The Rogue’s Vow

The Black Moon Rises

The fifth banner did not fall.

It burned black snow where it stood.

Magnus Blackwood did not come down.

He howled once more, deep howl that made even Pack of Source howl falter for half breath.

Then banner vanished, as if wind took it.

But black burned snow remained, circle wide as cart, where no blue light could touch.

Althea stared at black circle, face older than before.

"That is void mark," she whispered.

"He drank from outer vein too long."

"Outer vein is dead vein."

"It gives power but takes soul."

"He is hollow now."

Ember pressed hand to stomach, where baby kicked hard, as if it heard grandfather's howl and answered.

Julian pulled Ember closer, blade still wet with North Ridge blood.

"He saw beacon," Julian said, voice low.

"He saw blue dome."

"He knows heir quickens."

"He will come with more than howl."

Caelum climbed down from wall steps, despite wounded legs, leaning on Devlin.

"He was my Alpha once," Caelum said, eyes on black circle.

"Before he sealed Althea."

"Before he let Marcus bathe at twelve."

"He was afraid of source choosing woman."

"He believed only Blackwood male can hold source."

"Lyra proved him wrong."

"Ember proves him wrong again."

"So he will try to take child and make it his vessel."

Marcus, still on knees where Ember healed him, laughed bitter, no humor.

"He told me at twelve that source would choose me."

"That I would be first true Blackwood in thousand years."

"He poured outer vein water on my head and said burn if you are weak."

"I burned for three days."

"But I lived."

"So I believed him."

"Until today."

He looked at Ember's glowing hands.

"I never glowed blue."

"I glowed black and red, like iron hot."

"Wrong color."

"Wrong heir."

Ember knelt again, though legs shook, though baby kicked, though hundred rogues watched.

"Marcus," she said quietly.

"Where did Magnus live after chapel fire?"

"Where is outer vein entrance he drinks from?"

Marcus closed eyes, remembering pain.

"Under Karst Hollow."

"Behind furnace."

"There is c***k in rock that leads down to black pool."

"He built throne there, from melted silver bullets."

"He sits and drinks black water and talks to wall that whispers back."

"He calls wall Mother."

"But Mother is dead vein, not source."

"It lies."

Julian cursed, turning to Devlin.

"Devlin, you took riders to Karst, did you see furnace throne?"

Devlin, back from ride, breath hard, nodded.

"Furnace cold now, Alpha."

"But behind it, c***k glows faint black, like void mark here."

"We did not enter."

"Joren is there, tied, said Magnus left hour before beacon, said he would watch beacon and return with army of hollowed."

"Hollowed?"

"Men who drank outer vein," Althea said, voice hollow herself.

"They do not die."

"They do not live."

"They obey who drinks deepest."

"Marcus was almost hollowed at twelve."

"That is why his hands burned black."

Ember stood, decision forming, despite pain, despite weeks left, despite baby.

"We cannot wait for him to come," she said.

"Source chose us today."

"Pack of Source howled."

"If we wait, he will come when baby comes, when I am weak."

"We go to outer vein now."

"Before he gathers hollowed."

Julian grabbed her wrist, amber eyes gold, possessive, afraid.

"Ember, you are carrying my child."

"You glow blue, you bleed blue, you kick like Alpha, Lily said."

"You cannot go into dead vein that makes black snow."

"I will go."

"You stay behind dome."

Ember pulled wrist, but gently, not fighting.

"Julian," she said, voice soft so only he heard, though hundred listened.

"You took two arrows for caged old man who was not your blood."

"You took blade for me on dais."

"You took axe for brother who tried to kill us."

"Now let me take risk for child who is ours."

"If outer vein lies to Magnus, it will lie to baby."

"I need to close it before baby quickens more."

"Althea can help me close it."

"Source mother can close dead mother."

Althea nodded, though hands trembled.

"I closed outer vein once, twenty five years ago, with Magnus's father helping."

"It took my freedom."

"He sealed me inside to keep it closed."

"Now it opens again because Magnus drinks."

"We must seal again, but this time not with body."

"With heir blood."

"Your blood, Ember."

"Your child blood, mixed."

"Blue will kill black."

Julian looked at Althea, at Caelum, at Marcus, at hundred rogues who now knelt but would stand if Ember asked.

He knew he could not win argument with Luna who made pack from nothing.

He nodded once, sharp.

"We go together."

"All of us."

"Pack of Source goes to Karst."

Caelum stepped forward, despite age, despite wounds.

"I know old path to Karst c***k, path Lyra used as girl to hide from Magnus."

"I will lead."

Lily tugged Ember's cloak again.

"Can I come?" she whispered.

"Baby kicked me, I am pack now."

Ember smiled, though tears.

"No, Lily."

"You guard Keep with Althea's dome."

"You are pack heart."

"If we do not come back, you tell baby its mother howled loud."

Lily cried, but nodded, small hand on Ember's stomach one last time.

Baby kicked, blue light shooting up Lily's arm again, making her giggle through tears.

"She says she will come back," Lily declared.

"Girl says she is Alpha already."

Rogues laughed, but laugh broke fast.

Because black circle on ridge began to spread.

Black snow eating blue glowing earth, inch by inch, toward Keep.

Void mark growing.

"Time," Althea whispered, eyes wide.

"He feeds it from afar."

"Outer vein spreads when inner vein wakes."

"Balance."

"We must go now."

Julian shouted orders, voice Alpha, carrying across plain where North Ridge bodies lay, where Iron Fang fled, where Frost Wolf dragged wounded.

"Devlin, take twenty Blackwood, guard Keep walls."

"Caelum, lead."

"Marcus, you come, you know throne."

"Rogues, ten strongest come, rest guard Lily and wounded and Silver Crest thirty seven."

"Ember, you ride with me, not walk."

He lifted Ember onto his horse, despite her protest, despite her wanting to walk as Luna.

She sat sideways, because stomach glowed too bright to sit normal, because baby kicked.

He mounted behind her, arm around her, protective, possessive, pack.

Hundred rogues howled as horse galloped north, toward Karst Hollow where furnace glowed faint red again though Joren tied, where c***k glowed black, where throne of melted bullets waited, where Magnus's whisper wall waited.

Behind them, blue dome over Keep pulsed, holding, but black circle on ridge pulsed too, answering.

Two veins awake after twenty five years sleep.

One blue, source, mother of all packs, choosing Ember.

One black, dead, hollow, choosing Magnus.

And between them, child not yet born, kicking, glowing, heir to both, target of both, hope of one, weapon of other.

War for source was over.

War for child had just begun.

And war for veins would be decided tonight, in Karst c***k, under furnace, where first Blackwood bathed and went hollow.

Ember pressed Julian's hand to her stomach, where second heartbeat thumped fast, fainter than hers, but steady.

"Feel?" she whispered.

Julian felt kick, strong, blue light through her leathers, through his palm, up his arm, making his amber eyes flare gold.

"I feel," he whispered.

"Our daughter."

"Our Alpha."

"Our Source."

Horse galloped faster, toward black glow, toward throne, toward father who should be dead, toward wall that whispers lies, toward sealing that would need blood.

And far north, Magnus Blackwood, sitting on melted bullet throne, drinking black water, heard pack howl, heard baby kick through veins, and smiled with teeth black as void mark.

"Come, granddaughter," he whispered to black pool that reflected not his face, but Ember's glowing stomach.

"Come let grandfather teach you what source really is."

"Not pack."

"Not love."

"Power."

Black pool bubbled, as if agreeing.

Hollowed men behind throne stood, eyes white, waiting.

Army of hollowed, waiting for beacon to call them to Keep.

Beacon that was baby.

Devlin returned from ridge, hand over wound, face pale.

"Alpha, black snow spreads faster when Ember glows," he reported.

"When Luna healed Marcus, black circle grew finger width."

"When baby kicked for Lily, it grew hand width."

"It feeds on blue."

Althea closed eyes, understanding old law.

"Source and void are twins," she said.

"One cannot wake without other stirring."

"When Lyra died in Moon Vein, I thought outer vein would sleep forever because mother vein poisoned her."

"But she carried Caelum's child, your mother, Ember."

"Child drank poison and lived, becoming bridge."

"You are bridge now."

"Your blue feeds his black."

"Your child will be bridge stronger."

"That is why Magnus wants child."

"Not to open source."

"To hold both veins in one body and become god."

Caelum knelt beside black circle, despite Devlin shouting not to touch.

He touched edge where blue met black.

Blue light hissed, black light hissed, both burning his old hand that wore Lyra's ring.

Ring glowed blue for first time in twenty five years.

"Lyra's ring," Caelum whispered.

"She took it from outer vein as girl, said it was promise from mother."

"It was source ring, not void ring."

"It slept while Magnus held void."

"Now it wakes because Ember wakes source."

He pulled ring off, shaking, offered to Ember.

"Take it, little wolf."

"Your mother wore it when she hid in Moon Vein pregnant with you."

"It protected you then."

"It will protect your daughter now."

Ember took ring with glowing hand.

Ring slid onto finger, though too large, then shrank, fitting perfect, glowing blue brighter than before, pulsing with baby's heartbeat.

Julian watched, jaw tight, because ring was from Caelum, not from him, but he said nothing, because Luna needed armor.

Marcus watched too, eyes on ring, remembering his father gave Lyra same ring and then took it back when she refused to give child to outer vein.

"Lyra refused," Marcus whispered.

"Father wanted her child for void."

"She ran to Moon Vein and died there rather than give child to him."

"Now history repeats."

"But this time child lives."

Ember touched ring, then stomach, then Julian's cheek, where blood still dried from battle.

"Then we break history tonight," she said.

"We seal void for good."

"No more rings taken."

"No more children given to black water."

"No more brothers burning at twelve."

"No more mothers dying in veins."

Julian nodded, lifting her again onto horse, because black circle now wide as house, creeping toward Keep walls, and blue dome cracked louder.

"Ride," Althea shouted, already moving toward horses though old.

"Before void reaches dome and both shatter and Kill all inside."

"Source dome and void mark cannot touch."

"If they touch, Keep explodes with both lights."

"Everyone inside dies, including Lily."

Rogues howled fear, because they had just found pack and did not want to lose it to exploding lights.

Ember kicked horse, not waiting.

Horse galloped, Julian behind, Caelum and Marcus and Althea and ten rogues and Devlin following, dust and blue glowing earth and black snow flying.

Behind them, Keep's blue dome flickered, fighting black circle that crawled closer inch by inch, like living shadow hungry for light.

Lily stood on wall, small hand raised, shouting after them, "Come back, Luna!"

"Come back with baby still kicking!"

Ember did not turn, because tears would fall and she needed to see path.

She pressed ring to stomach, feeling baby kick ring, feeling blue light shoot stronger, feeling second heartbeat steady, defiant, Alpha already.

"We will come back," she whispered to stomach, to Lily, to Keep, to pack.

"We are Pack of Source."

"We do not bow to black."