The Moonstone (Enchantment Book 1) (6 page)

“What’s the connection with my mother?”

“We all have a pre-destined sign. There are five: Fire, Earth, Water, Air and the most rare, Ether. Your mother’s sign was Ether. The universe is ruled by these elements, we are made of them.”

I enjoy the way she tells her stories, it’s almost as if she’s been waiting for a long time for this moment.

“What is Ether?”

“Ether is what is between all matter in the universe, it’s the void or it’s everything. Every sign gives access to five gifts and each enchanter has one, as well as certain combat skills that are associated with his or her sign. My sign is the Earth and my gift is polymorphism, that is, I can change into any animal, like into Nyx. Your mother’s gift was clairvoyance. She had certain visions that she couldn’t control and one of them was of a war that would erupt between the peoples. She knew that she needed to offer a solution to the world. There is an enchanted item called the Emerald Table. Hermès, the messenger of the Gods, created it. This tablet can bestow the power of the Gods. Humans and enchanters alike seek this artifact, but the problem is, nobody knows where to find it. The emerald tablet will only open with one key… and that key is a Moonchild.”

“What is a Moonchild?”

“You are a Moonchild, Lou. This is very rare and requires many special circumstances for its occurrence. First of all, there must be a lunar eclipse at the child’s birth and the mother of the Moonchild must voluntarily sacrifice herself while giving birth.”

“Are you telling me that my mother sacrificed herself in order to give birth to me? That’s insane!”

“It may seem crazy, but she asked me to have faith in her vision and that you would be the chosen one who would save our two cultures. She wanted you for years and created you on the perfect day. You appeared as she disappeared, but a part of her will always be with you.”

“So, let me get this straight, I’m some sort of machine that was created to save the world… A key, an object? I think you’ll find you’re mistaken on that one; I’m just a young woman who’s a bit of a dreamer. I can’t do a thing to save the world. Anyways, I don’t know anything about this life that you’re talking about, so why wouldn’t I choose to fight on the side of the humans?”

“My dear, you are a moonchild and you are an enchanter. There’s nothing you can do to change that fact. Your mother took you in her arms before disappearing and I have a photo of that moment if you wish to see it.”

She walks into the kitchen and comes back with an old, beaten up pewter frame. She hands it to me with a reassuring look. A young peaceful looking woman holding a newborn child in her arms looks out from the frame.  A diffuse light emanates from the woman. She had beautiful blond hair, thick like mine, and she also had the same blue eyes. I feel overwhelmed with a feeling of sadness and profound respect. She gave up her life for me, but why?

“I don’t think I turned out to be the person she was hoping for. I’m not anything special and there’s nothing magical about me.”

“That’s why we’re short on time. Today is the full moon and we need to give you back your powers. We still don’t know what your designated element is and we have to figure that out. On the other hand, Moonchildren have access to all the powers, which will make you a very powerful individual. Normally a witch’s child would be raised with her own kind and would be aware of her gifts in her eighth year. But you, as you’ve never had contact with this world, you have a magical blockage that created a fog around your gifts and I have to clear that. Oh, I forgot, before we leave, I have a present for you. It’s a gift from your mother.”

She quickly gets up and rushes over to the first drawer of the cherry-wood sideboard and opens it with a small hand-forged key. She takes out a small velvet bag that is edged with a golden cord. She carefully hands me the bag as if it were a precious treasure.

“It’s a gift that can only be used once, and I have held it for you for a long time. I am extremely happy to give it to you, you understand that this is all I have left of my friend…”

I take her offering and open the small bag, from which a cloud of violet smoke escapes. The smoke gathers and takes shape to transform into a small screen in front of me. A woman who resembles the one in the photo appears and gives me a look full of empathy.”

“My dear child, I am so sorry not to be there for you. Even if I knew you for only a short while, I have imagined you and loved you with my whole heart. I do not regret the actions that I will take as I know that it’s for the best. You do not know the destiny that awaits you. Don’t doubt yourself and know that I’ll be with you in spirit. My soul is watching over you from above, have faith in life and it will guide you along your path. I love you.”

The cloud disappeared as if it were a daydream.

“Look in the bag, there’s another gift for you.”

Reaching into the bag I find a magnificent sparkling jewel. The stone is white, translucent with undertones of blue and it shines like a star.

“This is a moonstone, it’s your talisman. You must wear it at all times and it is exclusively for a Moonchild to wear. Each enchanter has his or her own stone that is associated with his or her sign, but the moonstone is the most powerful of all. That means that whatever element lives within you, and whatever stone is tied to that element, the moonstone is yours forever.”

I take the necklace and carefully put it over my thick hair. My body immediately tenses up and I feel a wintry blast of wind flow through me. It’s similar to the feeling of early morning air after the first snowfall. It fills me with a feeling of wholeness, as if a piece of my soul has always been missing and has now, suddenly, been replaced.

“What’s the purpose of this stone?” I say, looking more closely at my jewel.

“It does everything. It’s a part of you now. Wearing it increases your power and serves to protect you. It’s also a sign of your belonging. People can recognize who you are when seeing your stone. A team of warriors is always made up of the four elements and their stones will let them know who you are. But, yours is unique in that is does not represent an element, but rather your position as being a special child. You are a very rare person, Lou. In fact, I can only recollect ten Moonchildren. The most important is that the sacrificed spirit had to be someone pure, if not, the invoked spirit would be evil. Of course your mother was a saint and that’s why your spirit was attracted to her, thank God! You should be careful though, because many dishonest people will try to corrupt you. You should follow your heart and never trust blindly.”

“Should I fear for my life?” I ask her this without being too concerned, maybe out of naïveté, or maybe because I find it hard to see myself in the big picture.

“Oh my dear, I would love to tell you that you have nothing to fear. At this time, no, in truth, there are some advantages to your position. After some training you will be very powerful and it is then that they will want to control you. The key for the Emerald Tablet is you, and the most important thing is to make sure that nobody finds out who you really are.” She answers gravely, her eyes wide open and as if she were delivering the worst possible news. Her tone is too serious for my taste.

“They’ll know. I have the moonstone.”

“Nobody will know that you have it. At the moment our only certainty is that you are a Moonchild, but we still have to discover your main element. Once we have determined that, your moonstone will turn into the stone associated with your sign. Even if as a Moonchild you have the power to control some of each of the powers, you should only ever use your main power, except in case of mortal danger.”

“You’re talking as if we’ll never see each other again!”

“I can’t be with you, Lou, that will cause the council to be suspicious. I will put you in the care of a friend of mine who is still part of their world. We’ll meet him later tonight and he’ll help us to unblock your powers. You must take your two weeks of vacation to train as a warrior. It’s the best way for you to increase your powers quickly. Then, Charles, the man you saw us with earlier today, will come and get you and we will plan the next steps. From now until then, everything is perfect. Your parents are gone and you can go there without any worries.”

“You planned all this didn’t you? Of course, Gisèle is one of you. It was her who convinced me to take my vacation. I thought that she wanted a break from me, but you were behind the whole thing, weren’t you?”

“Gisèle, Charles and I were good friends of your mother. I know that Gisèle can be a little hard to take, but deep down, she’s very kind.”

I look into her eyes that are filled with compassion for her friend and I can’t quite bring myself to reconcile the image that she has of my boss with my image of the bitter old woman who, in my opinion, doesn’t have a kind bone in her body. If that’s what she calls kind, it makes me wonder what kind of person Lord Black is, since she describes him as monstrous…

“Should I lie and invent myself some sort of past life as a witch? I’m not a great liar.”

“Oh, yes you are! Look, you managed to hide a cat from your allergic mother for many years; I think you’re a better liar than you give yourself credit for, my dear! No…Charles will tell the director of the Academy that you’re an enchanter who was raised by humans and that he discovered your talents by coincidence. You can just be yourself!”

“Perfect, I like it better that way. I don’t know this world at all and I feel like an outsider.”

I’m laughing on the inside and I can’t help but smile a little. This sentiment is all too familiar to me; I’ve never felt at home in the normal world, so what will it feel like to be there? But why not take a chance? After all, I’ve done enough reading of adventure books. Maybe it’s time for me to live my own.

“Ok, I accept! Anyway, my books can wait, and nobody will be expecting me for the next two weeks.”

“Perfect, I’m happy that you see things that way, I was a little worried about how you might react.”

It’s so hard to believe that the old woman from my nightmares is in fact the only person who knows all my deepest secrets and, in a weird kind of way, I’m going to miss Nyx.

“I’m going to miss those visits to you as well, you know! I would really have loved to have children.”

Wow! Can she read my thoughts? I thought that she said a witch can only possess one power and that hers was to change into a kitty, so…

“Can witches have children? I mean, between them?”

“Oh, Lou, you’ll be able to have some if that’s what you’re worried about. I just never found the right person before Nathan.”

No relations with humans, that’s what she means. Incredible, because deep down inside I am human, at least, that’s what I think I am… but that brings me back to the inscription on the book “there is no going back” and it all makes sense now.

“When I was at the library today I read the inscription on the book that I saw the three of you with earlier. What is it?”

“It’s a special book of spells. This one is especially for unblocking enchanters. It’s rare to find a magician that doesn’t have access to their powers. Either she was put under a spell, or, like you, she was kept from the world of magic. Gisèle brought the spell book over from a group in England. You were supposed to read the inscription tonight, but it’s just as well that you already have as that will speed up the process. But now we should leave; Charles is waiting for us at his place.”

The old woman’s enthusiasm is contagious. I feel more and more comfortable with her and I wonder if my mother was as jovial as Gertrude? To my great pleasure we leave the woman’s den and walk toward the equally decrepit garage beside the house.

“Why is the house in such a state? You seem like a woman who has it all together, why are you letting it all fall apart like that?”

“In fact, that goes along with the banishment. You see, it keeps curiosity-seekers away; even you who were so close by, you thought the house was abandoned. Well, let’s go and see if my old jalopy is still in working condition, I haven’t used it in more than a decade.”

“A decade! It’ll never start up.” She’s dreaming in color, the poor woman, I think to myself, looking at her incredulously.

“Dear, you under-estimate our people. We’ve improved everything that humans created and our cars have a self-sustaining system. The car could be completely rusted out and still start up like a charm. I was just saying that to tease you. I’m sure that it’ll start up.”

With one quick movement she bends and grabs the rusted handle of the wooden door and in one fell swoop she raises it, making the door-raising mechanism creak and groan. IN-CRE-DI_BLE!

“Two eyes of a toad and an asp’s tongue every morning and you’ll have the same energy I do!”

I can’t help but wonder how that could possibly taste. It’s like when you see a skunk on the side of the road and your curiosity pushes you to smell it even though you know that the odor will be repugnant.

“Ha,ha! I got you good! Don’t be so naïve! We aren’t in a fairy tale here, my dear, and I too like my chocolate sandwiches.”

I laugh out loud and it does me good. All the stress of the day vanishes in an instant. I peek into the dark garage and can just make out magnificent shiny, black Chevelle SS. It’s gorgeous; it looks as if it were straight out of a car show.

“Wow! It’s fantastic! Do you all have a thing for classic cars? I’ve a hard time imagining you behind the wheel of this thing. It is rather…masculine.”