by Jan Dockter
Malcolm and Carrie were speechless for a moment. After a few minutes Malcolm said, “I don’t mean to sound rude, but how old are you? I was under the impression that Chosen Ones disappeared several hundred years ago.”
Stavros smiled. “Indeed they did. I am over two thousand years old. I can thank my slow aging to my wife and her witch abilities.”
Malcolm had never met a dragon shifter that old. “You look much younger than you are if you don’t mind me saying so.”
Stavros laughed, “I am always on the go. It helps me stay young. I don’t sit still long enough for my age to catch up with me.”
They all laughed.
As Stavros and Malcolm talked, Aldain and Dimitra went over the tome. “Aldain, I have brought the white toga Carrie is to wear at the ceremony. This is an ancient ceremony, so we must do everything we can to replicate the first one. The toga I brought is exactly like what the first Chosen One would have worn. The words are simple enough. I will go over them with Carrie in the morning. Do you have any questions I can answer for you?”
“Do you think this ruse will draw out the rest of the Cailleaches? It sounds like a good plan, and I have tried to think of anything that could go wrong. I just want to make sure everyone is going to be safe.”
Dimitra smiled. “I can’t think of a better reason for the Cailleaches to show up than to stop the last Chosen One. I am sure this will draw them out.”
It was getting late, and it was going to be a busy morning. Aldain walked Stavros and Dimitra to the guest cottage, while Malcolm and Carrie wished everyone a good night and went to their room. Tori had gone to bed earlier than the rest; she was still getting extremely tired. Carrie was worried about her. Her friend just didn’t have the energy she used to have. Tori hoped that her energy would come back after the ceremony was over. She suspected it might be the stress from everything happening that might be affecting her.
It seemed Carrie had just closed her eyes when Malcolm was waking her up again. Dimitra was downstairs waiting for her. She wanted to go through the ceremony with her. Carrie moaned as she got out of bed.
“I can’t wait for all this to be over so my life can get back to normal.”
With a concerned look on his face, Malcolm replied, “What about any of these last few days has been normal?”
Carrie smiled, “You forget, I have healed before. I must admit it never involved giant poisonous snakes or dragons, but the rest of it isn’t much different. I will still be me and be allowed to live like I normally would. I heal already, so that isn’t going to change much. It’s this ceremony that has me on edge. I’ll be glad when I can just be myself again.”
Malcolm took her in his arms and held her close to him. He loved this woman so much, he couldn’t think of the words to tell her how much. None seemed adequate to describe it. He just let the deep love he felt for her flow out of him and into her so she would know how deeply it went.
Carrie could feel his love encompassing her, making her feel safe. She snuggled closer into him as his arms tightened around her.
Malcolm knew that Dimitra was waiting, but was spending some important alone time with his mate—he didn’t care who was waiting.
He heard Aldain calling his name. Malcolm sighed and reluctantly turned Carrie loose. They went downstairs hand in hand to meet the day, as a united front, each determined to get through the day unscathed so they could have their lives back.
Once downstairs, Carrie noticed the tome sitting on the kitchen table. Aldain and Dimitra sat waiting patiently for her and Malcolm to appear. After they sat, Dimitra immediately opened the tome to the words that were supposed to be spoken at the ceremony and how she was changing them. She gave everyone the translated version. They seemed straight forward to Carrie. The entire ceremony shouldn’t take more than five minutes. Carrie was all for that—the less time she spent on that platform, the better. Dimitra decided the ceremony would take place when the moon was at its zenith because the energy would be the highest when the moon was at its zenith. Carrie’s heart sank. She was hoping to have it early in the day to get it over with, but she understood.
“I know when the best time to have a moon ritual is because I have done many full moon cleansings,” Carrie said.
Dimitra blinked. “You do full moon cleansings? What else do you know about the moon and the energy it wields?”
Carrie was quick to answer. “I know you get the purest form of energy from the full moon. You must be careful how much of it you pull in because pulling in too much can make you physically ill. The human body can’t handle it. I use it to recharge my energy every month. I’m able to heal by drawing in the energy around me. I have it course through my body, and after I take it in, I have it leave through my fingers, head and toes. I know what I take I must return to keep the balance in check.”
Dimitra asked her in earnest, “Where did you learn to do this? Did you read a book on it or did someone teach it to you?”
Carrie shrugged, “I didn’t read it from a book or have someone teach it to me—it’s just something I knew.”
Dimitra looked astonished. “You are very gifted indeed. To be born with the knowledge of something so complex and understand how to use it and how it works isn’t something the average human can do.”
Finally, everyone ate a light supper and started getting ready to go to the hall. It was getting dark and the moon was starting to rise higher in the sky. Their group was able to enter the hall without being seen because Aldain had instructed the builders to make a door that opened into a small room, cut off from the rest of the hall. Malcolm followed Carrie into the very small dressing room where she donned the white toga.
Malcolm told her she looked sexy in it and privately hoped Dimitra would let them keep it when the ceremony was over. Malcolm looked out into the hall. There seemed to be hundreds of people in it. He was glad Carrie was going to be blindfolded before she was brought out. The number of people that had shown up was more than he was expecting. Soon the crowd became quiet, which was Malcolm’s cue to take Carrie to the platform. He kissed her quickly then put the blindfold over her eyes.
Malcolm led Carrie onto the platform. He felt Carrie’s body shudder. He knew she had reached out and could tell how many people were there. He squeezed her hand to reassure her. As he looked at the sea of faces, his body stiffened. He could see every Cailleach from every clan at the far end of the building. They were wearing hoods so it would be harder to recognize them for what they were. It seemed the fake ceremony had worked—all the Cailleaches were there, waiting. He would have to warn Dimitra and Aldain they were there.
As Carrie stood facing the podium, blindfolded, she felt an overwhelming sense of evil. It was the same kind of evil she felt right before the Cailleach tried to attack her. She knew she wasn’t supposed to move once she was facing the podium, but she had to know where this evil was. She attentively reached out with her energy. When it encountered the evil, she could feel the energy recoil.
Carrie whispered for Dimitra. She knew she was a female dragon shifter and would be able to hear her. Even though the females couldn’t shift, they had all the attributes of the males, including a heightened sense of smell, hearing, and eyesight.
Dimitra walked over to the blindfolded Carrie. “What is it my child?” she asked. “What is so important that you would have me walk on the platform now?” Dimitra had warned Carrie before the ceremony that she should be the only living thing on the platform.
Carrie leaned toward Dimitra’s ear and whispered, “There is evil here, Dimitra. I can sense it. It comes from the back near the changing room. Please tell Malcolm and Aldain to keep a close eye on them. I feel they are extremely dangerous.”
“I know,” Dimitra said. “Malcolm has already warned us. Never fear, we are ready.”
Chapter Twelve
Malcolm quickly searched for Aldain. He was close to the platform, talking to Stavros. He asked both men to meet him outside as he had something impor
tant to tell them. He didn’t want to say anything inside the hall because he feared the enhanced hearing of the dragon shifters.
Aldain raised his eyebrows at the unusual request but he didn’t question him. He trusted Malcolm, and if he had something to tell them then he would go outside as he requested. The men headed outside the building.
Malcolm quickly explained the situation. “I saw every Cailleach from every clan dressed with hoods over their faces at the back of the building by the changing room. It seems our ruse has worked. We need a detail of fighting men around them. We know how dangerous they are, and we know they mean harm to Carrie.”
Aldain quietly walked around the hall, picking his strongest fighting men and telling them to meet him outside. He told them not to tell anyone of his request, as it was a matter of security. It took only a few minutes for them to gather outside. Aldain had thirty men waiting for him.
“Men, we have a major problem. There is as group of Cailleaches in the back of the building.” The men gasped in unison when they heard this. “I’m sure they’re here to hurt Carrie. Our own Cailleach tried to kill her. She turned into a giant snake and tried to bite her. Her bite is extremely poisonous. Malcolm was bitten when he tried to protect her, in dragon form. The poison almost killed him. If Carrie hadn’t healed him, he would be dead. The heads seem to be able to continue to live without being attached to their bodies. I know this because when I decapitated her, the head continued to try inflicting bites. I had to burn it to stop it. I’m going to put you in strategic places throughout the building. At the first sign of trouble, you are to shift at once and get everyone away but keep the Cailleaches in. You’ll be warned something is going to happen when you hear a screeching sound. That’s the sound the Cailleach made as she was changing. Don’t bother trying to kill them any other way than with fire. Do it swiftly, for they are fast. Make sure you don’t get bitten. Does anyone have any questions?”
The men stood trying to process everything their clan chief had just told them. No one had any questions. They understood exactly what Aldain needed of them.
Aldain and Malcolm decided where the best places to station the men were. Aldain took half and Malcolm took the other half. They wanted to be as inconspicuous as possible. When they walked into the building, Aldain went in one direction as Malcolm went the opposite way. The group of men appeared to be talking and laughing. Aldain stopped at various places, leaving one of his men at each position, and then moving on with the rest. No one noticed that he was slowly dispersing his men throughout the hall. Malcolm did the same.
Once the men were strategically placed, Malcolm, Aldain, Stavros, and William all stood as close to the platform as they could. The torches were put out, as well as most of the candles. The only ones that stayed lit were the ones on the platform and on the podium Dimitra was standing on. The crowd hushed as all eyes looked toward the blindfolded Carrie.
Dimitra opened the tome to read the words that she put together for the ceremony. As she started to read the words, a slight breeze blew through the hall. Dimitra knew this was going to happen. She had warned Carrie that she was going to incant some witch spells to make things look realistic. Some people started to murmur. There were no open doors or windows, so there was no explanation for the breeze. It must be magic.
The more words Dimitra read, the stronger the breeze became. When she was finished, everyone waited. At first, nothing seemed to be happening. Then the breeze turned into a strong wind. It lasted only a moment, and when it stopped, an orb of light appeared out of nowhere.
Tori gasped. She remembered that orb of light from when she was in that place between life and death. It was Athena. The orb slowly glided in front of Carrie and stopped. It circled her body once as a woman’s disembodied voice said, “I accept you as a Chosen One” and promptly disappeared. The crowd roared in approval. The sound was almost deafening.
Carrie removed her blindfold as Malcolm hugged her tightly. It was over. She was safe.
Dimitra stood in shock. That ball of light wasn’t supposed to happen. She had no idea why it did, but she was sure the voice she heard belonged to the goddess Athena. Now there was another question needing answered.
As they started walking off the platform, they heard a screeching sound, low in tempo at first but getting louder all the time. The thirty men instantly shifted into dragons as they yelled for everyone to run. The dragon’s bodies were so huge they destroyed the hall.
As Dimitra swiftly took Carrie and Tori out of harm’s way, the Cailleaches changed into huge snakes, their fangs dripping with poison. As swift as they were in their snake forms, the dragons were ready for them.
Before they had a chance to strike, the Cailleaches were surrounded by thirty dragons. They encircled them so there was no way they could get to Carrie. As the snakes started to lunge at the dragons in unison, Aldain realized their circle was too tight and there were too many dragons. If they tried to incinerate the snakes, a clan member would end up with burns. Aldain kept five in a circle. He had the others spread out to help keep the other clan members safe and to keep any snakes from escaping.
One snake managed to get away unnoticed. It had noticed the dragon shifters getting into place before the ceremony and it had snuck away and hid before the shifters surrounded the rest of them.
While the shifters were busy taking care of the group of snakes that remained, the one was slowly able to work its way toward Carrie and Tori. They were close enough together that the snake could wrap itself around both women’s legs. Before they realized it, they were wrapped to their waists in a vice grip. Tori opened her mouth to scream but surprisingly the snake was able to telepathically communicate with her.
“I wouldn’t if I were you. My poison will kill both you and your unborn child.”
Tori was paralyzed with fear. She reached out to Aldain, letting him know her and Carrie were in trouble.
Aldain glanced over and saw what had happened. He had to find a way to get that snake off them or they would all be lost. He got Malcolm’s attention through telepathy. He told him to act like he wasn’t aware of what was happening so the snake wouldn’t know it had been seen. Every nerve in Malcolm’s body wanted to go to the rescue of his mate, and his dragon was demanding it. Malcolm had to make him understand that doing anything without having some kind of rescue plan in place would probably cause the death of his mate and Tori. He would have to calm down and think things through. That made his dragon calm down enough so his overwhelming rage tapered.
Aldain had a plan he hoped would work. Their mates’ lives depended on it. He relayed it to Malcolm. Both him and Malcolm shifted back to men.
Malcolm slowly walked toward the snake holding their mates’ hostage, his hands stretched out in front of him, open in the universal sign of peace.
“Please, let them go. I don’t understand why you feel Carrie must die. She hasn’t hurt anyone, and she is a good person. I am willing to take her place—just please let them go.”
Malcolm started walking closer to the snake. The snake noticed and coiled around the two women tighter as a warning, Malcolm could see the two women struggling for breath. He stopped where he was, knowing getting closer was putting both women at risk.
The snake loosened its grip as it replied, “I’m doing what I was commanded to do. The Chosen One must die.”
Sweat covered Malcolm’s face. Never in his life has he felt so helpless. There had to be something he could do. Even though he knew Aldain was implementing the plan they had to kill the snake, he wasn’t sure he would be on time.
Malcolm pressed on. “They are innocents. They have committed no crime.”
Half of the snake’s body was around the women, and the other half was loose so it could keep an eye on Malcolm, it’s eyes watching his every move. “I have been commanded by the highest god of gods, Zeus, that if the last Chosen One is found, she is to be killed. She has been found—she must die, and I must kill her. I exist for that very reason.�
��
As Malcolm opened his mouth to plead his case for not killing Carrie, Aldain came from behind the women. The snake didn’t notice as all her concentration was on Malcolm. When Aldain moved, everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Aldain, moving faster than any human, had a sword in his hand, and in one swift stroke, he cleaved the snake in half. As the upper half of the snake fell to the ground, he grabbed both women and pulled them out of harm’s way. He then shifted, and as the upper part of the snake turned to strike at Carrie, he blew fire on it. They watched it burn, hearing its shrieks in its final death throes, joining the other snakes in a fiery death.
Malcolm rushed to Carrie’s side, pulling her shaking body close to his. His knees gave out on him as he fell to the ground, taking her with him, his body shaking as bad as hers. Malcolm held her head close to his racing heart.
“I’m so sorry, my love. I’m so sorry she was able to get you. Please forgive me. I failed you.” There were tears running down his cheeks. He came so close to losing her the pain of it tore through his body deep into his soul. He realized death would be preferable than living without her.
