“I’m sorry, Aunt Loba, ” Martin said. "I wasn’t quick enough. ”
“Not you. Me. ” Loba sighed, wincing as she examined the wound again. “I let the bane get too close. "
“Yeah, but that’s because I poked my head where I shouldn’t have. ” Martin pouted, his chin resting on his hands.
“Enough recriminations. What’s done is done. We’ll have to outrun them next time, as we have with the rest of them. ” Loba reached into her pack and pulled out the water flask, taking a tiny sip from its nozzle. She offered it to Martin, who shook his head and kept sulking.
Loba looked around, searching for signs of any other predators. The Umbra had been insanely crowded on the first leg of their journey, with both ally spirits and enemy banes roaming seemingly at random. A few had decided to snack on them. Most of these she beat into submission easily enough, but one had gotten its claws into her, literally. Since then, she’d run from future encounters. She couldn't risk Martin getting hurt.
The boy had performed incredibly well so far, with strength and skill she had not possessed at his age. His rage, however, still proved a problem. He had lost control of it twice and chased off after the banes, causing Loba to hunt him down and hold him still until he grew calm. That hadn’t been easy; he was quite the firecracker.
The moon path curved on ahead through featureless terrain. They were far from any known realms here, except— she hoped—the one they sought: the Aetherial Realm where the star spirits dwelt. She had come here twice before, once with Antonine Teardrop and once by herself. The paths had changed somewhat—no surprise there—but it was proving to be a far longer journey than she remembered.
“If the entryway isn’t beyond the next bend, ” she said, “we’ll have to turn back and find a different route. ” Martin sighed. “I thought you knew the way. "
“The way sometimes changes. ” Loba stood up, shouldering her pack. “All right. Let’s go. ”
Martin hopped up and skipped down the path, an endless reservoir of energy. Loba didn’t know where he got it from.
As they rounded the bend, stars began to appear in the sky, faint and distant, seen through a haze. Loba breathed a sigh of relief. “Not far now. Follow Vegarda. ” “Who? " Martin said, scrunching his brow.
“Vegarda, Incarna of the North Star, ” Loba said, pointing at a shard of brightness in the dark. “She’s the brightest one in the sky. Although she’s not very bright right now... ” Loba had never seen such a haze before. She scanned the sky, trying to count the stars. They were so few. She halted as she noticed a large red glow near the horizon. The Red Star. It was closer than she had ever seen it.
The moon path gradually rose in height, rising into the sky and passing through clouds that smelled of rain. It led toward a tall, silver tower.
“What’s that? ” Martin said, pointing to the tower.
“Our destination. The spirit-orrery of the Sept of the Stars. ” Loba breathed a sigh of relief. Almost there.
As they broke through the cloud layer, Loba looked down over the realm. She gasped and halted, grabbing Martin.
“What is it? ” Martin said, worried.
“This can’t be... ” Loba whispered. Broken shards of moon bridges jutted into the sky, some leaning precariously, ready to collapse. Moon bridges were supposed to last only as long as a single journey. These had become calcified husks, broken and crumbling at the foot of the realm. Unheard of. “Hurry, ” she said, pressing Martin forward.
They rushed up the moon path to the front door of the tower. It hung open.
Loba stopped and listened, gesturing to Martin to be silent. She heard nothing from within. She crept forward, peering into the doorway. No sign of movement. She stepped through.
The bottom floor foyer was empty. A wrought iron stairway spiraled upwards, stopping at each level of the tower. The very top, the observatory, could be seen from below. The stars winked brighter through its massive domed lens.
“Come on, ” she said to Martin and began climbing the stairs. She stopped at every level, listening, but no sound greeted her. When they reached the top, she leaped onto the dais and scanned around the tower, across the starscape, which was magnified through the tower-top view.
A group of people walked down a moon path far off in the distance. Loba peered closer and spoke to the walls of the orrery. “Farther. ” The spirit in the lens responded and magnified her view, bringing the party into close-up.
A robed man led the group of five, each wearing loose tunics or robes. They talked among themselves; Loba could not read their lips. She cursed.
“They’re leaving, ” she said. “Abandoning the place. ” “Why? Are they afraid of me? ”
As soon as Martin spoke, a woman among the distant group stopped and perked up her ears, which transformed into the furred ears of a wolf. She turned toward the tower, listening. “Call to them! ” Loba cried.
“Hey! ” Martin yelled. “We're here! Please don’t leave! ” The woman, her eyes closed, spoke. The others halted, turning to look back at the tower. The leader stepped forward, as if he could see Loba and Martin, and motioned to them, summoning them down the path.
“Come on, ” Loba said. "They’ll wait for us! ” She and Martin ran down the flight of stairs. They rushed to the far side of the tower and saw the beginning of the moon path. As soon as they stepped upon it, it seemed to draw them closer to the distant party. With but a few strides, they arrived.
“Loba Carcassone, ” the leader said, bowing politely. “Altair, ” Loba said, also bowing. “Where are you going? ” “Where only we can go. It is what we have prepared for all this time. ”
“I don’t understand, ” Loba said. “I need your help. Martin needs your help. He must have his Rite of Passage. He must find out who he is. Where is Sirius Darkstar? ”
The blind woman stepped forward, reaching for Martin. He took her hand and she smiled. “You have done wonders with him, Loba. I no longer get the visions. Perhaps they were wrong after all... ”
“Not all of them, Moon-Sister, ” Loba said, smiling. “He’ll live up to the good prophecies. ”
“Perhaps, ” she said, ruffling the boy’s hair. He wiggled free, annoyed, but said nothing.
“Altair, ” another woman said, stepping up and touching the old man’s elbow. “We should not tarry. The time draws near. ”
Altair nodded. “I respect your mission, Carcassone, but we cannot help. The stars call to us. Prophecies spoken long ago now unfold. ”
“The other Garou will try to kill Martin, ” Loba said, snarling. Martin looked at her, worried. “He mast know his destiny. ” “That is unclear to us, ” Altair said, a sorrowful expression on his face. “Since the boy was born to Garou parents, his lack of deformity has sparked many prophecies. He is thought to be both Destroyer and Messiah. None can say which, although perhaps the lord of Uranus knows. Ruatma claimed to possess special prophecies about the boy. He once spoke of him as the Shadow Queen, although Martin is male. Omens are more things of dream, where we are truly metamorphic, where even our sexes can change. But Ruatma is distracted now. Greater matters impinge. ”
“What’s going on? ” Loba said. “The moon bridges. The desolation. Where is everybody? ”
“The spirits have already departed, joining their broods, ” Moon-Sister said. “The Red Star grows brighter. Its time is nigh, its power ready to be unleashed. ”
“Even death walks abroad, calling to the living, ” Altair said. “My sept must join the Planetary Incarna to fight this baleful eye. You cannot be a part of this battle. ”
“Why not T' Loba said, stepping forward with palms out, pleading. “Maybe this is why glimpses of Martin’s destiny are seen here and nowhere else. Maybe he belongs in this fight. ” Altair shook his head. “He cannot travel the star paths. His essence would not deliver him to those subtle realms. We have spent decades perfecting our own so that we might reach the outer roads. His destiny remains on earth. ”
/> A black man stepped forward. “Evan Heals-the-Past has gathered an army in the North. They fight a Talon of the Wyrm. ” Altair frowned. “Canopus, we cannot reveal these things. " Canopus shot a glare at the old man. “It’s way too late to worry about propriety with the spirits, Altair. ” He turned back to Loba. “I think you should take the boy there. ”
Loba shook her head. “I know about that, but it’s too dangerous for Martin. ”
“Dangerous? ” Canopus said, eyes wide. “You march the boy all the way here, alone, and don’t call that dangerous? Of course the fight is dangerous! It’s never easy for Garou, Loba. You want to know the boy’s destiny? All Garou destiny is revealed in a fray. ”
“No, ” Loba said, shaking her head. “They’ll turn on him, blame him for their troubles. The Talon will use him. ” "I want to go! " Martin said. “If Evan’s there, King Albrecht will be there too! ”
“Not even he can save you from a Talon! ” Loba snarled. “I want to go, ” Martin said, low and growling, as if gearing up for a challenge.
Moon-Sister stepped forward and put her hand on the boy’s shoulder. He seemed startled and looked at her, then hung his head. “You will do what you think most fit, Loba. And you, Martin, will heed her. She has brought you farther than you can know. You must go a little while farther with her. ”
Martin nodded, sulking.
“Tell her, ” Canopus said, looking at Altair.
The old man grimaced but nodded. “Carcassone. I have long kept my counsel to myself on many matters; it is the will of the spirits. But I will reveal this: Sirius Darkstar departed many weeks ago, seeking to unravel a thread of fate woven around this boy. He has not returned. If you can find Darkstar, you might find the answer to Martin’s destiny. ” Loba nodded, clenching her fists. “How do I find him? Where do I start i! "
Altair paused, looking at Canopus, reluctant to reveal more. When the old man stayed silent, Canopus spoke. “There is one place he might have gone. Before joining our tribe, he was bom to the Uktena in New Mexico, to a sept that has suffered much tragedy. It is possible that he went to consult... an old septmate. "
Altair frowned and shook his head. “Speak no further. That way lies only evil. ”
Loba growled. “Tell me. I don’t care where it leads. I must take Martin to Sirius. ”
Canopus closed his eyes, seeming to pray, and then spoke. “I fear he has gone to consult White-Eye-ikthya, the prophet of the Wyrm. ”
Loba hissed. Altair lowered his head in shame. “Do not go, Loba. I fear that Darkstar is lost to us. ”
Loba shook with frustration, eyes tightly shut, cursing her fate. When she opened her eyes again to look upon the Stargazers, they were mirrors of cold resolve. “We go to New Mexico. If Sirius is in trouble, we will aid him. If he is lost to us, we will kill him. ”
Canopus nodded, watching her with sorrow. “Then follow this path as it forks to the left. It is the way Sirius took when last. we saw him. ”
Loba nodded, wrapping her arm around Martin. He stood unmoving, worry creasing his brow. “Thank you. I’m sorry for my impatience. I’ve waited so long..
Moon-Sister stepped forward and hugged Loba. “We know. Do not think that the totems are unaware of your sacrifices. ” She released Loba and turned to walk down the path.
Altair nodded and followed her, as did the others. They walked down the moon path, taking the right fork where the path split, rising into the vastness of space.
Loba grasped Martin’s hand tightly. “Come. We follow the left fork. ”
Martin nodded, still silent, and followed Loba down the moon path without complaint.
• • •
The giant bonfire threw manic shadows across the mesa. The Uktena Garou danced around the fire, calling to spirits, gathering an army on the other side of the Gauntlet. The gatekeeper, an old Navajo woman, chanted an ancient song in the Garou tongue. It told of a pathway through the Umbra to the North, to where Little Brother lived. It was a prayer for permission from the spirits that guarded the path to allow Older Brother to walk it once more, to reunite with Little Brother.
Loba perked up her ears, motioning for Martin to listen. They hid behind a rock outcropping in the New Mexico desert, close enough to watch and listen but just outside the bawn, where the warders did not search. The Uktena were so involved in their war party preparations, they no longer seemed to care about caern defense. Loba felt a pang of fear as she realized that they were abandoning their caern.
As they watched, the Garou shifted across the barrier between worlds, disappearing in small groups until only the gatekeeper remained. She fell silent and sat still for a while in the quiet desert, and then she too stepped sideways and departed.
Loba stood up and walked into the empty caern. Martin cautiously followed her. Ever since they had met with the Sept of the Stars, he had been quiet and calm, as if his rage had been quelled by their worry.
“This is unbelievable, ” Loba said, looking around the camp, lit by the still burning bonfire. “All this way and no sign of Sirius. ”
“I’m sorry, Aunt Loba, " Martin said, anguish in his voice. Loba turned to him. “There is nothing to be sorry for. They were small-minded and ignorant. "
“But if I hadn't come, they would have talked to you and answered your questions about Sirius, instead of attacking us. ” Martin kicked a rock into the fire. “I’m no good. ” “Not true! ” Loba growled. “People have spread lies about you out of spite. The Uktena believed them rather than the evidence of their senses or my own pledge of honor. Besides, we interrupted some sort of burial rite. We must have broken a spirit taboo of some sort. ”
Martin said nothing. He sat down and stared into the fire, with his elbows on his knees and his chin in his palms.
They had camped out alone in the desert for two days, avoiding the Uktena patrols that had searched for them. Only the (act that the Uktena were distracted by their departure preparations allowed them to avoid the hunters in their native home. The strange burial rites they had held for the dead elder—rites Loba and Martin had interrupted while the old Garou's body was consumed by weirdly colored flames— seemed to be the last duty the Uktena owed the caern.
Loba caught a faint scent on the mild breeze, almost hidden by the burning smells from the fire. She stalked to the nearby cave that marked the entry to the caern’s center. A shape lay in the cave, unmoving. It appeared to be a wolf.
Loba moved slowly forward, sniffing and peering at the figure. He smelled of blood and disease, but not the rot of death. He still lived. She growled a challenge and saw the shape start as if awakened from sleep. The wolf whined and crawled forward, revealing massive wounds up and down his body.
Loba choked back a sob and leaped to his side, clutching him to keep his horrendous wounds from opening as he moved. “Sirius! ”
Sirius Darkstar coughed up blood, trying to speak. “Loba... Wh... White-Eye... he knew. "
“White-Eye is evil! ” Loba said, sobbing. “Why, Sirius? Why did you come to him? ”
Sirius shook his head weakly. “No. White-Eye Uktena. Always Uktena. Died with honor. Killed thunderwyrm. " He coughed up blood. "I tried to fight. Too many wounds. I forbid them wait for me. Knew you’d come. White-Eye knew the shadow ”
Sirius’s eyes darted across the clearing and stopped when he saw Martin. Loba looked back at the boy and frowned. Martin stood stock still, as if frozen by fear, staring at Sirius with a strange expression. She looked back down at Sirius. “What happened. 7”
“She is in him! ” Sirius growled.
Loba frowned, unsure if she understood what he had said. “Who? ”
Sirius barked as a claw slashed out at his throat. Arterial blood sprayed over Loba; she barely noticed. She was already in battle form, spinning to gut Sirius’s attacker. She froze before her claw could strike, horrified.
Martin stood directly before her, panting in battle form, Sirius’s blood dripping from his claw.
Siri
us croaked something low and weak. “The Shadow Queen... "
Loba stared at Martin. His face was wracked with conflicting emotions, worry and anger fighting for dominance. Anger won. He stepped back, smiling, haring his teeth and raising his claws.
Loba hunched over, growling. “Who are you? ”
Martin laughed, but it was not his voice. It sounded more feminine, older. “I’m the very thing you have always fought. ”
“You’re a bane! ” Loba said, advancing. Martin took a step back from her. “Get out of that boy’s body or I’ll tear you out! ”
“He and I are one. His parents were damned—puppets of the Seventh Generation, your worst enemy. His body is the culmination of generations of treachery. It is my host. "
Loba’s body began to fade, shifting into the Umbra, from where she could attack the possessing spirit. Martin growled and parted the Gauntlet like a curtain, arriving in the spirit world just as Loba stepped through.
She stared in surprise at him. Martin had never exhibited such spiritual control before. She scanned him, seeking signs of the spirit that inhabited him but saw none. She growled again.
“You won’t find me. I’m coiled too deep. As I said, the boy and I are one. I was entwined with him before he left the womb. I am the reason for his purity. I shaped his body to perfection, hiding the hole in his soul where I sleep. ”
“Martin! ” Loba yelled. “Listen to me! You’ve got to resist her! Throw her off! "
Martin laughed, an old woman’s cackle. “He can’t hear you. When I'm awake, he sleeps. When he is awake, I watch. Your open heart took him in and saved him from those Garou who suspected the truth about me. Ironic, no? ’
“I’ll kill him if I have to, ” Loba said, approaching Martin slowly, hunched over. “To get to you. "
Martin frowned, snarling. “The boy has one gift I did not give him. A legacy from his Garou genes. They’ll be your death! " Martin howled and leaped forward, his claws slicing through Loba’s left arm, severing it completely. His speed astonished her.
Loba screamed in rage. Her raw fury at the sudden wound battered at her resolve, trying to take over. She clutched the severed stump and leaped back, gritting her teeth, using the focus of the pain to block out the rage.
World of Darkness - [Time of Judgment 02] - The Last Battle Page 21