Guardian of the Moon Pendant

by Laura J Williams

  Blane rushed to Anabel’s side, scooping her up in his beefy arms, stroking her matted hair, wiping away the dirt from her porcelain face.

  Anabel’s body lay limp in his hand, her emerald green eyes barely open.

  “The moon is getting closer,” squealed Plumface, clasping her tiny palms to over her mouth. “Oh, dear!”

  “Five minutes,” Skullsplitter reminded us, gazing at his skull and crossbones watch.

  My heart began to race. I had to get Anabel up and at ‘em, before the full moon passed through the standing stones. I crouched down beside her, flinging her arm around my neck, trying to hoist her body up off the ground.

  “Hurry, Anabel,” I said wincing from the strain of her body weight on my shoulder. “You have to stop her!” Anabel slipped from my grip, sliding back into Blane’s arms.

  Anabel’s eyes were glazed over, barely responsive.

  “She can’t do it!” hollered Granny, poking her ghostly eyes into Anabel’s face. “Look at her!”

  “Glorious!” Lainahwyn cried out again from the MääGord standing stones.

  Our heads spun around quickly.

  “All the MacAlpins are here!” chortled Lainahwyn.

  Mother appeared, running out of the farmhouse, her powerful shotgun slung across her back.

  “My baby,” mother wooed, her fingers bracketing Anabel’s face.

  “Mah?” I whined, rolling my eyes.

  “I couldn’t let my baby be alone,” mother said teary eyed, kneeling beside Anabel, her shotgun sliding onto the ground, nearly shooting my head off.

  “For years, MacAlpins,” Lainahwyn bellowed in her grandeur, a slip of parchment paper pinched between her pointy fingers, her lips curling into a disdainful sneer. “I was tortured by your family, imprisoned within Dunvarghan Castle as your family used my powers for your own personal gains. It is time to seek my revenge on you and all of mankind. My sister lies on the other side of the Portal, and when I open it we will join forces, and then I will hunt each one of you down and kill you slowly, draining your bloodline forever!”

  Lainahwyn flicked out one of her razor sharp nails, pricking the palm of Fergus’s hand, spilling his blood onto the ceremonial stone. It splattered onto the frosty slab, his blood slowly absorbing into it as if it drank it in. Lainahwyn continued her ritual, stabbing Hamish and then Edgar, her hypnotic voice chanting the words to the encrypted symbols etched into her copy of the Dragon Spell.

  “I’ve sent for Leigheas,” stated Blane with Anabel still cradled in his lap.

  “It’ll be too late,” Granny argued. “She’s not strong enough!”

  A slow moving mist swept eerily between the MääGord standing stones, the stone faeries had begun dancing within their stone tombs, writhing wildly, urging Lainahwyn to open the Portal and to free them from their stone pillars.

  The full moon inched along the horizon, shimmering moonbeams cut against the dark towering monoliths, casting light and shadows within the MääGord standing stones as it approached the main two vertical stones, preparing for its final alignment.

  “Lainahwyn will be in control of the Portal once the moon passes through the stones,” stated Blane. “It’ll be too late.”

  “No, it’s not,” stated Granny, “there’s a small window of time, after the final charge, to close the Portal for good!”

  Anabel gurgled up a mouthful of blood, choking on it violently, her head turned to spew it out. She was regaining consciousness.

  “Say the oath, Anabel,” urged Granny sternly. “Pass it over.”

  “No!” mother cried. “My baby isn’t dying. She’s the true Guardian!”

  “Not this way, Granny,” I said shaking my head. “Anabel will be fine.” My eyes cast down onto her blood-spattered body. “Damn it, I need a cigarette,” I cried, plunging my hand deep into my inside pocket, whipping out my golden cardboard box.

  Blane caressed Anabel’s face, her eyes slowly opening up. “We could finally be together, love,” he whispered sweetly into her bloodshot eyes.

  “Izzy has earned it, Anabel,” Granny said.

  I earned it? How do you earn the most powerful necklace known to mankind, or at least known to me? I stared at my pack of cigarettes, tempted to inhale all of them at once, sending me into a sweet and early death.

  I knew I couldn’t let that happen – I had too much responsibility now, taking care of Anabel, spending the rest of my life with Fergus, fighting off all these damn demons!

  “Aww…hell,” I said, tossing the sinful pack of cigarettes over my shoulder, chucking them away for good. I didn’t need them anymore. I needed to be here and to live!

  “Let her finish the last task,” urged Granny.

  A wild hailstorm erupted within the MääGord standing stones, a dark vortex of wind swirling around Lainahwyn as the cold ceremonial stone began to rise out of the ground, with two vertical stones pushing it upward, raising the Portal above the earth’s surface.

  Blane sat Anabel upright, gazing into her eyes lovingly. “Sometimes, ‘tis not what we should do,” he said sweetly to her, “‘Tis what we need to do.”

  Anabel traced her fingertips over the Moon Pendant and then her eyes met mine. “Izzy, take it,” she said, gasping for breath.

  “No,” I said firmly, with one eye on the firework show, exploding behind me. “You can do this!”

  “Izzy, no,” Anabel whimpered. “I’m a failure.”

  “No, you’re not,” I argued.

  “Yes, I am,” Anabel wept. “I didn’t get into any of the medical schools.”

  “Who cares?” I roared, pointing my finger toward Lainahwyn’s silhouette. “Get your arse up and send that demon back to hell!”

  “I didn’t tell you why,” Anabel sobbed.

  A loud rolling thunderclap jerked our heads back to the MääGord standing stones. A doorway emerged within the circle. Its ceiling had become the ceremonial stone while two new monoliths formed the Portal’s frame, a silvery liquid rippled within the Portal, glistening with purple waves.

  “Anabel,” cried Granny, “get to the point!”

  “I didn’t get in, because I was arrested,” Anabel wept into the palms of her hands, her head tilted up for a brief moment, blurting out, “for decking Hilda the Gorilla.”

  “That’s why you didn’t get into medical school? Because you were arrested?” I replied, arching an eyebrow, little Ms. Perfect had a rap sheet, and the delinquent one, that would be me, was an upstanding citizen. Oh, the irony.

  “Oh, my baby,” wooed mother, smoothing out her disheveled hair, “it’s Ok.”

  “I turned into the thing I hated the most,” Anabel blubbered, realizing who she had become, another version of Hilda the Gorilla. “A bully!”

  “You’re not a bully,” I said calmly with a note of sarcasm in my voice, knowing that the truth hurts. “Maybe teetering on the edge of control freak and self-absorbed, but you’re not a bully.”

  “Yes, I am,” she whined, a waterfall of tears gushed down her cheeks. “I’ve been so horrible to you. With me trying to control everything and even with what happened to you that night with your manager. Not believing you and all.”

  “Girls!” Granny wailed louder, her silvery eyes darted back and forth to the MääGord standing stones.

  “Anabel,” I said in a matter-of-fact tone, kneeling beside her, pinching her chin, “life is not perfect and it will never be. We are all flawed beings. Sometimes,” holding out my bare wrists for her to see, “we all have to show our scars and be proud of them. It’s Ok. You finally showed your scar, it’s going to be alright.”

  Anabel nodded in agreement, wiping away the tears rippling down her face.

  “Now stop this nonsense and go kick some demon arse!” I yelled.

  Anabel giggled, her hands bracing onto Blane’s shoulder as she fumbled to her feet. “You were right all along, Izzy.”

  Granny prodded mother with her vapor finger. “Now, that’s what I call heart,” she smirked
brightly.

  Anabel slipped back down to the ground, a look of dread crawled across her face. “I can’t do it alone,” she sighed, gazing into my eyes, her hand shot out to me, wanting me to grab hold. “Help me, Izzy.”

  “We’ll do it together!” I affirmed, clapping my hand into hers, our fingers intertwining strongly.

  Anabel’s fingers flickered softly in the air, waving them above the Moon Pendant. In quick majestic swoosh, the Moon Pendant unclasped, slipping off her delicate neck, levitating through the air like a feather, descending onto my tattooed neck.

  My eyes closed, whispering, “Wind of MääGord, lift me. Earth of MääGord, build me. Water of MääGord, wash me. Fire of MääGord, bind me!” I felt the Moon Pendant’s threadlike tendrils prick at my skin, its roots burrowing deep into my body, making itself right at home.

  My fingers clenched into a powerful fist. My body surged with pure energy.

  I was empowered. I was strong.

  I was pissed…

  Chapter 26

  ♦♦♦

  Izzy

  My stormy eyes burst open.

  I was Izzy MacAlpin, Guardian of the Moon Pendant.

  “Go!” hollered mother, a frantic look brewing in her crazed eyes, clutching her shotgun tightly, her knuckles blanched, spitting impatiently. “Teach that demon who she’s dealing with!”

  Granny turned to me. “Once the Moon Pendant is fully charged, it won’t drain you, Izzy. So, as they say, go to town on that demon.”

  “Two minutes,” Skullsplitter reminded me.

  Two minutes until the full moon aligned with the two main monoliths. Two minutes until the Moon Pendant could be fully charged. Two minutes until I had enough power to close the Portal and stop that demon!

  My feet raced up the hillside, leaping over rocks, trotting through the dew-drenched grass. I quickly gazed over my shoulder, noticing that Leigheas had finally arrived and was standing beside, Anabel.

  I sighed with relief. At least now, I knew Anabel would be alright.

  I stood at the edge of the stone circle, flashes of misty blue lights sparkled through the air, white ethereal beings danced within its ring, their gowns billowing in the wind. The stone faeries were free.

  Lainahwyn stood poised beside the Portal, while Fergus, Hamish, and Edgar were still kneeling down, chained together like criminals. Vyx’s nostrils flared as I approached.

  “It is too late,” Lainahwyn smiled brightly, the mystical Portal rippling with a shimmering wall of purple and silvery syrup. “Ahh,” Lainahwyn remarked, raising her brow, “I see we have another addition to the guardianship.”

  “That’s right demon,” I growled, a surge of energy electrifying my body, my eyes squinting hard at her demonic white orbs. “Fear me!”

  “I stopped fearing the MacAlpins centuries ago,” the demon said surly with a twinkle in her eyes.

  “You’ve never really seen me pissed off!?!” I answered, clenching my teeth, stepping inside the circle of stones, meeting the demon’s eye levelly. “Don’t mess with my blood!”

  Steaming, Vyx roared, charging his brutish body forward.

  I cupped my hands, spinning them in his direction, a tornado of wind and dirt funneled into his brick wall of a chest, catapulting him into high the night’s sky, slamming him down hard, far outside the circle of stones.

  The full moon slinked across the inky black sky, moving closer, preparing to align itself with two of the main stone monoliths.

  Lainahwyn flicked her razor-sharp hand into the air, signaling her Màrmann to attack.

  I spun my hands around, channeling the cyclone of air with the curve of my palm, using the wind to create an impenetrable force field around me, preventing Lainahwyn and the Màrmann from advancing hostilely toward me. The Màrmann banged their balled fists against the hurricane force winds, its powerful gusts snatching them up, tossing them into the stratosphere, throwing them high into the air like popcorn.

  I planted myself between the two monolith stones as the full moon finally aligned itself, clearing away half of the force field, keeping the fierce tempest winds to my back, blocking the Màrmann from striking, allowing a direct path for the Moon Pendant to absorb the moon’s energy.

  The sun’s rays bounced off the full moon, its elemental energy of fire refracting off its lunar surface, blasting a fiery moonbeam into my chest, the Moon Pendant pulsed white hot, flooding me with an illuminating light, at last, charging the Moon Pendant to its fullest capacity.

  My body was brimming with energy, invigorated with the elemental powers of air, earth, water, and now fire.

  I whipped around on my heels, my arms firmly glued to my side, my palms facing down, a burst of air shot out of my hands and feet, propelling me high into the air, my body hovering next to the ceremonial stone. I slammed the palms of my hands down onto the ceremonial stone. The runes etched within rock glowed with a golden light, glistening to my empowered touch.

  I felt the knowledge of the stone passing into me, talking to me, filling my head with vivid images of different faeries that existed in the Otherworld and a war brewing among them. I squeezed my eyes shut firmly, pushing all my power into the stone, forcing it to close.

  It didn’t budge.

  The stone faeries danced merrily around the MääGord standing stones, mocking me, singing ethereal songs, wispy and light on their feet, their hands clasped together as they skipped blissfully around the stones.

  I blew out a disheartened breath and tried again, positioning my palms securely on top the ceremonial stone. Once again, its markings glowed brilliantly in a warm molten gold. Quickly, I shut my eyes, focusing all my power into closing the Portal.

  A deafening roar echoed above the standing stones. I peeked one of my eyes open, observing a dark vortex brewing above me, swirling black clouds whirled around in an overwhelming storm.

  I snapped both eyes open.

  I gazed down at Fergus, grinning lovingly.

  “Go on yerself, girl,” he screamed.

  An intense swell of energy flowed through me. The stone began to vibrate ferociously beneath my fingertips. I felt the earth tremble and quake, shifting, slowly moving the stone Portal back down into the earth.

  Suddenly, a flash of light burst from the stone. I raised my forearm over my eyes, quickly, its brightness blinding me, its intensity hurling me down to the ground.

  Landing me smack down onto my spine, oomph, I let out a faint squealing breath of air. My eyes blurred, blinking, realizing I was completely screwed and utterly dumbfounded. The dazzling light came from the stone itself. It had rejected my request, denying the power and authority of the Moon Pendant.

  I didn’t understand.

  The MääGord ceremonial stone wanted to create a Portal into the Otherworld? It wanted to be open? Why? How did it have more power than me?

  I blew out a few expletive words even a Hell’s Angel would blush to and rose to my feet.

  “It is too late, Guardian,” snickered the demon, her arms spread wide, her silvery eyes glowing passionately, her voice chanting above the deluge of wind and air, victoriously, “the Portal has been opened, gloriously – nineteen more years until it can be closed again!”

  My fingers curled into a balled fist, my nostrils flaring. “Doesn’t mean you’ll be going to the other side, demon,” I declared.

  “Another threat by a MacAlpin?” she snickered, pursing her red lips together, angling her head to the side. “Why am I not surprised? What rubbish is your Granny telling you these days?” The demon laughed boldly. “That you are of a noble bloodline? Taking an oath to keep the evil faeries away?”

  “So far,” I said with my jaw clenched firmly, my eyes wild, “you’re proving her right.”

  “Maybe, you should look in Dunvarghan Castle, deep in its dungeons,” she purred darkly, pacing back and forth, her silky gown clinging snugly to her curves, its hem rippling up in the breeze, revealing her solid cloven feet, exposing who she really is, a devil. �
�Find an iron cage,” she continued, “and under the lightest color stone with a single copper vein running through it. Dig it up and you will find a book. A book of truths, a book about the MacAlpin clan and where your blood really comes from.”

  Granny’s ghostly body floated next me, her arms crossed, glaring at the demon. Mother appeared on my other side, her body trembling uncontrollably, her hands clasped around her shotgun, fearing the demon’s hold on her.

  “When Rose found out the truth,” revealed the demon, with a faintly sneering smile, “she stopped fighting and she let go of the power of the Moon Pendant.”

  “My sweet, Rose?” gasped Granny.

  “Spewing more lies, demon!” I growled enraged.

  “Why are there no male MacAlpins?” the demon asked brazenly. “Your father is a Campbell.”

  The demon’s eyes glimmered, eyeing my mother, seeing through her weakness, her body shivering from the demon’s gaze.

  “Your husband will be the first one I feed upon,” the demon declared, smirking, pointing her spiny finger at my cowering mother.

  “Don’t you dare!” Mother spat.

  Quite frankly, I had enough of this demon, her lies, and her hatred toward my family. My blood began to boil. Literally, the heat from the Moon Pendant began to raise my temperature; my body’s internal temperature skyrocketed, beads of sweat poured from my skin, slipping down my body, soaking into my clothes. The angrier I got, the more I needed to dispel its energy, its power gushed out of my glands.

  The fingers on my left hand splayed outward, ticking off one by one into a fist. The pebbles beneath my fingers began to quiver, rising above the ground, floating, suspended in time, waiting for me to release them. A large group of jagged stones elevated into the air, hovering, waiting from me to propel them at something.

  “Such a weak child,” the demon snickered, stepping in front of the slick liquid doorway of the Portal, inching her way into the Otherworld.

  I steamed inside.

  A thousand scenarios flashed through my mind. Do I let her go? Who would she bring back? What would she bring back? Or do I just end it here and now?