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“Renew and transform, the soul’s alchemy.”
As Morio chanted the last line, I drew his spell through me, combined it with the energy of the Elementals, and let it fly as I plunged the horn into the target on the Black Beast’s chest.
A shroud of icy fire rose forth, as cold as Hel’s domain.
The unicorn screamed, a terrifying shriek that echoed in the heart of every creature living in the Deep. Smoke began to rise from his body. As I stumbled back, the crystalline horn burning my hands, the Black Beast let out another piercing cry and turned. As he galloped away, the flesh began to melt away from his body and the Moon Mother cried out in joy.
“Run! Lead the Hunt, for you are my newest priestess, and it is only fitting you and your sacrifice are honored this night at the helm of the Pack!”
The Moon Mother slapped her hand against my right shoulder and a cutting pain sliced through me as her touch ate into my flesh. Something was happening to my back, but I didn’t have time to figure out what it was because she shoved Morio up beside me and we took off, chasing the now-skeletal unicorn who plunged through the early dawn. Followed by my Lady and the pack, we ran until the stars burnt themselves out of the sky. We ran until the sun threatened to creep over the horizon. We ran until the madness left us.
CHAPTER 16
Groggy, I opened my eyes and struggled to sit up. My shoulder burned. Actually, both shoulders burned like a fury, and I was warm with a light fever. I squinted in the morning light, trying to figure out where I was. I wasn’t still in the Deep, that much I knew. No, I was in a bed, under a thick quilt. I shifted, pushing myself to a sitting position, and heard someone stir beside me. Morio was just waking, under the covers by my side.
“Camille, how do you feel?” Trillian’s voice cut through the fog as he sat down by my side, pressing a cup of dark coffee into my hands. Iris stood near the door, carrying another cup that I assumed was for Morio.
“Like Hel warmed over. Where are we?” I glanced around the room. It was tidy and looked too cozy to be anywhere I was familiar with.
“At an inn. We’re in the Dryfor Village.” He held my hands to steady the hot drink and I slurped it down.
“Where the hell did you find coffee over here?” Otherworld had its pleasures but coffee wasn’t one of them. We’d grown up with it as a treat, because Father used to slip over Earthside and bring it back for our mother, but most Fae had never heard of it.
“I never go anywhere without a stash,” Trillian said, grinning. “So, what do you remember about this morning?”
“Not much,” I said, turning to Morio, who had greedily accepted the mug of steaming java from Iris. “You?”
He frowned. “Vague events, but nothing after . . .” His voice dropped and I knew what he was thinking.
I glanced around the room again. “How secure is this place?”
Trillian motioned to Iris, who checked the door to make sure no one was outside. “Secure enough. Feddrah-Dahns is downstairs, though. They won’t let him up the steps.”
“That’s fine, because I’m not sure how much to tell him or what he knows.” I hesitated for a moment, then just blurted it out. “Last night I sacrificed the Black Unicorn to the Moon Mother.”
Pursing his lips, Trillian let loose a low whistle. “So that’s what the commotion was about.”
“What commotion?”
“When you and Fox Boy came tumbling off the astral, so did another woman—a priestess of the Moon Mother. She hustled us up and told us to get you out of the Deep before dawn broke. In fact, she paved the way by bringing horses with her. If you could call them that.”
Iris cleared her throat. “They were skeletal beasts, terrifying, really, but they ran as fast as the wind and stopped on the outskirts of Dryfor Village. Then, before we could say a word, they vanished. The priestess said someone would be in touch with you once you return Earthside. She suggested strongly that the moment you two are fit to travel, we get the hell out of here.”
“Camille, look,” Trillian said.
“Look at what?”
“Your back.” He held up a small hand mirror sitting on the chest of drawers. I glanced over my shoulder at my reflection.
On the right shoulder blade a new tattoo had emblazoned itself in my skin. Opposite the silver spiral on my left shoulder marking me as Moon Witch was the outline of a black owl flying over an elaborate crescent moon with horns pointed up. The crescent sat atop a dark orb.
The emblem all priestesses of the Moon Mother were tattooed with.
I caught my breath and watched as the tattoo shimmered and glistened. The spiral on my left shoulder mirrored its brilliance and it looked like my back was inset with diamonds and onyx rather than the ink of the Moon Mother.
“I’m a priestess,” I whispered.
Iris nodded, her face serious. “So you are, Camille. And someone will be coming to visit you to help you adjust, but now we have to hurry.”
