Chapter 27
As Aiden pulls up to the house, I waste no time getting out.
I have an important task that can’t wait.
Quickly opening the back door, I lift the bundle gently from the floor board.
I don’t pause. I just begin walking towards the back of the house so focused on my task, I don’t even stop when Aiden calls after me.
The voice is calling for me, guiding me, to what only I can do.
Come, dear heart, I will show you what must be done.
Reaching the backyard, I am met by my familiars. They are waiting for me, just like I knew they would be, my silent sentinels. The whispers in my mind tell me that with their help I can begin to ease the suffering and right a small part of the wrong that has been done.
Indy and Beretta stare deeply into my eyes, into my very soul. With a nod of their heads they turn and lead me deep into the trees. As we pass through the deep shadows of the surrounding vegetation, my familiars’ bodies transform from my beloved pets into their true forms.
Dark shadows weave around each of them. They are both hauntingly beautiful.
Indy, now more than double in size, stands as tall as my hip.
His white fur is gone; he is now black as the deepest depths of a shadow.
His eyes glow an eerie milky white, and in the center of his forehead between his upright ears is the mark of a crescent moon, glowing as brightly as his pale orbs.
Beretta almost towers over me, and as she turns her head to look at me, a skulled face with swirls and runes carved in intricate detail stares back at me.
Anyone would have been terrified, but I have nothing to fear from her.
I know this beast, know that I’m utterly safe in her presence.
Beretta’s coat is an inky black, and fluid-like shadows drip from her skin.
Deep in the eye sockets of her skull are glowing orbs of the most hypnotizing red.
With a hand now covered in blood again, I reach out to tenderly caress her bone snout leaving behind a smear of crimson. Her unnaturally long tongue snakes out of her open maw, licking off the blood, savoring the offering.
I glide silently through the dark forest with them at my sides, until we reach an opening within the trees, and we all come to a synchronized stop. I take in the clearing that seems so welcoming, as if it formed just for us.
Indy steps away from my side into the center, then turns to face me.
Follow the Guardian’s lead, dear heart. I will aid you for the rest.
That hauntingly beautiful voice whispers deep in my mind. I don’t even question it; I just do what they ask of me.
“Mistress, place the fallen at my feet.”
Carefully, I stride forward, kneeling in front of Indy as I gently lay the bundle at his feet. I gingerly unwrap the blanket, uncovering the innocent creature. With a gentle hand, I stroke the cat’s fur, and a sorrowful hum begins from deep within me.
Build it, let the song free, dear heart. I am with you.
A flood of power washes over me, and I give myself over to it. With the guidance of my familiars and that ethereal voice, I unleash my power from deep within myself. I begin to cleanse the creature’s soul of all the pain and grief from their life cut short.
The power bubbles up and up until what bursts from me is a heartbreaking melody. The song that spills from my lips is ancient and powerful, and I willingly give myself over to it.
As the song builds within me, my familiars’ shadows swirl around me, caressing my skin as if asking permission to join. Arms outstretched wide, I eagerly welcome the shadows of my familiars into my body, welcoming the strength they offer. Welcoming the transformation that sweeps through me.
The song is hauntingly beautiful, my emotions rising with each note. A single tear glides down my cheek, glimmering in the dark of the woods. The tear slows its descent on my skin as that ethereal voice quietly calls to me again, just loud enough to be heard over my song.
Place the tear on the creature, Chosen. Let your tears heal its soul.
With a claw-tipped hand, I brush the tear onto the tip of one lethal claw, letting it slide down the length. The single tear glows faintly, and as it leaves my claw, the glow strengthens as it draws nearer to the once white fur.
Still my song continues, not once faltering as a deep baying howl of my hound joins me along with the mournful yowl of my feline.
The clearing bursts with light. My song, the ancient song of my ancestors, harmonizes with the song of my familiars. It grows and grows, echoing into the trees, echoing into the very souls of any being that is near.
As the song draws to a close and the light begins to fade, a sense of peace and hope fills me.
My eyes are drawn to the once bloody bundle, now pristine, the body now whole but still unmoving.
And as the last note fades away, a tiny ball of light rises from the small body.
It hovers and bobs in front of me, as if in greeting, before shooting up into the night sky.
With a wave of Indy’s paw, the remains fade from existence, but the ground is no longer barren. What now grows beneath, is a single deep red dianthus.
For a brief moment I feel whole. Is this how I’m meant to feel? Is this what I have been missing?
But before I can fully grasp what that power truly feels like, it fades back into the depths, where it becomes untouchable again. I want to yell my frustration, but I lack the energy. I sigh, and bring my attention back to my familiars, and what we have accomplished together.
Beretta leans down and sniffs the flower, and as if she gleans something from it she looks to Indy for confirmation. A nod so small I almost miss it crosses between them before they turn back to me. Beretta straightens to her full height.
“Come, it is late and you have expended more power than you should have. We will lead you back to your mates.”
I nod because she is right, I am exhausted, but then I pause, registering that very last part.
“I have one mate, Beretta, and I’m not even sure he’s going to want to see me. I really messed up.” My head drops in shame.
Beretta and Indy scoff at that, not acknowledging what they deem as me being stupid.
Not saying another word, they nudge me forward and lead me back through the dark woods.
We walk for a lot longer than I realize, and it’s so quiet.
A large shadow crosses our path from overhead, making me freeze in my tracks.
“What is that?” I whisper nervously, my voice sounding so small.
Indy swivels his large ears before nudging me forward again.
“It’s just the big bird, being nosey.”
“What big bird?” I hiss. They really need to work on their communication skills.
Beretta sighs in exasperation. “She hasn’t seen that one shift; she doesn’t know who you’re talking about.”
“The golden haired one…I can’t be bothered learning their names.”
What the fuck? “Cam…is a big bird?”
Indy only responds with a tail flick. I’m too tired to unpack that, so I decide to put a pin in that one for later, because as we near the edge of the trees, the energy shifts.
My guard instantly goes up, the hairs on the back of my neck rise.
Grunts and growls of large animals meet my ears, coming just beyond the tree line.
“Don’t be frightened, Mistress. If they threaten you, we will feast on their entrails.” Beretta says a little too cheerfully.
What the hell?
They keep me moving forward, and as the trees thin further, my attention is immediately drawn to the three enormous beasts that prowl the back lawn, watching, and waiting for me.