Daughter of the Tides, Servants of the Moon Book 2

Helios Des Rues glanced around the elegant Miami penthouse. The black marble and red accents appealed to him. The vampires always seemed to have the best tastes in decor. He strolled among his mother’s witches as they gathered the blood and hearts of the dead Shadow-walkers. It had almost been too easy. The wolf warriors who were loyal to him were indulging themselves in the last surviving females. One by one their screams fell silent. He wished he could enjoy the spoils of their victory, but since scenting their mate, his wolf tended to maim or kill any female he tried to breed.

Much to his mother’s very vocal disappointment, he had not been able to impregnate any female during the fertility rituals which brought many pregnancies for his followers. Frustratingly, few of those pups survived and those that did failed to thrive. Helios needed an army and if he couldn’t breed one, he would buy one.

There were several small but warrior-strong packs he had acquired once he began absorbing the wealth of the Vampires to bribe them. The small packs that resisted him simply joined the Vampires. Last summer had been particularly profitable, and the fall had added much needed warriors which his aloof Uncle Lothaire was training. Soon Helios would have more than enough wealth and loyalty of warriors to take over his father’s pack.

His mother’s second exited a room holding a small, tear-stained girl in a stupor.

“My Alpha, the child has been spared per Priestess Soleil’s request. What shall I do with her?” The pale ancient woman asked in a raspy voice.

“We will take her to my boat for now, then after I have entertained those foolish alphas, we will sail south and take her to the first temple where she will be sacrificed.” Helios smoothed the whimpering child’s hair. “Such a lovely little creature to have such powerful blood waiting to be offered to our god. Mother should reward you with a new body.”

The crone’s ancient wrinkles shifted into something that might be a smile. “You have always been more generous than Soleil.”

“My mother places her trust in those who pander to her, instead of those with true power and devotion. They make mistakes, like Huicotl. Find yourself a new vessel, Tepzika, there are many of our descendants living in this city.”

The Sunwolf had found another coven, a small one hidden in a great city. He killed them all except for a toddler, a little girl. The waves of the tides thrashed around her as the Goddess of the Moon, comforted her sister, The Three-faced Goddess over the loss of her children. The Delphi understood that she needed to save this child. Turning she saw smoke where there was no fire, the wisp became a form and the Augur Vampyr stepped forth from shadow and incense.

“Sister,” they greeted each other at the same time.

“What are we to do?” Lanea asked Del.

“I will go through the Tides to the place the child has been taken,” Del volunteered.

“I will send Viktor to help you,” Lanea added. “We must not let them use her blood. She is the daughter of a royal who is the banished son of a king.”

“It is almost time for you to leave.” Del turned to face her. “I will miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too.”

“Daughters, it is time for you to do your duty. Use our gifts to save this child.”

The Delphi and the Augur turned to see their goddesses standing side by side. The females both dropped to their knees as the power of the deities surrounded them.

The Augur Vampyr walked from her scrying room. Tendrils of incense smoke wafted and floated around her like halos of ribbon. Her eyes were completely black. Max followed her without a sound. He did not know what was going on, but he could sense that this being in front of him was not his beloved. Viktor opened his door before she reached it. He had a pack and a sword prepared, he bowed until his forehead touched the tops of her bare feet.

“Sanctis mater mea. (My sacred mother).” His voice was deep and reverent.

“Exorior, protectorem, (come forth, protector),” The Augur spoke but it was not her voice. It was the voice of someone ancient and powerful.

Above ground, the Augur Vampyr walked out onto the frozen water of the pond. When Viktor and Max hesitated, she held out her hand and repeated her summons. Viktor walked out onto the ice. The moon shone more brightly around them and the was a strange glowing beneath the ice. Luminous cracks appeared. The frozen surface beneath Viktor’s feet shattered and water shot into the air, freezing in spikes as Viktor was pulled under into the glowing eddy.

The moonlight faded to normal as the glowing water vanished. Lanea looked at Max with her normal ruby eyes, blinked once and collapsed. Rushing forward, he lifted his beloved from the surface of the frozen pond, then carried her inside. As he laid her on their bed, her eyes fluttered open.

“Tell the others, it is time. We must be at the coast tomorrow night. The ship is coming through behind the first ice breaker.” Then her head lolled, and she was asleep.

A frigid spring storm lashed the Temple Island, Delilah walked from her scrying room as though in a trance, moonlight still glowed in her eyes and shimmered across her moon marks. The door to her rooms opened and she brushed her fingers over Ainsley’s coppery curls as she entered. Del stood still as the young acolyte untied the shoulders of her oracle gown, letting it fall and pool around her feet. Chocolate colored fur began to replace skin, while Ainsley stood quietly to the side, holding a wolfpack. She clipped it onto the large brown wolf, rubbing her cheek against its soft fur and getting a fond lick in return. Its eyes shined like the moon and an ethereal light also glowed from its moon marks.

“Be careful, Delphi,” Ainsley whispered almost silently as she opened the window.

A white glowing wolf stood beyond in the dark forest. Del’s wolf leaped out into the snow and followed it. Ainsley closed the window against the cold as the Moon’s wolf led the Delphi’s wolf away. She watched them disappear in the blowing snow.

The door slammed open and Essie rushed in, looking around frantically. “Del?”

Ainsley looked up from where she was wrapped in a blanket on the windowseat, reading a book.

“Ainsley, did you see the Delphi? She isn’t in her scrying room...” Essie bent and picked up Del’s gown from the floor. “Ainsley? Where did she go?”

Ainsley flipped to a drawing in her notebook of swirls of glowing water holding the shadows of two wolves, and held it out to Essie. She signed with her hands.

‘The Delphi goes where the Moon sends her.’

Wide-eyed, Essie swore colorfully as she mind-linked Kaiyou. A moment later, the Shogunate Wolf’s powerful voice boomed in the minds of every wolf on the island.

“All Servants and Temple Pack. Find the Delphi. Stop her from leaving the island alone.”

Ainsley started laughing silently as her wolf reached out to Comhnyall’s to tell him where to look.

“What’s so funny, little fox?” Essie demanded.

Ainsley pointed to her notepad, her fingers danced the words in motion. ‘The path of the Moon only has room for two.’

Narrowing her eyes, Essie asked. “Which two?” Handing the small sketch pad back.

‘The king-to-be and his oracle.’ Ainsley scribbled. Then she stared out at the snow for a few moments.

“The Moon does realize Nyall doesn’t want the job?” Essie scowled. “She should care when Her children don’t want to do something.”

Dark golden eyes glowed ever so slightly with the warm light of the harvest moon as they regarded sapphire blue ones until the Wanderer was forced to look away. Essie only ever looked away from her sister.

Ainsley got up quietly and hugged Essie around the waist. “For their sakes, our Mother knows when She must push Her children. We all must wade through our moors of pain to walk in the fields of paradise.” Ainsley’s whispered words felt like a shout from the Goddess to Esther’s very soul.

Ainsley handed her another note on a drawing of the Eye of the Goddess temple and the Hidden Eye pool. Neatly in the corner was a note. ‘Please tell Elder Eliazar, they will arrive there soon.’

Essie pulled her cigarettes out and lit one. “So, they are heading for the Eye.” She drew a long puff then blew a smoke ring. “Pack your bags, little fox, we’re heading southwest to warm weather, maybe we’ll get to spend the rest of the winter there instead of in the frozen tundra.”

Comhnyall had just fallen asleep after a long cold day of patrolling and training when Kaiyou’s alert roused him. Nyall swore silently as he closed the door to his room and stalked outside, dropping into his fur. Many wolves were running in different directions. He felt Ainsley’s wolf nudge him.

“What is it, beag sionnach (little fox)?”

“I think Del be goin’ to the place where she sings her sorrow. She’s going to jump.”

“Thank ye, Ainsley.” His wolf sent the thought back to her and he sprinted toward the shortest way to the cliff.

He was almost to the top when he heard Del coming, running hard as usual. He scrambled the last few feet and braced his wolf between her wolf and the edge.

“Delphi, stop!” He snarled at her.

Her eyes and her moon marks glowed as she charged him. Too late, he realized her intent to take him with her off the cliff. She slammed into him with more power than he would have believed possible and they both went over the edge. He rolled them in the air, so he would be on the bottom when they hit the ice below. He realized he would probably be killed when they landed and he prayed to see Moire soon.

Suddenly, everything seemed to slow, the moonlight glowed around them more brightly than day and he heard the ice below them cracking like thunder. Instead of hitting the solid lake, water cushioned his back and they were sucked as though by a rapid current away from the surface. Her teeth sunk into his chest and her claws dug into his sides as she tried to hold them together in the twisting eddy.

Surprisingly, the temperature of the water was very warm, and it tasted salty as they surfaced. Nyall’s wolf watched as Del’s wolf swam powerfully to another glowing churning eddy. She grabbed an outstretched arm in her teeth and began swimming for shore as hard as she could. He watched the pale face of a vampire coughing as he held onto her pack before he began swimming for himself. They waded ashore looking and feeling half-drowned. Viktor unclipped her wolfpack as she lay panting. Then flesh replaced fur and she stood naked except for the glowing swirl of the moon’s paint covering her skin. Viktor was staring at her in reverence when she took her pack.

“Are you okay, Viktor?” Del asked as she dressed in simple knit leggings and a sweater, she seemed surprised at the contents of her waterproof bag then she tossed a pair of jeans and a shirt at Nyall.

“That... was quite a trip, Delphi,” Viktor answered. “I was not expecting it to be so turbulent.”

Del handed him a towel. “Traveling on the Tides is never a gentle ride.” She apologized. “But Lanea asked your goddess to asked mine to bring you here to help us.”

Nyall dressed without a word. He felt angry and manipulated. The clothes smelled of Ainsley. Del wrung out her hair and plaited it, then she pulled a cell phone out of a plastic bag.

“Locksley, we’re on the shore near a short, green-lit building.” Del reported then she listened. “I need two tuxs, one formal and the one with a kilt Essie sent you the measurements for, and a formal gown. Did you find the location of the boat called the Burning Sky?” Looking back to Viktor and Nyall, she calmly said. “We’re going to a party; a car will be picking us up in fifteen minutes. The Sunwolf has captured a vampire child, the granddaughter of one of the high vampire covens, a direct descendant of the first Vampyr King Bacus. She needs to go with you back to Patmos, Viktor.”

“Of course, Delphi. There are also several small covens that the Augur had me find, we will take them with us.” Viktor revealed.

“That would be wise.” Del agreed.

“And why am I here?” Nyall asked at last.

Del blinked her cornflower blue eyes at him, “You’re here because the Moon wishes to show the arrogant wolf hierarchy that She has already chosen a king. Tonight, you need to be everything that a son of the great Wemyss Warrior Wolves would be. I know you don’t believe in your destiny without your mate, but the Moon needs you to inspire other wolves who might fall away into temptation. You are here to show the Alphas of Des Rues that they failed to change her plans, monarch-to-be.”