by Mary Duke
CHAPTER THREE
“Thank the Goddess,” Harvin, one of Jadea’s personal guards sighed when he saw us. “Jadea, Sno has returned.”
Jadea was outside her tent in seconds. “Where have you been?” she demanded.
“We were setting the-” I began to respond.
“It doesn’t matter what you were doing. Have you set the perimeter? There are hunters on the mountain.”
“As Sno was about to say, we were just finishing setting up the perimeter when we found these children, or more so they found us.”
A man that easily towered a foot over everyone ducked out of the tent, mumbling to himself about priorities until his eyes reached us.
The little girl in my arms wiggled free and followed the two other children to the man.
“Thank the Gods,” the man muttered wrapping his children in his arms. “I thought for sure I had lost you. Where’s your mother?” he asked looking behind Rowan and I before his gaze returned to the oldest boy.
Tears filled the boy’s eyes as he lowered his head, and for a moment no one made a sound.
Jadea was the first to break the silence, trying her best to show some sort of compassion, though it was obvious for anyone who knew her it was all for show. “I understand that this is not the best time, but I believe we should return to the map. For the safety of the rest of your family, and everyone in your camp, we need to know who or what is out there.”
Once inside, I saw that these were not our only guests. Gathered around Jadea’s table were a small group of Halflings as well.
Jadea resumed her place at the head of the table and waited for her counsel and I to take our places before she began.
“Do any of you have a number? One of you said there was a pack of hellhounds,” Jadea questioned.
“Yes, Ma’am,” one of the Halflings said. “There was at least thirty of them, some with riders…”
“They tore through our camp,” another said.
“Hellhounds with riders?” Jadea repeated, “That means…”
“Zeb is leading them. We encountered a small pack, topped with Royal Guards, they are who chased the children from the woods.”
“One of the Prince's?” the large man asked, his youngest children now sitting in his lap.
“Yes,” I responded though my eyes never left Jadea.
She looked down at her map, her eyes darting back and forth like she had lost something.
“How far is your camp from here?” I asked.
“I’m not entirely sure,” the man replied. “We were ambushed last night, I can’t say if we ran in circles through the woods, or which way we actually ran.”
“What did you steal? Better yet, what are you hiding?” Jadea bluntly questioned, frustration now prominent in her voice.
The man’s brow crinkled and he handed his oldest son the child. “Not all Halflings are alike,” he responded trying to keep the tone of his voice steady.
“There is no time for prejudice talk; I don’t want to know how you are different, or what it is that sets you apart. The fact is, a PRINCE and members of the ROYAL GUARD tore through your camp; that doesn’t just happen. They had to have been tracking something, someone perhaps.” Jadea’s aggravated tone unwavering as she stared down the group of men who sat around her table.
“You know what, we don’t have to deal with this,” the man said rising to his feet. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for us,” he said looking towards Jadea, before turning back towards Rowan and I. “And no words can ever express how thankful I am that it was you who found my children. I am now, and will forever be, in your debt, Daughter of the Moon.”
My eyes narrowed, how did he know who I was?
“You can’t just leave,” Jadea shrieked, looking to her guards to have them block the exit.
“We came into your camp for help retrieving my children,” he said as he walked past me and towards the guards. “You’ve provided me with just that, and we are no longer in need of your services. Therefore, there is no reason for us to remain here.”
“Let them leave,” I commanded turning towards the guards.
They hesitated, sending a second glance to Jadea for advisement.
“I said, let them leave,” I repeated lowering my voice.
The guards followed my command, and the man led his children and friends from Jadea’s tent.
“If I may,” I said to the man, “I would like to walk with you for a little while.”
“I am but a man without magic, who would I be to stop you,” he said as a sly smile spread across his face.
Instead of going back the way he came, he continued SOUTH, away from the mountain and towards my tent.
When I was sure we were far enough away from prying ears, I snapped my fingers and sealed the man, his daughter, and myself in a clear bubble.
“What is this?” he bellowed, throwing one of his mammoth fists against the clear encasement.
“This,” I said running my hand down the wall that had formed beside me, “This is just dew I pulled from the ground beneath our feet.”
“But why have you closed us off. Let us out.” He demanded squaring up with me.
So much for being just a man without magic, I thought. “I have some questions for you,” I replied calmly. “Questions I’m not entirely sure you want everyone on the outside to hear the answers to…about your daughter.”
CHAPTER FOUR
His stance softened slightly and his eyes darted to the small group of Halflings that stood on the other side as he waited for me to continue.
“How long have you known your daughter was a daughter of the moon?” I asked, getting right to the point.
He pulled his daughter from his shoulders and held her tight against his side for a moment. “Tamara doesn’t have an ounce of magic in her body; she’s a Halfling, like me, just a Halfling,” he tried to convince me.
I knew this was hard for him. Anyone containing Faye magic was curse in this land. Fated by the demons with death. “Do you remember what you said to me back there, just a moment ago? What you called me?”
He thought for a second before he responded, “Daughter of the Moon.”
I pulled the sleeve of my cloak up to my shoulder, exposing the full length of my birthmark, the full set of the moon’s phases. “I am not a Daughter of the Moon, I am the Daughter of the Moon. The power I was born with, the connections to the ancestor, the destiny I am driven for, and the fate of which I live my life is not that of a typical Faye. I can sense magic, feel its pulse. I am the one who carried her back from the mountain,” I reminded him.
He looked to his daughter and back at me, then paused for a moment. Lifting the sleeve of Tamara’s cloak, he revealed a perfect circle where the full moon was on my arm.
“How much do you know?” I asked him, slowing reaching for Tamara’s hand.
“Not too much I am afraid. Her mother, my wife, she knew more than I… we were actually on our way to a great gathering of your kind to get answers, or help finding the answers. Not many Halflings are born with Faye powers.”
I nodded. “I’m sorry I didn’t catch your name.”
“I didn’t give it,” he answered, his eyes studying me again before he continued. “Jethero of the Night Mountain,” he said, waiting for my reaction as I studied the palm of his daughter’s hand.
“Well, Jethero of the Night Mountain, do you trust me?” I said holding out my arms.
He hesitated as Tamara reached for me, pulling her away. “What are you going to do?”
“I would just like to read her,” I said simply. “Get a feel for her power, her capabilities, maybe a glimpse of her future, or something that will help her and help you.”
Tamara laid her little hand on the side of her father’s face. “It will be okay daddy, I trust her. She’s like me, I can tell.”
Jethero slowly let his daughter slip from his hands and stand before me.
I knelt, taking Tamara’s hands in my ow
n, repeating the simple spell my mother had taught me to bind us together.
For the next several minutes no words were spoken, and no one moved. The life this little girl had led was not an easy one, and I got the feeling her future would mirror that, but I could not see it.
I rose to my feet, as Tamara remained motionless, my eyes connecting with Jethero’s.
“She is fine,” I assured him. “I just think what I have to say shouldn’t fall on the ears of an innocent child.”
Jethero nodded, running his hand through her hair, before returning his attention to me.
“There are five phases of the moon we who practice magic recognize. The New Moon, which had no symbol and refers to those who are born without magic, however devout their life to practicing. The Quarter Moon, in which the person has magic, but their skills are limited. The Half Moon, which is just as the Quarter Moon Phase, however slightly stronger. Less common is the Waxing Gibbous, a nearly full moon, which is typically the strongest of witches you see. Then there are a very, and I mean very, few born with the mark of the full moon, like Tamara.”
Jethero nodded, and he once again looked down at his daughter, before he spoke to me. “What about you, you have all the marks?”
“I’m a topic for another day. For the sake of giving you an answer, let’s just say that I am truly a daughter of the moon and leave it at that.” Jethero didn’t push the matter so I continued. “Your daughter was born with the mark of the full moon, and within her is a great power. In my life, I have only seen two that have borne the markings of the full moon. In my hometown of Mahkana there was a great man who greatly influenced not only my life, but the life of thousands. He had devoted his life to living in the light, teaching the light, and preaching about the light; his name was Makiah. There is also Jadea, whom you’ve met. Though she uses the majority of her power for good, it is obvious she is well versed in dark magic as well. My point in telling you this is to warn you. Tamara was gifted great power, it will be up to her how she uses it. Steer her in a positive direction, keep her path in the light. It will not be an easy journey, and there will be times when her path strays, but you must remind her of who she is and who she could be. No matter what she does, has done, or will do, she is your daughter. Never forget that.”
Tears welled up in the man’s eyes. “I don’t know what to do. How do I keep her safe, from these beasts that hunt her? How do I know which path will keep her in the light? I know nothing of magic but the death that it brings.”
I looked down at Tamara and back to Jethero. I wanted to be able to help them, I wanted to tell him everything was going to be all right, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t lie to him, I couldn’t promise him that his daughter would follow his rules, I couldn’t promise him that he would be there to guide her, or that she would remain alive for him to teach her.
“If we stayed here,” Jethero said, looking back towards the camp. “Would you be able to help her? Teach me what I needed to know to keep her safe?”
My heart sank. They couldn’t stay here. I wasn’t sure how much longer I would be staying here, and the thought of Jadea getting her hands on someone so young and full of so much protentional, it couldn’t happen; I wouldn’t allow it. “No. You can’t stay here.” I said, too quickly. “Jadea has her own way of doing things. Ways that not all those with magic consider right. To subject an influential and curious mind to what lies in the shadows, the consequences would be dire.”
“If not here, where do we go?” he said reaching for my hand.
I took his hand in mine, and reached out to Kegan for advice.
“May I see this?” I asked, letting go of his hand and gently lifting the necklace off his chest.
“My wife had made them for us, we all have them,” he said stopping my hand.
“I will do it no harm, I promise. I just want to give you a way to talk with me. So that I can help guide you to that gathering you had mentioned.”
“You can do that through this?” he replied, pulling the stone necklace over his head.
“Yes. Though, because you’re not magic, I will only be able to come to you in your dreams,” I said, taking the stone in my hands and closing my eyes before connecting my energy with the pendant.
“And will you be able to guide us, help us find our way?”
“Not entirely,” I said, handing back his necklace. “However, I can charm Tamara’s necklace to glow if you’re heading in a direction that has light magic.”
Jethero nodded. I once again kneeled before the little girl, though this time I saw something I hadn’t before. Her eyes. They were now silver, just as mine.
“Are her eyes always this color?” I asked looking to Jethero.
“Green as the leaves that should bloom any day,” he replied.
I looked down at her again, and sure enough her eyes were green. Trusting my gut I not only enchanted her charm to glow when light magic was around, I also bonded myself to her as I had done to Jethero. I would see Tamara again; I didn’t know when, I didn’t know where, but I knew I would.
As I sat her necklace upon her shoulders, a smile spread across her face. I picked her up and returned her to her father’s arms.
“There are a few more things I would like to give you, before you are on your way,” I said, reaching into my bag.
The first item I pulled from my bag was a red gemstone I had picked up while on our journey here. I held it tightly in my hand, and willed its shape to change into a ring.
Holding it in front of Jethero, I told him that it would burn when there were hellhounds near him.
The next two items I pulled from my bag were for Tamara.
“In time, this journal will become your everything,” I told her. “When you become older, learn to control your power, and call upon the Goddess of the Moon for guidance, this will be where you can keep all of your spells, dreams, all of your troubles, and all that inspires you. Secondly, as a Daughter of the Moon, you will find that you are one with nature, one with the natural elements around you. Play this,” I said, pulling a flute I had whittled. “You’ll find that it will tame the most savage of beasts. They will see you as a friend, instead of a foe.”
“For your youngest son,” I said pulling out a small leather sack of whittled toys. “So his childhood is not passed, and he is not forgotten, and yes, they are enchanted.”
Lastly I pulled a dagger from my belt. I had no real connection with it, however for whatever reason I had carried with me for as long as I could remember. “To your eldest,” I said holding it out to Jethero. “He has the soul of a warrior, a heart that is pure and devoted. Do not underestimate him, and do not belittle his instinct. Believe in him, as he does you.”
“Thank you, Sno, Daughter of the Moon,” he said wrapping me in his free arm.
“Until we meet again, Jethero of the Night Mountain.”
CHAPTER FIVE
The silence of my walk back to camp was quick to end. Rowan and Harvin, Jadea’s guard and advisor, stood waiting at the back of my tent.
“How mad is she this time?” I asked walking past them.
“How mad do you think I am, Sno?” Jadea asked rounding the corner from the front of my tent.
“Were you in my tent?” I asked astounded.
Jadea didn’t answer my question; she instead turned around and walked back inside.
I followed closely behind her. “You don’t have any rights to be in here, nor to go through my things.”
“What is this, and this?” she said pointing to the slew of open books.
I flicked my wrist and all of the books fluttered shut.
“Do you think you’re going to leave us?” Jadea questioned me, her voice rising, pointing to the maps I had strewn across the center of the table.
I just stood there. There was nothing I could say that wouldn’t set her off.
“We made a deal, Sno. I’ve made announcements, and you will not make a fool of me.”
I chuckled. “The on
ly person making a fool of you is yourself, Jadea.”
Her jaw dropped, and she raised her hand pointing at me. “You Will Do As We Agreed.”
“We agreed on nothing,” I said keeping my voice calm. “You ranted, I listened, then I left.”
Jadea rolled her eyes and shook her head. “No. No, no, no. It is too late for you to back out of this. I’m not going to lose everything I’ve worked for.”
“Everything you’ve worked for,” I repeated, confused. “What is it you have worked for exactly?”
“That point is invalid,” she recoiled.
“The point is perfectly valid. I want to know what it is you think you’ll gain from me attempting to wipe out an entire race?”
“Freedom. Power. Not having to practice our magic behind closed doors afraid that a soul sucker will sense it? Are you not sick of running and hiding from bottom feeders?”
“You want me to carry the blood of thousands on my hands, for power?” I said astounded.
“We were not born to cower in the shadows, Sno. We were not given our powers to live our life beneath anyone.” Jadea began to give what was obviously a well thought out speech.
“Nor were we given this power to reign unrighteous, and without mercy,” I countered her.
Jadea scoffed, but I continued before she had a chance to continue.
“Being a Daughter of the Moon does not make me any better than any other creature that walks within her rays.”
“How dare you,” Jadea spat. “How dare you lower us, compare us, to scum.”
“We are all born, and in the end, we all die; the only difference between us it what we do between those times.”
Jadea took another step towards me and grabbed my arm, digging her nails into my skin before I could jerk away.
I clenched my fists, looking down at the holes her nails left in my arm. The skin around them turned black and began to die, I tried to repel whatever poison she had embedded in my veins. “LEAVE!” I bellowed, staring her down, trying to keep my temper under control, as the world around me blurred.