Shieldwolf Dawning (6 page)

Merganser's staff floated in the space to her right. Its polished length was engraved with symbols. At its peak was a wolf cut from obsidian. Merganser paused to admire her staff. With a loving smile, she traced her crooked fingers along the symbols. One by one they began to glow. Samarra watched the scene in wonder — never in her life had she dreamt of seeing anything like the spectacle unfolding in front of her. Brother and sister approached the circle with caution. Merganser turned around to face them.

"Samarra and Cassian Dawning." The crone bowed slightly.

"Sairfang," Cassian interrupted. "Cassian Sairfang."

Merganser eyed him in confusion. Cassian blushed at the attention.

"The Sairfangs gave him their kin name." Samarra stepped forward quickly. "I forgot to tell you. Kin names aren't important anyway. Cass is my blood brother regardless."

"Kin names
are
important," Merganser noted. "They reveal one's roots."

Samarra braced herself for punishment. "I-I'm sorry," she stammered. "I should have told you before." She felt like she had done something terribly wrong.

"Worry not. I am relieved you have arrived safely."

Samarra was surprised at the woman's lack of anger.

"Please forgive me for not escorting you here." Merganser stretched to her full height, towering over Samarra by at least two feet.

Seeing Merganser up close came as a shock to Samarra. The woman's blind eye was scary and distracting. A cataract had spread over the pupil. Samarra couldn't help but stare.

"The air tests positive for magic. Please enter the portal of phasing," Merganser said. "But you must leave your belongings behind. One cannot cross the Reflection carrying needless things."

Samarra dropped her backpack without bothering to rummage through it for what she might like to keep. She crammed one hand into the back pocket of her jeans. Her other hand was all fingers, twisting and twirling around the gum in her mouth. Samarra entered the circle and walked past the cauldron, all the while kicking at the dry grass and pebbles with her beat-up sneakers. She was doing her best to put on a brave face in front of Merganser. She didn't want to show her brother how scared she was.

Cassian went to his place in the circle. Merganser nodded approvingly when he fell into position on the c marking his space-time coordinates. After Merganser had sealed the portal of phasing with a spell, she marched over to Samarra and laid her hands on Samarra's forearm. Merganser closed her eyes and whispered something inaudible. A searing pain rose from under Samarra's skin. She tried to pull away but the woman's grip was firm.

"Stop," Samarra flinched. "You're hurting me."

"Be still."

"What are you doing?"

Light filled Merganser's hands. "I am imprinting you with an anchor."

"An anchor?" Samarra tried to block out the pain as a symbol burned into her skin. She relaxed when Merganser let her go. A tribal image of a black wolf had been branded into her arm. It was smoking.

"The wolf is our spirit animal and marks you as one of us. The symbol will guide you on your journey. Focus on it if you get scared during the phasing — it will ground you onto your target landing."

Samarra traced her fingers over her tattoo, which was now cool to the touch.

"Do you have any questions?" Merganser asked.

"No." Samarra caught her brother's eye and smiled encouragingly as Merganser rolled up his sleeve. Cassian was silent as he was branded a Shieldwolf.

Merganser threw a handful of pungent herbs into the cauldron. Smoke fanned out and over the area and purified the passengers for their phase through the space-between-space. Samarra was transfixed. Merganser lifted her staff into the air and was about to start her spell when screaming and shouting erupted from the edges of the grove. Samarra spun around. The Sairfangs raced toward her followed by a group of guards.

Merganser growled.

The Sairfangs reached for their guns.

Samarra felt sick at the thought of going back to the estate. She knew she would be punished, and she knew it would be a thousand times worse than before. "Cass!" She ran to her brother.

"How did they find us?" he asked.

The Sairfangs approached the circle with lightning speed. Samarra could barely breathe. When he was in range, Mr. Sairfang took aim at Merganser. "Stop or I'll shoot!" His wife ran straight for Cassian.

"Yield!" Merganser shouted, and the guards were all rooted to the spot.

Mr. Sairfang fired, but the bullet was deflected by the magical shield that Merganser had erected around the circle.

Samarra whimpered. She couldn't go back to the estate. She just couldn't.

"Control yourself." Merganser glared at Samarra. "I will not allow these rogues to enter our sacred space. Their bullets cannot penetrate the magic that protects us. Samarra, return to your co-ordinates immediately." But Samarra could only stare.
"Now!"

Merganser traced a sign in the air and knocked her staff on the ground. A mesh of prickly vines burst from the earth and wrapped themselves around the Sairfangs. Mrs. Sairfang tripped and fell, dropping her gun. She kicked and screamed while she was hauled to a nearby oak by the vines that had trapped her. Mr. Sairfang whipped out a dagger and tried to slash his way through the vines, but others sprang up in their place. He cursed Merganser at the top of his lungs as he was overcome by the vines. In a matter of seconds the Sairfangs were bound tightly to a thick trunk. Samarra watched the commotion in stunned disbelief.

"I should have buried you myself when I had the chance, Merganser," Mr. Sairfang raged on. He hurled out his anger, but the more he ranted the more the vines covered his mouth. His eyes shot hate at Merganser, who was now standing beside Cassian. Her hand rested gently on his shoulder. Her expression was fierce.

"We ordered you to protect them—" Merganser pointed the tip of her staff at Mr. Sairfang in accusation, "—but you hid them from us. Like fugitives, you and your woman went into hiding, desperate to unlock the secrets of this boy's mind. You should have checked the long-term status of the planet before phasing here. Gaia-1 is on course for mass extinction."

"Please don't take my son!" Mrs. Sairfang struggled to free herself. "He belongs to us. Take the girl if you want. She means nothing to me."

Samarra flinched at the familiar words.

"He belongs to
you
, Natasha Sairfang?" Merganser's good eye narrowed menacingly. "The power of the Son belongs to the Reflection and to Kairuhan. It will not be exploited to satisfy your greed. Because of your actions it has taken me years to find him. Today, he will be returned to his rightful home. Nothing you do will stop this event from occurring. These two children are coming with me."

Samarra stood aghast, shifting her attention from Merganser to the Sairfangs and back again. Merganser had forgotten to tell her why Cassian was so important. Samarra was suddenly afraid that her brother would think she had kept the truth from him to trick him into running away. How would she make him believe that she had not known about any of this new information? Was it too late to change what she had done? Samarra searched the area for a way to escape, but there was nowhere to run.

Merganser grabbed the silver goblet. She took two large gulps and retrieved a green pouch from her pocket. Her fingers worked quickly to undo the cord that kept the objects inside the pouch. When the cord dropped and the silk fell away, three brilliant spheres floated to eye level. Merganser recited a spell. Samarra's attention was captured.

Merganser knocked her staff into the earth. "I am ready to split the Reflection."

Mrs. Sairfang wailed like a banshee. Mr. Sairfang struggled to free himself from his bonds, but nothing on Gaia could unbind the magic that Merganser had woven that morning.

"No!"
Mrs. Sairfang screamed.

Merganser made signs in the air. Then she began to chant:

Sister Wind, I call for fury,

Burst, then, through this clouded fissure.

Spin your body, encircle us.

Wrap yourself around your children.

Share your force, blesséd one!

At first Merganser's raspy voice was soft and steady, but as the evocation grew in power, her words increased in volume and strength. Light-pulsing musical notes appeared from thin air and floated into the sky, all the while coaxing the wind to rise. Dark clouds clustered together and formed a canopy over the grove. The area turned cold. Samarra wrapped her arms around herself and looked to her brother for warmth, but Cassian was watching the world in silence and fear.

Presently, Merganser dipped her thumb into each crystal bowl. She anointed Cassian's forehead with oils before doing the same to Samarra. Last she anointed her own forehead, scarred from years of battle. Merganser held out her glowing staff. With that action, ancient magic flowed in and out of her body. Her good eye turned smoky and her voice tore into the air, reaching further into the spell:

Earth and Water bond together,

Form of magic, mud, and mist.

Mold yourselves around your children.

Keep us free from flux and shadows.

Shield our bodies, blesséd ones!

The diamond spheres spun in mad circles and formed one large ring of light. Merganser swayed rhythmically from side to side. The wolf at the tip of her staff emitted waves of bright energy strong enough to stop the growing zephyr from entering the portal of phasing. The zephyr brushed past Samarra's arms; the tip of its tail stirred up the ground. As if in a trance, Merganser continued in song:

Brother Fire, I command you,

Tame your passion, dim your flare.

Veil your face before your children.

Cool your anger. Silence. Silence.

Drop your gaze, blesséd one!

Samarra watched in terror as the sun disappeared from view. Something deep inside the earth rumbled and the grove shook in violent response. The wind picked up and turned into a gale. Dead leaves and debris flew in every direction. Samarra's heart raced when Merganser thrust her staff up to the whirling skies. Grey clouds thickened with electricity. Samarra held her breath when Merganser evoked the Reflection:

Split Reflection, multiversal,

Crack the diamond, open facets.

Phase this magic through, then through.

Guide your children. We adore you.

Light our journey, Timeless One!

Samarra's dreadlocks lashed around her head. The grove grew darker still. Trees shook and their roots became ungrounded. The river trickled into the sky. She ran to Cassian and held onto him tightly, but they were soon overwhelmed by the burn of the electrical crackle that charged the air when Merganser drove her staff into the ground.

The portal of phasing split into three uneven fragments. Samarra tumbled to her knees when the plates below her shifted. Two emerald pines and a heavy oak were uprooted, whizzing past and then landing some distance away moments later. The Sairfangs were no longer visible, and Samarra could not hear Merganser because the monstrous twister encircling the portal absorbed all words.

Samarra clawed her way back to her brother. Dry grass and soil spat at her from all directions. With a booming
crack
and
clap
the diamond spheres smashed into each other and exploded in a flash of white light. The portal fell still. In the blink of an eye, Samarra's vision shattered like a mirror and the world went black.

When her vision reconstructed itself pixel by pixel, Samarra found herself wrapped tightly in an opaque cocoon. A gaping wormhole had appeared above the portal and was pulling the three passengers into its trail.

Samarra was the first to take off with a loud
whoosh
. She squeezed her eyes shut to block out the view. Bile rose in her throat and she gagged once, then twice before she threw up. Her eyes brimmed with hot tears and racing thoughts pummelled her brain at a rate she could barely process. There was no pain, though, only uncontrollable quivering and the strange sensation of electrical currents surging through her body as the cocoon shuttled through the traversable wormhole. Samarra coughed and smelled the reek of her own vomit.

"Cass, I'm coming..." she said, and fainted.

When Samarra came to, she was still in the cocoon and floating in space. The wormhole had faded into a distant haze and the darkness around her was broken by a million pinpoints of starlight. A blazing sun in the distance and a handful of planets and moons dusted the area with cosmic energy. Samarra looked around frantically — she had been separated from Merganser and Cassian along the way.

All kinds of thoughts tumbled around in her head. What if she got stuck? Who would come to her rescue? Where was her brother? She told herself to relax and counted to ten. Her heart was racing by the time she reached five. With a gasp, she remembered her tattoo. Maybe touching the image would help her wake up from her nightmare, but Samarra couldn't move her hands because they were pinioned to her sides. She closed her eyes and tried to paint a picture of the wolf in her mind instead.

Although not as distinct as her tattoo, an image of a black wolf appeared in Samarra's mind. She held onto the image for long enough to calm down, but she grew scared again the instant the wolf licked its lips. When a hideous growl arose from seemingly nowhere, she opened her eyes. Samarra's heart almost jumped out of her chest. Her cocoon was now stationary and she was face-to-face with a ghostly apparition of a wolf. Globules of saliva dripped from its foaming mouth. The beast circled the cocoon and watched her with its turbulent black eyes.