Chapter 24
Taryn
After several days of basking in the romantic, tender side of my mate, I wake up to an unusual feeling. One I haven’t felt before.
It’s almost like déjà vu mixed with the realization you forgot something incredibly important. I’m not sure what it could be. Maybe I’ve slept too much or taken too many baths. I stare at the ceiling for a few minutes, hoping the sensation will pass, but it doesn’t.
I consider waking Victor, but he’s snoring peacefully, so I pry myself out of his enormous arms. As I get out of bed, I feel a strange pull. It’s not like the pull I felt toward Victor, but it’s almost as intense. Except instead of pulling me to him, it’s pulling toward the dresser.
“What in the world?” I mutter, walking closer.
It doesn’t take long for me to realize it’s the book. There’s nothing else in the dresser that would compel me to start opening drawers. I lean down and open the one I put the book in, and jump back, my hand flying to my mouth.
The book looks different now. It’s glowing with a golden light similar to the one in my eyes during the frenzy.
I’m a little concerned, but Victor told me about the rituals.
He told me I’d be able to read the book, once my druid sight improves.
I haven’t noticed any real changes, but something has definitely changed now.
I pick up the book and carry it to the living room, sitting down on the couch. The cover doesn’t look like it belongs on the book anymore. As I flip through it, the ciphers have all changed, even the ones we previously deciphered. Now, every page says the same thing, and I can read every word.
“Remove the veil. Remove the seal,” I mutter, finding the same thing on every single page, even scrawled in the margins. “Okay, but how?”
I’m not sure if I should be messing around with the book unless Victor is with me. I don’t want to accidentally cast a spell or bring some hidden danger to Covington. Victor would protect me, but I don’t want to put him in that position again, nor do I want to endanger anyone else.
Despite the pull I feel toward the book, I put it down on the table and return to the bedroom.
I have a mate now. Someone I trust to help me with things like this.
If I have to do the rituals to reincarnate Mother Nature, I’ll definitely do whatever is necessary.
I just don’t have to do it alone. Not anymore.
“Hey, Victor,” I whisper gently, nudging him. “I’m sorry to wake you up, but I need you.”
Victor’s eyes fly open and he sits up immediately. “Are you OK? What do you need, Taryn?”
“Well, that woke you up in a hurry,” I say, a faint smile teasing the edge of my lips.
“Is there a problem?” he asks.
“There might be,” I admit, looking down. “I woke up feeling strange, like the book was calling out for me or something. It’s glowing and the text is different. I can read it now.”
“Fuck,” he groans. “Where is the book?”
“In the living room,” I reply. “I didn’t want to mess with it too much without you.”
“Good choice,” he yawns. “Give me a few minutes to shower and wake up. Then we’ll see what’s going on with the book.”
“Okay.” I kiss his cheek before moving away from him.
We haven’t been intimate since the frenzy and the desire is starting to return.
Things got rather rough during the frenzy, but I’m craving that roughness again.
I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before he claims me again.
It might have even happened today, if I didn’t wake up with this weird feeling.
I’m in the living room when Victor finishes with his shower. He’s wearing a bathrobe and his hair is still wet. Somehow, he looks sexier than ever now that he’s rested and fresh out of the shower. Something is definitely stirring inside me, and it isn’t just because of the book.
“I thought you said it was glowing,” Victor grunts. “Looks exactly the same to me?”
“It does?” I ask, looking at the book that is clearly glowing. “What about the cipher? Does it look the same?”
Victor sits down beside me, looks at the cover, then flips through it. “Yeah, nothing has changed. If you’re seeing something different, it must be your druid sight.”
“The book is glowing and the same thing is written on every page, even in places there was no writing before,” I say. “Remove the veil. Remove the seal.”
“Huh,” Victor grunts, leaning back. “It doesn’t say how?”
“Nope, that’s all it says.” I move the book to my lap and flip through it again to be sure. “Yep, same thing on every page, even the spell… or curse or ritual… whatever it was that brought you to Covington is gone.”
“Then I guess you have to figure out that part before you can do any of the rituals,” Victor sighs. “I knew things would start happening eventually, but I was hoping for more time to just recover from the frenzy and enjoy being with you.”
“Me too,” I admit. “But once we do all these rituals, that should be the end of it, right? Ishtar will be reborn. Mother Fate will have Mother Nature’s help and things will be balanced again?”
“Supposedly,” he grunts. “I just don’t know what that means, exactly. I’m going to reach out to Saul and some other older wolves I know. They might have some answers.”
“Do you think it’s safe for me to keep messing with the book?” I ask curiously.
“No, but if it’s glowing for you and the cipher looks different, I don’t think you’re going to have a choice,” he sighs, standing up.
Victor makes a few calls. I keep flipping through the books. It would be nice if there were instructions. I’m not sure how to remove a veil or a seal or from what. Probably because I’m not actually a druid. I’m just descended from the one Mother Nature fate-blocked.
I spend a good hour looking through the book, getting nowhere. Victor doesn’t get anywhere with his calls, either. There are no legends or myths about a book like this. Not even in the ancient texts Ingrid has studied. It’s just the same information we’ve heard before.
“Wait, here’s something I didn’t see before,” I say, stopping on a page. “It looks like some kind of … tear.”
I’m not sure how I didn’t notice it before. I’ve looked at this page several times. Maybe it wasn’t here before, but along the inner margin is a cracked seam of golden light.
“Where?” Victor asks, looking at the page.
“Right there,” I say, pointing it out. “But I guess you can’t see it.”
“No,” he chuffs. “Be careful.”
“Maybe this is how I remove the veil,” I say. “Or remove the seal, I don’t know.”
I carefully touch the cracked seam. It doesn’t seem to be harmful in any way, but it makes my finger tingle. I trace the seam a few times, then ease a fingernail into it, which splits it wider. I glance at Victor nervously, then start peeling away the golden light.
“What the hell?” Victor snaps. “You’re ripping the book apart. Wait, there’s something underneath it…”
“You can see it now?” I ask.
“I see you tearing pieces of the page away, but there’s another page underneath it,” he says.
“I see that too, but for me, I’m peeling away light!”
Once I start removing pieces, I can see the pages underneath. I tear off enough that I can make out what is hidden. Enough to see mentions of Ishtar, her power, and the fight with Gilgamesh. There are pages and pages concealed beneath the spell.
“This has to be the veil,” I say, continuing to strip the golden light from the book.
It’s not an easy process. Every time I remove a portion, I have to find another crack in the seam. But eventually, I tear off the last of the golden light. The book is no longer glowing, and the cover is different. I turn it to Victor, who is staring in confusion.
“Can you read that?” I ask.
“I can.” His voice is filled with awe. “The title of the book is Balance.”
The remnants of the encoded book are on the table, and the golden shimmer is gone. The one in my lap looks a lot older, but outside of some wear on the cover, the veil seems to have protected the contents. I open the book cautiously, reading the first page.
“My name is Ishtar, but most know me as Mother Nature. If you’ve found this book, then it means you are a descendant of my last druid,” I read aloud. “It also means that we were not able to stop Gilgamesh, and all that remains of my power is now contained in these pages.”
“Sounds like the story I’ve heard,” Victor speaks quietly. “Except for the part about her power being locked in a book.”
I nod, continuing to read. “According to this, Mother Nature and Mother Fate were known as the Cosmic Twins. They kept the universe in balance. Mother Nature created life and Mother Fate made sure it thrived. Ishtar had druids. Nanaya had emissaries.”
“Nanaya? That must be Mother Fate’s name. I’ve never heard her actual name before, but it makes sense,” Victor says. “Finn said he was one of Mother Fate’s emissaries.”
“Yes, I think you’re right,” I say, flipping the page. “Yes, this seems to confirm that. Mother Fate chose her emissaries from Mother Nature’s strongest warriors. It says the warriors were neither beast nor man, but they were the best of both.”
“Shifters?” Victor asks.
“That’s what it sounds like. Not just wolves, though. Apparently, there were shifters of all types.”
“There are still a number of different shifters in the world,” Victor explains. “Wolves and bears are the most common, but I’ve met fox shifters and even rabbit shifters, too.”
“Not all of them became emissaries of Mother Fate,” I continue. “But they were perfect mates for Mother Nature’s druids, and Mother Fate made sure they all found the one they were meant to be with.”
“Until Gilgamesh got greedy and wanted Ishtar’s power,” Victor mutters. “Then Mother Fate started to forget us.”
“Not intentionally, if she’s trying to keep the universe balanced on her own. She has to create life and makes sure it thrives.”
“She’s doing a poor job on her own,” he complains.
“I’m sure she’s doing the best she can,” I retort sharply, feeling defensive of Nanaya. I take a breath and flip another page. “Okay, here’s the part about Gilgamesh.”