Rebirth

3. Bitten

Two weeks passed with no more news, which put me on edge. I couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to happen: something big. So far, though, nothing had. Angel and Isis continued working with Eliante about controlling their affinity alternations. I continued to be late for class and worry Cornelius—my mentor and our psychology instructor—half to death with my utter lack of co-ordination (I trip over stuff. A lot.). In the end, I started to dismiss my gut feeling.

It was a few days before Christmas break, and we were allowed to run out and play in the snow that night. The five of us girls, plus boyfriends and siblings, built a fort and got into a major snowball fight.

That's one thing I like about Chicago winters: it always snows. We rarely ever saw snow at my home in Texas, and the first year I arrived here I was totally awestruck by the sheer amount of the white stuff. That was when I discovered my affinity for controlling ice and snow, and it has served me well in many a snowball war. Like today.

Yeah, I hate the cold, but I love the snow. Go figure. Good things happen to me when it snows. I was born on one of the rare iced-over January nights in Texas. It was snowing (just a little) the day the Tracker Marked me. Snow days are good days then, right?

But not tonight. Tonight, my life is altered forever. But I don't remember exactly when or how it happened.

I recall racing to the dining hall with Miko and Shannon. We were late cause we'd totally drenched our other clothes and Miko took forever redoing her pigtails. I remember Diego lunging at something in the dark on that half-moon night. There were three animal-like things—a wolf, a cat, and something resembling a bear—that attacked us. The cat-like creature screamed, attracting the attention of the rest of the school. Miko and I tried to use our affinities to fight off those monsters, but with no such luck. My ice knives weren't working tonight.

We were losing, and one of them had already knocked Diego down. So, I did the completely irrational thing and lunged at the one closest to me. I scratched at its eyes. Hard. But somehow it managed to bite me back. The other two were-things were mauling Shannon and Miko while I tried to fight off my opponent. We traded blows for what seemed like an eternity before I watched an arrow sail into the chest of the beast, missing me by mere inches. I turned my head and sighed with relief. Eliante, Sebastian March, and a whole horde of adult vampyres arrived on the scene in time to save me from doom.

But what about the others?

"Get them to the Infirmary immediately." Eliante ordered. Miko and Shannon were carried off, but not me. I could still walk. Still, I had to lean on my Mentor's shoulder for support. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as we made our way to Althea's office. When we got there, she took one look at me and told me to wait on a bed while she tended to Shannon and Miko.

How ironic. Shannon, gifted with an affinity for Healing, needs to be healed.

It took a while for Althea to get the two of them stabilized, and by then my bite-mark was halfway healed. Still, Althea gave me a tetanus shot and another shot full of penicillin to ward off infection. She told me I was free to go, but I didn't want to leave. Not while Shannon and Miko were still in limbo. Reluctantly, she let me sleep in the Infirmary that night.

And what a night it was. Sleep came easily enough. I'd exhausted myself in the fight. But my dreams…they were weird.

Usually, I don't dream. Or if I do, I never remember what I dreamed of unless I write it down right after I wake up. But tonight, everything seems so realistic. The snow in the pine trees all around me. The white puffs falling gracefully from the sky and dancing on the air before resting on some tree in the large forest I now found myself in. Everything was white and green. A winter wonderland.

And then I heard her voice.

"Amy MacKiernan. I have waited for you, my child." I turn to find the source of that wonderful, grandmotherly voice and find myself face to face with a beautiful raven haired woman with dark eyes. Next to the woman stood a snow-white dog. Wait. Not a dog: a wolf. A wolf with piercing ice-blue eyes. I blink.

"How do you know my name?" I ask. "Who are you?"

"My child, do you not know the face that has chosen you?" The woman smiles softly. The lightbulb in my brain suddenly lit up.

"Nyx." I breathe. She nods.

"Yes, Amy. I am she that chose you for night. And now, I call you to be a new kind of creature. My daughter of the Night and of the full harvest moon."

"I don't understand."

"You will. You and your friends are very special fledglings to me."

"My friends? Oh my gosh, Miko and Shannon! Are they…"

"Do not fear, my daughter, they will come to no harm yet. They are seeing a vision similar to the one you are now seeing."

Well, that's great. Whenever we all wake up, we can compare and contrast hallucinations.

"Why have you come to us? We're just outcasts. What has our small circle done to win such favor from you?"

"You and your circle stand for those unable to defend themselves and protect the innocent from peril. For that, you have earned my blessing."

I froze. All those years of fighting off Carrigan was actually earning me points with Nyx?

"Although I must inform you that turning that girl Carrigan's room into a snow globe was a bit of overkill."

I stare at my feet, my cheeks burning. "What do you want of us?"

"You are chosen to undertake a change unlike any seen by your kind before. It will be a rough road, but do not fear, for I will be with you and your small circle."

"What about those creatures?" I ask. "And why have you sent Jephthah to us? Does this have to do with Neferet's deceit?"

"All will be answered in time." She speaks. "As for Jephthah, you must trust him. He is sent to you to aid in your coming battle."

Whoa. Back up a sec. What battle?

"Battle? But I totally suck at Fencing! How am I going to fight a battle?"

"Have faith, my daughter." Nyx replies. "Now, come here and kneel beside the wolf."

How can I refuse the Goddess's orders? I walk up to the wolf and squat down next to it. The thing looks me straight in the eyes. Those piercing eyes…

"Nice wolf." I said. I held my hand out for the white beast to sniff, and it licked my knuckles. "Hey, that tickles."

"Lay your hand on her shoulder." Nyx, now standing before me, commands. I obey of course. I'm a good little girl. She lay one hand on me, and the other on the wolf. "Daughter, you are a new breed of vampyre. My own special child. One part woman, the other part wolf. Trust your intuition and test all by my will. Blessed be."

The Goddess kissed my forehead, then (to my surprise) kissed the wolf as well. I'd barely muttered a "Blessed be" in response when I was awakened by the voice of my high priestess.

"Amy." She said as my eyes fluttered open. She and Althea stood above me, their eyes wide with shock and worry.

What have I done now?

Why are the teachers so shocked? What does Nyx's vision mean for Amy and her 'circle'? You'll have to wait and see.