Mythic

by Kate Hill They were born at the same moment, one female, one male, but otherwise identical. A soot-colored cloud darkened the moon on that night, but as Myla and Marin tumbled squalling into the world, the cloud momentarily shifted and the moon bathed the land and water with its light. The mothers were allowed only a few precious seconds with Myla and Marin before the infants were bundled, concealed, and whisked from the illage, but e en that slight delay had nearly cost their li es. ! align"#left#p$ Hunters, armed with ials of poison to destroy their helpless enemies, galloped through the well-trodden dirt roads. They ra aged the illage and all those surrounding it in an attempt to rid the world of Myla and Marin, but the children had been taken to the safety of the wood. The moon had once again donned its cloak of clouds, and the hunters% poor, human eyesight made it impossible for them to track their ictims. Myla was fostered in the wood by a woman she called Mama &ayle, but Marin was taken farther from his birthplace, through a cold and churning sea, to a secluded kingdom where he was raised as the son of a childless King and 'ueen. Though his keen intelligence was nurtured by the finest teachers and his igor challenged by riding, fencing, and swimming in the rough ri er flowing through the meadow behind the palace, he longed for something ine(plicable. To the distress of his parents, he often rode away alone and disappeared for days. He would return looking wild and unkempt with frustrated desire gleaming in his sil ery eyes, but no matter how he was prodded, punished, or begged, he would not discuss what he did or where he went during his solitary wanderings. He feared no one would understand why he felt the need to race barefoot through the half-fro)en, rocky forest. He knew they would call him mad if he told them that he lay naked in a clearing, ga)ed up through the web of

slender tree branches, and saw the ision of his phantom lo er in the face of the yellow moon. *** +n a different wood, far from Marin%s brisk country, Myla li ed without riches and without regimented lessons, but happily and freely with Mama &ayle. They gathered their food from the wood, fished in the brook trickling down from the distant mountains, and sewed their own clothes from animal skins and cloth bought during rare e(cursions to the local market. Myla spent her days as wildly as the forest animals. ,he wandered through leafy paths, bathed in gentle cascades, and pondered on the beautiful youth she saw in the pale, shadowy surface of the moon. #+s it possible to lo e someone you don%t know, Mama &ayle-# Myla asked on the e e of her eighteenth birthday. #+f you were anyone else, + would say such thoughts are childish fantasy. All of the young are obsessed with finding the perfect lo er.# #+% e imagined a man.# Myla closed her eyes and smiled. #Tall, rangy like a beast, but handsome.# #.ike a beast.# Mama &ayle e(tended her gnarled, brown hand with its claw like fingers and lo ingly stroked Myla%s cheek. #And how like a beast you are, Myla, but you%re better than a beast. /ou ha e the beauty of the wild, but you can reason, and you are good.# #+ try.# The young woman drew a deep breath, her small, firm breasts swelling beneath the scanty muslin gown she wore. #0ut sometimes + feel too much like a beast, especially when the sky is cloudless and the moon is so clear that + can see the man%s face in it.# #/ou will meet him one day.# Myla giggled, but lost her mirth upon noticing the happiness and sorrow at war in Mama &ayle%s eyes. #1ne your twentieth birthday, you will meet.# #How do you know that-#

#The story is long and +%m too tired.# #Mama &ayle, please,# Myla begged, fearful and curious. #2on%t be afraid.# Mama &ayle patted Myla%s knee. #/ou were born for each other. +t will all make sense when he arri es.# #0ut + want to know now,# Myla pleaded, dropping to her knees and burying her face in Mama &ayle%s lap. The old woman merely stroked the tangles from the girl%s knee-length, moon-yellow hair. Though Myla ne er forgot Mama &ayle%s words of foresight, she did her best to put them from her mind. Mama &ayle refused to offer any more information, so Myla was left to her own dreams and suspicions. 1ne month before her twentieth birthday, her desire for her imaginary lo er became an obsession. ,he spent less time at home and more in the darkest core of the wood. Her fa orite place was a clearing through which flowed a stream with se eral wide, flat stones o erlooking the water. Myla would often lie on one of the stones, close her eyes, and dream about her lo er. *** +n the kingdom across the sea, Marin had become as fine a 3rince as his parents could ha e wished for in a child of their own blood. He was strong, handsome, the epitome of grace and manners, and the finest hunter in the land. Though the King and 'ueen displayed ob ious pride in their son, Marin noticed concern in their eyes when they thought he wasn%t looking. 0ecause of their igorous questioning in his youth, he had learned to be discreet in his solitary wanderings. 4o one knew when he left after dark to pray to the night for the e(quisite phantom who stirred his body and mind. As he neared his twentieth year, the desire for the woman was almost as unbearable as the pull of the moon that called for him to reach toward it and cry out to it until his throat ached. The moon ne er answered but would stare down at him with a tender smile in the shape of her lips. 5hen he abruptly told his parents he was lea ing on a sea oyage, he was surprised by their happiness.

#+t%s good for a young man to e(plore the world on his own,# the King said. #6ust be careful, Marin.# The 'ueen kissed his cheek before he left, placing the gift of a gold earring in his palm. #.isten only to your instincts. They will ne er lie.# Marin had no choice but to listen to his instincts. They were masterful in their demands, and though he%d ne er left his kingdom, he knew e(actly where to go. He found ship tra el difficult since he couldn%t shriek to the night sky lest the crew think him mad. He longed to run through an open field and pick his way along the twisted paths of a forest, but he had to make do with nightly walks across the tilting deck. 1nce the ship docked, Marin walked alone through unfamiliar country, yet he still knew e(actly which paths to take. 5hen he finally saw in the distance a forest as ast as he had dreamed about, his heartbeat quickened and he raced toward it. 5hen he reached the trees, he slowed his pace only long enough to discard his clothes and the few belongings he%d brought from home. 4aked, as wild as any animal, ignoring the branches lashing his skin, his pace increased with e ery step. After what seemed like hours, he reached a clearing. He stopped abruptly, breathing hea ily from his run, his heart slamming painfully against his ribs as his eyes fell upon her. 3erched on a flat stone abo e a stream, her slender, muscled body swathed in silken, yellow hair, was the woman he%d always desired. Myla had heard his approach, heard the rustling of the trees and the swift pounding of his footsteps on the fallen lea es. ,he%d caught his alluring scent on the wind and felt her belly tighten with desire. ,he waited for him to appear, her entire body tense. Though it was impossible, she knew who it was. He stepped through the trees and stood before her. 5ith his lean, wellmuscled body drenched in sweat, and his long, fla(en, hair grabbing at his sculpted arms and shoulders, he was more beautiful than she%d imagined. A guttural sound erupted from her throat as she crawled toward him, animal-like. He grabbed her, fingers gently squee)ing her shoulders as he lifted her so her gray eyes stared lustfully into his own. He growled as his lips closed o er hers. His kiss was deep and searching as his arms pressed

her to the hard length of his body. Myla%s eyes closed and her palms splayed against his broad back, slipping down his sweat-slicked skin. 5ords were lost to them, and they communicated with carnal, inhuman growls. Marin%s mouth e(plored Myla%s, and he pierced his tongue on her canine teeth which had suddenly grown long and sharp. The taste of his blood caused them both to shi er with desire, and he lifted her easily into his arms and carried her to one of the rocks. Her arms locked around his neck, and she licked his throat, tasting the saltiness of his skin. He eased her onto her back and loomed o er her, his gray eyes dark with passion abo e the sleek fur of his fla(en mu))le. Myla howled shrilly as her claw-like nails raked across his back, and he threw back his own head and wailed to the brilliance of the full moon. *** Mama &ayle welcomed Marin by name. ,he beckoned the lo ers, now clothed and in ulnerable, human form, to sit with her by the fire and dine on meat so fresh that the blood still ran warm o er their tongues. #/ou were separated as children so that the hunters wouldn%t find you. There are humans who know about our kind and want to destroy us though most of us ha e done nothing to deser e their scorn. +t is true that on occasion there is a mad wolf who likes to dine on human flesh, but there are those among their own kind who commit murder.# #5hy did they want to kill us-# Marin asked. #5hat makes us different from the rest of our kind-# #The wolf blood runs through us all, but few of us can actually change shape and procreate. The legend states that only two wolf children born at the e(act moment beneath the light of the full moon will ha e the gift of change and fertility.# #5e ha e the gift of change all right,# Myla smiled, snuggling deeper into Marin%s embrace, #but only time will tell if + will ha e a child.# #/ou already are ha ing a child.# Mama &ayle%s eyes gleamed with unshed tears of happiness. #/ou are the legend, but it%s not safe for you to stay here. /ou must return to Marin%s land.#

#5hat makes you think we%ll be welcome there now that + know what + really am-# Marin narrowed his sil ery eyes. #Trust me, children.# Mama &ayle placed a hand to each of their cheeks. #Trust me.# As if summoned by the same force that had drawn Myla and Marin together, the hunters came that ery morning. Mama &ayle heard them marching through the woods, and she hurried to the cascade where Myla and Marin were en7oying a swim. #They%re close, you must go now,# panted Mama &ayle, staggering against one of the largest rocks, her arthritic legs scarcely able to support her. #+f they catch you, they%ll kill you both and end the bloodline.# #+%ll fight them.# Marin snarled, his teeth already lengthening and his eyes glinting like mica in the sunlight. #The wolf%s blood is strong in you, but there are too many. They will destroy you,# Mama &ayle said. 0arking dogs and human oices sounded in the distance, the ground shook with the approach of horses. The reek of fear, fury, and death tainted the bree)e. #/ou know these woods better than + do.# Marin grasped Myla%s shoulders, staring intently into her eyes. #8un north until you reach the seaside town where my ship is docked. Tell them who you are, and gi e them this.# He tugged off the gold earring his mother had gi en him and placed it in Myla%s trembling hand. ,he didn%t hesitate before piercing her lobe with the sharp edge of the earring, still warm from Marin%s flesh. #They%ll take you to my parents where you and our child will be safe.# #5hat about you-# Myla clutched his wrist. #+%ll lead them away,# he said, bending to tenderly lick the blood from her ear. #They%ll kill you.# Mama &ayle repeated, lea ing no space for argument and no hope for a mistake.

Marin tugged Myla into his arms and kissed her. #&o now9# Mama &ayle pushed the two apart, her eyes darting from side to side as each shifted easily into wolf form and bounded in opposite directions. The old woman dropped to her knees, ignoring the pain coursing through her ancient 7oints, and prayed. Myla ran, tears streaking her ision as her powerful wolf legs de oured the miles of rocky, root-twisted ground. : en when the forest ended and she reached an open field without a sign of the hunters behind her, she continued running until she could scarcely take another step. ,tealing a tattered dress that had been hung out to dry behind a peasant%s hut, she wished she had something to lea e as payment, but all she had was Marin%s gold earring, and she needed it to pro e her identity to the ship%s crew. ,he only hoped that would be enough to con ince them the dusty woman in peasant%s garb truly carried their 3rince%s child. ,he needn%t ha e worried. The crew welcomed her and left the dock immediately, ne er doubting the real danger from those who pursued her. Myla stood on deck, watching the land fade in the distance and with it her memories, her mother, her home, and her lo e. ,he thought she would ha e felt it if Marin had died, since their feelings for one another were deep, though they had only met a short time ago. ,till at night, when she stood on deck, the salty wind tousling her pale hair, she would look up at the moon and feel as if he was standing close beside her. 3erhaps she sensed his life so fully because she was carrying his child. Her pregnancy was much shorter than a human woman%s, and her daughter was born on board the ship se eral days before reaching Marin%s land. ,he called the girl Marina, after her father, and e en in infancy, Marina showed signs of possessing the gift of transformation. Myla, filled with apprehension, approached the palace walls with Marina wrapped securely in her arms. How could she bear to tell Marin%s parents of his lossThe doors of the great hall opened, and the crowd gathered inside welcomed her with applause and cries of 7oy. Myla stared in wonder at the wol es intermingled with men and women who carried the shapeshifter blood. The crowd parted, lea ing a clear path for her to approach the King and 'ueen who sat on car ed wooden thrones at the end of the hall. Myla

approached on trembling legs and knelt before them, offering up the beautiful, pale-haired baby. They smiled at Marina, spellbound by the legend born in their lifetime, the child of their belo ed son. #5here is Marin-# The 'ueen tore her ga)e from the infant long enough to glance at Myla. The tears welling in the young woman%s eyes were answer enough, and the 7oy felt by e eryone that day was shadowed by the death of the 3rince. Myla was accepted affectionately by the King and 'ueen, and the lo e all three had felt for Marin was placed upon his daughter. Myla often walked alone at night through the fields outside the palace walls. ,he would ga)e up at the moon, howl to it, slip into wolf form, and bound o er the frosty countryside. 1ne particularly cold night, 7ust before the first real snow, Myla was thinking so forcefully about Marin that she belie ed she caught his scent on the bree)e. A wolf howled in the distance, and it sounded too much like her lo er. ,he sighed, lifting her face to the moon to worship it one last time before retiring for the night, but as she did, she saw him in the distance. ,limmer than before, and wearing a long, sil er-blond beard, it was Marin9 A pulse pounded in her throat, and she raced toward him, leaping into his arms, her legs locking about his waist. ,tar ing for one another, their mouths met. Tongues slashed on gleaming incisors, blood mingled, desire flared, and hot tears fell on their cold cheeks. #+ knew you weren%t dead.# ,he clung to him as she wept. #Almost,# he said, parting his cloak and re ealing a 7agged, pink scar across his lean chest. #They cornered me, and + fought them off. Mama &ayle found me and tended me. ,he%s come home as well. ,he and the crew will be here in the morning, but + had to run ahead. + couldn%t wait to see you and the baby.# 5hen Myla finally placed Marina in her father%s arms, she felt o erwhelming happiness. Together Marin and Myla watched their daughter sleep before they slipped silently from the palace and out into the chilly night. The snow had begun to fall and co ered the ground in a cloak of white. 2iscarding their clothes, Myla and Marin shifted into wolf form

and bounded toward the wood, their paw prints lea ing a dark trail in the moonlight. The :nd