Children of the Moon 04 - Dragon's Moon

do not understand the coming-of-age ceremony if you already shift.”
    “It is different. It is when we are gifted with special talents and our ability to pass the raven on to the next generation relies on our connection to the Clach Gealach Gra during our coming-of-age ceremony.”
    Horror filled her at the thought of the Éan losing their stone as the Faol had misplaced theirs. “You are serious?” She had to know.
    “Aye.”
    “But the wolves give birth to wolves without the Faolchú Chridhe .”
    “It is a good thing, or there would be no Faol walking the earth today.”
    “Do you think one of the other races of the Chrechte stole our stone in hopes of just that eventuality?” Her vision today didn’t intimate such, but still she wondered.
    “I do not know, but does the why of it matter now? Centuries have passed. Any who had plans for the loss of the stone are gone.”
    It was a freeing thought, that the enmities of the past had no place in the present. “If the coming-of-age ceremony is not linked to the Éan’s first change, how do you know when it is time for it?”
    “It can be performed any time after the first change and before an Éan has seen twenty summers. However, if it is performed too early or late, the special talents conferred by the stone are weak.”
    “Who determines the time has come?”
    “The stone. It calls to Anya-Gra, the parents and sometimes the Éan himself.”
    “It called to you.”
    “Yes, but it had been taken and was not in the Sacred Caves.”
    “I didn’t know.”
    “You were not meant to. My sister returned it in time for my final blessing.”
    “You would not have your dragon if she had not.” The prospect was untenable.
    “Lais would not be able to heal, either.”
    “Do you think the Faolchú Chridhe will confer special talents like that as well?”
    “Yes.”
    “But it’s not the same.” They’d already established that from the fact the Faol could reproduce without any coming-of-age ceremony. Stone or no stone.
    “Each race has its differences. For instance, all Éan have control of their change from the first time their bird takes them.”
    “Truly?” Among the Faol, most males could not control their change, so it was dictated by the full moon, until they participated in the sacred act of sex. White wolves and their descendants were the exception.
    “Aye.”
    “I wonder if it is like that for the Paindeal.”
    “If they continue to walk the earth at all.”
    “I’m sure they do.”
    He frowned, his attention all around them as he sought out potential threats. “You cannot be sure.”
    “Yes, I can.”
    “Because of the dreams,” he said with sudden understanding.
    “Yes.”
    “You have dreamed of the Paindeal as well? You did not say.”
    “Only when I was very young and I have always thought they were just dreams.” Until today when so many thingshad become clearer and more confusing as the case may be. “Nothing prophetic. It wasn’t a secret I knew I was keeping.”
    “You have spent too many years hiding the truth of yourself.”
    But she hadn’t been hiding. “I didn’t know about myself.”
    “You do not take my meaning. You have hidden your ability to connect to the Faolchú Chridhe .”
    “There were many times I thought it all in my head.”
    “Aye. You deserved to know the truth, but it was never given to you.”
    “I am so angry with my family,” she admitted. “But they’re dead and I feel dishonorable being so mad at them. Only, I can’t make the feelings go away.” Too many feelings refused to be stifled inside her now.
    “They hurt you deeply with their dishonesty and the pain is fresh because you have just discovered their treachery.”
    “You are right,” she whispered. She did not want to harbor anger toward those she had loved and who were irrevocably gone, but the pain inside her would not go away.
    “Their deceptions harmed your people as well.”
    “Only Galen knew of the Faolchú Chridhe .”
    “But if your mother and father had told you the truth of your lineage, you would have known how important finding the sacred stone was for all of the Faol.”
    “Do you think it called to my father?”
    “Nay.”
    “I don’t, either.” And for some reason, that truth made her sad, but her father had not been wise in his loyalties.
    A caw sounded from above. Ciara looked up in time to see one raven chasing another through the sky. It reminded her of when cubs played and she smiled. Though