Servant of the Moon #1 - unedited draft

CH TO THE MOON’S GATE

Part of the Pack by Adrian von Ziegler

Winter was coming hard and fast, and with blowing snow warnings up and down the coast, Essie fretted about making the drive to Moon’s Gate and the boat ride around the lake to the temple island. Comhnyall had gone there once before with his father. The warriors had flown in 3 planes that could land on water, it had taken 6 hours. Then they had taken boats to the shore and fought a group of large rogues attempting to encroach on the pack territory from the southwest. It had been an easy battle for the 30 Wemyss warrior wolves and Comhnyall’s first real fight. He had fought better than his father and brothers expected and earned a full share of the bounty and his first warrior tattoos.

They spent almost a year there while Mamó had trained the young oracle who would become the Delphi. He had become very good friends with her mate, Luca, while he trained him to protect her better. He tried to shrug of the sad regret that he had not done a good enough job if Luca had died. He asked Essie what how, she had just looked at him sadly and tersely explained what happened that day. They were ambushed, Luca had barely escaped with her sister, no one else had survived and he had died in Del’s arms. Then Essie looked at Nyall in a way that made him doubt his ability to survive if she attacked him.

Essie’s voice was low and deadly, “Luca meant as much to Del as Moire meant to you. Only his death was far worse for her because the Moon had shown her he would died if he stayed with her. She tried to save him, but he refused to leave her, even when she tried to reject him. He tried to love her enough to make up for the time they would not have, and he died in her arms. I am only telling you this because I know you were his friend. But if you ask her about him, I will forget your future importance and give you to a vampire friend of mine for food. Do you understand, Comhnyall MacGealimir of New Wemyss?”

Nyall simply nodded, he realized in that moment he never wanted to cross Essie where her sister was concerned. She suddenly smiled like they were talking about nothing important and asked what he wanted to do after breakfast, while she chewed a giant mouthful of waffles.

After lunch, they had driven to the docks to meet the Seawolf, later when the blow snow cleared, they would make the overnight drive to Moon’s Gate. After dinner, Comhnyall walked Shamus back to the ship he had called home and work for the last few years.

“Ye listen to me, laddie. Essie may be tha most annoying she-wolf in tha world, but she knows how to move in it. And Delilah, don’t let her cold manner put you off, she has the kindest heart ye’ll e’er meet. Yur Mamó has known them since they escaped the destruction of their pack at 12 years young, already marked by tha Moon an’ wandering tha Tides. Delilah may seem aloof but she is that way ’cause she watched ’er family die, and then her mate die only a month before their ceremony. She is gifted an' has paid for et weth grief. Like tha ancient Oracle Cassandra, no one believed her when she warned them ‘cause she was so young. Listen to 'er, Comhnyall, even when wha’ she says makes no sense to ye. Trust ’er.” Shamus cleared his throat and pulled Comhnyall into a bear hug.

Comhnyall felt a bittersweet pain as Shamus hugged him goodbye, he found his voice had failed him again. Shamus partly let go, holding his shoulders.

“Ye be like a son ta me. Take care of ye family, Nyall, an' if tha Moon e’er decides ta let yur duty be done, ye find me on tha coast, an’ tha Seawolf will be yurs when I’m gone. Just like tha first Seawolf was given ta me when my time servin’ tha Goddess finished. Sometimes... sometimes She seems cruel, but ye need to trust Her plans fur ye. ”

“Thank ye fur e’erything, Shamus. I would nah ’ave made et after Moire...” he couldn’t make himself finish the sentence.

“I know laddie, ye’ll feel her callin’ all of yur days, but do nah let tha’ stop ye from finding a bit of happiness an’ comfort here. Who knows, may it be ye will meet a mate-lost she-wolf an' have a half-dozen pups ta start ye own pack weth. We’ll be needing more deckhands anyway. Now git, yur makin’ meh eyes fog.” Shamus shoved him toward shore.

When Comhnyall looked over his shoulder, Shamus was already untying the stern line. He couldn’t make himself say goodbye so he just walked away.

The next evening at sunset, the clouds and snow had cleared as the small boat pulled up to the dock at the Moon’s Gate Pack island. The drive and boat trip had taken longer than expected. A small female in a pale gray cloak runs down the steps toward them. First she hugs Essie, then Mamó, then Essie again. Her hood falls back and her face is an exact replica of Essie. This tearfully happy, concerned she-wolf is the Delphi, the most powerful oracle in the wolf world. Her voice is soft but fast like a hummingbird’s trill, she talks as fast as her twin and Nyall groans internally. 'There’s two of them.'

“You got them here safe, oh Essie, I was so afraid. I kept seeing the wolves chasing you and sending them false trails to lead them away, or casting my power to confuse them so they wouldn’t find you. How could you be so stupid to stay and eat in a cafe with those hunters?!?! I should just smack you!”

“Calm down, sis, they didn’t recognize us. Besides, you’ll scare the newbies! Del the Delphi, this is Comhnyall and Ainsley. Comhnyall, Ainsley, this is my sister Del, the great and powerful OZ, I mean Oracle.” Essie laughed at her own joke, but the twist of her twin’s lips shows it isn’t the first time she’d made that particular play on words.

Ainsley stared at Del like she’s seeing a princess for the first time.

The Oracle held out her hand to Ainsley, and she speaks in a much slower, more soothing voice, “Hello, little sister, I’m Delilah, but you may call me Del. I have seen your drawings, Ainsley. They are very good and very insightful, you have a wonderful gift.”

Ainsley blushed, breathily whispering the first words she had spoken in four years, “Thank ye, Delphi,”

Mamó chuckled as Comhnyall stared in shock, “Ainsley, ye spoke!”

The little red-head just turned large eyes on him and shrugged.

The Oracle held out her hand to shake Comhnyall’s in a very human fashion, “It is an honor to meet the last Master-of-Arms of the Wemyss Warrior Wolves.”

Comhnyall was too shocked to know what to say except to correct her, “Nay, Oracle, I nah be tha last. Our kin in tha old country...” He stopped; there was great sadness in her moonlit eyes and he noticed that they are more a deep cornflower blue than the intense icy sapphire of her sister’s.

Del glances to Essie who nodded and took Mamó and Ainsley up the stairs. Del's voice seemed familiar but he couldn’t place it as she started to explain. “Comhnyall, things are not as they were only a week ago. I am so sorry to tell you, but they didn’t listen to my warning and less than 20 shewolves and pups survived. They were poisoned by witchcraft before the attack and none of the warriors could shift, it was a massacre. Only those few who made the Coinneach Carns survived. You are the last living Wemyss Warrior Wolf, Comhnyall MacGealimir, son of Lyallfr Gealimir.” Her voice was gentle as it delivered the devastating news and Comhnyall realized this was why Essie wouldn’t answer his questions about why they coming here instead of going to Old Wemyss.

“Who?” he breathed out.

“The enemies of the Moon,” Her quiet voice resonated with much surety.

He felt his knees give out, if Moire had not gotten pregnant, they would have been there and she would have died anyway, along with he, Ainsley, and Mamó. There was tightness in his chest for wolves he never met, but were family, it made him turn away. He prayed to the Goddess that he had learned enough from his father to be worthy of his title. The sun set with a thousand shades of sapphire and gold over the evergreen forest. Only a few years ago, he had admired the rugged cliffs and remote beauty of the area and the green tile-roofed buildings that blended to seamlessly into the landscape. His world had been so different then.

“It is good to pray to Her, She is always listening, even when She can’t see us,” Delilah’s voice called him back to the present. He looked around and everyone else has gone with all their belongings, only a single box of books remained on the dock. She bent to pick up the box, but he took it first.

“Please, Oracle, allow meh. Thank ye for tellin’ meh of what ’appened in Olde Wemyss.” He said, and she nodded.

“I hate giving news like that, especially when I sent clear warning. Even if I don’t understand it myself, I still try to warn,” she sounded very bitter for someone so young.

He knew she was 22, but she looked barely 18. She also look so similar to Essie, it kind of freaked him out. Non-identical twin wolves are not very common, but they happen in every generation. Completely identical twins are extremely rare for werewolves, skipping many generations. It was something he knew he will never see again.

“Forgive me for staring, but I can nah get o’er how much ye and yur sister look alike. I’ve never met identical twins before,” he revealed as they climb the steps.

“We were born to be twin oracles, but Essie took a blow to the head when our pack fell and shouldn’t have lived. Our mother and grandmother were oracles, someone didn’t want us to survive if they couldn’t take us and use our gifts for themselves. I was the one who was supposed to die that night, but my sister prayed for a way to save me and was given a very hard choice, sacrifice herself or lose me. She chose to die in my place. I begged the Moon to save her. The Goddess spared her, but she lost most of her gift and still suffered the injury’s effects. It was a boon so I would not be left alone, but I am alone now because she cannot share the burden of the Delphi in this time and is plagued by her own fate.” She opened a door for him, he could see his things inside, Ainsley and Mamo had brought them. “Comhnyall, I know what it is like to be the last of your family and pack with a gift, how much of a burden it is. I believe you were spared because only the Moon knows what you truly are. I have so much to tell you, but not tonight, you need rest. These are your rooms. I’ll have a bookshelf brought in for you. A late dinner is prepared, if you can eat.”

“Tha book aire nah mine, Essie bought these fur ye, Delphi,” he stated, holding out the books.

She smiled and he felt an odd fluttering in his chest as she said, “Please, it’s Delilah or Del unless I am in my gown. Essie brought two boxes back. You keep that box and when you’re done reading through it, we’ll trade.”

He nodded, feeling flushed then realized that he wanted to ask her a question, but was afraid of the answer. “Del, what do ye think I am? What has the Moon told ye? Essie said you would answer my questions.”

“I don’t think anything, I know. The Goddess has said you will be Her Champion, the Servant to train Her loyal followers when the time of war against the unbelievers comes. I know that your honor will inspire those who were born in dishonor to be more than they was born to be, so you can fulfill the Moon’s purpose to become a faithful king and lead the wolves of this land back to the Goddess. Moire was meant to be your queen because she was born with a pure and generous heart, but her loss...” She sighed heavily, then lifted her head, her eyes serene and sad, “But for now, you will be a wanderer and train enforcers and protectors to be honorable warriors, doing Her bidding in this world while we wait.” She turned to leave, but he caught her arm, there was a slight tingle where his hand touched her faintly glowing moon marks.

He released her suddenly and they stared at each other for a moment before he spoke, “What else do ye need ta tell me? I want ta know everything now, I do nah think I could sleep with all tha questions I ’ave.”

She frowned slight, tipping her head, dark waves of hair shifted on her shoulders as she considered things, but then she announced, “It would be easier to show you, it is dangerous but if you are willing?” He nodded and she said,“I’ll be right back.”

She closed the door softly behind her, leaving only the smell of temple incense, and a scent of fresh snow that reminded him of his mother. He wondered how she could show him unless she was an artist like Ainsley.

Ainsley bounced on her bed, she had her own room and Essie had promised to go back to their house and get all her paintings and drawings. Right now she was waiting for her new friend to bring her some tacks so she could put her pictures up. Mamo was talking with an old male wolf named Eliazar in her room. There was a quiet tap on the door and Ainsley ran to let Essie in.

Together they sipped hot chocolate and Essie hung the pictures where Ainsley pointed, making comical comments about this one or that one, for each one Ainsley pulled out of one of her books. Ainsley pulled another of her sketchbooks then suddenly closed the sketch book, looking at Essie with those large dark gold eyes, that reminded her of coins she had gotten from an antique shop for her grandpapa Eliazar once.

“What’s wrong, Red?”

Ainsley shook her head.

“Oh come on, it can’t be as bad as the stuff I’ve seen or Del’s seen.”

Ainsley swallowed and then hugged her tightly. Slowly, Ainsley opened to the sketch and Essie felt like she had been punched in the stomach.

“Is... is this certain?” Essie whispered, unable to tear her eyes from the image.

Ainsley put her hands on either side of Essie’s face and made her look at her, then she whispered the only words Essie would hear her speak for a year, “Nothing is certain, except tha Sun will rise as tha Moon sets, but then tha Sun will set and tha Moon will rise. Your oldest enemy can rescue you, if you let him. Can love you, if you forgive him. There is always hope.”

Essie looked back down at the horrifying image. “Let’s not hang up this one. It might upset Del, okay?”

Ainsley nodded and handed her one of Nyall’s wolf and either her or Del’s wolf standing by lakeshore, both soaking wet and looking miserable, with a small boy riding the golden wolf.

“Aww, look, Nyall’s really just a pony. Do you think we could get a saddle on him?” Essie teased, giggling.

Ainsley laughed silently and shook her head, sending her dark coppery curls flying. She liked Essie, Essie was funny and she really hoped the burning wolf wouldn’t hurt her too much before she got the chance to escape with the silver haired wolf, if he survived.