Blood Moon Born

Chapter Thirteen

"Why are you sending me away?" Loae asked, hovering in the doorway. She'd spent six months with Lilith now. She hadn't heard the voices of the Seven for half that time. She hadn't killed a single darkling either. Loae and Lilith kept to themselves in this mountain hideaway, while Loae studied runic magic, about practical magic, and tried to find ways to survive without needing the Seven Dead.

Sometimes, Loae felt them growing uneasy, anxious. When this happened, Lilith had a locked cupboard in her kitchen, filled with jars of darkling blood. She would pull a jar from the cupboard, pour Loae a cupful of blood, and lock it away once more. This seemed to keep the Seven quiet.

The elder blood mages weren't so quiet. Now that Load had been with Lilith for so long, they were curious about her progress. They were coming to Lilith's cottage to visit. And Lilith was sending Loae away to the town of Jashafal. She told her it was for food and supplies, but in reality, she didn't want Loae anywhere near the cabin when the blood mages came to visit.

"If they want to see my progress, don't you think I ought to be there?" Loae asked.

"No, I don't," Lilith said, "Those fools got you into the mess you're in now. They'll see that you've grown and they'll want to use you. I'll not have them treat you like the Seven do—just a power-seeking beast. You're a living, breathing girl and you'll not be manipulated into serving them. Not while I'm here."

"But I want to know what they have to say," Loae said.

"I'll tell you when you get back."

"They'll only be here a night," Loae protested. "Jashafal is a three night's journey there and back. Why send me so far away?"

"I already told you. We're running out of herbs for our healing spells."

"Healing spells?" Loae scoffed. "What do we need healing spells for? We never do anything. We sit in the cabin and stare at each other. The bone brothers would be ashamed of me for how little I've trained. I'm a hunter, not a healer."

"If you want my doors open to you when you get back, then you'll hold your tongue and be off!" Lilith snapped.

Loae gritted her teeth, glaring back at the woman. "Fine," she hissed, snatching up her cloak. "I'll be back in three days."

"No more, no less," Lilith instructed.

Loae slammed the door on her way out. Her journey to and from the small trading town of Jashafal was painfully uneventful. She spoke to some traders, looking for any interesting news, curious about what the bone brothers were up to. She'd quickly improved speaking the Sa-Ruwrea dialect. It was quiet and small, but it was still nice to speak to someone other than that infuriating woman.

As Loae made her way back to the cottage the third day, she wondered if it was finally time to leave Lilith. She felt trapped, the same way she'd felt with the bone brothers. As if she'd learned all they had to offer. Lilith had taught her much and treated her well, but Loae was a hunter. Not a mage. Not a healer. A hunter.

But then again...the bone brothers hadn't treated Loae as anything more than a hunter. They didn't care for her the way Lilith did. They didn't make sure she was eating well, didn't scold her when she did something potentially dangerous (other than that last infraction). Loae couldn't imagine Lilith would ever throw her out in the dead of winter, no matter what she'd done. Lilith was always trying to help Loae, to make her a better person. Perhaps they could come to some sort of compromise. Maybe Loae could stay with Lilith and continue to train in runic magic with her while also taking hunting jobs in the neighboring villages. There were always some wicked darklings out and about; it wouldn't hurt for Loae to flex her hunting skills every once in a while.