Black Wolf (19 page)

"Sounds
practical," Rebecca agreed. "What about the actual educational side
of it?"

"I'm probably
going to take some of the horticulture and herbalism classes,"
Deanna said. "I'm good at kitchen-witch stuff so probably I'll
watch for a job that uses that. I've got another year after Kev and
Karl are done, to make up my mind. Karl can't sit still through
high school classes, I don't think college classes are likely to be
any better. And Kev would have to actually take something seriously
long enough to make up his mind, which is probably not going to
happen in the next two years before he graduates." The affectionate
tone took all the sting out of the words, and Kevin just grinned at
her.

"I can be
serious," Kevin said. "I just find it hard to take the same things
seriously that everyone else does. I don't know what I want to do.
I mean, it's kind of a given that I'm eventually going to be
considered Adept. I'm really strong and really good. But everyone
expects Adepts to be all responsible and, y'know, pillars of the
community with sensible jobs. One runs this place, and the other is
our local psychotherapist who also teaches humanities classes at
the College, and that's around the expectation of teaching magic
too. That doesn't sound particularly appealing. What's the point of
being a mage if I'm not supposed to use it to have fun and show off
a bit, and I have to devote my whole life to everybody else?"

"That is not
what anyone is saying," Deanna sighed.

Rebecca
figured that was, in fact, exactly what they were saying, or at
least what lay underneath everything that they were saying.

A couple of
years wasn't so big a difference, really, not when in front of her
was a kindred spirit, one who was no more comfortable fitting into
the role ordained by their culture than she was, one who wanted to
be free.

She could show
him how, or at least as far as she'd managed to get, and maybe
together, they could find the rest of the path.

The other two
might be inconvenient, but which one, ultimately, was Kevin going
to listen to? An earth-bound dryad who was the voice of convention,
wanting him to act in ways that clearly chafed, or a wolf who was
trying to show him how to escape the cage and fly? Deanna could
safely be ignored until Kevin outgrew her. Karl's views were
clearly more flexible, and it was possible he could be swayed.
Breaking down the other connections that confined him shouldn't be
all that hard; though Kevin laughed it off, she was beginning to
suspect that many people were uneasy with a strong mage-gift in the
hands of someone they saw as impulsive and unreliable. That would
be predictable and normal, and he didn't need them or their
approval as much as he currently believed he did.

Maybe coming
to Haven hadn't been such a mistake after all, she'd thought.

Until Deanna
had forced him to choose, and Kevin had chosen Deanna over Rebecca,
a cage over freedom.

Her current
coven and, to the best of her knowledge, Haven in general all
believed that it was some sort of relentless and irrational desire
for revenge that drove her. That was only further proof of how
little they understood her.

Duayne's dream
about the stranger sleeping by the side of the road had seemed like
a godsend. Driving to the general area, she'd investigated furform,
confirmed the noxious smells of the city and a fainter scent of
wolf. With more time to think, she would probably have been less
willing to risk Jesse's life, but how could she pass up such an
opportunity?

Some gifted
could get away with staying solitary and trusting to the density of
wolves in Haven protecting them from predators. Not elvenmages, and
least of all strong ones. Without Bane, Kevin would have no choice
but to find another wolf. There were few solitary wolves, and none
of them were at all likely candidates; no existing coven would
accept him. Haven had had too clear a glimpse of what Kevin truly
was, and their little sheep souls remained terrified of it.
Possibly Bryan would try for the sake of Lori's fondness for her
cousin, though two elvenmages in one coven was asking for trouble;
possibly Evaline might, even though adding Kevin to a coven already
in precarious balance because of Nick's moods and Sonja's odd gifts
would be an equally bad idea. Without Deanna, it was all the more
certain that he'd turn back to Rebecca.

Then they
could go away, just the two of them, and leave Whitethorn to Karl
and the remainder of Sundark could do whatever they liked. She
could get back to work on undoing the damage caused by Kevin's
struggle to convince everyone, including himself, that he was a
tame little caged songbird instead of a wild raptor that could
shatter those bars just by spreading his wings fully.

The whole plan
had failed, had increased the friction within her current coven,
had led to her losing face with the Haven wolves and to a warning
from several alphas that she was once again venturing into
behaviour they wouldn't tolerate. Had even led to a lingering trace
of guilt that she'd been so willing to sacrifice Jesse or condemn
him to a miserable life of fences and walls, though she remained
unconvinced that the world would particularly suffer for it.
Probably, it had ultimately reduced any chance of future success,
adding an extra barrier between them.

Maybe she
should try to be content with what she had.

An elvenmage
who depended heavily on feeling useful to and accepted by her
coven—at least it was only her coven and not Haven in general, but
she'd proven resistant to Rebecca's attempts to break her of it. A
witch, lifelong friend of the mage, who was obsessed with books and
pushing magical boundaries. An elf seer deeply fascinated by old
and often forbidden knowledge. At least those two made a good pair,
and Moira and Duayne got along well since he had the tact to thank
her often. A wolf who increasingly believed that he wasn't beta to
her alpha but was her equal and entitled to opinions about what she
did. All of them often reluctant to grant her the respect and
obedience she needed in order to best protect them, without
constant wearying reminders.

Well, it could
be worse.

But given the
choice, she'd walk away from them without hesitation if she could
just have Kevin back.

The
Quicksilver Sphynx

Miscellanea, March 1994

Nick 'Winter

Spring is coming!
Don't lose hope, even when it feels like the wheel of the year got
stuck in the snow, it keeps turning, and spring approaches. We're
less than a month from the equinox.

Well, let's see what's
happening. There's not a lot planned, towards the end of the month,
other than equinox stuff listed on the back page. There'll be a
healer's convention in mid-April, and a witches' convention is
being tentatively planned for early May.

Candace 'Honeybee gave
birth a week and a half ago to a healthy son. Reports are that he
has very blue eyes and bright blonde fuzz already, so his
biological father is presumably Davin 'Honeybee. His name is Marten
Gabriel. Congratulations, 'Honeybee!

Article of the month:
I recommend two, actually, I couldn't decide. One is by Samantha,
about familiars—which types are best for what, the nature of the
bond, how to strengthen it, things of that sort. Excellent
information for everyone who has a familiar or is thinking of
getting one. The other is by Nils Moreau, his speculation on the
role elves, dryads, wolves, and human gifted played in creating the
very mythologies we now use as a source of symbols. There are
places where no evidence is available, but it's certainly enough to
make one stop and think.

There's a dance, at
the community hall, on the 25th, the Friday before the full moon
Sunday. It's open to all, there'll be the usual potluck table so
our elves can stay their usual energetic selves, I'm not sure who's
DJing. It's 8pm to 1am, sliding scale $3 10.

Coven Natesa are
looking for short stories, poetry, black and white art, cartoons,
or anything else that can be printed—they're putting together a
book of Haven's creative talents, and we do have a lot! Submissions
aren't guaranteed to be in it, but chances are good. They'll be
printed, spiral bound, and sold in a few local places.

The White Stag folks
tell me they have a whole collection of new Haven-deck, Tarot,
medicine, and similar cards. Several are brand-new sets by artists
in Canadian or other mixed villages. I don't even do cards but
there's a water-slanted witch set that's calling to me!

Coven Starluck's house
has found an owner—Coven Sundark! One of Haven's first houses has
been abandoned for a decade or more, since even with all the
well-off families in Haven no one's wanted the amount of work
involved in (not to mention the cost of) fixing it up into
habitable condition. Yes, Cynthia 'Sundark promised to let me at
the attics (I can hardly wait!), but I swear to behave myself.
Besides, Brittany won't let me get out of line!

Historical notes.
Sixteen years ago March was the height of the "ghost craze":
someone found out about a nasty accidental death (which I'm not
going to describe) and wondered if the ghost of the woman in
question might still be around. That got things started, and for a
while everyone was seeing ghosts everywhere. The problem is, with
the levels of psychic activity in Haven, the "ghosts" could be any
of four things: over-active imagination; real ghosts still walking;
real ghosts or something else, pulled back by all the excitement;
or something created by all that energy focused (sometimes
hysterically) on one thing. Eventually, all the "ghosts" that could
be found were laid to rest by a group that formed for that purpose,
consisting of Haven's more mature and stable mages, witches,
mind-gifted, a couple of wolves, a healer, and the three Adepts
here at the time.

Enjoy March, see you
in April!

13

Caitryn, as a
chestnut wolf, bounced into the yard of Coven Sundark's house,
paused to look back and check that Gisela was still coming, then
frisked off.

Gisela watched
her greet Evaline respectfully, crouching slightly and turning
away, ears back and tail down. Pale-furred Evaline rubbed her cheek
against Caitryn's affectionately, and both bitches bounded away in
a mad game of tag.

Well, so much
for her companion. Gisela circled the house to the back yard,
towards the general noise and merriment.

Most of her
friends were here already, perched on the back porch and the picnic
table. Bane and Bryan were poised on either side of a stick, daring
each other to try to pick it up, growling in what an outsider might
have thought was fierce threat; Evaline, with Caitryn almost close
enough to bite her tail, ran by and feigned cowering behind Bane.
Caitryn greeted Bane the same way she had Evaline earlier, before
getting back to the puzzle of reaching the alpha bitch.

"Heyla,
'Sela," Liam greeted her. "How's it going?" Liam was the only other
healer in this circle of friends, the only healer she felt
especially close to other than her mother. Absently, he tucked an
escaping lock of dark hair back under the bright-woven band Gisela
had rarely seen him without. He said it kept his hair out of his
eyes; she thought it was just to be different.

"Pretty good,"
she answered. "I wish Jess were here, I bet he'd have fun."

Liam shrugged.
"It's up to him."

"Oh, I know.
How are you doing with your mother's horse?" She leaned against the
porch railing, watched all four wolves now chasing each other
around the yard. Evaline was smallest, dwarfed by the two males,
but she was also lightning-fast and agile; no one could catch her,
but she excelled at getting close enough to the others to nip at
them and race away again. She was alpha bitch for a reason, and it
wasn't only her quick mind and ability to take control of a
situation.

"She'll be
okay, the cut's healing nicely, and meanwhile she's getting spoiled
hopelessly."

"Listen up!"
Liam's coven-mate Nick shouted.

Everyone
quieted, and gathered around the picnic table; the wolves all
shifted to human, quite sensibly all in the magesilks that changed
with a wolf instead of needing to be removed, each in appropriate
colours.

"Okay. Now.
We're starting before sunset because there's stuff hidden all over
the place and there are some people who are at a disadvantage in
the dark." While Nick spoke, Flynn and Lori brought a considerable
collection of baskets and large bowls to the table, spreading them
all over the top. "Certain people who are prone to getting overly
competitive in games are forewarned not to." He gave the four
wolves a stern look; Evaline made a face at him. "No one's allowed
outside the yard or in bedrooms, but anywhere else there are things
hidden. Keep it fair, no magic. The only exception is that since
Kev and Lori have no night-sight to speak of, if we're out here
long enough that you start to have trouble, you two are allowed to
use just enough magic that you can see, but play fair, okay? Any
questions?"

"Can we
start?" Bryan asked.

"Other than
that."

Silence.

"Then grab a
bowl and go!" Flynn declared.