Water pearls on the hybrid's arm as she pulls a sheet of water effortlessly from the still surface of the pond. Next to her, Tessa twists the drops into a funnel sucking pebbles from the forest floor. Both their rotating hands twirl and shift, raising the waterspout up and above the treetops toward the sky. The wind howls. One push will transform the tornado-like cloud into a weapon of destruction.

My fingers twitch. The dome of the Iomaire Draíochta is not equipped to keep natural forces contained. The funnel would break through its magical walls and cause havoc in the nearby human settlement, even having the potential of a good death toll. This could accelerate Raelyn's training as a Caomhnóir, maybe even be the tipping point to draw her to the moon. So far, she has not given me the slightest indication which god she prefers. I'm not even convinced she's fully committed to making her blood promise.

I'm about to raise my hand to take control of the tornado and send it on its merry way when Andrenior's frown stops me. "Why are you so set on destroying everything?"

"It's my prerogative as a warlock."

"Last time I checked, we were meant to be the balancing force of nature. Protectors—not oppressors."

I snort. "Those are obsolete beliefs. Mankind is out to destroy themselves and the planet with their reckless behavior and their modern weapons. If we don't stop them, who will? Werewolves? Or those cute deer they eat? In times like these, warlocks are meant to rule and decide who gets to live. It has always been our right when human actions got out of hand."

"I suppose."

"There is no suppose about it." My glare cuts into him. "We've always saved menfolk from themselves, be it by bestowing great illnesses upon them or force their leaders' hands in war. Natural disasters help to weed out the weak and the frail. It's an organic elimination process."

"And I guess killing thousands of werewolves under Akino was part of that?"

My brow arches. This time, he's going too far. "You'll be better fared holding your tongue, cousin. Akino and his kind have been hiding something from me they had no business accepting in the first place. And as you know, it turned them into our greatest enemy." In hindsight, I regret not exterminating their entire species when I had the chance. The Sentinel Council was backing me then; now they are full of cowards with silly ideas.

Delsandra reins in the waterspout, effectively eliminating my latest plan to speed up the hybrid's training. "That was very good, girls. Now take your supper break."

The hybrid and Tessa disappear between the trees, just as Delsandra is strolling over to us. "Raelyn's training is progressing well."

I click my tongue. A blind woman can see that it's a struggle. "In my opinion, it's too slow."

"Marush, she's only been with us for a month."

"And it's not that far off before we have the next Lunar eclipse."

"Why are you so set on her making her blood promise to the Moon Goddess? Izikey told me that fire is by far her greatest strength."

I drop my gaze. It's not a question I'm willing to answer.

Delsandra lets out one of her soft singsong laughs. "Oh, I get it. You want her to replace Sazith as Caomhnóir."

"Sazith is old. He deserves to live out his final days without all the responsibilities that go along with being a Caomhnóir."

Andrenior chuckles. "And I'm sure you would help him cross into the afterlife if you had your own Na Miodóg."

Trying to control my rising anger, I narrow my eyes. The sole mention of the Na Miodóg gets my blood boiling these days, and his continued disrespect doesn't help matters. "Like I said, you should learn when to hold your tongue." My smile is curt and I give him one final death glare. He'd better behave or I won't be protecting him from the other Sentinels when it comes time for his punishment for getting involved with the werewolves. "If you'd excuse me. It's time to check on my pupils."

I spin around and storm off, too well aware that my behavior could be construed as flight. Not that it matters what Delsandra and my cousin think of me—even without the Na Miodóg, I could crush those worms enough to take them permanently out of the equation. Besides, when push comes to shove, I've always been able to temporarily secure a Na Miodóg from one of the other Sentinels. They stand in line at the prospect of me owing them a favor.

The hybrid and Tessa have settled at a table in the mess hall. They obey the rule of silence, even though I catch them communicating with facial expressions and hand gestures. Tessa's cheeks are flushed. Measured by birth date, she must be Raelyn's senior by at least ten years, but her mind and body have not advanced beyond that of a young child. She was only five when she took her blood promise, which slowed down her aging process like that of any warlock. A peculiar phenomenon that Kaleidopae explained away with the fact that warlocks are meant to live for thousands of years and hence need more time to develop.

When I clear my throat, Tessa jolts. She turns her head to look up at me, her cheeks flushing deep red. It's not in her nature to bend the rules and the mere suggestion of an impropriety by communicating at all must embarrass her. One of her character qualities I appreciate. Tessa will be easy to mold into my puppet, and if her powers develop the way they have been, she'll be able to take a seat on the Sentinel Council as one of the youngest warlocks ever. With Andrenior, this will give me the power of leadership across the board.

I smile at her. "If you finished your food, would you mind if I talk to Raelyn alone for a while?"

Tessa stares at her half eaten stew. "Not at all, Master Marush."

"Then shoo!"

Tessa jumps up and rushes out of the mess hall. I drop on her chair and smile at the hybrid. She dips her spoon into the stew as if nothing were wrong.

"I saw you two talking with your hands. You shouldn't manipulate Tessa into breaking the rules."

The hybrid feigns innocence. "I thought that rule only applied to words."

"Those are semantics, don't you think? We are silent during meal times as a means of reflection. Any form of communication takes away from that."

"I understand, Master Marush, and I'm sorry that my behavior offended you." From the glint in her eyes, this apology is as insincere as it can get. The same defiance screams at me that I used to detect in her father. A dangerous characteristic.

"But that's not why I wanted to talk to you. Have you thought about your blood promise some more?"

"I have, and I'm not sure I'm ready."

So my suspicion is correct. I quirk a brow. "Are you saying that you might want to deny this part of your heritage?"

"I miss my pack and my wolf is going crazy being captured in my skins all the time." Sudden moisture glistens in her eyes. "I don't think I can stand all this much longer."

"You can still remain a werewolf if you make your blood promise to the Moon Goddess."

"Sazith said there are no guarantees and that I could be forfeiting my wolf blood altogether. Besides, I can't picture myself living in the Iomaire Draíochta all the time. It's suffocating."

I barely refrain myself from rolling my eyes. If she forgoes the promise, all this training was a big waste of my time. "You should give it some more thought. I think being a Caomhnóir is your calling."

"Yeah, maybe." She scrapes the rest of her stew out with her spoon; at least she isn't a food waster. "I don't understand why my powers all of a sudden appeared. Once, a fire broke out on our territory and I got burned. How come my powers didn't protect me then?"

It's a good question, something I've pondered over with the other Sentinels since her arrival. I even reached out to Sazith for the answer. "We believe that your powers were dormant and then were somehow activated. When was the first time you noticed there was something different within you?"

Her eyes cloud over with a distant memory. "It was during a burial. I had this out-of-body experience."

"And did something happen that day that could explain it?"

She nods. "I encountered Andrenior in the woods. He touched me."

And his energy could have set her powers free. "Did he do anything else?"

"He healed my injury from the fire. He also said that he tried to put some forget spell on me that didn't work."

All this could explain her sudden strength— and her powers likely increased the more they interacted. "How often did you have contact with him after that?"

"He healed me a few times. Once, he and Rikka even grew back my tongue."

I gulp. "Come again."

Her eyes go wide. "I thought you knew."

"I didn't." And if the Sentinel Council found out, Andrenior would be in even more trouble. Helping our mortal enemy to avoid death or great bodily harm is a big no-no.

"Well, I think we can conclude that this triggered your powers." At least one mystery solved.

I'm about to get up when Raelyn fires off another question. "If I decide to make the blood promise, how long do I have to stay here?"

"It depends on your skills, but it usually takes a decade to complete your training."

"Hmm." From the twist on her lips, it's not what she wanted to hear.

"No offense, Raelyn, but why would you ever want to hold on to your werewolf roots? They are inferior to the powers of a warlock."

"It's all I've ever known." It's the first time I detect something of her mother in her smile. A sadness—and that desperation she wore when she told me she chose Gideon over me.

My heart soars before the foul taste of rejection floods my mouth. I had offered her the world and she threw it all away to be with my best friend.

"Your mother had equal sentiments. Her family and pack meant everything to her. And how did they repay her? They killed her the first chance they got."

"You knew my mother?" A new curiosity dries the tears in her eyes.

"I did." A cruel twist of fate. The Moon Goddess gifted me one love—and it was not only a she-wolf but also the same woman Gideon fell for.

"How was she?"

Kind, bighearted, and selfless, just as much as she was vile, deceitful, and cunning. "I wouldn't know. She and I, we weren't very close." Bile rises in my throat. Most lies roll easy across my lips. This one is hard. It feels like a betrayal.

"I wish I had known my parents." Hurt colors the hybrid's voice and the tears well back in her eyes. This must be eating at her, even if it's pathetic to crave something this trivial.

The words "for the most part, family is overrated" rest on my tongue, but I manage to swallow them down before they can slip. This might be my one opportunity to tip the scale in my favor. "Trust me, if your parents were here, they would want you to make your blood promise to the Moon Goddess."

~~~~

When I track Andrenior down, he's skipping stones over the pond. I grab him by the neck, his feet kicking, but before he can get me in the balls, I toss him against a tree. In the next breath, he's to his feet and assembles a shielding wall of bolder rocks around his scrawny and lanky frame. I crush them with one stroke of my fist.

"Confession time, cousin. What secrets about the werewolves have you been keeping from me?"

"Not sure what you mean."

"Raelyn let it slip that you healed her. Several times. She even said you grew back her tongue."

"So what?"

"She was nothing but a werewolf to you. It's against our laws."

He snorts. "As I recall, you were the one who wanted me to keep an eye on the Raynes family."

"Keeping an eye on someone doesn't mean you should befriend them. Especially that rogue Cassum Raynes. I mean, what were you thinking?" Grabbing him by the collar of his shirt, I shake him.

He squirms in my grip. "The Raynes siblings have always been close, especially Cassum and her brother. I figured if they had your Na Miodóg, she'd know."

"Bullocks!" Spit flies from my mouth. "The Na Miodóg is the only weapon that can kill warlocks. In their eyes, it's an unimaginable powerful tool. If it's passed down through generations, it's from Alpha to Alpha. They'd keep it a secret from any other werewolf to protect it."

"Then maybe you should've been more careful when it was still in your possession."

I lift him up and slam him into the ground. He wheezes from the impact. Blood forms in the corners of his mouth and a cracked rib pokes through his skin.

"My Na Miodóg was stolen from me! By Kaleidopae herself! Don't dare giving me stupid advice when my own mother betrayed me."

"Maybe you should ask yourself why she did that." He splutters and spits out a mouthful of blood. Getting back to his feet, he bends over, his breath still labored, but he is strong enough to heal himself by placing his hand over the open wound on his ribcage. "Besides, how can you be so sure she gave the Na Miodóg to a werewolf?"

"She didn't trust anyone enough in the warlock community, plus she and Akino were as thick as thieves. I'm certain she gave it to him."

"Well, you obliterated his pack and most of the other leaders. If Kaleidopae had given the Na Miodóg to them, you should've found it then."

"The Northern Light pack bordered with the territory of the Polar wolves and their Luna was Akino's sister. Trust me, they were in cahoots and have been hiding my Na Miodóg ever since."

"For all you know, Kaleidopae could've hidden it anywhere. Chances are you'll never find it." Andrenior straightens his wrinkled shirt and gives me a smug smile. I'm tempted to plant my fist in his mouth. "And speaking of keeping secrets, you never told me that Rikka is a mind wanderer. Why doesn't she just tap into Kenrick Raynes's memories and see what he knows?"

The ultimate plan but not as easy as it sounds. "What makes you think Rikka is a mind wanderer?"

"She threatened Raelyn's foster father with mind invasion when we visited him."

Tsk, tsk, tsk, you were a bad girl, Rikka.

This was meant to be our little secret.

"She was pulling his leg. Mind wanderers are not allowed to exist. They get killed as babies."

"She sounded pretty convincing to me."

"That's ridiculous." I laugh to make the lie more convincing. "Trust me, Rikka is no more a mind wanderer than I am."

An odd smile plays on my cousin's lips—he doesn't believe me. "You know, Marush, if I had a gold coin for every time you told me to trust you which then later turned out to be a fib, I'd be a very rich warlock by now."

This is the missing NaMiodóg that Marush has been chasing over hundreds of years. Do you see anything peculiar about it?

~~~~

© Sally Mason 2018

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