together we will find my father.
THE END
Until Next Month when Deluge is released! =)
http://amzn.to/2u533eC
MELLE AMADE BOOKS
Shifter Chronicle Series
Novella – HERITAGE
https://www.instafreebie.com/free/XvXmY
1 - SANCTUARY
http://amzn.to/2ngrh53
2 - REMNANTS
http://amzn.to/2kORbsE
3 - HARVEST
http://amzn.to/2rNtXtA
4 - DELUGE
http://amzn.to/2u533eC
Quest for Shifter Magic Series
1 - IRON CAGE
http://amzn.to/2mzePZv
DOWNLOAD FREE
Dutch born, Matilde, the estranged niece of Lord Van Arend, barters with her scheming mother to spend the summer with the only friends she’s ever had, the Ravensgaard at Castle Brannach. The only problem is what she has offered her mother is information, information that will break her friends’ trust and begin the downfall of the regime that governs them all. https://www.instafreebie.com/free/XvXmY
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Since I was eight I have been writing stories that capture the adventures in my head and the characters strong enough and flawed enough to have them. When I look at an empty field I see a formidable citadel. When I meet a vulnerable old man, I greet an emeritus warrior. When I walk through city streets I feel dimensions hiding around every turn. It has been my lifelong passion to explore these worlds that reveal t
he pain of loneliness, the joy or self-actualization, and the hope of magic.
I grew up in a place called Potter Valley where the Milky Way is held aloft by a circle of mountains and the central business district consists of a bait store and a saloon. At 19 I moved alone to London and spent the next ten years exploring the world, even becoming an Australian citizen, before I returned to California and found a new home in Los Angeles. My world revolves around my two wee children, storytelling, and my love of travel.
www.melleamade.com
https://www.facebook.com/MelleAmadeAuthor/
twitter: @melleamade
Acknowledgments
My greatest appreciation always goes to God and my muse. Nothing is possible without them.
It is said that writing is a solo journey, but for me it has definitely been a team sport with embattled seasons over numerous years. The ones who have sacrificed the most in support of my driving need for creativity are my husband, Alex, and my children, Armand and Yasmine. Also, my extensive, unruly, hilarious and supportive family: my parents, my stepmom, my brothers and sisters, my nieces and nephews, my in-laws, and the outlaws. You know who you are; we hang out at Christmas and Hanukkah. And, of course, to the writing, editing, designing, marketing, supporting, and mastermind team that have listened, read, and supported me through the years: Ingrid Sundberg, Sheryl Scarborough, Kristen Kittscher, Michael D. Trozzo, Jackie Aaro, Dr. Julie Kokesch, Ross Brown, Derek Murphy, Anita Wright, Hilary Thompson, Sandy Krakowski, Gary Vee, AAYAA, 20booksto50k, the Binders, the team at SCBWI, the resources of AWP, the articles of PW, and the information of WD. This wouldn’t have happened without you.
