The Mirror of the Moon (Revenant Wyrd Book 2) (36 page)

But Angelica was worried beyond words. They were now so close to their goal that she could not help feeling a variety of emotions: happiness at seeing her sisters again, fear of facing the Mask, and for some reason mourning that the journey was near completion. The last emotion she tried to explore more as she laid herself to sleep, but she didn’t have time to comprehend the complexity of her feelings before sleep stole over her and she was drifting through a mantle of dreams.

W
hen they finally reached Lake Mirror, so named for its perpetually calm, reflective surface and its proximity to the Mirror of the Moon, it wasn’t without trepidation. The emotions warring inside of them were insurmountable and threatened to spill over into their actions. At once Jovian felt like that cool, calm lake they stood before, the moon spilling down onto its surface, the lake reflecting back up at the night sky an image of itself with stars, fleeting clouds, and the celestial body of the Mother Goddess herself. He, too, was calm and collected on the outside, but as a mere pebble could change the entire surface of the lake so could one slip, one wrong word, disturb his demeanor.

At one moment Jovian was happy that their traveling through the endless night of the Sacred Forest was soon at a close, yet at the same time he understood that this was where they were to part ways with Grace and the other fairies. The fairies he was not so upset about leaving, but Grace….

Through their traveling she had become so much more than a teacher and much more like a grandmother. She would be making it on her own to the Well of Wyrding with no help, nor would she accept help. He watched her that night, helping with camp, making small talk with Maeven, and he couldn’t help but feel that she was at such a disadvantage. He wanted to go with her, to protect her against whatever she might come up against. He worried for her, for the forest was filled with all sorts of monsters and he had never once saw Grace raise a hand to defend herself.

How would she make it?

And then he couldn’t help but feel that he was losing yet one more family member. This anger he channeled toward Porillon. If it had not been for her this would never have happened. He would never be out here now trying to find two sisters that had been taken from him, losing the only grandmother figure he had, and he wouldn’t be leagues from his father and home.

And he wouldn’t have learned who he truly was and from what blood he descended.

Dinner was taken and cleared in deep thought, and it was with little surprise yet deep mourning that Grace informed them of the news:

“Tonight I leave you all and for how long I am not sure,” Grace said resolutely as she laid out her bedroll and hunkered down for the day.

None of them spoke. In light of the situation there was not much that could be said. They all knew this time was coming, the inevitable parting of their group. They had just hoped it would not happen so soon.

Though Grace gave the appearance of deep slumber, she didn’t sleep a wink that day, and instead was awake to watch the sun rise through the clear air over Lake Mirror. She watched the light dance and refract off the still surface and couldn’t help but wonder at the beauty of this land, of the Sacred Forest.

Lake Mirror, being the one place (oddly enough) where fog did not gather, allowed Grace to watch the warm golden dawn from its shores. The beautiful display was mirrored in the lake, and she smiled as she rubbed the chill from her arms. There was not a cloud in the sky, for they were all seemingly on the ground, and the light of the sun seemed ethereal to her eyes which had not seen it in weeks as it began glowing off the fog eddying around her ankles making its way slowly to the lake’s edge.

The sun crept higher and higher in the sky. The whole time Grace thought about where they were, and that not far from this beauty, maybe a day’s travel, was the woman that had engineered this whole event. Not only a day’s travel from here were the girls they sought, and the means to neutralize the errant Well of Wyrding.

Around evening Grace realized she was not going to sleep any longer, and so she gathered her things, loaded up Holly, and began rummaging through her packs. Deep inside she found what she was looking for, another Telfetch that she would leave with the three of them, which would transport messages immediately to the other one she held so they would always be in contact, except for those times when she was not within range of the silver embossed box.

When the sun set emotions stirred within her even as the fairies began coming to life. Ever the strong woman she was, Grace stuffed these emotions back where they belonged, and she woke the three children that she had come to think of as her own brood.

“Now,” she told them when they were all awake, “This Telfetch is linked to my own. All you need do is write a letter, put it in the box as you have seen me do, and seal it shut. The letter will be instantly transported to my Telfetch, and I will respond the moment I get a chance.”

They all nodded, not trusting themselves to speak.

She stood then, embraced them all, and mounted Holly.

“There will be no long good-byes, for we will see one another again soon. I will meet you back at the plantation in three months’ time. If anything happens between then … well, we have means of communicating with one another but if anything happens we will meet at the Guardian’s Keep in the Barrier Mountains of the Realm of Earth.” And with nothing more than that Grace followed Telsara and the fairies out of the clearing.

Jovian, Angelica, and Maeven watched the old lady ride off into the darkening fog and then turned in the opposite direction, staring off to a point they could not yet see but knew was there.

“The Mirror of the Moon,” Maeven breathed. “We are actually going to see it?”

“Yes,” Jovian said, his heart beating hard enough in his throat so that he could barely speak.

“What do you suspect we will find there?” Angelica asked. “Besides the obvious.”

“I think we will find exactly what Porillon wants us to find,” Jovian said.

“No, we won’t,” Angelica said forcefully drawing all eyes to them. “Don’t give her that power, Jovian LaFaye. We will find there the potential of what Porillon wants us to find, but we have the final decision over what comes of it. I have seen what she wants for us, and you were the proof of that. She will not kill us and you best remember that.”

“We have not much time,” Tegaris said.

With nods they took advantage of the lake and all bathed.

Resolutely they set their shoulders and headed away from the camp now cold and void of use, like the life they were leaving behind. Never before had they felt the severity of what they ventured to do as they now did.

Angelica was not sure if they would live against Porillon, but she was bound and determined to give all she had to make good on her promise in Whitewood Haven.

They thought also of Baba Yaga and their time with her in the Otherworld. She had given them what she called the will to do that which must be done, whatever that meant. For some reason she could not readily explain, Angelica didn’t think the gift from Baba Yaga was what they needed now.

No, what they needed now was divine intervention.

Or to find their sisters, even now, fleeing through the forest away from the danger with the medallion in tow.

The thought of the medallion turned Angelica’s contemplations to something else. This whole time Angelica had been trying to determine what she was and now what Jovian was. It had never occurred to her, for some odd reason, that the medallion would be able to tell them.

And thus their thoughts carried them through the night into the wee hours of the morning to the space of time just before dawn, and when Angelica saw the glow ahead she thought it was the rising of that sun, and that they would have to camp before actually reaching the Mirror of the Moon.

In all actuality camping was not at all what was about to happen, for even as she was preparing to stop and roll out her bedroll they came to the queerest clearing she could ever imagine.

T
he clearing that the Mirror of the Moon sat in was massive, much larger than the wheat fields at home on their plantation. The lawns, for that is the only word Angelica could think to call them, were as well kept as if someone came here every day to groom them. The gardens were weeded and properly taken care of as if the temple had not been abandoned since Arael’s power had ruled there.

Angelica was awed in more ways than she could have ever thought possible. Not only was this huge temple rich in lore of her heritage, but it was also more civilized than Angelica could ever imagine a structure in the woods being.

The four bell towers, signifying the four compass points and the four corners of the structure sported pinions of each realm.

The gardens were many and sprawling around the building in various muted shades and species with walkways of cedar chips meandering their way among the thriving beds.

It was, however, the building itself that inspired the most awe in her. As far as architecture went, it was rather simple being shaped like a square with the four bell towers Angelica was sure in time of servitude had been rung to signal devotions. Angelica stared in wonder at the Mirror of the Moon, appearing to be made of graphite with its floor-to-ceiling windows stained in epic religious tales framed and inlaid in silver.

The fog was much clearer here, clinging thickly in spots near the ground. In fact it didn’t seem to reach much of the temple yard past the iron gate surrounding the clearing.

She would have desperately liked to see it during the full moon, for even now it glowed with dim silver light that mirrored perfectly the light of the waxing moon above.

“Do you think she is in there?” Angelica asked, a sudden excitement gripping her as she stared out and up at the Mirror of the Moon. “She is really in there, isn’t she, Jove? Today we will have her back after what seems such a long time. In only a few short months our family will be reunited!”

Jovian didn’t feel the same. There was too much now that had happened, so much growing that had occurred, and so much wyrd that had gripped their lives for the past few months that Jovian didn’t think he would ever be able to go back to the person he had once been.

Deep down Angelica knew this too, but Jovian only smiled at her and nodded.

“Yes, Angie, she is really in there, and we will all be a happy family once more in just a few short months.”

But they both knew there was no happy family waiting for them at the end of this journey. They would go home, Amber most likely insane from what Porillon had done when she pulled her out of her training. Joya, having finished her training, would most likely end up working for the Board of Wyrding in the Ivory City in some capacity, and Angelica and Jovian would remain where they were now, confused as to what they really were.

“Maybe we can go to the Guardian’s Keep in the Realm of Earth and learn from Grace’s sisters?” Angelica suggested, scuffing the ground with the toe of her boot. “I have always wanted to see the Barrier Mountains in winter.” And with that one confession she began to sob. Jovian was with her in an instant, supporting her through her tears. “It’s over, Jove. We can’t get back to what we were,” she said, snuffing as tears came unbidden to her eyes. “The only one of our family that will remain the same is Father, and I will never be able to look at him the same again for the lies he told us.”