Hour of the Moon

Chapter 8: Lost Woods

My tires crushed under the dirty roads of the forest, the tall trees creating dimness around me.  It was the middle of the afternoon, and pockets of sunlight peaked through the trees. The drive to the ageless Seer would take an hour, and he was in the belly of the forest.

Damn Fairies and their hideouts. I knew there was a glamour around Akita's house. Having supernatural abilities, I shift to my wolf eyes piercing the translucent veil surrounding the shabby wooden shack.

Parking my car, I shut the engine off. I walk closer to the house, noticing the multicolored light outlining the veil.

Curious, I reach my hand out and the veil disappears.

I was expecting you, Waya of the Clearwater Clan. Akita spoke in my head, his voice deep and sounding far away.

He steps out of his shabby shack, adorned in a Shamma and long cotton pants. I only knew the name of the clothing he wore because the Elders required us to be well-versed on lycan history, and Ethiopian lycan history was one of my favorites. It was even said that Akita has been before the birth of Christ, that wouldn't be surprising.

Although he walked with a hunch, he was only a few inches shorter than me and still maintained a healthy physique. His skin was a smooth red-brown clay color, but wrinkles were etched into every pore of his face. His hair was grey-white and extremely curly and cropped to his face, with a head wrap securing his curls in place. His eyes were a translucent color, not gray but not blue either, and had a contemplative emotion in them.

Hearing my footsteps, he smiled graciously.

" At long last, young Wolf. I know what you're here for."

I walk past his threshold and the smell of rosemary, lavender and other herbs tickles my nose. Pots of plants were lined up on rectangular tables on either side of me.

For a small shack, the space was big. From the wooden floorboards to the wooden walls.

I follow Akita further into his abode, and we enter a room I presumed was his bedroom.

A circle brown rug was in the center, and books lined the shelf walls. There wasn't a bed or furniture but I wasn't in the least surprised.

" Sit," He commanded softly, as I take my boots off and place them near the door. Sitting across from him on the floor, he sits cross-legged, his sightless eyes locked onto mine.

I felt a chill run down my spine, and despite him being blind I felt he was seeing through me.

He chuckled, the sound strange and hoarse from his lips.

" Are you afraid? There is no need. I'm sure you've heard many rumors about me and why I turned away from the wolf bloodline."

" You're considered a traitor." As much as Akita was revered, he was deeply despised by the clans. He willingly gave up being a lycan to seek power within the Faerie Courts.

" You couldn't imagine the sort of things I saw in my lifetime, son. The wolf clans of my period were monstrous demons. Everywhere they went they left a trail of death. Long story short I met a fae woman and saw the way they lived. I asked myself, why did we have to be damned by the Moon? To shift into these beasts." He said the word beast with so much venom I nearly flinched.

" But it is no matter for that was the past. The future holds many trials for you, Waya."

" I'm aware of that. And since you already know what I'm here for, how can I fix it?"

His eyes blink rapidly and he goes into a daze for a brief moment.

" The human woman? She is no issue to you, not the way you think. She's quite the beauty, no?"