Chapter 25 The corrupted Light
"Your eyes," Isla whispered. "Mara, your eyes are different."
Mara touched her face. She could feel the change. Her body hummed with two kinds of power now. Light and dark. Fighting each other inside her.
"How do you feel?" Zevran asked carefully.
"Wrong. Everything feels wrong." Mara looked at her hands. Her fur flickered between white and black. "What did Morgana do to me?"
"She corrupted you," Shade limped over. The Shadow Wolf was wounded but alive. "She gave you shadow power. Now you are neither light nor dark. You are both."
"Can it be undone?" Riven demanded.
"No. Once shadow touches you, it stays forever." Shade sat down heavily. "But it is not all bad. With shadow power, the Moon Wolf can actually hurt other Shadow Wolves now. Before, she could only defend. Now she can attack."
"At what cost?" Zevran's voice was hard.
"Her soul. Little by little, the shadow will consume her. Unless she learns to control it."
"How long does she have?" Luna asked.
"Depends on how much she uses the power. Could be years. Could be days." Shade looked at Mara with his empty eyes. "Every time you use shadow magic, you lose a piece of yourself. Use too much, and you will become like Morgana. A creature of pure darkness."
"No," Zevran grabbed Mara's shoulders. "We will find another way. We will remove the shadow power somehow."
"There is no other way!" Mara pulled away from him. "Do you not understand? Ravak would have killed us all! This was the only choice!"
"It was not the only choice! We could have run!"
"And then what? Hide forever while Shadow Wolves hunt us one by one?" Mara's voice rose. "I made a decision to protect everyone! Why are you angry at me?"
"Because you made that decision alone! Without talking to me! Without letting me help!" Zevran's ice pale eyes blazed. "We are supposed to be partners! Mates! Husband and wife! But you keep making choices that affect both of us without including me!"
"I did not have time to discuss it! Ravak was going to kill me in three seconds!"
"You should have let me fight him! Let me protect you!"
"You cannot protect me from everything! I am not some weak human who needs saving anymore!"
"I know that! But you are acting like you have to do everything alone! Like I am useless!"
They stood facing each other, both breathing hard. The bond between them sparked with anger and hurt.
Elder Sage tapped her staff on the ground. "Enough. You two can fight later. Right now, we have bigger problems. Ravak will return. And he will bring friends."
"How many friends?" Marcus asked.
"All of them. Every Shadow Wolf that exists will come for the Moon Wolf now. They saw what Morgana did. They will see it as a challenge."
"Wonderful," Corin muttered. "So we went from one Shadow Wolf problem to all the Shadow Wolf problems."
"How many Shadow Wolves are there?" Kira asked.
"Four in total," Shade said. "Me, who serves the Moon Wolf. Ravak, who we just met. Morgana, who made the deal. And the Shadow King."
"What about the Shadow King?" Mara asked. "When will he come?"
"Last. He always comes last. After his servants have weakened you. After you are desperate and afraid. Then he appears to finish you." Shade's voice was grim. "But with Morgana's deal, things are different now. The Shadow King will come sooner. Much sooner."
"How soon?" Riven demanded.
"Days. Maybe a week."
"Then we have a week to prepare," Mara said. "A week to gather our allies and get stronger."
"You need more than allies," a new voice said.
Everyone turned. A man stepped out from behind one of the stone pillars. He was old, with long white hair and a beard. His eyes were solid gold. No pupils. Just gold.
"Who are you?" Zevran moved in front of Mara protectively.
"I am Theron. Not the Elder Theron. The first Theron. The one who lived a thousand years ago." The old man smiled. "I am a spirit. A ghost. The Moon Goddess sent me to help train the Moon Wolf."
"Train me in what?" Mara asked.
"In controlling your new powers. In balancing light and dark. In not losing yourself to the shadow." Theron walked closer. "The Moon Goddess is very disappointed, by the way. She gave you pure light. And you immediately corrupted it with shadow. That is like taking a perfect gift and smearing mud all over it."
"I did what I had to do to survive!"
"Yes yes, survival. Everyone always uses that excuse." Theron waved his hand dismissively. "But what you did was dangerous and foolish. Now I have to fix it before you turn into a monster."
"I am not going to turn into a monster!"
"Not if I train you properly. But it will be hard. Painful. You might die."
"Great. Another thing that might kill me. Add it to the list." Mara crossed her arms. "When do we start?"
"Now. Right now. We have wasted enough time already." Theron looked at everyone else. "The rest of you need to leave. Training is private."
"I am not leaving her alone with a stranger," Zevran said firmly.
"I am not a stranger. I am a spirit sent by the Moon Goddess. Also, I am dead. What exactly do you think I will do to her?"
"I do not care if you are dead or alive. I am staying."
"So stubborn." Theron sighed. "Fine. You can stay. But do not interrupt. And do not try to help. She needs to do this alone."
Riven stepped forward. "Will she be safe?"
"Probably not. But she has a better chance with me than without me." Theron looked at Mara seriously. "This training will push you to your limits. You will face your fears. Your doubts. Your darkness. If you fail, the shadow will consume you completely. Are you ready for that?"
"No. But I will do it anyway."
"Good answer." Theron smiled. "Everyone else, go. Make camp somewhere far from here. We need space."
Slowly, the other wolves left. Zevran was the last to go. He kissed Mara's forehead.
"Come back to me," he whispered.
"Always," Mara promised.
But as she watched him walk away, she felt the shadow inside her whisper.
Liar. You might not come back at all.
When everyone was gone, Theron turned to Mara. His golden eyes seemed to look right through her.
"Sit," he commanded.
Mara sat on the ground. Theron sat across from her.
"First lesson. What is shadow?"
"Darkness. Evil. The opposite of light."
"Wrong. Shadow is not evil. Shadow is absence. It is what exists when light is not there. It is neutral. Empty. Waiting to be filled." Theron leaned forward. "You think shadow is your enemy. That is your first mistake. Shadow is part of you now. You must accept it. Work with it. Not fight it."
"But Shade said it would corrupt me."
"It will. If you let it. But corruption is a choice, not a destiny." Theron touched Mara's chest where her heart beat. "You have light in here. Pure moon light. The shadow cannot touch that unless you allow it. Your job is to keep the light strong while using the shadow as a tool."
"How do I do that?"
"By remembering who you are. What you stand for. Why you fight." Theron pulled his hand back. "Now transform. Show me your wolf form."
Mara transformed. Her white and black wolf appeared. The colors still flickered and fought each other.
"Interesting. The shadow has not fully integrated yet. You are fighting it even now." Theron stood up. "Stop fighting. Accept it. Let it become part of you."
"But I do not want it to be part of me!"
"Too bad. It already is. Now stop whining and accept it!"
Mara took a deep breath. She stopped pushing against the shadow power inside her.
The moment she did, pain exploded through her body.
She collapsed, howling. It felt like her bones were breaking. Her fur was burning. Her soul was being torn in half.
"Good!" Theron called. "Let it hurt! Pain means change! Change means growth!"
"I cannot do this!" Mara gasped.
"Yes you can! You are the Moon Wolf! You survived slavery! You broke a curse! You faced Shadow Wolves! You can survive this too!"