“What about your story, Great-grandfather?” Adriana asked, shuffling so she could sit between them both. “I have heard the tale told in the village, of men being turned into wolves by the power of the moon. But if all the first Daemons were created by Lilith, were you taken as a baby, too?”
Thomas hesitated, clear concern etched over his face as he glanced at Striga. He had always been forthcoming about his kind, the Lupi, but his origins had remained a mystery to Adriana, the gaps in her understanding filled with old folk tales from the children in the village that she without a doubt knew lacked absolute truth. But, judging from the strange expression on his face, it seemed Thomas was concerned about how best to explain such things. Adriana knew he would never wish to frighten her, but he would not lie to her either.
With a nod of encouragement from Striga, Thomas took a deep breath and told his story.
“I, too, was created by Lilith, though not from birth. I was nineteen years of age when she came to me. My friends and I had been at the local tavern. It was late and the streets were empty as we wandered to our homes. I could feel something watching us, I could feel its eyes watching our every move, and then I heard its voice. I cannot explain how, but I felt like I knew who she was. So, when she called to me, I went looking for her. Like a damned fool.” Thomas’ face fell as he recited his memory.
“It’s okay,” Striga said, reaching out towards him.
Adriana watched the pair of them as they grasped one another’s hands. She understood now why they seemed to always know what the other was thinking, how the other was feeling, because they had shared the same pain. Her great-grandmother hadn’t been loved by Lilith, she had been controlled by her, and it was clear to her now that Thomas had experienced the same.
Thomas gave Striga a half smile, not quite meeting his eyes like his usual grin, and continued. “I never found a woman, like I thought, but I found a wolf. Larger than I’d ever seen, with a bright white coat, teeth like daggers, and eyes red as blood. She attacked all of us, bit each of us with the Mordet bite.”
“The bite that turns a person into a Lupus,” Adriana murmured. She could see the strain of discussing the past in Thomas’ eyes and felt guilty for asking him to disclose so much to her. “You do not have to tell me if it is too difficult.”
“If we do not talk about our past, how are we to move on from it?” he asked as he stroked Adriana’s cheek. “We were bitten and made on the night of a full moon. From that moment, all Lupi have been at the mercy of the lunar cycle. Every night the moon is in full, mirroring the brand on our backs, we would shift into our wolf forms, and we would have one goal—one mission from Lilith. To destroy. At first we attacked anyone and anything, butthen our focus turned to killing Lilith’s first creations to walk the living world. The Lamiae.”
Adriana squirmed in Striga’s lap, not bothering to hide her displeasure at the mention of the Lamiae. “I do not like the sound of them,” she said. “I have never liked their stories.”
Thomas laughed at her reaction. “They are a ruthless bunch, I have to say. But they were never our enemy, not really. They were just the enemy Lilith chose for us, because they had disobeyed her and broken free from her control. If it weren’t for them, I would never have known I could free myself from the moon’s curse. I learnt to shift on command, and to remain in my natural form during a full moon. And then I taught my friends; Allen, Akinyi, Rhys and Robert. We were free from Lilith’s reach, and when any of them passed down their gifts to their family, we taught them to be free, too.”
Adriana sat still for a moment, taking in everything he had told her. She then stood and crossed her arms, staring down at her great-grandfather with an accusational look. “But you never gave me your gift. Why not? Is it because I am a girl?”
Thomas laughed loudly and Striga smacked him on the arm in response. “No, my Adria, of course not,” Striga said. “Whilst the first Lupi were men and the first Incantrices women, there are no rules or constrictions to our kinds. There are a number of female Lupi in our friends’ families, and my sister, Divina, has a grandson who has shown Incantrix gifts, as well as her granddaughter."
“The truth is, I never wanted this gift,” Thomas sighed. He stood up, using the ledge of the fountain for support to lift his tired, old body. “As the leader of the Lupi, I decided to never offer it to anyone else, just like the leader of the Lamiae chose not to. My friends passed the Mordet bite to their family and loved ones, but I chose to carry the burden alone, to let my curse die with me.”
Adriana could sense Thomas’ sadness in his words. His power, a heavy weight that he was made to carry since he was a young man, continued to weigh him down in his elderly age.
She had never been afraid of what he could turn into, she’d even watched him shift into his wolf a few times, though usually from afar and under the protection of Striga. She found his transformation beautiful to watch, even with the sounds of his limbs popping and his shouts of pain. In a strange way, she felt what others would view as the ugliness of a transformation as the most spectacular, the way in which a human body rearranged into a strong wolf. It made her feel strong too, knowing that anyone, no matter who they were, could become such a powerful being.
She knew Thomas struggled with his transformations now, his weak and old body could not always keep up with the strain, and so he avoided shifting as much as possible. It had been a few years since she’d seen his black wolf. Truthfully, if he hadn’t found a way to deny the full moon and stop his uncontrollable shifts, Adriana wondered if his poor heart would have likely given out long ago.
“You are not alone,” Striga told him. “You found me, just as I found you.”
Adriana smiled at the obvious love between them both, hoping that one day she could experience even a fraction of it with someone herself. “How did you both meet? You never told me.”
“That, I’m afraid, is a story for another time,” Thomas said, as he offered his arm to help Striga stand. “Your great-grandmother can tell you one day.”
“My love, perhaps a little longer?” Strigas asked, the pleading evident in her voice. “We could share one last story before… Before we go.”
Thomas sighed as he held Striga’s hand. “My light, we must go, we are already going to be late to the Courts. We knew this time would come.”
Adriana’s eyes darted between them, confused at the sadness in both of their voices. Her lips parted, a question already forming on her tongue, but Thomas caught her eye as he helped Striga stand and gave a small shake of his head.Not now, his silent message seemed to say.
Striga sighed, blinking away the tears that had begun to form in her eyes, and put on a bright smile. “Come, you should be getting back to your governess, before her annoyance with you grows worse.”
They walked back to Amara House in silence, the sun starting to dip behind the trees as afternoon blended into evening. Adriana’s mind was swarming with more questions, but Thomas had made it clear now was not the time to push them. Her great-grandparents had lived troubling lives, and she knew something more was worrying them today, especially when the Courts were not due to meet for another six years.
The Courts of Daemonium were a collective group of the first Daemons, built to represent and protect the magical beings of the world. The Incantrix Court was led by Striga and supported by her sister, Divina. The Lupus Court was led by the Five Wolves, consisting of Thomas and his four friends. And the Lamia Court was led by the Eight Blood Brothers, with their leader also acting as the founder and commander of the Courts. They all met once every ten years to discuss matters of urgency regarding Daemon and mortal conflict, and so Adriana wondered what would cause them to need to gather earlier than usual.
As if sensing her worries, Striga took her hand and said, “Something has happened, but it is nothing you need worry about now. Your time in the Courts will come, when you areold enough. But until then, do not trouble yourself. Worry about your governess instead.” She winked at Adriana, as she headed towards her quarters to get ready for the meeting.
Adriana opened her mouth to call her back, but refrained when she heard a small sob escape her great-grandmother. The sound was so unlike the strong, often sharp-tongued woman she knew.
A chill snaked down Adriana’s spine as she watched her great-grandmother disappear up the stairs. Something was terribly wrong, and she was not allowed to know about it.
Thomas knelt down in front of her and took her hands in his, his gaze intense and unwavering. He did not say anything, but his eyes held a sadness she longed to place. If only she knew what had made her great-grandparents so upset, maybe she could fix it, maybe she could help. Her magic was growing, Striga had said as much. She just wished she was powerful enough to help with whatever reason the Courts were meeting for.
