CHAPTER 30 #2
“Same. For one, how in the moon’s light did you get my sprite to stick with you? I figured it out at the mithrial’s party from his sudden aura spike but guessed you might’ve needed him more than me…”
“You knew the entire time?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah?” Lenore repeated. “That’s all you have to say?!” she groaned. “We... We could’ve teamed up or something, I don’t know!”
“Lenore.” Azelf let out a light chuckle, clenching his teeth sheepishly. But his eyes stayed sharp, flickering back to the forest in a watchful manner. “I told you, I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“Wait—what?”
“Do you see any magic education here? Werewolves having a gift for magic is rarer than rare. I’ve been piecing things together from scraps in dusty old books.
Trying to summon a light sprite—I don’t even know how I did it.
” Azelf shook his head. “I was trying to summon one on the night of the mithrial party then gave up. The next thing I know, I felt Pip’s presence crying out.
I ran back, and whoa! You’re there too, standing next to two dead ravens. ”
Lenore looked to the ground, reflecting back on their tense meeting. “... And then you had us burying them. I kept thinking you were going to bury me alive next.”
“Oh. I can see why you thought that.” Azelf gave an apologetic smile as he rubbed his neck. “But no, I was busy trying to remember how to purify their bodies in case someone could track any remaining magic in them… or if something were to come and eat their flesh.”
“How long have you known you’re a light mage then?”
“Would you believe me if I told you it only clicked for me just before Auden got sick?”
“I would, seeing as I only turned into a werewolf a week and few days ago, and now I’m stuck in this, well, horrible situation.”
“Horrible is an understatement,” Azelf said. “As much as I wanted to sort this out the moment Auden was wheezing his lungs out, I’m... still figuring out how to do anything outside of playing the long game with Arisa.” He frowned, more at himself, then looked at Lenore. “Do you know about her?”
She nodded quickly. “Yes—I think it’s some side effect from me being turned but... I knew there was something wrong with her and some others here.”
Shared relief showed on their faces. “Unfortunate, but also glad to hear that I’m not actually going crazy,” Azelf said. They both froze when they heard distant howls echo through the forest, clashing against the mad roar of the ravens. He tightened his lips. “The others are nearly here.”
“So what now? Can’t we band together and stop Arisa? Stop... Ryker and Hesper?”
“No.”
Lenore was taken aback. “No? But—there’s evidence, your powers—”
“I told you, I only got the insight to see what she was by the time Auden got sick. And by then, she already had him and Beren hostage.” One of his hands closed into a fist. “We can’t just ambush her.
Even with me claiming loyalty to her after she approached me, I’m still in the dark about a lot of things.
At best, I’ve only managed to keep Auden from succumbing completely—and stop any umbral thistles from growing near him.
” A shadow fell across his face. “And now he’s not waking up.
My working guess is Arisa also has some gift for magic—only, she’s using it for the dark arts. ”
Lenore’s stomach twisted in knots. “Didn’t you say that werewolves get stronger as we get closer to the full moon? Won’t that be dangerous if we leave it as is?”
“It’s a risk we’ll have to take.” Azelf winced, as if pained to say that. “Lenore, they’re Lucyn. Arisa got some of our pack to accept her willingly already. Sure, the Duskryns can hold their own—but I don’t know how many of them are being influenced now, even subtly.”
He exhaled slowly. “I disrupted her magic in me before I could fully understand it… but I’m certain that the jelly she made is meant to amplify her influence.”
“Influence…” She thought of the haunting whispers that affected her and the nightmares that pushed for her to give up. Her ears lowered.
Azelf looked to the side. “We gotta go. But I gotta take Pip back. I need to learn how to work with him if we’re going to uproot the infection.” Pip flew between them, reaching out to touch Lenore’s muzzle. He leaned in close, nuzzling his cheek against hers.
“Pip!”
Azelf laughed, almost in incredulous disbelief.
“And somehow I understood what he said! He said you smell nice.” He snorted loudly and Lenore couldn’t help but laugh at the unexpected comment.
As the light sprite returned to Azelf’s side, he added, “Get ready to run, Lenore. Even with Pip’s magic, we don’t know how long it’ll be before someone sees us. ”
“What about us being followed by the ravens?”
“The ravens are bound to areas with umbral thistles... or when summoned near a Lucyn themselves. Unless you get caught by a Lucyn, you’ll be okay.
The ravens can’t be free, and it’s their curse for ingesting that kind of magic.
” He began to move, shifting into his wolf form.
Pip became a tiny dot of light, disappearing into Azelf’s fur.
Lenore gasped quietly to herself. Did Hesper summon a raven to get Charie? She shook her head out of her thoughts. “One more question! Edmund—can’t I tell him all of this?”
Azelf groaned. “And risk him going after them prematurely? There’s a reason I kept him in the dark! No, I want you to go to the library!”
“The library? What—”
“Look, there’s not much you can do out here and I can’t answer everything all at once. If you’re going to help, you’ll need to know more than just instincts—even scraps of knowledge will do. Now go!”
He nudged her hard with his muzzle, and she broke into a run, leaving the chaos of the forest behind her.