The Wolf Series #3: Between Two Worlds

Chapter 40

Chapter 40

(Adrian)

The shovel is tight in my grip but I can scarcely feel the wooden handle splintering into my calloused palm. I stare at the shrub that flowers and can't bring myself to look away from the untouched Earth.

"Is this where she is?" Rowan speaks softly but the words feel like glass to my ears.

"Aye," I raise the shovel and steel myself, "This is where I buried her."

The spade of my shovel slides into the dirt with ease. I'm a couple shovels in when Rowan and the Prophet fellow join me. None of us speak while we work, and I'm grateful for it. I just clench my jaw and let my mind wander while I dig up my dead wife.

Absurdly, Amelia is the first thing that comes to my mind. My heart still pounds beneath my chest when I think back on how close she was to being Marked. I know it must be done...I know. But, like so many things, I still have yet to make my peace with it.

I grit my teeth and dig harder when my mind flashes back to how much blood she had bled from her veins. The cuts were drawn long from her own blade. Her blood held power that was beyond any of our imaginations. The stories of what the Prophets of Death could do were underplayed, and those had already been truly terrifying.

The power coursing through her body was godly. But that is one of my greatest fears; that her mortal body would never be able to fully withstand the powers that we were never meant to wield.

"You good there, Alaska?" The Prophet Dayton nudges my shoulder. I didn't realize that I had stopped entirely.

"Can I ask you a question?" I stand up straight and he does the same. Rowan grunts and digs more. "Amelia's hair used to be brown and now it's silver."

"I don't hear a question, Alaska."

"Are her powers killing her?" The moment the question is spoken, Rowan stops digging too. They both stare at me in somber silence, and I feel the feeling of dread expand within my chest. "They are, aren't they?"

"They take their toll. But many Prophets live far into their old age like any other Wolf," Dayton speaks quietly, "Amelia's hair and skin and eyes paled because she is one of the High Prophets. Kaoru, our High Prophet of Nature, became blind once her powers awakened. And Sashi's sight was permanently changed to see auras and visions wherever she looks. It's the blessing and curse of being on of the High Seats."

"She bleeds so much, though. How can that not have an effect on her?"

"It does," Rowan begins to dig again, and so do we all, "But Amelia has always been very aware of the price of harnessing her more potent power. Visions are taxing, but she has the stamina to withstand them and the other minor tasks she can perform as a Priestess. However, the Darkness is a violent element that is not meant to be wielded. It's difficult to restrain, let alone control or command. It took a long time and a lot of grave mistakes before she learnt how to do it."

"True Darkness is a void. Shadows and the ability to take Light away. Power like that hasn't been harnessed by anyone other than Orion or his Immortal Daughter, Kaltain. You should find some relief in knowing that Amelia's Darkness originates from the spirits and the dead. It doesn't make it easier to control, but the brunt of it is lessened because the spirits share it with her," Dayton wipes the dirt from his brow and takes a look at the pile we've created. "You buried her deep, Alaska."

"This True Darkness..." I begin to say but notice how Rowan tenses up ever so slightly. She avoids my eyes and it speaks volume. "Amelia has to decide whether it's worth controlling it or not. But what does she base that on? Her own well-being or ours? Or is it peace? The ability to avenge her loved ones?"