101 | MAGICAL BACKLASH

I hum to myself as Blue and I brace the winter morning to cross through the woods that connect my land to Azure territory. More specifically, to Mom’s new house. I haven’t had a full-morning visit with her in a while, and Blue almost never has the time to come with me whenever I do meet with her, so today’s visit has me excitedly bouncing as I walk. It’s not like Mom and Blue never talk - because he’s her Alpha and I know he probably sees her more often than I do - but I’m never there to observe them.

I’m curious to see how they interact, my two favorite people.

This is my first real ‘relaxing’ weekend in a while and I’m looking forward to spending time with Mom. All of last week was spent reorganizing the problems in my life, including dealing with the new form of meditation, and keeping myself calm through the full moon. Now that my Pack’s gotten through their first shift of the year, I feel more relaxed in general. There hasn’t been any more important news on the Revenant or any reports from the West or even Darklight. Mina and Ryker still video-chat to give me updates, but it seems while they’re training new vamps in the ways of the Guardian, pretty much the only thing with enough skill to kill a Revenant, they’re at a stalemate too.

All my bouncing has my two necklaces jostling against my skin. One being the collar thing Blue gave me, the other the charmed necklace from the witch. I’m more balanced now, so I barely wear the enchanted one with the blue-green stone, but I know if I show up at Mom’s without it, she’ll be worried. So, before we left, I’d fished it out of the bathroom junk-drawer and put in on, tucking it under my sweatshirt. Mom’ll be able to see the metal links and be soothed by the sight of it. Or so I hope.

As Blue and I stomp up the steps of Mom’s cabin, trying to get the slush of snow off our shoes, the door swings open.

Mom’s grinning at me, pulling me into a hug before I can take a step towards her. Her usual scent of cinnamon filling my nose and mingling with the Azure’s signature pine. I squeeze her back, keeping my grip human-light, but firm as I hug her back. For a moment, we stand on her porch, holding each other and allowing our wolves to come to the surface. Her soft skin rubs against mine as she nuzzles my cheek in greeting before finally releasing me.

I take her in, trying to keep my expression happy and calm, even though I notice the slight pale undertone to her normally tan skin. There’s a few more wrinkles and lines on her face, making her look a little older than usual, and smudges that stick to the under parts of her eyes. Eyes that, despite her slightly more haggard appearance, are dancing with life.

“Morning, Marissa.” Blue nods to Mom and she nods back, here eyes meeting his briefly before lowering in respect so they rest on his cheeks.

“I’m so glad you two made it,” Mom tells us, still grinning brightly.

“I know we’re a little late,” I wince, an apology hovering in my tone.

“Nonsense, I was just worried the snow would start up again before you two got here. And then I worried you wouldn’t have a coat-” She starts her usual motherly-rant of worries as she gestures for us to follow her into the cabin. The smells of breakfast call to me a we walk through a small living room with a fireplace and couch, through a hall and to the right - ending up in the diningroom/open kitchen.

Simple wooden furniture fills the room, making the plates of steaming food waiting for us stand out all the more. The table where three places have been set up, has four chairs, but I know Hale isn’t much for ‘breakfast’, even though we invited him. The Coven and Court have been keeping him busy recently, some of his people working with what remains of the Court to monitor the Revenant situation.

Despite Blue being Mom’s Alpha, they talk to each other normally, the only difference in the way Mom talks to Blue being how she lowers her eyes when he looks directly at her. Other than that, everything’s so blissfully normal. We sit and eat and talk. Every moment is filled with the normality of it all. As if we do this all the time. There’s an ease to our conversation as we discuss the mundane: school, work, and day-to-day life.

Mom and Blue get into an animated discussion about the Pack, nothing too heavy, just about some of the members and the odd quirks Mom’s noticed while working at *Lia’s*. I’m listening to them speak, working on my second cup of coffee, when my head starts to feel funny. For a moment, I feel some sort of pressure in the back of my mind, not something I notice immediately, but far in the recess of my mind. It’s there and gone in the blink of an eye, and I think I’ve imagined it as I take another sip of coffee and try to tune back into Mom and Blue’s conversation.

We migrate into the open area of the kitchen, ferrying the now empty dishes to the sink. There’s a distant sound that tugs at my ear. A soft hum and the odd scent of sage that makes me think of the wards on the town wafts across my nose. I frown, sniffing the air, but not really smelling anything aside from the normal scents of Mom’s kitchen. I close my eyes briefly as Mom says something to Blue, their voices fading into the background as I try to tune into the sound.

At first, I hear nothing. Not in the traditional sense, at least, which is why I turn my attention inward and use some of my extra senses - like that that comes with feeling auras. Almost immediately, I hear chanting slowly rise - like the ‘scent’ I’d caught a second ago, it’s not a real sound or even in my head. The soft words call through the very fabric of the universe, clear like a bell, but also so far that I can’t distinguish the syllables…and then the foreign words turn into chanted Latin, with the background of chanting rising up with it.

I start catching a few words like ‘banish’ and ‘evil’ in the Latin translation of the chant, but it’s not clear. The words from the opposing language smother and intertwine with the Latin - like they’re fighting each other. My chest tightens with the conflicting sounds, and the now acrid presence of sage and vanilla in the air. I cringe as the power presses against my skin, my skin crawling with the feel of it. I nearly lose my breakfast when the smell of rotten eggs breaks through the strong smells and I gag.

“Red?” Blue’s voice whispers in my head, confusion and worry clear. I shake my head, trying to rid myself of the suddenly oppressive weight in the air. Magic crackles in around me, so dense and potent that I half-expect to see Mari when I open my eyes and look around. But the witch isn’t here. It’s just Mom and Blue in the room with me.

Mom’s eyes have glazed over, her skin glowing with more health than I’ve seen in a while. But something’s off. I can see it in the odd way her eyes go vacant as the color in her complexion warms a few more shades and her crystalline irises brighten with manufactured health. It’s like the tea’s potency has improved astronomically in the last few seconds - which isn’t possible.

And then the stone against my breastbone starts to radiate more heat than ever, the glow burning so bright, it practically laser-beams a stream of light through my sweatshirt. I let out a hiss as I tug it out from under my shirt and cringe away from the brilliance of the too-bright light just as the stone starts to cook my skin. The heat it’s throwing increases as the pressure makes my eardrums pop, and a cascade of spots flicker across my vision.

Blue pulls the necklace from my grasp, working the chain from my hair gently, but quickly as even the shiny metal starts to brighten. My mate lets out a string of curses as he drops the chain, staring at his hands as the too-bright-to-look-at necklace makes red welts bloom on his palms. In a matter of seconds, the marks fade, healed, but the necklace continues to grow brighter, and scorch marks start to fan out around the area around the jewelry.

I jerk back with Blue, my eyes wide as I watch the stone start to fracture before my eyes, the light that it’s been throwing off now shining through the cracks. I sway as the pressure continues to build in my head and I fight the urge to reach out for a chord - watching in horror as they slowly start materializing in the room with us. I haven’t called on them, and they’re not lashing with the sort of heat that threatens to hurt me, but they’re still visible.

Mom’s eyes are still unfocused, but the expression of calm and bliss has warped into one of confusion, and her skin’s rippling - like she’s fighting the shift. I don’t feel the urge to go into my Wolven form, and neither does Blue, who’s still staring at the necklace slowly making the wood counter smoke. Suddenly, there’s a sort of jolt of energy that explodes from nowhere, making my knees buckle - and then everything’s back to normal.

I’m left gasping on the floor, Blue’s arms wrapped around me, and ears ringing as my body normalizes and the feel of Magic evaporates. I shudder in my mate’s arms, leaning int his solid form for support as he rubs my shoulder and helps me stand. Somehow, Mom’s still standing, but she’s no longer staring off into nothing, she’s blinking and rubbing at her head as if just coming out of a dream.

“Mom?” I ask her, my voice sounds muffled and distant as my ears work to heal themselves from whatever damage they’d sustained from the weird fluctuation of pressure. She turns to look at me, seeming a little surprised to see me, then her eyes flicker to the necklace that’s laying on the counter.

“I’m fine, Wisty, but your necklace-” She covers her mouth, looking a little green as she takes a step away from the counter. I frown at her reaction and look towards the necklace - Only to gasp when I see the gemstone on the end has shattered into a million little shards and the metal has melted against the cracks in the wood.