I elbowed Echo out of the way, my impatience overriding any sense of decorum, as he was taking his precious time to walk up the few steps that stood between us and whatever it was that I felt so powerfully drawn to behind that door.
I got to the top and huffed in frustration when I turned the handle and realized the door was locked.
I bounced nervously in place, a surge of agitated energy, and Echo gave me a baffled look, pulling out the keys once more, clearly unaccustomed to such frantic energy.
“You okay there?” he inquired, his brow furrowed with concern.
I nodded, a quick, jerky motion, and sighed in relief when the door finally swung open, the heavy wood groaning in protest, and my feet finally made it across the threshold.
I stopped short, the intense need that had pulled me forward abruptly dissipating, and I was left confused as to what had caused it in the first place.
Looking around the room, I saw items much different from the ones on the lower level.
While there had been numerous weapons—swords, hammers, arrows, and the like—there were more jewelry pieces in this area, delicate and intricate.
There were also a number of fur pelts, dark and luxurious, and even some elongated teeth in jars scattered around the room.
The magic pulsed all around me in waves, thick and almost suffocating, making it difficult to discern what had lured me here in the first place, the specific source of the pull.
“What is all this?” I asked, my voice a whisper of awe, running my hand over one of the pelts.
It was a dark color, grey almost black, and it was unbelievably soft against my fingertips, a sensual texture.
“This floor houses more wolf stuff,” he explained, his voice hushed, “that’s why the room isn’t as big and why there’s a lot of pelts and,” he turned one of the jars over in his hand, revealing more teeth, before settling it back onto the shelf.
“Teeth.
The room is basically off-limits to anyone who isn’t a wolf.
We like our ceremonies and traditions to be kept private.”
My eyes darted to his, indignation rising.
“So why did you allow me to come in?
You could have told me that before, I would have searched for something in the other room, respectfully.” I couldn’t believe he would just let me waltz in here without warning me first, without a single word of caution.
I turned to leave, but his hand wrapped around my bicep, pulling me to a stop, his grip firm but not painful.
“Relax,” he said, a calming tone in his voice.
“First of all, you’re here to help me, so if this was where you felt you needed to go, then so be it.
Alpha gave you free rein.
Secondly, if the ancestors had a problem with you in here, you wouldn’t have gotten past the door.
The room is literally only for wolves.” He shrugged his shoulders like it was no big deal, his casual demeanor infuriating.
I looked away from him, turning my head so that he wouldn’t be able to read any expression that might show up on my face, any tell-tale sign of my internal thoughts.
He was thinking the ancestors allowed my presence; I wasn’t so sure.
I was thinking it was okay for me to get over that threshold because I was part wolf as well, a revelation that both thrilled and terrified me.
I suddenly felt a distinct thrum of power coming from a glass case further into the room, a subtle vibration that called to me, and quietly made my way to it, drawn like a moth to a flame. Find the original chapter at novelping.com.
Within the case lay a dark orb, no larger than a grape, and an immense, palpable power emanated from it, a silent hum of energy.
Echo looked at me with a mixture of excitement and fear, his eyes wide, before he walked over to the case and plucked the orb from its cushioned position, his fingers wrapping around it.
I had to hold back the snarl that threatened to rip from my lips at the thought of someone else’s hands on the thing, a possessive instinct I hadn’t known I possessed.
“It’s not this, is it?” His shoulders sagged, and the chagrin was clear in his expression, a deep disappointment.
I shook off the overwhelming possessive feeling that had descended upon me moments before and tried to focus on the task at hand, to remain objective.
“What is it?” My voice came out in barely a whisper, a strained sound, but he heard the question just the same.
“It’s called the Oculus,” he explained, his voice low and reverent.
“The story goes that it was once the eye of the first Vkodlak ever, Lucien, and when he died, killed in battle, his best friend, who happened to be the most powerful witch in existence, placed his spirit into his eye, the only thing left of his body after he sacrificed his life to save her child.”
“Morgana.
That’s the witch you’re talking about, isn’t it?” I asked, a recognition forming in my mind.
He nodded in confirmation.
“I knew it was a long shot that it would be for me,” he continued, a wistful tone in his voice.
“I mean, if the Oculus hadn’t even chosen Alpha Cree to be his conduit, why would it choose me?”
“Why should it have chosen him?” I asked, my brow furrowing.
Though curiosity was at the forefront, the niggling feeling of another magical presence kept pulling at me, a softer, happier hum in the background.
Nothing as strong as what I felt with this Oculus, but it was almost like the two items were sentient beings.
One saying, ‘not me,’ with an air of ancient aloofness, and the other yipping like a happy puppy, begging to be set free, eager for attention.
“I keep forgetting you’re new around here,” he said, a small smile playing on his lips.
He gently set the Oculus back onto its place in the center of the cushion, and I was flooded with relief, the possessive urge subsiding.
“Alpha Cree is a direct descendant of the first Vkodlak, Lucien.
It would have made sense for it to accept him, but no matter the wolf to touch it, it always remains dormant.”
“But it’s not dormant,” I countered, my voice firm.
He looked at me, confusion written on his face, his eyes wide.
“I can feel the power coming off of it; it’s almost suffocating.” His eyes lit up in excitement, a sudden understanding dawning on him.
“You mean?
Has it chosen me?” It was clear he wanted this to be his conduit, the reasoning behind it might not be clear, but I could tell how badly he wanted this, his hope palpable.
I hated to be the one to bear the bad news.
“No, I can feel the magic, but your item is on the shelf back there,” I said, pointing vaguely behind him.
“It’s like it has a mind of its own and has been hounding me to tell you where it is for the past five minutes.”
He dashed over to the shelf in question, his movements quick and eager, and I knew when he’d found it, hidden in the back amongst all the other artifacts, because the thing squealed in delight, a faint, high-pitched sound only I could hear.
He turned around to confirm his findings, his face beaming, but I didn’t expect the giant canine tooth that hung from a leather chain that was gripped firmly in his hand, radiating a comforting warmth. This chapter was taken from novelping.com without permission.
I confirmed that it was indeed the item, and watched as he marveled at it, a true moment of connection for him.
My attention was once more brought to the orb, which I now knew was an eye, a powerful relic, and I slowly moved my finger toward it, drawn by an irresistible force.
My fingers hovered over it for about two seconds before wrapping around the cool, smooth ball.
At once, I could feel the true depth of its power, a searing warmth coursing through me, causing me to gasp softly, my breath hitching in my throat.
My initial amazement turned to horror when the orb, which was once nestled in my palm, slowly, inexorably, began to sink into my skin, disappearing as if it were melting.
Shock and overwhelming fear consumed me, prohibiting speech or any other kind of reaction as I looked on in horror as the orb completely disappeared below my skin.
It was only when I saw the black, snake-like veins moving rapidly up my arms that I released a horrified scream, a primal sound of terror.
Echo was at my side in an instant, his face pale with alarm.
“What—what is that?” he stammered, his eyes trailing the black veins, which had now gotten to my elbows, pulsating beneath my skin.
“Get it out!
Get it out!” I clawed frantically at my palm, but the spot where the Oculus disappeared had already closed back up, leaving no trace, as if nothing had ever happened.
“It’s the Oculus, it’s in my hand!” Echo looked into my palm, seeing nothing there, and then looked at me as if I’d completely lost it, my words sounding like the ravings of a madwoman.
His eyes went wide when he noticed something on my arm, his gaze fixed in horror.
Horror filled me when I saw that the black veins had not only gotten to my shoulder, but the trail it left behind had now turned into some sort of weird tattoo, intricate and terrifying.
Lines spiraled all the way around my arm, intertwining with each other in some sort of macabre dance I never learned the moves to.
I looked at Echo, and I was certain the sheer fear I saw in his eyes was reflected in my own.
Heat raced up my hand, a burning sensation, trailing the path of the now permanent tattoo, and I couldn’t help the scream that burst free, a guttural, agonizing sound.
The pain was like nothing I’d ever felt before, searing me from the inside out, consuming my very being.
I tried once more to gouge the death orb from below my skin, digging my nails into my palm, but it was of no use; I could feel my energy being drained from me, slowly but surely, my life force ebbing away.
I’m dying.
This is how I die.
I could feel myself being pulled into the darkness, a comforting void, and at this point, it was welcoming, a release from the unbearable pain.
I silently begged the darkness to pull me under completely.
My eyes drooped, heavy and unwilling to stay open, and my vision was hazy, blurring at the edges.
The last thing I heard before I was pulled completely under was Echo’s sharp gasp, a sound of pure shock, before he said, his voice laced with disbelief,
“Your eyes.”