She glanced at me, but said nothing about the garment. “Are you ready?”
“I suppose I am. As ready as I’ll ever be.”
“Then climb astride Varga and let’s be off.” She swung up on her horse, and it was then that I noticed that Captain Varga was saddled and ready to go. As we set off into the darkness, Hecate held up a wand and it lit up the way with its pale blue fire, guiding us through the night.
We had been riding in silence for the better part of an hour when Hecate paused, then nudged her horse with her knees to turn off onto a side path. She led me into a patch of deep forest, where we stopped in front of the entrance to a cave that was buttressed up against a small hill. As she swung down from her horse, she turned to me.
“We’re here. Dismount.”
I eased my way off Captain Varga, patting his head. He nuzzled me gently, then pushed me forward with his muzzle. He certainly made for a bossy horse.
“What happens next?”
“You enter the cave with me. It’s that simple.” She led the way and I found myself in a small cavern that was illuminated by a soft glow—a pale ivory tinged with blue.
“What do I have to do? Do I fight something?” I was tense, ready for a battle. In fact, I realized that I was waiting for some monster to appear. Perhaps a massive Abom, or maybe a Ker demon. Or worse.
Hecate motioned for me to sit down on a stone. There were three of the flat-topped boulders, surrounding a large cauldron. She took her place opposite, and a pale silhouette appeared. I couldn’t make out anything except the figure looked to be a female about my size and shape. The figure sat on the third stone.
Hecate held out her hands and the silhouette took her left hand. I took Hecate’s warm hand in mine, and then gingerly accepted the silhouette’s cool, almost intangible fingers.
The cauldron began to fill on its own, a steaming swirl of water, like a fog-shrouded lake. When the vessel was full, Hecate blew on it and the mist grew, shrouding the chamber so that the only thing I could see were the vague forms of the Elder Goddess and the silhouette. Both were sparkling, and I realized that I, too, was probably glowing.
“Fury,” Hecate said. “You must make a choice tonight before we awaken your fire. I offer that choice to you now. Look into the cauldron.”
As I gazed into the steaming water, it rippled. I found myself falling into the mist, and then…I was standing in the kitchen of a cottage, much like the one I had passed by on the way to the Arbortariam. Everything had a warm, homey glow to it. I was wearing a pretty, floral dress, and the first thing I realized was that the tattoo of the whip was no longer on my leg.
“What? What’s this?” I looked around for Hecate, but I couldn’t see her. It was then that I realized I was seeing out of someone else’s eyes, and suddenly I knew that this body belonged to the silhouette.
“Fury, this is one possible future.” Hecate’s voice echoed in my ears. “Watch and learn.”
As I waited, two children raced into the room, and right after them came a man. He looked terribly familiar and yet I had no clue who he was. Before I realized what he was doing, he had swept me up in his arms, kissing me playfully. His lips were warm and loving, and the kiss felt incredibly safe.
The children grabbed me around the knees, laughing, and automatically, I leaned down to ruffle their hair. I heard myself whispering something about dinner to them, and they ran out of my sight, laughing. I turned back to the counter, and the man edged in behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. As he nuzzled my neck, I could feel that the tattoo marking my binding to Hecate was gone as well. I stared at the food in front of me, at the wintery scene out the farmhouse window, and then—before I could say a word—it all vanished and I was back in the cave. The mist shifted as the silhouette leaned close, staring at me.
As I fastened my gaze on her, I realized that she…was me.
“Hecate, what’s going on?” I asked softly.
In answer, she whispered an incantation and the cavern shifted, vanishing. I flinched, but when I opened my eyes, I saw that the two of us were standing at the juncture of the Crossroads, next to the cauldron.
To the left, the fork in the road was glowing with a pale blue light. Hecate pointed to the sign, reading it aloud.
STAND AT THE CROSSROADS
STATE YOUR CLAIM
TO SEAL THE DEAL,
STRIKE THE FLAME.
“This decision normally wouldn’t be offered to you at this point. But circumstances have forced my hand. You have witnessed an alternative path that I can offer you. One in which you are human again, free of my bindings, free to live a life that is both comfortable and safe. As you know, realities shift and merge on the World Tree as well as here in the Crossroads.”
I realized what she was going to say and a swell of panic rose up. I didn’t want to have to make the choice.
“I can send you through to that world, to that realm. You will remember nothing of your time with me or here. You’ll have different memories, and your life will take a vastly different path, although it will seem as though that’s the only life you’ve lived. You must decide. Stay, or go. Accept a path of safety and comfort, or stay in this wild, frightening world.”
I stared at her. She was offering me peace on a silver platter. Peace and comfort. Love and the ability to lead what looked like an incredibly normal life.
“You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“Yes. All Theosians reach a point in their service where the Elder Gods offer them a chance to shift their reality. This is the alternative path that is open to you.”
I let out a long breath. “And if I do decide? What will happen to me here?”
“I will return to the camp without you, and you will be remembered, but out of our reach. And out of the reach of all the Aboms, and of Lyon.”
I thought about it for a moment. To be safe and comfortable seemed like a blessing, but then—who would do my job here? And I would lose Tam, and Hecate, and all my friends. I wouldn’t know I had lost them, but the thought of letting go of my life here, as hard as it had become, left a hollow inside. The thought of letting Tam go was heart wrenching.
“How many Theosians ever choose their alternate lives?”
Hecate shrugged. “Few, to be honest. A few have chosen to make the change, but only a handful.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Then you undergo the ritual, and continue on, awakened to your full Theosian self.”
And what that self was, she wouldn’t tell me. I thought about it, thought about how it might feel to lead a life where I wasn’t constantly battling things. Where the world didn’t seem so crazy. But in the end, I knew I couldn’t do it.
“I am who I am, Hecate. I don’t want to be anybody else, even with all the dangers and troubles we face.”
“You must refuse me thrice then. Once: Will you step into your alternate life?” She held out her wand, pointing it at me. The tingle from the energy sizzled.
I shivered. “No.”
“Twice: Will you step into your alternate life?” Again, the sizzle as the energy leaped off her wand to land on me.
“No.”
“Thrice: Will you step into your alternate life? Think carefully, since this will be the only time you ever get this chance. If you say no again, you will forever be bound to me.”
I paused for a second, but then shook my head. “No. I will stay at your side, bound to you through time, Hecate.”
There was a silent swish, as though a curtain came sweeping down to close off an exit. The fork in the road settled down, the glow vanishing. I let out a long breath.
“It is done, then. You have made your decision.” She motioned me out of the middle of the juncture. As I moved, a large fire sprang up in the center, a circular veil of flames that were blue and orange, with flickering hints of yellow. Within the center of the veil loomed a dark sphere, as large as a small room, jet black with an aura of blue flame.
“Step throu
gh the flame, into the center of the orb. Do not flinch and do not stop once you start. What is about to be done can never be undone.”
I regarded her for a moment. “What about Xan and my dagger?”
“They must go with you. Once you are at the center, you will know what to do.”
I summoned up my courage. I had my chance to walk away, but I knew that even if I had been interested, I wouldn’t have done it. This was who I was—Fury, bound to Hecate. It was all I had ever known, and as comfortable as the other life had appeared, it was as alien to me as the Devani were to this world. There were times when you had to be true to your nature, even if you weren’t quite sure what it was.
Straightening my shoulders, I stepped toward the flames. They roared to life, flaring up, their heat blistering my face as I neared them. A pang of fear raced through me. Would they burn me to ashes? Lick my clothing till it burst into flames? Char me to the bone?
But Hecate was watching and she had said do not flinch, do not stop. I pressed on.
The flames crackled around me as I reached the outer circle. I shivered but kept going. I entered the veil, not sure what to expect, and instantly I was engulfed. The heat didn’t burn, but the energy tripped over my skin, hopping like a live wire, snapping and crackling as a thousand tiny needles prickled every cell in my body. I forced myself to keep moving. If I stopped, it felt as though I’d be cocooned by the energy, at the mercy of a thousand lightning strikes.
A moment later and I stood on the edge between the flames and the dark orb. It wasn’t solid, I could tell that now, but malleable, like ink contained within a force field. I pressed on and found myself in the middle of an ocean of darkness.
The void around me swayed, rocking me as though I were in a sea of dark waves. I could move no further. I stood there, uncertain, but my eyes kept trying to shut. I couldn’t keep them open. Another moment, and I fell into the abyss.
First, there was blackness. Out of the shadows crept the light—brilliant beings of flame and fire, dancing around me. I couldn’t remember my name or what I was, but I knew I existed.
The fiery figures burned brightly in shades of orange and yellow, purple and blue, brilliant magenta and blood red. They seemed interested in me, so I held out my hands. One by one, they touched my palms, and vanished into my skin, racing beneath it like burrowing beetles, seeking out my veins to flow into my blood. They set me ablaze, and I was blindingly bright.
From somewhere, I heard a drumbeat and a woman singing. I couldn’t see her, but her words echoed around me as the flames integrated with my cells. Pain shot through me, like hot pokers shoved under my skin. The intensity soared, and I hurt so much that I couldn’t even scream.
Still the woman sang on.
“Fire, fire, burning higher, know that you are my desire.
Fire, fire, burning bright, summon up the dark moon night.
Fire, fire, burning coals, become you now my life and soul.
Fire, fire, burning brand, here is where I make my stand.”
Another flash, and the flames moved inside my mind, stripping me bare down to the roots. All I could see were glittering bands of light. And then, slowly, I began to make out my form, to feel my body, and I heard my name echoed over and over.
Fury…Fury…Fury…
I sucked in a deep breath, breathing the flames deep into my heart, deep into my hands and my toes, my fingers, my stomach. The fire raced through my veins, imbuing themselves into my sword and dagger and whip.
As they settled down into a warm throbbing that echoed through me, I began to understand. I called out their name—a name that could not be pronounced, couldn’t be written, could only be given by the Fire Elementals themselves—and they heard. I knew their name, and with that, I could summon them with a thought and a need.
The power coursing through me sent me reeling, and I felt myself starting to resist.
The flames flared up again, stinging me until I let them whisper their secrets to me.
Commanding the flames doesn’t mean you are invincible. It doesn’t offer invulnerability. It merely allows you to call on us when you needed help, much like summoning the balls of fire in your hand. And yet…there is so much more that you will learn from us.
I tried to relax.
“My name is Fury,” I whispered. “I walk in a field of fire and flame, of burning ash and bone shards.”
As soon as I spoke, I heard Hecate.
You will learn the ways of Fire as time goes on, Fury. Now, close your eyes and rest.
As I obeyed, the flames cloaked me in their warmth and lulled me into a deep sleep.
Chapter 16
We were on the way back to camp, and I shifted, wincing. I had a fresh tattoo and it stung. Across my lower back, Hecate had tattooed a heart surrounded by flames, with an ornate “F” inside the heart, to symbolize that I had undergone the next stage in my development.
“You will need intensive training,” she said. “We’ll begin when we reach our destination. Be cautious when you summon your fireballs until then—you may find more surprises than you like.”
I felt different, though it was hard to pinpoint just how. My entire body felt like a layer of skin had been burned off. I didn’t know how long I had slept in the dark moon orb, but when I woke, Hecate had finished the tattoo and morning was on the way.
As we had exited the cave, the snow had stopped, and a faint streak of light glimmered in the east as dawn began her steady rise.
The camp was awake and waiting. As the smells of fresh food hit me, my mouth watered. We would head for Verdanya after we broke camp, and from there, up to Reflection Lake. The world felt like it was birthing itself new again, complete with monsters and shadows. I fell to helping carry breakfast to the table, quietly guarding my secrets from the night before.
As we ate, nobody interrupted my thoughts and no one asked me what had happened.
While I would tell them later, including about the choice I had faced, right now I needed to process the changes I was undergoing. I could feel the fire burning, its steady glow warming my heart, warming every cell of my body. I wasn’t sure what it all meant, but I knew I’d find out as Hecate put me through my new training.
Right now, though, I needed quiet. I needed the silent ride toward the Fae village. I needed the hope and promise of seeing Tam again. The vision of me in love with another man had unsettled me, and had also made me aware of just how deep my feelings were for my Bonny Fae prince.
“Are we ready to head out?” Thor asked, his voice thundering through the clearing as we mounted our horses and turned to the northeast.
“Ready as we’ll ever be,” Hecate said.
So, as the glimmering sun beat coolly down on the snow, we headed out, journeying toward the new future that was unfolding with the morning light.
~End~
If you enjoyed this book and haven’t read the first two, I invite you to do so now. FURY RISING and FURY’S MAGIC are available in e-book and print. Stay tuned for the release of FURY CALLING, Book 4 (and the last book in this arc of the Fury Unbound Series), coming this autumn.
You might also enjoy my Bewitching Bedlam Series. The prequel, BLOOD MUSIC, and the first novel—BEWITCHING BEDLAM—are available now, with more books and novelettes coming this year.
Book 19 of my Otherworld Series has finally hit the shelves. Check out MOON SHIMMERS if you’re an Otherworld fan! The D’Artigo Sisters start in on the last leg of their final adventure.
And sign up for my newsletter to ensure you always get updated on new releases! You can find out more about ALL my books on my web site at Galenorn.com, and in the Biography/Bibliography at the end of this book.
Upcoming Releases
2017
Maudlin’s Mayhem (Bewitching Bedlam—Book 2)
Fury Calling (Fury Unbound—Book 4)
Knight Magic (Otherworld—Novelette)
Siren’s Song (Bewitching Bedlam—Book 3)
Taming the Shift
er (Antho: “Tiger Tails”—Bewitching Bedlam Novelette)
Witches Wild (Bewitching Bedlam—Book 4)
Winter’s Heat (Antho: “Blood Vengeance” —Bewitching Bedlam Novelette)
Silent Night (Otherworld Novelette)
Playlist
I almost always write to music, and FURY AWAKENED was no exception. Here’s the playlist for the book:
Air: Moon fever; Napalm Love; Venus; Surfing on a Rocket; Playground Love
The Alan Parsons Project: Sirius; Children of the Moon; Breakdown; Can’t Take It With You; The Raven
Amethystium: Shadow to Light; Tinuviel
Android Lust: Here and Now
Arcade Fire: Abraham’s Daughter
Arch Leaves: Nowhere to Go
The Black Angels: You on the Run; Don’t Play With Guns; Holland; Love Me Forever; Young Men Dead; Haunting at 1300 McKinley
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: Shuffle Your Feet; Feel It Now
Broken Bells: The Ghost Inside
Bryan Adams: Run to You
Buffalo Springfield: For What It’s Worth
Cat Stevens: Katmandu
Celtic woman: Butterfly; Scarborough Fair
Chris Isaak: Wicked Game
Clannad: Banba Óir; I See Red; Newgrange
Cobra Verde: Play With Fire
Corvus Corax: Ballarde de Mercy; Bucca
Crosby, Stills & Nash: Ohio; Find the Cost of Freedom; Guinnevere
Damh the Bard: Brighid; The January Man; Land, Sky and Sea; Willow’s Song; Gently Johnny; The Wicker Man; Oak Broom and Meadowsweet
Fury Awakened (Fury Unbound Book 3) Page 23