Page 12 of The Wolf Moon

Caleb abruptly ducked under me, lifting me from the ground and over his shoulder as though I were a bag of feathers. I screeched and punched his back, struggling viciously against him.

“Let me go, you… you jerk!” I got my wish when he suddenly dropped me to the floor. I was able to catch one more glance of his face, one of hesitation, before the door to the temple was shut in mine. I cried out in panic, pushing myself to my feet and trying to open it senselessly. “No! Wait! Don’t leave me in here! Let me out!”

The door was firmly shut. From the outside, I could hear the clangs of them replacing the barricades, fully intending to carry out the King Alpha’s orders. I felt cold all over suddenly. Surely this was a joke. After everything, this couldn’t be the way I went.

I leaned against the door and slid down to the floor in momentary defeat. I cradled my head in my hands, taking a moment to take in my situation and think of a way around it. I would just have to look for an escape. And then I could run back to my village. If I could figure out which direction that was in…

Either way, I wasn’t going to find an exit by sitting where I was. I opened my eyes, leaned my head back, and then hesitated. My eyes were greeted by the beginning interior of the temple. Where I had thought it would be as trashed and otherwise as harmed as the outside, I was completely wrong.

I stood slowly, taking in the initial mural on the wall immediate to the entrance. It depicted three silhouettes of women standing atop an ocean of trees, each of them looking to the sky with their hands lifted. And in their grip was three moons; a waxing, full, and waning moon.

I stepped forward, lifting my fingers to brush over the artwork curiously. The entrance gave me an option to go left or right, though I was certain either way would lead to the same place. I picked a direction at random and began walking. It would have been completely dark inside, except that the light of day peaked through some boarded windows.

I entered another stretch of a room which held more art and two sets of double doors along the center wall. The room held a mix of statues depicting wolves, half-shifted lycans, and more figures of the three women. One statue was of a woman holding a moon in her hands, a circle of wolves under her with their heads tilted back howling. Another statue was a woman with a bow and arrow, pointing at something in the distance while a large wolf stood protectively next to her. I touched the arrow tip carefully before turning to try one of the double doors.

The doors led to an auditorium of sorts. There were rows after rows of pews in front of a massive stage. On the wall of the stage was a large symbol, black and solid. It appeared to be a circle with two crescent shapes on either side, facing the opposite direction. I walked further into the area curiously, looking up and around me at all the paintings of wolves and moons around the entire temple.

It took me a minute to realize there were lighted candles along each pew. When I noticed, I suddenly paused to stare at one. My eyes moved from the candles to the chairs, which were absent of dust or dirt. In fact, the entire place appeared very well taken care of for something that was considered abandoned. Then again, I wasn’t sure how long ago it was abandoned. But I was certain it wouldn’t have only been a few hours, or however long it would take for candles to die out.

There was a sound of movement and a door closing. I immediately ducked down in panic, hiding from whoever was in the temple with me. Then I peeked from over the pew towards the sound of footsteps.

A woman was stepping onto the stage towards a table set up in the center. She placed two bowls next to plates that were already prepared with food. Then she sat facing the pews and took a drink from one of the two glasses set as well. I was suspicious. Did this mean there were even more wolves hiding here?

“Won’t you join me, Mila?” The woman suddenly asked loudly, her voice echoing throughout the room with ease. I ducked once again, trying to hide despite being found. Then I had to wonder how she knew my name. Maybe everyone knew my name by now? “You don’t want your food to get cold, do you?”

At the mention of food, especially food meant for me, my stomach rolled over with excitement. If anything could influence me to do something crazy, it would be food. I took a breath and stood stubbornly, glaring at the strange woman suspiciously.

“What are you doing here?” I asked her before taking a step.

“I live here,” She responded simply, as if that weren’t the nuttiest thing out there. I frowned, but my eyes traveled from her to the food in front of her. It looked fresh and downright delicious from where I was standing. “Come join me and we’ll talk, Mila. Then I’ll tell you how you can get out of here.”

“There’s a way out?” I asked, instantly intrigued further.

She merely smiled and continued to eat without me. I began to approach the stage hesitantly, pausing occasionally before taking the steps onto the platform and finally seating myself across from her. I looked from her to the food carefully, taking in the soup in the bowl and the meat and vegetables on the plate. I picked up the silverware and quickly began to dig in, deciding poison would be worth the risk. I was hungry.

The woman was older, probably in her high forties or low fifties. She had graying blonde hair, but looked quite healthy and stunning. Her eyes were the darkest of sable which held something of ancient wisdom within them as she watched me feast in front of her. She sipped from her glass easily, waiting for me to finish.

My eyes traveled from her to the symbol on the wall once again.

“It’s the symbol of the Triple Goddesses,” the woman abruptly explained to me. I looked back to her curiously as she moved her hand to the center of the table where the symbol had been etched onto the surface. The woman traced it slowly and said, “There’s the Maiden, Artemis, represented by the waxing moon. Then the Mother, Selene, represented by the full and new moon. And last is the Crone, Hecate, represented by the waning moon. They are the three Goddesses of the Moon.”

I stared at the symbol for a moment, recognizing only the Mother as it appeared the wolves believed me to be blessed by her. I recalled reaching my hand out to the full moon, but then I shook my head briefly. It was all a bunch of nonsense.

“The wolves said they don’t follow the Moon Goddesses anymore,” I said with a frown, “What are you doing here?”

The woman sat back and smiled warmly.

“I’m one of the Crone’s oracles,” She explained to me with ease, “Alpha Roman had us all banished from the packs long ago. Many of us survive, whether living as I do in secret among the temples or in hiding in the wild. But as for why I’m here right now… I’ve been waiting for you, Mila.”

I didn’t know what to think. To be told that she was waiting for me, supposedly at the behest of the Moon Goddesses, was just strange. The Goddesses weren’t my Goddesses, so what did I care to learn of them? Humans worshipped only the godlike lycanthropes, as was demanded since centuries before I was born. But something interested me about these creatures and the deities they used to worship. However, I didn’t know this woman, so I had to remain wary despite my curiosity.

“The Crone’s oracles? What’s that?” I asked suspiciously.

“The Crone, Hecate, is the Goddess of the oracles. Through us, the words of the Moon Goddesses are heard among all the packs. We’re given visions and told information, to keep us in the Triple Goddesses favor and to retain their blessings,” The woman paused somberly at a thought that crossed her mind, “Yet, after being banished, many oracles lost their visions and connection to the Goddesses. Of what I know, I’m the only one who retains a connection.”

“What’s your name?” I asked curiously.

“You can call me Cynthia. I’m sorry if this is a bit much for you, and it doesn’t help that for everything I tell you, there is infinite more you must know that hasn’t been said,” She explained with empathy. I stared at her a moment, trying to take in everything she’d told me so far and determine if there were falsehoods evident in her words. I leaned back, looking up and around once again.

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