by J. M. Taylor
I am unable to feel complete relief. The Wolf Moon glows brightly overhead, giving Thayna tremendous strength, and it is clear she has no intention of backing down.
“Clara’s daughter has fooled you,” Thayna says to Myrna and the others, a flash of fear in her eyes at the sight of Myrna coming toward her with a sword. “They both deserve to die! The Wolf Moon needs a sacrifice, and I have waited long enough. I will not be persuaded otherwise. Clara has broken coven law. She is a stain on our kind.”
“No, you are lying,” Silas says, appearing at my mother’s side as if from nowhere. I’m so relieved to see him that I could cry. He continues to speak to Thayna, “You have lied all along, and now I know why. It’s because I loved Clara - because I love her still.” He looks away from Thayna and speaks to the coven, “Violet is my daughter, not the daughter of any human. Look into her eyes and see it for yourself. Thayna has deceived you all.”
“You, wretched creature,” Thayna growled. “How dare you speak? I banished you years ago. You are not to speak to me or any member of my coven.”
“Why not? Are you afraid they will learn the truth?” Silas asks her.
“Silence!” Thayna shouts.
Silas is persistent. “I will not be silenced. When I stayed at Ravenwood with the coven all those years ago, you followed me on my hunt one night. You offered me a place in your bed. I refused because I didn’t love you. I loved Clara, but you convinced me that my love was not returned. You said she thought me a fool for loving her, that the leader of your coven could never love anyone born to live in the shadows. I was a friend to you - a friend to your coven, and you betrayed that friendship by lying to me.”
“You are the one lying. You disgust me.” The stone around Thayna’s neck is so bright the blue lights up her skin.
Silas helps my mother to her feet, wraps his arms around her and says, “I left, feeling foolish for having ever loved you. When I finally heard what had happened to you, I returned to the coven in secret. I learned you had a daughter - our daughter. I’m only sorry it took me so long to learn the truth and to find you both.” He looks at her as if they are alone, takes her face in his hands and kisses her.
Thayna screams with such rage that her words make no sense. She moves to strike, but Myrna swings around and clips her ankle with her long blade forcing her to the ground.
The few still defending Thayna begin to shout in her defense. The women behind Myrna move into action, preparing for battle.
“Do you seek justice or revenge?” Myrna demands, her foot on Thayna’s chest as she waits for her response.
The white wolf Luna moves swiftly, lowering her body to the ground. At first, I am afraid she is hunting and Myrna is her prey, but it soon becomes clear that she is humbling herself. While Thayna still writhes in agony, Luna snatches the stone from around her neck with her teeth. The brightness of the stone diminishes, and the color of Luna’s eyes change to deep gold. With the stone held carefully in her mouth, she prances over to my mother and drops it at her feet.
“No! Witless creature!” Thayna cries out. “Bring it back to me. Now!” Blood oozes from her ankle. She looks up at the sky and screams in agony and anger.
Silas scoops the necklace up and hands it to my mother.
“It is a sad thing that something intended to keep evil away can instead be used to exert it,” she says, staring at the beautiful blue stone in her hand.
“You have not won yet,” Thayna says to her. “That stone cannot save you from my powers. The Wolf Moon will see me to victory.”
My mother rubs the stone between her fingers before handing it back to Silas. She says to Thayna, “The stone carries a spell intended to help a leader protect the coven. It was handed down to us from our foremothers. I do not need it to enhance my powers.”
Luna looks satisfied at my mother’s side, but my mother reminds her that she is free to go. It is cruel to keep a wild thing, she reminds her, running her hand along the white wolf’s back. Luna responds to my mother with affection and growls at Thayna before bolting into the woods. I understand and know she will return to my mother as she chooses, just like Flynn does with me.
Myrna’s singing titmouse lands on her shoulder. She strokes Titan once and wonders aloud where he’s been. Myrna is distracted, and Thayna seizes the opportunity. She pushes Myrna’s leg aside, jumps up, and grabs Titan from Myrna’s shoulders, clutching him in her hands. The poor little bird squeaks and squirms trying to free himself.
My heart aches from the look on Myrna’s face, knowing the pain she is feeling at the sight of Titan being held hostage while Thayna moves away from her sword. It is the same oppressive sadness I felt after finding Flynn lying injured and helpless.
I look around, but there is no sight of Flynn or Ronan. Perhaps they never made it here. Maybe they ran into Thayna and were overtaken – left to die somewhere in the woods. I swallow my tears and force myself to stay strong. I need to stay in the moment. Thayna is refusing to back down, and the tension is escalating.
“Ouch,” Thayna shakes her hand and Titan flies free. He had bitten her finger. She licks her wound and curses the bird. Then she shouts in the direction of the coven, “Death to anyone who opposes us!”
V
We are all silent, waiting to see who will strike first.
Thayna’s ankle is still bleeding badly. It obviously hurts her, and she struggles to balance.
“Let me help you,” my mother approaches cautiously and extends her hand, but Thayna waves her hand, and the bone in my mother’s shoulder snaps. The agony is instantaneous, and she cries out.
Thayna is pleased. “An injury for an injury,” she says.
“We can settle this peacefully.” My mother is still hopeful.
“We will settle this in battle,” Thayna sneers. She calls out to the coven again, “Under the Wolf Moon, we will fight! Take out your weapons! Ready your powers!”
But no one does, not even her most devoted followers. No one moves to fight.
“It’s over, my old friend,” my mother says to her, cringing through the pain in her shoulder. “Do not carry your bitterness and contempt any further. Let the coven be one again. Let us all be sisters as we once were.”
Snow is falling, large white fluffy flakes coating the trees and blanketing the clearing. Through the clouds, the Wolf Moon still shines brightly. A powerful surge runs through my body, but it isn’t the fire and rage I anticipate. It is calm and quiet, a tremendous sense of peace. Everything is glistening in the moon’s light. A great battle is no longer imminent. One by one, the women move into a circle. They put away their weapons and take each other’s hands. The coven is coming together without fear or intimidation.
Myrna sheathes her sword, takes my hand, and leads me to the circle. “You are one of us now,” she says. “It will be as it should be, as it should always have been.”
Thayna is furious at what she is seeing and lashes out. “This is a trick! You fools! Don’t believe them. Clara only shows me compassion because she fears me. She knows my powers are greater than hers can ever be under the Wolf Moon.”
No one is listening to her. The witches continue to gather, pulling me into their circle as they sing softly; it is a tribute to the moon and to their coven. I am not singing. Despite the beauty of their voices, I do not care to hear their song now. I am still listening to Thayna and my mother.
Thayna focuses her rage on my mother again. “If you hope to delay fighting me so you can keep hiding from us, you are mistaken. I will destroy you here and now, once and for all.”
“For years, I hoped you would give up and leave us alone.” My mother’s voice is no longer amiable. She speaks sternly and coldly. “I tried with all that is in me to avoid fighting you. I made my daughter miserable in the quest to save you and keep our coven from splitting apart. I moved every year. I hid her from you again and again, but you would not let it go. You are bitter and jealous. You do not deserve the love and devotion of our coven.�
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“Fight me then.” Thayna is confident she will win, and the sight of the coven coming together peacefully has made her even angrier. “I can see now that I will have to fight in the name of the coven. They are too weak and believe your lies. You and I will fight alone, as it should be. I see that now. It started with us, and it will end with us. No weapons. Magic only.”
My mother meets her face-to-face. “Are you sure this is what you want, Thayna?”
“Why?” Thayna sounds as though she is taunting her now. “Are you afraid of my powers? You should be. I will finish you.”
“As you wish, Thayna.”
The coven’s spell doesn’t hold me, and the peacefulness drains away. I try to break free from the circle. I want to see what happens to my mother, but the women pull me back in. They are sheltering me, but I am afraid my mother will die without knowing how much I love her.
Myrna struggles to hold me. When I continue to resist, Silas appears behind me. He holds my shoulders and speaks in my ear. “Your mother is not in danger. Stay where you are. Thayna is a fool to challenge her. The Wolf Moon cannot save her from your mother’s power.”
I am not convinced, and finally, Myrna opens the circle, still clasping my hand in hers. She wants to make sure that I stay at a safe distance. Silas takes my other hand, and together, we watch my mother confront Thayna alone.
My mother stands within an arm’s length of Thayna, her hands folded in front of her. She is calm but not peaceful. There is a darkness in her eyes. She moves her hand up slowly, and Thayna’s feet no longer touch the ground. She spreads her fingers, and Thayna hovers in the air. She closes her fist, and Thayna looks up to the sky with her mouth open in a silent scream. With a twist of my mother’s wrist, there is a slow grinding sound before a loud crack shatters the bone in Thayna’s leg, another twist exposes the bone in her arm. My mother opens her fist and closes it again, and a series of crunching and snapping sounds like the breaking of large branches emanate from Thayna as every bone in her body slowly breaks under the power of my mother. Thayna gags, her eyes bleed tears. She holds out a broken hand and makes one last attempt to use her magic against my mother, but it is useless.
My mother shakes her head. “You have always looked for power outside of yourself. You thought you had found it when you took the Unakye stone. You thought it would be even greater with Luna under your spell, and then you thought it would be greatest of all in the light of the Wolf Moon. Why couldn’t you understand that the power is within you, within all of us? I never wanted to kill you, but you have given me no choice. The coven will be at peace now, my daughter will finally have her own life, and you will never walk this earth again. Your punishment fits your crime.”
“Your punishment fits your crime,” the women stop singing to repeat my mother’s words in unison.
Once my mother knows she has been heard and has the support of the coven, she finishes crushing Thayna’s bones to ashes. Thayna’s garment slides from her emaciated body and falls to the bloody ground beneath her. By the time my mother is done, there is nothing left of Thayna but long straight golden hair and hollowed lifeless skin, like the pale hide of a gutted animal.
It’s hard to breathe, and I suddenly feel uneasy on my feet. I am at once relieved my mother is safe and shocked by her strength. It had never occurred to me that she was never threatened by Thayna. All my life, we ran from the coven. I have never had a home or a life of my own because of an impending danger that didn’t actually exist.
Silas takes me by the arm and comforts me. He is listening to my thoughts again and says, “Your mother didn’t run because she was afraid of Thayna. She ran because she wanted to save the coven, to keep them from taking sides and breaking apart. She hoped with time that Thayna’s anger would wane, and she would be willing to see the truth, or at the very least, stop hunting you. It wasn’t until I found you both and heard the entire story from your mother that I knew the part I had played in Thayna’s desire for vengeance.
“Thayna knew in her heart all along that you were my daughter and that is exactly why she hunted you both. I was too in love with your mother to be with anyone else, even with someone as beautiful as Thayna. After I left, convinced your mother didn’t feel the same for me, Thayna must have suspected that I was the father.”
Tears begin to sting my eyes and burn my throat. “Why didn’t anyone else in the coven suspect anything? Could no one else see Thayna’s jealousy? Was no one else willing to speak for my mother?”
“They tried, but as you know, a human was forced to confess. Besides, no one knew Thayna’s desire for me. I never told anyone, and when she told me your mother did not have feelings for me and had mocked my love for her, I was wounded – too wounded to stay in Ravenwood. I realize now that was wrong. Any doubt I had about your mother’s feelings for me should have been made clear to her, so she could have confirmed or denied them herself. You think I would have known this, having lived over two-hundred years, but love can make even the wisest man a great fool. I am ashamed that I wasn’t there to defend your mother on the night Thayna accused her of breaking the coven’s laws, and I’m sorry I didn’t do more to protect you both all these years. I hope you can forgive me.”
As he speaks, I’m admiring the women of the coven. They have opened their circle again, but some are still holding hands. They have lived the life I was denied. They have always had each other; their bond is strong, and their love is evident. Even the women who supported Thayna are being comforted and forgiven.
“Thayna could have taken anyone she wanted into her bed; you have said so much yourself. She was beautiful. Why would she hold onto such petty jealousy for over eighteen years?”
“You are the rare result of a formidable union, more skillful than the offspring of a witch and a warlock. She knew there was a chance you would eventually be more powerful than anyone has ever known, and I doubt she could have tolerated watching you grow and flourish in the arms of the coven.”
I don’t feel strong or powerful at this moment. Unable to speak, I lean against his chest. There is no warmth to his skin, but in his embrace, I am comforted.
The women begin to move. They intend to pay their respects to my mother and welcome her back into the coven. I dry my eyes, step away to stand on my own, and watch as my mother walks into the center of the clearing to greet them, moonlight beaming directly down on her. From head to toe, she shines like fairy dust sprinkled over a frozen lake. Myrna kneels before her, and one after the other, the women of my mother’s coven do the same.
“Someone else is here for you now. I must go to your mother,” Silas says, and in a shadowy flash, he leaves and takes his place at my mother’s side.
I don’t have a chance to ask what he means by someone else being here for me before he is gone.
“What did I miss?” Ronan is suddenly standing beside me. His dark hair is tousled around his face, and his green eyes are piercing.
My cheeks grow hot and my heart quickens at the sight of him. I try to seem aloof. “You’ve missed everything. I sent you to find help for Flynn and warn my mother hours ago.”
He smiles at me, a crooked smile that reveals beautiful white teeth beneath full lips. “Your heart just started racing,” he says, lowering his voice and leaning down closer to me. “Is that because of me?”
I ignore him. I hate the way I feel senseless when around him and try to push it down deep within me. I want to know what happened after I sent him into the woods. My voice sounds harsher than intended when I ask, “Where have you been? Where is Flynn?”
His smile vanishes. He backs away and says, “I made it here with Flynn, but I was too late.”
My heart stops, and I can feel the tears well up inside me. Poor Flynn didn’t make it. I try to stay strong. I don’t want Ronan to see me openly weep, but he doesn’t notice. He’s still talking.
“There was a group of witches, fewer in number than I see here now, but they were surrounding the cave with weapons
drawn. I had Flynn in my arms and didn’t know what to do, so I turned around hoping to find Silas. I knew he had gone out to hunt and thought I might be able to alert him to what I had seen, but I met a woman named Myrna instead. She showed me to the coven’s camp and sent for their healer - an old blind woman named Leanora who took Flynn and insisted I stay to help her. Knowing how much you care for the little fox, I stayed and did as she asked.”
Maybe Flynn isn’t dead after all. I want to ask about him, but I’m worried I don’t want to hear the answer. I do not see him anywhere. He is not with Ronan. I take a deep breath, trying to hold back tears, and finally summon the courage to ask, “Where are they now? This old healer and Flynn?”
“Someone from the coven was badly injured. We found her in the woods. Leanora said she would see to her first.”
He still hasn’t answered my question. Not directly. Where is Flynn? Is he here? Or did he die from his injury, and Ronan doesn’t want to be the one to tell me? I sniffle and try to keep from shaking. Finally, I’m unable to hold my tears back any longer, and I cry so heavily I can’t catch my breath.
“I thought you’d be happy,” Ronan says, his voice filled with concern. “Have I done something wrong?”
As soon as he finishes asking the question, an old woman shuffles up from behind him. She is leading an old horse and carrying Flynn. The moment Flynn sees me, he jumps from her arms into mine and licks my face. I hug him and rub his thick fur, and he nuzzles against my neck.
“Flynn, you’re alive!” I am laughing and crying now as I kiss his head and rub behind his ear. I want to say how thankful I am, but I can’t find the words.
Ronan breathes a sigh of relief. “It’s good to see you happy. I was worried I had done something wrong.”
He smiles down at me, and for a moment, I am lost in his gaze.
The old blind woman called Leanora pats my hand to get my attention. Her cloudy eyes seem to see right through me. She points to Ronan as she says to me, “He is a good man, and I believe he cares for you. If he is not too bad looking, you should consider taking him to your bed.”