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“His cake and eat it too.” Anna sighed.
“I’m afraid so,” she said with a perk of her brow.
Anna shook her head. “I’m still a bit confused. If he kills the baby at birth and then takes possession of its corpse, wouldn’t he be a weak and defenseless newborn?”
“No. According to the Midewiwin’s, the mixing of the newborn descendant’s blood with his spiritual body will make him all powerful. His body will age within seconds to maturity.”
“And if by chance, the baby is born a female?” Anna asked.
Larkspur shook her head. “It wouldn’t matter, his desires would be the same, his insatiable lust crossing all sexual boundaries. He would have you, Donja as well, male or female.”
Anna shook her head. “This is getting so ugly.”
“More than you know. Look around you. These men think they can waltz in there and save Donja, but they have no idea what they’re walking into.”
“Have you warned them?”
“I’ve begged Antonio and Torin. I have given them the results of my research, but just like my husband, they shrug it off.”
“Research, of what kind?”
Larkspur exhaled. “The Fire Circle of our ancestors. I have read night and day, every book I can get my hands on. I have visited hundreds of Midewiwin’s, picking their minds, searching for a way to destroy the Seventh Miigis.”
“And is it possible?”
“Well, Torin and Antonio believe war is the answer, that brute force will drive the seventh from Zaroc and then they can kill him.”
“You don’t look convinced,” Anna mused.
“Let’s just say I think that they will fight their war tomorrow and lose miserably.”
Anna fixated her eyes upon the land which suddenly seemed possessed. A sickly feeling rose from gut, all but forcing a gag. She glanced to the overhead dome as dark rolling clouds blocked the sun. She closed her eyes.
Are the ancestral Midewiwins the answer?
From behind, hearing Antonio’s voice, Anna and Larkspur spun and watched as he approached them, completely stolid. “The Affiliates will be leaving shortly. I think it best the two of you get inside,” he rattled. “There’s a storm blowing in from Lake Superior.”
“So, you’re heading out to battle?” Larkspur queried.
“Yes, we’re sending the Affiliates to travel under cover of darkness. We’ll join them tomorrow.”
“I beg of you,” Larkspur breathed. “Do not engage the Seventh Miigis. He will decimate your forces.”
“She might be right,” Anna chimed in, “please just listen to her.”
Antonio exhaled, his eyes washing over Anna. “Just leave the battle to us, ladies. Now if you don’t mind, get inside, it’s not safe out here and it’s not just the storm that concerns me.”
Disclosure
In dawn’s early light, just as the sun embraced the shadowed horizon, Torin, Val, and Antonio, followed by Anna and Larkspur exited Hampton Manor. After hugging Lisa, Carson and Makayla on the steps, Anna who was guarded by four Affiliates manning long silver swords, was escorted toward sixteen Suburbans which lined the cobblestone drive. Her spiked boots tapped the embedded stones, passing one then another of the vehicles lined bumper to bumper like railed boxcars.
Her stride faltered and with her mind ravaged by disorganized thought, she stopped. She turned slowly and glanced back to the Manor. Winds whipped her hair, her face shadowed by towering spruce. He was there, she could sense it. She searched the shadows.
Where are you Frankie?
She saw movement and narrowed her gaze as he topped the ridgeline of the roof, then perched like a bird of prey.
Anna shivered. She tucked her hair behind her ears fully aware that he could see her, smell her, detect her heartbeat, there was nothing he did not know. A wretched moan escaped her, a naïve grandson taken and replaced by an Iridescent as powerful as fifty mortal men. Mournful, she dropped her head for in her mind’s eye, this would be their last encounter. A sudden light from atop the house illumed her face. She raised a hand to shield the glare. Her heartbeat intensified as Frankie rose to his feet, a lighthouse in the fog, guiding her home. “I love you, sweet boy,” she mumbled. She spun and with the iterative sound of her heels tapping, marched past Suburbans packed with Russian Affiliates. Hearing Lisa call her name, Anna turned and saw her running toward her. They hugged, pulled back and faced off. Anna immediately noticed her face, etched in concern. “I have to go, there’s no other way,” Anna whispered. “Please don’t make this harder than it already is.”