Circle Of Sisters
16. Thunder In The Earth
Virginia snuggled deep into the soft bed that Clayface had prepared for her. Who would have thought dried moss could be so comfortable, she thought drowsily. But right now, anywhere warm and dry would have done much the same. Virginia had totally lost track of time and distance. Had it been hours, days, or weeks since she'd fallen down the well? However long it had been, one thing she was sure of. It was far too long since she'd seen Wolf, but then, even five minutes away from him sometimes seemed like an eternity to Virginia. She half opened her eyes, seeing the round carved out room which enclosed her sleeping place. Actually, it was little more than a shallow alcove off one of the broader passages. Clayface had bade her stay and rest and had given her more of his tasty travelling food and drink. Then he had disappeared. Using her new enhanced senses, Virginia determined that he had not yet returned. She was alone, but lay unworried in the shimmering light. The goblin had had many opportunities to do harm to her if that had indeed been his intention and Virginia didn't doubt him now.
She lay her head back on the makeshift pillow, listening. The drip drip plink of water seemed to permeate the very air in this strange underground world. Virginia fancied she could hear soft voices singing and whispering in the waters. A small rill of it ran down the wall behind her head. On impulse, Virginia reached out to grasp a few drops on the tips of her fingers. She let one of the drops rest on the end of her tongue. It seemed to slip down her throat of it's own accord.
"I was wondering when you'd think to taste of my waters" said a quiet voice. Virginia jumped and stared around herself a moment although she knew there was no-one there. Just the owner of the voice, in her head again. She tried to clear her mind and form a coherent thought in response, but telepathy was not a skill she was familiar with.
"Who are you?" she asked out loud finally.
"I am the Lady of The Well" the voice said in Virginia's mind. She reached to take some more drops onto her hands from the wall. "Careful child. Do not taste so much for now. It is potent, and addictive to all who savour it, and it has, what would you call them? Side effects? And you have a way to go yet, Virginia"
"You know my name"
"Indeed I do, as do many"
"Do you work magic, Lady?"
"No. I am magic"
"Are you a witch?". Virginia said aloud. The speaker laughed quietly and Virginia felt her own mouth curve in response. "I'm sorry Lady. I did not mean to insult you" she added.
"I know you did not, Virginia"
"Can you help me?"
"I can. But you must come before me, and the way is strange and difficult"
"I don't care. I'll do anything to be rid of this thing. I just want to go back to my life. I want to be safe again, with Wolf and my son, in our little house by the forest" Virginia whispered, brushing away the tears that had come unbidden at the thought of her baby boy, all alone again. Mummy and Daddy gone away. Did he cry at night for her? The presence in her mind withdrew itself. Virginia sensed that her tears had troubled the Lady and that more than anything gave her hope that she was on a path of goodness, not some terrible trick devised by those who wished her ill. Of course this just made Hera's involvement all the more out of character, thought Virginia as she dashed away the moisture from her damp cheeks. She sensed the presence fading.
"Wait, please, Lady! What must I do to come to you?" she called out. From far away the voice came back.
"Two Mirrors must you pass through, child. And into the third you may look only. You, but none of those who wish to travel with you...come to us...we wait for you...we are the circle of sisters...". Virginia lay still as the voice faded out of hearing. Two mirrors. Circle of sisters? Very little of the conversation made any sense, but Virginia had long since given up her petulant demands for step by step guides in whatever drama's her life might encounter. She sat up on the edge of the bed, letting her still aching feet dangle. She froze as she heard distant voices, coming back up the way she and Clayface had already travelled. Her heart thudded in part excitement and part fear. Could it be him? After another moment, she was certain, and when she lifted her head to snuff the air in the way she had learned, sure enough, his scent came flooding down. Virginia felt sure that her grin was wide enough to swallow a shark when he finally stuck his head in through the opening in the alcove room. His dark unkempt hair was damp, his face pale with tension. He could barely squeeze his broad frame through the opening, but Virginia reached forward to yank him through and into her arms. She buried her face in his shoulder.
"Wolf! Where have you been? I missed you so much. Why did it take so long for you to find me?" Virginia blurted out in a great rush of words, her sudden realised fear for him giving her words an accusatory tone. He didn't answer immediately, just held on tight to her, kissing her brow and mouth feverishly. Virginia wanted to appologise for her hasty words, but when she finally looked into his eyes she knew he'd forgiven them already. But she had to offer anyway. "Honey, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like it sounded..." she trailed off, seeing the knowing look in his eyes.
"Virginia, shush. You know how many times I've spoken out of fear to you. I can hardly get cross with you over such things. In fact had you not spoken first, I might be appologizing to you for biting your head off!" he replied, holding both her hands between his own. Virginia drew him away from the opening and sat them both down on the moss bed. Wolf was trembling in that way he had when he was very emotional. It made her want to draw his head down on her breast and comfort him like he was a frightened cub in the night. But she resisted her first urge, knowing how close they were even now to ripping each other's clothes off. Will and Elias were just outside the room. She could hear and smell both men clearly. Virginia reached to scratch at Wolf's temple the way he often did on himself. He turned his head slightly to nip at the base of her wrist.
"I'm sorry I didn't wait down there for you Wolf. I don't even know for sure how I got down here. One minute I was just looking down the well, and the next thing I was flying through the air..."
"Did someone push you?"
"No, not at all. It was like I was drawn into this place. But I landed safely, without a scratch. I thought I'd follow the tunnel a little way, just to see, since it was clear I wouldn't be able to climb back up. Then, Clayface the Goblin grabbed me. At first I thought he meant me harm, but he was only getting me safely away from some nasty little creatures that live down here. I can't remember what he called them..."
"Bunyips. Yes, we met a few ourselves" Wolf said, drawing up his tattered shirt sleeve to show her his bite marks. Virginia felt the blood drain from her face as she looked at him fully, seeing in fact that he was in somewhat of a disarray. He showed her the few other injuries he had received, dismissing them as minor in his typical wolfish attitude. Virginia was suddenly very grateful for Clayface's intervention. She shuddered and glanced around as if expecting more of the nasty things to appear.
"It's alright my love. They won't attack us again, we're sure about it. They don't venture far from their wells anyway, and we have travelled quite a way under the earth"
"I know, but it's hard to tell just how far, and where we are right now, even. How long was it before you found out where I'd gone?"
"Probably a few hours at least. It was nightfall by the time I woke up and realised you were missing. I tried to turn out the villagers, but they all just vanished into the night. Foolish cowards! Wait till I catch up with them..."
"They were probably just afraid Wolf. You're quite a scary sight when you get mad, you know"
"Oh I know, but it gets worse. After Will and Elias and I had tracked your steps through the village that day and determined that you had fallen down the well...and I thought you were dead then, you know...we got a rope and let ourselves down. But Elias went last, and someone from the village above cut the rope when he was halfway down. He was lucky not to have been killed, or worse" Wolf continued, his eyes taking on the reddish tint of anger as he spoke. Virginia felt horrified that someone had done such a thing. She had worried about the villagers turning on Wolf, but to drop the three of them in a well and then just leave them to their fate? Virginia knew heat had risen to her cheeks as anger flared, but Wolf kissed them over and over. "I love it when you get mad, you know. But you don't scare me" he whispered in her ear. Virginia pretended to swat at him, but he held her close. She let her anger flow away, but was suprised by the effort it took. She sighed and half turned away from him, clearing her head of his intoxicating presence.
"Thankyou for coming after me, Wolf" she said, feeling immediately foolish that she'd thought to say such a thing. She could feel his sudden confusion, but he didn't voice whatever he was thinking about it. Instead he just pulled her backwards against him, so that she was all but sitting in his lap. Virginia could feel clearly his male arousal as he kissed the back of her neck, and she wished once more with fervour that they were alone. Virginia didn't consider herself prudish by any means, but she knew that Wolf wouldn't hesitate for a second if he thought she would be willing to ignore their all too obvious travelling companions. He had none of her human recitence when it came to lovemaking. Her body was reluctant, but she unwound herself from Wolf's embrace, standing and putting a small gap between them. Wolf looked postively rabid in his expression, but it was a testament to his self control that he was able to mask it within seconds of her refusing him, Virginia thought. And on a full moon night too, she realised. She dropped her gaze to the floor to allow him a moment to regather his thoughts. He huffed quietly to himself.
"Just as well it's not a full moon, beloved" he said, with just enough of a warning hint in his voice to give Virginia a faint chill. But she ignored her creeping gooseflesh to focus on his words.
"What do you mean, it's not a full moon?" she asked, feeling the chill grow deeper. Wolf looked askance at her, a slight frown on his face. "The moon was due to rise on, on, when, I came down here..." she continued. Wolf blew out his cheeks.
"Well, maybe She was, but those days have passed by already Virginia. I can feel it in my blood"
"Oh my. How many days have we been down here then? How far have we travelled? Do you even know where we are?" Virginia asked, putting her hands up to her head to try and still the whirling there. Surely she had been here less than a day and night? How could she have lost track of so much time? Wolf stood and closed the distance between them, holding out his hands to grip her shoulders.
"It's alright love, don't panic. I only just realised this myself. There are several places in the Kingdoms where this sort of thing happens. Most often in the Elves Kingdom, to be sure. Sometimes, folk have gone into that Kingdom and returned 30 years later, not a day older! But look, I'm sure it will be fine down here. Time has passed us by quicker than usual, but not by much. The two day moon cycle has passed, certainly, but I'd be sure we're not that much into the next week..." Wolf said, trying to make his voice soothing, Virginia knew, but he looked anything but calm. He glanced around the walls. "Hmm, as to where exactly we are, ahh yes, right, maybe somewhere far to the north west of where we were...my inner compass is all out of synch...but, all of this doesn't matter, as long as we get to where we've got to go, right?" he continued, peering deep into her eyes. Virginia realised with a jolt that Wolf actually thought that she, Virginia, knew where they were going.
"I, ahh..." she began.
"You do know, don't you Virginia?"
"Not exactly, no" Virginia answered finally. Wolf let go her shoulders where he had held them. A complete mixture of emotions played out across his features. Fear, anger, hurt, confusion. They were all there, and Virginia knew it would only get worse. Soon he would ask the question. For long moments he stood in silence and Virginia knew he was searching for the right response. Outside the small cave, she could hear Will and Elias talking quietly with Clayface, comparing bunyip stories. Virginia guessed that Clayface might have played a role in returning Wolf and the others to her. She focussed her attention back to Wolf, who had sighed loudly as he sat himself back down on the bed. He looked so bewildered that Virginia felt tears start.
"Virginia, what is it we do down here? Why have you come here?" he asked finally. Virginia decided suddenly that a direct answer was best. Better to get it out and dealt with.
"Hera told me to come here. She said I would find a cure here, for myself and for Elias"
"Hera?" Wolf asked, puzzled, and Virginia held her breath. Of course, he wouldn't know her real name. If it was her name anyway.
"The Swamp Witch. Hera is her name, or so she says". The sudden silence in the room was deafening to Virginia's ears. Wolf sat opposite, his expression blank. He looked completely calm, but his strong hands that gripped the edges of the platform showed that he was anything but. His knuckles stood out prominently and he lowered his gaze to the floor. Virginia trembled in anxiety, wanting to be close to Wolf but unsure for the first time whether that would be the wisest move. As the long seconds stretched out, Virginia forced herself to think about the fact that Wolf might be truly angry with her. Not his infrequent huffs or snorts of annoyance now, but full anger, directed at her. When he stole a quick look at her from under his heavy brows, she knew the truth of it.
"I can't believe it" he said finally, his voice heavy. He continued to stare at his feet as he continued. "We're down here because the Swamp Witch told you to come here? I can't believe you would listen to that evil creature Virginia. Have you learned nothing since you've lived in my world? That witch means you harm, Virginia. How can you not see this? Why must you always assume otherwise?" Wolf rose from the platform. In the dim light he appeared suddenly to be much bigger than he was. Virginia saw that he was trying to keep his voice from rising, without success. She took an involuntary step backwards as he came towards her. "And why am I finding this out now, Virginia?" he rasped, red eyes flashing. Outside the room, Virginia sensed the others listening raptly. It made her angry suddenly, that Wolf should even think to chastize her in front of them. She raised her chin defiantly in Wolf's direction.
"Don't lecture me Wolf! It was my decision, my judgement to make. This is my problem, mine!" Virginia shouted back, unable to keep the hidden accusation from her voice. You brought it upon me. Did she really think that? Virginia's anger wavered momentarily. Across from her, Wolf stood mutely, his mouth hanging open in surprise. On any other day he might have looked comical, gaping at her like he did now, but Virginia was unable to deny to herself that it felt good, suddenly, to put him in his place for once. She shuddered, turning away, putting her back to him lest her thoughts betray themselves in her face. What was she thinking? She brushed away the hot tears from her cheeks, feeling the faint air currents swirl in the room as he left it. Despite the warmth of the underground room, Virginia felt cold. Her mind was a riot of fear. He would leave her now, go away, take his love. They always left her, the one's she loved. There was a rustling of fabric behind her, a light blanket thrown over her shoulders. No, not a blanket, but some man's jacket. Willems. He put a hand on her back, tentatively, as she cried.
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Wolf felt like a thunderstorm had been unleashed within his chest. He strode quite a ways down the passage before he forced his feet to a halt, though in reality he would have liked to have gone on running. He brought his fists, clenched tightly, to hammer forcefully at the rough stone walls. He ignored the sudden sharp pain in his hands as he did so. Cripes, what a horrible mess he thought savagely to himself. Exhausted finally, he slumped to the floor. Back up the tunnel, his sharp ears caught the unmistakeable sounds of Virginia weeping. He cursed silently the natural shape of the stone gallery that brought Virginia's tears to him. He didn't want to hear them. His own eyes were dry, but his heart still pounded in fear. And anger. Wolf sat and thought carefully about his reactions. He was angry, very much so. Anger was not a new sensation to Wolf, in fact, it seemed sometimes that he had lived a great proportion of his life that way. A great fire had started that day in the forest, the day when his parents burned. Over the years it had spread to include his own brother, his uncaring kindred, folk in authority, humans in general. Wolf had thought that flames had burnt themselves out in the heat of his and Virginia's love. But embers still remained. Wolf was horrified beyond words that he had directed even a small portion of it towards his darling mate.
Wolf tensed as he heard the soft tread of feet coming down the passage, but it was the goblin Clayface who came into view finally. His warty green face was set in a solemn pout as he surveyed the damaged glowing fungi that Wolf had inadvertently crushed wih his fists a moment earlier. Wolf had been surprised to see that the goblin who had been 'escorting' Virginia had turned out to be none other than his former prison mate Clayface. Except that Wolf could barely recall passing more than a few words and looks with the goblin, even when they'd shared a table in the ill-named 'dining hall'. The goblin had startled the small group of travellers by stepping out of the shadows as they had stopped to rest a minute. Had he not been so wound up with other issues, Wolf would have thought Elias' expression when he first saw the goblin highly amusing. The werewolf had gaped at the lumpy green face with barely disguised revulsion. Wolf wondered how if Virginia had reacted the same way, even though she had faced far uglier creatures in her adventures. To Wolf and Will, goblins were a rarely seen race of people and often as much maligned as their own folk, but they were secretive and little was known of their habits. The goblin and the half-wolfs had stared openly at each other, each using their own senses to determine if they were facing a potential enemy. Wolf had looked to Will for the cue on how to react, and had been surprised (and rattled, if he had to admit it) just how readily he had fallen into the role of follower. But he was the alpha of this pack no longer. It grated him enormously, especially now, when he really wanted to assert his dominance.
Clayface had finished his inspection and sat now crouched, his long legs bent up nearly to his knees. Wolf thought he looked like a frog, with his damp green skin and bulging eyes. He supposed the creature had come to rebuke him for his making Virginia cry. Wolf had not missed the obvious deference the goblin had for his mate. The goblin seemed to know something about Virginia and her destination, but Wolf decided he would not stoop to beg the information out of Clayface. The goblin man brought out a rough piece of white stone from his pocket and began deftly scratching at it with his worn fingernails. Wolf recalled that he had seen a similar thing before.
"Still carving?" he asked, wanting to break the silence more than anything. Clayface smiled secretly before slipping the stone from one hand to another. Wolf tried not to look too hard, not really wanting to know what the carver was creating.
"Oh yes, friend Wolf. It seems my little compulsion has returned. Better not get caught by the uplanders again though!" he chuckled. Wolf didn't really understand what the goblin was referring to. He knew Clayface had been imprisoned for 'carving', but he had always assumed human flesh had been involved. Everyone had, since it had been painted on his cell door after all. Maybe this Clayface was one of those who conviently 'forgot' the true extent of their crimes. Wolf didn't care. He'd done his own fair share of human carving in his younger days. Virginia must have thought herself about to be served up for a wolfie dinner just now, Wolf realised with an inward cringe. Bet she hates you now, nasty animal, his human conscience chided. No, you were right to be angry. She lied to you, she didn't trust you, his wolf-self whispered back. Clayface looked up from his scratching to fix Wolf with a curious stare and Wolf wondered if he'd been growling aloud.
"Do you have a she-goblin, a mate or woman, Clayface?" he asked the goblin.
"Me? No. Too young I am. No gobliness would look twice at me"
"Oh. On a day like this I might say you're lucky. My Virginia, well..." Wolf gulped deeply as he stumbled over her name "...she has me scrambling about like a new cub. She lied to me. Well, she didn't straight out lie, but she omitted a very important thing that I should have known about, and I don't know why. I've worked so hard to get her to trust me. She said often that she did. Was she lying then? Maybe she really thinks I'm just a big oaf..."
"You should be telling her this, not me..." Clayface interupted as Wolf paused to take a breath between rambles.
"But if she didn't trust me then, she certainly won't now. I showed my teeth to her, in real anger! Something I vowed I would never do"
"I think she understands why you reacted the way you did. You need to give her more credit than that, Wolf. But what she said in reply was correct. This is her journey. This is the path she has chosen, no matter the method of choosing..."
"But Hera? That evil Swamp Witch? Even your people must know of her, what she's done"
"Of course. But who knows what motivates such a creature? It is too late now anyway. Virginia cannot go back. She must come before Coventina. Only there can she be cured of what afflicts her, and that other one"
"Coventina? The Water Goddess?" Wolf said, shocked to hear that even deities now played their hands in Virginia's life. He felt a sudden fear for her that had nothing to do with mere mortal health problems like lycanthropy. The goblin was nodding enthusiatically, obviously pleased that Wolf knew the correct association of water with the name of the Goddess. Wolf had a memory then of his mother, kneeling down reverentially at a small silver pool in the forest.
"What are you doing mama?" his little boy voice piped from amongst the reeds where he was trying to capture the elusive spotted toad. He would go up very much in his brother's estimation if he managed to catch one. His mother reached out a hand to bring him to her side. Together they stared down into the still waters. Not a ripple marred their reflections.
"Water is the realm of Coventina, Lucian. She is a Goddess, just like our Moon Mother. Water is the basis for all life in the world". The cub Wolf had peered deeply into the pond, half expecting a heavenly face to appear, perhaps like the face of the Moon he had once thought he had glimpsed. He had a sudden insight into his own mother's actions.
"You're asking for something, aren't you mother? What?" he had piped in his direct cub like way. His mother had blushed and nodded, before leaning in to whisper conspiratorily.
"Ssh! Don't tell your father then, but I am wishing for a daughter-cub" she had said in his ear.
Wolf remembered his own cubbish laughter at learning of his mother's secret wish. He'd kept his word that day and not told his father, but it had become a moot point anyway. Within months they were both dead, and neither Wolf nor his parents would ever know the gender of the unborn cub that had perished within the flames that day.
Wolf sat with his knees drawn up, both hands clasped tightly between them. The anger rolled off him in great waves and he watched it go with the same detachment he had learned all those years ago. Clayface sat opposite, silent now. Further down the passage, Wolf could hear that Virginia had stopped crying. Soft voice now as she relayed her adventures to the others, Will and Elias. Snippets of the conversation floated down ahead of their footsteps as they made their way to where Wolf and Clayface sat waiting. When they came into view, Virginia leading, Wolf looked first to her face, then her whole body. Every inch of her radiated unease, sadness, and a grim defiance. She refused to meet his gaze. Instead she looked inquiringly to Clayface. The goblin had hopped up and he gestured now with one hand towards the blackness ahead.
"Good, Miss Virginia. Are you rested enough to continue? Not far ahead now, is the first mirror" he spoke to her, dipping his head. Wolf watched as she nodded firmly in response. Mirror? What sort of mirror would be down here? Wolf desperately wanted to hold Virginia down and drag all the answers from her, but her obvious unease with himself stopped him. It would do no good at all to frighten her more. And something that the goblin had said made sense. It was her journey, the decisions were hers. Even Will stood patiently by, awaiting her instruction. She stepped out quickly, passing by close enough that a great waft of her scent reached Wolf's keen nose. The other's fell in behind her and Wolf paused momentarily before bringing up the rear. He took another great draught of her scent and paused stock still in the tunnel. No, he was not mistaken. Wolf felt his insides quiver in a strange manner and his skin prickle with a sudden rush of emotion. He had known this sensation once before.