Children of the Goddesses (completed)

New Dimension

High Priestess Brenna’s POV

            “It’s impossible to tap into this new dimension, Ana. Nari and I have been trying since it appeared, and I have even allowed Kayla to have a try, but her third pregnancy is difficult and I don’t want her taking too many risks. We did have an idea though. The blood ritual to locate one’s fated mate with one’s blood could be given a boost with just six drops of Kayla’s blood. We could try that?”

            To my surprise, my daughter’s face was neither disappointed from the lack of progress on our side, nor was she particularly excited about my suggestion. Instead, I could feel an excitement bubbling in her aura from the moment we started our conversation via a fire portal. 

            “Mama, something incredible happened last night and I don’t know how but it happened. That mutt was out running in his wolf form three nights ago during the full moon when he could somehow hear Laila in his head. It wasn’t the first time apparently but of course he forgot to inform me about it and our sister Meira forgot this important detail as well. Anyway, three nights ago, that mutt came crashing into my room and told us he could hear Laila in his head, and three nights ago.”

            “Three nights ago, the new dimension was glowing like a rising sun,” I whispered before my daughter could finish. 

            “Exactly, but no matter how hard we tried that night to boost the connection between that mutt and Laila, it was simply too weak for Laila to hear him, and Mama it was no fun listening to a grown man whimper for an entire night.” 

            I frowned disapprovingly at how my daughter was being so hard on that young werewolf, not that he didn’t deserve any of this pain and suffering. Laila was a good girl and she deserved a loyal and strong mate, but one thing that I had learned over the centuries was to be more forgiving of mistakes made in one’s youth. After all, both of my granddaughters were now in loving and fulfilling with their mates, who had done worse things than this young werewolf in their youths. 

            Ignoring my disapproval, Ana rolled her eyes and continued. “Anyway, Mama, that mutt made a crazy suggestion this morning. He said instead of trying to reach out to Laila during the night, why not try it in the day? He’s somehow convinced that Laila might be a daywalker and had something to do with the sun. I thought at first that he must have gone crazy from grief but he insisted that he had seen Laila basking under the sun and her gunshot wound healed at near werewolf speed. In the end, I decided to give it a try, I mean couldn’t hurt right? And it worked, without any magic, well at least not from the balance nor from Meira or myself.” 

            “What do you mean, without any magic? How did the young Gamma make the connection to Laila? And what kind of connection are you talking about? The mate bond isn’t strong enough between unmated and unmarked mates that they could mind-link each other over great distances. At most, he’d feel her emotions and whether she is still.” I found myself unable to continue as that thought ran through my mind, and I was glad that Ana had gotten my point. 

            “Mama, you’re the High Priestess, the messenger of the Moon Goddess. If you don’t know, how am I supposed to know?” 

            I didn’t know to laugh or cry at my daughter’s sassiness, but she did make a good point. We were in completely new territory here and no one actually knew anything about this new dimension. We couldn’t even tap into it, but we could feel it. It was like standing in an open field on a breezy morning and every cell in our bodies were able to feel the breeze but that was all that we were able to do. 

            “Anyway, Mama, the young Gamma was able to speak with Laila for a few short minutes and she said that she was auctioned off to the Vampire King. Laila’s father is still trying to masquerade himself as a wealthy vampire collector to be able to take part in an auction so that we could have the evidence we need to report them to the Union and try to track down the auction house’s customers via official channels but it’s no easy feat. Those evil bastards are sneaky and very selective on who they allow into their little circle of greed. The rest of us wanted to concentrate on locating the Vampire King and I wanted to let you know before we started our search.” 

            “And how do you intend to search for the Vampire King? No one has been able to track him down for a year since he made himself the king of vampires and began sponsoring attacks against the Union.” Sometimes, my daughter had her heart in the right place but she still had a lot to learn. 

            “Yeah about that, Mama, I was kinda hoping you would give us some tips,” she said sheepishly as she smiled her sweetest smile at me. 

            Shaking my head in defeat, I shared a suspicion that had been nagging at me for some time with my daughter. “The Vampire King is a smart one but the Gold Moon Pack has been working with the other packs in our State to track the flow of money in some of the entertainment businesses, especially the ones connected to the fights between vampires, werewolves and humans. To our surprise, we found Confederate Gold in some of the human businesses. The human authorities are going crazy over some supposed lost and found treasure but for all of us who have lived long enough, we all know where that gold came from.”

            “Mama, are you saying that the Vampire King is the one financing the attacks on his own kind? That’s crazy, but brilliant,” Ana exclaimed in shock. 

            “I’m not sure of anything, Ana, but it is a possibility that we cannot dismiss. What I am sure of, is that the gold came from the Vampire King, because my mother was there trying to help evacuate those who couldn’t fight in Columbus when the vampire army showed up to steal the gold from the humans. We have always known that the lost Confederate Gold was in the hands of the vampire army, but we have never seen it circulate in the market until now. So if we could trace where the gold came from, we’d be one step closer to finding the Vampire King.” 

            “Erm, ok, but tracing financial transactions is not exactly my strong suite, Mama,” Ana mumbled. 

            “Which is why I have assigned that task to Finn and Kayla. The Gold Moon Pack’s wealth came from the Gold Rush and they have ties to the financial world. In the meantime, I need you to work with Meira and the young Gamma to figure out how he’s able to connect to Laila, and only during the day, of all times. Remember this Ana, all magic leaves traces in its wake. Even if we do not understand this new dimension nor are we able to tap into it, we can still feel it, which also means that we can see the traces it leaves behind. Focus on the traces left on the Gamma’s aura, on the balance and on the new dimension.” 

            “Alright, alright,” Ana grumbled grumpily. “You have no idea how terrible these werewolves stink, Mama. If we don’t find Laila soon, I’m not sure if I will ever be able to smell properly again!” 

            “Don’t be dramatic now,” I chided gently. “I know you don’t like the young Gamma but for the sake of Laila, you need to start working together with him. We owe this to her. I’m sorry that I can’t be there with you now and I should be, but you know how the situation is currently. I can’t leave our State now, not when the vampire community needs our support.” 

            “I understand, Mama. Don’t worry about us. I give you my word that I would do everything necessary to find Laila. I’m just, disappointed, exasperated, I guess? It has only been two years since we had some semblance of peace and everything was going so well. Why can’t everyone just get their s**t together and be decent people?! Not all vampires are evil, I mean, Laila’s father is not only trying to save his own daughter, he’s trying to bring down the slave trade, for crying out loud! How many people can say that they would look at the big picture and do what’s best for everyone when their own blood is in danger?” 

            It pained me to see my younger daughter on the verge of tears. Ana had always been strong and after her older sister left us, she had taken it upon herself to put duty ahead of everything. In two more moons, Ana would be celebrating her first centennial birthday and for most witches, we would leave our coven to find our mates after this birthday. With everything that was happening around us now, it seemed unlikely that Ana would be able to have the centennial birthday that she deserved nor would she be able to put down everything to begin the next phase of her life. It was the last thing that I wanted for my only surviving child, but I knew that our Goddess had her own plans, and each generation had their own battles to fight.