The Wiccan's Curse
Page 15
Each chunk consumed by the bear caused the bull to lose stature until it was no bigger than the wolf. The bull kept fighting, though, sticking and kicking the bear; but he was no match in the state he was in. Soon, the bull, bleeding white liquid profusely, fell to its side and dissipated.
The bear turned and looked at Luna, weary and bleeding. She put out her hand and touched his snout as he bent down to greet her. Then he was gone, turned back into blue energy and sucked back into her body, making her whole and stronger than before.
Mother was lying on the floor as if she had been the one in the fight with the bear. Her body was bruised all over. Her pristine white gown was no more than rags upon skin and bones. She slowly turned into the brown color Luna had known her for, for so many years.
Luna went to her mother and kneeled beside her, checking to see if she was still breathing. She could sense life in her, but could sense no magic. She touched her mother’s forehead, releasing a spark into her. The bruises faded and her body filled out, and she took a deep breath.
Mother opened her eyes. She stared at Luna for a moment, then smiled. “Such a pretty girl.”
“That’s the first time you’ve ever called me pretty.”
“I’ve never seen you before. I know for sure if I had, I would have told you then.”
“You don’t remember me?”
Mother sat up. “I don’t think so.”
Luna turned to Salina, “She doesn’t remember who I am.”
Salina went to them. She kneeled and inspected Mother thoroughly. Mother giggled as she commented on the color of Salina’s green hue.
“You’ve taken away her magic and her memory.”
“How?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never seen anyone do magic like that before.” She motioned to two of the wiccans. “Take her and lock her up in a magic cell.”
“But we have no magic,” one wiccan said.
“You will in a few moments.” Salina pointed out of the window.
The midnight blue was slowly turning into a lighter shade blue as dawn broke.
The wiccans took Mother up a flight of winding gold stairs in the back of the room.
Luna went to her friends who were still in the corner she had left them. Rusty fluttered his eyes open and sat up, taking a deep breath. He stared at Luna, blinking back tears. Luna hugged him and River hugged them both.
CHAPTER 16
LUNA HAD WON THE FIGHT against her mother. A fight she never came to this place to have. She stopped her mother from taking the spell book that belonged to her father, saving Enchanters Bay from a life of powerless servitude under the evil empress. She cured Rusty’s hair loss, and she even brought him back from the dead. There was rejoicing all throughout the city. Everyone was happy, and she was glad they were, but she couldn’t be happy herself.
She was the only person who didn’t get what she wanted. Even River got what he wanted for so long ... her. She was thankful that she realized she loved River and they would be together, but the real reason for her coming all that way was to cure her curse. Now she was being told that her pale skin wasn’t a curse, but a blessing of the covens she belonged to. That would be great if she had planned to stay in Enchanter Bay, or even if she decided to go back to the island of the Crescents. But that wasn’t what she wanted.
Luna tried to get the spell of mimicking from Mother, but she didn’t even remember that she was a wiccan, let alone any of the spells she made up and kept for herself. She was the only one who could help, and she was useless. Imagine that.
River and Rusty had decided to go for a swim and were dunking each other as they laughed gleefully. It felt good to see them having so much fun after everything they had been through on her account. They deserved it.
“Is there nothing I can do to make you stay?” Salina asked as she sat down beside Luna on the riverbank.
“No, I promised River I would go back to the Eastern Islands with him and his uncle. I can’t let him down.”
“Young love is the greatest thing on earth. Even greater than magic.” She grinned at Luna.
Luna gave Selena a side glance.
“I saw the kiss that woke your powers up. That’s the kiss of true love.”
Luna could feel her cheeks warming. She hadn’t realized anyone saw them through the fire.
“Well, I thought if you thought you had to live life pale in the world, you would stay, but now that I see there’s no stopping you, I guess I’ll give you this.” Selena handed her a rolled-up piece of parchment.
“What’s this?” Luna took the paper.
“Open it and see.”
Luna unrolled the paper and read it. Her eyes bulged and her mouth dropped. “It’s the mimicking spell!” she exclaimed. “I thought Mother was the only one who knew the spell.”
“Who do you think she stole the spell from?” Selena giggled.
Luna grabbed the tiny gnome and squeezed her.
“Well, go on. What are you waiting for? Now, concentrate. You don’t want to turn yourself green like me.”
Luna said the spell just as Rusty popped up out of the water. Her skin began to darken until it was the beautiful golden brown of her friend. Her hair darkened, though not all the way dark as it was before, but stopped at a deep auburn red, just a few shades darker than Rusty’s.
Looking at her reflection in the river, she smiled. She turned to Salina. “What do you think?”
“I liked you better a few moments ago.”
Luna laughed and jumped into the water and swam to the boys. They saw her and yelled as they splashed their way to meet her. River lifted her out of the water and hugged her tightly, and Rusty bear hugged them both.
“You and I could be twins,” Rusty said.
“You did it!” River said.
“I couldn’t have done any of this without you two helping me. Thank you so much.”
They laughed, frolicked, and swam in the river, and for the first time, in a long time, Luna’s heart bubbled over with joy.
THE NEXT MORNING, LUNA, River, and Rusty left Enchanters Bay and caught the blue train heading back south to Castleberry.
Rusty finally went home, only after making Luna and River promise they would come to visit in two months’ time and bring Stella with them.
Luna and River boarded the red train going east, hand in hand, to their new lives with Uncle Max in the Eastern Islands.
Dear Reader,
THANK YOU FOR READING my story! Please be sure to leave an honest review on Amazon. It really helps us authors. Also, stay tuned for my next novel coming soon. If you would like for Luna’s story to continue, go to Marblefoxpublishing.com and leave a message for me there under contacts. I would love to hear from you. Thanks again and be blessed.
Warm Regards,
Gemma
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
GEMMA JACE IS A POET, writer, and author of young adult fiction. Born and raised in the Midwest, Gemma would spend long nights cuddled up in the house writing adventure filled magical stories, dreaming of the day she would be able to share her gift with the world. Life took her in a different direction for quite a while. Although she loved being a nurse and helping others, she never forgot her passion. She encourages everyone she meets to never forget their dreams and to follow them wherever they may lead.