Chapter 5 5

Shadows of the Past

Scene 1: Threads of Omen

The wind was very boisterous as it howled along various roads, carrying with it the scent of frosts and many old secrets. Hilda walked fast due to the monstrous wind. She pulled her hood tighter on her upper body, her boots were crunching against hard bricks as she approached the ancient stone hovel which is tucked into the cliffs.

The door creaked wide open before she even knocked.*

Seer Ivara:(Her voice was raspy, it was very cracky, like an Arch which is dry and old. The wolf-girl has come to seek answers to questions which her heart is already dreading.

Hilda- (She steps inside) Then I think you already know the reason why I am here.

The seer's face was hidden under many layers of beaded veils and bone charms which made her look terrifying. Her blind eyes were milky white, they were unblinking. Her hut had a thick smell of dried herbs, smoldering incense, and old, stale blood.

Seer Ivara (She was cackling) Your Alpha is walking with a shadow which is not his own."

Hilda:(This revelation made her tense) "What is she? That woman whom he meets in the forest?"

Seer Ivara- (She touched a carved staff she held in her right hand) "She is a sorrow that is wrapped in skin. A restriction to a life that is unraveled."

Hilda: Does it mean that she is a threat to him?

Seer Ivara- What it means is that she is a threat to fate itself. The threads will twist when they touch. Old lines will fray; the Moon Goddess will weep raindrops on what should not be.

Hilda- (Impatiently growling) Enough of these riddles. Just tell me what is coming because of this entanglement.

Seer Ivara- (She rose up shakily, and placed her trembling hand on Hilda's forehead) The blood moon is coming, and it is coming with old debts which it will demand must be paid.

Hilda- (Her eyes narrowed) You keep confusing me, what debts you are talking about.

Seer Ivara- The kind of debt that is written in soulmarks, which is sealed in blood.

Hilda- (Shocked and pulled back forcefully) "Are you saying that Adolf is bound to her?"

Seer Ivara- (Her voice is low) They were bound before you were born, even before the kingdoms crumbled. Their bond stretches across lifetimes.

Hilda- (Her anger is rising) Then what about my bond with him? How would you explain that?

Seer Ivara- (She spoke softly as if she was whispering) The one who was meant to be... if fate had not been rewritten.

(*The seer's last words caused a long silence. All this while Hilda will clench her fists, bite her tongue while staring into space, the hurt flashed behind her eyes. She did not cry-but the fury that was swirling in her chest was colder than the mountain wind.)

*Hilda- (She then turned toward the door)"If fate has been rewritten, then it is best that I rewrite it back."

*Seer Ivara*- (Stated clearly)* "You should beware of the cost, wolf-girl. Whenever you fight fate... it will fight back."

End of scene 1

Scene 2: Echoes Beneath the Stone*

*The vampire ruins lay veiled in the moonlight and from moss. There were broken pillars that jagged out of the ground as if they were dangerous weapons placed purposely to destroy anyone or anything that gets close to it. There were vines that were coiled in a zigzag pattern and shattered in the archways. But the most striking thing was the air. It was as if it was thick with old magic-Valeria felt it surge through her skin as she stepped across the threshold.*

She paused a bit before stopping in front of a wide altar which was cracked down the center. Its surface was covered with mysterious and magical symbols that were very old. She took a deep breath before she removed her gloves.

*Valeria*- (She muttered softly under her breath)* Let the past speak to me.

*She placed her bare hand on the altar and pressed it gently. The stone moved faintly as she touched it, then her eyes rolled back.

*The vision that came to her struck her like it was lightning.*

---

*Sudden Flashes.*

*It was a battlefield that was soaked in twilight. Wolves were howling as vampires that were clothed in crimson descended from the trees. There was blood, fire, and screams everywhere.

*And then from nowhere comes a man, a man. No, it was *him.

*Adolf, but he was younger. His hair was wilder. His eyes are gold and he looks fierce. He was standing over her protecting her as she lay on the floor in pain. She had been wounded in the battle. Behind him, the moon was full-and it was stained red.*

*Past Valeria*- (She was still in the vision)* "Do not leave me!"

*Adolf (Past)-* (His voice choked)* "We were never meant to last in this life."

*Past Valeria*- Then I will surely find you in my next life.

*Adolf (Past)*- "But you will forget, you always forget.

---

*Then the memory ceased a bit, it split her mind like it was a mirror that broke under intense pressure. Valeria fell back from the altar. She was gasping. Her knees also buckled as she fell against a crumbling space. Her eyes were wide with horror and recognition.*

*Valeria*(She was still dazed from the vision she had just seen, she whispered to herself)* "You were mine..."

*The air in the temple grew very heavy, it was thick with the scent of old age and there was something else. It was the scent of a darker object. This object was like a wound reopening in the world. She clutched her head tightly. The visions were still clawing at her consciousness: Adolf's hands were intertwined in her own hands, there was a blade that had been thrust through his side, the vow he whispered into her hair as he died.

*

*Valeria*(Her voice was breaking as she cried)* "You were mine once..."

*And then she kept mourning in tears.

*After a while, the stone dust on its own swirled around her crumpled form, it was as if the ruins themselves were mourning with her.*

Then from the shadows of the broken temple, there was something that stirred. It was an unseen figure that moved among the rubble. It was slow, deliberate. Its voice, which was not that of a human, rasped through the dark:*

**???:** "So... she remembers."

End of Chapter