The Prophecy of the Second Moon

Finally they meet

Shay’s grandfather, Theodore, had gone all out with the decorations for the ball, sparing no expense. An innocent spectator would probably say he wanted to present their coven in the best light, but Shaylin knew the truth; it was a sparkly reminder of their power in order to show supremacy over their werewolf guests who Theo despised above all.

He had the arbored walkway leading to the compound lined up on each side with a row of large crystal orbs equally spaced apart and filled with thousands of tiny fairy lights, enchanted so that they emanated the changing icy blue and gold and pinkish hues illuminating the path through the darkness of the forest. Above, the tear shaped vials filled with sparkling liquid in the same hues as lights, floated in the air like a detachment of fairy guards on duty forming a welcoming line and keeping an eye over the delegates in attendance. The liquid in the vials glowed and moved like little wave pools, splashing against the glass walls of their confinement. Normally a much darker pathway the guests needed to take by foot, usually illuminated only by the intricate lanterns of woven wood, now looked ethereal, and Shay had to give it to Theodore; regardless of the intentions behind it, it was rather impressive.

“I guess that is the bonus of being an elder or the grand master of the coven and being blessed with wielding the real magic,'' Shaylin mused while admiring the lights from her bedroom window overlooking the entire west side of the forest, feeling almost mournful she was not and will never be blessed the same way her father and grandfather were.

Noone knew for sure why it worked like this as it was not the case in the earliest of days nor was it the same for every other coven in existence, but for ages now only the designated elder and grandmaster of the Amber coven were blessed with the gift of The Essence.

From the beginning of time the Amber coven drew their magic from the amber trees they held blessed and protected, dealing mostly in arcane, nature and divine magic. Unfortunately, when the Curse fell upon them the power sources dwindled and split. Some were blessed with preserving the real, most potent, magic the ancient texts knew as The Essence and thus wielded it with no limits, while some preserved no magic at all. Most, however, held on to at least some of the special abilities; some of the members still had the gift of increased strength while others, like Shay and the ones chosen as warrior mages, could do basic spells.

The magic they wielded was no state of the art but it served its purpose on the battlefield by casting elemental armour spells to protect the wearer, creating protection barriers for their troops or slowing down the enemy using the stun spells that worked magic regardless of the enemy being in their human or beast form.

However, and to the despair of many who tried to overcome this disability, The Essence was bestowed only upon the select two and passed down the line by succession of power ceremonies.

Against all odds and with no viable explanation thus far, Shay discovered she was showing signs of nurturing the very Essence in her blood on the very day she came of age. Much like the werewolves met their wolf counterpart when they came of age and became ready to find their mate, the witches normally found their magic and were blessed with their beloved anywhere between eighteen to twenty-two years of age.

Being lost to their coven, many never experienced coming of age in its full glory of being imbued with The Essence; the sudden surge of unimaginable energy filling you to the brim and making you feel like your every pore is on fire or struck by lightening…it had been said that it was both painful and exhilarating in the same time, making the experience unforgettable.

Shay could not say she was lucky enough to have felt the full extent of that surge of power cuz what she felt on her 22nd birthday was more of a light electricity zap than a powerful strike of a lightning bolt Alistair’s dusty tomes were describing, but she was sure she felt something nonetheless; however impossible that should have been. For that reason alone and out of fear her people would call her crazy she decided to never share that significant event with anyone else... That is, anyone aside from her trusted trio; her father, Alistair the Wise One. how she liked to tease him, and Zoelle; that woman could make the devil bleed ice cold water if provoked.

She was not going to squander that unexpected gift either, so she made sure to try and expand her magic further. Given her busy schedule, she was left with no other choice but to get up before dawn each day and train in secrecy when everyone else was still asleep.

Being nosy and always in the wrong place at the wrong time, it was not before long that the brothers and her best male friends, Markus and Darius, caught her red handed one morning when they decided to go out for a morning jog earlier than expected, so now the circle of people who knew about it grew. Instead of throwing a fit as per usual, the brothers saw this as an omen from Gaia and offered to be Shay’s live training dummies. Little by little she had grown stronger and soon her enviable combat skills met their match in the potent magic that coursed through her veins. Alas, now more than ever she felt it was paramount that no one else found out about her blessing, least of them being her brother and grandfather.

“Oh god, they are going to hound me for a week once they see me in this dress,'' Shay thought out loud. Markus and Darius were twins, something that was rare in their species, but they had taken Shaylin under their wing when she had started school with them. Her grandfather had said they were only doing this to gain rank, but in fact they proved to be more like brothers to her then her own brother had.

When Shay started training as a warrior, instead of mocking her like Hendric did, saying a woman’s place should be in bed birthing children, Markus and Dariushad enrolled into the ranks too. When she surpassed them in the program they never held it against her or got jealous of a woman for outranking them, rather they took her lead and only tried even harder themselves. Now the three of them were classified as an elite team and were always deployed on missions together. She knew they loved her with the same fervour she loved them and would easily die for her, but even more than loving her…they loved messing ‘with’ her . They would never let her forget about this dress, she just knew it.

As Shaylin watched the cars pull up and residents gathering around to watch the show as if Hollywood celebrities were about to exit those cars, she saw a couple of all black latest Grand Wagoneers drive up the driveway. Shaylin watched and intrigued herself as 16 men and women exited the four almost trailer-sized cars with their heads held high and was amazed with how the people interacted with each other. While she had been out into the world on many occasions it was always on a mission; she never really had much time to socialise with those outside her species or even outside of her warrior ranks. The only exception to that rule was spending time with Zoelle.

After the death of her mother there were no spontaneous celebrations of nature and late night dances around the bonfires in the woods, except when a union of two newfound beloveds had to be formed. The Coven seemed in a permanent state of mourning; being her young self of 5 when it happened, she hadn't really understood everything that came to pass since Hendric didn't talk at all for about two months after and no matter what anybody had done, nothing helped.

Being only a little girl that she was at the time and remembering what her mother’s dying wish was, she did her best that she knew of…she would sit by him when he did not even spare her a glance as if she did not exist, trying to play with him and even tried giving him her new favourite white plush bunny their mother gave her for that very birthday, a week before she passed. Each time she draw closer to try and hug him, comfort him any way she could, she got pushed away and thrown a toy at, breaking her little heart little by little even more and leaving her in silent tears every time; as if it was not enough she lost her mother for all eternity, an unfair burden had been placed on her fragile shoulders no child should carry, and she felt like she was failing not only her mother, but brother as well.

Eventually their grandfather had finally gotten him to talk, but he was never the same again after that…alas, his conduct toward Shay only worsened from that moment on. Soon they stopped spending any time together as Theodore was slowly sinking his claws deeper under Hendric’s skin while at the same time, never sparing Shay a moment of his time. Shaylin could do nothing but watch her brother drifting away from her more with each passing day, leaving her feeling broken, alone, helpless and abandoned by the two closest members of her family. Her only two strongholds from that moment on had been her father, and her grandmother Thea who did her best in trying to do what she knew could never succeed at entirely; taking her mother’s place. It never stopped her though from trying to be the best role model for Shaylin as she was growing up. Shaylin remembered Thea’s words while being snuggled in her embrace even today: “What you have gone through my dear, no child should live to see and feel. I know I cannot be a mother for you in the way Mina was…but I promise you will have a safe place in me to confide in, attentive ears eager to hear you sing again, and warm arms to hold you if you ever need a hug. I love you my dear girl and it breaks my heart to see the defeated silence your tears flow in.” Shaylin remembered the hug that followed too, the hug that broke the dam barely holding on within her little heart and she sobbed in her granny’s arms for hours to come.

It was at this point that she noticed the Nightblade pack’s Alpha exit last from the vehicle. There was no mistaking who he was as he was ridiculously tall, taller even than Hendric who could shame most people that she knew. If the Alpha’s sheer size was not enough, there was no doubt left in her mind of who he was when the delegation he was with and who formed a line on each side of the car doors, bowed their heads in respect when he walked by them.

Catching movement with the corner of her eyes, her attention drifted over to where her grandfather, father and brother walked down the perron of the main building of the compound to welcome the visiting pack into their home. Shay rolled her eyes as she found it overkill. The apparent act of friendliness. The pompousness and the grandeur. It had nothing to do with how things really were and she hated the forced fakeness.

The delegation followed their Alpha towards where Corin, Hendric and Elder Theo stood waiting. Shay however stopped looking at them exchanging compliments as her eyes were suddenly drawn to a man in the back looking around; scanning the perimeter for possible threats, she thought, the way a good warrior would. And she knew a warrior when she saw one.

Shay watched him all the way as he slowly followed the delegation, always two steps behind and on high alert. The confidence in the way he moved told Shay he must have been of some significance in the pack and not just a security guard.

Feeling a strange pull to this foreign man, Shay turned around from the window and rushed to quickly slip into her astonishing pair of heels; black velvet pumps with a 5 inch heel carved in the form of a leaf-like ornament and polished out of a raw emerald, magically reinforced to withstand her body’s weight. She could easily make a stop in the human city and get herself a pair of Manolo Blahnik’s but why not use her secret abilities for something other than whooping Markus’ and Darius’ ass in magic training. This was as good exercise as any and the best part about it, no one would be able to tell she did them herself as no one knew of her little on and off hobby that was so unlike her. She really did enjoy making things out of scratch by using her magic but unfortunately she rarely had time for it.

Hugging Zoelle on her way out, Shay quickly exited her bedroom and made her way down the corridor and a long set of stairs, eager to get to the ballroom as soon as she could. As she reached the top of the last flight of stairs, already deeply regretting wearing any type of heels whatsoever, the Nightblade pack’s members had just entered the large atrium that was the ballroom.

Corin noticed his daughter immediately and clapped his hands in honest excitement.

“Ah, finally! I would like to introduce you to my daughter, Shaylin,” Corin exclaimed and pointed to her with a gesture of his hand. ”Will you please come down and join us, dear?”

“Yes father, I’ll be right down”, Shay answered as ladylike as she could, considering she was gripping onto the bannister for dear life while trying to look casual. She could swear she could hear Zoelle throw a fit of giggles somewhere behind her, but when she turned around ready to throw daggers, there was no one to be seen. Shaylin took a deep breath and proceeded to descend the stairway in what she could only hope was a graceful manner as that already proved to be a true effort for her; she felt more like a newborn calf using its wobbly legs for the first time then a graceful deer she was hoping for. Oh well, one could not expect much from someone who spent half their life in combat boots, now could they?

“Shaylin, I would like to introduce you to the Alpha Ivan and Luna Renee Thunderridge of the Nightblade pack,” Corin said as she reached the last step. Just as she was about to step down on the safe ground, her heel got caught in the loose thread of the woven carpet that adorned the staircase. Out of all the f*****g time in the world, it took the very moment she started stumbling forward to finally lock eyes with the one she was looking for; the same one who was at her side in an unnatural speed to steady her flustered self before she fell, and the same one who breathed out incredulously the very last thing she would expect to hear from a werewolf directed at her.

“Mate…”