The White Wolf

Chapter 8

Aria's P.O.V

Haven's nails dug into my bicep, thin tendrils of blood oozing from her fingers. She dragged me through the forest, the green trees a blur with our speed. What had I done wrong? I asked Kaala, but she remained silent, leaving my words to echo in my mind. She dragged me to the cave, and down a side corridor, the walls blanketed in hanging emerald vines. She pushed her way forth, and to a small wooden door with black iron filigree. She flung it open, and shoved me into the dark abyss, slamming the door behind me. The sight before me startled me, and my breath came fast. The room was a large circle, with vines and plants growing, more like covering, the walls. They were dark green, bright emerald, pale turquoise, flaming orange, blood red, and pure white. There were eight altars adorning the room. Each held a statue of a wolf, made out of colored stones with a bowl of either incense, earth, water, or fire. Different colored plants grew along the base of the altar, corresponding with the wolf statues color. Each of the wolfs eyes glowed with a bright light and the stones glistened like real fur. Runes adorned each statue and wall, akin to the glowing blue script on my sword. In the center of the room was a fire pit with a roaring fire flickering different colors. Two figures were knelt besides the fire, opposite each other with their foreheads pressed to the ground wearing robes, both brown with embroidered runes in gold. Haven put her left hand on her chest, then touching her forehead. 

"Rain, Kaetlynn" she said softly, bowing her head

The two girls rose, their eyes glowing with a strange luminescence. 

"What is it Haven?" Kaetlynn said, in a detached voice. Her voice was strange, different I guess.

Haven bowed, lowering her eyes. "Aria is the holder of the Fallen Stars"

Kaetlynn's eyes flashed and she looked at me, a cold calculating look. 

"That was supposed to be in the protection of the Eight," she said

Haven nodded, still bowing. 

"We need to call a meeting" Haven said

Rain intruded, I had forgotten she was there. 

"Kaetlynn, Haven, leave. I will take care of Aria" I looked at her, and she was staring straight at Kaetlynn, a sign that they were of equal dominance, or that she was even higher. That was confusing, because from what I have seen of this pack, they had very little regard for rank. 

Kaetlynn nodded, and her and Haven left, shoot a glance back at us. I turned back to Rain, and she was sitting cross-legged on the ground in front of the fire. 

"Sit Aria, I can feel your troubles." she said

So I sat, deeply inhaling the savoy smoke of the wood. 

"Do you know the importance of the sword you carry?" Rain asked

I shook my head, and she sighed. 

"Fine. Well, many eons ago, there was trouble among the gods. The Ancestors to be accurate. Moon had had a daughter with a mortal Greatwolf by the name of Rhodri, and the gods were conflicted about where the child should live. Sun was the most outspoken, he said that the daughter must be cast away from the sky-world, Aeri they called it. Moon wept and pleaded to Grandmother Sky, begging her to let her daughter stay with the divine, but Sky knew the child would be killed by Suns rage if kept in Aeri, so Sky cast down Moons daughter to be raised with Rhodri. Moon, fearing that Sun would kill her anyway, came to her lover in a dream. 

'Rhodri' she called, silver tears running down her white face. 'There is a girl coming to you from above, it is our daughter. Sun is against her birth, and might come to kill her. You must protect her. Give her these weapons, and teach her the mastery of wolf and man.' And with that, Moon handed Rhodri the god-sword Pali Zvende, The Fallen Star. She also handed him her own knife, blessed with her power and laid it next to Rhodri. 'Farewell' Moon said, and she vanished back to the sky. 

The child was named Chandra the Silver light, and Rhodri held his promise and she became his powerful warrior. But never, he allowed for her to travel in the light of day, for fear of Suns wrath. So she grew in the darkness of night, her skin pale like that of Moons, her hair dark and long like the shadows. Her eyes were bright silver, and her wolf glowed a pure white. The only mark she bore that came from Rhodri was the crescent moon on their foreheads, brought down the line from having the favor of Moon. She and her life mate Azarox were the prince and princess of the Greatwolves under Rhodri of the Blackwind bloodline. Peace graced the family until Chandra was a maiden of twenty passes of winter. But Sun never forgot the child of Moon, and he watched her grow, watched her for weaknesses and strengths. And one day, he decided to rid the world from the bastard child of Moon and Rhodri. He sent a plague, a plague of small men that could turn into wolves, copying Moons creation of Greatwolves, but his were small and their hearts shriveled and dead from the heat of his rage. They came to the world and began killing it, desecrating Earth with each paw step until they reached the valley that Rhodri ruled. 

'Fight!' he shouted to his pack, and they all jumped to arms, charging at the enemy. Even Chandra, with her knife and sword ran out to charge the bane of Moon. With Fallen Star, she killed hundreds of the little werewolves, but Sun kept summoning endless droughts of the shriveled beasts. Moon, Earth and Sky watched in horror as the valley was turned red with the blood cost of Suns rage. The scourge had pushed Rhodri's warriors back, and Rhodri had been slain by the leader, a mangy brown wolf with red, hate filled eyes. When Chandra saw the unseeing black eyes of her father, a rage greater than that of Sun's was born in her. With a mighty scream, she charged the wolves, her silver eyes and moon mark glowing with a blinding light. She swung her glowing sword, beheading the front line of wolves. She was a mindless killer now, trying to avenge the death of Rhodri the Great, King of the Greatwolves, lover of Moon. The lead wolf, his name was Sunda the Thorn of Fire, leaped, and knocked the injured Chandra to the ground, claws digging into her shoulders. A sick grin spread across his bloodstained muzzle and he tore out her through with violent bites until Chandra stopped moving. When he let go the light in Chandra's eyes had diminished, and she stared at him. With her last bit of strength, she plunged her knife into his chest before falling to the ground, dead. The blow wasn't enough to kill Sunda, but he and his line carries that scar to the end of their days. Moon, distraught at the destruction of her child and lover, cast away the surviving Greatwolves to the other side of the Earth, and with them took the knife and sword of Chandra, as a mark of the hatred that would be forever enduring."

Rain finished the story, her amber eyes looked intently at me. I looked at the sword and knife in my hands, imagining the blood of Sunda and countless others on its luminescent blade. I set in down gently, scooting away from it. 

"Ooookay, old dangerous sword. Gotcha. But what does that have to do with me? And who is this mysterious 'Eight'?

"Well, after Moon sent away the Greatwolves, she took the unborn cub from Chandra's womb, and sent it away with the rest of the pack, to be raised in care. She then went back to Aeri and hid herself away, letting none but Grandmother Sky to see her. Sun however, wanted to get back together with Moon, and one day he burst into her quarters demanding that she come out and be with him. Moon, filled with catastrophic rage cast a curse on Sun. The curse was that should the true descendant of Rhodri and the Alpha of the Silverlight bloodline be reunited, the weapons of old will come and be marked with the ancient kings and queens and will rid the world of the scourge of Sun. And at the lead would be a daughter many times of Moon, with the crescent mark upon her brow and the Fallen Star in her hand.

It seems the time has come to pass, and to answer your other question of who the Eight are, well they are other supernatural beings. Each controls one of the eight elements of the world, and they are the guardians of many things. They were the guardians of that sword, for instance. Which means that they are watching us, for an unknown reason. They must know about Simon and your true identity."

This was so much to take in. But I was interrupted from my thoughts by James and Jake running into the room, pressing their hands to their chest and forehead in the same ritual as Haven did earlier, before panting

"Rain…. Bird has spotted them," said Jake

"It’s the Eight" James followed in a hoarse voice

Shock filled Rains features, and she took off running back out the door, with Jake, James and me following.

"Are the Eight dangerous?" I asked James between breaths

He looked at me solemnly. "Aria, they are extremely dangerous, even to us"