Part 8
Susan walked back through the woods to the castle, still in her wonderful new wolf form. She even felt different. She felt much better. Warmer. She no longer felt ice cold and evil as she had when she was a vampire. She was shocked at the change in herself. She had changed completely. She paused as she walked up to the castle. If any of her guards saw an unfamiliar animal walking through they would trap it, tell her and organise a hunt.
She changed direction and went round the back of the castle to the laundry hut in the slave quarters. She found the hut she was after and went inside. It was deserted. There was a pile of laundry on the floor and she went behind it and shifted back into human form. She glanced down at herself, and as she'd guessed, she was completely naked. Her clothes had probably been all ripped when she'd changed for the first time.
The laundry slave, whose name she didn't know, entered the hut, and gasped as she saw her queen behind the pile of laundry.
"I need clothes," Susan said briefly. "I'm kind of having a case of nakedness here."
The slave found clean clothes hand handed them to her and went out while Susan dressed. She nodded her thanks to the slave and left the hut, walking back to the castle with her head held high. Before she went inside she paused to look at the dull dirty slave quarters. Something inside her was telling her this was wrong. She hadn't always been like this. She'd been human once. The world had been bright with colour and daylight. It had been warm once. She shook her head sadly and went into the castle, knowing this dark, cold, cruel world was all her fault. But...nothing could be done about it.
Somehow, she felt she was going to be proved wrong.
* * *
As Susan walked back through the castle to her own quarters, she spotted the two Wolves about to leave. One of them...she couldn't remember his name, looked very smug. "Well, I taught her," he was saying with a chuckle.
"Yes, you did," she said sourly.
He looked surprised. Then he smiled. A nasty little smile. A smile that she'd had on her own face so often. "I guess Wolves aren't as bad as they seem, huh?"
Susan shook her head. "Okay, I admit it, I like the new form. It's changed me completely. I'm not the same person. I apologise for offending you." She clearly wasn't the same person. She never apologised.
He looked surprised too. "All right. You're forgiven." Then he handed her a small black book. "You'll find everything you need to know about Wolves in here."
She took it and looked at it. "Thanks." Their eyes met and something passed between them. She didn't know what it was exactly, some sort of truce. And she knew that if she was ever in trouble she could call on the Wolf Clan for help, now she was a member of it. She nodded to the other Wolf, and watched them walk out into the eternal night.
* * *
Julia made her way down the black corridor, back to the turn. She paused as she saw light up ahead. She crept as close as she dared, and saw to her relief that it was Damien, with a new flare.
"What happened to you?" he asked.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Julia muttered. "I think I got lost. Anyway, let's go."
With the help of the flare, it was easier to get back. Julia felt a vast sense of relief now. She knew deep down inside that everything was going to be okay. She led them back to her hut. "Okay," she said. "Let's do the spell."
She, Thea and Winnie carefully followed the instructions of the spell they'd stolen. They made symbols and patterns on the earthen floor of the hut with salt they'd taken from the kitchen. They spread out the candles and lit them. The strange colours creating eerie, twisting shadows. Then the thee witches stood together in the centre of the pentagram ad began to chant. Julia had no idea what she was saying. She just followed the part of the spell Thea told her to read. Thea herself was reading something different, as was Winnie, and their voices all joined together in a strange sound.
A light began to grow. It started off small at first, barely noticeable. Then, as it began to grow, the colour began to change. It started off white, then went blue, then purple, now it was red-gold. It was creating shapes of people. Seven shapes of people. There were no features on any of them yet. As the three witches' voices suddenly rose, the bright colour suddenly grew to bright to look at. When the light had gone. The people had shapes and features and very surprised expressions.
There was a moment of confusion, then people were hugging and crying, grateful for the sudden gift to live again.
"Does anyone want to tell me who these people are?" Damien asked from where he stood, guarding the door.
Julia smiled brightly. She introduced him to the group of people. "These people are the fighters of Circle Daybreak. And the Wild Powers. They are Delos Redfern from the land of kings long forgotten, Jez Redfern from the day world where two eyes are watching, Iliana Harman from the which still holds the spark. They're the Wild Powers. The rest are Maggie Neely, Delos's soulmate, Morgead Blackthorn, Jez's soulmate, and the other two are Keller and Rashel, the fighters. Jez, Delos and Morgead are vampires, Iliana's a witch, Keller's a shapeshifter and the others are human."
Delos Redfern looked like an old fashioned prince from medieval times. He was tall with dark hair and bright yellow eyes. Jez Redfern had fiery red hair and silver-blue eyes. Morgead's most startling feature was his brilliant gem-green eyes. Maggie was short with brown hair and deep eyes that seemed to look right inside you. Iliana was small and delicate with shimmering pale gold hair and violet eyes that showed her Harman genes. Keller and Rashel were both tall and dressed in black. Julia hadn't realised how much she'd missed these people. In this life, she'd never known them, of course, but in her previous life as Hannah Snow, these people had been some of her closest friends.
There was a muttering of other voices. Slaves were gathered outside the hut, coming to see what was going on. There was a huge crowd of them. Julia looked at the others. "Okay," she said. "I'm going to explain everything now." She went outside, dragging a table with her. She placed the table at the side of the hut, and the people inside came and stood by it.
Julia herself stood on the table and explained her plan. When three guards showed up carrying two big crates silence fell. They brought the crates to Julia. "Your weapons, courtesy of Hunter Redfern," one guard said. They opened the crates, then left.
"Hunter?" Rashel said. "What the hell has he got to do with this? He's dead."
"I should know, I killed him," Delos added dryly.
Everyone looked at Julia. She flushed, a little embarrassed. "I don't know how to explain this. But the Queen brought him back from the dead similar to the way we brought you guys back...and I ran into him and he seems to have had a change of heart."
There was a silence.
"You're telling us that *Hunter Redfern* is not going to turn us in or hunt us down?" Rashel said in disbelief.
Julia shook her head. "I know how it sounds. I realise how this must looks to you...but...I just know he won't."
"If you're saying Hunter Redfern has gone good, then I'll eat my own sword," Rashel muttered, holding up the long, curved wooden sword up.
"I think she means it's because he's her soulmate," Thea said.
This time there was another shocked silence.
"What about Thierry?" Maggie asked, confused. "I thought he was your soulmate."
"I don't know how to explain it anymore myself," Julia said. "But in this life I'm a witch. And as crazy as it might sound, Hunter's my soulmate in this life. He won't turn us in. We're going to put the world back to the way it was."
* * *
Susan walked back through the woods to the castle, still in her wonderful new wolf form. She even felt different. She felt much better. Warmer. She no longer felt ice cold and evil as she had when she was a vampire. She was shocked at the change in herself. She had changed completely. She paused as she walked up to the castle. If any of her guards saw an unfamiliar animal walking through they would trap it, tell her and organise a hunt.
She changed direction and went round the back of the castle to the laundry hut in the slave quarters. She found the hut she was after and went inside. It was deserted. There was a pile of laundry on the floor and she went behind it and shifted back into human form. She glanced down at herself, and as she'd guessed, she was completely naked. Her clothes had probably been all ripped when she'd changed for the first time.
The laundry slave, whose name she didn't know, entered the hut, and gasped as she saw her queen behind the pile of laundry.
"I need clothes," Susan said briefly. "I'm kind of having a case of nakedness here."
The slave found clean clothes hand handed them to her and went out while Susan dressed. She nodded her thanks to the slave and left the hut, walking back to the castle with her head held high. Before she went inside she paused to look at the dull dirty slave quarters. Something inside her was telling her this was wrong. She hadn't always been like this. She'd been human once. The world had been bright with colour and daylight. It had been warm once. She shook her head sadly and went into the castle, knowing this dark, cold, cruel world was all her fault. But...nothing could be done about it.
Somehow, she felt she was going to be proved wrong.
* * *
As Susan walked back through the castle to her own quarters, she spotted the two Wolves about to leave. One of them...she couldn't remember his name, looked very smug. "Well, I taught her," he was saying with a chuckle.
"Yes, you did," she said sourly.
He looked surprised. Then he smiled. A nasty little smile. A smile that she'd had on her own face so often. "I guess Wolves aren't as bad as they seem, huh?"
Susan shook her head. "Okay, I admit it, I like the new form. It's changed me completely. I'm not the same person. I apologise for offending you." She clearly wasn't the same person. She never apologised.
He looked surprised too. "All right. You're forgiven." Then he handed her a small black book. "You'll find everything you need to know about Wolves in here."
She took it and looked at it. "Thanks." Their eyes met and something passed between them. She didn't know what it was exactly, some sort of truce. And she knew that if she was ever in trouble she could call on the Wolf Clan for help, now she was a member of it. She nodded to the other Wolf, and watched them walk out into the eternal night.
* * *
Julia made her way down the black corridor, back to the turn. She paused as she saw light up ahead. She crept as close as she dared, and saw to her relief that it was Damien, with a new flare.
"What happened to you?" he asked.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Julia muttered. "I think I got lost. Anyway, let's go."
With the help of the flare, it was easier to get back. Julia felt a vast sense of relief now. She knew deep down inside that everything was going to be okay. She led them back to her hut. "Okay," she said. "Let's do the spell."
She, Thea and Winnie carefully followed the instructions of the spell they'd stolen. They made symbols and patterns on the earthen floor of the hut with salt they'd taken from the kitchen. They spread out the candles and lit them. The strange colours creating eerie, twisting shadows. Then the thee witches stood together in the centre of the pentagram ad began to chant. Julia had no idea what she was saying. She just followed the part of the spell Thea told her to read. Thea herself was reading something different, as was Winnie, and their voices all joined together in a strange sound.
A light began to grow. It started off small at first, barely noticeable. Then, as it began to grow, the colour began to change. It started off white, then went blue, then purple, now it was red-gold. It was creating shapes of people. Seven shapes of people. There were no features on any of them yet. As the three witches' voices suddenly rose, the bright colour suddenly grew to bright to look at. When the light had gone. The people had shapes and features and very surprised expressions.
There was a moment of confusion, then people were hugging and crying, grateful for the sudden gift to live again.
"Does anyone want to tell me who these people are?" Damien asked from where he stood, guarding the door.
Julia smiled brightly. She introduced him to the group of people. "These people are the fighters of Circle Daybreak. And the Wild Powers. They are Delos Redfern from the land of kings long forgotten, Jez Redfern from the day world where two eyes are watching, Iliana Harman from the which still holds the spark. They're the Wild Powers. The rest are Maggie Neely, Delos's soulmate, Morgead Blackthorn, Jez's soulmate, and the other two are Keller and Rashel, the fighters. Jez, Delos and Morgead are vampires, Iliana's a witch, Keller's a shapeshifter and the others are human."
Delos Redfern looked like an old fashioned prince from medieval times. He was tall with dark hair and bright yellow eyes. Jez Redfern had fiery red hair and silver-blue eyes. Morgead's most startling feature was his brilliant gem-green eyes. Maggie was short with brown hair and deep eyes that seemed to look right inside you. Iliana was small and delicate with shimmering pale gold hair and violet eyes that showed her Harman genes. Keller and Rashel were both tall and dressed in black. Julia hadn't realised how much she'd missed these people. In this life, she'd never known them, of course, but in her previous life as Hannah Snow, these people had been some of her closest friends.
There was a muttering of other voices. Slaves were gathered outside the hut, coming to see what was going on. There was a huge crowd of them. Julia looked at the others. "Okay," she said. "I'm going to explain everything now." She went outside, dragging a table with her. She placed the table at the side of the hut, and the people inside came and stood by it.
Julia herself stood on the table and explained her plan. When three guards showed up carrying two big crates silence fell. They brought the crates to Julia. "Your weapons, courtesy of Hunter Redfern," one guard said. They opened the crates, then left.
"Hunter?" Rashel said. "What the hell has he got to do with this? He's dead."
"I should know, I killed him," Delos added dryly.
Everyone looked at Julia. She flushed, a little embarrassed. "I don't know how to explain this. But the Queen brought him back from the dead similar to the way we brought you guys back...and I ran into him and he seems to have had a change of heart."
There was a silence.
"You're telling us that *Hunter Redfern* is not going to turn us in or hunt us down?" Rashel said in disbelief.
Julia shook her head. "I know how it sounds. I realise how this must looks to you...but...I just know he won't."
"If you're saying Hunter Redfern has gone good, then I'll eat my own sword," Rashel muttered, holding up the long, curved wooden sword up.
"I think she means it's because he's her soulmate," Thea said.
This time there was another shocked silence.
"What about Thierry?" Maggie asked, confused. "I thought he was your soulmate."
"I don't know how to explain it anymore myself," Julia said. "But in this life I'm a witch. And as crazy as it might sound, Hunter's my soulmate in this life. He won't turn us in. We're going to put the world back to the way it was."
* * *