My true serpentine form. That’s what my mother called it.

I ran through a shortlist of deities or mythological beings associated with snakes, but none of them were directly associated with magick. And whatever I had pinging around under my skin was definitely a magick-wielder.

A reptilian, serpent magick-wielder.

Padding to the bottom of the stairs, I paused, listening. No movement upstairs. Lon’s jacket hung on a peg in the foyer. I put it on and quietly slipped out the sliding glass doors to the back patio.

The dark Pacific crashed against rocks in the distance. The tree line blocked the moon. I was glad for that, all things considered. Damp grass sent cold shivers up my legs as I wiped saliva over my guardian’s sigil. “Priya. Come.”

His black line appeared in the middle of my palm as he swooped down from a crack in the sky. “Mistress,” he said, folding up his wings behind his back as he landed in the grass a few feet away. He stalked forward and stopped in front of me, black halo swirling above his crazy shocked hair. “What is wrong?”

“My mother visited me in a dream tonight. She’s got some sort of control over me in the Æthyr. She’s trying to make me do bad things. I’m scared, Priya. Have you found out anything more?”

“Where is your lover? The Kerub.”

“Lon is inside,” I said nodding toward the house as I crossed my arms over my chest to fend off the biting wind blowing off the ocean.

“He does not like me.”

“That’s not true,” I said. “He’s just protective of me, that’s all. He doesn’t hate you. He’s thankful you’re helping me in the Æthyr.”

“He is right to feel protective, for you are in danger.”

“Tell me.”

“This is what I know. Your mother is claiming that she has dominion over you through an unbreakable bond. The magick that she used to conceive you is very old. It is similar to the spell used to draw demons into human bodies.”

“To create Earthbounds?”

He nodded. “She is bragging that she still has control over you. She has claimed that her control is strengthening.”

“It definitely is.”

“I think I know why. The spell she used to conceive you is degenerative. Your human body weakens as it ages while the other part of you strengthens. The stronger it becomes, the more control she has over you, because the bond between you will solidify. Your willpower will crumble.”

“She can control me in my sleep.”

“Because you are unaware and weak. The Moonchild part of you uses lunar power to open up a connection between the planes. You can call up the power when you are awake. But she can use a spell to open that same connection when you are weak.”

“When I am asleep.”

“Asleep, weary. Inebriated. Impassioned. Any time you are not in full control of your own willpower.” He held out his palm, showing me the black thread that connected us. “Her connection to you is like ours, but only temporary. The more you grow into the Moonchild, the stronger the bond becomes. And more permanent.”

I curled my hands inside the too long sleeves of Lon’s coat and paced. “But only when it’s night, right?”

“That would be logical since it is a lunar power, and, as you told me, it does not work in the day.”

My throat was dry. “Okay, so I just sleep in the day, when she can’t hack into me. I stay vigilant at night. Don’t use the moon power at all.”

“Even if you do not sleep at night, you will still need to worry.” Priya stepped in front of me and leveled his gaze with mine. “Your loved ones and friends are not safe. She can see into your thoughts and feelings when she is connected to you.”

I blinked at him. He was talking from experience, wasn’t he? He could see into my thoughts and feelings now?

His voice softened. “She can feel who you care about, especially if thoughts of them are fresh in your mind. She will search for your weaknesses, and she will have you destroy them.”

“I can’t run again,” I said miserably. “I can’t do that. I have a family now. I need them. They need me.”

“You should not risk their lives for a moment of comfort. You must erase them from your mind. Get as far away from them as you can.”

“And do what? Wait until this thing inside me is completely under her command?” I was shouting at him. It wasn’t his fault. “What am I?”

“They call you Mother of Ahriman.”

“Mother of demons,” I said. “Is that what I am? A demon? I saw myself, Priya. I was covered in scales. I have a serpent’s tail, and horns. What am I?”

“I do not know. ‘Mother of Ahriman’ is only a story in the Æthyr. A legend. A woman that commands fear and respect. But I do not know exactly who she is, or what manner of being.”

“A goddess? Do I have a god inside me? Is there such a thing in the Æthyr?”

“Not in the Æthyr, but maybe on anther plane.”

My occult order believed in a multitude of planes, many without names. The Æthyr was merely the nearest one to ours, metaphysically speaking.

Priya exhaled loudly through his nose. “But from the way your mother speaks, I believe that you are something altogether new. She has not invoked the spirit of an old god inside you. She has worked like a surgeon to piece together magicks and create a new being.”