November-6
2222 Words
He growled and his face changed, teeth sharp and eyes crazed. Understanding dawned on me, as I saw him as my Faerie Godmother, helping me with the prince, hoping I would discover my witch powers and become pregnant. And then his pushing me toward Henri all became clear. He needed my powers as a Chronicler and that of a child of mine. His twisted plan unfolded and I feared him.
“No, I will not help you!” I pushed him away and ran from the bed where my mother lay dying.
He came after me and let out an anguished cry. His concentration broken, the cabin faded from view and we stood in a field of grass at night with the moon bright overhead.
He held off from coming closer and stood with his hands clenched at his side. “I could not save them. I could not. I could not. I could not.” He turned on me and lights twinkled around him in red and blue.
I did not know what to say. “You cannot ask me to give up my child. I will not do it. I will not!”
“But it is the only way! I am Lord of the Fey and I have powers to transcend time and can float through the dew drops on flowers on a summer morning. I can do so much, but not what I want most.”
I gathered myself and could see my opening. “My mother loved you. It is not your fault that she died.”
He rushed toward me and grabbed my hand roughly. “I can smell her on you. You are her, partly at least, and I wanted so much …” He let me go and shifted back and forth into animal and man, fighting himself, unsure and wild. I stood back, unclear of what to do and how to get home.
The world around us breathed and grew with pure energy and his mood cycled like the seasons and I pulled away, afraid of him. Inside, I sought the core of my strength. The pure, white light of hope and love, waiting for my chance.
The Silver Fox unclenched his hands and reached up toward the sky, calling out in a language I did not understand. He twisted his hands above his head, and the tendrils of War fell down upon the land. He looked out across the world with his bright eyes and smiled. “If you will not help me, then I will bring suffering and death to the world. The tide is coming in and my minions will wash the world with blood.”
His crazed smile frightened me. Pulling down hard, I saw the tendrils drip down like honey and he stamped the ground with his left foot, awakening Pestilence from its slumber. He orchestrated the movement of these demigods of despair and I tried to walk away but I could not. Seeing me again, he turned his attention to me and said, “You can stop this. Let us go back and you can help me! Then your mother, sister, and I will be together, forever. I will have my family.”
“No.” My one word response was not what he had expected. I put my arms down at my side and let go.
He roared at me and unleashed his wrath. His face splayed open and pieces of flesh danced and swirled, teeth stuck to tiny sinews of muscle that flew out at me with saliva hitting my face. He unleashed his anger, pure, white-hot, and brutal against me. I fell back and stumbled. The world trembled at his anger. The trees pulled back, flowers shriveled up and his eyes looked crazed and encircled with fire.
He waved his left hand at me, and he opened a portal showing me Henri fighting a war in France. Screams of men and splashes of blood filled my vision. With his right, I saw the prince in a second portal, trudging through mud, seeing the sick and dying all around him. His face determined yet fearful of what had felled his men.
The Silver Fox laughed and the tendrils of War and Pestilence flooded into the portals, coursing like a wild stream toward Henri and the prince. I watched, unsure how I could help them. Lost in what I could see and taken unaware, the Silver Fox then ran at me and tackled me to the ground, using his claws to tear at my belly. “If you will not help me, then I will take what you love most from you. You will suffer as I have and I will ruin all you love.”
I screamed and kicked him away, struggling to stand as his claws tore into me. All of my life I had buckled to authority, listened and obeyed, but I knew that today would be different. I faced him and put my left hand out in front of me.
“No!” I shouted the word and put my magic behind the word.
Knocked back by my magic, he rushed me again, and I saw his hands changing. His claws came out with tiny razors in the palms of his hands. Berserk and out of control, there was no humanity in him and I stood still, planting my feet into the earth. All I had trained and prepared for came down to this moment.
I raised my right arm and then allowed both my arms to fall out at my side. I opened myself up and let go. The words are clear and burned into my memory. I spoke the opening words to the incantation that Renée had taught me, “I am of the North. You will never possess me. I defy you, resist you, and bind you to this spot.”
His force crushed into my power and yet he could not touch me. He was stopped mere feet from me. A look of surprise crossed his face as he struggled to come closer.
From within, I dug deep into my reserve of magic and spoke the second part to the binding spell. “No. You will not possess me. I am of the West. I defy you, resist you, and bind you to this spot.”
The Silver Fox stopped his attack and chains of light came out of the ground. His left and right legs were pinned to the ground. He morphed, shifted, and tried to escape.
My strength was fading but I quickly shouted the third phrase. “No! I say again. You will never possess me. I am of the East. I defy you, will always resist you, and I bind you to this spot!”
Out of the ground, a third chain sprung forth and wrapped itself around the Silver Fox. My power began to wane and I reached for my belly as blood seeped from my wounds. I closed my eyes and said a prayer that Renée had taught me. I waited a few moments, holding off the Silver Fox’s attack and then saw the sky open up. He tried to speak, but a white light from above quieted him and he stopped struggling. I fell back in awe as descending down, she eclipsed us. She had heard my prayer and had come, settling herself in front of me.
The Silver Fox shifted back, human now. “Justine!”
My mother looked down on him. “No. You will never possess me or my children, children’s children, or those I have loved.”
Tears streamed down his face. “Justine. Please, please.”
She held out her hand and finished the last words to the spell. “I am of the South. I defy you, resist you, and with all my love for you I bind you to this spot.”
“Please.” He reached out to her but a red glowing chain flew out of the ground and trapped him. Four chains, compass drawn, stretched and staked to the ground. “I love you.”
My mother walked forward and caressed his cheek. “If you believed, all could be changed. The past can be undone. The present is alive with wonder and the future is filled with such hope. You only need to believe and let go.”
“I am sorry for what I have done, but please stay with me. Never leave.” He leaned forward, resisting against the chains.
“I never left you. If you had let me go, you would know.” She kissed him lightly on his forehead and pulled back.
“Please, don’t abandon me.” Parts of the fox started to show through. “I was wrong in trying to hurt Sophia. I will take any punishment, but please don’t leave me.”
“I never have.” She withdrew from him. “You lost all hope and used your power for selfish means.” He began to speak but she interrupted him. “Remember, all can be made anew. The past can be undone. Love.”
“But I do love you. I would give you anything!” He strained to reach her and failed.
“Maybe once you did. Now you only wish to possess.” She turned on him and walked toward me.
Though he spoke to her back, he said, “I understand. I will accept my punishment, but I will never stop loving you.”
My mother stood beside me on my right. She faced me, and I understood what we had to do. We raised our hands, pointing at the Silver Fox. We had bound him to the Earth. He no longer struggled but remained defiant, refusing to surrender. His eyes never left her. Lowering our hands, the spell complete, he vanished into the ground, trapped until in his soul he chose to be free.
My mother floated at my side, but her spirit shifted, fading quickly from sight. She turned to me and said, “I chose what I thought was right. You are my daughter and I abandoned you and your father. I am sorry for that.” She reached out toward me. “Love. If I could ask you to do anything, it would be simply that. Tell Renée that I am sorry and one day I hope to thank her for protecting you.”
“I will.” I concentrated and with my left hand, touched hers. Our spirits meshed and I opened my heart and let my love flow out for her, for us, for everything. For in the end, when all is dust and we are no more, only love remains. My mother’s spirit faded. For a few moments, I stood in the empty field and watched as, without the Silver Fox’s magic, the portals closed and the spirits of War and Pestilence faded from sight. The Earth was left fresh and new. A great fatigue washed over me, and I fell to my knees holding my belly. The blood kept seeping from the tears in my skin, and I cried, fearing that I was losing you. A sound on the wind caught my attention and I fell back and listened. Renée’s magic searched for me and I allowed my spirit to be called back to her. My head rested on the soft grass and I remember the world shifting yet again.
I blinked and Renée stood before me. I was in the cave once again. Outside the snow still fell. Renée saw my wounds and rushed forward, covering me in warm blankets. Then I faded into a deep, dark sleep and knew no more.
***
For how long I slept, I do not know. Renée cleaned and bound my wounds, keeping me warm with blankets and a large fire. She had smeared a thick paste on the cuts and she sang to me as she tended me. I often faded off into sleep and in the morning she sat me up and had me drink some warm broth.
Too sore to move much, I put my hands on my belly and asked, “Is she okay?”
Renée nodded. “She’s kicking and is fine. Your wounds are not serious. They will heal in time. You simply need to rest and eat.”
I cried in joy and put my hands on my womb. You had been saved.
Allowing me some time to myself, Renée later came to me and handed me a bowl of rabbit stew but I pushed it aside. “I must do something first.”
I pulled the covers off of me and saw that I still wore my glass slippers. Renée went to help me but I pushed her away. Bending my leg back, I slipped my finger into the back and the slipper fell off easily. The other came off as well. “Hand me my diary.”
Renée went over to the far side of the cave and handed me one of my diaries. I held it in my arms and thought of all I had written. I had come far, but had a long way yet to go on my journey. But today would be a good day. I covered the slippers with a blanket and then smashed my diary on top of them. No longer filled with the Silver Fox’s magic, they smashed easily. “Please bury them in the earth away from here.”
“Of course.” Renée took the crumbled up blanket and placed it outside. When she came back inside, I expected her to ask what happened, but she did not.
“My mother wanted me to give you a message.”
“I need not hear it now. Rest up.” She covered me with the blankets and tended to the fire.
Renée is a wise woman and knew my mother still loved her. I could see the joy in her face. I stared at the fire, listening to the wood crackle and pop and then fell back off into sleep.
- Writer
