With Wolves

The Gardens (2): Halflight

The inner garden was unlike anything Nero had ever seen, as plants glowed with soft bioluminescence, some pulsing gently like heartbeats, others casting steady light in shades of blue, green, and purple, paths wound between carefully cultivated beds where flowers that shouldn't exist grew alongside herbs that seemed to hum with energy. The air itself felt different here, charged with magic in a way that made Nero's skin tingle, but what really caught his attention were the lights, hundreds of them floated throughout the garden like tiny stars, drifting lazily between plants and hovering over particular flowers, they looked like luminescent bubbles or fireflies, each one glowing in different colors—reds, blues, greens, whites, and every shade in between "what are those?" Nero asked, watching a cluster of blue lights dance around what looked like a crystalline rose bush. Kassandra walked toward a shining stand near the center of the garden, where dozens of the lights congregated in a swirling mass "they're sprites, elemental beings, each one is connected to a specific element—fire, water, earth, air, light, darkness, and combinations of those" "they look like glowing bubbles," Nero said, moving closer to examine one that had drifted near his face, it was warm, and he could feel a faint heat radiating from it “a fire sprite?" "Yes" Kassandra reached out and let one of the lights settle on her palm "the sprites are like tenants of the Ravensong family, we provide them with this garden, which has all the nutrients and magical energy they need to survive, and in return they help maintain the balance here and assist with certain magical workings" Nero watched as the sprite on Kassandra's palm flared briefly before floating away "how did your family get so many of them? Are sprites common?" "Not at all, they're quite rare actually" Kassandra gestured around the garden "this place is special, it's a form of dungeon that exists slightly outside normal space, the concentration of magical energy here is much higher than in the outside world and sprites need a constant supply of magic to stay alive, and this garden provides that" "could someone own a sprite?" Nero asked "like, could I have one?" Kassandra smiled, but it was the kind of smile that suggested she was about to explain why something was impossible "technically yes, but it's incredibly difficult, sprites are generally wary of forming bonds with people as they're independent beings with their own wills. For a sprite to acknowledge someone and form a pact with them, you'd need to be compatible with their element, have the right type of magical energy, and somehow convince the sprite that bonding with you is worth giving up their freedom" "so basically impossible" "the probability is about 0.0001 percent," Kassandra confirmed "only those who have a signed pact with a sprite can perceive them as anything more than maybe a strange shimmer in the air" Nero nodded, accepting this as just another impossible thing in a night full of revelations, he turned to look at the other plants in the garden, his enhanced vision picking up details that probably weren't visible to normal sight—the way certain flowers seemed to breathe, the subtle movements of vines that had no wind to explain them, that's when something slammed into his forehead. Nero's enhanced reflexes were completely bypassed, one moment he was standing there looking at a particularly interesting blue flower, the next something hit him right between the eyes with enough force to make him stumble backward but there was no pain, just impact, and then a sensation of warmth spreading from the point of contact across his entire body as the garden exploded with light. Half of it became as bright as midday, illumination so intense Nero had to squint even with his enhanced vision, and the other half plunged into darkness so complete it was like looking into a void, a blackness that seemed to absorb all light that came near it, yet the two halves existed simultaneously, divided by a line that ran straight through where Nero stood "what the" Nero started, but the words died in his throat. Kassandra stood frozen, her mouth hanging open, staring at something in front of Nero with an expression of absolute shock as the light and darkness began to dim, slowly retreating until the garden returned to its normal state of gentle bioluminescence, and floating in the air directly in front of Nero was one of the most beautiful beings he'd ever seen. She—and it was definitely a she, despite being maybe six feet tall—had wings that looked like they were made of light and shadow woven together, the right wing was pure white, glowing softly, while the left was absolute black, seeming to absorb the light around it, her hair fell in a cascade that was white on one side and black on the other, the colors meeting perfectly at the center of her head. Her eyes were equally divided, the right one completely black like a void, the left one white like a star, she wore a dress that matched her coloring, and her skin seemed to shift between pale and dark depending on which angle you looked at her from. She was mesmerizing, impossible, and absolutely real. The sprite flew backward a few feet and bowed her head deeply "Master," she said, her voice like wind chimes and distant thunder combined "I have waited for hundreds of years for this day. Finally, you have come" Nero stared at her, then at Kassandra, then back at the sprite "what just happened?" Kassandra seemed incapable of speech, she opened and closed her mouth several times before finally managing to say, "A pact, you just formed a pact with a sprite, a 0.0001 percent probability just happened right in front of me" "I'm Halflight," the sprite said, still bowing "and I am honored to finally meet my Master, the one who bears both light and darkness in equal measure" "wait, hold on" Nero held up his hands, trying to slow down whatever was happening "I didn't do anything, you just flew into my face" "because you are my Master," Halflight said, as if this explained everything "the pact was always meant to be as I have been sleeping in this garden for hundreds of years, waiting for the one whose energy would finally wake me" Kassandra finally found her voice properly "Halflight? I know that name, you're one of the oldest sprites in the garden, my great-great-grandmother's journals mentioned you, she said you arrived at the estate centuries ago and immediately went into hibernation and no one's been able to wake you since" "the energy in this garden is pure," Halflight explained, still floating in front of Nero "but it was not enough to sustain me fully, I needed to sleep, to conserve my strength while I waited, because of my nature—bearing both light and dark elements—I cannot form a pact with someone who embodies only one side, I needed someone with both elements in equal measure, someone like my Master" she turned her attention back to Nero, her mismatched eyes studying him with obvious affection and reverence "your energy called to me, light and darkness, perfectly balanced. I felt it the moment you entered the garden, and I knew the wait was finally over" Nero's mind was racing "okay, so we have a pact now, then does that mean... what does that mean exactly? Do you have a place to stay? Because I have a small apartment and there's not really room for another person—" "Master," Halflight said gently, "once a pact is formed, I must remain close to you as my existence is now tied to yours, I will need to be by your side most of the time, especially given the unique nature of your energy" "but there's not enough space—" Nero started to protest. Kassandra interrupted, excitement breaking through her shock "Nero, sprites don't take up physical space the way people do, she can—" Halflight demonstrated by suddenly shrinking, one moment she was six feet tall, the next she was barely the size of a marble, she floated over to Nero's shoulder and settled there, looking perfectly comfortable "I can remain like this when we are around others," Halflight said from her new position "no one will notice me, and I take up no space at all" Nero reached up slowly and felt the tiny weight on his shoulder, It was real, this was really happening. He had a sprite now, a magical elemental being had just bonded with him and was calling him Master "this is insane," he muttered "this is amazing," Kassandra corrected, her earlier shock transforming into barely contained excitement "do you understand what this means? We know your elements now, light and darkness, that's incredibly rare for most people, even powerful supernatural beings, lean toward one or the other, but you have both equally" "but what does that make me?" Nero asked, "I have these dreams about wolves, I'm getting physically stronger and faster, and now apparently I have light and dark elements, what am I?" Halflight spoke up from her position on his shoulder, her tiny voice perfectly clear "you are a Nephilim Werewolf, Master" the garden went completely silent. Kassandra stared at the sprite "how do you know that?" "Only a Nephilim is qualified to be my Master," Halflight explained "the balance of light and darkness, the divine and the mortal—it is the signature of Nephilim blood and when I formed the pact with him, I sensed his other nature as well, the wolf that sleeps within him, waiting to fully awaken. He is both angel-blooded and beast-blooded, a Nephilim Werewolf" Nero felt like the ground had disappeared beneath his feet. "I'm part angel?" "Nephilim are the children of angels and humans," Kassandra said softly, her mind clearly working through the implications "They're incredibly rare, most angel bloodlines have been diluted over generations, and pure Nephilim are almost unheard of in modern times now combined with werewolf blood..." She trailed off, looking at Nero with something like awe "I've never heard of that combination existing before" Kassandra turned quickly and made a gesture toward some of the sprites floating nearby, she spoke in a language Nero didn't recognize—something fluid and musical that made the air as two sprites immediately broke away from their positions and zipped off deeper into the garden "I sent them to get books," Kassandra explained "the Book of Nephilim and whatever texts we have on werewolves, if we're going to understand what you are and what you're capable of, we need to research" The sprites returned faster than Nero expected, each carrying books that looked far too heavy for their small size but they managed it easily, floating over to Kassandra and depositing two thick volumes in her waiting hands "come on," Kassandra said, already walking toward a building Nero hadn't noticed before—a small brick structure tucked between two massive trees, almost invisible unless you were looking for it "there's a room in there we can use properly" Nero followed, Halflight still perched on his shoulder, her tiny presence somehow comforting despite how completely his world had just been turned upside down. A Nephilim Werewolf, that's what he was.

Outside the inner garden, back in the regular grounds of the Ravensong estate, the search was intensifying as staff members moved through the paths with flashlights, checking behind bushes and calling out names, students who'd been enlisted to help wandered in pairs, some taking the search seriously and others treating it like an extension of the party. Roxy stood on one of the mansion's balconies, looking out over the garden with growing frustration as she'd tried three different tracking spells, and all of them had come back with nothing, it was like Kassandra and Nero had simply vanished. Amy and Abigail stood beside her, both looking concerned "maybe they just went somewhere private to talk?" Amy suggested hopefully "I mean, they seemed pretty into each other on the dance floor" "Kass doesn't do 'somewhere private' with strangers," Roxy said tightly "She's too cautious, too aware of the family rules, she wouldn't just disappear with someone she met an hour ago" "unless she really liked him," Abigail pointed out. Roxy shot her a look that made Abigail take a step back "use your seer ability," Amy said quickly, trying to defuse the tension "check what's going to happen if we find them, see where they are" Roxy closed her eyes and reached for her power, her seer gift was usually reliable, showing her possible futures with reasonable clarity, she focused on the question: Where are Kassandra and Nero right now? Darkness, pure, absolute darkness. It was the same void she'd encountered that morning, the same blank space that had appeared when she'd checked the timelines before the party, except now it was stronger, more pronounced, it wasn't just a blind spot, it was an active blockage, like something was deliberately preventing her from seeing. Roxy's eyes snapped open, and Amy gasped at whatever expression was on her face "what did you see?" Abigail asked nervously "nothing," Roxy said, and her voice was tight with an emotion she rarely felt: fear "I saw nothing, which means something is very wrong, that kind of void in my visions, something major is about to occur, something that could change everything" She looked out at the garden again, her mind racing "we need to find them now, something bad is about to happen, and we need to get to Kass and Nero before it does" her gaze drifted to the far end of the garden, where the wild sections began, the places where the family's magical protections were strongest, where secrets were kept. The inner garden "outsiders aren't allowed in there," Roxy muttered to herself "most especially someone who's not yet affiliated with the , Kass knows the rules. She wouldn't break them, she couldn't have taken him there" but even as she said it, doubt crept in. Kass had been acting strange lately—calmer, more confident and the way she'd looked at Nero, the way they'd moved together on the dance floor... What if she had broken the rules? "Come on," Roxy said suddenly, making a decision "follow me, I need to check something" Amy and Abigail exchanged glances but followed without question as Roxy strode back into the mansion and headed for the stairs. Hidden in the shadows near the balcony, Norman Fischer smiled to himself, he'd been eavesdropping on their conversation, using his enhanced werewolf hearing to catch every word even from a floor below. Roxy knew where they were, or at least she had a strong suspicion. Norman pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to two of the werewolf guys helping with the search: Follow Roxy, stay out of sight. He pocketed his phone and headed after them himself, moving with the predatory silence that came naturally to his kind. Things were about to get very interesting.