‘We are linked by blood, and blood is memory without language.’ -Joyce Carol Dates Ember We arrived at the Scarlet Moon Pack gates within hours. Our horses were foaming and smelled of sweat as they breathed hard from running for so long. We pulled them to a stop in front of the guards that were standing at the gates. Bastet padded up beside us and sat down to rest while he panted loudly from running. The guard looked at Demir and me, our horses and then Bastet with wide eyes. “Can I help you?” he asked. “Yes. I’m Luna Ember of the Nightshade pack. I need to speak with Alpha Talon and Luna Lupa,” I said as I breathed heavily. The guard looked me over for a moment before his deep blue eyes went dull as he mind-linked Alpha Talon. Several uneasy moments went by before he came out of his mind-link and looked into my eyes. “You may go through to the stables. Alpha Talon will be with you in a moment,” the guard told me. “Thank you,” I said before pushing my hor
‘War makes for strange alliances, putting you into business with people that, under other circumstances, you wouldn’t even shake hands with.’ -Javier Pena Ember We stepped through the portal at the Black Ash Pack village and landed at the gates of the Drystan Clan Castle. It reminded me of the Timber Coven fortress that I grew up in. The stone walls were tall and gray but there were no trees close by. The sun was just setting on the day and I could hear the sounds of people moving around inside the castle. The clan was coming alive since they were nocturnal, still moving in the shadows waiting for the sun’s rays to finally disappear. As soon as the sun was gone, I watched as guards appeared on the walls with torches in their hands in order to watch for intruders. I looked to see how Corbin and Demir were taking this situation. Demir looked scared to death while Corbin was composed, but I could see the worry lines on his forehead. “We can do this. We’ll be fine,” I
‘Planning is a skill and an art which takes a lifetime to master.’ -Paddick Van Zyl Ember With everyone on Nightshade territory, it was now time to pull all the leaders into a planning meeting. I just hope there are no fights about what we are about to try and pull off and that this goes smoothly. We had stepped through the portal and landed at the front gates of the Nightshade village. I stopped and turned around to look out at the territory. Wren came walking up from behind me. I could tell it was her by the way she walked. “Are the leaders in the packhouse or are they out with their people?” I asked her. “They are all in the packhouse dining hall waiting for you,” she answered. “Good, let’s go,” I said. I turned around and walked into the village. I let Bastet jump to the ground and he ran ahead of us. Everyone followed me into the packhouse, including Wren and Demir. I walked into the dining hall to see the twelve other leaders sitting at a table a
‘All things share the same breath -the beast, the tree, the man. The air shares its spirit with all the life it supports.’ -Chief Seattle Dusan After leaving Nightshade, Toast and I traveled to the desolate cities of The Whispering Herbarius and the Tower of Terra. Those were the cities of the sorcerers that ten years ago were wiped out. I could only feel elementals, so there was no telling if any sorcerers had survived the attacks all those years ago. Anything was possible in life. While Soren and his forces were running rampant across the land, no one dared enter these two cities after they fell. He had guards at them at all times to make sure that no one entered them. I felt like it was his way of making sure they didn’t come back to
‘I haven’t met anyone that made me want to stay with them, more than I wanted to go and rescue you.’ -Jillian Dodd Ember When the door to the dungeon was gone, the fire went out. Even though the spot was still hot, I stepped through it and raced down the steps into the dungeon filled with cells. I spotted Killian and Reginald right away as they stood at the door of a small prison. I smiled and raced up to them. I kissed Killian’s lips through the bars of his cell while listening to the others fill the room. I was just happy to find Killian alive. When Killian pulled back from our kiss he said, “we need to free everyone down here.” “Ok,” I said and turned to look at C
‘Death is not the opposite of life, but a part of it.’ -Haruki Murakami Ember Killian and Bastet stood close by me watching down each end of the hallway we were in as I stood at the door of the room my father was in. My mind was racing with the possibilities of how this was possible. How did he survive and my mom not know it? The door to the room I was standing in front of finally opened and my father stepped out. I couldn’t believe my eyes at what I was seeing. There he was after all this time. Standing there staring at me. I had to make sure that he was real. I reached out to place my hand on his chest. I felt the warmth there and his heart beating strongly. I open
‘The most important six inches on the battlefield is between your ears.’ -Jim Mattis Ember As soon as dawn came, everyone was ready to march on Soren. At Nightshade, the witches had blocked the sunlight out so it wouldn’t burn the vampires and they would do the same at Elding Gala if they needed to. Alpha Lazerus and his warriors were ready to go as soon as I gave the signal. I nodded my head to the chaos witch that was to open the portal for them and she went right to work. The portal opened and Lazerus stepped through first, followed by the rest of his pack members. My group, Bastet and I went through the portal at the very back in order to get there and watch for when we could move into the city. Bastet was still in his natural form. We ha
‘They had forgotten the first lesson, that we are to be powerful, beautiful, and without regret.’ -Anne Rice Ember I found another door that was closed and heard a lot of movement inside it. Killian and my dad both heard it also and stepped up beside me right as the door was ripped open from the inside. There we were met with a werewolf holding the hand of an elemental and two other elementals right behind them. I instantly stepped in front of Killian and my father to protect them, building my temperature and power right away. These were Realm Assassins and the man looked like what everyone said Commander Ulric looked like. The man I assumed was Ulric, unsheathed his sword and p