The Moon's Daughter

Chapter 12

“You’re going to do what?!” Zahruk yelled at me. 

“Kill him and bring him back to life. With the help of Kivana of course”. 

“Are you crazy? You don’t even know if it’ll work. What if you really do end up killing him?” He folded his arms across his chest as he scowled at me. 

“I won’t”. 

“And how do you know that?”

“I just know, alright? It’s like this gut feeling inside of me, I can’t explain it but I know I can do it”, I said as my voice wavered. Truth be told I wasn’t sure if this would work but if what I had read was true, then this could break Odin’s mark away from Aodin. 

“If all fails, I will be there to help”, my father chimed in. “She may not know anything about how magic works but if it is already calling her from within, it must be powerful”. I gave my dad a quick smile before turning back to look at Zahruk. 

“I need Kivana for the spell to work. Like my dad mentioned, I don’t know anything about magic, let alone death magic. When we were down at her home town, the entire village reeked of dark magic. I know she can help, she’s the only one that can”. I tightened my hold onto Aodin’s hand and Zahruk sighed, scrubbing his face. 

“Fine but how are we supposed to get her here within the next day? The entire East Coast is covered with Otherworldly creatures right now. There’s no way we can just fly there and bring her back here”. I pinched the bridge of my nose, annoyed, that he’s right. 

“Perhaps I could help”, Dad said with a giant smile on his face. “We Gods can teleport, my child. Let this be my first lesson to you”. I looked over at my dad then back at Aodin’s sleeping form, relieved that something was finally about to go right.

I let go of Aodin’s hand and walked over towards where Fenrir was standing. “Okay, teach me”, I asked. 

“Close your eyes and envision the place you want to go to. Let your memories remind you of what that place smells like, what the people and animals sound like, and most importantly feel the pull towards that place in your chest”. I grabbed hold of his hand and took a deep breath in and out. Closing my eyes, I envisioned the warm sun, and the smell of the sea. I allowed myself to listen to the birds and trees calling me. There was a warm tug in my chest that almost felt like a tickle. 

“That’s it. Let that feeling absorb and surround you”, he encouraged. I let that warmth spread to my arms, legs and finally to my head. And when I finally opened my eyes, I found myself right in front of Kivana’s village. “You did it, daughter! I’m proud”. 

“Thanks!” I looked around the island until I spotted Kivana’s tattoos of ravens all over her back and right arm. “Kivana!” I called and she turned. 

“How did you get here so fast? Nevermind don’t answer that”, she pulled me by the arm and pulled me to the side of the shack she was standing next to. “Are you crazy? Killing the Dragon King and bringing him back? What if it doesn’t work?”

“It will work”. 

“How do you know?”

“Because I’ll help you. I know that you dabble in the dark arts. As a matter of fact, your entire village is full of dark witches. Not a single one of you is a light witch”, I extorted. 

“How--”. 

“I can smell it on you. Magic smells different on different people. When Raven--the witch that worked for Zahruk’s brother-- transformed back into her human form, had a strange smell to her. It smelt sweet yet rotten at the same time. But you… You and this entire village reek of sulfur”. I closed the distance between us and brought my lips up to her ear. “I’ll keep your evil doing a secret if you help me”, pulling back I gave her an evil grin. Blackmailing might be the only way to get her to do what I needed.

Did I like that I was acting like a b***h? Maybe. But was it necessary? Absolutely. 

“Fine. Under one condition. I come right back here when we are done. I don’t want to be involved in your matters anymore. Nor do my people”. I looked past her shoulders and angry eyes were all dawning on me. I could feel their anger and I felt unwelcomed. “We should leave now before they put a curse on you and your father”. I grabbed her hand and pulled her back with me to the pack hospital with Fenrir following closely behind. 

Kivana bent forward and gagged as she rushed towards the sink hurling whatever it was that she had eaten. “What did you do to her?” Zahruk asked. 

“It’s a side effect of teleporting. If one's body isn’t strong enough -- that happens”, he said pointing towards the sink Kivana is currently occupying. The sink turned on and off before she finally made her way back to us. 

“Okay, I’m ready”, she said as her color slowly started to return. “I need a bowl”. 

I looked around and the only thing I could find was a urine hat. “Will this work?” 

She shrugged as she took it. and placed it on the floor. “I need him on the floor”, she ordered me. I looked at Zahruk who rolled his eyes and picked Aodin off the bed and placed him onto the floor. “Now I need you on the floor next to him”, she asked me. 

“Why?” Zahruk asked. 

“I need a life to take a life”.

“Wait, so you’re killing her too?”

“No”, she replied curtly. 

“That doesn’t make sense. You need a life to take a life. That means to kill Aodin you need to kill someone too”. 

“Are you done explaining?” She asked him and he nodded in reply. “I’m going to cheat death with her immortality. She is a Goddess who only dies from fatal wounds. Sickness has no effect on her. I can make it to where she’s sick enough to die but healthy enough to regenerate and live again”. She pulled a knife out from her pocket and unsheathed it’s tiny blade. “So what are you waiting for? Lay down”. 

I took my place next to Aodin with my head next to his feet. She grabbed hold of his arm and sliced his wrist and placed it inside the urine hat where his blood collected. “This is going to hurt, a lot, Princess”, Kivana warned as she slit my wrist and placed it next to his in the hat.

Kivana dipped her finger into our blood, mixing it. She then sliced her palm and spit into it before smearing blood and spit onto my face. The lights flickered as she chanted and I started to feel a small tickle in my throat. A cough escaped me and then another. Suddenly I felt as if my lungs were being flooded with fluid as my cough worsened and I spit out blood. 

“Stop this!” Zahruk yelled and I shook my head. Kivana glared at him and he fell to the ground. Fenrir watched with worry in his eyes as he stepped back, giving Kivana the space she needed to work with. 

Her finger dipped into our blood once more and she used it to draw a line that started from my chest and ended at his. Symbols I have never seen before were being written on our bellies as her chants continued. The louder the chant the harder it was for me to breathe. I panted as I stared at the ceiling feeling my airway get tighter and tighter. My hand reflexively moved up to my neck scratching it as I arched my back, struggling to breathe. 

“Ninanwae!” She screamed as she blew air into my face. My world turned dark as I felt my body turn cold. It felt like I was in an endless eternity of darkness and no matter how much or how loud I screamed no one could hear me. 

I felt my heart beat twice… Once… and none at all. Flat lining of the ekg machine sounded throughout the room as the spell completed. Kivana sat there panting as she wiped something wet onto my face. The thump of my heart was slowly coming to life, bit by bit. The air that had suffocated me was now coming in full and the darkness that took my eyes finally disappeared allowing the light from the ceiling to invade my vision. I sucked in the air greedily as I forced myself to sit up and assess the situation. 

“Oh my Gods, I’m alive”, I panted as I looked at Kivana. The figure on the floor next to me twitched and I made my way over to his other side to check on Odin’s mark. The mark slowly dissipated and I smiled triumphantly. It had worked all thanks to Kivana. I got up and gave her a hug as she patted my back awkwardly. “Thank you”. 

“Don’t thank me just yet”.

“Why?” I pulled away to look at her puzzled. 

“Dark magic always comes with a price. In exchange for his life, I bound yours to his. Whatever happens to him will happen to you, vice versa. Which means what you feel, he will feel and if he dies, you will die. What will save you both is probably the bond that the two of you already share. If that bond breaks… You will become vulnerable to the enemy”. 

I looked over at Zahruk who was still passed out on the floor. “Does that mean--”

“You have to sever the bond with your true-mate if you want to live. Unless Aodin finds his true-mate… Which I doubt is going to happen anytime soon”, she scoffed and shrugged. “I’m done here, so take me home, like you promised”. 

“I’ll take you back”, Fenrir offered. Kivana walked over towards him and before they both disappeared, Fenrir had linked me. “Remember, you are not bound by any spell and any man. You are a Goddess of your own right, Daughter”. I fell to the floor conflicted on what I have to do. Fenrir’s words rang through my mind but the fear of losing them both ate at my mind.