Page 38 of Shared By the Werebears
“You could drink for days and you’d enjoy the experience but you’d never get real nourishment,” Whimsy continued. “Still, it’s a nice way to pass the time.”
The illusion on the wall showed a woman—beautiful and apparently extremely thirsty—drinking endlessly from the large golden chalice. She tilted it towards her mouth but I couldn’t see what was coming out. Whatever it was, it must have been delicious because she drank and drank—her long white throat working endlessly as she swallowed. But it was clear whatever was in the chalice wasn’t quenching her thirst.
Suddenly, the cup began to grow. It got larger and larger until she could no longer hold it in her hands. She leaned forward, desperate to keep drinking…and then she fell in.
The cup continued to grow at an alarming rate. The woman flailed around inside, reaching for the top edges but she couldn’t get to them. She was drowning in some dark, sticky liquid like tar. At last, it closed over her head and she was gone—presumably drowned.
“Ugh!” I whispered, shivering. “No thank you!”
Whimsy nodded solemnly. “Smart girl. No one escapes the Chalice in the end. Very well then, let’s move on.”
The golden letters on the wall behind the pedestal shimmered and rippled again forming into a new configuration?—
Item 4: The Crown of the Shifting Moon,they said.
I leaned forward to look at the fourth magical item. It sat on a black velvet pillow, shimmering with opals and pearls which completely encrusted it.
“This one gives you temporary power to sway minds, reshape instincts, seduce or command with lunar force,” Whimsy said, flittering around it enticingly. “Good for queens. Or for extremely bad decisions. It only works during the full moon,” he added.
Ronan took a step back.
“Hell no—we’re not touching that one.”
“Yeah—our Ursine cycle is already tied to the moon,” Finn agreed. “We don’t need to fuck with that.”
“Look!” I pointed at the wall.
The vision was new—it showed a brown-eyed woman wearing thecrown on her head. It was perched on her long black hair. She was speaking, commanding entire armies which dropped to their knees before her. But as she spoke, the color leached from her eyes and hair and skin, turning her slowly but surely into a pale, almost see-through wraith. In the end, she faded entirely away and there was nothing left but the crown, lying on the ground where she had been standing.
“Tempting, but no,” I said, shaking my head. “I don’t need to command armies—I just want help running my diner.”
“Very well then,” Whimsy buzzed. “Let us move on to the last item on our list.” He flitted over to the final item on the pedestal and the letters behind him changed again. “I give you…
Item 5: The Veil of the Goddess,”he announced in his high voice. “Well, come and see—it won’t hurt you!” he added, beckoning to us with all four hands.
Ronan and Finn and I came closer and looked down at the final object. The Veil of the Goddess was a piece of folded silk so sheer it looked woven from starlight. It glimmered with magic—I could feel it’s power prickling the short hairs on the back of my neck.
“Fuck,” Ronan breathed and Finn just stared.
Whimsy grew quiet.
“The Veil is Old Magic—old and deep,” he said in a hushed voice.
“Yes, but what does it do?” I asked, frowning.
Whimsy shook his tiny head.
“It doesn’t do anything…until you’re ready for it. Doesn’t tell you what it does until you need it. All I know is it can only be activated by true union… heart, body, and soul. And when you need it, you’ll know—it will tell you.”
The wall behind him rippled and flickered—but no vision appeared.
Nothing but the veil, gently fluttering in the still air.
I stepped closer, my heart thudding. I didn’t need a vision. I could feel its power—coiled like breath waiting to be exhaled. Iknew.
“This is the one,” I said softly. “This is what we need.”
“Suit yourself,” Whimsy chirped, but there was something reverent in his tone. “I think you’ve made a wise choice.”
