The Angelus Brothers Chronicles - The Red Witch

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

A young wolf lad ran from the beach with a crate of supplies from the mainland

"Post. There's post from the South." Agnes ran towards the lad and scooped the letters out of the crate. It had been three years since Duncan and Bryn had left the Isle and no one had heard from them in almost a year. Raphael had been talking about leaving to find them but hadn't wanted to take Rouge from the safety of the Isle, a few times fae had been seen searching on the shore of the mainland, they knew she was here somewhere. There were two letters, one addressed to Agnes and one to Raphael.

"Raphael, Raphael you have a letter." She shouted as she tore hers open and retook her seat by the cooking fire.

"Oh Robert, Robert, come here. Our boy found his mate. Oh Robert she's a human-born wolf." Robert jogged from their home as Raphael jogged up to her from his seat at breakfast. She reread her letter again before passing the letter she'd been reading to her mate then handed Raphaels to him and jogged off to where a group of other pack members were gathered.

"A mate, my Duncan has a mate and she's a wolf." She yelled as she went.

Robert looked to Raphael.

"I'm glad the boy finally contacted his mother. But I could have done without the shouting." Raphael laughed as he opened his own letter and started to read. Rouge came up behind him and rested her head against his arm.

"Anything good?" She asked frowning at his odd expression,

"It's from Duncan. He's with Gabriel, Duncans asked me to come. They think they have located the Oracle." Rouge looked up at him, her face serious.

"The Oracle? I knew he had a lead but didn't think he'd actually find anything"

"I never thought he would either. I thought it was just part of his obsession to make our family respectable." He put his arm around her and looked at Robert. They all knew if Duncan's letter was right and the Oracle had been found the Apocalypse wouldn't be far behind.

***

Raphael paced their small cabin, he hadn't spoken to anyone in hours. As soon as she'd read Duncan's letter herself Rouge had taken a mirror outside the barrier and climbed through. He knew even though she could move through the mirror realm far quicker than he could race down the country, it would still take her a day to get to his brothers and one to get back to him. He didn't like her to be away from him but he couldn't accompany her in that bizzar realm. He'd sent Azura to meet her at his family's estate where Duncan's letter had said they were. The bird could travel about as quickly as the witch in the mirror realm so should arrive about the same time and could race back for him if anything happened. He knew his brothers had protected his precious Rouge for years and would protect her with their lives. But he still felt sick with worry.

A gentle knock at the door startled him out of his brooding mood.

"Yes?" Robert opened the door and shut it again quickly.

"Sorry I didn't want Agnes to see me take the book and she's still so excited that our lad has a mate, it's all I can do to stop her from starting to knit baby clothes. Bryn's mother was also round lamenting that her daughter is still unmated." He shook his head, as he spoke he placed a huge dusty book on Raphael's table and flicked through it. He stopped on a page and looked up at Raphael who moved to join him at the table to read over the wolf's shoulder.

'When species mix, when the human's war, when the Oracle is found, when night becomes day and day becomes night, the seven circles will align, the walls will weaken and the four will return. Only the love of the oracle will save the world.'

Robert looked at Raphael.

"It's not looking good lad if your brother has found the Oracle, the humans have been warring for a few years now." Raphael returned to pacing as Robert turned back to his book and started turning the pages again. Finding a page he began to read aloud.