Old Bones

After about ten minutes of looking at trees, talking about what would have happened if they lived as a happy family, they were as lost as one could imagine. Fenrir reassured Rowan that he could never get lost and she was going to take his word for it, considering how he was sniffing the air a lot.

They came to a clearing that was well protected by forestry. There was a doe standing on the opposite end, but when she caught Fenrir's scent and looked at him, she bolted into the woods with her white tail up. Rowan glanced at her brother, seeing a wild look in his eyes.

"Are you going to chase her?" she asked and he turned his cold hard eyes on her in a very insulted frown. "Just kidding." She said with an innocent smile. He still didn't tone down his stare.

"Are you trying to even the score?" he asked, referring to the times he ran his mouth and pissed her off. She was about to be honest, but felt he'd understand better if she lied.

"Yes." Rowan said, watching him with uncertainty. Then, her brother seemed to consider it, and then gave a half nod.

"Seems fair." He said and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. She couldn't believe life in his mind was that simple. How was it fair? An eye for an eye? Does that ever solve anything?

"Just how are we training?" she asked, wondering if she had to get into a fist fight with her brother. Rowan couldn't picture that going very well. One punch and she'd be unconscious.

"Ragnarok style." He replied, which had her a little worried. He rolled his shoulders and then before her eyes, morphed into a giant wolf. She hadn't realized just how big he was. Still on four paws, he was staring directing into her eyes, at eye level.

"How is it I'm stuck being five foot six when my brothers are so huge?" Rowan asked and she could hear him let out a small grunt.

You're the baby of the family.

Rowan narrowed her eyes, hearing his voice like she heard Jormungand's that night. Just hearing his voice in her mind, she automatically started speaking in a different language. Her ears could hear it, as strange as it was, but her mind understood it completely.

"Do I look like a baby to you?" she asked. It was probably their mother who taught them that language. It was odd how they didn't talk about their mother.

No, I see a little girl.

Rowan glared at her brother and tried to focus on her aura of power. When she was with Crowley, he'd kiss her and a light switch was turned on, her aura of power glowed. Without him, all she had to do was get mad, but her power only had small moments like doors opening or thinking shattering glass. How could she awaken her power?

As if sensing her uncertainty, Fenrir turned and ran in the clearing, showing off his speed. It's no wonder he likes to push down on the accelerator of his car. As he built up speed, he leapt into the air and when he landed on the ground, it was like the tremble of an earthquake. He lived for the extreme.

Rowan felt her legs give out as if a human instinct to survive. She looked up and saw Fenrir looking at her with pride in his eyes. She shook her head and pushed herself up, brushing off her jeans.

"Couldn't give a warning?" she asked and he gave a low growl.

Where's the fun in that?

She looked him in those now stale blue eyes and gave him a playful glare. What typical older brother behavior. And how come his eyes changed colors? It must run in the family. Crowley said her eyes changed too.

Well? Try.

"I don't know how." Rowan said and he gave a grunt, walking towards her.

Try.

She took a deep breath and thought of something that made her angry. The fact that Crowley didn't tell her he was King of Hell was a pretty good trigger. Fenrir's theory was that he wanted her to take out Abaddon instead of him and that she'd let him remain as King of Hell. The unknowingly enemy of my enemy is my handsy kissy friend. Figures; her brother said he dealt with a more powerful being one of two ways; run from it or befriend it.

So, apparently she wasn't scary enough for him to run. He saw a frail little thing. He saw what could be trapped in something weak. He groomed her into liking him so when she'd be as powerful as ever and want her realm back she'd kill the only thing in her way, which just so happened to be his rival. Then, naturally because she liked him, he'd sweet talk her into letting him keep his crown; the crown that rightfully belonged to her.

Yeah, that was enough to make her mad; enough to summon her aura of power.

Rowan tried to maintain it as long as she could by concentrating. She looked up at the sky, thinking of how Crowley had described Hel's eyes as a dark sky with clouds covering a full moon. That was fuel to the fire she felt. He spoke loving words so she wouldn't kill him?

The clouds above darkened within seconds and a strike of lightening whipped into the sky, spreading like a crack on a window. Three seconds later, an echo boom roared throughout the sky, sounding just above her head.

Good. But you can't just get angry to use your power. You must be able to do so at will, no matter your emotion.

"I don't know how." She said, losing focus, the clouds slowly shifting back to white.

You're Hel. You're Death. Think of Helheim. Think of Jormungand. Think of Dad.

This time, Rowan didn't focus her attention on something she could see. She focused on her memories, on the temple where she felt at peace, where she heard a whisper welcoming her back. She focused on how she felt at that temple, how she appeared.

That then made her think of what Crowley had said when she astral projected herself; she was a ghostly apparition of a decomposition woman. That had been her form when surrounded by the dead or when she disconnected from the physical plain.

Rowan could feel a tingling in the back of her neck that spread throughout her arms.

Good. You're doing it.

Rowan could feel like she was back in that temple. She could feel the soft breeze on her skin. She could hear the whisper on the wind brushing passed her ear. It was calling her. When Rowan lifted her eyes, she looked down at her hands to see them as a ghostly apparition, to reveal those ivory colored bones beneath the flesh. It was like overlaying an image of someone deceased on another of a living person.

This is you, Hel. This is your power.

It surged throughout her body and as she looked at the ground beneath her feet, she thought of what that meant; she was Hel. She was the Goddess of the dead.

The grass beneath her feet began withering, turning brown, dying beneath her power. She felt as if she plunged her hands into the earth, searching for those that died on that land. The ground began to erupt around her in a small circle, pushing up any bones that were under her. Suddenly, bones began to poke through, forming together. The first were the bones of an animal, crawling out of the ground. The skull emerged from the dirt, its jaw dropping open, letting out an echo of a growl. It was the skeleton of a bear. The next was a human hand, the finger bones connecting by the will of Hel. The skull emerged, its jaw dropping open, letting out an echoed scream turning into a moan. Its finger dug fiercely into the dirt as it crawled out.

As their bodies were half out of the earth, Rowan touched their skulls, summoning their spirit. The bear appeared like a mirage over its bones, curling back its lips, snarling with deep set white eyes. The human was like a ghost hovering around its old bones, taking form of a Native American man, deep set cheeks and eyes which also were white.

"I pass you onto the realm of the dead, earthbound spirits." Rowan said, looking up to the sky. "Heaven awaits." She said, her voice deep and authoritative. The spirits of the bear and of the Native American man lifted away from the bones and rose to the sky, morphing into orbs of light, disappearing into the sun.

Rowan let the surge simmer, slowly feeling centered and grounded. When she looked at the earth, it was like it began swallowing the bones under her stare.

"That's one thing you could never have forgotten." Fenrir said who was back in his human form, looking proud of his little sister. "I wonder how the angels are reacting to having a Native American soul and that of a brown bear." He added, grinning as he looked up into the sky.

"Can't send them to Helheim. It's currently a hot mess of torture." Rowan said, walking towards her brother feeling incredibly amazing. She felt strong. It was as if she could feel everything around her pulsating; the trees, the ground, even her brother.

And speaking of her brother, looking into his eyes, she could see a long lifeline, one that would continue for many years.

"What?" he asked, uncertain why she was staring.

"I can see the years ahead of you." She said and he frowned. "You'll live a long life." She added and he grunted.

"Great." He said, not sounding so thrilled, although he should have been.

"It is." Rowan said, standing inches away from him, making him feel uncomfortable. "I'm Hel again." she said with joy that seemed to overwhelm her senses. She threw her arms around his rigid frame, pressing the side of her face against his chest.

"I don't do hugs, remember that?" he asked with uneasiness in his voice. "Or has your memory vanished again." he added and she stepped away, smiling up at him.

Suddenly, that moment seemed to shift. Rowan felt it before she even turned around. She felt a heaviness in the air and how darkly oppressive it seemed. Fenrir saw them and fury flared in his eyes. When she turned to face them, she knew exactly what they were.

Three individuals, two males and one female, stood apart with their eyes black as night, staring at her blankly.

Demons.