Daughters of the Moon Pt. 14

Thanks again to Liter Knight for her careful editing!

Chapter 14

Carla's eyes snapped open, staring at the ceiling of a tent. It was a sight that had become all too familiar in the last few weeks traveling with the army. After a week she had come to hate it. The ceiling of her and Gwen's room had become a long lost eden. A fond memory of a home that was long gone. The only thing that had made waking in the tent bearable was the comforting presence of Gwen's arm across her chest and Lily's leg draped across her waist, but she didn't feel the comforting presence of her family right now. She was alone, staring at the plain canvas of the tent ceiling.

She sat up suddenly, desperate to look at something else, and saw she wasn't in her tent at all. She was in a small curtained off section of a larger tent, in a plain cot that would have been very uncomfortable if she had still been human. She looked down and saw a long needle in her arm, connected to a bottle of blood. She recognized it from when Gwen had been recovering from Languor, it was used to give her blood and help her wake up faster. She realized she was in a medical tent, and once she knew it she could feel it. The air had that particular tense, desperate quality of a space where people were suffering, both personally and in worrying for the ones they loved.

Then the curtain twitched aside and Lily was there. their eyes locked and Lily froze, beautiful blue eyes widening and mouth dropping open. She looked tired, and Carla imagined long nights sitting by her side. She knew Lily was the one who had stayed with her for her Languor. Gwen would have found it too painful.

"Carla," Lily's voice was a rough whisper.

Carla didn't say anything, she just held her arms out

Lily threw herself into them and Carla held her close. She bathed in the warmth, the sweat of the tiny woman in her arms who she had come to love so much. Carla held the embrace for a long beat, enjoying the gentle swell of her breathing, then gave her an extra squeeze and pulled away

Lily touched her cheek and smiled.

"I knew you were going to be fine. The nurses all said it, but it was so hard to see you like that."

"Is Gwen okay?" asked Carla

"Yes! Yes, she's fine. She was injured in the battle but not badly enough to go into Languor."

Carla got a flash of Lily's aura. The vermillion and dark green she would expect was there but there was a lot of silver there too, more than Carla liked. Silver was the color of true sorrow

"And Elaine?"

"Of course, she didn't get within a mile of the battle."

"How long was I out?"

"A little over two weeks. The battle didn't go well and we've retreated back west. Do you remember what happened?"

...

The battle was just as awful as she had dreamed it would be. A shifting mass of men in the distance. Pushing desperately against a hoard of gibbering, fanged monstrosities. The air smelled like fire and gunpowder and sections of the battlefield were obscured by the smoke of the Tallisian's guns. Behind her was the tent where she was supposed to be repairing skeletons with Stephanie and the other revenant assistants, but the endless screams of the battle had drawn her out, a slowly unfolding disaster she couldn't look away from.

There was a hum to her right and her eyes sought out the sound. About a hundred yards away were the army's engines, manned by blooded and swarming with attendants. The battery of tempest engines was the source of the hum. There were a dozen of them, each with a Dracul with hands placed over them. Attendants were pouring blood into the intakes and as she watched bright, actinic blue light began to play across the brass and iron surfaces of the arcane machines. The hum grew louder and higher in pitch, then suddenly rose to a crescendo as bolts of lightning, too bright to look at directly, flowed up from each of the engines, striking the clouds overhead. Carla saw the lightning flow into the clouds, snaking through the sky and towards the front lines. A moment later there was the crash of thunder as flashes lit the battlefield. Carla refused to look too closely at where the lightning struck, and felt like a coward for not facing what was unfolding.

"Are you alright?" asked Stephanie.

Carla turned and saw the revenant had followed her out of the tent, looking concerned.

"I... I guess I needed to see it."

Steph nodded, "It is hard to look away from."

"Like a carriage accident," said Carla.

Steph sucked in her lips and nodded.

Then there was another hum, this one deeper and somehow even more ominous, and when Carla looked back she saw the necros engines were powering up. This time the light was a sickly green, and the smell in the air was a foul mix of bile and rot. Carla didn't know the Draculs who were running the tempest engines, but she saw Isabelle, Felicity and Anika each standing in front of a Necros engine, chanting the words of a necromantic spell. Carla was too far away to hear the words, but she had heard Isabelle practicing the spell earlier. It was going to fill the air with acid mist, to eat anyone who breathed it in from the inside out. The Tallisians would die choking on their own melted lungs while their own troops, who didn't need to breathe, would be untouched.

Suddenly Anika jerked and fell. Revenant attendants rushed to her and knelt by her side. As Carla watched Felicity also collapsed, writhing on the ground in agony as smoke poured from her. The blooded manning the engines were falling everywhere and the entire battery was thrown into chaos.

Carla ran toward Anika in long, ground eating strides. The world blurred by her, a confusing mashup of panicked people getting in each other's way. As she approached Anika she felt the hum of the engine in her bones. And she realized that Anika had already finished the spell and was just about to unleash it when she had fallen. The spell was stuck in the engine, feeding on blood and cycling endlessly back on itself. The engine started to smoke and the smell of rot became overwhelming. Carla realized with no one to release the spell, the engine was going to go critical. If it did it could feed on the magic in the other engines. The chain reaction would kill everyone within a mile. It might even reach back to the camp, to Elaine, to Lily.

She burned blood to go even faster, shoving thralls and attendants out of her way to get to the engine. She tried not to look at Anika but she still saw the hole in her head out of the corner of her eye, but she refused to think about it. The engine was pulsing a bright green that was painful to look at, it was more than painfully bright, the light coming off it made her bones vibrate with toxic resonance. She put her hands on the brass control plate and the spell was in her mind, furious and mad and chewing at the bars of its cage. It was barely holding together, the structure Anika had woven into it fraying under the torrent of blood that had been fed into it, beyond the capacity of the spell or the engine to hold. Her own magic roared in response, treating the fraying spell like a challenge. She worked with her magic to bring the spell to heel, drawing on the deep reservoirs of blood in the engine to stabilize and control the spell rather than empower it. It was like giving a scared dog a bath but through a mix of subtle cajoling and brute strength she was able to wrestle the spell into submission. Her magic howled in triumph as they gained mastery over the great war spell together, and Carla released it towards the army. Behind her, she felt the other engines firing as well, somehow tied together to Anika's engine so they worked as one.

Carla pulled her hands from the engine and came back into herself. As she watched the spells combined with the ones from the other engines together into a solid wave of horrible green light. It raced towards the front lines. Carla realized she had just done what she had most feared; turned her magic on men to take their lives. She had only done it to save her friends, the people she loved, but that didn't matter, all those men would die because of what she had done.

Then her chest lit up with agony. A burning spike of fire burrowed into her, spreading from a single point in her sternum up her throat and into her stomach, tearing her apart. She felt herself falling and through the pain and the sorrow there was a feeling of relief that her part in this horror show was over.

...

"I... I remember," said Carla

She squeezed Lily's arm, "The spell. Did it work?"

Lily shook her head, "No! No, the Tallisians had a circle of war mages. They countered it."

Lily put her hand over Carla's "You didn't hurt anyone."

Carla closed her eyes and took a long deep breath, relief flooding her so powerfully she felt her eyes get wet. She felt Lily's finger brush her eye and when she opened them Lily was smiling at her, wiping her tear on a handkerchief. Carla felt a moment of gratitude that Lily had been the one to greet her upon waking; of her family, only she would have been as relieved as Carla that the spell had failed.

"Is Anika okay?"

Lily licked her lips, "She's still in Languor. Apparently the older a blooded is the harder they are to kill, but the longer it takes them to wake from Languor. It could be months."

"Months?"

"Maybe even years," Lily hesitated, "Will's in Languor too. He... he was shot in the head and he was weak from siring. They're not sure if he's going to wake up."

"Oh no. Oh no, poor Abby."

Lily nodded, her eyes glistened. "I wrote her, but I haven't heard back."

"Is that what's wrong?"

Lily blinked, "What?

"Is that why you're so sad?"

Lily opened her mouth and closed it again.

"Will you tell me what's wrong?"

"I'm going to go find Gwen."

"That is not making me feel better."

"I'm sorry, it's not my story to tell, and honestly I don't know how to tell it. I don't think any of us do."

Lily gave her a smile, the big bright smile with just a hint of her adorable buck teeth. "It's going to be alright."

But her aura was still a mix of blue and silver, love and sorrow in equal measure. But Carla didn't want to press Lily. She had sat by her side this whole time, Carla could sense it. It wasn't fair to put this on her when she had already done so much. So Carla just nodded.

Lily got up and left quickly, leaving Carla alone with her thoughts, which wasn't the best thing for her right now. She thought about changing clothes but realized she was actually just in one of the nicer dresses she had brought with her on campaign since she didn't sweat she didn't get clothes dirty by sleeping in them, and Lily had apparently used grooming powder to deal with any stray dust she had picked up. With clothes taken care of, she began a breathing exercise she had learned to help her concentrate and clear her mind for spellwork. It was actually easier now that she was a vampire. Since she didn't need to breathe, breath itself was more of a tool for her. She had found holding her breath for a little over a minute, past the point where it would have been uncomfortable when she was human made the breathing exercises even more effective. Carla sat with her eyes closed, emptied her mind, and breathed in and out every minute or two, and gradually she managed to calm herself. In the calm silence of her mind her magic greeted her, an old scarred beast bowing its head respectfully, acknowledging their shared struggle.

"Carla," said Gwen.

Carla opened her eyes and she was there, her big wide smile lighting up the room, her green eyes on fire. She ran forward and crushed Carla in a hug, almost knocking her over. Carla felt her trembling in her arms, and Carla realized she was holding back her strength, to stop herself from crushing her childe in the heights of her joy.

They broke the hug.

"I missed you so much. I... Carla, I... "

Gwen's aura was shining pure blue but she still couldn't say it. Carla stroked Gwen's face. Looked deep into her bright green eyes.

"I know. I've always known.. Since that night in the lake. It... it shines out if you like a star. You don't need to say it."

Gwens eyes widened and Carla saw she was about to cry. Carla didn't want her to so she kissed her instead. It was a hungry kiss. A relieved kiss. Carla didn't know what Gwen was going to tell her, but in this moment she just needed to feel her sire's lips, feel the connection between them. Their kiss deepened as Carla sank into the feel of her sire's body.

"Alright you two, get a room, preferably with me in it," said Elaine.

Carla looked up and she was there too, tall and pale and perfect. There wasn't the edge of desperate relief in her that Gwen and Lily had. Carla knew Elaine was too practical and too patient to get wound up in longing for her; Carla would be back in time and she was content to wait. Her childe's confident patience was itself a relief. It was a relief she wasn't a source of stress for at least one person that cared about her

"Are you going to stand there looking pleased or do you want your kiss?" asked Carla.

Elaine chuckled and glided towards her. Her lips were cool and soft. She ran her tongue over Carla's lips, teasing her gently, and Carla let out a sharp breath.

"Took you long enough," said Elaine.

Carla rolled her eyes. "Missed you, too."

Elaine only smiled nervously in response.

There was a moment of awkward silence, Gwen glanced at Elaine, asking for help, and Elaine raised her eyebrows,

"Carla I... I know... there's a lot to talk about and lots of catching up to do but there's something I need to tell you first."

"It's okay, Gwen."

Gwen rubbed her mouth and nodded.

"You have a new sister."

Carla blinked, "What?"

"While you were in Languor I...adopted a new childe."

"Adopted?"

"It's complicated. I'll tell you all about it. But before anything else I really want you to meet her."

Gwen raised her voice

"Siobhan?"

The curtains parted and a woman walked in. Carla blinked in shock. She was absolutely striking. Carla had never seen anyone like her before. She was over six feet tall, the few women Carla had met that were that tall tended to be lanky but this woman was broad shouldered but leanly muscled in a way Carla associated with soldiers and woodsmen, people used to long days of rough living and hard work. At the same time she had generous curves, wide hips and a chest Carla had to admire. There was a sense of tremendous solidity to her, of coiled power. She had long curly hair somewhere between auburn and red, and eyes that used to be gray but now shone like silver. She had scars on her cheeks that matched the shining silver of her eyes, and only accentuated her beauty. She looked like a warrior goddess out of a story, and Carla was struck silent for a moment in pure admiration at the sight of her.

"Hello," said Siobhan, she sounded calm but Carla could sense the uncertainty under the surface.

Carla concentrated, calling on the Oracle and blinked in shock as Siobhan's aura sprang up in front of her. There was fear there, and the silver of sadness; the silver had multiple layers in different shades, and Carla knew Siobhan mourned for herself and for someone else, but most shocking of all Carla saw the burning red of pure lust. Carla felt a surge of embarrassment when she realized the lust was for her, but there were spots of yellow and orange flowing through the red, which menat Siobhan was deeply ashamed of her own desire. None of this showed on Siobhan's face. As Carla's gift with the Oracle grew she had been shocked at how good people were at hiding their emotions. Lost loves, hidden crushes, and the deepest hate were all kept carefully underneath the surface, the world none the wiser.

Carla responded very carefully. She wanted to comfort Siobhan but she could tell too much affection would just make Siobhan feel worse about her attraction. Carla had become just as adept at hiding her knowledge of people's feelings as people were at hiding the feelings themselves. Revealing them at the wrong time would only lead to embarrassment, and she guessed Siobhan had been through a lot already.

So Carla kept her smile warm and friendly.

"Siobhan, welcome to the family."

Siobhan gave her a nervous smile in return, the nervousness looked strange on her but after seeing her aura, Carla understood.

"Could you... would you like a hug?"

Siobhan jumped. Her aura surged, red flaring and suppressed by orange and then mellowing into a simple rose and vermillion; gratitude for the comfort Carla offered

"I ... yes."

Siobhan approached her and Carla drew her into her embrace. Siobhan was tense at first but eventually she relaxed. After a moment they broke the embrace

"I don't know what happened yet, but I can tell... I can tell that this has been very hard for you."

Siobhan blinked and looked away from her.

"It was hard for me, too. It still is, but Gwen and Elaine were always there for me, I know they've been there for you, and now I am too. I hope... I hope I can help you find happiness in your new life, to make up in some way for what you lost."

Siobhan put a hand to her mouth and squeezed her eyes shut. "Thank you."

They embraced once more and after a minute Gwen put her arms around them both, after a minute Elaine joined them.

"This is ridiculous, you know that, right?" said Elaine.

"Just go with it," said Carla.

They held the group embrace for a long moment, Carla could feel the bond of their shared blood, tying them together and making them stronger.

At last they let go and everyone looked embarrassed, but a little calmer

Then Gwen's calm faded and her nervousness returned, "So... as I said, Siobhan is... sort of adopted. It's very complicated."

"It's not complicated at all," said Elaine. "It's just weird, Siobhan is the reincarnation of Gwen's sire."

"What?" said Carla.

Elaine shrugged.

"That can happen?"

"Apparently," said Elaine. "And she was also a member of a cult of all female moon touched warriors and assassins."

Carla started laughing.

"We're not all touched," protested Siobhan, "it's just accepted among the daughters."

"Wait, you were serious?" asked Carla

"That would be a weird thing to make up," said Elaine.

"I feel like you're not taking this seriously," said Gwen.

"I'm just trying to get through the simple parts quickly," said Elaine, "So Siobhan was captured during the battle and since she's a reincarnation of Gwen's sire, she's also the reincarnation of Sophia's beloved childe"

"Oh no."

"Right, so Sophia went a little nuts and... I'm sure you can guess how that went."

"I'm so sorry, Siobhan."

"Thank you," said Siobhan, her voice full of wounded pride and lingering pain.

"But Siobhan, being the most badass person in the world, cut her own face right before Sophia turned her to prove she wasn't her dead childe. That shocked Sophia out of her crazy and she unloaded Siobhan on us."

"She wasn't unloading on us. I love having her in the family," said Gwen.

"You know what I mean, I love her too, but now we're getting to the bad part."

"Elaine..."

"It's alright," said Carla.

Elaine gave her a flat look. Carla knew what Elaine was doing. Elaine had dealt with a lot of hardship in her life, lean years and hungry nights. People always trying to take advantage of her. She had learned to hide her pain and never had a lot of patience for dwelling on suffering. Elaine could be abrupt but that was what they needed right now. Gwen was never going to be comfortable telling her bad news today, but Carla knew it couldn't wait.

"So, as I said, Siobhan was part of an all women cult of moon touched assassins."

"We're not all touched!" said Siobhan, exasperation rising in her voice.

"But she was. And she had a lover," said Elaine.