Luna’s mom shook her head.
“That explains a lot…” Lucas stared at Luna again, “That’s why she doesn’t know about Eranox, or didn’t…” He corrected himself.
“Yes.” Luna’s mom admitted, “We tried, we really did, but I had to protect Luna. She grew up here, Eranox didn’t exist to her, I didn’t want to ruin it…”
“This changes everything.” Lucas seemed at a loss for words. “There is no High Wizard…” He trailed off. “I came back for… but there is no…”
He seemed to be in shock for a moment, Luna couldn’t read his face, but she knew that on some level he had thought that her father had been on Earth, that maybe Luna didn’t know him because he had abandoned them to continue on the quest to save Eranox.
It had been eighteen years, eighteen years that Eranox had believed that their High Wizard had been out there, trying to save them. To find out that he had been cursed and trapped in the Gateway the entire time, it was a lot to process.
“He can escape the Gateway…” Luna’s mom repeated, she looked haunted, “I wonder how many times he has…”
“I don’t think it can contain him, he’s not like the others.” Lucas sounded unsure, but his theory seemed to make some sense to Luna’s mother.
“Luna has his ring.” Her mother pointed again. “He won’t be able to get out without it.” She sounded sure.
“He was a High Wizard, there is no telling how the curse affected him…” Lucas answered, draining the hope from the room.
“You’re right.” Luna’s mother whispered. “You’re right…”
“He isn’t bound like the others, he travels freely in the Gateway.” Lucas recalled. “He can speak… “
Luna remembered the dark shadow chasing them through the maze, calling her name, “He was everywhere.” Luna agreed.
“That isn’t good.” Luna’s mom stared at the back door, it was still barricaded and covered, she couldn’t see the forest beyond. For all they knew he could be traveling through the portal at that moment.
The kettle hissed behind them, filling the room with noise in their silence. Wordlessly Luna’s mom got up, returning to the table a moment later with three mugs and a pot of tea. She rested it on the table between them, though no one bothered to reach for it.
Slowly the scent of chamomile tea began to filled the kitchen, Luna could feel it calming her nerves, but the room was still quiet.
The news that her father had been trapped in the Gateway, cursed for eighteen years, it had hit Lucas hard.
He seemed to be working through something in his head. It was clear that he had been hopeful that Luna’s father had been on Earth somewhere, he seemed to be struggling to find a way to make something work.
Minutes passed before Lucas finally looked up, a glimmer in his eye indicating that his trip might not be a loss. He leaned across the table.
“What about Luna?” Lucas asked, staring at her mom for an answer, “Is she a High Wizard?” He asked the question carefully as though he were afraid to offend them by insinuating that Luna might not be a pure blood.
Luna’s mom turned, staring at her with a questioning look, “She should be, her bloodline is pure.” She turned to Lucas, “But there is no way to know, there isn’t magic here. She was born in River Falls, she grew up on Earth, there is no way of knowing how that affected her. She was never trained…”
“How can we find out?” Lucas asked.
Luna’s mom didn’t answer right away, and Luna knew why. The only way they could find out if Luna had High Wizard magic was to send her somewhere with magic, she had to go back to Eranox to get the answer. And her mom didn’t want to admit it.
“There is only one way.” Her mom answered finally, not giving Lucas the answer.
“I would have to go back to Eranox.” Luna whispered.
Lucas seemed to sense that the answer had made Luna’s mom uncomfortable, he picked Luna’s necklace up off of the table where her mother had discarded it. “You should wear this, at all times.” He held it out to her, “It is a High Wizard’s stone, a piece of power. You will need it.”
Luna took the necklace in her hand, twisting it through her fingers as she stared at it, when she looked up, her mother had tears in her eyes.
“It’s time Luna, you are a High Wizard, it is in your blood.” She reached for Luna’s hand, squeezing it tightly. “It’s time you wore the carnelian.” She smiled, though it was a sad smile. “Your father was gifted that necklace, it was for you when we returned.” She pulled out the necklace around her own neck, a small stone of the same color dangled there. Luna had never really noticed it, though he mom had never taken it off. “Mine was enough to get you here, but once you were born, you would need your own…”
“I don’t know why all of this is such a big deal to you two.” Luna muttered, unclasping the necklace as she brought it to her neck, “I’ll wear it if it makes you happy.” She added.
“Never take it off.” Her mother advised, “Never.”
Lucas shifted in his seat, “There is another reason that I came back…” He admitted quietly.
“I expected as much.” Luna’s mother stared at him, waiting.
Lucas turned to Luna, the guilt was back, “I just want you to know, it wasn’t supposed to happen like that. I had already talked to my father about letting you finish out your school year here. I was going to let your mom know this week that you had more time…” He shook his head.
“You were?” Luna’s mom sounded surprised, and relieved even.
“I’ve been preparing for this for six years.” Lucas admitted, “I had to be able to fit in when you returned with Luna.” He continued, “Once I got to know her, I realized…” He paused, looking apologetically at Luna, “You didn’t know about Eranox.” He said slowly.
“And that changed your mind?” Luna’s mom sounded surprised.
“It did.” Lucas admitted, “She needed time to adjust, and it wasn’t fair to just take her.”
“You asked for more time?” Her mom sounded relieved.
“I did, and my father agreed. She needed time to adjust before she came back. Before you both came back.” Lucas paused.
Luna knew that things had changed, she had already been to Eranox, it was too late to ease into it.
“And then that night…” Lucas recounted as his eyes grew hollow, “I didn’t expect you to go through… I was only running towards the school, I forgot. By the time we reached the Gateway, it was too late to turn back, he was right behind us.”
Luna still didn’t trust Lucas, though her mother seemed to have grown soft.
“I’m sure it all happened so fast…” Luna’s mother reached out a hand, placing it on Lucas’ shoulder, “But why were they keeping her?” She asked, hesitantly, as though she wasn’t sure that Luna’s account was true.
“They weren’t keeping her, not really.” Lucas glanced at Luna, “Yes your door was locked.” He admitted, turning away again, “They were afraid you would run, and get yourself hurt.”
“Why didn’t they tell her?” Luna’s mother inquired.
“It had only been one night, and she did run….” Lucas sighed, “She’s lucky that she made it back at all…” He lost himself in a thought.
The room grew quiet for a moment while Lucas thought. Luna still wasn’t sure that he could be trusted, that he had good intentions. But still, her mother seemed to be putting some thought into his words, she seemed to understand what he was talking about.
Perhaps that was the difference, Luna still didn’t understand Eranox, she had never seen the curse first hand like the two of them. She had never lived through it, though her nightmares from the Gateway would likely never subside, she hadn’t known that they were human while she had been running from them.
“It’s getting worse.” Lucas finally spoke again, his eyes watered as he stared out across the room. “It’s spreading again, and we are running out of time.”
“What?” Lun
a’s mother looked haunted, she stared at Lucas for a moment, her eyes slowly moving to Luna, an understanding behind them that Luna never thought she would see.
“The curse made it out of the Gateway…” Lucas stared across the room, “They’ve quarantined half of the city, but it’s not enough.”
“It’s spreading again.” Luna’s mom seemed to be remembering something from her past, “It isn’t easy to contain.” She shook her head.
“Eranox won’t survive…” Lucas stared at his feet, “We need a High Wizard.” He looked up pleadingly, “We need Luna…”
“No…” Luna shook her head, her voice flat with confusion, “Not me, I don’t know anything about curses.” She knew that she was right, but Lucas and her mother were both staring at her like she had grown a second head.
“Luna, you are a High blood, you are the only one left.” Lucas pleaded.
“We knew this was going to happen Luna, we knew it would come to this… just not so soon… I don’t know if you are ready for this.” Her mother frowned, “We need more tea.” She rose from the table to make a fresh pot of tea, though the first pot hadn’t been touched at all, it had simply sat on the table growing cold while they talked.
“Luna, I’m begging you…” Lucas whispered as her mother turned away. “There is no other way, trust me, I’ve tried to think of something…”
“I don’t know anything about Eranox.” Luna stared at him, frustrated that he was resting the fate of an entire world on her shoulders, “There is no way I can help… we don’t even know if I have magic. And even if I do, I don’t know how to use it. There has to be another way, my mom is right, I’m not ready…”
“You have to Luna, it’s the only way. We really need you.” Lucas pleaded.
Her mother returned to the table empty handed, the kettle on the stove slowly warming up again behind her. “What is the plan?” She asked Lucas, as though Luna wasn’t there at all. “You say you need a High Wizard… but for what?”
“They’ve found a way.” Lucas told her, “But it won’t work without a High Wizard.”
“They’ve found a way?” She sounded skeptical, though her eyes twinkled at the possibility. “How?”
“We aren’t really sure that it will work.” Lucas admitted, “We haven’t been able to test it, not without a High Wizard.” Lucas shifted uncomfortably, “We need her, she’s the only one left.”
Lucas stared across the table.
“I need to take Luna back to Eranox.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Luna sat quietly at the table, trying to be a fly on the wall while she listened to Lucas as he tried to explain to her mother why he needed Luna to return with him to Eranox.
There seemed to be some sort of plan, though by the sounds of it Lucas hadn’t been given very many details on what the plan was, and he was trying to figure it out in his head based on the few scraps of information he did have, making it sound like a jumble as he tried to explain himself to Luna’s mom.
Though Luna didn’t understand much of what was being said, she tried to decipher as much as she could so she could figure it out and save the two of them having to re-explain it to her in Earth terms.
“Sir Hawthorn created a potion, I’m not sure what it contains exactly, some combination of moon wood and saffire or something…” Lucas whispered, “He said that it worked on his testing, separated the curse from the soul, and … Luna… would be able to use it in conjunction with the powers of her bloodline to lift the curse.” Lucas leaned forward, avoiding eye contact with Luna.
It was very clear that he had been expecting her father to be the one returning with him, he seemed to shift in his seat uncomfortably every time he had to say her name.
“Using her powers takes practice…” Luna’s mom interjected, “She was raised here, where there is no magic and she hasn’t trained, she won’t be able to help.”
“I’m not sure that we have any other options…” Lucas shifted again, “Luna … is still more powerful, it is in her blood.” Lucas pleaded.
“And how had Sir Hawthorn tested his theory?” She interjected, “Are they even sure that it will work?”
Lucas paused, searching for the right answer to appease Luna’s mother.
“He assured the King that it would work, with the aid of… Luna… it could be tested in more detail.” Lucas shifted again at the mention of Luna’s name.
“Assure?” Luna’s mother sighed, “Those are dangerous substances to be mixing… and if I know Sir Hawthorn, and I do, then he hasn’t put much thought into what could go wrong. I have seen first-hand what happens when he tests new theories…” She sighed again.
“This might be the last shot…” Lucas whispered, his face drawn with sadness.
“And how much is left?” Luna’s mom shook her head like she was trying to take back the question. “… How far will it go? How many will the potion work on?” She asked instead.
“I haven’t been told.” Lucas admitted, “I don’t think those answers will be available until it is tested properly…” He added, sounding sheepish.
Though Luna couldn’t quite understand the technical matters of their discussion, and a lot of it sounded like garble to her, she was watching her mom’s face intently; and she could tell that it wasn’t good.
Something in Lucas’ plan wasn’t sitting right with her mom, and Luna knew that she was about to say no to him, that she was already thinking of a way to keep Luna out of Eranox and harm’s way. She could tell that there was danger in the plan that Lucas had presented, though Luna didn’t see the harm in trying, her mom clearly knew more about the potions than Luna ever would. All the talk of powers and bloodlines had Luna’s head spinning, if all they needed was someone in Luna’s family, why wasn’t Lucas just asking her mom to go back with him; why did it have to be her?
It had grown late, the kettle was hissing on the stove as the water evaporated from boiling for too long, the sound of the kettles whistle had become a shrill noise in the background giving the conversation more edge than was necessary.
Luna quietly stood up from the table and walked towards the kitchen, letting her mind wander while the conversation continued at the table without her. She had heard all that she could process, they would have to explain it to her in more detail later.
She turned off the stove and moved the kettle over, letting her head clear as the whistling stopped. Luna leaned against the counter while she tried to decipher the conversation that was still happening at the table, though their voices had grown quieter as they debated.
It seemed like Lucas was grasping, he clearly wanted to save Eranox and Luna couldn’t fault him for that, she imagined she would feel the same if she knew that Earth was in trouble and she had a way to save it. But there seemed to be very little that he was saying that Luna’s mother didn’t sigh or roll her eyes at.
She didn’t really understand why her mom was giving Lucas such a hard time, he was trying, he really was. And Luna assumed that it wasn’t easy, coming back to Earth to beg for help after Luna had already run away from Eranox.
Lucas looked defeated and Luna felt a twinge of guilt. If she hadn’t run away, if she had just stayed and let them explain, it would have saved a lot of time. But her mom wouldn’t have known where she was, and they would still be looking for her on Earth.
Luna sighed, wondering when her life had become so complicated. She stared back at the table where they were still deep in conversation, there were so many questions that she wanted to ask, but she didn’t even know where to start.
The more Lucas tried to convince her mom that his plan would work, the more she scrunched her nose at him. Luna knew that Lucas was running out of ways to explain his plan, but that didn’t stop him from trying, and Luna had to admire that.
Finally the table grew quiet, and Luna knew they were waiting for her to return so they could discuss it with her.
She slid back in beside her mom and waited.
“I know a
ll of this doesn’t make sense to you.” Her mom leaned forward, reaching for Luna’s hand.
“We really need you.” Lucas finally looked up at her, his eyes pleading, “Would you consider coming with me?” He asked, waiting for her to answer the question that hung in the air.
It was a hard decision, and entire world counting on her to do something that she didn’t know how to do, something that was supposed to be in her blood; something that she should have known about her entire life.
Luna stared at her mother, trying to imagine what she must be thinking. She had been raised in Eranox, and there had to be a part of her that wanted to save it.
And then Luna remembered what her mom had told her, she had already given up on Eranox, she had stopped looking for the mirror. Part of Luna wondered if Lucas’ plan had sparked something in her, given her a new hope for her home world, but her mother just stared at her.
“You don’t have to decide.” She whispered, looking into Luna’s eyes.
“What?” Luna took her hand back, still staring at her mother. In that moment there was a bitterness in Luna’s heart towards her. She had failed to teach Luna anything about Eranox, she had given up on her world. Yes, there had been good intentions, she only wanted a normal life for her daughter. But Lucas was sitting with them, pleading for help, and she didn’t seem to care.
Luna couldn’t comprehend how her mother could be so nonchalant about the whole thing.
She considered what Lucas was asking her, the fact that her father had been suffering for eighteen years with the others under a curse was all she could think of, that and the part where her mother had admitted to giving up on them.
“You don’t have to go.” Her mother repeated, her eyes sad.
“It’s the only chance we have.” Lucas stared across the table, he looked like he had just been slapped.
“I really don’t think she should Lucas.” Luna’s mother cut in, she had a stern look in her eyes, daring Lucas to defy her. “It’s been too long, it’s too much to ask of her, it’s too dangerous.”
“It’s the only way.” Lucas pleaded.
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