Page 22 of Up from the Earth

My stare rocked up into the clouded sky as the child—my child—pressed against my opening. Burning swelled, tears dripping from the corners of my eyes, and I looked up into the face of the eclipse, softened by the layer of clouds.

In an instant, the blooming choir of birds, wind, and wailing cries blended to create a symphony of life. I stretched, shifted, and pushed my body until a massive pop rushed forward, waters spilling between my feet. Another surge down, and then another. I reached for them, feeling soft hair, and held myself ready to catch them.

A laughing sob left me, and in another wave, they were here. The child was earthside, and I…was a mother.

Stumbling to lean against the altar, I looked at the baby in my arms. He was small and pink and new.

He.

“Hello,” I stared into the eyes the color of the sky and trees, mirroring my own, “welcome home.”

In uncoordinated shuffles, the baby sought out his first meal, and I lowered my dress, bringing my son to my breast. He ate furiously and intensely, gulping down milk until his tiny hands gripped me to push back.

“What are—”

Before my eyes, he grew—as fast as the pregnancy and more. He grew into a young boy, a midnight head of dark hair with eyes of two colors—one crystal blue and one verdant green. Then, he stood before me as a young man, tall and muscular—the picture of his combined parentage.

And still, he changed, dropping onto his hands and knees and shifting into the form of a massive black wolf, just like his father. My brows shot to my hairline, eyes bulging as I witnessed this miraculous transformation. In a blink, I was shocked to see my son standing nearly as tall as The Wolf but possessing a gift even his father couldn’t claim.

“Three heads. You are…” Revelation and disbelief warred. “...Cerberus.”

He held my eyes, nodding his giant heads. I stepped forward and reached out to smooth my fingers through his fur. It was as soft as that hair I’d felt. His eyes were the perfect reflection of mine, and I loved him.

“I will protect you with everything I have.” He nuzzled into me with his central head, a rumbling sound almost like a purr coming from his chest. “Everything I am and everything I know has changed because of you. I love you more than breath.”

My son lay down, stretching out so that he covered the entirety of the stone circle. He’d grown so fast; it had all happened so fast, and yet the care I held for him was without measure. He was mine. He was my Cerberus. My child.

In the stillness of the forest, a quiet settling over the trees, a profound sorrow passed over me. Cerberus was mortal—at least partly. He would pass on from that realm as all mortals did. While I somehow knew that he would nevertrulybe apart from me, one day, things would change. I would not see him “up there.”

To give life is also to ensure death. You offer time and experiences, knowing that they are not infinite and will come to an end.

That was the way of nature, the balance in which all things existed. I would not deny it, and I would not fear it. Stroking my hand down his fur as I knelt beside him, Cerberus appeared to sleep, resting after his ordeal of being born. I smiled.

“So you understand, little beast. Life means death. That is the way. And someone,”My Beast King spoke into my mind, a sense of warning but also immense pride,“is defiling it. To take a death and create life is blasphemy. It must be stopped.”

Fear twisted my gut. Life from death was foul and wrong. I could feel it in my bones. Whatever had the gall to alter the natural order in such a way was indeed a fiend of not only terrible power but little regard for the consequences of doing such a thing. I had a purpose here in ending this sacrilegious mutation.

And I would.

Eleven

Seasons Of Life Progress Without Fail. Embrace Your Verdant Spring & Deadly Winter.

IsatwithCerberusfor a long while, watching his chest rise and fall as he breathed, sweeping my fingers across his brow when it would wrinkle. It eased his dreams, and he would settle. He still lay in wolf form, and I wondered if he would shift back to the boy.

Thunder rumbled in the distance, the unease of a spilling lava flow coating my veins. We needed to end this—quickly.

As much as it pained me to do so, I stood up, and Cerberus immediately looked up at me, waking as soon as I moved. He blinked, silently waiting for a command.

“Will you return to the shape of the boy?” I smiled, patting him on the leg when he released a tiny whine. “I love you regardless, sweet boy. I am only curious.”

“Perhaps. I am more useful to you now like this.”He shook himself slightly, his fur rippling as the dim light touched it.“What would you have me do?”

Taking a step toward him, I put my forehead to his muzzle, breathing in his unique scent. I would know it anywhere, and even as apprehension filled me, the connection between us slowed my racing heart.

“Sniff out whatever is doing this. We need to be rid of it.”

A nod of his snout, and then Cerberus tore through the woods, rushing past the trees in merely a handful of strides.My fierce boy.

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