The pyres burned high into the night sky. All around the reservation wolves raised their faces to the heavens and howled their mournful song into the night. There were only a few Arnauk not present. Too many lives had been lost for there to be a single person unaffected by the deaths. The only ones who weren't there were those that had to run the Madadh-Allaidh Saobhaidh and the Taigh-Oèsda. But those were minimal. It was mostly being run by the human hires tonight.
Aislinn stared at the pyres. The yellow and orange flames licked the sky and sent shadows dancing about the trees. It was a sharp contrast to the howls of pleasure and the bodies dancing amongst the trees the night before. There was very little talking. That morning they had found two suicides. It was expected. With so many mated losses it wasn't unusual for the one left behind, especially if there were no children, to take his or her own life.
The day had been long and hard. Aislinn had seen very little of Cullen and it was getting harder and harder on both of them. He had spent the entire day being diplomatic and sympathetic to all the families that arrived to attend the funeral. Aislinn had spent the day trailing after Sarah and taking on odd duties that Sarah suggested. Mostly it was to show the rest of the pack that Aislinn was taking orders from them and not the other way around. Sarah hadn't assigned her anything difficult. She would bring a message to one person or another. She helped with bringing things in when more important people arrived. She smiled and spoke when spoken too. She answered a lot of questions about herself. In the end she was mentally exhausted.
Aislinn watched Brinah's body burn and tears slid down her cheeks. Knowing that her grandmother's soul existed but was tied to this place was little comfort. She had questions. Aislinn looked over at Cullen. It was the first time the two of them had managed to be standing next to each other all day. He knew what she wanted and she knew that he was uncomfortable with the idea.
"I'll be fine," she said. "It scared me the first time because I didn't understand what was happening or why. But I need to talk to her."
Cullen shook his head. "People will notice if you go missing right now."
"We're leaving for the Madadh-Allaidh Saobhaidh in the morning. I won't have another chance."
Cullen growled. "Aislinn I don't like it."
"I know. I'm sorry. But I have to." She kissed him on the cheek and then headed for the stone circle. He watched her walk into the woods, knowing he couldn't stop her.
Aislinn could feel him nearby. He wouldn't stray far from the stones. There wasn't anything he'd be able to do. But he didn't care about that. He'd try if something went wrong. Though neither of them knew what the possible consequences of her actions could be.
Aislinn stepped through the perimeter of the stone circle with the firm intention of finding Brinah there and to her surprise it worked. Everything went still. No breeze, no sounds, just black and the stones and there in the middle of the Circle stood the ghostly figure of her grandmother.
Brinah was smiling with pride, her blue eyes sparkled and unworldly glow. "You have no idea how difficult what you just did should have been. It took a great deal of energy for me to bring you here that first time. You plane walk as though you were born to it." Brinah walked over to her granddaughter. "I never dreamed I would regret having kept you from the Circle. But I can't help wondering if I've held you back."
"Why did you leave them? Did they do something to you or something wrong? I know you said you wanted to marry grandpa, but did that require leaving?"
"Hmm, straight to the point. You remind me of myself some times. You know that is not a characteristic of the Circle. They are much more... diplomatic." She smiled. "No it wasn't a requirement. But your grandfather didn't know about the Circle and I didn't know how to tell him. He was very Christian. Traditionally that isn't a religion that is accepting of the types of things and beliefs that the Circle represented. In the day and age that we were in it was just easier for me to hide it than for me to try and explain it. The circle itself wasn't at fault for my leaving. It was my choice and they let me go."
"Should I be concerned about the things that I can do? Should I try and learn about it?"
"That's up to you, child. You can ignore it all if you want. Though the fates don't seem to be willing to let you. Now that you've bound yourself to a lycan it will be even harder if you want to attempt to ignore that side of yourself. The more you use it the stronger it will become."
Aislinn nodded. "Then the visions. They've been happening more and more recently."
Brinah tilted her head and stared into her granddaughter's eyes. "That should only happen if you're willing to let it happen. You must be becoming more accepting and open to it. Premonitions come when you allow them to."
"What about controlling it? Can I have one when I want one?"
Brinah suddenly understood. She smiled knowingly. "That's why they're increasing. You're trying to use them." She shook her head. "That's more complex an accomplishment then you might think. The fates control the premonitions and they'll not let you have influence over them. It takes a powerful druid for that. The best you can do is will yourself to be open to allowing one to come to you. You control them by accepting that one might come. But you don't control the content or influence them. The harder you try the less you will get. It's kind of like your shifting from one form to another. To have a premonition you have to surrender your control to the fates and hope they give you what you want."
"It seems that the druids are big on stepping back and allowing the fates to control them."
Brinah smiled. "Traditionally we're observers, philosophers, teachers. The people who seek to control things usually get replaced by time or someone else out to control. We move with the fates like the oceans and the tides."
"What else am I capable of?"
"Now that is a very complex question. Everyone is capable of whatever they like. It all comes to what you apply yourself too and if you choose to use your natural talents or seek to develop an ability that may be more difficult to come by but may be more helpful to you."
Aislinn stared at her. "No straight answers then?"
Brinah smiled again. "You have the answers. You just don't know it yet. They'll come to you as you need it. I've given you advice that is more helpful than you may think. Is there anything else?"
Aislinn nodded. "I can't convince Cullen to deal with Jenna and the books. He doesn't believe it's a pack matter. With the recent deaths and the pack dissention as it is, he doesn't want to risk giving them a reason to doubt his leadership. I'm a big enough problem for him to justify. If he goes chasing down other packs based solely on my word he risks loyalty issues."
Brinah's face fell a bit. "It will become pack business shortly. If he ignores it long enough it will come looking for him. It would be easier dealt with now than later. But the fates will play out as they wish."
"Can't you tell me what the problem is? What does Jenna want with the books?"
"I'm sorry. I don't know everything. I only get impressions of paths that could be taken. It's like when you have a premonition and you walk in knowing whether it's the future or the past. You don't know how you know. It's just a feeling the fates have allowed. A hint to help you find your way. Perhaps the warning I have given you is enough all by itself to help you survive your path, even if you do nothing other than wait for it to come."
Aislinn sighed. "I don't do well with just allowing things to happen. I'd rather do something about it."
Brinah smiled. "That's because you were raised human. Different philosophies. I suggest you do what you feel you need to."
Aislinn could feel Cullen's impatience at her absence. "I need to return."
"I understand. Lycans can be very possessive. And the alpha is very controlling. But if anyone is going to be able to handle him I believe you can." Brinah walked up closer to her and kissed her cheek and then she vanished into a fog of sparkling silver blue dust.
Aislinn looked around for Brinah but she was nowhere to be seen. As she stared into the shadows of the dark silent stones she felt a presence beyond Brinah. Or more precisely many presences. It was only then that it occurred to her that the stones had been here for a very long time. At one point they were uses regularly for rituals and spells. If Brinah's soul could be trapped here, what was stopping other souls from being trapped here as well. As the uneasy feeling grew she turned and left the Circle with the firm intent of being very careful about who she was thinking about when she entered the stones.
Cullen was waiting for her when she stepped through the border of the stones. He was leaning against a tree with his arms crossed. Aislinn smiled at him as she felt the fog blocking her mind from him clear. There was a strong sense of concern coming from him. It ranged from concern about the pack seeing Aislinn's pursuit of her druid abilities as a threat to them to her pursuit of her abilities taking her away from him. Aislinn approached him and walked into his arms.
He held her close and took in her scent. "I don't like the fact that that place blocks you from me even a little bit."
"I know. I'm sorry," she said and hugged him harder.
He growled. "Did you find what you wanted?"
"Some yes. Some no. Druids can be very enigmatic," she said and grinned at him.
He grinned back and shook his head. Then leaned down and kissed her. His tongue slid over her lips and she opened her mouth to let him in. It only took moments for the kiss to grow heated.
Let's go back to our room,
he suggested.
Aislinn broke the kiss and nuzzled into his neck, biting him gently. "Okay," she said and they headed back up to the cabin.
***
The next day was a great deal like the previous day except that it involved saying goodbye to everyone diplomatically instead of saying hello. Cullen, Aislinn, Sarah, Drake, Keith, and Jaylyn as well as the rest of the main group of betas from the den were the last ones to leave that day. The plan was to arrive at the Madadh-Allaidh Saobhaidh, have dinner at the Taigh-Oèsda, do the last of the mourning and then sleep on it all. The next day would return to business as usual.
The first thing Cullen said when they all got in the car was, "By all the Gods I'll be glad when this is done. Now I remember why I worked so hard to stop this kind of crap." Aislinn decided to save her discussion about Brinah's warning for a later date. She sat uncomfortably throughout the car ride. His scent was getting to her more than usual. All she wanted was to be alone with him.
When they managed to walk into the penthouse without further incident Cullen smiled and laughed wondering how long it would take for the next natural disaster to hit. Aislinn was torn between attacking Cullen and cleaning up. She finally decided that one would make the other more pleasant so she started dropping clothes on the floor and walking toward the bathroom. She was feeling guilty over the fact that she had just come from a funeral and all she could think of was sex.
