The Visiter

As we approached the village, I felt Makya’s arms wrap around me as he leaned in close, his chin on my shoulder. I shivered at his touch and he held me closer. He then spoke into my ear, just loud enough to be heard over the noise of the sled. “Do I need to drop you at home, or do you want to come to town with us?”

I sighed. I was hoping his nearness was one of affection but with Makya, everything was utilitarian. “I probably need to be home. It’s the full moon tonight.”

I felt him twist to look at me as he pointed to his ear, indicating he couldn’t hear a word I was saying. I smacked his arm and cupped my hand in a (c), mouth to ear, signing home. I could feel him nod and then raise his arm to signal Dakota. They stopped the dogs a few feet from my aunt’s house, which was situated near the edge of town. The whole coven had built manors out this way and so we had become a community of our own. The native tribe, the Ainneamhag, had allowed our coven to settle near them before my birth.

I crawled out from under the warm furs, and collected my gear from the sled. Makya handed me my rifle and said “I will take the wolves to town. I am sure Sani will give us a good price. I will bring your share by tomorrow.”

“Best make it the day after. Aunt Rihanna and her rituals after all.”

“Right. You have got to quit letting them lock you up every month.” Makya said, worry etched on his face.

“It's one night and a day. And besides, it means I can be alone and read. Just find me a good book for next month ok?”

“Fine. Be safe. See you in two days.” With that, he climbed back into the sled and Dekota mushed the dogs back into a run.

I went inside the manor and was setting down my skis and taking off my layers of fur when Aunt Rihanna and my cousins Breanna and Angela rushed at me in a mad frenzy.

“What in the five hells are you doing still out! Don’t you know the moon rises soon!”

“It’s not even dark yet!” I yelled as they yanked at my gear and bustled me toward the stairs.

“No excuses! It’s for everyone’s safety! Inside now! Give me that!” she snatched my rifle from my hands and handed it to Breanna. “Make sure it has a silver in it. If she starts to change, use it on her!”

“What the fuck, Aunt Rihanna? Be careful with that!”

“Don’t talk to me like that girl! In!” I stumbled as the great iron door loomed open before me and I was shoved from behind. I nearly fell down the last couple of steps that led to the hard-packed ground. With one scathing glance down at me, the door was slammed shut, taking all light with it. The series of bolts and locks began their monthly slide into place. I sighed. No use fussing now. I looked around but couldn’t see anything in the dark. I fumbled for the light switch and finally found it. The lone bulb sputtered to life above the bed I had built down here. There was no use trying to drag a frame down those steps, so one month while I was still free to roam, I had brought down the wood one plank at a time, and built my own frame. I finally convinced Aunt Rihanna to let me have a mattress down here for my night away from the world.

The coven seemed convinced that since my first bleed, that every full moon I was going to sprout fangs and destroy the town. It had been almost six years since that first month now, and the worst that had happened was I caught a cold from the dark and damp mold down here. I swear Aunt Rihanna just tells the coven that to have an excuse to lock me away for a time.

I flopped onto my bed and a small cloud of dust puffed into the air. I really should get down here to clean more often, but I try to spend as little time inside as I can. I sigh and closed my eyes, content to rest for the evening away from people.

Hurried footsteps above me cause little snowfalls of dust to rain down from the ceiling. I sat up as chairs begin scraping across the floor. Perhaps the rest of the family is finally having dinner. It is doubtful they will even think to bring anything down to me, so I try my best to lay back down.

Above me, voices started drifting down from the dining room. There were more than three, which piqued my curiosity enough to drag me from the bed. I held onto the support pillar in the center of the room and strained to hear. Looking around, I spotted an old travelers trunk and pulled it over to stand on, my head now brushing the cobwebs near the ceiling.

A rich baritone voice was talking to who I presume was my aunt. “-time has finally come. The alignment is just over a year away. We must prepare the packs for war with Emrys if he is indeed to return as predicted. I know the coven has not always been, shall we say, friendly with us. But when Evelyn was alive, she and my cousin managed to find common ground enough to defeat Emrys’ minion’s once. If his return is truly upon us, perhaps we can find common ground again.”

“If he will really return at the alignment, was he really defeated, or did they just kick the can down the timeline to us?” sneered Aunt Rihanna.

“Perhaps, but it seems this time the moon goddess may just have blessed us with the tools to defeat him once and for all. Every pack for 5000 kilometers has heard the same tale. This coming year, there will be four blood moons. Such an event just before the alignment? There is a wolf about to come into their power. For that much convergence, the bloodlines must be strong to be so blessed. Such a power, every pack will be after such a blessed child. Might be one powerful Alpha, a soldier we would all be glad to call our son, or the goddess may have fashioned herself into flesh to give us a new Luna.”

I heard a small gasp from Aunt Rihanna. I did my best to suppress a scoff. Blood moons? The three-faced mother save me if I didn’t gag on the lunacy. I sat back down on my bed. these secret orders always had their deep magic predations and prophecies. I had gone through my own phase a few years ago and dug into all the old texts.

Turned out there was a four-blood moon year leading up to my birth. Like that had changed anything. My life was about as normal as anyone who had practicing witches for family.  Sleep didn’t come easy that night. I lay in bed late into the night, thinking about my mother. I clutched the small locket around my neck and opened it to see the tiny picture inside. Sadly, this was the only image I had left of my mother. Her green eyes looked back at me from her flowing red locks. Old man Sani had said more than once how much I looked like her.