By moonlight's shadow

Chapter 42

Once Lukas had finished taking the oath it felt like he was being watched by someone or something else and that was not Luna. Something higher, someone on a higher and much higher level was watching him. He could feel that gaze on him but he knew that he would be unable to find that particular person holding that sight.

“Now you are ready to begin your training Lukas. As I have already told you, there are basically two kinds of power in magic, one is Light and one is Dark. But it is not essentially necessary that anything dark or black has to be inherently bad or evil. It is a wrong notion that we are taught from very early in life and that is something which you need to overcome. You have to believe that everything that runs through your veins is for good, it is for the betterment of mankind and if not humanity and mankind then at least for the sake of the creatures who lie outside of that world. Human beings think that they have all the power and they consider themselves to be the highest creatures in this beautiful world created by the lord but they can’t see so much. And we would like to keep it this way,” said Luna as Lukas nodded at his words.

“So magic which is light works in three to four different segments and the powers are almost always balanced in the witches of a coven. But in your case you don’t have that luxury, so we will start with what I already know about death and then we shall gradually progress towards life,” said Luna and Lukas sighed and nodded again.

“Close your eyes and breathe in and out for more than a minute. Let all the tension in your muscles gradually ebb away and then empty your mind of all the thoughts that you might be having at the moment, or you can be thinking in a futuristic manner. Magic, is a part of you and should flow instinctively, not by thinking,” instructed Luna as Lukas followed her instructions. It was most definitely easy enough to let out the tension from his muscles but emptying mind of thoughts proved to be far more difficult in reality than it seemed to be when it was instructed.

Luna could very well see that it was becoming increasingly difficult for Lukas to empty hiss mind of feelings. After all for him, changing into his wolf was something absolutely physical and while it might have been immensely painful for the first transformation, it did not matter after multiple moons. But emptying his mind, that was something he needed to practice just like he changed into his animal. One was connected with emotions and the other was connected with the lack of them.

“This path of life is challenge enough, without making mountains out of molehills, and yeah, we all see the craggy mountain of ice when we are afraid, triggered, maxed out emotionally... So instead of that high drama, breathe... let your energy come down to something softer... then breathe a few more times and watch that big 'ol scarface hill become something more friendly. Perception is everything. The only thing you can ever truly control is yourself, and that's something you can learn. So love everyone, including yourself... lay yourself down through the panic if you must, imagine you have no hands if it helps, or that you're meditating on the moon... whatever works...,” said Luna, hoping that the moon, rather the Goddess would be kind enough to help out her child. And true to her thoughts it worked like magic.

Almost immediately there was a noticeable change in the atmosphere of the room. The temperature dropped and Lukas opened his eyes but they were not the warm forest green anymore. They were black, it was like looking into two pools of coal which were hard and unflinching. His entire body demeanour shifted, just like that. His lips curved into a smile, but they were not the smile that Lukas smiled, it was hard and cold and sinister just like his gaze.

Luna had no idea that the embracing of power in his veins could be so instantaneous and the change in his character would be so immense. It was like she had no time to react at all.

“Not quite the hot dark of embers, but a soft, hopeful dark. The dark that comes just before the sunrise, a kind of dark that helps the orange and gold blossom across the sky, like a small flower trembling open in spring. The dark that encourages you to fall asleep as you close your eyes, tossing and turning in a futile attempt to slip away into the depths of unconsciousness, blissfully unaware. The type of dark that occurs in a complete solar eclipse, blocking out the light, the noise, the feeling of being, leaving you in the silence of serenity, if only for a few seconds. You are the beacon of that darkness Lukas, look inside yourself and you shall find a heart which is beating to spew light but now instead you will give darkness, the balance of being blinded,” said Luna as Lukas’s eyes softened and his gaze did as well.

“What am I supposed to do?” asked Lukas, as he looked at Luna with question in his eyes. His gaze although dark but had returned to some semblance of normalcy which made it easier to look at him.

“You are supposed to allow this darkness out through your hands and probe and prod to find anything living you find in this room and try and see it’s organs, working, beating,” said Luna, as she carefully peered in the way in which Lukas tried on his new found strength.

He raised both his hands with his fingers outstretched and concentrated hard when suddenly dark rays shot out from the tips of his fingers and then congealed into one making him bring his hands closer and clasping them in a single one so that it could sneak in and find a living organism, and within no time a rat was found scurrying along the corner of the bark which formed a part of the basement.

“Very good, excellent Lukas. Now tell me, can you see the insides of the rat that you are still holding?” asked Luna, as Lukas nodded with a grunt. It was difficult for him to keep his force holding and pressure at the same point to see something which would never be visible with the naked eyes.

“Do you see how his heart is beating? Can you feel that vibration passing from him into you slowly and through the stream of energy that you have concentrated on him?” asked Luna and Lukas waited for a moment before reacting and then sucked in a sharp breath. He nodded as he could feel the energy of the rat passing into him in a thin steady stream. It was a strange exhilarating feeling and Lukas’s eyes darkened with a certain pleasure which he had never felt before.

“Now stop sucking his life force and send that energy back into him with the control that he has shown towards you. The rat has been immensely respectful of you and now you must show him the same courtesy. You need to understand that you have to show the same amount of respect to every single creature who is willingly offering you sustenance,” said Luna as Lukas tried very hard to keep the control and send him back the energy of the life force which he had sucked out of the rat. But not to say, and surprisingly, he failed abysmally. And he gave out excess than what was required by the rat and it sent the small creature into a sudden cardiac arrest and Lukas could feel the spasming of the body of the rat as it breathed its last.

His eyes returned back to normal green as he sat down slowly near the dead body of the rat which was now lying on its back absolutely still. This was the first time in his life that he had willingly taken the life of another creature and strangely it did not cause any guilt or remorse in him. It felt like it was very normal for him to prey but that was not what the motto of the Blood Moon pack was. They were all supposed to protect all those who were weaker than them and now if the Alpha of the pack had stopped following the very basic tenets on which the whole culture of the pack lay then it would cause a mayhem which would spiral out of control very soon.

“Well that was something which was expected. If you had been able to put back the rest of the energy in the rat without failing even for a single time then that would have been extremely abnormal. Since you have failed, you will be able to figure out the consequences as soon as possible. Now Lukas, stop spilling tears on the body of a rat and get it away from here. And I would suggest that you get dressed as soon as possible since the Healer is walking towards your house in her practiced gait. So I would say you have probably three and a half minutes before she is in your living room,” said Luna and Lukas immediately leaped out of the basement and shut the trap door down and pulled the carpet over it.

As Lukas quickly started wearing the clothes he usually wore in the morning Luna came up and hovered before him saying,” That was not at all a good manner to lock your Aunt down in the basement Lukas!!”

“Well might not be, but that was payback for making me spill my juice on my t-shirt and also for spooking me when it was not required,” said Lukas as he finished buttoning his jeans and was running his fingers through his hair when the Healer came and stood at his doorstep and then came in his living room.

“Ahhh!!! Alpha Lukas….Charlie told me that you wanted to see me for some health problems that you might be having?” asked the elderly woman. Her name was Gilda, and she was older than anyone could remember. Her hair was a swath of silver with beads hanging in the braids she had tied them into. Her eyes were a vibrant green, the one which reminded you of the warmth of the woods like a mother protecting her babe. She wore a robe with trousers always and Lukas smiled at her.

“Are you sure he just mentioned the fact that I am having some health problems? And nothing else about being plagued by evil spirits or a negative aura around the house which needed immediate cleansing?” asked Lukas, with a mirthful expression.

“Ohhh!! That!!! He might have but then he speaks a lot of things which his father taught him to believe, some of them are true, some of them are not. But as far as I can see you don’t have any health problems as such but there might be again something which only you are feeling and not me,” said Gilda, showing her yellowing broken teeth. The effect was comical but Lukas knew that he had to pay his respects to this woman who had dedicated her entire life for the sake of the welfare of the Blood Moon pack.

“I think that I am having some problems sleeping, and I am plagued by nightmares and dreams of bloodshed. It is something which has been bothering for quite some time, and I thought you might have some remedy for this,” said Lukas, truthfully and the honesty shone in his eyes. The Healer nodded at him and then sighed.

“I might give you a remedy for your insomnia Alpha, but what is the body to do when it is your mind which is riddled with doubts?” asked the Healer and Lukas’s head snapped at her.