Shadow of the Moon (11 page)

ELEVEN

“It was the most hideous thing I’d ever seen,” Seth said. “I’ve never wanted to shift so badly in my entire life.”

“The fact that you didn’t probably saved your life,” Lucas told him. “It took guts to fight your instincts.”

We were all in the front parlor. Only moments before, Brittany had burst into the bedroom to let us know that Seth—who’d been out on patrol—had encountered the harvester. All she’d seen was me sitting on the bed, my back against the headboard, and Daniel standing by the window looking out. After that heat-seeking kiss we’d untangled ourselves without a word and gone to our separate spaces. I didn’t know what he’d seen in my eyes, but if it was anything like the desire I’d seen in his, then I figured he was probably as spooked as I was.

Although neither of us was as spooked as Seth. I was actually having some success at pushing back his emotions so they didn’t consume me. I didn’t want to invade his inner space, to share his feelings. He tried to mask the shaking of his hands by keeping them in motion, rubbing one and then the other.

“It must have heard you guys coming,” he said, his voice warbling slightly.

Kayla and Lindsey walked in, both carrying trays with steaming mugs of hot chocolate that the cook had prepared.

“Here, hot chocolate for everyone,” Kayla said, setting her tray on the coffee table in front of the sofa where Seth was sitting. I took one, finding I needed something to do with my hands as well, not because they were trembling, but because they wanted to touch Daniel.

Standing by the fireplace, he uncrossed his arms to take a mug from the tray that Lindsey offered him. The room seemed almost too warm with the large fire burning in the hearth, but I knew that Seth was still chilled from his encounter.

Seth peered up at the guys. They were all still standing, while the girls had settled into various chairs around the room. “You took a chance shifting.”

“We didn’t feel its presence,” Lucas said. “We didn’t smell it either. It smells like rotten eggs.”

Seth turned up his nose. “It does. But I didn’t smell it until it was already there. It was like it just materialized out of the ground.”

“From hell,” Connor said.

When everyone looked at him, he just shrugged. “That’s where legend says it came from.”

“He’s right,” I said. “Because of our healing properties, we’re not easily killed. So it was created by black magic to destroy us. Or so says each of the ancient texts that I’ve read.”

“I’m not a big believer in magic,” Rafe said.

Connor looked at him as though he’d spoken in a foreign language. “Dude, you turn into a wolf.”

“That’s different. It’s not spells and black cauldrons and eye of newt.”

“Whatever,” Brittany said. “Arguing about it isn’t going to change the fact that we have one dangerous creature out there. Does anyone know if the elders have figured out how to destroy it?”

“With magic,” came from the doorway, and we all turned to see the elders standing there.

“What kind of magic?” Rafe asked skeptically.

“We’ll explain in the morning,” Elder Wilde said. “It is still a few hours until light. You should all sleep now.” He held up a slender finger. “No shifting. The harvester can be anywhere.”

“I thought the harvester had power only during the full moon,” Lucas said.

“It is close enough to that time that it can begin to wreak havoc. The other elders and I will keep watch for the remainder of the night. The rest of you must sleep.”

As I went up the stairs with the others, I thought it a little naïve to think any of us could sleep. I could feel Daniel’s gaze on my back.

At the top of the stairs he said, “Hayden?”

I looked back and he jerked his head to the side. Touching Brittany’s arm, I told her, “I’ll be in the room in a minute.”

I went over to Daniel and waited until everyone had disappeared down the hallway. He touched my cheek. “I won’t let it have you.”

I heard absolute conviction in his voice.

“You might not have a choice. You know as well as I do that the first shift is not controlled by the person but rather by the moon—there’s no stopping it.” Standing on my toes, I pressed a quick kiss to his lips.

Then I walked down the hallway. A jumble of emotions was going through me. And this time they were all mine.

TWELVE

After breakfast the next morning we all gathered in the council room. At a large round table sat the eight Dark Guardians—including Daniel—who remained at Wolford and the three elders. Elder Wilde was in the middle with Elder Thomas on one side of him and Elder Mitchell on the other. Normally before a Guardian experienced her first full moon, she was considered a novice and sat in a chair along the side of the room. But since this meeting came about because of me, I found myself sitting beside Elder Thomas, who held my hand with his gnarled one. After more than a hundred years of shifting, in spite of a Shifter’s healing abilities, his body had begun to show the price of shaping and reshaping bones and muscles.

As leader of the Dark Guardians, Lucas stood. “As you know, the harvester threatened Hayden. It would not only reap her soul and her ability to shift, but her ability to sense others’ emotions. We’ve identified two other Shifters who will experience their first full moon at the same time as Hayden. They’re both males. We’ve sent four Guardians to keep watch over them while they face their full moon. We have faith they’ll be safe.”

While many Shifters served as Dark Guardians, at any one time only twelve sat at the council table, planned strategies, and placed their lives on the line to protect us. Lucas looked over at me. “We believe more will be needed to protect Hayden.” He nodded toward his grandfather. “Elder Wilde will explain.”

He sat down and Elder Wilde stood. “You were all here when the harvester took Justin. You know what it is capable of.”

Elder Thomas’s hand tightened on mine, but because the Dark Guardians hadn’t heard anything that was not expected, I experienced no spikes in anyone’s emotions. As a matter of fact, I was surprised by the calm that pervaded the room. Determination, confidence, even eagerness to confront the enemy slapped at the weak wall I’d managed to somehow erect.

Or perhaps the ferocity of my own emotions made everyone else’s pale in comparison.

“So how do we kick its butt?” Brittany asked.

“You must fight it without shifting,” Elder Wilde said. “And for that you need a special weapon. Come with us.”

Everyone rose and followed as the elders led us out of the room, along a hallway, down some stairs, and along another hallway to the room where the ancient texts were stored. We were allowed in this room only by invitation. But they didn’t stop here. They wended their way among chairs and boxes that housed treasures. They led us around stacks of books and papers. They escorted us to a bookcase.

Elder Thomas reached up and touched a statue of a wolf that rested on one of the shelves. The bookcase swung open.

I could sense everyone’s awe. A secret revealed. A hidden place that we’d not known about. We followed the elders into a narrow stone passageway and down another set of stairs to a large wooden door with ornate carvings. Elder Wilde removed a key from his pocket, inserted it into the lock. A click echoed around us. He pushed the door open and led us into a darkened chamber.

Someone flicked a switch and a light illuminated the room.

“Our armory,” Elder Wilde said.

I stared in wonder at all the weapons on the walls. Ancient tools of destruction. Swords, knives, axes, clubs—

“Is that Excalibur?” Connor asked.

“These are the weapons that concern you today, young warriors,” Elder Wilde said as he indicated a rack of rapiers, ignoring Connor’s question.

The handles were gold, but the blades gleamed silver.

“They are made of steel, coated in silver. Just as silver can kill us, it can kill a harvester,” Elder Wilde explained. “But this particular weapon has been tempered with magic. It must be embedded in the harvester’s heart.”

“I can do that,” Brittany said, reaching for a sword.

“All of you will need to begin practicing with the swords. Time is short. We will work outside.” He looked at me. “Except for you, Hayden. Your shift will occupy you—mind, body, spirit. The Dark Guardians who remain here will accompany you to your transformation, protect you as much as possible. The harvester will attack when your shift begins.”

“And then they’ll attack it?”

“Yes.”

I glanced over at Daniel. If he was my mate, he wouldn’t be fighting either—he’d be distracted.

“Still, I want to learn how to fight with a sword,” I said. “Anything could happen out there.”

In the heat of battle we’d have to be careful not to slice into any Dark Guardians. Our healing properties didn’t apply to a wound made by silver.

“So it shall be,” Elder Wilde said.

The swords they gave us to practice with were not the ones we’d use during the actual confrontation. Silver was too risky. Wooden swords probably would have been better, only we didn’t have any. Besides, we needed to get used to the weight. So steel swords it was.

We went outside, into the yard between the side of the manor and where the forest began some yards away. I didn’t think it was coincidence that I was paired with Daniel. I thought the elders were still doing some matchmaking. Everyone else was matched with their mate, except Seth, who had no mate. I felt for him. He was matched with Elder Thomas.

“The most important thing,” Elder Wilde said, “is to become one with the battle, to follow it, to immerse yourself in it. You cannot be distracted. You must concentrate.”

I felt everyone’s emotions peppering me. Anticipation, excitement, a little anxiety about the possibility of failure. Staying focused during practice was going to be a challenge. I couldn’t imagine how I would manage it in the heat of battle.

“Too bad you can’t distract me from everyone’s feelings now like you did last night,” I said to Daniel.

He grinned. “Well, I could but holding you so close doesn’t leave much room for wielding our training swords.”

I returned his smile. “I don’t think you’re taking this seriously.”

“If I’m your mate, I’ll be occupied.”

I shook my head. “No, I’m not going to have a mate.”

“You can’t go through it alone.”

“And you’ve been ordered not to shift.”

“You always want to have your weapon out and pointed at your opponent’s heart,” Elder Wilde said, interrupting my discussion with Daniel—which I considered a good thing.

I knew I was going to have to go through my shift alone. The problem was going to be convincing Daniel. But right now we both needed to learn how to fight.

Elder Wilde gave us a few more tips on stance and balance. Then the yard was echoing with the clash of swords.

I was surprised by the way my arm reverberated with each blow that I parried. We must have practiced for a half hour before the elders told us to take a break. I wasn’t wearing a coat. It would hinder my movements. But I wasn’t cold. At least not until I stopped moving around.

Daniel came over and put his arm around me, tucking me against his side. “You’re pretty good.”

I shrugged. “But I won’t be the one with a sword. Don’t even know why I’m practicing. Just need to feel like I’m doing something.”

“You are doing something. You’re serving as the bait.” I heard in his voice that he didn’t like it at all. “I could shift first, draw him out.”

“No!” I wrapped my arm around him. “Besides, it’s me he really wants. He might just ignore you. Or he could kill you and then come after me. He took out your entire family. He can move quickly, Daniel. Maybe he can even kill two at once. Who knows?”

“I just don’t like this plan.”

“I trust the elders.”

He glanced over to where they were talking.

“I know it’s harder for you because you didn’t grow up with them,” I said, “but they know the best way to handle the ancient dangers.”

“With silver swords? Why not a silver bullet? A gun would be better.”

I shrugged. “For some reason it has to be a sword. Maybe it’s the amount of silver, or the length of it, or who knows? It’s an ancient evil and this is what we need to defeat it.”

Daniel seemed to contemplate that, and then he called out, “Elder Wilde, will the harvester have a sword?”

“No.”

“Then shouldn’t we be learning how to bring it down when he’ll have a lot more mobility?”

“Indeed, Guardian Foster. That is the next lesson.”

The girls and Seth kept the swords while each guy pretended to be a harvester. We were still matched up one-on-one, and my partner was Daniel, who was darting in and out, scrambling around me. I swung, lunged, plunged without actually trying to poke the sword into him. We parried, feinted, jabbed. I swung the sword in an arc. I tried a fancy figure eight to keep him off guard. I worked to keep all the space around me a Daniel-free zone. My arms grew tired. I grew tired.

“You’re trying too hard, Hayden,” Elder Wilde said as he came up behind me, put his arms around me, and his hands over mine on the sword. “Wait, watch. Strike only once. When the moment is right. But always be ready for that perfect moment.”

Daniel lunged and withdrew. He maneuvered around me. He reminded me of a defensive player on a football team trying to get in for the tackle.

We waited, waited, swung—

Daniel leaped back and landed on his butt in the snow.

“We shall claim that as a strike,” Elder Wilde said, releasing his hold on me.

“You weren’t even close,” Daniel said.

Guys and their egos, their need to win.

He scrambled back to his feet.

“Try again, Hayden,” Elder Wilde said.

Daniel and I began the process again. I was finding it increasingly difficult to concentrate as the others improved, began taking pride in their accomplishments, began to gain confidence with the weapons. Their feelings bombarded me, made me grow dizzy, confused.

Daniel lunged for me. Not wanting to hit his heart, I brought the weapon around low. I don’t know if he moved too slow or I moved too fast, but it sliced into his thigh. Releasing a cry, he reacted without thinking and tried to shove it away, which resulted in him cutting his hand.

He dropped to the ground. The snowy area around him began turning crimson.