Awaken

Chapter 7

    Her fingers touched the soft leaf of one the poppy flowers that grew in her corner of the garden.  Kneeling, she breathed in the scent of citrusy sweet that emanated from the plants, their calming essence wafting over her.  Her lips lifted in a soft smile as she sat back, proudly looking at her masterpiece collection of plants.  Sure, she could use her power to heal people, but she took great pride in learning the plants and their many uses. 

     She sighed, plopping down on the ground amidst the small garden plot.  A hand drew across her face as she wiped the anxiousness away.  The incident with Alaric was still playing across her mind and Nova couldn't help but be filled with worry over what had transpired.

     " Dia, are you there? Something happened this morning, something I've never done before and I'm worried Alaric was effected" she informed her counter-part.

     She could see Dia come from the shadows of their mind space.  The wolf's eyes a vibrant green, blaring fluorescently as she walked forward.  Though she knew they were on and another, Nova's breath hitched at the regal sight of the magnificent wolf.  Dia was marvelous, towering, her coat a sleekly glaring black, contrasted by the white that donned the tips of her paws and tail.  She was regal, an Alpha.

     Dia lay down gently in Nova's mind view, a small puff of breath leaving her muzzle as she stretched her long paws outward. " I know what you experienced, sweet one, I was with you and our pup.  You simply opened another portal of our power."      Nova nodded, chewing her lip.  " I understand that, but it was so vivid, so real, like I was standing directly in the boy's head.  Whatever was chasing me, it was causing him harm" she insisted.

       Dia licked her fur, taking her time to answer which drove Nova mad.  Annoyed, she stomped her foot with her physical body, causing Dia to chuckle warmly.  " Patience young one, you woke me from a nap to have this chat.  Alaric is our son, he is of our blood and he too will be gifted as you are.  What happened today, had to occur, it opened the connection between the two of you.  Before Selene took my human and spirit and created me, I was a healing woman for my village, and I was their chieftain.  I used the Earth and the Goddess to pull magic from within myself , much like you do now.  I also had the ability to sense trouble, a seer in many ways.  You are me just as much as I am you, Novalynn, and so you have simply tapped into another gift from Selene" she advised, her tone full of comfort.

      Nova sighed, shaking her head.  One of these days, Rosalie and herself needed to sit down and get the whole of Joan and Dia's story.  Frustration came over her, for her to unlock such a powerful ability was one thing, but Alaric being exposed to it at the age of not quite three was entirely different. 

     " That's all well and fine, Dia, but think of how that must feel for our poor son.  It's so much for him to be experiencing, he's just yet a baby!" she exclaimed.  " It's giving him nightmares for Goddess sake!" she finished.

      Dia's head jerked upward, the look across her beautiful face one of worry.  " What do you mean, experiencing nightmares?  The boy shouldn't be able to project himself like you have, just allow you in, connect with you."

      " He has been having nightmares for quite some time now about the "bad lady" we saw in his head this morning.  I must admit, I myself was frightened by what I encountered.  Maverick had to shake me out of it, I was screaming so loudly" Nova replied.

       Dia stood from her space and began pacing.  " This is the work of some dark magic, I had no idea you were in trouble, I couldn't sense that, only the use of the ability and our pup.  Tell me everything that Alaric has been seeing, and what you witnessed today in his mind" the wolf demanded.

       Nova nodded, taking a deep breath before she began.  " I woke this morning to Alaric laying between Mav and myself.  I didn't think anything of it, really, when he told me he had another nightmare.  At first, I only meant to go in, try and heal whatever was  troubling him.  Just yesterday, he hit Draven with a rock, he's never done that before, they spar as children but never physically.  The next thing I knew, instead of just seeing what was in his little mind, I was standing inside of it.  Shadows floated around me, swirling like an abyss of sort.  I could hear moaning, screeching, and it was cold.  A woman appeared, or rather, her image.  There was no color to her, no sound from her, but her eyes glowed red.  She began to chase me, reaching for me and I ran.  It wasn't until I felt Maverick shaking me that I snapped out of the ...I guess... projection.  But Alaric, he experienced it all with me, his body was shaking in fear" she shivered as she finished explaining the experience to Dia.

     Dia let out a low growl, pacing back and forth as she registered Nova's words.  " This is indeed dark magic Novalynn.  I didn't sense any of this happening, I have no memory of it.  Someone intentionally cloaked our connection, put up a block of some sort." she insisted.

     Nova shook her head back and forth, chewing her lip as she thought about what Dia was saying.  " Do you think it has anything to do with Jagson?  But Alaric has been complaining of nightmares for quite some time now?  I just don't understand.  What do I do Dia?  What do we do?"

      The wolf continued her pacing, small snorts and growls came from her as she went deep in thought.  Nova felt herself growing impatient as her nerves rattled.  It was bad enough the boy was having bad dreams, now she needed to worry about black magic in their lives. 

       Finally, Dia spoke.  " I am not sure how we combat the blocking spell between us.  But I am certain Alaric is exhibiting the same seer like abilities I have.  He needs to be cleansed of the energy within him.  Cora will know the words, whether she is aware or not, but you will have to work together to strike it from him.  It wouldn't be a bad idea to bring Rosalie and Joan".      Nova listened, confused by the meaning of her wolf's words.  " What do you mean, cleanse him?  Are you saying my son is cursed!" she shouted.

       Dia shook her head.  " No sweet, I am saying some dark force is invading his mind, and it needs to be expelled.  I am no witch, but there is an old ritual we used to perform when I was still human.  Joan, myself and Cora are all connected if you remember correctly.  We need Cora to chant the words while you use our power to clear his aura of whatever is attacking it, you will have to go back inside his mind space.  I believe that's where you were when  you first projected in to his thoughts, the very place he will someday communicate with his own wolf.  Someone is trying to taint him from a young age." the wolf explained.

       Nova nodded, finally understanding.  " So, while I am working our power within him, Cora needs to say some old chant.  And what of Joan and Rosalie, what will they do?"

       " Joan and Rosalie will be there to extinguish the darkness once it is released from Alaric's physical body.  Most likely, it will exit as a shadow type image, it needs to be set to flames.  Joan will also act as a connection between myself, you and Cora since we can always hear one another." Dia instructed.

        " Alright, and what of our connection, how will we break down whatever is putting a wall up between us?" Nova murmured.

      " That, I do not know, I've never experienced that before.  Perhaps expelling the darkness from within Alaric is the first step.  And Nova, you will want to take him somewhere secluded, possibly even sedate him for the experience" Dia said.

       Her eyes shifted back toward the poppy plant.  It would be dangerous, but she knew if she gave Alaric a bit of tea made from the flower, he would fall into a deep sleep, hopefully one that would keep him oblivious to the task at hand.

       Her jaw was set as she plucked the  orange flower from its stalk.  Whoever was bringing harm to her child had chosen the wrong Mother and she-wolf.  Her instincts told her it was the work of Jagson, perhaps this was his way of exacting revenge on her sister and her self.  If that was the case, she had to hope this ritual of Dia's would bring a final end to the terror the Alpha reigned over their lives.  There was not much else worse than terrorizing a small child. 

      The wind whistled in her ear as she gathered a small cluster of the poppy into her skirts.  She stood, feeling a shiver crawl up her spine.  As much as she wanted to believe this would indeed be the end of Jagson, she knew it wasn't.  If anything, it was only the beginning, a hint of what was to come, especially now that she planned to challenge him as Alpha.  She sighed, gathering herself together as she headed back toward the inn.  First things first, she needed to find her sister and Rosalie.

      Some distance away, Assandra watched Nova as she walked through the garden.  She smiled to herself at the success of her interception spell.  Not only did it allow her to block out the woman's wolf when she wanted to, but she could hear any communication between the two.  Her face morphed between ages as she turned from the window in which she stood, stepping to the small work bench in her chambers.  The arrow lay, silver and sharp, across the knobby wood.  A giggle bubbled up from her throat as she picked it up gingerly between two worn fingers.  The witch hummed as she dipped it into a pot that sat on top of the table, sniffing the scent of poison as it wafted through the air.  Silver arrow dipped in wolfsbane, the perfect means of death for the would be Alpha Queen.  They could expel her energy from the young boys mind over and over again, but there would be no healing once the arrow found it's mark.  She sat down, cackling as she watched the wolfsbane drip down the shaft of the silver weapon. It was only a matter of time now, days really, before the young Queen would die, and put an end to Assandra's own personal curse.  The one she had been carrying for centuries.  All they had to do was set Kya loose.  Jagson would have his Luna, Assandra her youth and the power that had been stolen from her long ago by the self proclaimed Goddess of the Sea. Her eyes closed as she sought out the young alpha pups mind.  She dove in to it, swirling her finger to dredge up as much chaos as she could find, pin pointing the mind cords that would wake up an onslaught of emotions in the child.  She snuck a glance at the sleeping wolf the boy housed. It slept, still unaware of her presence. 

    They could perform whatever ritual they wanted to, but she would see to it the child made it a difficult task, kicking and screaming the entire time, no matter how much poppy his mother gave him.