Enid stood before the alter of a church that seemed to be dedicated to her again. This was a medieval style church. No pews. Just row after row into the horizon of humanoid forms made of black ash. She looked to the alter and a young girl lay there and the officiant which seemed to be the overweight bishop from their last raid was holding up a stylized dagger in the form of Bloodseeker. The girl looked to Enid and smiled at her. Enid saw fangs. The bishop began to speak it was in plain American English.

“I give on to you this sacrifice, First Daughter of our Lord. May her blood nourish you.”

The girl spoke next.

“I give my blood to the mother blood goddess. Take me mother!”

The bishop slit her throat and let the blood pool into a stainless-steel bowl. He held it up to the massive crucifix with Enid nailed to Bloodseeker.

“Take this blood, Dark Mother so you may smite the wicked in our midst.”

The blood started to flow out of the bowl and into the open mouth of Enid’s effigy. The effigy’s eyes glowed purple. And Enid heard her voice ring out in the church.

“More!”

Enid turned away. When she turned back, she saw herself sitting on an Alabaster throne. Her skin a match for it. The only sign she was not a statue was her red hair and green eyes. The bishop was kneeling at the foot of her dais. The whole scene was making her stomach churn. Was this what she was becoming? Her statue like form spoke.

“Read from my book fat man. The story where I save the world for a second time.”

“Yes, my immortal goddess.”

He pulled out a thick tome and leafed through the book finding a place in the middle. He started tracing the lines of words with his index finger.

“A great darkness descended over the world. The blood goddess reached out her hand and smote her fallen brother. Then reached other hand out and swept aside the darkness. Then she looked upon the greedy ones and spoke thusly: You shall be punished. Then she devoured them to slake her thirst for blood. To the last she said: You shall never be free. I shall bring hell to earth, and you shall suffer in it eternally.”

He smiled up at Enid’s doppelganger, she looked down upon him.

“It has been read better. But you shall live for now.”

“I live only to feed your greatness.”

“Your blood is not worthy of my teeth or lips. You live so that others can see my mercy.”

“Yes, Dark Mother.”

“Now bring me more sacrifices. I feel like drinking more souls in.”

“At once!”

Enid turned away again, feeling sick in the pit of her stomach. Surely this was not some vision from God? The black ash statues started to walk towards her reaching out their hands. She screamed as one touched her.

“I am not her!”

A pulse of force emanated from her smashing the church to pieces and it froze. She was back in the white void of unstable universe she had shared with the Black Son. Instead of Lucius it was a dark reflection of Sextus looking at her.

“Finally, you see. Finally, you understand.”

“You’re dead.”

“I am. But my power is not.”

“That makes no sense.”

“And a vampire that becomes mortal at will does?”

“You’re just my mind playing tricks on me.”

“I am Chaos incarnate. I am an echo of what was, what will be. The remnants of Father’s first thought. All that I was, am, will be, resides within your tiny mortal frame. You can feel me there, at your beck and call. And oh, how you have called on me.”

Enid disregarded the figment and started searching for a way out of the white void. It was endless and bright.

“There is no escape until you come to terms with what you are becoming, chaos will have its pound of flesh.”

“I do not understand what you want.”

“For you to wake up sister. What I have always wanted. You have slept through life, a pawn to your mortal father’s whims, then my brothers, then our fathers. You are so much more then they let you believe.”

“You’re dead. You aren’t here, and you aren’t real.”

The figment grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him.

“I am real here, in your mind. Until you comprehend what you’re becoming you will not wake up. You will not allow yourself too. You’re frightened. The same scared little girl who cowered and followed her mortal father’s every instruction as he violated her. Oh, if you knew what you were then…”

“I’m a human who got turned into a vampire. That is all.”

“You are so much more; You always have been. Your mind will not let you accept it.”

He poked her forehead.

“It is stuck in this paradigm of a mortal form, mortal mind. You even let the power you wield damage your flesh bag. This body you wear, it’s not your true self. It never has been. Yet you still cling to it and its frailties. You limit yourself to these rules that creation has set, when you are beyond them.”

“This is who I am. You speak like I should be like that other version of me sitting on an alabaster throne demanding worship. I will not give up my humanity.”

“How you defeated me… I do not understand. Your humanity weakens you. Your flesh weakens you. Your need to fornicate… The true you would be disgusted by it.”

“This is the true me!”

Enid unleashed another wave of force and the white void shattered.

*****

Enid woke and bolted upright. She hit her head on the rock above her. She groaned and looked outside. She saw what looked like a desert oasis. Enid laid back down and held her head, then

She found her pack beside her but not Lucius. She searched around. She heard a male voice.

“Your sword is gone Slays-Demons. Your daughter has taken it and run off.”

Enid crawled out of the natural stone alcove and found herself in the soft shade of palm trees. The man who was talking to her was in desert clothes and had his face coverings pulled down.

“I am Crushes-his-Foes, or Abdi if you prefer. I am sorry for the accommodations we do not get many godling guests here.”

“Where did my daughter go? And why did she take my sword?”

“She hunts a demon. She said if it was here, it was here for one reason only to kill you.”

Enid clenched her fists.

“Foolish child.”

Enid glanced up at the blue sky. She would not be able to track her until nightfall. She sighed.

“Your daughter tells us that you require food and drink during the day, come, sit with us and break bread. We are honored to have warrior of your renown grace our camp.”

Enid followed Abdi to the camp proper. There were tents and various quasi-permanent shelters. Camels. She found herself swarmed by children. All trying to get her attention and to touch her. Abdi laughed. Enid kneeled and laughed. She ruffled some of the children’s hair and hugged a few. Answered a few questions about her sword and her armor.

“Sorry your daughter regaled us with the tale of how you forged a soul blade gave up your mortality to fight a Fallen one to protect your pack. They see very few wolf-born with a true name, and even fewer godlings with a true name.”

“How long was I out for?”

“Just over a day and a half.”

“How long has she been gone?”

“She left about six hours after you arrived, just before dawn.”

“That is a lot of distance to cover.”

“We will help you track her, eat and drink and refresh yourself first. We have things to discuss.”

“Why didn’t you go after her already?”

“Sit, eat, I will explain.”

He motioned to a rough woven carpet or blanket; She couldn’t really put a word to it. Enid sat down and leaned against a stack of pillows and a low wooden table was placed before them. It had a selection of meats, a bottle of wine, fruit and bread. Enid could not deny she was starving. She began to eat. He picked up some meat and poured himself a glass of wine and looked to Enid who nodded. He corked the bottle and placed it beside the big platter of food. He took a drink then leaned back and began to lazily pull apart the meat and eat pieces of it.

“Your daughter sent out a distress howl. My pack responded. We arrived and we see this cub of a wolf-born in human form holding off two of the most powerful godlings to roam this earth. She pleaded with us to save her mother. I was ready to grab her and leave, you were a godling, they were godlings it is not spirit-kin matter. But this cub refuses to be moved. She is covered in wounds from an epic battle. And she is ready to fight against hopeless odds, for a godling! Who was this brash cub that did not fear death and would stand in the way of gods? Why would the god’s hesitate, they could incapacitate her with a thought?”

He sipped his wine, put his bronze goblet down and tore off another piece of meat.

“Then I see it in her hands, a soul blade, I have only heard of them in legends of the great battle against the Devourer. No spirt-kin can wield a soul blade, only the first godling. Yet here she was determined to strike any who would approach this unconscious godling. I could see the pain on her face, the sheer determination that she still stood there on her feet. She was on the verge of collapsing. But she stood there daring these ancient Godlings to attack her. They wouldn’t, they had true fear in their eyes, they knew what she wielded.”

Enid took a drink of her wine she was smiling in spite of herself. Mothers are allowed to have pride in their daughters.

“She could see my hesitation. To get between Godlings it could anger the spirits. She called out: Please help my mother. I think: mother, a godling, how could this be? Did this godling take her in? Then your daughter said: This is my birth mother, she is my pack, she is blooded and true named Slays-Demons by tooth and claw. She is called mother by the Winter Wolf. Then she lifted her chin and straightened her shoulders, despite the agony, defiance bleeding into her words as she stared down the ancient godlings and she said: Ask the spirits if I lie.”

He broke a piece of bread off and took a bite, he continued after he swallowed.

“Her conviction rocked me to the core. This cub called you pack-mate, mother. My heart thudded in my chest. I couldn’t let this cub die if she is the future of our people, our people will be great. Still, this was a godling, and such claims, blooded with a true name? I looked to my spirit-talker.”

He took another bite of his meat.

“While the standoff continued in the physical world, my spirit-talker consulted the Desert Wind. It confirmed that this godling was blooded by tooth and claw, she was given a true name, she was birth mother and pack mate to this cub. Not only that she had slain a greater demon, and two of the fallen ones, but the marks of her conquests were also etched in her soul. That would have been enough, I had my excuse. My spirit-talker was curious, how was a godling mother to a spirt. The Winter Wolf is not familiar to us.”

He took a drink of wine.

“So, she asked the Desert Wind, is she mother to the Winter Wolf? The Desert Wind replied she is mother to all spirits. Finally, the Spirit-Talker asks, should we save her? The Desert Wind replies if you do not, we will, and your pack will find no succor with the spirits. I could not deny this, but I was still hesitant to risk the treaty, your daughter saw my hesitance, and she said: My mother is a hero of our people, if she is to die, let her die on her feet by tooth and claw.”

Enid sipped her wine and took a bite of her meat. She watched Abdi as he took another piece of meat and started picking it apart.

“Your daughter’s words touched me more than any threat from the spirits could. I could not let a hero, a blooded hero of the wolf-born die like this defenseless, helpless. So, I declared you were under our protection until you could defend yourself with tooth and claw, or blade as you chose. You daughter carried you for two miles before she collapsed from her wounds. When we tried to heal you, we found no wounds, and no reason for your condition, when the spirits were consulted, they said the battle you were fighting had to be fought alone.”

Enid’s face creased.

“Did they elaborate?”

He shook his head and took another bite of his meat. Enid scoffed.

“Typical spirits.”

He nodded and chuckled as he took another sip of his wine. Enid finished her wine and dusted her hands off.

“Do you know anything of this demon my daughter hunts?”

“It is a fallen one. Our spirit-talker had a vision. You were ripping the sky asunder so that the sun would shine, and the wolf of your womb was fighting the demon. Your daughter wouldn’t listen to us and ran off. We don’t even know where it is. Just that it is there, on the edge of our senses.”

She stood up.

“I thank you for your food and your protection. I am honored to have broken bread with you Crushes-his-foes.”

Enid bowed her head. He stood.

“Great mother, it is we who are honored to be in your presence. If you are mother to all spirits, you are mother to all wolf-born. My pack is now your pack. We will fight at your side, with tooth and claw until all your foes are slain, or we fall in battle.”

He took a knee before her. She offered her hand.

“We will fight the demon side by side, as pack mates, with tooth and claw.”

He stood and clasped her arms.

“One day you must tell me why all spirits consider you mother.”

“If I knew I would gladly tell.”

He laughed. He put his arm around her shoulders and pointed east.

“Your daughter was headed ea-”

He was interrupted by a teenage boy Enid recognized the case he was carrying immediately. It was a curse-scroll. If anyone but the intended receiver opened it, they would start to waste away from a terrible curse. Only the receiver can lift by reading the message, or the sender by wishing it. She reached out here hand. Part of the magic let you know if you were intended to read it, if you weren’t there was an aversion to opening it. She popped the lid and pulled out a piece of papyrus the script was in Atlantean. Enid quirked an eyebrow. Abdi waited patiently for her to finish. She crumpled the paper up.

“What does he send?”

“He controls the demon, and it has my daughter captured. I am to go to his library under the temple alone, and unarmed. I’m also to leave my pack here. If I do, he will have the demon release her. I do not trust his motives, my Uncle Remus will likely let the demon keep her after he gets what he wants from me, he is not a man of honor.”

“Uncle Remus? You are kin to him?”

“My father is the first godling.”

“Truly? Remus would risk his wrath by threatening the life of his granddaughter and daughter?”

“Only if he thought he could get away with it. I suspect he has no idea who he is dealing with but thinks he does.”

“She should have been able to kill that demon with your sword, Slays-Demons. She had a solid plan, the fact that he says you are not to bring your blade tells me he might not have her at all, or if he does, she has not shifted to human form. Perhaps she is waiting for the right time?”

The pair looked to the sky as it darkened as a shadow passed over the sun. The shadow exploded over the sky, and everything was dark.

“It’s started.”

“What has started?”

“We called it the Pogrom. The elders are going to devour the young.”

“Crushes-his-Enemies. I need you to save my daughter. I will delay Remus as long as I can if he gets what he wants she is as good as dead. He is very vindictive, and she wounded his pride, I wouldn’t be surprised if your pack was next.”

Enid offered up Hazel’s Atlantean blade.

“It will not destroy it outright, but this blade will cause it wounds it cannot heal quickly. It will know it when it sees it so don’t let it see it too soon.”

She reached into her pack and pulled out a flash bang and a black smoke grenade.

“The black one will create smoke, the other will cause a bright flash and a deafening sound. They are magic and they only work once. You press the handle like this, and you put your finger in this.”

She pulled the pin with her finger. He stumbled back.

“As long as you are holding the handle it won’t go off you will have a ten count before it goes off 1, 2, 3, 4…and so on if you are near the brown one when it goes off you will be blinded and you will go deaf. It is temporary. Don’t be near it.”

He looked confused.

“Okay pull the pin, throw the brown part at the demon, turn away and cover your ears. Be at least one half-wolf height away when it goes off. It will be dazed. Hazel knows what this is when she sees she will know what to do. Then you do the same with this, only don’t have to turn away.”

She held up the black smoke grenade.

“It works exactly the same, pull the ring, throw it at the demon’s feet while it’s dazed. Between the blindness and deafness and the cloud of dark smoke he will be mostly defenessless but you won’t be you can smell him, sense him. If you do this right, it won’t stand a chance. If you stab it in the head, or the heart or behead it with this blade, or you claws and teeth, it will be sent back to where it came from. If my daughter can hit it with the soul blade it will be destroyed, no going back home, no coming back it is gone forever.”

She offered the two canisters to him he took them with some hesitation.

“Please trust me, if this is a fallen one and you mess up even a little bit your entire pack and my daughter are dead. Please do not mess this up.”

“I will not fail you or your daughter mother of spirits.”

She reached into her pack one more time and pulled out two beacons. The if one was activated the other would flash. It was easy you press the top, once for white, twice for red. She offered one to Wei as she was closest. Three times turned it off. She showed Mai how it worked.

“Once white, twice red, three times off. If you find her alive, but it is not safe to rescue her press it once, if she is dead, or you have rescued her, press it twice, if I am betrayed and she is in danger I will press it once, when I have defeated Remus, I will press it twice. So, if your beacon turns red, its safe to rescue her, if it turns white, it might not be safe, but you need to try anyway.”

Mai took it and kept pressing the button finally she stopped and slid it into a pouch at her waist. Enid began digging in her pack again and she pulled out her a Glock, a flash bang, a silver nitrate gas canister and two of her tactical grenades. None of it was particularly dangerous to an Imperial vampire, if there were any Pugmentia they would likely not survive them. All were weapons of course, and against the terms of her surrender but she was betting on whoever saw them to not realize they had any discernable use in combat. She strapped the grenades to a utility belt and pulled it around her waist and clipped it together. Next, she pulled a roll of black duct tape out of her pack and tore off two strips. She lifted her hair up.

“Please hold my hair up.”

Mai, the spirit talker approached and held Enid’s Sarah face’s long platinum blond hair up. Enid placed the tape across the barrel of the gun and another strip across the grip. She tested it to make sure it was secure.

“You can let it go now.”

Enid straightened her out and turned her back to Mai

“Can you see it through my hair?”

“No…what manner of device is that?”

“Think of it like a sling that throws silver bullets really fast.”

“And those look different then the ones you gave Crushes-His-Enemies.”

“That’s because they are. One creates a gas of silver that will kill any tainted ones it engulfs. The other two are bottled balls of fire.”

“To have so many spirit bound items! You must be a mystic of great power.”

“Yes, yes I am.”

Enid hung put her pack inside the stone alcove and stared at it for a few seconds. She was never without it. She sighed and stood up and looked to the pack that had assembled by now.

“I need your word that no matter what manner of thing you see coming from Akkada you will not enter the city. It is my fight and my fight alone you joining may anger the spirits. Also, if he pushes me and I am forced to…I am not in control of my power you may come to harm, and I do not want to be responsible for that.”

“You have our word that we will not interfere with your battle.”

“If I come here and you are not back, I will come looking and if you are alive, I will aid you, if you have fallen, I will avenge you with Tooth and Claw.”

The rest of the pack had joined them by now.

“With tooth and claw!”

Enid shifted to her red furred wolf form. She joined them in the howl of the hunt. They ran off in different directions. Enid thought it would be better to hide her ability to fly. The less Remus knew about what she was capable of the better, and this way they wouldn’t see the weapons at all.