Chapter 225 - Say it isnt so (2/2)

”Oh, you'd like that too much! I bet you'd put in a request for some other tall, dark, and s.e.xy man to work your Kraken magic on!” she joked.

Jos glared at her as she flung a wet cloth at Raven. ”Just as well, your wife seems to think you and I are having some kind of secret affair.”

Cam tilted her head in intrigue. ”You're married?” The rest of her friend's words sank in leaving her even more dumbfounded. ”You have a w... wife?”

Raven's laughter died off. She became serious as she turned her attention to Cam. ”I do and it's no lie, she doesn't like my current job of Kraken keeper though I've assured her of my devotion to her and her alone.” Raven shrugged her usual demeanor quickly returning. ”I mean, I get it. I'm irresistible-” Her words were cut short as another cloth hit the side of her head.

Cam giggled pushing further questions about Raven and her strange relationship aside as excitement and joy overfilled her. ”Speaking of marriage, guess what guys!!!!”

Raven arched a brow as she scanned Cam's fidgeting body. The girl was practically wagging a nonexistent tail. Raven sucked in a breath. ”Oh, gods! You and Ol' boy didn't run away and elope, have you?” Her eyes widened more. ”You're not pregnant, are you?” Her brows tented as she rubbed her chin interrupting her own question with another. ”Wait do werewolves have babies or puppies? If you give birth in wolf form will the baby come out a wolf? If it's a full moon and you give birth in human form would the baby still come out a wolf?” This time the clothing basket was chucked at Raven's head, barely missing.

”My word, Raven! They are both still children! And stop asking weird questions about werewolf babies! Just let her speak, would you?!” Jos barked as she trudged through the water past Raven gathering her basket and clothes as she passed. She smiled widely at Cam. ”Come on inside and tell us all about your birthday and your news. I can't wait to hear.”

Cam smiled widely back as she followed Jos toward the door of the cavernous home. ”Well, you see, Ales and I finally told each other our true feelings and we'd even planned to run away together, but his brother Fern... he found out and was all 'no you don't, I'll mark you and kill him'. Well to his surprise Ales IS AN ALPHA! Isn't that great?! He shifted right there in the main hall and knocked Fern right out cold! Oh, and look!” Cam pulled back the high neckline of her dress. ”He marked me too! Our coronation will be in a few weeks and he will ask me to marry him in front of his entire kingdom! Isn't it exciting!!!” Cam had been too busy retailing the wonderful events that had transpired after her birthday ball that she hadn't noticed that Jos's body had gone rigid. It wasn't until the basket had dropped from her hands, that she'd realized something was wrong. ”Jos? Are you alright? Was it something I said?” She set the basket she carried down and walked around to face Jos. ”Jos?” Her usually bright aqua eyes were now nearly white and aglow like she'd never before seen. ”Jos?”

”What's going on?” Raven asked as she made her way into the small space. Her eyes moved from Cam's worried face to the basket on the floor. She hurried over and spun Jos around. ”Ah, shit! You should hurry back home princess. The curse is calling her, and I can't always control her easily.”

Cam's eyes widened with more worry and fear for her friend. ”What do you mean you 'can't always control her easily'?”

”I mean sometimes the curse pulls harder than others and sometimes my magic is less effective... like when I've already used it for other purposes in the same day.” Raven said as she began conjuring a magical barrier. ”I need you to leave while you can. I may need to seal the exits if my magic isn't enough to sedate her and believe me it's nothing you would want to see.”

Cam hurriedly followed her friend as the fairy shoved her toward a bed in the corner and forced her down onto the frame. Her eyes widened in horror as she watched Raven quickly snap iron cuffs around each of Jos's wrists and ankles. ”What are you doing?! You're going to hurt her!” Cam was well aware Jos was more than the fragile child that she seemed to be of no more than ten to twelve years old but the site of the frail-looking child being forced into irons and chains tore at her heart. She was just about to pull Raven away for Jos when movement caught her attention. Something long, slimy, and teal seemed to be moving out from around Jos's writhing body. Cam took a step back in shocked surprise as the strange thing crept across the floor toward her. ”Raven... What is that thing?”

Raven glanced over her shoulder as she continued to wrestle Jos's body down into the mattress enough to latch the final shackle. ”Shit... She's already shifting... That is a tentacle. You see that box over there on the counter in the corner? Fill the bowl beside it with water from the falls and bring it and the box to me. If you're going to stay you may as well help.”

Cam quickly did as she was instructed, taking a step back once again as a mystical purple light began to fill the dim room and Raven's low chant began to drown out the ringing in her ears. When it didn't seem to be enough to end the forced shift, Raven's wild, glowing eyes met Cam's. ”What lineage did your parent's wolf genes pass down from?”

Cam swallowed hard. ”Nordic and Norse... why?”

”Thank the gods! Give me your hand. I'll have to summon power from your Norse blood. How distant is your relation to Loki?” Raven asked as she quickly grabbed Cam's trembling wrist.

”I... I'm not sure... four or five generations may more... Why what power can that provide?” She asked, her attention darting back and forth between the frantic fairy and her writhing best friend.

”It makes all the difference. The closer related to the god himself the more power that can be pulled.” Raven closed her eyes tightly as she began a new chant, squeezing Cam's wrist tightly in her iron grip. When her eyes opened again the entire room lit with the bright purple light that eliminated. Cam stared in bewilderment as Jos's body finally went still and the tentacle quickly retracted back from where it had come. Raven released Cam's wrist and collapsed against the footboard of the small bed. ”Damn... Good thing you're so stubborn. I don't think I could have handled that one alone.”

Cam's wide eyes met her now normal ones. ”W...what was that?”

”That was the call of the curse. Her mother cursed her the day she was born to shift into a terrible beast and destroy any ship to near her island. And no matter how much she tries to fight against it, Jos has no power over the curse only the strongest of sedation magic can overpower it.” Raven shook her head. ”And sometimes I can... and sometimes I can't...”

Cam tilted her head. ”Are you that powerful?”

Raven arched her brow as a smile teased her lips. ”More or less... though it's not always been used for good, I try to focus it toward better ventures nowadays. Maybe one of these days, when I'm not completely exhausted, I'll tell you more, give you a better demonstration.” She shook her head against the footboard. ”Just not today, I beat.” She nodded toward Jos. ”She should be back to normal in a day or so if you'd like to come back then.”

Cam nodded but couldn't get the images out of her mind the whole way home.