Chapter 7 Blood and Moonlight

Selene's POV

The edge of the knife was cold against my wrist, but the power that ran through it bristled my whole arm with goosebumps. Thalia intoned the incantation in a tongue that I didn't speak, her words cresting and falling in waves on the sea. The runes under me brightened and brightened with every repetition, until I lay back in a pillow of shining starstuff.

"Close your eyes," Thalia took a breath. "Let go of the old Selene. Stop fighting to hold on to who you were."

I willed my eyes closed as the knife slid into my skin. Blood foamed and dripped down onto the altar, and wherever each drop fell on stone, the runes flared like tiny suns. Sadness shot up my arm, but it was not just bodily. Something deeper was breaking within me, something that felt like my very soul being torn asunder.

The chanting built, pounding against the marble pillars that formed a circle around us. I sensed Thalia as a warm wave surging in my direction, with centuries of power and knowledge at its center. Within the wave was something else – cold, dark, and ravenous, outstretched to touch me with dark claws.

"Repel it," Thalia's voice was distant. "The curse would take you as well. Don't let it pull you in."

My body began to convulse. Every muscle cramped at once, arching my back away from the altar as agony ripped its way through me. It was as if bones were moving and reconfiguring themselves, as if my own existence was being rewritten by non-corporeal hands. I tried to scream but nothing emerged.

And then the real pain began.

Blaze incinerated me, reducing everything I'd ever known to ash. Memories flared up and reduced to nothing – marriage to Corwin, warm afternoons patching up pack members, quiet hours on the river where I'd fantasized over children and gentle dawns. All dissolved to ash and blew away on air I couldn't feel.

But to the aged, something new was added. Knowledge flooded into my brain in whirling whirlpools – how to see truth in a man's eyes, how to get at honesty by a word, how to see deceit and lies through crystal glass. The power was amazingly old and immense, and trying to fill an ocean in a teacup.

"Let it out," Thalia's voice grew more reedy, fading away. "Don't fight to hold it back. Let the goddess reshape you."

I could feel her vitality flowing into me, rich and gold and fading. She was giving up her life to save my own, offering up everything available in this ritual. I could sense her recollections combining with mine – centuries of dedication to the goddess of the moon, of protecting the innocent, of fighting corruption and oppression. Her desire for justice was my own. Her sense of responsibility was mine.

The transformation carried over to my face as well, and I was aware of my facial structure altering. My cheekbones became higher, my nose more pointed, my lips fuller. My dark auburn locks transformed into deep brown, and when I lifted my lids, I knew they'd switched from green to gold. I was myself, yet completely different.

"It is working," Thalia breathed. Her voice was as old as the wind through dry leaves. "The goddess greets you. She blesses this union of power and intent."

But the curse was not yet through with me. I could feel it building up once more, trying to devour the new power that surged within my veins. Icy fingers wrapped themselves around my heart, speaking to me in a breath of vengeance and annihilation. It sought to use these powers in anger instead of justice, to be used as an agent of vengeance instead of one of truth.

"No," I could say to her, my words husky. "I will not yield to darkness."

"Good girl." Thalia's fingers wrapped around my own, trembling but warm. "Keep this with you. When the power seeks to move you to cruelty, recall why you tread this path."

The ritual reached its end. The altar beneath my feet pulsed with silver light so white and holy I could see it inside my eyes. Each rune, each etching, each glyph of ancient knowledge blazed out into light that was not fire. The air within our circle hummed with holy power.

And then silence.

I opened my eyes and found the moon overhead, full and bright. It was changed in it now, though – I could feel its strength in my bones, its blessing like a mother's soothing touch. The connection between the goddess and me was there, real, tangible, unbreakable.

Thalia lay on either side of the altar, her face as calm and timeless. Her white robes, streaked with blood – mine and hers – but she smiled.

"Did it work?" I asked softly, rolling over slowly. My whole body ached, but it was good hurt that comes from hard labor accomplished.

"Look at your hands."

I lifted them to moonlight and breathed. My skin shone softly, as if starlight flowed through me instead of blood. If I curled my fingers, I could feel the pale silver lines on the palmar surfaces of my hands – a sign of the favor of the moon goddess.

"The power is yours," Thalia breathed. "Use it wisely. Save your pack. Uncover the truth."

"How do I know it actually worked? How do I rehearse these skills?"

"See me and hear the words I speak." Thalia's eyes crashed into mine, and now I could see something I had never seen before. Truth glowed around her like a halo of gold, warm and clean and unmistakable. "I am proud of you, child. You will do wonderful things with this gift."

Every word was true. I could feel the truth in them, sense the deep well of hope and love that had led her to this act. It was too much – not just to hear truth, but to experience it through every medium available to me.

"Now I'd like to share a falsehood with you," she continued. "I'm not going to die. This ritual has made me stronger."

The words hit me like blows. Lying was slick and cold, and it made my gut churn. The golden aura of her faltered and danced, letting the dishonesty behind the sweetness show. I had the lie on my tongue, bitter and tart.

"I can see it," I abruptly blurted out. "I really see when someone's lying."

"Moreso than that. You can force truth from others, though it takes will and focus. You can sense the motives of people's actions – love, hatred, fear, ambition. Their souls are open books to you now."

I stepped down from the altar and knelt beside her. "What do I do now? How do I return to my pack without being identified?"

"Your scent is altered, as is your countenance. Your voice, too. Even the energy pattern of your wolf has been altered." Thalia's breath was growing shallow. "You are no longer Selene. You will have to adopt a new name, a new persona."

I took a moment to consider it. "Vera. It means truth in the ancient language."

"Perfection." She smiled weakly. "But child, there is more you must be warned about. The Beta who wrongly accused you – his corruption is deeper than mere ambition. He serves forces which would destroy everything your pack treasures."

"What forces?"

"I don't know everything. But in my visions, I was seeing silver-eyed wolves, wolves that don't belong on this world. Kane is bringing something terrible through the wall between worlds, and your pack is just the start."

My blood ran cold. "Demons?"

"Or something similar. Creatures of darkness and thirst who feed on war and despair." Thalia held on to my hand with what little strength she had. "You have to stop him, Vera. Not just for justice, but so that the people you've ever cared about can live."

"How? I'm by myself now. One person with these strange abilities against an entire conspiracy."

"You will never be alone. There are other workers of the light, spread out across the lands of the wolves. When you are ready, they will seek you out. Or you will seek them." Her gaze was weakening. "But first, you must return to your den. You must go into your pack and gather proof of Kane's misdeed."

"What if I am too weak? What if these powers are not strong enough to take him down?"

"They will. The goddess does not play games with her servants." The voice of Thalia was dwindling into a whisper. "Never forget, child – truth always prevails in the end. It may take time, it may cost sacrifice, but lies cannot hold up to the light forever."

I could feel the life draining from my hands. This woman who had saved me, who had instilled in me the will to fight, was going to die because of my actions. The burden of that giving would haunt me for the rest of my days.

"Thank you," I wheezed. "For everything."

"Don't thank me yet," she gasped. "Thank me when Kane is dead and your pack is safe. Thank me when justice is finally being served."

Her hand stopped trembling in mine, and I could feel her soul leave her body in a gentle breath. Thalia no longer existed, but her strength lingered behind in the power coursing through my veins.

I slowly got up from my seat, experimenting with my new abilities. Everything felt different – stronger, sharper, more acute. I was experiencing the life force of all the animals in a mile radius of the temple. I was experiencing the truth of things as I never had before.

But with this immense power, a gigantic responsibility. And my responsibility was clear-cut: return to Crescent Pack, expose Kane's conspiracy, and save all those whom I had ever known from whatever wrongdoings he was cultivating in the world.

I carried Thalia's corpse and interred her in a stone sarcophagus in the center of the temple. Old magic sealed the door on her, where she would remain eternally alongside the other priestesses who had come before her.

Then, I walked along to the edge of the sacred ground and looked back at my homeland. The forest radiated under the light of dawn rising, painting the sky with pink and gold tones. It was beautiful and terrifying all at once – the last sunrise I would ever see as the woman I had been.

When I stood up to go, I said almost jumping out of my seat. A man stood under the shade of two ancient oak trees, looking at me with eyes that sparkled like silver coins. He was tall and thin, with black hair and alabaster skin that reflected in pre-dawn light.

"Hello, Vera," he said softly, his voice as soft as velvet. "I've been waiting for you."