Mirror of Fate

Chapter 5

My eyes widen as I watch her magic sphere of bright green glow in her hands.

"Come close. You don't want to be on the outside of the circle. With any luck, we'll have a few survivors."

What does she mean by that? I step into her barrier of shielding magic as the ball of light covers us in a protective bubble. In seconds, a blast so powerful it shakes the house: glass shatters, plaster falls from the walls, and the ground vibrates. I can hear whimpering whines beyond our front door, but only a few, followed by groans of pain from people.

My faux mother smiles. "Watch and learn. One day you will have the same power."

The other side of the threshold reveals many dead people and not the wolves that began attacking moments earlier. Stunned, I realize her power forced them back into their bodies, that they were born in.

"Hybrids," my mother says. "They walk during the day as any ordinary person, but at night change to wolves. You my dear just witnessed the impact of what my abilities can do. It sends shockwaves so powerful that it slices through structures like it was butter."

"You killed the entire pack." I want to shed a tear, to cry, but I must hold them back. If I show her any type of remorse, she will see I haven't any intension of coming to her dark side of the world.

"Not entirely," she answers, staring at the remaining wolf still in his animal form.

He's the one I saw upon the cliffside howling at the moon in preparation of war. His breathing is rapid, and I can see his eyes glaze. He's in pain, helpless, and we're at his mercy.

My evil possessed mother comes to kneel down next to him. At first, I think she's going to finish him off, but instead she runs her fingers through his thick fur. "You're a strong creature." Her hand glows again.

"What are you doing?"

"Healing him."

"So you can kill him later, to be evenly matched? Why? He has no pack. You took that from him."

"He's one of us now," she coos. The delight in her face frightens me.

She's gone mad. Not that she wasn't already, but her sick demented way of pulling someone to her side is out of touch with reality. "You think he's going to forget what you did this day?"

"That's exactly what is going to happen," she answers. Closing her eyes she concentrates, adding, "I'm currently finding the damage and healing him. Once he wakes, he will have no memory of today." She looks into his eyes, saying, "Sleep."

The wolf shuts his eyes, and his breathing slows, almost to the point of stopping.

"Tomorrow he will have new memories."

I look around at the other dead bodies. "What about them?"

She appears amused by my question. "Why, you'll bury them of course."

I gape. "How am I supposed to do that? We have no hired help."

"I'll get Martha to assist you."

"Martha, my nanny who has trouble climbing stairs?" Anger begins to fill me. "You're a monster!" I recoil at my outburst, afraid of what she'll do to me now that I've voiced my feelings.

She gives an evil grin. "Why thank you. At least now you're finally catching on." She picks up the wolf who is larger than she and carries him effortlessly into the house.

Anger fills my veins, along with fear. Somehow, some way, I will escape her hold on me. It will take careful planning, but I will not be a part of her evil schemes.

I glance down at the dead bodies strewn everywhere, wondering how I'm going to bury them all by myself. This will take me all day. My heart aches for them wondering if they all had families waiting back at home.

I hear a soft moan, and at first, I think someone is coming up from behind me out of the bushes a short distance away, but then I see a finger flinch from the dead pile of bodies.