Carnival Moon

by Margarita Gakis

  ***

  The sharp night air bit at Jade’s cheeks and neck, making her wish she’d brought a scarf. Lucia had taken one look at Jade’s work shoes and offered for Jade to browse through the pack’s mud room for a pair of hiking boots. Lucia assured Jade no one would mind her borrowing a pair, certainly not after the Alpha had offered.

  Jade stood outside now, at the tree line, the estate house several meters behind him. She’d left Paris in the kitchen with some other pack members, watching over the kids. They had all the makings of paper-mache masks - forms, glitter, glue, paper - and Jade had to bite her lip to keep from teasing Paris. He, like the other pack members, wore a mask in the kitchen, but it seemed strange and out of place in the domestic environment.

  Now, outside, Jade was very much glad for hers. Lucia had tied it securely around Jade’s head, the satin ribbon wide enough not to cut into her scalp, but not so broad that it felt like a blindfold. Jade was hyperaware of her mask at the edges of her vision - sparks of moonlight dancing off the wire and reflecting back at her. She looked at the other members of the pack, she guessed perhaps forty in all, standing in their own masks, waiting for Lucia to start the run. “I’ll let them know when to begin,” Lucia had said and Jade got the impression it would be a very clear signal, although she still had no idea what it would be. Lucia had also indicated she would fall back, from the rest of her pack, and take Jade’s first run with her.

  The way she said it made Jade think she’d be coming on more runs in the future.

  Lucia’s mask was magnificent. It was feral and sleek - dark chocolate brown with a long nose that came out from the faceplate and had delicate, long whiskers that glistened in the silver light. The headpiece crept up and over the top of Lucia’s head, making the ears of the mask settle properly on Lucia as they would on a real wolf - at the top of the skull. They eyes were outlined in a dark, jet colored satin and it fit so closely, so perfectly over Lucia’s frontal bones that it was hard to tell where the mask ended and Lucia’s eyes began.

  Jade shuffled her feet, stamped her borrowed boots and shook her arms, trying to stay warm. The moon was sharp and bright in the sky - the kind of bright that made her eyes hurt to look at it for too long and left a burning after-image against her retinas after she looked away. It was still relatively early in the night, not yet eight o’clock, and Jade could see some of the younger members of the pack, those too old to stay behind with the kidlets, but still too young to be responsible for themselves, start to vibrate with energy.

  Her magic was pulsing beneath her skin, feeling like it wanted out and Jade took a deep breath trying to calm it.

  “No,” Lucia said with a smile, “let it run out a bit. Coven magic used to bother us; it felt wrong and strange, but your magic…” she sighed. “Your magic is like a cold glass of water on a hot day.”

  Jade let her power out a bit, feeling it tingle in her fingertips and itch through across her scalp. Some of the younger wolves started bouncing up and down and then, without warning, Lucia dropped her head back and howled, startling Jade. The pack all tipped their own heads back and howled in return, their voices almost brought tears to Jade’s eyes, though she didn’t know why. She felt a nudge at her hip and looked back at Lucia.

  “Come on, give it a whirl,” she said, winking. She turned to the moon and howled again and this time, when the pack answered back, Jade tried it, feeling her voice warble and wobble, not at all like the clear, clarion call of the wolves. She laughed at herself, feeling Lucia chuckle beside her.

  “Not bad. For a witch,” Lucia said. She let out a loud ‘yip’ sound this time and the pack surged forward as a unit, except for Jade and Lucia. Jade watched as the pack scrambled for the trees, some howling, some yipping, some shoving each other playfully, all of their masks in the shape of wolves - pointed snouts and sharp ears. It was strange to know that these creatures, these werewolves chose to wear the mask tonight and to run as humans. She wondered how the tradition started, if they had any other werewolf carnivals throughout the year other than tonight and the other one Lucia mentioned, the Sanguine Moon.

  The moonlight hit the masks at odd angles, making some of the faces strange and foreign - a snout too long, ears too broad. Jade felt surrounded, not by mortal creatures, but instead by shapes and shadows, shifting in the night. She felt safer wearing her own mask, as though the deepest parts of herself were hidden better with the thin, finely turned wire covering her face.

  Lucia walked at a brisk pace, Jade easily keeping step beside her. The moonlight was bright enough that she could see, but she wasn’t as sure-footed as Lucia was beside her, the other woman easily picking her way through the woods.

  “I hear you work in Counter-Magic at the Coven,” Lucia said, ambling through the woods, her footfalls light and easy. Jade could hear other pack members yipping and traipsing about, snapping branches and hollering after each other.

  “Yeah, I’m still learning a lot.”

  “Have you ever thought about working more with magical creatures?”

  Jade paused. “No, I mean, not yet. I’m still pretty wrapped up in what I’m learning.”

  “Would you ever consider working for our pack?”

  Jade stopped dead in her tracks, staring at Lucia’s back. Lucia paused as she realized Jade was no longer beside her.

  “Is that what all this is? Are you offering me a job?” Her voice sounded huffy and tight, even to her own ears.

  “I hope you aren’t offended. We’ve lived so long with Coven magic on our borders, trying not to be bothered by it and then suddenly, it feels better, it feels right. It matches us more. When I found out it was because it had been set to your personal magic, I had to meet you and… just find out more about you.”

  “Are now you’re trying to steal me from the Coven?”

  “Not at all. I admit, I have nothing specific in mind for you, only that I think you’d fit in well with my wolves.”

  “Well, I’m happy at the Coven,” Jade said stiffly. Okay, so she was only just now starting to fit in better and find her niche or whatever, but that didn’t mean she wanted to chuck it all and join up with the wolves.

  “I meant no offense,” Lucia repeated, stepping closer, into Jade’s space. Jade backed up a step automatically and then forced herself to stand still. Lucia reached out a hand and placed it carefully on Jade’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze. Jade thought of it as a weird gesture until she recalled how tactile all the wolves had seemed with each other. She supposed she simply wasn’t used to it. It wasn’t creepy - it just wasn’t something Jade was used to.

  “Let’s run for a bit,” Lucia said, turning off into the woods at a graceful kind of lope-skip. Jade followed after her feeling her nerves drain away with the exercise. It was hard work keeping up with Lucia, even though she didn’t go very fast. She moved through the trees gracefully, dodging around them artfully, making Jade feel clumsy and awkward by comparison. A few youngsters joined them, coming up alongside Lucia. She playfully batted at them and bared her teeth. Jade thought she might have heard her growl a bit. The younger kids shrieked and hollered and then came up next to Jade. Feeling playful, she zapped them with a mild spell - sending ticklish pins and needles down their arms and fingers. They hooted and yelled, giggling and laughing, yipping back at Jade and her earlier discomfort was forgotten. Jade was caught up in the feeling of romping in the forest, under the light of the full moon. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so happy.

  Steve darted up next to her, startling her a bit and he smacked her on the shoulder, like you would a kid playing tag or keep-away. Feeling more daring using her magic on adults, Jade let loose with a fire spell - bright orange and yellow flames billowing up in front of her, offering sharp and blinding light but no heat. Steve laughed, darting back out of the way and Jade heard a sharp intake of breath from the youngsters and one of them whispered, “Whoa!”

  She laughed. If Jade couldn't remember being so
happy, she certainly couldn’t remember the last time she played.

  Steve grinned and zipped off into the forest again. Jade must have gotten turned around following Lucia and the youngsters because she thought she was further in and to the left of where they entered, but somehow, they’d done a half circle and she was coming out of the woods again. She followed Lucia and some other wolves, including Steve and Galen, ending up to the right of where she’d started.

  Note to self - she possessed zero navigational skills in the woods in the dark.

  Although Jade supposed she could have followed her nose. She could smell food cooking - barbecue, if she wasn’t mistaken. As the werewolves tromped into the house - shedding their boots but leaving their masks on - she could also smell bread and spices. It made her mouth water and she craned her neck, trying to see past the jostle of bodies in front of her to where the mysterious food must be.

  Jade finally made it around the corner of a long hallway and found herself in a banquet room of sorts with long tables set out, buffet style. The little kids were already waiting in front of the tables, eyes large at the site of meats, cheeses, bread, vegetables, and fruits. Jade sought Paris out until she spotted him, bending down and tying a little boy’s shoe, his fingers securing the bow of the knot tightly as the young boy jutted his foot out in that expectant, ‘You are big so you must be able to help me,’ way. He wore his mask - the plain white face with its satin finish. As the light hit it, now and then, she could make out the rune markings on it. She worked her way through the crowd - although the food was set out and waiting, no one was serving themselves yet and Jade wondered why as she came along side Paris who was just finishing up with the ankle-biter’s shoelaces.

  “Got you on rug-rat duty?” Jade asked, still riding the high of her run in the woods. Her mask made her nose itch a bit and she wiggled it trying to assuage it, not wanting to disturb the mask with her fingertips. It was in place still, and she liked the way it made her feel - sort of pretty and anonymous - even though everyone here knew who she was.

  “I assisted in the making of several masks tonight,” Paris said ruefully, wiping his hands together. They were covered in kiddie glue, and Jade made a face in sympathy.

  “Heavy hangs the head that wears the crown,” she said solemnly.

  “Indeed.”

  Jade looked over toward the table where no one was eating yet and she fidgeted a bit. She was kind of hungry. How long were they going to have to wait?

  “They’re waiting for Lucia to serve herself first. As the Alpha, it’s her place,” said Paris, as if sensing Jade’s question. Sure enough, just as he spoke, Lucia stepped forward, grabbed her own plate and piled it with food - some meats, some cheeses, a few vegetables. As she did, people filed forward, led by the little, eager kids who rushed the table. Jade winced. She’d hoped to beat them there. They’d probably be touching everything with their little hands. She guessed ‘paws’ wouldn’t be out of context here either. She and Paris were ushered toward the table by a few people, and Paris thanked them for their hospitality, tipping his head toward Jade to speak closer to her ear.

  “As guests of tonight’s carnival, we hold a special place - eating higher up in the pack ranking.”

  “But there’s going to be enough food, right?” Jade asked, suddenly nervous. What if there wasn’t enough for everyone? She looked at the buffet plates, piled high, and then at the crowd of people. It’s not like it was madly crowded, but there were a lot of good-sized people and they all did just spend however long running in the woods. Plus, everything smelled so good.

  “There will be more than enough. No one ever goes hungry at a werewolf party.”

  As if to cap off Paris’ sentiment, an excited howl went up sparking off about five or six more in chorus. Now at the front of the line, Jade was handed a plate by a shy young boy who looked up at her through his eyelashes and smiled. He turned away, blushing a bit when Jade smiled and thanked him. She loaded up her plate, trying to eye the dishes up ahead in order to make the best use of it.

  “What are you doing?” Paris asked, watching her crane her neck.

  “Buffets are all about real estate. Don’t wanna fill up too early and not leave room on your plate for something good at the end. Is that garlic toast do you think? Or like a sweet pastry bread?” she asked, pointing at something a table away.

  “Garlic toast,” the person behind her said, tapping her nose with a finger. “Heavy on the garlic.”

  “Nice,” Jade said in admiration, her mouth already watering at the thought.

  Once Jade’s plate finally full of delectables, Paris touched her arm once, drawing her attention to where Lucia and Galen sat. Lucia waved them over with a gracious sweep of her hand. There were a few circular tables set up, but the kids had chosen to hunker down on the floor, making impromptu little clusters that Jade and Paris had to weave their way through.

  The food was simply spiced but flavorful and tasty. Jade wondered if they grew their own vegetables or raised their own meat because everything tasted so real - the carrots were juicy, the meat was tender, the potato salad wasn’t salty and yet still tasted so good. She pulled apart her bun and wanted to whimper at the flaky goodness. While Lucia ate, several wolves would pause by her chair and she would rest a hand on their arm, give them a hug, or touch them in some way. Once the pack member had gotten a touch from Lucia , they moved on to another table, seemingly satisfied. While Lucia touched her pack member, her focus wasn’t ever pulled from the conversation she was holding with Paris and Galen about the latest Supernatural Council meeting. Jade wondered if her ability to split her focus was just the nature of being the Alpha or if it was something to do with Lucia personally. A few small children popped up next to Lucia, and she stroked their hair or kissed them on the cheek before tapping their butts and sending them along on their way, all without breaking stride in the conversation.

  The pack definitely seemed more like a family than the Coven did. Maybe that was because it was smaller, numbering about forty-five people to the Coven’s two hundred. Watching the pack interact Jade felt, however, it had more to do with their nature than their numbers. She didn’t know any group of witches, even as a subset of the coven, who were as tactile or as familiar as the pack seemed to be. They touched one another in passing, there was food sharing off plates, friendly slaps to the shoulders, kids running around with parents chasing after them. The werewolf carnival was a far cry from the Coven ball Jade attended a short while ago. The wolves were more relaxed and fun, without any formal speeches or ceremony.

  Jade wondered if she would feel more at home with the wolves than she did with the witches. Or would she be trading one set of problems for another?

  A small face appeared at her elbow, a child of perhaps five or six, wearing a crude paper-mache mask. Her pigtails bobbed and she looked up at Jade with big, blue eyes - wide and inquisitive.

  “Um. Hi,” Jade said.

  The big eyes darted from Jade to the bread-roll still on Jade’s plate and then back to Jade again. Jade looked over at the big buffet table where there will still plenty of rolls to be had.

  “I think there’s some, you know, over there,” Jade said, gesturing with her finger to the table. Blue eyes looked again to Jade’s roll and back to Jade.

  “It’s a wolf custom,” broke in Lucia, her eyes bright and happy. “She sees you as a higher ranking member of the pack and if you share your food with her, you’re acknowledging her. By feeding her from your own plate, or if you prefer, going to get her a roll, you’re saying that you’ll help her. You’ll care for her as a packmate.”

  “Should I do it?” Jade asked, eyes slipping sideways to Paris and then to Lucia. “Is that what I’m supposed to do?”

  Lucia smiled. “It’s up to you, Jade. Do you wish her to see you as a packmate that can help her?”

  Okay, so more than just tossing a roll at the kid and being done with it. This would be a werewolf declaration of
sorts. Jade looked around the room at the happy collection - while she still didn’t know much about the werewolves, they had invited her to their carnival, taken her out on a run, played in the forest with her. She may not be ready to accept a job offer from them nor even think about leaving the coven, but Jade thought… she thought she could be comfortable with them. There were precious few places and groups of people for which Jade felt that way. Lucia and Galen, across the table from her, watched her with open and waiting eyes. Jade sensed they would be fine with whatever she chose. The decision was hers. Paris was also a calm presence by her side. If he thought it was strange that the wolves were taking such a shine to her, he didn’t act like it. Jade looked down at the little girl, her pigtails messy from a day of playing. Her was mask crooked, colored with child-friendly paint in bright, sharp colors - red, blue, yellow and green. She was waiting so patiently for a small child - not fidgeting at all or making any whining noises.

  Jade would have to be a real puppy kicker to say no to that face. Even if she didn’t particularly like kids.

  She took the roll from her plate, broke off a piece for herself and then gave the remainder to the little girl. Her small hands snatched it up and she gave a happy ‘yip’ and scampered off, running on her short, chubby legs. She fell into a circle of other kids, excitedly breaking up the roll and sharing it with the group - clearly some kind of small-child champion for getting it from the witch-guest. Jade turned to Paris, smiling wide, proud of herself.

  “Perhaps I should turn over all werewolf interaction to you,” Paris said, taking a bite of his own food.

  “If they’re always going to feed me like this, I’ll say yes,” Jade responded, taking another bite off her plate. Heedless of whether it was gauche or not, she used the bit of roll she’d saved to sop up the juices and spices on her plate, leaving it relatively clean. A quick look around showed that most others had done the same as well.

  A sharp barking sound from the child’s play group caught her attention and she looked over to see three furry kid-sized things where there had been actual children before. Two toddlers were fighting over a toy, yipping at each other, while a third fell down on her butt and started crying. They had all sprouted ears and some fluffy patches on their faces - cheeks and chins mostly. The toy, a stuffed tiger, was rent apart with a ripping sound. Jade could see each of the two tug-of-war children had sharp tiny claws that had torn the fabric, helping it rip apart. It was some kind of small-child werewolf brawl. Jade hadn’t seen any adults change form and wondered if they would shift as the children did - partially, or if they would shift fully to a wolf, as Paris indicated they could. Jade was looking around for some parental types - responsible looking adults that could maybe sort the whole thing out when Lucia pushed back from the table and roared. There was no other word for it. The sound rang in Jade’s ears, sending her ear drums thumping and making the hair on the back of her neck rise. The children dropped the pieces of the toy, the sobbing child stopped abruptly - all three of them turning to Lucia with blinking, nervous eyes. Truth be told, Jade felt a little cowed herself. Lucia’s roar had cut through Jade’s skin and run along her nerve endings settling firmly in the animal part of Jade’s brain. That part now sat straight like a soldier at attention and told Jade, ‘PREDATOR AFOOT!’

  The other wolves, the adults, seemed not to think anything strange about this and kept on with their meal. The crying kid sniffled once or twice and then quieted down. The other two children looked like they made some kind of peace between them, though the toy was still in tatters. Jade looked up at Lucia to see her shaking her head, as though she hadn’t just roared like a wild animal in a crowded room.

  Lucia’s brother Galen spoke up as Lucia took her seat again. “There you have it, Jade. Werewolf diplomacy at its best. Alpha always wins.” Lucia turned and looked at her brother, giving him a feral smile.

  Suddenly, Lucia’s benevolent offer didn’t seem quite as harmless as it had been only moments ago. Jade swallowed. Maybe being favored by the weres wasn’t going to be as easy as she thought. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  The rest of dinner passed with no further incidences although Jade’s reaction to Lucia’s roar was on her mind for the remainder of the meal. Jade had been so relaxed, so comfortable that she’d forgotten she was in a room with beings capable of shifting into sharp-toothed carnivores. To the weres, this must be a normal occurrence - no one else was disturbed or bothered by it. Jade wondered if any of the weres at all were even remotely concerned about her and Paris’ power as Jade was about their ability to shift.

  She let Paris say their goodbyes, trusting in his political training and skills to convey all the necessary words and sentiments. She froze for a moment when Lucia stepped forward, reaching around her to pull at the ribbon at the back of Jade’s head, freeing the mask and catching it as it fell. Lucia took off her own mask, settling Jade’s much smaller one inside the shell of her own.

  Jade stood still once more and let Lucia scent her again, this time only a brief brush of Lucia’s cheek against Jades, while Galen clasped one of Paris’ hands in both of his and pressed them together, both of them without their masks as well.

  “I hope we will see you again soon, Jade. Kipling said, ‘The strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack.’ You are a friend to the pack now.”

  Jade managed a nod and what she hoped was a suitable smile. It looked like on her growing list of ‘Things I’ve done since becoming a witch,’ she could now add, ‘Friend to the Local Wolf Pack.’

  She just wasn't exactly sure if she’d put it next to, ‘Caught attention of Demon,’ or ‘Learned hella cool magic,’ yet.

  ###

  About the Author

  "Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere."

  ~ Albert Einstein

  Margarita loves the art, creativity and romanticism of storytelling. Sometimes, however, the act of putting pen to paper proves challenging, elusive. She develops genuine, relatable characters which grow in the hearts of her readers. From that foundation, the stories flourish into a warm friend.

  She enjoys pursuits which blur the lines between the analytical and creative sides of her brain. This includes her day job in electronic data management, where she uses her creativity to solve logical problems, and also her lessons learning to play the cello, where she finds beauty in the structure of music and the instrument. She believes there is a place for both logic and imagination to work together. When they do, the results are magical.

  Margarita has a special spot in her heart for dogs and lives with three of them. It can be a little overwhelming but the quality snuggle time makes up for it.

  She lives in Calgary, Alberta with her family. You can keep up with her at:

  https://www.margaritagakis.com

  Other books by this author

  You can find both my books on Amazon!

  Covencraft

  Trial By Fire [Book One]

  Counter-Hex [Book Two]

  Connect with Margarita Gakis

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