Circle Of Sisters
7. Secrets
For once in the short time since they had been reunited, Wolf was happy for his brother to take the lead. He was quite content to linger down the trail a bit and walk beside his Virginia. It served two purposes. First, it allowed him to keep her in close proximity, so that he might touch her as often as he wanted, though quite innocently since they had company after all and secondly, he was able to block the view of Virgina from the one who followed behind. Wolf glanced back over his shoulder, not caring that the other man knew he had Wolf so guarded. Elias trudged through the swamp muck, his eyes downcast as he watched his footing carefully. Wolf found himself hoping that the man would fall headfirst into one of the bottomless ponds that were scattered over the expanse of the swamp. Would Virginia try and jump in to rescue him then? It was more disturbing to Wolf to admit that he really didn't know the answer to that question. Something had passed between them, that much was obvious.
Although he hadn't been able to hear anything of the conversation that Virginia had had with Elias, Wolf was a master at reading body language. Elias had become enamoured of his beautiful mate. On one level, Wolf understood Elias. Virginia was indeed a treasure, as the werewolf had once described her. She had a great beauty certainly, but one only had to spend a spell of time with her to realise that her true value lay elsewhere. She would be utterly desirable to the males of any species. From a wolfie perspective, she was a good, calm and protective mother who bore strong and healthy cubs. From a human's point of view, she was intelligent, loyal and a heap of fun to be around as well. But what would a werewolf see in her now? Elias had told them once that he'd never met another of his kind aside from the one who made him. Wolf knew that he had inadvertently destroyed the one woman he had loved, his Bella, many years ago. Did Elias now reach out for Virginia, knowing her to be the only other werewolf he knew, and an eminently beautiful one at that?
He reached out a hand to help her as she got her boot stuck in some mushy spot. She smiled at him readily enough, but Wolf saw in her eyes the same shadows he had been seeing ever since they'd escaped the witches hut. Wolf hadn't been happy about leaving the hut, and the mad priest Connor within it, undisturbed. He wanted to burn it to the ground, destroy the crypt and it's evil mistress.
"I don't like leaving it like this Virginia" he'd said, seeing Elias creeping up from behind a tree. Virginia had turned to him with a look that told him she had heard his thinly veiled double threat.
"No, Wolf. We're going now. We'll leave this place as we found it. It's in ruins already, as I said"
"But why?" Wolf asked, stroking her hair the way he often did when trying to get her to agree with him. But she was having none of his tricks today it seemed. And yet her answer, when it came, was ambiguous and she'd been unable to meet his eyes fully.
"Everything has it's place, Wolf. Good and bad. Besides, think how many wards and spells surround this place. It would take a long time to get round them all, and I don't have a lot of time. And what would you have us do to the priest? Lets face it, if he's the best she can attract then she's got less influence than we thought" Virginia had replied eventually. Wolf just knew she was holding something back, which was so unlike her it gave him a momentary chill. He had given her a long stare but he decided not to push the issue any further. He still trusted her implicitly and it would upset her no end if she thought he doubted her. Poor little lamb chop needed him to stand by her more than ever now, he realised. Her confidence in herself, so hard won, was being eroded away day by day as the moon grew fuller and the time of her transformation grew nearer. She probably thought her evasiveness was protecting him. Maybe Elias had confided some horrible werewolf secret to her that she didn't want him to know about. This same man had come forward now and Wolf had half smiled to see Willem step between the two parties, stopping Elias in his tracks. It was so nice to have back-up now and again. Wolf had whisper growled through Virginia's embrace.
"What about him?"
"He's coming with us" Virginia had said, in that even and firm voice that Wolf knew he'd never be able to talk round. He stared hard at the man but Elias wouldn't, or couldn't meet his gaze. Wolf snorted softly through his nostrils, knowing it to be a somewhat dismissive gesture to the other man, but unable to find an appropriate verbal response. Virginia smiled at him as if in gratitude that he'd refrained from tearing Elias to shreds like she must have known he wanted to. He kissed her on the mouth quite passionately, feeling the sudden need to claim her as his own despite knowing how foolish it must look.
"Very well my love. Where then shall we go?"
"First, back home. Then, I have a sudden hankering to go visit the Peeps again"
"The Peeps? Oh no, not that place, please! Little Lamb Village isn't exactly on my 'must go there again' list!"
"Don't worry Wolf, I won't let them get you again" Virginia replied with a laugh. With a toss of her head, she moved off, away from the cottage and into the swamp. In spite of the doubts in her eyes, she moved with assurance, Wolf noticed. Had she always gone like that, or was it the wolf in her now?
By mid morning they had reached the edge of the swamp, but they left a long trail of muddy footprints behind them as they crossed the nearby fields.
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Below, in the confines of the crypt under the cottage, Hera made her physical face smile. One aspect of the girl's behaviour she had interpreted correctly at least. Virginia still shied from causing death and destruction, no matter how deserving the recipient. The girl had a lot to learn yet though, she reminded herself. Behind her, in the shadows, the man stirred restlessly. He came to stand over her corpse. His eyes now held no trace of the madness that the others had seen.
"You did well, Connor" Hera said, allowing him a rare compliment. And he had too. He had been effectively discounted, just as she had hoped he would be. The man still looked discontent though.
"What good did it do me?" he replied, sullen. "You promised me my revenge, Hera"
"And you shall get it, in due time. But what were you expecting? Did you think that you could take on two full grown wolves by yourself? They'd have had you disemboweled before you could even blink. And I needed them alive, to lure the girl here"
"What did you want that harlot for?"
"It's not something you need to be concerned with, man. Now, do you want to hear my plans for your long awaited vengeance?" Hera replied, fending off the question aptly. Connor's eyes lit up at the mention of getting back at Wolf. Hera didn't really know what had gone between them, nor did she care so long as it suited her purposes. But she judged from the man's scarred visage that at least one of their encounters had been of the physical sort. How typical that a wolf, even when let loose in the vastness of the 10th Kingdom, could not refrain from harming humans. "Now, listen here man. As I said, you have no hope of winning against him, or any of his kind, in a crass struggle. Nor will you be able to turn others to your side against him. Well, not in this Kingdom, where he is a hero of the realm. So, gather together these few things for me, and prepare for a journey. I know where they are headed. One in particular would also wish to know this. This person will provide the means for your revenge, Connor. And if you're lucky, she might even let you watch"
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Elias had been happy to keep his distance from the others, but in the close confines of the rickety old cart that Virginia had flagged down it had become impossible. The driver had been glad to offer them a ride as far as the palace of King Wendell and the quartet had crowded in amongst the pile of sweet smelling cheeses he carried. The silence built as they swayed along on the rutted roads. Wolf had Virginia close to him, curled up under his arm almost, and he was picking intently at the dried mud on his long boots. The other male half-wolf, who Elias had not been introduced to, lay crosswise on the floor of the cart, his legs hanging over the side. Elias noticed that this half-wolf had carefully placed himself between Wolf and his own self, but he didn't quite know just for who's benefit he did so. Not that Elias could blame Wolf for his antagonism, given all that had passed between them. And all that will come. He rubbed at his head as the barely heard words trickled into his mind. The further away that they travelled from Hera, the less Elias was able to hear her thought-voice, it appeared.
He stretched his long legs out, trying to get a position that didn't rub on his shoulder wound. The half-wolf stranger watched his every move from under his eyelashes. Tired of the enmity suddenly, Elias extended his hand to the half-wolf.
"I am Elias. May I ask your name?" he asked in his best cultured voice. The other man smiled faintly and took his hand in a firm grip which belied his slight frame.
"Name's Willem. I'm this one's big brother" he said with an equally polite tone and a nod towards Wolf in the front.
"Ah, of course, I should have guessed. You were there that night. If I recall, you were something of an unexpected guest, yes?"
"Oh quite, and uninvited too! But then I can scarcely blame my little brother for omitting me from the guest list. He did think I was dead, at his hands too, no less. I have been wondering for some days now, what would have gone between us that night had you not interupted our little reunion, Elias. Perhaps we'd have parted in anger once more, who knows?"
"That seems rather crooked logic to me. But surely you wouldn't have wanted such a tragedy to happen just so you and Wolf could take your attention away from yourselves?"
"No, of course not. But I work best in the 'now' of things. Tragedy was averted, for Virginia at least. Wolf and I were reunited and our bond reformed under dire circumstances. These things happened. I waste little time thinking about the 'what if's' of an event, nor even on the 'what may be's'. I'm a storyteller by trade. I know that things will always play out to their correct conclusion, regardless of how one chooses to tell the tale" Willem replied. Elias saw Virginia stir slightly in Wolf's embrace.
"You're very wise Willem" she said, but her expression was resigned. Willem reached to touch the back of her hand gently.
"Thank you. I spend a lot of time with children after all". Virginia laughed and Elias felt the breath catch in his throat. There was no denying it. He wanted her. He loved her. He had a sudden wild vision of them, living side by side in some remote location, running through the endless forests of this world under the full moon. No, not the full moon any longer. The dark, black night awaited them now, as if the Goddess that Wolf spoke often of simply turned her face from them. Her children no longer. The darkness of his imagination seemed to seep into his soul. Virginia caught his eyes then, her laughter fading away. She shook her head ever so slightly. No, she didn't want it, nor him. Something that had taken Elias twenty years to realise, she had decided within a matter of days. Her blue eyes bored into him. Please understand. I have so much more to lose than you ever did. Elias closed his eyes, turning his face away, not surprised in the least that he could hear her thoughts as clearly as he'd been able to hear Hera's. He heard Virginia settle back into Wolf's arms and he stole a glance at her. She didn't even know what she'd done.
Later in the afternoon, the immense castle came into view. They'd made good time and had even picked up the straying pony Jed on the way. The cart driver went to the service entrance and the small party alighted, Wolf fishing around in his pocket for a coin to offer the man.
"Oh no, sir! Please, it was a small service to offer you and the fair lady Virginia. It's an honour enough to meet you, lady" he stammered, bending over in a bow so deep Elias thought he might topple right over. Virginia blushed scarlett as he knew she would and looked at the ground uneasily as Wolf led her away towards the carriage house. He watched while Wolf confidently organised a coach and driver to take them back to the farm. Elias was glad that they had decided not to drop in and see the King. Aside from the fact that the monarch of this Kingdom likely knew all about his exploits, Elias wanted to stay well away from the mirror room. The temptation to simply fling himself back into New York and escape this horrid mess was all too alluring. But he couldn't leave now. Virginia, although she might reject him and what he had given her, she would need him in the coming weeks. He couldn't abandon her now. He stood back as a fine coach and team were drawn up and Wolf and Virginia got into the back. Willem leaped up to hang off the footman's perch. Virginia held her hand out the window.
"Elias. Come with us"
"But why?"
"Because I think I know where to go now. We can be cured" she said, motioning with her hand. Hera has told me this. Elias nodded, intrigued at her hidden message. Hera had told her what to do? How strange. Could it be a trap? He almost opened his mouth to speak those very things when he realised that Wolf didn't know. He couldn't know. He would never agree with taking advice from Hera. He'd wanted to destroy the crone, burn her lair to the ground, but Virginia had stopped him. The horses were fidgeting restlessly and the coach driver stared at him as if he were a bit slow. Elias moved to the back of the carriage and hopped up beside Willem. Wolf's brother steadied him with one hand as the horses started moving with a sudden lurch. Elias turned to nod thanks to the half-wolf, thinking that this member of their little group was willing to talk to him at least. But whilst Willem's smile was open enough, his eyes were narrowed.
"Hmm, don't think that I'll ever allow you to come between my brother and his mate. But, I do think I like you, Elias, which is a good thing since my heart tells me we're going to be spending a lot of time together". Elias shook his head in a mixture of puzzlement and dismay. Would there be no end to the drama's of this life? He gripped the back of the coach as it swung through the gates, willing his body and soul not to respond to the scent and sound of Virginia below him in the carriage.