Page 12 of The Dark Rising
“Yeah, a dark wolf with two tails came out of nowhere from the trees and there was a person there.” I laugh. “I’m not sure if I just imagined it, but neither the wolf, nor the other person came for me, instead they went in the direction of those hooded men.”
“A wolf with two tails? That’s interesting.” She brings the tall stick in front of her as we both watch a yellow cilo bird lands on the bank on its long legs, its black beak dipping into the water.
“It is, I think I must have imagined it in my panic. I was so scared.”
“What happened when you got home, did you tell your mom?” she asks.
“I did, she said everything was going to be okay and hugged me so tightly. She made dinner, we ate as a family, and I went to bed. I heard Mom and Dad speaking though, but I don’t know what about. It was like that for a few days and then one day, Dad didn’t come back, andtheycame.”
“Who?” she questions.
“The Highers.”
She curses under her breath. “Rat bastards.” I nod.
“Charles had been around since I was little, but when I saw him grab Mom by her hair and start to drag her away, I knew right then what a horrible man he was. Afterward, I learned even more of just how sick and twisted Charles’s mind really was.
“Where did they take you?”
“Our basement. They knocked me out and when I woke up, I was in a cage.” She goes to grab my hand quickly and I can’t suppress the little flinch I make with the memories rushing through me.
“Oh, child.” I shake my hand out and open my palm to her, apologizing with my gaze. Her weathered hand falls into mine and she squeezes gently, her warmth calming me, and I give her a small smile.
I don’t speak about my time in the basement with anyone, only Josh, as he saw the state I was in when he helped me escape, but with Belldame it comes out a little, like I’ve known her forever. I guess I feel close to her because she was close to my mom. We have formed a bond quickly from that. So much so, that I have told her about Eridian, the people that lived there and what our life had been like.
“They hurt me a lot, especially when Runa came out. She hasn’t been out since. I’ve gotten much better with being touched now, and I need it at times. At first, I would scream when anyone came near me apart from Josh or Kade, folding in on myself wanting to hide. Over the years, Josh, Kade and Josie,” I choke out her name, tears stinging the back of my eyes. I push them back. “Josie helped me so much with it. I could never repay her, and now I never can.”
Belldame turns me toward her, bringing her hands to my cheeks. “You strong, brave girl.” A tear escapes and she wipes it away with a soft touch. “They will pay for what they did,” she swears vehemently, and I squeeze my eyes shut and nod. “Now is the time, child. Show them the Heir of Zahariss and The Bielsorcia will be right behind you. It’s time the Highers were disbanded, and their heads stuck on a pike.” Her small growl makes me chuckle.
“So bloodthirsty,” I whisper through a smile.
She grins, all teeth. “I am a Blood Witch after all, child. What do you expect?” We continue walking across the bridge and further into the droopy trees. Light shines through the canopy of leaves above, making the dew on the ground sparkle.
“Why do the Highers want to kill Blood Witches on sight?” I wonder.
“Many believe it’s because we are dangerous, which we can be of course, but can’t anyone?” I nod. “The real reason is because we have an alliance with the wolf Gods and they know that, and we have refused to align ourselves with the Highers. They don’t like that of course, and therefore decided to kill any that they see out in the lands and not protected here.” Of course they did. Dickheads. “They don’t like the fact they can’t control us, use us as they see fit like their own witches, and their Elites.”
At the mention of the Elites my stomach turns, my mind instantly going to Darius. The male who can give me a boyish smile, and then harden his eyes as he holds a whip. The male that made me confused by the look in his eye as he mouthed a single word to me.
He’s the Heir of Cazier, my counterpart. Are the Highers going to start training him in some way? I doubt they could control him if he didn’t want to do something, but he was in The Deadlands on their order. Now that both of our Heir status is out in the open, I wonder what he will do, apart from hunting me that is. I assumed he kept hidden for the same reason I had, survival. But did I get it all wrong if the Highers knew?
“The Elites will be a problem for me and mine,” I tell her. “I need to get Kade, Sarah, and the rest of my pack, but I’m not strong enough. If I had my Heir power, I feel I could stand a chance, but it’s not there.” I kick a booted foot through the blades of grass.
“Those cuffs of yours are suppressing your power. I was amazed you even managed to use any power at all with them on. It must have been because it was the first time it came through in a long time, and you got a huge surge of it. When we get those cuffs off, the real test will come in taming it. We also need to get that wolf of yours out.”
Runa stirs inside of me again, rolling on her belly and cocking her head. Will she come out? She hasn’t in years so I doubt she will. “I don’t think she will ever come out again. Her first experience was awful.”
“She just needs a little nudge, or a forceful shove. You need to be fully connected to your wolf to reach your full potential, whatever that may be. You cannot be of use to anyone without doing so, and I say that kindly. It will take time of course, but time is not on our side.”
“It is not.” I feel like life hangs in the balance, it’s like I can sense it in the very air I breathe.
“What do you know of the Vahaliel?”
“The plane of the Gods?” I ask, startled. She nods. “It is a myth, just stories my mom used to tell me as a child to go to sleep.” She would tell me of wolves running freely though blossoms, chasing them before resting under a large tree that was as big as the sky.
“It is very real.”
“How do you know?” I wonder.
