3. Blue on Black
She’d never been the nice one. She’d left that to her brothers. They were the ones who were charming, polite and knew just how to negotiate for just about anything they wanted in life. They were quite good at it, too. Their mother was, understandably, quite proud of their accomplishments.
Then there was her.
She overheard her mother once say that she knew the baby she carried was going to be a trial from the moment she was conceived. Never let her get an ounce of rest from that moment on. She came into the world screaming in abject fury and screamed for the first four years of her life, or so her mother said. However, she rarely paid much attention to anything her mother said anymore. She’d long ago come to terms with the fact that her mother would have been far happier if she’d never been born. It was blatantly obvious to her in her younger years in the blue on black hand prints that had often decorated her upper arms, legs and the faint traces of whip scars on her back.
She’d endured the beatings in stubborn silence, even when it was obvious to her that if she’d only let out the faintest of whimpers, her mother would have stopped. The more she refused to break, the more her mother beat her. At least until her brothers figured out what was happening. The oldest had taken to stepping between them while the younger two would hustle her out of the holding, dragging her along while they completed their chores and hunting duties. They kept her out of her mother’s sight as much as possible. It was a natural progression that they taught her about whatever they were doing, unable to resist the steady stare of her eerie lavender gaze as she pointed out she needed to learn, and it didn’t make sense not to show her because she was a girl.
Then, her father returned home. And wasn’t that just the icing on the spice bread as far as she was concerned.
She’d never known her father. No one had ever mentioned him to her. He’d left on a long-range scouting trip down the mountains. He’d been gone since she was five days old. She was nearly nine annuals when he returned. Her first sight of him, he took one look at her dirt smeared face, her blood encrusted hands and the brace of rabbits swinging from her belt, then turned an unreadable expression upon his three sons. The teens were all pale and their expressions anxious. She’d merely stared into the man’s eyes, the same shade as her own, without any fear whatsoever, and her face devoid of any expression. She’d felt her heart constrict painfully as he turned his back on her and disappeared into their particular holding.
“Oiy.” Her oldest brother let out a breath. “This is going to be fun. Travis, Jack, you two best stay with Uncle Connor tonight. Reggie, you stick close to me, you hear? If I tell you to skin out, you run and don’t look back, you hear me?”
She ignored her brothers, staring into the hole that was their doorway. A hard shake had snapped her eyes up to her oldest brother’s.
“Reggie!” He hissed into her face. “Did you hear me?”
“Aye, Dougal, I hear you fine.” She replied in a voice that sounded rusty to her own ears. “And you’d best not call me that in front of Mother. Or him.”
With that Regina Lional’s Daughter squared her shoulders and walked forward into the home of her mother.
Whatever discussion her parents were having ceased when she entered. She didn’t look at them as she laid the brace of rabbits near the hearth. She heard her mother’s sharp intake of breath and felt the anger begin to radiate off the woman in waves.
“This is what you have done with our daughter while I have been gone, Bridget?” The man asked in a mild tone. “She looks more like a half-wild thing, not a girl-child.”
“I’ve done the best I could, Lional.” Bridget snapped in reply, her tone resentful. “You’ve been gone nearly nine annuals! Your brother hasn’t been very helpful, either!”
“I’ll have to ask him why that is, then, won’t I? Get her cleaned up. The emissaries will want to see her and all the children under the age of 13. You’d best not embarrass me, woman.”
With that, Lional strode out of the holding, leaving Regina alone with her mother.
Bridget advanced purposefully on her daughter, who tensed, ready for flight. She made no sound as the first slap landed. Surprisingly, there were no more after that. She hadn’t fought as Bridget stripped her and shoved her roughly into a cold bath. The hands that had cleaned her were far from gentle, but she made no sound, not even when Bridget had become increasingly harsh in her treatment of her.
It was her hair that had seemed to send Bridget over the edge. Regina submitted to the girl’s tunic meekly, even though she would have preferred some of her brother’s more comfortable cast offs. Her hair, never easy to manage under normal circumstances, was wet and hopelessly tangled. She’d known that if it were left alone to dry a bit, she could get a comb through it. However, Bridget had never had such patience. The comb had caught, snagged and broken. Bridget let out a curse, her fingers wrapping cruelly around the wet strands, and had shaken her the way a dog shakes a rabbit it’s about to kill.
Regina hadn’t let out a sound, even though the pain had brought tears burning to her eyes. A fist cuffed her hard upside the head, sending her crashing to the floor, dazed. A foot connected with her belly a moment later and she had felt her mother’s intent to kill her like ice water down her spine.
Something within her snapped. A snarl of rage bubbled out of her throat and when the foot connected again, she instinctively grabbed it and twisted viciously. A resounding crack split the air and Bridget was suddenly screaming in agony. Regina staggered to her feet, her hand reaching behind her to steady her balance. Fingers had closed around cold iron. She snarled again, yanking the fire poker out of its holder. With a rage born of years of abuse, she swung, roaring as the iron connected with her mother’s arm. Another crack, another scream, and Bridget was frantically scrabbling backwards, trying to escape *HER*. She felt something beginning to unfurl inside her belly, something that made her very blood burn with fire. She felt her lips draw back from her teeth in a maniacal grin as she prepared to stalk her prey.
*NO! YOU MUST NOT!* A voice rung in her head. She snarled in response, no one would rob her of her kill. *NO! YOU WILL NOT!*
A huge furry body interposed itself between her and Bridget. Vaguely, she heard shouts of alarm over the screaming of her mother. She snarled again, dropping the poker and springing at the fur covered body, rage fueling her.
The body was strangely pliant as it rolled beneath her. She felt teeth grasp her tunic as she tried to find a neck to choke. She’d been shaken like a rag doll even as her hands found furry sensitive ears and yanked. Something howled and a large hand tried to grab her shoulder. A man yelped in pain as the teeth released her tunic and bit his hand savagely.
*DO NOT INTERFERE!* Someone roared with enough volume to make her wince.
She rolled on top of the body, her head aching, then suddenly found herself flat on her back, sharp teeth closed over her throat and a heavy body lying atop hers. Her fingers were clenched in dense, heavy fur and someone was whimpering and sobbing piteously. She realized it was her.
*Shhh, hush, Little one. Do not cry.* The teeth released her throat and her face was being licked soothingly. *’Tis alright. I am here now. Come, look into my eyes, and see me.*
Regina opened her eyes; not even realizing she’d had them squeezed shut. She stared up into hot amber eyes framed by a furred mask. Almost absently, she noticed an angry-looking scar ran from one side of his head, down across one eye, across his muzzle and ended at his jowl. She’d felt something questing at her mind and her curiosity got the better of her as she focused on it.
Suddenly, it felt as if someone was hugging her. It felt odd, because the only people who had offered her physical affection were her brothers and those precious hugs were few and far between, not to mention awkward.
His name was Smoke. He was her first bond-mate. She hadn’t realized such a choosing was supposed to be a gentle thing between human and beast, done when both were but younglings. Smoke was far from young. A wolf in his prime, he was the beta of the pack that had come up into the mountains from the lowlands with her father. They were, she was later to find out, descended from the original pack that had accompanied her people’s ancestors to the lands of the Mountain Lion Clan. Oddly enough, her father had discovered a treaty between the Elders of the lion pride and the wolves that stated they had the right to request human bond-mates from this particular clan. Her father had been chosen, she’d been told, to go scout for these wolves and discover if they were a threat or if any humans they were bonded to were. The Elders of the lion pride had laughed themselves silly over the human’s initial fear, but hadn’t stopped Lional from going.
Smoke and his pack had been far from pleased when Regina had been herded into their midst. Her bond with Smoke meant her memories were open to him and what he saw had made the eyes of his alphas burn with rage. She found herself ensconced in furred bodies that she could sense were female while the males had all ranged themselves in a defensive wall in front of them. The alphas were snarling and snapping at a large female lion, who lay before them serenely, her head tilted, eyes half-closed, in a listening posture. Regina felt her anger, held in check by the need not to start a war with kin-clan.
The images suddenly swamped Regina’s mind and only the wolves had kept her upright. She’d seen fire, death, rage and grief and the end of the world. A scream of agony had burst from her throat and she’d felt Smoke’s urgent attempts to calm her even as the something inside her unfurled more, burning her worse than the sun.
Then it had all stopped, as if time had frozen. She fell against the wolves, panting hard, eyes wide as a very cranky looking old woman stepped carefully around the unmoving bodies. Regina flinched as a wrinkled, yet still strong hand had cupped her chin firmly, forcing her gaze upward.
“I’m not going to hurt you, Child.” The woman grumped. “How in the Goddess’ name that damned bird got split from me this time, I’ll never know. We were supposed to merge with you when you were born. I’ve got a nasty feeling your mother did something stupid when she found out you were a girl. She’s always been greedy for power. No help for it now. You’ve got to give me permission to join you, Girl, or it will get away from you and destroy everything. It’s very, very angry and wants blood.”
“It feels like fire in my bones.” Regina gasped. “Can you make it stop?”
“Well, now, I hope so, or this mountain will be nothing more than a glass crater and your clan will be extinct. The bloody damned thing isn’t supposed to awaken until the host passes through puberty.”
“I think Mother was trying to kill me. I just wanted her to stop hitting me.”
“Well, that explains a lot. We can discuss that later. I need you to let me join your soul, Little Reggie. It’s going to make you very cranky, very grumpy, on the mean side and you’re going to know things you shouldn’t, but that can’t be helped. It’s the only way to get that featherbrain calmed back down.”
“Can I keep Smoke?”
“Girly, just let anyone try to separate the two of you. Now, time’s a wastin’. What’s your decision?”
“Okay. Do it.”
The pain increased tenfold as the woman smiled ferally and stepped forward. It felt like sticky sap was encasing her whole body and she fought to breathe. Then, it felt like the sticky sap was drawing inward into her skin through her chest. The burning in her bones faltered and she felt a puzzled query in her mind, then a sense of welcoming joy. Time had sped up and returned to normal again and she slumped to her knees, vomiting violently. All around her, chaos was erupting. Someone pressed a cool mug of water into her hands and she was somewhat bemused to see it was her father. She’d drunk it greedily even as the clan’s shaman had worked at calming the crowd. She found it ironic that only the female alpha wolf and the lion elder had been calm.
*Well, while this could be entertaining, I believe I am a bit too irritated to enjoy it properly.* A strange musical voice sounded in her mental ears and the lion elder had risen to her feet.
A moment later, her roar had silenced any other noise in the village. She then sounded a peculiar set of coughing growls, followed by two more roars that sounded very much like her mother’s screams. The rest of the pride had melted into view, stalking between the humans and the wolves. Regina felt a certain shock coming from all present when the lions had turned their backs on the wolves to face the village and had, as one, snarled a dire warning.
The lion elder stalked gracefully forward and the wolves had parted to let her through until she was nose to nose with Regina, who met her stare with an unwavering gaze.
*I had no idea, Daughter.* She sighed, giving her cheek a gentle lick with her rough tongue. *If I had, I’d have removed you to our care. I have hard questions for your kin. Best you go with your bond-mate and his pack until I can find answers.*
“We couldn’t say anything!” Dougal blurted out desperately. “When we tried, no words would come out! We did our best to protect her! Please don’t take her away from us!”
The lion elder’s gaze narrowed as she zeroed in on Bridget, who was suddenly cringing away from them in terror.
*If I find what I think I will find, I will kill you myself.* She growled. *Bind her!*
Regina reached out and laid her hand on her head, causing her to go very still.
“Honored Elder, she must live.” She stated in a soft voice. “She has tasks yet to perform. However, any children she bears in the future cannot stay with her.”
*And you have seen that she will bear more?* The elder sighed out. *Important to this clan?*
“Yes, Elder.”
*Very well. If Lional cannot control her after she is bound, then it will be on his head. You do realize you are about to become a very large pain in my paw, do you not?*
“It can’t be helped, Elder.”
*Yes, well, do try to keep the damage to a minimum. If it’s anything extremely important, come to me first. The rest, well, at least you will prove entertaining to the rest of the pride.*
“I live to serve, oh Elder.”
*Do spare me, Shi’ahani. And do think about taking one of the cubs as a bond-mate. The dog won’t live forever and I don’t want the headache of trying to corral your grief. Dealing with that bird is for the young.*
With that, the elder turned and melted off into the surrounding trees, soon followed by the rest of the pride.
Regina hadn’t really paid attention to the aftermath. She’d been too busy being mothered by the females of Smoke’s pack. It had nearly driven her up a tree some days. They insisted she train with her clan’s shamans and learn everything about being a girl as well as a warrior. She’d complied somewhat grudgingly after being wrestled into submission by Damon, the pack’s alpha male. His mate, Moondancer, had watched the whole proceedings with her tongue lolling out in amusement. The yearling cubs had all been wide-eyed and half crouched down, ready to flee, all save one small rangy female that had watched Regina with a speculative gleam in her eyes.
Regina noticed that her brothers now lived with her Uncle Connor. It had been discovered that Bridget had tried to siphon off the power she could sense in her daughter from the day she was born. It hadn’t worked. She’d then tried to seduce Connor to try to gain his powers as one of the tribe’s shamans to help her gain her daughter’s power. Connor had been disgusted and had kept his distance from her afterward. He hadn’t thought she’d lay a geas of silence on him or her own sons preventing them from speaking out about her treatment of Regina. The lion elders had stripped Bridget’s magic from her and bound her ambitions to those of simple hearth and home. Lional was ordered to remain her husband despite his objections. Regina had felt his resentment every time she came into contact with him and had begun avoiding him, which was hard because her brothers shadowed her constantly and Lional shadowed his sons.
Time had passed, as time does. Regina saw things about the tribe she knew she wouldn’t have otherwise. Moondancer taught her to meditate to sort through the visions for those that were important and those that weren’t. It was during this time that Regina learned she could communicate with the entity wrapped around her soul. The first time it happened, the visions had her snapping out of her meditation, weeping harshly. Her eyes had snapped open on the first sob, staring right into the amber eyes of the small, rangy female she’d noticed following her from time to time. The female had yipped in surprise, and Regina was helpless to stop the entity within her from reaching.
*Moon on the Water.* A mournful whisper resounded in Regina’s head, and then was gone. Regina blinked, tears streaming down her cheeks, and threw her arms around the startled wolf, sobbing into her fur.
The young wolf stiffened in complete shock for a moment or two, feeling panic rising. She felt her mother’s soothing presence in the back of her mind, telling her to relax, no harm would come to her. She took a deep breath and forced her muscles to comply with that directive even as the human weeping into her fur sat up and cupped her muzzle in shaking hands.
“Moon on the Water?” Regina whispered, staring at her intently.
*Yes, I am Moon on the Water.* The female replied carefully, suddenly nervous at the way the human was regarding her. However, she stayed still as the human’s nose pressed to hers with gentle hesitation.
“Please.”
*She’s asking to bond with you, Cub.* Damon’s gruff sending made her ears flatten momentarily in astonishment.
*But, Father, I’m an ugly runt!* Moon on the Water yelped.
“Who called you a runt?” Regina suddenly demanded, sitting back, her eyes flashing with anger. “You’re not an ugly runt! You’re beautiful! I’ll pin the ears of anyone who says you’re not to a tree!”
*Well, there you have it.* Damon sent drily. *Best complete the bond, Cubling. After all, you’re the one who’s been stalking her like a deer.*
If Moon on the Water was human, her face would have been beet red. However, she pressed her nose back to the human’s with a nervous shiver.
*I am Moon on the Water.* She stated hesitantly. *You are mine and I am yours.*
Regina blinked, then blinked again. Carefully, she gathered the little wolf into her arms and stroked her fur. Tears splashed down onto the muzzle as she laid her head against the others.
*Oh.* Moon on the Water said in a small voice. *The original Moon on the Water was bonded to a host, too.*
*Indeed.* Damon’s voice was full of amused irony.
Angus closed the journal with a sigh. Angel eyed him with a frown, but a glance at her mother’s face told her why he’d stopped reading. Tears were trickling down Kat’s cheeks slowly as Dar bumped his head under her fingers anxiously.
“Mother?” Angel asked hesitantly.
“She’s inside me, crying.” Kat whispered. “She hurts. Oh, how she hurts!”
*That is enough of that!* An imperious voice rang out and Cricket trotted into the tent, Precious at her side. Tom followed sedately, Koko scampering beneath his belly. Cricket didn’t even pause as she reached Kat and jumped up into her lap. *Katarina! Look. At. Me.*
Kat looked down at the little dog, tears rolling off her nose to splash on black fur. She gathered Cricket up, ignoring her grunt, and buried her face in the dog’s curly side. Precious daintily climbed up to perch on her shoulder, purring in her ear as Koko zipped to the other side, chittering softly. Tom gave the equivalent of an eye roll, nudged Dar’s flank hard, and laid his bulk gracefully across Kat’s feet.
*Really, did anyone think that it might have been a good idea to teach her about Featherhead before this?* He sent wryly.
Angus hesitated, his fingers stroking the journals. Angel stared at him unblinking, then at the doorway where Isis and Sylvester stood, Sylvester’s tail lashing in agitation. Her gaze found Angus’ again.
“So, I’m guessing after Regina, it was decided to keep everything secret until a host manifested Shi’ahani?” She asked quietly.
“Ye have to understand, the account of what was done to try to steal Shi’ahani’s power made the elders decide there needed to be a keeper,” he sighed. “Not only a keeper, but someone who would go between the mountain clans and the Sidhe branch of Angel’s descendents to monitor both lines. Regina was the first host on that side in generations. She came into her full power at the age of nine, under the direst of circumstances.”
“I’d call her own mother trying to kill her a bit more than dire circumstances, Uncle.”
“Yes, well. Until then, the four legged clans had kept the information on the original treaties between them, Angel and Shi’ahani mostly to themselves. They knew what could happen if someone like Bridget tried to exploit it. They just didn’t count on it getting distorted into ‘bragging rights’ as it were. After that, the keepers were laid under geas not to speak of it unless the host manifested.”
“Dad could have told her.”
“Nay, Child. Yer Da’s not a Keeper. He knew about the journals and the legends. He didn’t know what the keepers know.”
“And just what do the keepers know?” Kat’s voice was taut with suppressed anger.
“How to teach the host to communicate with Shi’ahani.” Angus sighed heavily. “But, they’ll only consent to teach a host who is Sidhe born, now. Because of the wars.”
“Your clan has known me for over fifteen years now, Angus.”
“Aye. But in their eyes, you’re just a human. Therefore, they won’t give permission for the Keeper trained to teach you permission to do so.”
Kat carefully put Cricket down on the floor then disengaged Precious and Koko and gave Tom a shove. She stood calmly to her feet and walked out of the tent. Cricket snarled at Angus and trotted after her.
Kat breathed in great gulps of night air, trying to quell the rage unfurling in her stomach.
“Here, now, Wee Little Witch.” Came Devin’s crooning voice from behind her. “What’s got ye in such a state?”
Kat whirled, a primal scream of rage erupting from her throat and witch fire in her hands. Devin merely tilted his head to the side and let it pass harmlessly by him as he continued to walk steadily toward her, his eyes never leaving hers. Fire crackled along her fingers and she snarled at him. She could feel her familiars trying to reach her mind, but she locked the bonds down. She knew Angel was holding the rest back, could feel Rhi’s sharp commands to the Faye to hold fast, could feel Ian’s exasperation. But her eyes never left Devin’s.
“Here, Wee Little Witch.” He crooned, stretching out a hand. “Come to me. Dinna pay no mind to the sillies behind ye. Come, now.”
Kat snarled again, but stepped forward and took his hand. He pulled her against him, cheek resting on her forehead. His eyes rose to meet Angel’s, then with a thundering crack, they were both gone.
“What the hell?” Rhi barked out.
“It’s fine.” Angel sighed out. “Dad took her hunting.”
“Hunting? Hunting what?”
“You really don’t want to know, Aunt Rhi. Really, you don’t.”
With that, Angel ducked back into the tent.
*Well, spit.* Cricket growled out. *They’ll both be a mess. Precious, Koko, best round up cleaning supplies for when they get back. Tom, best you go ask that pretty cat of yours if we can borrow their humans for a bit. Dar, go see if the Queen will help. Well, what are you waiting for? Get moving, daylight’s burning!*
*Yes, oh Mistress Bossiness.* Came the chorused reply, dripping with wry sarcasm. Cricket just rolled her eyes and trotted off toward the little brown haired Faye she could see watching them.
