After a day of teasing by Mia and Penelope, the night of the ceremony was finally upon us. We spent the morning in the park building a bonfire and the following afternoon getting ready for the most important night of our lives. Mia was the first one to go to the Wolf Creek Park, so she could make sure everything was as it needs to be, and as anxious as she was I let her go alone. She has been snapping at everyone and it was really getting on my nerves, since yes, it was an important ceremony but everything was going as planned, so her being nasty about random shit was just useless. Penelope had to go home at the last second, as she forgot something, so we all just agreed to meet at the park before the sun sets.
Wolf Creek Park was one of the oldest parks in the area and it was extremely well preserved and maintained. Just the drive to the park was relaxing for most people, but I lived in the middle of nowhere so the sight of trees was nothing new and I didn’t take my time to look around. The parking lot was usually closed after 10 pm, but Mia had a talk with whoever was in charge and he said he won’t lock it up for a night, under the condition that if we get caught we say we broke in. Apparently he also said to please not start any wild forest fires as his job could be on the line if we do that. Mia agreed and promised that by morning no one could tell we were ever there.
I only saw Mia's car on the lot so I decided to wait in my car until Penelope came. That way I would bring the intended sacrifice to the ceremony. I mean victim. I mean partner. It took Penelope about thirty minutes to arrive and in that time I was just enjoying the park and its smells. I realized that it has been too long since I shifted and just enjoyed being outside, because as I was sitting there, enjoying the smells of the forest I was becoming more and more melancholic.
The first thing I noticed as Penelope opened the door was how stunning she looked. She wore a pure white, almost sheer, tunic with a slit on her thigh. She undid her signature braids so her silky hair was flowing like a waterfall all the way to her behind. She had some tribal tattoos on her, but I was pretty sure they weren’t permanent as I would have noticed them before. She looked like a dream come true. A wild, scary and beautiful dream. She took off her shoes and blushed as she saw me approaching. Since her image was so stunning I didn't even notice a wolf in the backseat until she opened the door for him and he jumped out and stretched. It took me by surprise, and I barely noticed that his smell was familiar. Finally I said:
"Sam?" Penelope looked embarrassed and blushed, which made her look like a virgin on her wedding night.
"You look stunning, Penelope." I said and went to hug her, ignoring the wolf for now. I’m not usually a hugger but somehow I knew she needed a hug. These past few days have been stressful for us all and we were finally here at the ceremony and everything had to go well, so that we can protect the kids. After that all we need to do is somehow find the damn sorcerer and do something about his appalling behavior. But that is a thought for tomorrow, after the ceremony is successful and the kids are safe.
"I'm sorry, but as soon as my parents heard that we are doing a ceremony in Wolf Creek Park they insisted on Sam coming along. I tried to tell them that you will be there to protect us in case of troubles, but…" I nodded.
"I understand. They worry, as all parents do." I leaned over and whispered in her ears:
"Did you tell them that the ceremony entails some… not so safe for work parts?" Penelope started laughing and Sam came closer, looking bewildered, if a wolf can even look bewildered.
"No, I kept that to myself. I did tell Sam on the way, so he will keep away and not peek around the bushes." I looked over at Sam, hoping to look menacing. I have to admit he was a beautiful creature, even if he was on the small side. His fur was mostly dark with white snout and white underbelly. His gray black coat looked incredibly soft and shaggy and a part of me really wanted to pet him, but that probably wouldn’t go over well.
"Time to go," I said as I noticed the sun going lower. I offered Penelope my arm and told Sam:
"You should make yourself scarce Sammy, go run around and make sure no one is around. And remember not to peek!" I turned to Penelope and we walked, hand in hand, toward my cousin.
"Let's go sweet, sweet sacrifice." I whispered and Penelope laughed and followed my lead. We both left shoes in cars since we were thinking it would be easier and while she did look like a bride, I looked like I just woke up. I had a short and oversized summer dress that was easy to tear or take off. It had strings keeping it together so when the time to shift comes, I just undo the strings and it falls right off. I never wore underwear when I have to shift since tearing it midshift hurts more than I would like to admit. I had a change of clothes in the car and I was pretty sure others did as well.
We followed the path through the forest until the clearing and after a couple of minutes if silence I heard Penelope loudly sigh.
"Next time let's wear shoes," Penelope said and I wholeheartedly agreed. After a few more minutes of walking barefoot on the path, we saw the beginning of the clearing where Mia had decided to host the ceremony and we both breathed a sigh of relief. Mia was standing in the middle of a clearing, hands reaching up to the setting sun, most likely praying to a deity or two. She wore a tunic similar to Penelope's but it was even more revealing and almost completely sheer. There was a huge bonfire next to her just waiting to be lit and a blanket far away from the bonfire that will be used later if they deem it necessary. I let Penelope go to Mia, and walked the perimeter of the area included in the protection spell once again, making sure all is safe.
There was a slight slope at the edge with a rock on top, surrounded by trees and it was the area from where I will watch the ceremony after my part in it will be over, making sure that everything goes as planned and no one will interrupt the magic. There was a large creek not that far from here that I didn’t notice before and I made a mental note to investigate it once I shift. I caught a glimpse of Sam, trotting around making his way toward me and the rock on the edge. I finally went to Mia, and she looked relaxed and ready. Sun was almost gone, so I asked.
"Did you explain to Penelope about my role?"
"Yes," she nodded and guided me to the bonfire. I sighed and got ready to undo the straps.
The dress fell to my ankles and I stood next to the bonfire fully naked and exposed. Mia started singing an old song, a song full of magic and wonder and from a completely ordinary plane of existence we entered into a magical one. Everything in the circle was suddenly transformed, even an ordinary grass to grass imbued with magic. The song wove around us as a wind, flowing from one to another, inspecting our bodies and souls and preparing the dirt itself for something far greater than any of us could have imagined. Mia sang in an ancient Slavic dialect that even I didn’t understand, but I knew that song was about sacrifice, protection and love. She walked around me, ceremonial knife in hand and I could see the magic she wove as tiny glowing strands. When the magic settled around me as a spider web, keeping me in place she took the knife in her hands and started carving letters into my body. I closed my eyes, listening to the song, giving my pain to the protective circle that surrounded us and I knew that by the time my cousin will finish the song, my blood will fill out the circle around us and it will grow all the way to the edge of the clearing.
It was a form of blood magic, of sacrifice and of pain but it was the most powerful protection a Guardian like me could offer. Nothing can get through the circle without killing me first, not even a God, a devil or anything in between and if I do get killed my soul will power up the protection to such an extent that no one in the known universe could break it. It was truly a catch-22, since they can not cross the circle without killing me, but if they kill me the protection grows too strong.
Song continued and I could hear drums. Drums weren’t usually a part of the ceremony so that caught me by surprise and I opened my eyes. I caught Penelope sitting on the other side of the not yet lit bonfire and she had a small drum in her hands and was playing her own melody to the song. The pain was growing stronger with every letter carved into my naked body so I focused on the drum and tried to synchronize my very soul to it. Once my heart beat in the same rhythm it was as if pain became less and less until all I felt was mere prickling
Mia eventually stopped and I knew that the first part of the ceremony was finished. I opened my eyes, to watch the next part of the ceremony, knowing that my part was mostly finished. The sun was fully set now and nothing but the moon was giving us the light. Mia was glowing in the moonlight, letting me know once again that she was one of the most powerful moon witches. But tonight she didn't call upon the moon to help her, she was calling the old Gods, those who have not walked the Earth in millennia or more.
I stood in place as the song changed. Penelope somehow managed to match the song that was becoming more wild and Mia suddenly exploded in a dance. It looked erratic and crazy and it matched the song perfectly. She began to slow down, and just as we thought she was done due to exhaustion she exploded in a violent movement and in that moment the bonfire caught on fire and suddenly the whole area was lit due its light and it was magnificent! The flames started rising and illuminating the clearing and magic around me started growing and expanding and with every breath I took it grew larger and larger until it reached the edges of the circle and only then it stopped. The song, the dance, the breathing it all stopped and there was deathly silence. Only the crackling of the fire continued. Mia slowly pulled herself together and Penelope did a little tap on the drum and an invisible force took over my body and suddenly it was I who sang.
I have no memory of what I sang and I can not describe its lyrics. It was a song as ancient as life itself, a song of the very first woman who jumped in front of the beast to protect her loved one, it was a song about the sacrifice you make for the one you love. Mia came closer and started applying red dirt on my still bleeding wounds. The dirt was a special concoction of hers and it will make sure that the wounds will stop bleeding and that for the next few days I will have red markings all over my body, but eventually they will disappear and once that happens I will be able to perform this kind of ceremony of protection once again.
After she was done, she turned toward Penelope and drew markings with the dirt on her as well. Penelope dropped the tunic from her body and let Mia draw symbols on her, over her own tribal markings that seemed to disappear as soon as red dirt came in contact with them.
Once my song was finished, Mia threw off her dress as well. We all stood around the bonfire and a melody was coming from somewhere, and the melody was prompting us to dance. It is hard to describe how or why we listened but the magic did not take no for an answer. I had a feeling that there should have been more, at least so many that we could all hold hands while we danced around the fire, but three was enough. The moon rose and somehow I knew it was time for me to leave the ceremony and finish the protection by stepping outside of the circle. My moves became slower and slower and I stepped away from the fire, watching the girls gravitating toward each other knowing, knowing full well, this dance will end with lovemaking somewhere around the fire. The next part that followed was the weakest point of the ceremony. I had to cross the circle as a human, weak and fragile and transform. If I transform into a bear before I cross, this whole ritual is pointless and there will be no protection. So out I walked, and as the last piece of me exited the circle I could hear the magic snap into place and the protection was set. I changed into a bear now, feeling the bones snap and skin fold, I knew I was safe.
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I roared as only a bear could and walked away. It was done, the girls were safe and I survived the change.
The forest was alive to my bear eyes. I had excellent night vision and I could make sure that nothing and no one came close to the clearing. The wolf was drinking from a creek and he was so busy drinking that he was completely unaware of me. I was walking as quietly as I could so that I could scare him and to my surprise it worked. I gently poked his furry butt with my six inch claws and he yelped and jumped into the creek. I laughed as only a bear could and just stood there, watching the wet wolf staring at me.
He was staring as if he had never seen a bear before. I mean I was quite big and I felt even bigger and heavier than last time I weighed myself. I always knew I had the potential to grow more but I really thought that 600 pounds was more than enough.
I drank from the creek as well, scaring the wolf more and slowly walked to the little rock above the clearing. The wolf followed me, his tail behind his legs. Once I arrived I took a quick glance at the girls, who were getting busy, so I turned myself around and looked at the forest, making sure they had their privacy. The wolf followed me and before he could even start looking at the girls, I took my paw and dragged him next to me and forced him to watch the forest with me, showing his back to the clearing. He, once again yelped in surprise, but stood still. He looked small next to me and it felt odd. I wanted to tell him that I might take a little nap, and I suddenly realized how grateful I was for the company. Usually I am all alone when Mia does her ceremonies and it doesn't feel safe to take a nap, but with someone else watching… I laid down, using my paw as my pillow and closed my eyes. Oddly enough sleep came fast and sooner than I wanted to admit I was snoring away, probably scaring the wolf more.
Sam woke me up by biting my paw. I grunted at him to let me be, but he was whining and pulling. I finally opened up my eyes and slowly stretched my big fat body. Sam basically hid under me while I stretched and I finally realized something was wrong. I looked behind me and saw the girls laying on the clearing, probably taking a break, not having a care in the world. Since they were safe I focused on the forest around me. Something was off. The forest was as silent as the grave. It's not how the forest is supposed to be in the middle of the night, it is supposed to be bustling with life, with all the little critters scuttling around and making noises. But for some odd reason there was absolutely no noise. I took a few steps, when I heard a twig snapping. I turned around toward the sound, but there was nothing there. Sam was whimpering in fear and I put my paw on his head putting him down. He got the meaning and shut up. I wished so hard I could tell him to shut the fuck up, but shifting would take too long with how tired I was.
I walked around the barrier a bit, inspecting the forest while walking. There were no owls, no possums, no anything. It was as if the whole forest was holding its breath, and it wasn't because of the magic or the ceremony. No, there was something here with us. Something that can scare the whole forest into a quiet graveyard. Anytime I moved, Sam moved with me. He was petrified and I could smell his fear. If the ceremony wasn't as important as it was I would stop it without a second thought, but this was the only way to protect the children and we waited too long already. Even Mother had told us to protect the children, so this ceremony had to work. To wait for the next full moon, it would most likely mean the sorcerer would find the children and that would be the end of them.
I saw it. The eyes in the forest. They shone as if it had two miniature lamps instead of eyes. It was in the tree above, so it can climb. And as I was watching it, it disappeared. It was fast. So fast I barely noticed its movement. Shit, I thought to myself. I had no choice, I had to keep it busy until morning. I walked toward it and Sam was not happy. He cried louder and was jumping at the border of the clearing. He wanted to go inside, but that would require me shifting, opening a wound, drawing a symbol on his forehead and letting him in. That was impossible in the current situation so I growled at him and started walking toward the forest, following the creature.
Since I knew where the thing was, I took a deep breath and tried to sniff what the hell it was. There was an odd smell in the air and I could swear it smelled like decay and decomposition. It couldn't have been a ghoul, they only appear in the cemetery. I really wish I could ask Sam if there is a hidden cemetery nearby, but even that couldn't be it, for this creature was in the trees and fast. Ghouls were slow and not good climbers. Whatever this was smelled like death. I didn't like it. There was fear in the air, coming mostly from Sam.
I continued walking through the forest, knowing that if it even touches the protection circle I will know and it will be marked by my own blood. As soon as that thought crossed my mind I knew what I had to do. I walked forward toward where I last saw the creature, not paying attention to poor Sam who was hugging me as close as he could. That's when I heard the whispers calling for help. I stopped and listened.
"Help, please help, it's here!" It almost sounded like a child, but not really. The tone should have been urgent, but it almost sounded… recorded. Screams tore through the silence of the nights. Pure terror and fear. I started running toward the screams, following the smell of death. But there was nothing there. No people, no creatures, just more of the never ending forest. I could feel its eyes on me, assessing the situation. I was searching for it but even my night vision wasn't good enough to see it. Suddenly, the feeling of being watched disappeared and I knew it lured us here to distract us while it went for its real targets.
My plan worked. It decided that a bear and a wolf weren't good enough targets, because the next thing I knew it screamed in pain and horror when it touched the protected barrier. I could feel its pain as it reached for the magic circle, knowing it would damage its arm. I smiled to myself as I felt my magic wrap around his arm, marking it and calling out to me. Whatever the creature was, my magic was stronger. I started running toward the mark and Sam was following along. A bear and a wolf on a hunt. All we needed was a crow and we could make our own children's book adventure team. A bear, a wolf and a crow on hunt for the monster in the forest.
It took longer than expected, since the creature was fast and the stamina he had was impressive, but I finally felt the mark getting closer. Sam kept up with me and I have to say the little wolf shifter was growing on me. The dawn was coming and the ceremony should be finished so at least that was done. While running toward the mark I had a horrible thought that this entire thing was a setup and while I'm away someone would attack Mia, but I felt no one else touching the barrier. Finally the mark was right there. The sight that awaited me and Sam, would have made me vomit if I was in my human form. I saw a pool of dark blood, more black than red, and an arm in the middle. The arm looked like it belonged to a zombie or a ghoul with how it was decomposed. It was bones with some skin and muscle attached to it, and it smelled horrible. I could hear Sam gagging behind me, but I didn't turn around to watch him. There was no other sign of the creature, just its chewed up arm. It was smart enough to know that the mark was embedded into his flesh and it knew to chew or tore up its own arm. It was torn from the shoulder socket and it wasn't an easy tear. The blood smelled days old, but that was impossible, it had to be done maybe thirty minutes ago. I cursed in my mind, knowing that the next step that follows will haunt me forever.
I picked up the decaying arm in my mouth and turned around, to go back. Sam stared at me with as much horror as a wolf can muster and just stood there. He finally realized that I was being serious, and we slowly made our way back. I was gagging a lot and had to spit out the arm several times to take a few deep breaths, but even that was not helping. Sam tried to pick it up, but as soon as he came close, all I could hear was him gagging. It was so funny it made me laugh and that made it bearable enough. Sun was now rising higher as we finally reached the clearing. The clearing was clean of all human signs and I knew the girls ended the ceremony hours ago and they cleaned it all up. I was supposed to help with that, but Mia knew that if I wasn’t, something important had happened. I braced myself and shifted.
The first thing I did once I was human again, was to throw up. The taste in my mouth was disgusting, and I didn’t even want to think about the smell. I once ate a deer that had been dead a couple of days and even that tasted better than the arm that I had been carrying around. Bears are omnivores but whatever that creature was, it was toxic and most definitely non edible. I felt a calming hand on my back after I was finally finished with my vomiting. I turned around and naked Sam was patting my back.
"Dude…" he said, wide-eyed, scared and in awe, all at the same time.
"That was the most wild night of my life." I went to the creek and just… sat in it. Sam went in with me and poured cold water down my back. I drank the water and started washing the dirt off me. I still had faint marks of letters on my body but I knew they would fade with time and so will the scars.
"What happened?" He said quietly.
"Which part baffles you the most?" I slowly said, trying not to look at his young naked body. He jumped up, excited.
"Everything! The ceremony, she carved you like a Thanksgiving turkey and you just stood there and took it! There was blood dripping all over you and you just… didn't do anything!" I got up slowly and tentatively took the severed arm in my hands. I put it as far as I could muster, trying not to breathe the deadly smell.
"And then," he continued, jumping in front of me:
"You just shift! So fast! And dude, you are huge! When I first saw you I peed myself, I kid you not. Damn, you are the biggest bear I have ever seen!" I smiled at his excitement. We walked toward the middle of the clearing where my dress was all nice and folded and for a second I didn't know whether to wrap myself in the dress or maybe wrap the arm in it so maybe it would be bearable to carry it. After a few silent seconds I decided to wrap the arm in the dress and continued walking to the car naked.
"And that… that creature! I was so scared and you just went for it! I thought I was gonna die! But you were so brave…" He continued praising me and the whole evening all the way to the cars. I dropped the arm in the trunk, wishing and hoping it doesn't stink up the entire car, before I turned to Sam.
"I was terrified, Sam. Whatever that was, I have never ever encountered anything like it. It was smart enough to lure us into the forest by mimicking human voices so it could go after the girls and then it chewed its arm off so I couldn't track it anymore." Sam stood there naked, looking younger and more innocent.
"Yeah why did it do that? Like to stop us from tracking it?" I noticed that there was a sports bag in the back of my car that wasn't mine. Since the car was unlocked I figured it might have been Sam's, so I threw it at him. He was very happy to see it and rummaged through it to find something to wear. While he was getting dressed I searched my own backseat for clothes for myself. Feeling more like myself I turned to an excited youngster once more.
"When Mia cut me, my blood formed a protective barrier all across the clearing. When the creature touched it, it marked him with my blood. I can track that and follow the mark, it is a very special magic and only I can do it as Mia's guardian. That means that the creature knew that his arm was marked and that's why it tore it's arm out. That's how smart it was." Sam, finally dressed, stared at me.
"That is amazing. Can I do that, as a wolf?"
"No. I'm Mia's guardian, which means she can use me in her spells in ways that she can't use you. She can do a lesser barrier with your blood but you wouldn't be connected to the barrier itself. Because I am the guardian, I get certain magic that normal shifters don't." He looked just a little bit disappointed as he climbed into my car. I sighed. I guess since both the girls left I'm in charge of delivering the boy to his house.
He was asking questions all the way to his house, and I tried answering as best as I could while ignoring the foul smell that was slowly taking over my car. I really just needed a long nap and put all of this behind me, but I knew that as soon as I dropped Sam off, I needed to hurry to Mia to complete the magic protection around the house so that the children would be safe. I can take a nap after that, I decided and drove a bit faster.