Eclipsed by Midnight

by Kristina Canady

  Whenever I come too close, a little pulsation takes over my womb, reminding me of why I can’t. Our little hummingbird deserves better than that. If she didn’t speak up, my mind’s eye did. The all-seeing third eye is now open to everything—all the magical vibrations at all times. I see too much whether awake or dreaming. The only time I am blessed with a break is when I allow Etienne to take over my mind. I relish in what he provides, crave it on a primitive level, a beautiful surrender that brings a moment to disconnect. Hopefully as time passes, I will be capable of reconnecting in our dungeon, but for now, the pain is the only companion I have room for.

  I stand in the middle of the aisle, surrounded by rows of pews on either side. My head remains tilted back, eyes fixated on the glow and vivacity of the color-stained panes falling upon every surface. I never fully understood the magnitude of the impact of these preferred window trends until now. How can one put into words being wrapped in a glimpse of divinity made corporeal?

  My feet slowly pad forward to the altar after I take a deep breath, attempting to go quietly despite what lies in wait. Hesitation and sadness grip me, providing a quicksand effect to my trending direction. As I near, my body trembles and falters, preparing for what sits at the top. Something begins to pull me back in, warning, while another invisible hand lures me forward. It must be done; I need to embrace him one last time. We brought him back here to the holy land for a reason—to bury his battered physical self in the heart of our mother. And while I know his celestial transition has taken him to a peaceful place, I equally mourn his mortal loss. No mother can prepare for this; no parent should ever have to bury their child. Ever.

  Yet, tonight’s the night. Under the full moon, his flesh will be released from the magical preservation we instilled and returned to where it all started. It is said that here, in this holy land of our ancestors, our species was born and evolved from the magic deep in the caves, in the belly of ancient Mesopotamia. Under the glow of the full moon, we light the funeral pyre, and at dawn, I am to call the earth to consume the ashes. It doesn’t matter if I am ready to let go or not. In order to give him the peace he was worthy of, it has to be done. I’ll never be ready to fully let go. It doesn’t matter how or when we properly lay his body to rest, that will never change.

  Fighting the pulls in opposing directions, I make it to the stairs and lurch forward, a mother on a mission, and in dire need of one last physical connection with a dead piece of herself. Sweat beads on my brow and my breathing becomes labored as I march up the marble steps in determination. As I land on the last one, finally level with the raised, polished wood of the coffin sitting proudly on this sacred site, alarm bells pound against my skull. Lost in the sheer panic as my chest grips fiercely, I pull up the lengths of my skirt and run to that which something has been trying to hold be back from.

  Grasping the lip of the coffin, I heave myself forward only to have all the air rush from my body as I fall to my knees. A piercing, incomprehensible wail rips from my gurgling throat. Clutching my belly to try to shield the innocent life there from myself, I rock back and forth, trying to make sense of it all.

  “Mom!” Aiden’s voice booms from the other end of the Cathedral as he rushes in. My eyes flick up to meet his in all of his new vampire glory. Flashing to my side, he drops to his knees in front of me. “What is it?” he demands, concern overwhelming his big, brown eyes.

  “Ethan, he’s not there.”

  Aiden jumps to his feet as his complexion quickly pales. “I don’t understand,” he begins to mumble over and over to himself as he searches the vicinity for answers, his boots pacing as fast as his newfound speed will allow.

  “Aiden, come here and help me, please,” I gasp, trying to suck back the tears and snot leaking from my face. Without hesitation, he offers me a large hand and lifts me to my feet with ease.

  The folds of my long skirts sway and settle around my shaking form as I call the power of our great mother, Nannau, now entrusted to me. Softly, it responds, coming with ease for the greatest wavelengths need not overwhelm with all-consuming power. That is simply not needed as the supply and drive is endless and eternally present, shifting only when necessary.

  “Mom—” Aiden inquires, but I raise a hand in a request for silence. His jaw clamps down and grinds as he complies, understanding but clearly not liking it.

  When I slowly call my spirit to rise out of my physical form, it climbs through the layers of the physical materials binding the church until I am able to soar high like the red tail and get a bird’s eye view. Landscape stretches all around as I tap into the magical imprints navigating through the terrain. One would be amazed if they really knew all that coexisted.

  Curling, inky tendrils grasp my attention as they slowly begin to dissipate back into the ground, all around the church. Calling light to me, I shine it down and around, the direct beams causing the vines of hell to go up in smoke upon contact. As the cumulus vapors rise into the air, I get a taste, drawing it deep into my being to be sure. With a gasp, I slam back into my body, eyes wide in horror.

  “Mom! For the love of God, what is it?” Aiden grips my shoulders, his once carelessly tousled hair now trim and slicked back.

  Shaking my head to clear it, I finally find the strength to answer. “Your brother—he’s not dead. He’s very much alive and possessed by a level of dark magic that I can barely comprehend. It somehow brought him back to life.” I shake my head in disbelief.

  “I thought it was after me,” Aiden breathes.

  “What?”

  “When we turned, I fought it off. I battled for my life when I was under. It was total hell and chaos.”

  Shock hits me as past transactions align in a direct connection that could possibly explain what led to this. “This is all my fault. I failed to protect in death as well as darkness. I didn’t know this was even possible.” A terrible taste comes over my mouth as an evil laugh resonates throughout the cathedral, making my skin crawl and heart ache. Aiden, as green as he is, still takes up a battle stance, eyes darting around, looking for the source. He isn’t going to find it.

  My hand comes to rest on his shoulder to calm him. “Son, he’s not here. He is just projecting with dark magic.”

  “But he was the good one—how did this happen?” Aiden pleads as his twin bond begins to feed his grief.

  “I honestly don’t know what kind of bargain the queen made with what devil.” That evil woman’s web of lies ran deep and was intertwined with blood ties to things that should never be.

  “No, this is unacceptable. I do not accept this!” His rage takes over his thinking as his muscles bunch under this collared shirt.

  “I don’t know if I can even fix this,” I say as my thoughts begin to race through every spell I’ve learned and every page I have read from the archives. The royal bitch of a mother-in-law cannot get the last laugh. If I could raise her from the dead just to burn her alive all over again, I would. Her screams of pain would be like a melodic tune to my broken heart.

  “You—you can heal him.” Determination fills his words as he sets his mind on the task at hand.

  “Son, I can’t even trace him, which means finding him won’t be that simple. From what I have learned, those who walk in dark are far more deadly and difficult.” The idea that my very own flesh and blood fell victim to such a thing devastates me.

  “I am his twin. I will find him and drag his ass back to be healed.” His promise is made in hope and hung in the air as the echoing, maniacal voice dims before fading out.

  “Alright, son. We will solve this together. I won’t ever quit on either of you.” This will be no easy feat, but we have to try. Etienne has shared enough for me to know what a sentence this is for Ethan. How did this even happen? How did darkness win his soul and reclaim his suspended body long after passing? The magical preservation we put him under was to keep decay at bay until we could bring him back here and perform the ceremony under the full moon. If he had simply been in a dormant
state, would his heart not have stirred? This still makes no sense.

  Pushing aside all doubt on our ability to be successful in this new mission, I take Aiden’s hand in mine and lead him down from the raised altar. In this moment, hand in hand with my strong-willed son, despair fades into hope anew as Aiden takes his vow. Queen bitch will not win. Together, we will right these wrongs.

  ~The end… until the tale of Aiden and Ethan comes to find you.

  To satisfy your midnight cravings, be on the lookout for part V—coming on a lunar eclipse near you, early 2017.

  Follow the progress of the series @ www.lunareclipseseries.com or its Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/midnightbloompart1