Seeds of Autumn

  Chapter Fourteen

  Fortune was the first to speak, roaring at them and frightening Ariana for the brief moment that it took her to realise it was relief, not anger that he was expressing. He stormed over and caught both her and Teri in a tight embrace, dragging them inside and kicking the door closed in one fluid movement.

  'Thank Luna you are both safe!' he cried. Ariana whimpered, hoping he would stop squeezing her if she submitted totally. He did let her go and turned to Teri.

  'Are you all right?' he asked her softly, taking both of her shoulders in his hands. Teri nodded solemnly. Fortune tugged Teri's necklace from his pocket and placed it carefully over her head. She held it gently and smiled.

  'Thank you,' she said quietly. 'I really hoped you would know it was a ruse.'

  Ariana knew that Teri had much to tell them and that it wouldn't be easy. The rest of the pack moved in to welcome Teri home, Stone leaping in first. Ariana moved into a corner and breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Movement in the hall caught her eye and she nearly jumped out of her skin to see Grins-Too-Widely slipping silently into the kitchen.

  The rest of the pack broke up and went quiet as the fox slunk into the room and sat down, cocking his head to one side. She got the impression that he was waiting for something. Flames-First-Guardian greeted their ally and asked the pack to follow him to the back of the shop. Dawn was just breaking and the shop was empty, so there was no need to cross the veil to hide their ritual.

  He and Wind Talker cast a circle, Grins-Too-Widely walked the perimeter of it slowly. Ariana watched as Flames led Teri into the circle and pulled a few of her hairs from her head. Teri hardly flinched. Flames burned the hair in a small bowl and then cut himself and Teri, mixing their blood in the bowl and then painting runes with the blood on Teri's cheeks. Sparks shot out from Teri and Flames, they darted around the circle, touching each pack member. Ariana stepped back in alarm, but Shadow placed his hand calmly on her back and nudged her forward again. She looked at him and his face was serene, reassuring. The rest of the older pack members were equally cool, though Eyes had flinched too so Ariana put her fear aside and put her trust in the ritualist.

  She began to feel dizzy and shook her head to try and clear the fog that she felt building between her temples. She lost her footing and felt Shadow's warm hand steadying her, but she felt increasingly disorientated and her knees buckled. Around the circle the other young pack members seemed to be experiencing the same thing, she wasn't the only one on her knees and even Fortune was leaning over, bracing his hands on his knees. Blackness took over and Ariana let out a small cry of panic, but Shadow was there with her, steadying her and the fear abated.

  She could see herself running, it was a memory and it wasn't hers. She was seeing the world through Teri's eyes and she could feel everything Teri felt as she ran in blind panic through Redfield Park and into Runmead, onto Wrecking Crew territory. She had run right into Fenwick and finally collapsed with exhaustion near the woods. The Witches encircled her and then knocked her out. Everything went black. When she awoke, Teri found herself in a dark basement and had been bound with silver chains, they burned her skin and prevented her from shifting. The agony lasted for hours, the Witches hadn't done anything else to torture her. Finally one of them came to Teri and questioned her about her family and her first change.

  'You need to be with us,' she had stated plainly. 'You belong here. If you go back to the Blue Moon they will poison you with their lies, their lunacy.' She spat the word like it was filthy. Teri had listened to everything they said. They told her that Luna was insane and did not deserve to be worshipped, as the packs of Caerton thought she did. By renouncing her connection to the moon, Teri would become stronger and more in tune with her natural state of being. She wasn't chosen by an insane celestial, she was chosen by night itself. Teri stopped struggling against them, but not for a moment did she believe them.

  They had released her from the chains and fed her, they treated her like one of the family and Teri let them believe it. She agreed to an initiation, she would forsake Artemis, or Luna as the Witches kept calling her. She would leave the Blue Moon and join the Witches. Three pack members took her back to the woods for the ritual and while they set up Teri had climbed into a tree to watch. Ariana looked down through Teri's eyes and saw the scene from above. The Witches drew circles with sparkling dust and placed bright gem stones around the clearing. Teri watched in wonder as green, blue and red stones of varying sizes were placed on the ground. A large topaz stone was placed in the very centre, it was polished and smooth, a perfect sphere. Light from the nearby fire flickered on it and it reflected the light beautifully. It looked like the sun, Teri thought and then it clicked into place; they had made a sort of orrery with stones to represent each planetary body in the solar system.

  One young Witch stepped carefully over to the blue stone representing the Earth, she held a black pouch in her hand and opened it cautiously. As she bent to tip out the contents onto the floor something caught her hand and she leapt back with a growl. A tiny silver ball lay on the ground, just short of its intended mark next to the earth, the moon.

  Teri knew what she had to do, but caution held her back. That was when she felt Ariana and Shadow nearby. Her pack had come for her and was approaching the clearing. Courage soared inside her, and determination not to let them walk into a dangerous situation. She climbed down from the tree and made a run for it. The young Witches were quick to follow her and Ariana's heart began to pound hard as she lived the memory of crashing through the trees. Teri circled around and cut back to the clearing. She ran into the empty circle and snatched the topaz sun from the centre, stuffing it into her pocket and hoping for the best, she shifted into her cat form and sprinted back into the trees. She dodged and weaved, leaving an erratic trail.

  Ariana felt a jumble of memories, her own and Teri's all mixed together as they had felt one another on that run. Gradually Teri's memory began to fade, leaving Ariana exhilarated and clear-headed. She found herself lying on the floor of the betting shop and looking around saw the rest of her pack in similar states of disarray. Grins-Too-Widely walked slowly over to Teri and bowed his head to her.

  'I am Weaver-of-Sky's-Loom now,' she spoke clearly to the pack. 'Let the fae know it and know that Artemis commands me, as a prophet and a bard.' A light shone from within Teri and Ariana watched in amazement as runes flared up on her skin for a moment and then faded to nothing. Grins-Too-Widely turned and disappeared across the veil as the pack rushed to congratulate Teri on taking her new name, Weaver. Ariana watched the space where the pack elder had been stood, elated for Weaver, but longing for a new name of her own.