CHAPTER |

13 years later...

~oOo~

Vaya Renes, High Priestess of the White Mountains Pack and Lusitania, kneeled in the morning light under the holy statue of Diana, the Moon Goddess of Fate, Right Hand of the Holy God, Elyon. The cathedral was silent, despite the quiet whispering of her morning prayers. She could hear the voices of the needy gathering outside the door, but she refused to acknowledge the creations before she gave thanks to her creator.

"...to the evil spirits which enter in darkness, to thou, I refuse to bow. Before me, every given day, lay a choice of Life or Death. Should I choose Life, the offer you have given all, may I live it righteously from when light kisses the sky, until the sun sets..."

An aching pierced her chest, as she heard a child crying behind the glass doors. Sighing, she continued to lift up her hands in praise, and tears filled her eyes as she felt incredibly guilty. She loved her people, but her undying appreciation to Elyon went far past that border.

"... but if I choose Death, then curse me God, with a punishment so great I would never turn to darkness in all eternity, from when I die and enter your realm, until my soul rests in your eternal embrace. So help me God. Remember your promise to your children. And bless my people forever and ever..."

Her words slipped out of her mouth like flowing water, and she breathed in the air of the heavens, and felt the immortal fire in her soul, and blessed the earth which held her high.

Standing up, she spoke aloud, "Blessed meet, Blessed part, and blessed return again, my Lord."

"Thank " she began, but the sound of the Captain of the Holy Guard interrupted her. He was yelling, as usual. She heard a woman's voice, no, her c ry... A nd then she felt it most. The pain. An aura slammed into her, his name was Rosario, a little boy of six years old. She instantly knew what was wrong with the stranger screaming outside. She apologized to her God, and ran through the dark cathedral, blowing out the candles as she went.

Throwing open the door, Captain Damarius' back blocked her view from the long line of the sick. "If you have no relation to the White Mountain Pack, you are not permitted to " his voice was raised so high it echoed in the halls behind her.

"Damarius!" she silenced him. "Do not stop them from coming from me. I can feel their pain..."

Her soldier turned toward her, a look of anguish and frustration upon his face. "But, High Priestess... you do not know them... they are not of"

Lifting her hand, he stopped immediately. "Which is exactly why they must come to me..." she pleaded.

"Yes, My Lady," he said, looking down. Damarius had been in her service since she was fourteen years old, and he had never disagreed with her, always obeying. This was why she cared for him so dearly. The familiar sense of shame drifted into his silver and blue aura.

She put her hand on his arm, "Thank you, My Warrior," she finished.

Nodding, he stepped aside, giving way to her first patient. The forest shielded everyone from the brunt of the sun, and small rays of light shot down on the crowd. Specifically on the small boy she envisioned in the chapel. The mother, she assumed, holding him was bawling, but now loud enough to cover the whimpers of the child in her arms. Darkness surrounded the area above his stomach, and unlike everyone around her, she could see the black tendrils feeding off his pain and fear.

It was like this for everyone she had healed over the years. Sons of ' Iiblis had released nests of evil that would travel for years and leach onto the innocent, thriving off agony. This flock of darkness latched onto the boy, frantic and confused at the sound of her voice. It knew who she was. And so did its master, who she could tell was watching her. She would of gave pity to the thing had it not been branded with the name of her nemesis.

Lifting her head, she acknowledged the mother. "Please, give him to me..."

The mother had ceased her sobs long enough to take a breath and hand him over to Vaya. The High Priestess set him on the ground, and to distract him, she pulsed a call to the Earth, which responded by sprouting wild poppies around the boy, from a color range of a burning red to the deepest blue. Some of the bystanders gasped, and others tried to come closer, despite Damarius' warning glare.

"Wow...", the child wheezed, but smiled at the glowing flowers.
She chuckled. "How are you, little Rosario?" she asked, catching his attention.

His bright green eyes widened in curiosity. But Vaya was in awe of his innocent spirit, his youthful face and figure. Just a little child. Children were precious to the Lycans, even though they reproduced faster than humans. She could tell Rosario was precious to God, as all children were.

"You know my name... how?" He whispered.

She raised her eyebrows humorously, and said thoughtfully, "If I remember right, a certain Goddess seems quite fond of you, and told me I'd better take care of you..."

He laughed, and she used this as her opportunity to tear the darkness off of him. It cowered and scraped at her hand, afraid and terrified. But as she comforted the little boy, soothing his internal wounds with ancient songs of Before, the Darkness did something she had never seen before. It spilled out of her clenched hand, despite her efforts to keep it contained, gripped her finger, and bit her.

Using every bit of strength left, she held in a yelp of pain as it sunk its teeth into her, and fed.

"I t should be dead," The High Priestess though franticly. She looked at it, in horror. It's attention was toward her, gazing in lust as it held on. Damarius put a hand on her shoulder, bringing her to reality.

"Is there something wrong, My Lady?" He hesitated only when she looked slowly up into the crowd before her.

"...show yourself, devil..." s he whispered.

Vaya tensed, and let the boy go, who by now was laughing and praising Elyon, for his pain was gone. Rosario leaped up, kissing her on the forehead, blessing her, and ran to his smiling mother.

Vaya held her breath, as her blood was invisibly drained, and watched the boy, and his mother escorted out of the chapel property by guards. At first, she didn't notice, but now she could see why Damarius had been so strict. The Lycans that led the boy away were not her Holy Guard. They were soldiers of Black Mountains pack, for when they walked, Vaya could see the spot behind a young man's ear. There, a brand was scorched into his skin, but ever so delicately. Three peaks and the North Star.

"Damarius..." she wheezed. "...How many members of that pack are still here?"

Her Warrior glanced at the crowd, and squinted at the shifting sunlight above. "None. They all just left with the boy... perhaps Alpha Theoduce thought we would punish them for trespassing?"

"Or maybe " she paused as she got up, " they were desperate, because he is a very special boy."

Damarius stepped forward, ready to call her other guards. "We should stop them at the border. Demand them of their reasons."

"No, no..." she whispered. "Let them go. No need to provoke the enemy. We certainly don't need that oaf of a Alpha wanting to start another war..." she mentioned Alpha Theoduce with disgust.

But Vaya said nothing more as she healed over a hundred Lycans that day, all while the Darkness fed off of her anger and pain, growing as his brothers joined him.

~oOo~

After the moon rose into the sky, her Warrior had stopped her as she retreated to her dwelling. The people had left, and the chapel was illuminated in white light, shining above Damarius and Vaya.

He held out an arm which she knew was covered in scars, but his armor and black long sleeved shirt hid them, and pressed against her abdomen, blocking her way. He eyed her warily. "What happened today?"

She took a deep breath in order to retain her distress, and sighed. "I need to pray..."

"No, you need to tell me the truth," he wasn't letting her go until she said something reasonable. She was in desperate need of healing, but clearing her head, Vaya understood what she needed to do.

"I need you to call a meeting with the Elders, as soon as possible. As early as first daylight tomorrow... something's wrong. Very wrong..."

Pushing him aside, she ran into the chapel, and downstairs, prying the Darkness off as she went. Because something had showed up behind that crowd. The High Priestess saw the growing power of Evil, something Vaya was supposed to be able to control.

She had seen a demon.

~oOo~