Chapter 3

“Oh thank goodness Uthur. You found him!” Gabrielle said as she came sprinting across the yard.

Uthur smiled at her, “Don’t worry Gabby, the boy is fine. I was able to find him at the creek.” A shadow fell across Gabrielle’s face as she realized the implications that went along with that statement. How much had Damien been told? Would he be mad at them for having lied to him for so many years? Clearly she had these questions pained on her face because Uthur looked at her as a low rumble escaped his throat, barely audible. Gabrielle quickly looked away, pulling her hair aside ever so slightly.

Before Damien could ask any questions about the sound, Gabrielle took him in her arms, “Why would you run off like that? I know you were upset but we were all here. You could have asked any one of us.”

Damien looked up at his mother, releasing himself from the vice like grip she had on him, “I’m sorry mom. It was all too much and I needed to get away. It was the one place I could think of that I could go without everyone following me. We see how well that worked out.” He glanced over at Uthur. “Thinking about it Grandpa how did you get to the creek so fast?

Uthur just smiled, “All in good time Damien. All in good time. That's enough for now though, where is this pie that I was promised?”

Gabrielle laughed and said, “Oh you mean the one that Marcus put into Damien’s face?”

Laughter filled the air as they made their way across the lawn to the table that everyone was waiting at. James threw a soda at Damien, which promptly hit him in the face causing laughter to once again burst out across the lawn. “Well then I guess young Damien there needs to work on his reflexes a bit.”

After everyone settled and food had been distributed, Uthur, now sitting at the head of the table, looked at each person in turn. “My family, this is a joyous day that we have come upon. It is Damien’s 16th birthday. He is a man now in my eyes, and in such regard I hope you have brought presents befitting a man.” He winked at Damien.

“OH!,” shouted James. We will go first. He smiled at Lily as she reached under her chair, pulling out a small box. She set it down in front of him then retook her seat. Damien reached out. Unwrapping the small box from the newspaper they had used as wrapping paper. This was a good start. He knew they didn’t have a lot of spare money so them having gotten him anything at all was something that he knew he would cherish. Underneath the layer of newspaper sat a small wooden box. Beautifully engraved with a wolf sitting underneath a moon. The wood was a deep mahogany color with what Damien guessed to be runes carved along the sides. It looked old. Slowly he pulled the lid open and inside sat a crystal. One so clear that it looked like it may fall apart if he touched it. The crystal was stunning, he had seen none like it before. As he stared at it the crystal began to take on a soft blue glow. Drawing attention to only itself, the crystal pulled at Damien’s mind. He saw the world around him blurring, becoming ever more ethereal the longer he stared at the crystal. Blue light began to spill as tendrils from the box the crystal laid in. His caution having seemed to be drawn away, he reached toward the crystal. As he did the light tendrils wove across the table toward him as if they were reaching out. Just before they reached his hand Marcus reached out snapping the lid shut. “Damien, did we lose you?”

Damien looked toward his father, snapping out of the trance that the beauty of the crystal had unwillingly caused. He smiled, “Nope, still here.” He looked over to his aunt and uncle, “Lily, James, thank you so much. This must have cost a fortune. It is beautiful.”

Lily smiled, “Damien that cost me nothing but a little piece of memory. That was given to me by my grandfather. That crystal is one that will react differently to every person who touches it. It will show you what's inside yourself, revealing your deepest truths.” Damien smiled because he knew that his aunt was one who believed in metaphysical magic that had become a trending thing in society today. If it was that special to her then he would hold it to the same regard.

Staring back at the box, he wondered if that light was something he had only imagined. Weird things had happened this morning, things with no explanation, but looking around the table it looks like no one else had witnessed the light leaking from the box, or if they did, they didn’t show even the slightest reaction to it. Maybe later he could look at the crystal again, see if he noticed the light again, that way he would know if he had actually witnessed that, or if it was just a trick his mind had played as the light of the sun reflected through the clear crystal. Closing his eyes and shaking his head, he looked up at his family, not daring to touch the box right now.

Uthur smiled at Damien when he looked his way, seeing the confusion buried within his gaze, “Now then, who’s next?”

Marcus spoke up, “Now it's our turn. Damien, your mother and I have had this for a very long time, it has been passed down through generations of our family,” he glanced at Gabrielle and smiled, “now it's your turn to hold on to it.” From under his chair Marcus pulled out a medium sized box. Unlike the box with the crystal this one was a plain stone box. Nothing out of the ordinary as far as he could tell. Opening it, he found a small scroll, which looked worn and ancient, the paper having yellowed with time. Gently he picked it up, unrolling it. On the scroll written in scrawling letters were the words fire and light, darkness and cold, to each we hold the light of the moon's deepest plight. Below the words was another picture of a wolf howling at a moon. There seemed to be a theme here, Damien had begun to notice that much.

As he read the words, they seemed to jump from the page. Blurring everything else around. “Fire and light….” the light of the sun seemed to intensify as the words poured from his mouth, “darkness and cold,” suddenly there was a shift in temperature as the light from the sun made a sudden shift to what looked like dusk had come early, “to each we hold the light of the moon’s deepest plight.” The box that he had set down earlier with the crystal busted open. The blue light from the crystal he had witnessed only moments before pulsing out of the box, streaming up into the sky. Each pulse sent a wave of energy pulsing through him. He could feel the heat and cold, light and darkness. Not as if they were just normal everyday sensations that everyone experiences, but instead as if they were tangible things he could reach out and grab hold of. They raged through him, knocking him back in his chair. He looked out at his family as this unseen force held him in place. The sheer power of it made him unable to move. Everyone was watching him, frozen in place, with big smiles on their faces. Each one of them looked as if they had been stopped in time. No breath escaped from their lips, no whisper of sound. Surrounding each person a veil of deep darkness had formed, towering above their heads. Fear was the only thing that registered in his mind when he saw the emptiness that surrounded his family. Within the darkness around each family member he felt a presence take shape. First it was the eyes. Silver, above his grandfather. Blue, above his father. Red above his mother. Yellow above both his aunt and uncle. As he stared at the glowing eyes within the darkness, a dim light began to form causing the darkness to take shape. The darkness descended to settle next to each individual. Slowly the darkness took shape. Wolves now sat where the darkness had once been. Their eyes glowing the color of the eyes that were in the darkness. Each wolf's fur was black as night, but had also taken on a slight hue of the color of its eyes. The most terrifying being the wolf that sat next to his grandfather. It was large, the biggest wolf he had ever seen, even in pictures and movies. But it wasn’t its sheer size that was alarming. It was the pure authority it exudes. He cowered even further back in his chair as the wolf looked his way, the glee from his fear noticeable in the wolf’s eyes. Slowly the wolf stood. Step by agonizing step he inched toward Damien. Damien felt with everything he was that death had come for him. Why he felt this way he wasn’t sure, but he knew that much was true. He was going to die. No one was going to help him.

Without warning the wind picked up, causing spirals of leaves to descend on the surrounding area. On the wind he heard that familiar voice, but this time it was less of a whisper and more like someone was screaming, “Know who you are!” He felt that familiar power ignite within his chest. The same power that had come from the shadow in the light when he was up against Ithic. He reached deep within himself, grabbing ahold of that power and drew it out. Wave after wave of energy pulsed from him, slamming into the wolf. With each burst the wolf was forced a step back, until it stood once again by his grandfather. The wolf looked at the others and seemed to nod. With that each wolf turned and walked away, heading to the woods. Damien knew in that moment that that was not the last he would see of them.

As the wolves disappeared from sight the darkness began to lift. Normal light now regained its footing, along with the warmth that had been present prior to the sudden shift to cold. Slowly each family member began to move, time restarting as if nothing had happened. He wanted to scream out, run away, anything. He knew though, that the only answer he would receive was the only one he had gotten all day. All in good time. With no other ideas about what to do, as it seems no one else had once again witnessed what happened aside from him, he smiled and thanked them for the gift.

As silence descended over the table everyone turned to Uthur, who sat with a thoughtful look on his face staring at the two gifts that lay in front of Damien as if weighing the gifts that had been presented. Looking at his eyes, Damien noticed for the first time that when the light hit them just right, a sliver light flashed deep within. When Uthur noticed everyone staring at him he cleared his throat, “Right then, I guess it must be my turn.” He reached under the table and pulled out a long box. Placing it in front of Damien he smiled, “This also is something that had been in the family for generations, which seems to be the theme of things today. But even though these gifts are old I hope that you will appreciate them all the same.

Damien looked up at Uthur, “Of course Grandpa, you guys being here is enough of a gift for me. You rarely come around anymore.” Damien looked down at the unwrapped box. Uthur reached forward, releasing some latches that Damien hadn’t noticed and pulled the lid back. Inside was the most stunning sword Damien had ever seen. It had a long thin crystalline blade that reflected the light from the sun in dazzling fashion. The hilt was fashioned from ebony, deep blackness swirled within the handle, drawing in the light directly around it, feeding the light into the blade. “This blade is one that was forged in the heart of the forest,” Uthur said as he closed the lid, “It may serve you well to not focus on it for too long. One day soon this blade may be of use to you, but for now, keep it in its case.”

Damien smiled and nodded, “Of course, Thank you grandpa. It’s beautiful.”

After the gifts had been opened and all the food eaten everyone got up and began to wander the yard. Damien, unaware of his aunt standing behind him, stepped away from the table and headed out across the lawn, as she slipped the crystal into his pocket. The light from the sun shimmered across the grass, giving it a glow that didn’t seem quite right. Grass was green, not gold. Damien laughed it off as he walked along the edge of the forest.

How was he supposed to handle this? Was he going crazy? It was the only thing that made sense to him. These things didn’t exist. Magic, shadow wolves, crystal swords. What he had imagined today would be like had quickly imploded on itself. As his thoughts wandered through the events that had occurred just this morning, everything seemed to come back to one thing. The wolves. They were everywhere. Stopping, he reached into his shirt and pulled out the amulet that hung around his neck. Staring at the wolf's face that was engraved on the metal, it felt familiar. The wolf was something he had seen many times before, but it was deeper than that. He felt as if it was part of him, an extension to him. Its face was different from the face of the wolves that had sat next to his family. Its eyes were kind, gentle, unlike the malice that he had felt at the core of the other wolves. Why was this one different? What was it about this wolf on the amulet that seemed to give him a sense of calm amongst the storm that was brewing about him. The light from the sun glinted off the eyes of the wolf, a soft golden glow settling onto the metal of the eyes.

“Know who you are,” came the whisper yet again as the wind rustled the trees overhead. “Know your fate.” Damien, perplexed, looked in the direction the whisper had come from. In the woods he saw that same impenetrable blackness that he had seen across the creek. This time he noticed that the darkness wasn’t stationary, but instead it swirled back in on itself. He could feel it pulling at him, drawing him closer. Without realizing it, his feet began to move. Closer and closer he got to the darkness, but he couldn’t stop himself. His body wasn’t responding. He couldn’t take his eyes away as the darkness grew closer. Something was calling to him from within the shadow.

Hearing the call, his body responded, moving of its own accord. With each step he grew nearer, until he stopped, directly in front of the wall of shadow. Shadow, as far as he could see in all directions. Having not regained control over his body, he stepped into the shadow, cold washing over him. He closed his eyes, the strength of the cold freezing him to his core. He felt the icy grip of the shadow slithering along his body as if a snake had coiled around him. With each undulation of the shadow he felt sadness and decay seep in. The gentle smell of the honeysuckle along the woodline was no more. Instead, it was replaced with what he could only describe as rotting meat. The cold burned his skin as it continued to writhe across his body. Although the pain seemed unbearable to him, his body continued to move forward. With each step he felt any form of hope or peace leaving him. Being sucked away by the darkness. Without warning the cold eased, the lashing of the darkness no more. His body now giving control back over to him. He was weak. Each breath was hard. He could feel the mist from his breath rise as he released the breath he had been so desperately holding onto. As his legs gave out and he dropped to his knees he opened his eyes, which he had just realized he had held tightly shut all the way through the shadow.

He stood inside a small grove, dense vegetation surrounding the now starry night sky. What happened to the sky? Where had the sun gone? He looked back at the wall of shadow, which, just as before, reached in every direction as far as he could see. A solid wall now, except for one small door like area. Not wanting to go further into this unknown grove he had been forced into he stood and stepped back into the shadow hoping he could get back into the forest he knew. After stepping into the shadow he stepped back out into the clearing in the exact spot he had just entered.

How could that be? He couldn’t get back through? He tried again, and once again was rewarded with a view of the grove.

He turned to face the center of the clearing where he noticed a small fire twinkle in the distance. Having no alternatives, clearly the door of shadow not being an option, he decided that direction was as good as any, so he started walking. Every now and then he heard the snap of a twig in the distance, or a growl from the brush. Something was out in the darkness watching him. As he neared the fire the ground began to turn mushy. As if he had walked into a mud pit right after a rain. Walking became hard as the mud became thicker and he began to notice the rotten odor growing stronger. He could still see the fire in the distance, a way to stave off the cold, so he pushed forward. What was happening? Where was he? He couldn’t think about those questions, because the pressing issue was the cold. The closer to the fire he got, the colder it seemed. Shouldn’t it be getting warmer with the heat from the fire within sight?

The stench was becoming almost unbearable now, making it harder to breathe. He was only a few steps away, so he had to push through it. Suddenly the ground surrounding him began to bubble, “Why have you come boy?” Damien started at the sound, jumping. He took the final few laborious steps to the fire and turned to stare at where he heard the sound come from. From the mud came a large man-like creature he had never seen before. A clawed hand was the first thing to break free, the tips of the claws dripping with a black liquid. Slime coated every inch of the creature as its full form came into view. The skin of the creature rippled across its body as it came closer to Damien. “Again I ask, why have you come?” Damien heard the voice in his head though the creature had no mouth that he could discern. Damien did not know what was happening, so he went along with it deciding that right now that was his only course of action. “I did not come here, wherever this is, willingly. I was forced here. I had no control over myself.”

The bubbles increased in intensity for a short moment. Was the creature laughing? “None are forced here. Something brought you here.” With a grand gesture, the creature motioned to the fire. “Come child. Sit. We will find out who you are.”