9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Nina welcomed me with a flicker of her lights and a shudder that ran through the walls. Lucy! It is good to see you.

I smiled. ‘The pleasure is mine.' I turned to the dark seraph who was still lurking protectively at my heels. Sara was looking around my comfy library nook a little wide eyed. As always, a fire was burning in the hearth and a cup of tea had appeared. After a moment, a second cup of tea appeared for Sara.

‘Nina,' I said, ‘I'd like to introduce you to Sara.'

What is she? Nina asked curiously. She is wolf, and yet … not.

She used to be a werewolf then she was cursed to be a gargoyle. Now she is a dark seraph.

She has wings. Nina's tone was full of wonder.

Yes.

Can she access her air magic? she asked astutely .

Yes. That's kind of why I'm here.

Interesting. I could almost imagine the small dryad at the heart of the building tapping her lip as she thought. How can I help, my Queen?

I spoke out loud for Sara's benefit. ‘I want to talk more about the orb. Where was it stored?'

Nina tended to be quite literal; rather than reply, she liked to show me. The floor below my feet disappeared and I plummeted down to the room below. I let out an undignified screech but before I could land on the ground below, Sara snagged my T-shirt, slowed my descent and carefully lowered me to the floor. My top was up around my armpits so I was safe – but completely undignified as I flashed my bra to all and sundry.

When Sara released me, I snagged the T-shirt and pulled it back down. ‘Sorry,' she muttered.

I waved away her apology. ‘I would rather sacrifice my dignity than my life. You did the right thing.'

Nina made a pfffft noise in my head. You were never in danger. It was only a little fall. She sounded distinctly sulky.

Of course I wasn't, I soothed. The only thing in danger was my butt from the hard landing. Realistically though, Esme's sharper reflexes would have kicked in and she would have landed cat-like on our feet. Evidently my thoughts were a bit too loud in our skull because inside my head Esme glared at me with piercing golden eyes.

Not cat-like, she muttered mutinously. Dog-like. Canine-like. Lupine-like. We are not a feline. She spat the last word at me. Oops!

Of course not, I said again, this time in an attempt to mollify my wolf. We are a mighty canine. With excellent balance.

She sniffed. All canines have excellent balance. Why cats get their reputation is beyond me. We are obviously far superior in every way.

Obviously, I agreed hastily. I could still see her glaring at me but she sat her backside down and started grooming her paw. Like a cat. I stifled the giggle that wanted to bubble up.

‘Something amusing?' Sara asked.

‘My wolf,' I explained briefly, without thinking.

‘Ah,' Sara replied. She gave a wistful smile and the grief in her eyes was so sudden and true that it hit me like a punch to the gut. I was an unthinking twat; she had lost her wolf with the witches' curse.

I reached out and touched her arm lightly. ‘Sorry, that was insensitive of me.'

‘Not at all. I am glad you find joy in your wolf. It is right that you do. I found joy in my Zoie when she was with me. I like to think that she is waiting for me in the Great Pack, and when I die we will be reunited in the beyond.'

Her grief was palpable, even though it had been centuries since her wolf had been torn from her. ‘It just took me by surprise, that's all. I live amongst wolves now.' She thrust back her shoulders. ‘I will be better prepared next time.' Her smile sweetened. ‘And it is nice to be reminded of what I once was. Those were such golden years.' She slid me a wink. ‘Pun intended.'

I gave her a flat look: terrible puns were not to be encouraged, but if anything my mock scowl only made her smile widen and she snickered.

‘Anyway,' I said, drawing the word out dramatically, ‘the orb.' I turned my attention to the room that Nina had literally chucked us into. I could tell it had once been a fine room but now it looked like a nightmare-scape. The ornate paintwork was peeling, the red walls looked faintly threatening and the pedestal, which was clearly intended to be the centrepiece of the room, was empty.

‘No lighting?' I asked Nina. A moment later a flaming torch appeared.

Sorry, the orb used to light the room, she muttered, her tone faintly embarrassed.

Okay, the orb glowed. Check. ‘Tell me about it,' I said. ‘The orb? '

It was beautiful, she cooed. It was a bright pearlescent white, the size of your hand. She paused. I will tell you the legend of Lochlan. The tale goes that Lochlan was walking along a beach when he saw a mighty clam washed up upon the shore. Something about the craggy clam called to him and he set about opening it.

For two days and two nights he worked to pry it open, but the wind blew and howled at him, trying to get him to leave. No amount of cold air would force him to abandon his treasure. By then his need for what was inside was hot and feverish, and the constant wind merely served to cool him. He was driven by more than his greed; it was said that Destiny herself was riding him.

On the third day he wrenched it open and took a large pearl from its depths. He was cold from his exertions and the icy wind, so he laid the orb down into the earth and started a fire to warm himself by. When he was warm again, with treasure secured, Lochlan hastened to his pack's caves to show them what he had found.

Alas, his flames had caught the eye of some local vampyrs, and on his way home he was set upon by a whole clan of the ravening beasts. He thought his death was certain but nonetheless he shifted, determined to fight to his last breath as is right and proper. As he started towards the vampyrs, armed with tooth and claw, a great wind struck them and felled them as one.

The wolf, not being stupid, took the opportunity to flee. He was bereft as he ran, mourning the loss of the beautiful jewel he had worked so hard to free. Imagine his joy then, when he shifted to human and found the orb once more in his hands. It had not been lost like the loincloth he had been wearing.

He continued onwards to his home, but he did not yet truly understand what he had found. For a year and a day he kept the Great Sea Rock, as it was known, permanently by his side. He held the coveted jewel or had it in a bag on his person at all times.

Across the passage of time he learned that he alone wielded its power. He could thrust his foes into trees or walls with the force of his airy blows and his reputation grew. The Great Pack told him to teach others, but he was reluctant until his mate became with child. Suddenly he wanted all of the pack to be able to protect her with all of the wind in the world.

He built a pedestal of rough-hewn stone and drenched it with his blood. He communed with the Sea Rock and then, placing it for the first time away from him, he taught the other wolves the way of the air. The Great Pack spread the lesson far and wide and the wolves became a formidable foe .

I waited for a moment but Nina didn't go on. ‘Well?' I asked impatiently. ‘What happened? What happened to Lochlan?'

Oh. Well. I felt her grimace. One of his rivals in his pack used his new air power to kill him.

I gaped. ‘That's not supposed to happen! Where was his happy ever after? What happened to his child? Did it survive?'

It did not get through labour. Mother and babe were killed before it could be born lest it had an affinity for the Sea Rock like Lochlan.

‘That is horrendous,' I muttered, folding my arms.

‘What?' Sara asked, eyes curious. I quickly recounted the horrifying story. When I finished, she merely snorted. ‘Figures. Some other asshole was a greedy alpha.'

Evidently so. It was a timely reminder that I needed to be on guard and to watch who I trusted. Not everyone got their happily ever after. And I wanted mine, dammit.

‘Okay, so we know about the orb's origins – loosely – but what about how it was lost? When did it get taken?' I asked.

The walls shook as Nina's agitation grew. It was after the Great Pack had been ripped away from us all. It was like my eyes were stolen from me. It took me a long time to adjust but at the time, in my pain and agony, I wasn't focusing on the orb. I didn't see it taken, didn't notice the intruder.

All was in disarray. My despair was complete. I could no longer speak to the wolves in my care, nor could they speak to me. I was alone and scared. My eyes were inward, and that's when they struck. She gave a small sob. I should never have taken my eyes off of the orb. Of course, that's when— She broke off and cleared her throat.

‘When what?'

Nothing, she said quickly. Nothing happened after the theft. It was business as usual.

She was keeping something from me and she may as well have been whistling loudly for all her subtlety. I let it slide; I'd try and get the information out of her another day but for now my focus was on the orb.

I reached out, touched Nina's amaranth-red walls and stroked them lightly. ‘I'm sorry you went through all that. That was horrible, but you can't blame yourself. It's not your fault, Nina. Whoever took the orb attacked you at a time when you were most vulnerable.' I bit my thumb as I thought. ‘It can't have been a coincidence that they struck when they did,' I mused out loud.

You think whoever took the orb was working with the witches?

‘Or it was the witches themselves,' I suggested with a faint frown. Amber was my friend, and we had spent weeks together making Jess's amulet for her wedding. If Amber knew that a witch – or the Coven Council – had stolen the werewolves' lost orb, surely she would have said something?

But this realm held all secrets as sacred, and I wasn't sure where our friendship fell in her list of priorities. I hoped it was high because that was where she was on my list, but nothing in life is certain.

Could Amber be withholding a huge secret from me? Definitely. Would she? I wasn't so sure. But now was as good a time as any to find out.