Lupine [Moon Child Series Book 2]

by Candy Nicks

  Remember me. The wolf reached out to Sol with pictures of the boy burying his face in its mane. The memory of their combined scents. Do you remember what you said?

  Sol lifted his head, eyes narrowed now in concentration. The injured man pushed him back down.

  "This is the best thing ever.” Sol, do you remember those words?

  Sol continued to stare, giving no indication he'd heard.

  The injured man twisted his head trying to pinpoint the source of the message. Remember what? The man's thoughts echoed in the wolf's head. Finn, if that's you, you'll regret this.

  Unable to reach the boy with thought, the wolf closed its mind to shut itself off from the man holding him captive. Showing itself was a calculated risk. One it needed to take. Please let Sol's maturity be more than just a façade. It waited, hoping Sol would know him, and realise it wanted to help. A lot to ask of so young a child.

  Distract the man. Its thoughts went out to all the wolves and, on cue, it heard an agitated rustling from the other side of the clearing. The man's head jerked up. The gun swivelled around. Immediately, Finn's wolf raised its face, enough for the moonlight to illuminate its eyes and snout. Sol's own eyes grew larger than tarn pools at the sight.

  Remember me. The wolf sent a desperate message, before ducking back behind the cover of a bush. Sol became rigid with shock.

  You've seen me before. Do you remember?

  Sol's features relaxed and a tentative smile curved his mouth. The man turned and the smile disappeared, replaced by an expression of resolute calm.

  Please, no heroics, boy. When the time comes, your task is to run and not look back.

  Sol shook but not with fear, the wolf realised. Resolve, fuelled by pride and reckless inexperience, was fast turning to deadly intent. Don't! it warned. Wait for my signal.

  Sol's small hand crept towards the distracted man's belt and the turmoil of Sol's thoughts cleared to a single focus.

  I'm an Eagle Warrior from the noble house of Faylar. We fight our own battles.

  With a blur of movement, Sol snatched the knife from the sheath and buried it, two handed, into the man's thigh.

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  Chapter 18

  "I knew it was a mistake to let you come with us. Tell me what just happened. You're paler than a ghost."

  Carine blinked away the dazed expression and glanced at the anxious faces surrounding her. “I don't know ... I thought I saw Finn."

  "Finn? Where? He's not here. Were you dreaming?"

  "He was as flesh as you are, Naima."

  "Sit down.” Ancel towered over his shocked wife, pushing her firmly by the shoulders when she showed no signs of obeying him. “I've had experience of this. The mountains; if you don't know them, they disorientate you. Make you see and hear things that aren't there."

  "I saw him. He said the word Sol. Why, Ancel? Something's wrong. I can feel it."

  Naima's scalp prickled. From a distance, the mountains looked like static, solid masses of rock. Now, under the cloak of darkness, they were a living, breathing thing pulsing with the terrors of the unknown. Every shadow harboured watching eyes, and with every rustle, she imagined some horror sneaking up on them. She remembered with hot embarrassment the way she'd screamed when a frog had unknowingly jumped onto her foot and the look of wry amusement on Brynn's face.

  Calm, she cautioned herself. Carine is overwrought and worried about the children. She watched her step-mother's hands fumbling with the Crystal-pouch.

  "Something connected with my Crystal. I saw Finn, or at least his astral spirit. Sol's in danger."

  "Sol's back at the Settlement spending the night with Song. Isn't he?” Ancel turned to Brynn.

  Brynn threw a twig onto the fire, visibly tense with the struggle to avoid becoming a wedge between Ancel and Carine. “He should be, but you know Sol. If he got wind of this, he'd find a way to join in."

  "Didn't you check?” Ancel's voice darkened.

  Brynn's darkened to match. “They were in school, Song was meeting them. Give your wife some credit, won't you? If Carine thinks there's a problem, then as far as I'm concerned, there is. That's where our focus should be."

  "Are you telling me I don't know my own wife?"

  "I'm saying she deserves your faith in her, especially after—"

  "Father, Brynn, this isn't the time.” Naima placed a stabilising hand on her father's balled fist. “Look at Carine."

  The Crystal's glow illuminated Carine in a pool of ice-blue light. Through the pale ring, her aura sparked and spiked, the hairs, which had escaped her plait, lifted and danced as if taken by a stiff breeze.

  "No, don't,” Naima cautioned when Ancel moved towards her. “Let her find out what's going on."

  "It could be hurting her. Carine? Can you hear me?"

  Ancel's love always showed more in his anguish than his joy. Naima kept a firm hold of his hand, mesmerised herself by the sight of Carine harnessing the power she'd only just begun to understand, before it had been snatched from her. Her heart ached for Brynn in his silent vigil beside them and she reached out to him, too. How keenly he must feel his role as outsider at times like these. His was a brave soul to love and expect so little in return.

  "Join with me.” Carine held out her own hands, in turn, completing the circle with Brynn to one side of her, Ancel to the other. Naima's gut swooped. Ancel's hand tightened in hers. A surge of power whooshed through her fingertips, circling the group, filling them.

  "It's amazing,” she murmured. “Like nothing I've ever experienced.” Her face heated when she remembered that it was exactly like something she'd experienced only recently.

  Carine flashed a secret smile. “Isn't it wonderful? It's so long since I've communed this powerfully with the Source. Ancel, ask a question."

  Ancel faltered, still trying to stabilise himself in a world that threatened to tip him from the edge. “Where's my son?” he said, eventually. Naima detected a slight catch in his voice. “Is he safe?"

  Carine closed her eyes, her face a mask of concentration. The smile faded. “He followed Finn,” she said in a thin voice. “But someone found him first."

  "Son of a Carvel whore. I'll kill him with my own hands.” Ancel roared and broke from the circle, beating his fist into his palm.

  Naima was almost too afraid to ask. “Finn's father? He wants the Soul Cleansers and he needs a ... sacrifice."

  "Where is he?” Brynn kept a firm grip on Carine's hand when she wavered from side to side, and reached for Naima to re-form the circle. “Stay calm and tell us where he is, Carine."

  "Somewhere higher up the mountain.” Carine shook uncontrollably. Tears streaked her cheeks. “He must be so scared."

  "No.” Ancel's voice cut through the hysteria, deadly calm now, like dark water on midsummer eve. “Not my son. He's a true Eagle Warrior and a Faylar. He'll forbear."

  "Don't you dare tell me we can't go and help him!"

  Ancel scooped up his sword belt and flung it around his hips. “Of course we're going to help him. He's also only a child. But he will deal with this and make us proud."

  "Ancel's right.” Brynn nudged Carine's attention back to the Crystal. “If I know Sol he'll be madder than a rabid dog. Why in the world was he following Finn?"

  "I think he felt sorry for him because of the blindness. Mother, can you see where they are?"

  "I see a knife. And blood. Oh Goddess, there's blood."

  "It may not be his. If Finn is anywhere near, he'll help him.” Naima heard her own voice as if from the end of a long tunnel. A pang of overwhelming grief hit her at the thought of Sol's irrepressible life force snuffed out so young. Where was Finn? Did his father hold them both, somehow?

  "Mother, try to connect with Finn. He knew I'd be following him."

  Carine drew in a deep shuddering breath and stared so bleakly at her Crystal, she might have been looking into the Pit itself.

  "Father.” Naima called him away from his weapon's ch
eck. “You're needed to complete the circle. I'll check the guns."

  Ancel continued to flick catches on the blast-guns, checking the charge ratings. Only after placing the last gun carefully down, did he walk over to the circle and lower himself cross-legged next to Carine.

  "Sol will be all right,” he said. “He's had weapons training and he's brave. Tell us where he is so we can find him and take him home."

  Naima listened with half an ear while she gathered the supplies and braced for an argument with her father. She wanted to be there when first he met Finn's wolf.

  Brynn tapped her shoulder. “Let me help,” he said, hunkering down beside her. “Those two need time alone. Perhaps I shouldn't have come."

  When she looked back, Carine was weeping silently into Ancel's jacket. He understood her well, even if he was sometimes slow to show it.

  "Coping with independent women hasn't been easy for Father. A strong man will always be reluctant to share the weight of the world with others. And Carine—well, she's a Moon-Child. Headstrong doesn't begin to cover it."

  "It's what gives love the spark,” Brynn replied, his smile tinged with sadness as he stuffed their bed-rolls into the backpacks. “No one ever said love was easy."

  "True,” she agreed, and thought of what might lie ahead for her and Finn, if they found him before his father did. If he survived the fire.

  Ancel joined them and bent to scoop up his gun. “Carine says we're on the wrong track. Any point in me asking you and Carine to wait here while Brynn and I go on ahead? The eastern track is steep and we'll make better progress without you."

  "None at all."

  "You'll slow us up and put yourselves in unnecessary danger, but I don't have time to argue with you. Just watch Carine carefully. She's probably already wondering how she can do this all by herself. Can she use the Crystal on us?"

  Naima straightened and shouldered her own gun. “I've no idea how much power she really has. Just remember she loves you. And love sometimes makes people a little crazy."

  "Don't I know it. Come on. Let's go and find our missing people and take them home where they belong."

  * * * *

  "Finn? I was looking for you and then this man grabbed me and said he was your father and ... I ... I think I killed him."

  Finn pulled on his pants with jerky movements. “Sol, tell me you're all right."

  "My throat hurts,” Sol said, his voice a dry rasp. “I was brave and I didn't cry. What happened to your clothes and where were you going all by yourself at night? You can't see. Were you leaving us?"

  "No. Just have something I need to do. You're shaking. Tell me he didn't hurt you."

  "I'm all right. Finn. You're shaking too. Did I kill him?"

  For all the boy's bravado, Finn heard the break in Sol's voice. Shock would set in when reality hit. Now they needed to put distance between the injured man and themselves.

  "No, you didn't kill him. Sol, we need to get away from here. I'm taking you home and you're going to lead the way. Yes?"

  "I didn't want to kill him. He was hurting me."

  "Sol, listen to me.” Finn fell to his knees and touched his fingers to the stricken boy's face, wiping away the tears falling unchecked. Sol's unbound hair brushed his knuckles and the boy's thin shoulders trembled with the weight of his guilt.

  "You haven't killed him, only slowed him down.” How could he make the boy understand? “Sol, do you know what a quest is?"

  Sol sniffed. “Of course I do. I've heard quest-sagas."

  "Well, that's why I'm here. I'm on a quest."

  "You're a hero?"

  "We won't know until the end of this story. Listen, every story has a villain, right? Well, that man is the villain of this story."

  "Is he really your father?"

  "It's complicated, Sol. Yes, he is. Not all fathers are like yours."

  "Mother will be worried about me. She fusses a lot."

  "Then we'd better get you back."

  "No. I want to go with you on your quest."

  Slender arms wound around his neck. Warm breath fanned his cheek. Finn risked a quick peek at the clearing and saw his father laid out, the blood-streaked knife protruding from the man's thigh.

  Hidden by the trees, the wolves watched as promised, bearing witness. Sol's arms tightened and Finn knew that if he took the child home that would be the end of this fool's quest. The end of the Lupines. Leaving Naima once had been hard enough. Leaving her twice? He made a decision. One that Ancel would probably kill him for.

  "Sol,” he said. “Look at my eyes."

  "It's dark."

  Finn tilted back his head until it caught a patch of moonlight filtering through the trees. “Look now and tell me what you see."

  Sol's hands clutched at his shoulders and when he spoke, the boy's voice was breathless with wonder, not the shock Finn had been expecting. “You've got cat's eyes."

  "Wolf's to be precise. Sol, do you remember that wolf you met outside the hut?"

  "Yes."

  "It was me. I'm a shape-shifter. Do you understand what that means?"

  "You can change into something else?"

  "Yes. I have a wolf inside of me. They call us Lupines."

  "Wow. Really? Mother once told me a story about the Lupines. You were the black wolf, weren't you? Can I see it again?"

  Finn sat back on his heels, completely floored by the innocent acceptance of his revelation. Sol and Naima were living proof that man and the Lupine might find a way to live together in this world. The wolves hidden in the trees crept forward until they'd formed a solemn circle around Sol and himself. He changed into a wolf for Sol because such acceptance was rare, and he wanted to bask in it.

  "This is the best thing ever.” Sol said with genuine joy in his voice. “Look at all these wolves. I want to come with you and be a hero too. Don't take me home."

  The wolf regarded the boy and the comatose man, lying as if dead. Let fate decide whether he lived or died. And give this child the chance to prove himself. Men were far too emotive in their decisions, dwelling on their weaknesses rather than their strengths. They fought with fate rather than opening their eyes to the many paths destiny laid before them.

  Sol didn't worship the Goddess, but it wouldn't stop her from using him as she saw fit. Finn had prayed for eyes to help him on his journey and, in Her inimitable style, here they were. With a nod, the wolf changed back to the man. Finn pulled on his discarded pants and held out a hand.

  "I can only see clearly as a wolf. I'm looking for a secret place, near the top of the mountain. One recently struck by lightning. I'll need a guide."

  "You need to find a lightning tree. I'm good at climbing. Take me with you, and I'll find you one."

  The boy's urgent insistence cut through the last of his doubts. With Sol as his eyes, they'd make better progress and save more energy for the wolf. “The rest of my clothes are on the ledge, above,” Finn said, shivering now with cold. “Get the blast-gun and make sure it's disarmed. Can you do that safely?"

  "Yes.” Sol moved away. The injured man let out a low groan.

  "Let's go,” Finn said. Shutting out his father's pain demanded a coldness of heart the man found more difficult to muster than the wolf.

  Sol faltered, suddenly unsure. “Are we just going to leave him here? He might die. I don't think I'd like to have killed someone."

  "He'll survive. He always does. Stay still, I can hear something."

  Around them, the wolves puffed out their breath in soft sighs and a breeze rattled the pine leaves, releasing their fresh scent. Farther down the slope, Finn's spirit self glimpsed the small party making its way towards them. “The ledge,” he managed, jolting back into his flesh. Disorientated, he blinked at Sol who wavered in and out of his vision.

  "Your family. They're coming. I've told them to meet us on the ledge."

  "How?” Sol asked, his small hand reaching for Finn's. “Can you fly? Would you teach me to fly?"

  "No. I can
't fly. Promise me you won't try to."

  "How did you do it, then? Do you have a communicator device?"

  Irrepressible. Finn remembered himself at Sol's age. Endless questions that were never answered. The confusion of a child trying to second-guess the motives of the adults around him. Worst of all, the way they'd distorted his world with lies fed to him as truth.

  "Something similar, yes. It's a part of me that leaves my body and travels on the ether."

  "You have to climb here, feel for the hand-holds. What's ether?"

  With the boy as guide, his wolf retreated until needed. Finn diverted the energy into the climb and keeping pace with Sol, who was as nimble as a creature mountain-born.

  "It's an invisible pathway. My spirit-self told your mother where we'd be."

  "She can do it too? Teach me how to do it when we get back home. Take my hand and tell me about the Lupines. I want to know everything."

  Back on the ledge, Finn dressed and fielded Sol's endless questions. The boy's enthusiasm alone would ensure the success of this quest. When Finn murmured a brief thank you to the Goddess, he thought he heard laughter on the wind.

  Don't let him be the price, he implored. Carine wouldn't want that.

  "When I grow up,” Sol announced. “I'm going to start my own order of warriors. I'll call them the Guardians. Defenders of the Lupines. We'll bead our hair in your honour. Do you think your Goddess would let me?"

  "I think she would. You're part Moon-Child, so she's your Goddess, too.” Finn touched the boy's head and felt the future of the Lupines, rock-solid, beneath his palm. “Guardians are born, not made. You're already walking the path, Sol."

  "You can see the future?"

  "I don't have to. It's already there, inside you.” Sol straightened and pulled himself taller at the words, pride and determination adding a rainbow of colours to the aura pulsing against Finn's palm.

  "Are you afraid of fire, Sol?"

  "I see pictures in fire. It gives us light and heat and warmth."

  "Have you never seen its destructive side?"

  "My teacher says that even in its destruction, fire can be cleansing the way for a new start. He's very wise."