Whispers of the Past
Page 8
“The ancients,” she said as the hope was wiped from Silvanth’s angelic features, “but our friends are with them now, and one day we will be too but for now there is work to be done.”
“We are not abandoned, then?” Silvanth asked.
“I’m not,” Nightshadow said with a laugh, “you may be a different story, however. It all depends on your service.”
“Anything,” Silvanth begged as zi looked up at her, “I’ll do anything for them and for you.”
“I know, worm,” she replied as she gently pushed zir head down, “I know what you wished for, and I am going to grant it. Now, kiss my foot and keep quiet. I’ll explain your fate.”
Chapter 10
Nightshadow was unrecognizable by the start of the spring semester. She now exclusively wore black outfits that emphasized her body and power with no shame. Silvanth, in contrast, had not changed zir wardrobe drastically but had taken to kneeling at Nightshadow’s feet, sometimes even in public. She’d added one accessory to zir daily wear, however, when she’d collared zir over Christmas. It was a cute metal ring that zi couldn’t remove even if zi wanted to. It had permanently locked when it had been shut. Zi would, she’d explained, have to have zir head cut off to lose it.
Silvanth had wept in gratitude at the gift, although Nightshadow had zir show zir appreciation in other ways as well. It hadn’t taken zir long to learn how to pleasure her with every tool at zir disposal, and she never felt the pleasure ebb again no matter how long she rode zir tongue. All it took to accomplish that little correction was repeated practice and the liberal use of caning to teach zir how she liked it. If only the ancients had known.
By the next fall Silvanth would be as well known for zir mistress’s collar as Nightshadow would be for her powerful strut and imposing demeanor. The Wicca club was thrown into disarray after what happened to one of their covens. Moonbane and Panathea had run off together, and Silvanth had renounced zir position in favor of living as Nightshadow’s pet. Everyone wanted to know what had taken place. What power had Nightshadow discovered? Thanks to this curiosity and the effect her new-found confidence had on those infected by it the once shy girl found no issue recruiting many into her knew coven.
As the year went on, she would correct many misconceptions about the craft and its origins. She would emphasize respect for the forest and the spirits who called it home. Some would come to call what she formed a cult, but few would dare criticize her for long. Nightshadow’s call was as seductive as her body, and the men and women who did attempt challenge the power she was forming discovered just how enthralling that call could be.
When the barriers weakened again, Nightshadow presented her most loyal disciples and collared pets to the great tree in the ancient clearing. There, they would call the corners and invite the ancients to inhabit them. In the sight of Moonbane and Panathea, they would surrender their bodies to the revelry of the ancients, and as the sun rose, they would emerge from the woods stronger, wiser, and ready to pass the message on further. Nightshadow’s graduation from college barely registered with her, she was far too busy. Her disciples were spreading out to schools and cities across the state, the nation and finally the globe.
The forests had watched over man when he lived in their branches. They’d stepped back as he learned to walk upright and claim his place in the world. They’d burned to warm him, they’d shrunk to make room for his cities, and yet, they had never failed to care. Long had they whispered their secrets hoping that man would one day come to listen once more but in all that time they’d failed to understand their wayward child. It was only when they’d found one, a daughter no less, who could hear their whispers clearly that they came to realize the truth. The child had grown, and its flesh offered their spirits new pleasures that they’d not known in all their eons.
Now the child had taught them a lesson, one that would not be forgotten, and a new exchange had been formed. The wisdom and protection once given freely to a child in their care would now come at a price. The price of the flesh and of pleasure. The price the new coven would gladly help the wayward children pay. Forests have been on this Earth far longer than man, but even the ancients can learn something new when the barriers thin. They can learn to put a price on power just as man would and that price will have to be paid by the coven every year on All Hallows’ Eve.
The End