Chapter Forty-Five #2
“Because time is relative.” The Moon Goddess stepped up next to us. “And two things can be true at once.” Selene looked at Hecate. “Your child?”
Hecate looked away. “Will be born this night. Does our deal stand?”
The Moon Goddess turned to watch the man bleeding out. “It does.” She turned back to us, and the mourning mother painted herself with blood. “You helped me when I created the Lycans, and when I had my own child. I will help you now.”
Hecate grabbed her arm. “Will it hurt?” Her voice trembled.
Selene turned back and cupped her face. “It will for a moment, and then he will be fine.” She kissed her. “I promise your beloved will be fine.” She rubbed her cheek. “But you have to be prepared.”
“For what?” I asked.
Both turned to me with sad smiles, and both answered. “Because everything comes with a cost.”
The Moon Goddess stepped to the side and then nodded towards the pair on the ground. “It just depends on who will pay the price.”
Both women stepped forward, leaving me behind to witness the scene unfold again. I spent half the time watching the four discuss saving the man, and the other half watching my grandmother and myself. It was a surreal feeling.
After the back and forth, the Moon Goddess changed Kane to the first werewolf, and Hecate thanked her. Then I watched as she crouched and blessed the mother’s line.
Selene joined me first. “Do you understand yet?”
I shook my head. “I’ve seen this all before. You created the first werewolf, and Hecate blessed the mother’s line to become witches. But I don’t understand why she is showing me all this again.”
Selene kissed my brow. “Why do you think she blessed the line?”
“Because she couldn’t save the son. Her lover.” I felt like my brain was molasses.
Selene shook her head. “Watch…and understand.” She waved her hand, and we were back in the cabin. Kane was missing. But Henny, the Maiden was back on the bed giving birth. “Breathe, sister.”
The Moon Goddess joined Hecate on the bed. Hecate grabbed her hand. “Where is Kane?” She sounded small and terrified.
Selene leaned over her. “Hunting. It is his first shift, and he is starving.”
Hecate shook her head. “I can’t do this alone.” Black-tinged tears trailed down her face.
“And you won’t.” Selene leaned over and kissed her face. “You helped me bring my child into this world. I will do the same.” I moved over to her side.
“I’ll help any way I can.” I walked over next to the bed and held out my hand. “I know you don’t know me, but…”
Both goddesses looked at me with small smiles. “We know your daughter. Come sit by her side.” Selene pulled me down next to Hecate.
I held out my hand, and she slid her hand into mine.
We stayed there for hours until the wail of a baby echoed off the barren cabin.
Hecate cried in relief, and she collapsed into my arms. I held her close as Selene wrapped the baby in cloth she pulled from the air.
“Are you okay?” My focus was on the girl trembling in my arms, and I felt a kinship with her.
Her eyes were only for her child, though. “Yes.” She held out her arms as Selene came over.
“She is beautiful.” The Moon Goddess preened as she slid the bundled baby into her sister’s arms. “What is her name?”
Hecate pulled the baby into her arms as her body shifted from Maiden to Mother. Her features grew older, and a new sadness enveloped her. “Ciran. I’ll call her Ciran.” She rubbed her fingers down the baby’s face. “He found his mate, hasn’t he…that’s why he hasn’t returned?”
The Moon Goddess closed her eyes and blew out a breath. “I’m sorry, sister.” She opened her eyes, which were filled with bright tears. “If I could change it, I would.”
Hecate nodded once. “I know.” She kissed the baby in her arms. “But this was the price.” She took a shuddering breath before she turned to me now. “Help me up.”
I swallowed past the lump as I helped her to her feet. “You just gave birth; shouldn’t you wait?”
Her chuckle was sad. “If I linger any longer, I fear my heart will shatter.” She brushed her daughter’s dark red damp hair.
“Let us go.” She moved towards the door, and the two of us followed behind her.
She traveled through the trees until we came to another cabin, and Hecate shifted again into her Crone form.
Her hunched back walked slowly up the stairs to the door. With a swift knock, she put the baby in a basket on the porch that waved into existence.
The Moon Goddess pulled me to her side. “Do you understand now?”
I thought for a second, as Hecate vanished, leaving the babe alone on the porch.
The door opened, and I realized she had left the baby with its grandmother.
“She blessed the line with the spark because she knew she was going to leave her daughter here. And she needed magic herself to train the baby.”
Hecate stepped next to me. “Exactly.” She turned to me with a sad smile. “You are a daughter of Selene, but also of me. You were born of my flesh, and my power.”
I blinked, and I was back in the cell. The smoke was gone, and everyone was watching me. “What?”
Rowan and my father snorted, but it was Mom who walked over to me and grabbed my face. “Are you okay?”
I tilted my head at her and smiled. “Of course I am. Why?”
She searched my face. “It’s been like twenty minutes.
You were surrounded by smoke, making choking noises, and then there was silence.
We thought you died.” I felt my throat and eyes change.
I saw a soft green glow, the color of my magic, shimmering on her skin.
She sucked in a quick breath. “Your eyes…”
“I wouldn’t harm her. Like your Moon Goddess, I have chosen her.” The voice that came from my throat was a blend of voices, and it didn’t sound natural. I watched my mother fight not to recoil. She bowed once and stepped back against the wall next to my father.
“Please.” She waved her hand to the man in the chair.
Theo trembled as we walked close. “You can’t do this to me.”
I felt my face smile. It was a little more jarring than when the Moon Goddess took over. Hecate laughed softly. “I apologize, daughter. But I haven’t possessed a human body since ancient Greece.” She turned to Theo. “What can’t I do to you, wolf?” Her voice dropped low and became menacing.
Theo thrashed. “You can’t kill me. Doesn’t that make you evil?”
We laughed. “I am a Goddess, a primordial being that shaped this world, worshiped for millennia. I am the gifter of magic, mother of witches, healer of the sick, protector of travelers and a safe passage for the young. I am of the earth, the sea, and the heavens. And you think a corrupt wolf can deem me evil?” We laughed again, and her hand struck out, our fingers wrapping around his throat.
“You have killed my children, corrupted my young, and you think using petty lines will stop me from demanding retribution?” She leaned down.
“I…didn’t.” Theo choked as our hands tightened.
“Do you know the difference between the magic that I gifted and the magic I have?” He stared up at us, and then I felt his head shake slightly.
“Their magic is watered down, and is completely reliant on their strength. But mine…” She grinned as she tightened her hand more.
We watched his face turn purple. “My magic is divine.” She released his throat, and he bent at the waist, coughing.
Hecate lifted our finger and pointed at Theo.
Carna spo kera speta tru. If you ever get strong enough to use it, this spell will give you everything you need.
Hecate’s voice whispered in my mind. Tell no one else.
It would burn them out, and they would die a horrible death.
How would I know if I’m strong enough? I whispered back, and I heard her chuckle.
You will know. Her answer was soft, glib, and slightly infuriating. But I felt her turn back her attention to Theo. “When did you turn your back on your kind?” The question was simple.
Theo sat back, still struggling to get his breath under control.
“I don’t remember the year, but it was way before the old king was killed.” His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. “How?”
Our lips turned up. “Magic.” She went to stand against the wall. “Did you sell out your kind to the human government?”
Theo fought to keep his lips closed, but it was no use. “Yes. Garith befriended a politician twenty or thirty years ago. We have a lab set up near their capital, and we have been shipping wolves there since it was built.”
“Where exactly is the lab?” Rowan asked, but Theo kept his mouth shut.
“Answer him.” Hecate growled, and I felt the magic snap out, causing Theo to yelp.
“I don’t know the exact location. That was under Evan’s supervision. I was in charge of something else.”
“What?” Rowan stepped closer, almost as if he knew Theo’s next words.
“I was in charge of killing the Royal Family.” Theo looked over at Rowan with a smirk. “I volunteered for it.”
Rowan went to strike, but Hecate stepped forward and stopped him. “Is there anything else we need to know before your soul is harvested?”
Theo glared up at us. “I hope you have had time to say goodbye.”
I felt our head tilt down. “Why is that?”
Theo grinned as a howl was blasted through the mind-link. Ronnie’s voice was frantic. We are under attack. “Because I was stalling you.”