Daughter of the Tides, Servants of the Moon Book 2
aiding the vampyr

In the Far North...

The Augur Vampyr swayed as she knelt in front of a swirling mass of incense smoke, her goddess spoke to her showing her a place.

“She can only see the books…” Lanea Charlains murmured. “Just the books. But I can see more.”

Lanea threw her arms in front of her face, tears ran from her black eyes, “No… no… no… they are killing them…. Run… run and hide… Hide behind the shelves.”

Suddenly, her back arched impossibly as though someone were bending her backwards over a pole and lifting her by the center of her chest. She shrieked and hissed, then sat up and thrashed with her claws out, slicing the lines of incense floating in the cold air.

“Yessss…. Kill him, Del… kill him.” The words were growled out inhumanly before her voice turned into a sweet motherly cooing sound, “Don’t cry, little shadow, you will be saved. Oh… don’t cry.”

The swirl of incense smoke seemed to drift out of shape and dissipate. Lanea blinked her eyes, the blackness was gone and only their deep ruby color remained. She sobbed as she sank forward until her forehead rested on the floor in front of her knees. “Oh Goddess, why… Why can’t we save them all?” She murmured. The incense tendrils drew toward her then faded and Lanea said in a firmer voice, “Your will be done among the living as it is among the shadows.”

An ancient vampire from Patmos, her guardian, Viktor immediately repeated the phrase in his deep reverent voice, “Her will be done among the living as it is among the shadows.”

Larson knelt on one knee next to her. “What did you see, sister?”

Lanea rose up and clung to him. “Another coven is going to be attacked, the only child of it will be hidden in a bookshop in Boston, one street over from the financial district. Our Goddess demands I send the location to the Delphi. Her wolves can get there faster than we can and won’t be affected by the witches’ use of magic against the vampires because they won’t be expecting them. Viktor, can you go to the Wolves’ Temple at the Sacred Ring Lake, Del will bring you the child.”

“It will be done, Augur Vampyr,” Viktor promised.

The ancient Vampire had shown up during the summer with a letter of introduction from the Delphi of the Moon. He was easily as powerful as Lanea and Larson’s grandfathers, but he acted always with mild mannered obedience toward the last vampyr seer. He had begun teaching the vampires and half-vampires of the Charlains Coven to fight without relying on their goddess-given gifts. Lanea’s beloved Max, his brother Jack and the others had jumped at the chance to train with Viktor, but Larson was less enthusiastic.

“Can’t we do anything for the coven?” Larson demanded.

Lanea shook her head, “Their deaths will be a warning. Those Vampyr have ignored the will of our Goddess to return to the Old Lands and stayed to enjoy the wealth and ease of life in this one... Their sacrifice will stand as a lesson to be faithful. So, when the time comes, the others will follow us to safety.”

“That’s crazy!” Growling, Larson muttered something about the Goddess expecting too much from Her children and Lanea slapped him before she shouted, “Never question the will of She with Three Faces, little brother! Or She will lay a test in your path that will bring both blessing and bane.”

Clutching his cheek, he glared at Lanea, snapping back, “Once I have my beloved, I am leaving this land and finding my own coven. I’m done with goddesses, seers, and their madness.” Then he stormed out.

The shadows vibrated with her Goddess’s anger and Lanea whispered back. “Please show mercy. He doesn’t know, I haven’t told him he may never leave this land.”

Sighing, Lanea lit another cone of incense. “I am going to inform the Delphi at the place where the Shadows and the Tides meet.”

Viktor bowed and waited.

In the hall, Mamó turned and swatted Nyall hard with her stick across his thigh, “Ye need to do what the Delphi tells ye and not be stubborn like ye father!”

“Ouch! I will not…” Nyall started but Mamó had his ear in her claws and dragged his face down to her level.

“Your father was to bear more sons to fight with ye. The Moon sent him three… three females with great potential, but he sent them all away and sulked every winter night, inhaling the scent of your mother instead. This is bigger than ye and yorn mate-lost heart.” Mamó growled in his face.

Jerking back, he felt his flesh tear and the warm liquid of his blood flow down his neck. He growled at Mamó with all his strength, “Not while I can feel Moire waiting for me in the Fields!”

Mamó snorted, her keen brassy eyes glowed like the harvest moon. “Foolish pup! Tell me, iffen ye couldn’t feel her, then would ye choose?”

“If I choose a mate again, it will be when I am ready to love and not because I am lonely… While I can still feel Moire, I will never be ready, so I choose to be lonely.” Nyall turned and stomped away, leaving a trail of blood drops behind. In the kitchen, he snatched up a towel hanging over a cabinet door and pressed it over his ear.

Lily, the healer earth-witch, who was taking lessons from Mamó, joined him. Her voice was as soft as her gentle brown eyes, “Mamó sent me to tend your ear, Nyall.”

“Let it scar,” he snarled, but her hand on his arm compelled him to sit with surprising strength.

“Your soul bears enough scars; you don’t need to bear them on your flesh.”

She used a numbing paste he had smelled enough times growing up and he knew Mamó taught her to make it. Grumpily, he sat still while she stitched his earlobe back together and washed the blood from his neck and shoulder.

Packing her things, she smiled at him in a way he didn’t quite understand. “I lost my soul mate too. I know how you feel. I just want you to know, I’m here for you, Nyall, for anything you may need or want.”

After she left him sitting, perplexed about her odd tone, he realized what she meant and growled, wondering if Mamó or Delilah had suggested the beautiful witch should try to seduce him.

Sitting quietly on his knees, Kaiyou watched the vision turned drawing taking shape. The child oracle was as talented as Delilah was at her age. He wondered why he had been so blessed to know three generations of Naphtal oracles and now the eldest and youngest Wemyss oracles. Ainsley slumped forward and fell asleep while Delilah stayed on the Tides.

The Delphi’s voice was a whisper, “Take my child to bed, the Augur Vampyr is calling me to come to the place where Tides and Shadows meet.”

Kaiyou stood silently then lifted Ainsley’s tiny form, picked up her drawing, and carried her to her room, where Mamó waited.

“So, where be the Moon sending my grandson?”

“I do not know, Oracle Tiene, but we will be guarding the Delphi.” He answered honestly. He laid her down gently and covered her. For a longing moment, he missed his time of fatherhood. “Acolyte Ainsley has a wonderful gift.”

“Aye, the twins were strong, but then the storm came, and Delilah now bears the burden alone.” Mamó rocked in her chair, her aged golden eyes reminded him of brass coins. “I will tell you something no one but Delilah realizes; Ainsley will be the Delphi after her, no matter how the war against the burning ones turns out. The Goddess sent the Delphi help after her sister lost her gift. Ainsley was born to replace Nyall’s mother as the oracle of our pack. True that she is as talented as the Delphi was at her age, and, while she cannot move on the Sacred Waters as Delilah does, it will be interesting to see what other gifts the Goddess gave her.”

Kaiyou bowed to the old oracle. “I will protect her until my death, Oracle Tiene.”

Mamó’s mouth made a thin line, “Do not volunteer for such a fate, Shogunate. For the Goddess Herself has chosen Ainsley’s protector; someone from beyond this life sent to dwell among the living.”

Kaiyou couldn’t mask his stunned reaction. “Would the Goddess really send someone back from the Fields to be her protector?”

“I do not know; I can only see his soulless shadow standing over her shoulder.” Mamó tutted to herself. “Only the Goddess knows the paths She has lain for us.”

“May She be blessed and bless us,” Kaiyou responded automatically.

Looking around Ainsley’s rooms, there were images from dozens of visions. One caught his eye, a detailed drawing of an antique book on a shelf with two copies of another book, the titles were clearly visible. “Oracle Tiene, may I borrow this drawing? I believe it may hold a clue to the vision Acolyte Ainsley shared with the Delphi tonight.”

Mamó nodded. “You’re a clever wolf, Kaiyou Tsunekura. Keep them safe. I will pray the Moon grants ye a boon.”

Kaiyou bowed again, took both drawings, and went to call Elder Wanderer Eliazar Ayala. He needed to know if there was an antique book dealer who had all three books on one shelf, in a city of skyscrapers mixed with old brick buildings.

Nyall shifted uncomfortably in the denim jeans and tee-shirt. His feet hated the feel of socks and boots around them. Kaiyou was similarly attired as he drove. Delilah sat in the back staring out the window. The ice on the lake meant a frigid run to the road and then they traveled by vehicle south. Leon was waiting to fly them to Boston. They were going into the human world to save a Vampyr child.

The Night Goddess sent a message through her seer to Delilah and Ainsley that one of Her children was hiding in a bookshop with a human feeder and protector. Nyall wondered how long the Delphi had been working with the vampires. His pack’s ways taught to never trust vampires or witches, and yet he had seen both visiting and living at the Moon’s temples.

“Spit it out, Nyall. I can feel you have questions,” Del demanded tiredly.

“Why aren’t we going to save the whole coven, and not just the one child?” Nyall asked.

“Because they are dying as the sun rises,” she answered cryptically. A tear ran down her cheek.

Nyall was about to open his mouth to ask her another question, but Kaiyou tapped a claw on the steering wheel. He made a slight gesture, one Nyall had seen his father make so he shut up. He had not yet bested the Shogunate in combat, it seemed the dark wolf knew all the skills of the Wemyss and more.

Nyall turned to look at the sinking moon in the distance, then he turned back. “Kaiyou, how many years did you train with my father?” He always wondered how old the Shogunate wolf was.

“His whole life and with your grandfather before him.” Kaiyou answered. “Your grandfather rescued me when I was left for dead avenging my mate and family. That was after the second world war claimed your uncles. The Oracle Tiene sent him to find me and my infant brother and take us to the Eye of the Goddess.”

“My grandmother was Delphi then,” Delilah added quietly, her voice had a distant quality. “She saw a wolf nearly feral from mate-loss and claimed him for the Moon. Just like the Moon claimed me and you, Nyall. A promise to the Moon cannot be broken.”

Nyall turned to look at her and retort, but her eyes were closed, and he wasn’t even sure if she was awake because her heartbeat was so slow. He looked back forward and frowned, it always seemed like Del was reprimanding him for something. He listened to her breathing and soon she gave a little snore.

“She is not disparaging your choice, Nyall. Remember, she made the same one.” Kaiyou quietly pointed out some time later. “As did I, and so did your father. But your destiny will require you to make a choice, none of us had to. Grieve now, but never forget that someday you must put your grief aside to make yourself stronger.”

“I will not choose another, and I hate her for demanding it of me.” Nyall growled.

“You would be better suited to be the Delphi’s friend than antagonize her for following the Moon’s commands.” Kaiyou advised, “Find a way to reconcile with Delilah, you both are traveling along the same path.”

“It’s impossible. She wants me to do things I cannot.” Nyall huffed.

“She only does the Moon’s bidding, and your will is not strong enough to turn Her will. You know Esther well. You agree that she is a strong she-wolf, yes?”

“Yes,” Nyall wondered what Kaiyou was getting at.

“Compared to her sister in strength of will and resolve, Esther is a reed broken by a summer breeze while Delilah is the mountain standing in the face of the tempest. Start looking for a friend to become your choice mate, Monarch-to-be, or the Moon will force the choice on you, and the Delphi will make you accept it.” Kaiyou pointed out then added, “Get some sleep, we have hours more to drive.”

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