Nodding, Cyrus went back to the tree stump and leaned his ass against the rough tree bark. The two seconds it took for Luke to start speaking seemed like a lifetime, but when he did, the Guardsman had a whole new perspective on Aamon Blackwood and his family.
“The Blackwood family has been a scourge on this mountain for at least three centuries. The whole Voodoo-Hoodoo-Sorcery-Black Magic bullshit is new to this generation, but they have always been selfish, arrogant, and just plain mean.” Scratching at his beard, he kept going, “Now, Aamon was the apple of his daddy’s eye. Not only because he was a boy, but because it took so long for them to have him, and there were complications with his birth that left Momma Blackwood unable to have any other children.”
“Is it wrong to be thankful that there are no other little Aamons running around?”
“Oh, hell, no!” Luke emphatically responded. “We were all sorry she was so sick and so sad, after all, she was the only nice Blackwood, but we all saw the Devil in Aamon’s eyes from the moment he was born and thanked the Great Goddess there would be no more.” Shaking his head, he added, “I mean, two of his three older sisters were rotten to the core, and nobody ever saw the other one, so we counted our lucky stars and kept on putting one foot in front of the other.”
“Damn!” Cyrus spat. “There are four of them?”
“Yeah, and this here…” He waved the index finger of his left hand back and forth. “…is the work of the one and only, Angelique.”
“But how?”
“I am gettin’ to that.”
“Well, get quicker.”
“Okay, okay, okay, take a breath. I’ll tell ya.” Shaking his head with a grin on his face, Luke started again. “Now, I’m gonna give you the Reader’s Digest version, ‘cause it would take years to tell you everything.”
“Works for me.”
With a single nod, he went on, “A while back, Angelique fell in love with some Voodoo Wizard goth-lookin’ dude who showed up on their side of the mountain. Needless to say, her daddy was pissed. All they did was fight, and the Wizard guy said it was bad juju and he was goin’ back to New Orleans. Well, Big Man Blackwood blew his top. The minute his eldest was out the door, he took away her birthright.”
“Son of a ….”
“You can say that again.” Nodding with his eyes wide, the Black Bear kept right on going. “I don’t know how long she was gone, but it was at least a couple of decades, and when she got back, well, let’s just say, she was supercharged.”
“Did she get her birthright back?”
“Nope, she’s got a lot of power, but her younger sister, Angeline, is meaner than a black snake and has the loyalty of the whole damn Pack.”
“Is she already in charge?”
“Not in so many words, but yeah, pretty much.” Luke quickly shook his head. “Momma Blackwood is still alive, bedridden, but still alive. She can’t do anything, so she’s given her daughter the okay to run the pack, but as you know, the Magic of the Luna won’t pass to her until her mother passes.”
“So, how did she do this?”
“She didn’t do this,” Luke snapped, his irritation suddenly a living, breathing being between them. “Weren’t you…?”
“Oh, he was listening,” a low, rumbling voice with a thick Scottish brogue burst into the Black Magic bubble holdingthem captive. “He just can’t help speaking before his brain is completely engaged.”
No sooner had the disembodied voice chuckled than the Voodoo net all around them exploded. Dark, Mystical shards of dirty Magic flew in every direction. The horrific acrid stench of burnt herbs, flesh, and fur filled the air as a thick black fog emanated from the very center.
Opening his mouth to speak, Cyrus didn’t even get to draw a breath as a gust of fresh, clean air cleared the air and the majestic flap of Dragon wings reverberated off of every surface. Looking straight ahead, the Guardsman had to blink twice to be sure what he saw was real– the chasm was gone. There was no trace. It had all been an illusion.
Mouth still open, his eyes about to fall out of his head, Cyrus’s head fell back as far as it would go, and what he saw was truly an answer to prayers– circling the above was none other than Carrick, letting the Dragon King with whom he shared his soul take the lead.
Closer and closer he descended until the Guardsman could see the eyes of his mentor shining through those of the mighty Winged Warrior. From one beat of his heart to the next, the garnet Dragon Shifted into the renowned Elder, and Carrick’s feet hit the ground.
Without missing a beat, he turned toward the Black Bear, gave a quick bow of his head, and greeted, “Nice to see you again, Luke.”:
“Damned nice to see you, too.” Pushing off the boulder, he closed the area between them and held out his hand, smiling as they shook. “I mean it, I am happier than I know how to say to see you.”
“And I am happy to be of service.”
“How did you…?” Pointing to the left and then the right, he cleared his throat and started again. “How did you do all this?”
“Let’s just say that I have been alive a long time and have learned a lot of things.”
