Chapter 32 The Shadow King’s Warning
They made camp that night in a cave. Everyone was exhausted from the past few days.
Mara sat with Zevran, just holding his hand. She did not want to let go. Did not want to risk losing him again.
"I can feel you staring at me," Zevran said without opening his eyes.
"I want to make sure you are real. That this is not a dream."
"I am real. See?" He squeezed her hand. "Real and solid and never leaving your side again."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
Nyra approached with her usual terrible tea. "Drink this. Both of you. You need to recover your strength."
"Is this another one of your magic potions?" Mara asked suspiciously.
"Just chamomile and honey. Though I could add poison if you prefer."
"The tea is fine."
They drank. It was actually good this time. Mara almost commented on it but decided not to ruin the moment.
"We should talk about what comes next," Zevran said.
"Can we have one night where we do not talk about dangers and plans?" Mara asked. "Just one night of peace?"
"I wish we could. But the Shadow King is coming. We do not have time for peace."
"How do you know he is coming soon?"
"Because Selene told me. While she was possessing me, she could see things. Sense things. The Shadow King is moving. Hunting. He will be here within days."
"Days?" Mara's heart sank. "I am not ready. My training is not complete."
"Then we finish your training. Tonight. Right now." Theron appeared out of nowhere. "No more delays. No more excuses. You master your powers tonight or you die when the Shadow King arrives."
"Can I at least finish my tea first?"
"No. Up. Now. Training starts immediately."
Zevran kissed Mara's forehead. "Go. I will be here when you get back."
"You better be."
Mara followed Theron out of the cave into the night. The stars above were bright and cold.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"Nowhere. We train here." Theron created a circle of golden light around them. "This barrier will protect us. And keep others safe from what we are about to do."
"What are we about to do?"
"You are going to die."
"What?"
"Not permanently. Just temporarily. It is the only way to truly master the balance between light and dark." Theron's golden eyes glowed. "You must go to the edge of death. Face the void. And come back stronger."
"That sounds insane."
"Most great things sound insane before you do them. Now, are you ready?"
"No."
"Good. Honest fear is better than false courage." Theron raised his hands. "This will hurt. A lot. Try not to scream too loud. You will wake the others."
Before Mara could respond, golden light shot from Theron's hands and struck her in the chest.
Pain exploded through her body. It felt like being burned and frozen at the same time. Like her soul was being ripped out.
She fell to her knees, gasping.
"Stand up!" Theron commanded. "Your light is being suppressed! Call to your shadow! Use it to fight back!"
Mara tried. But the shadow power was slippery. Hard to grasp. It kept sliding away from her mental grip.
"You are thinking too much! Stop thinking and just act!"
Another bolt of golden light hit her. This one was worse. Mara screamed.
Inside her mind, she heard whispers. The shadow power speaking.
Let me in. Let me help. Together we are strong.
She was too desperate to refuse. She let the shadow power rise.
Immediately, black energy erupted from her body. It collided with Theron's golden light and destroyed it.
"Better!" Theron said. "But now you have too much shadow! Balance it with light!"
Mara called to her moon light. White energy mixed with the black. The two powers swirled around her like a storm.
"Good! Now hold it! Keep both powers in perfect balance!"
But the powers did not want to balance. They wanted to fight. The light tried to burn away the shadow. The shadow tried to consume the light.
Mara was caught in the middle, being torn apart.
"I cannot do this!" she screamed.
"Yes you can! You are the Moon Wolf! You are the bridge between light and dark! Now prove it!"
Mara dug deep. Deeper than she had ever gone before. She found the core of who she was. Not the powers. Not the magic. Just Mara. The slave girl who survived. The fighter who never gave up.
And from that core, she spoke to both powers.
Stop fighting. We are one. We are together. We are balanced.
The powers heard her. Slowly, they stopped fighting. The light and shadow merged into something new. Something grey and silver and beautiful.
The storm around Mara calmed. The pain faded.
When she opened her eyes, she was floating a foot off the ground. Her body glowed with silver light. Both white and black mixed together perfectly.
"There," Theron said with satisfaction. "That is the true form of the Moon Wolf. Balanced. Complete. Powerful."
Mara floated back down to the ground. The silver light faded but she could still feel it inside her. Ready. Waiting.
"I did it," she whispered.
"You did. And just in time." Theron pointed at the sky.
Dark clouds were forming. But not normal clouds. These moved against the wind. Swirled with unnatural speed.
"He is here," Shade said. The Shadow Wolf had appeared at the edge of the barrier. "The Shadow King has arrived."
The clouds grew darker. Thicker. They blocked out the stars and moon.
The temperature dropped. Mara could see her breath in the air.
Then lightning struck the ground. Black lightning. It left a smoking crater.
From the crater rose a figure. Massive. Terrible. Ancient.
The Shadow King.
He was bigger than Ravak. Bigger than any wolf Mara had ever seen. His body was made of solid darkness. Not shadow. Not smoke. Pure, absolute darkness.
His eyes were white. Burning white. Like stars in the void.
When he spoke, the ground shook. "Moon Wolf. I have been searching for you."
His voice was not angry. Not violent. It was calm. Almost sad.
"Why?" Mara asked. Her voice shook but she stood her ground. "Why hunt me?"
"Because I must. It is my purpose. My curse." The Shadow King walked closer. Each step left burning black footprints. "Every Moon Wolf that has ever lived has died by my hand. You will be no different."
"Then why do you sound sad about it?"
The Shadow King stopped. His burning white eyes studied her. "Because I do not want to kill you. I never wanted to kill any of them. But the balance demands it. Light and dark cannot coexist. One must always destroy the other."
"That is not true. I have learned to balance light and dark inside myself. They can work together."
"For now. But eventually, one will consume the other. It always does." The Shadow King's massive form seemed to slump. "I was like you once. Long ago. I was a wolf who learned to balance light and dark. I thought I was special. Different. That I could maintain the balance forever."
"What happened?"
"The dark won. It consumed my light. Consumed my soul. Consumed everything I was." The Shadow King's voice was hollow. "Now I am nothing but darkness. A slave to the void. Forced to kill those who remind me of what I lost."
"Then fight it! Break free!"
"I have tried. For a thousand years, I have tried. But darkness this deep cannot be escaped." The Shadow King raised his massive paw. Black energy gathered around it. "I am sorry, Moon Wolf. You seem brave. Kind. Everything I once was. But I must kill you anyway. To prevent you from becoming what I am."
"No!" Zevran burst through the barrier. He transformed into his black wolf and placed himself between Mara and the Shadow King. "You will not touch her!"
"Foolish wolf. You cannot stop me. No one can." The Shadow King's paw started to descend.
"Then we will die together!" Riven appeared beside Zevran. Then Luna. Then Kira. Then dozens of other wolves. All forming a wall between Mara and the Shadow King.
"We stand with the Moon Wolf!" they shouted as one.
The Shadow King hesitated. His burning white eyes looked at all the wolves willing to die for Mara.
"Why?" he asked quietly. "Why do they protect you so fiercely?"
"Because she gives us hope," Zevran said. "Because she believes in a better world. Because she is worth dying for."
The Shadow King was silent for a long moment. "Hope. I remember hope. Long ago. Before the darkness took it."
He lowered his paw. The black energy dissipated.
"I will not kill you today, Moon Wolf. But not because you are strong. Because they are." He gestured to all the wolves protecting her. "You have something I lost. Something I thought impossible. You have love. Real love. The kind worth fighting for."
"Then help us," Mara said. "Help me fight Morgana. Help me stop this war. Help me build a world where light and dark can coexist in peace."
"I cannot help you. I am too far gone. The darkness controls me." The Shadow King started to fade. "But I can give you time. I will not hunt you for one month. Use that time well. Get stronger. Because when I return, when the darkness commands me to kill you again, I will not be able to refuse."
"Why give me a month? Why not just kill me now if you have no choice?"
"Because maybe, just maybe, you will find a way to save me too," the Shadow King finished. "If anyone can break this curse, it is you. You balanced what I could not."
He vanished completely. The dark clouds dissipated. The stars returned.