Chapter Thirty-Four
We made it to their sides, and I realized in the dim glow of the Moon Goddess that Nix had grown thin, and Megan’s fur was patchy. “What is wrong with them?”
“I don’t know. But they are not healthy.” The goddess let go of my side and crouched down, stroking my wolves, shaking them from their slumber. “Why are you down here, little ones?” The goddess stroked their faces, lifting their heads as they struggled to wake.
Megan was the first to realize they weren’t alone. “Moon Goddess?” Megan struggled to stand on her shaky legs. “Why are you here?”
“We were wondering the same.” The goddess shifted, and Megan’s eyes met mine. I watched her widen and then fill with shame.
“Amy…” she started. “Why are you here?” Her voice was thick with some pent up emotion.
“Why am I here?” I had to give a tiny, sad laugh. “Why are you two? Do you know how long I’ve been looking for you? How long you’ve left me alone?”
“Amy…I-”
I held up my hand. “I don’t want to hear any excuses, Megan.” I got to my knees and I realized I was angry. Angier than I have ever been at my two wolves.
The goddess grabbed my hand and shook her head. “This is not the time to be angry. We have to figure out what is wrong with your wolves.” She turned back to Megan. “You can stop guarding her now, young one. I’m here to help.”
“I didn’t know what else to do.” Megan sat down with a heavy sigh, like standing for even a moment was difficult.
I reached out to Megan, because even though I was mad at them both, I was worried. “What’s wrong with you?” She collapsed sideways into my arms and sighed.
“I’m so tired.” She whispered. “But I couldn’t leave her.”
I looked over to Nix, who still hadn’t moved from where she lay. The goddess looked at me and gave me a small smile. “This might hurt a bit.”
“What?” The light exploded from her. My chest felt like it was on fire as the darkness was banished by the blazing light from the goddess.
I squinted as I reared back and waited for my eyes to adjust. The dark black room was gone and somehow we were now in this bright white room.
Light came from every surface, leaving me reeling.
My chest tightened with every breath. “What’s going on? Why does it hurt?”
“I’m sorry but I needed to see her fully to understand.
The pain you’re feeling is because we are in the deepest recesses of your mind.
A place made for your darkest truths to stay hidden, and right this second, I’m using my power to illuminate everything.
Your soul is feeling exposed, pained, and unsafe.
But I promise once we leave, the pain will dissipate.
” I just nodded, wiping away tears that had started to free fall.
“You are feeling sad and vulnerable. But she needs us.”
We turned back to Nix, and finally we could see the damage. She was thin, terrifying, so I could see each rib through her fur. Her fur itself was falling out, dull and lifeless. The moon on her forehead was nearly faded, and her breathing was ragged. “What’s wrong with her?”
“She is being attacked.” The moon goddess leaned over my wolf and whispered.
Megan looked up at me, and I could hear the emotion. “She commanded me not to tell you. That you were dealing with too much and she could handle it. But then she just collapsed. And I couldn’t leave her.”
“How long has she been like this?”
“Months.” Megan’s whisper was devastated. “I was feeding her my strength to keep her alive, but I have little left. That’s why you struggled with shifting.” I felt her tear trail over my legs. “I’m sorry.”
“Why didn’t you ask me for help?” I ran my finger through her patchy coat. “I would have come sooner.”
“You know she thought of that, too.” She huffed out a shaky breath. “Nix thought that since we were helping with your magic, we could fight it.”
“Magic?”
The goddess looked up and nodded. “You have been under attack for months, and because of her foolish need to handle it herself, they almost killed all three of you.”
I felt my mind race. If it was magic, I should be able to fight it. “I just need to know what spell it is.” I closed my eyes and mentally flipped through my Book of Shadows.
“You don’t have to. I know what it is.” The goddess whispered. “Whoever is attacking you was trying to remove your connection to me.”
“Okay.”
“But they didn’t know that to do that, you would have to die. You were born from my flesh, my blood, my power, and my blessings. You could never be severed from me.”
“How do I stop it?”
“Follow the power back, and shatter the spell at the root, before it kills you.”
“Follow the power back…” I closed my eyes and when I opened them back up, I was back in my apartment.
I stood from my chair and ran to my room.
I pulled out my lock box and grabbed my book.
I flipped through the pages manically. One page after the other until I found it.
A tracing spell. I read down the list and checked the time.
It was late, but I was sure I could find what I needed at a superstore.
I pulled out my phone and called Toya. “Hey.”
“Hello?” Her voice was exhausted, but I needed her. “It’s late. I was just about to turn in. What’s wrong?”
“I need your help.”
Instantly, I could hear the shift in her voice. “What’s wrong? What do you need?”
“You know the issue I was having with my wolves?”
“Yeah…” She was hesitant, and I wanted to laugh.
“I’m actually under an attack, and they were trying to deal with it themselves instead of telling me. Because they are stupid. I need supplies for a spell.”
“Holy shit.” I could hear her spring up. “Like magic?”
I laughed then. “Yeah. Like magic.”
“Wendy!” she called and I nearly choked on my spit. “It’s time.”
“Time?” I asked, but the two women were a whirlwind.
I heard Wendy come running. “Magic time?”
I coughed. “Toya!”
“I’m sorry!” She cried. “But I didn’t bring it up. Wendy kinda figured it out a while ago.”
I sputtered. “What?”
“Wyn’s ears are better than almost any wolf I have ever met.
The first day she heard the shift in the room and every day since.
” Toya rushed through her explanation. “A few months ago, before you told me, she pulled me aside and explained her feeling that you were dropping a shield, like those human sci-fi shows. And I pushed her off. I told her she was crazy, but then she started watching. Last month, she told me she thought you were a Shaman. But that you had power.” She slammed a door.
“And then you told me and I walked into our apartment and she jumped up, screaming. When I asked her what the hell she was talking about, her exact words were ‘Amy just told you she had magic, right? I can tell by your face. I knew it.’” Toya sighed, but Wendy giggled.
“Sorry Aim. You aren’t as stealthy as you think you are.” There was a ding, and then the two women were walking through my front door.
I was momentarily stunned because I obviously forgot to lock my door in my exhaustion. But they were carrying a box. “What is this?”
“Magic supplies.” Wendy grinned. “I have been randomly squirreling stuff away since I figured it out, in case this happened.”
“You’re kidding.” I jumped for the box as she shook her head. There were candles, a couple odds and ends, a shallow metal bowl that I lifted with a raised eyebrow.
“I figured we could use it to hold a fire. It shouldn’t melt.” I just smiled and chuckled in disbelief.
“You, Wendy, are amazing.” She preened at my words.
“I know, right? She thinks of everything.” Toya wrapped her arms around her and squeezed.
I finished looking through the box and grabbed my book again. We were still missing a few everyday herbs. “We still need to run to the superstore.”
“The super store?” Both women turned to me and I nodded, pointing to my book. Toya lifted her brow and Wendy bit her lip.
“I know you are saying something when you point at the rock in your hand here. Aim. But I don’t think either of us gets it.” Toya tilted her head in confusion, looking at my hands and I nearly smacked myself.
“This is my Book of Shadows. It holds the spells of my family. I’m going over the ingredients and there are some random herbs we are missing and we should be able to find them at a regular store. Thyme, rosemary, stuff like that.”
Wendy sighed. “I was hoping I could see it. But I just see a rock too.”
I handed her the book, and I watched as her eyes flickered through some emotions. Confusion was first, unease, and a flash of something uncomfortable like greed, but that cleared quickly, leaving utter disbelief. “Holy shit.”
I nodded as Toya took the book. “Give me the rock.” I cracked a smile as her face went through everything Wendy's just did. “Holy goddess, it is a book.” She looked up at me. “I can feel the power from this thing. It’s ancient.”
I nodded. “Yes.” I held out my hands and she stepped closer.
“It calls to us. Did you know that?” Toya whispered as she slid the book into my waiting arms.
“What do you mean?”
“The book.” Wendy nodded. “When we held it, it whispered to us. The power it could give us. Almost as if it was testing our loyalties.” Toya nodded.
“It’s powerful. I don’t think you should show anyone other than us.” Toya bit her lip. “Not even the others.”