Under the Shadow of the Moon

Chapter 52

Luna swayed on her feet, leaning up against the wall, Lloyd, and Harper as she stepped further into the Refuge House. The room began to spin and she fell to the floor, Lloyd rushing to stop her collision with the wood beneath her.

Luna's eyes fluttered open, but all she could see was the dark hall of the Shadow Realm. The hall was empty, although all the doors were open, a faint glow coming from each. The white door at the end of the hall was open just a crack, revealing the Shadow Realm Throne Room. She stepped inside slowly, feeling her ears fill with the sound of the screeches as they had the last time. She looked around the room, fighting through the pain. The room had some light in it, allowing her eyes to get glimpses of things without the use of her light-shadow. There were seven thrones arranged in a semicircle around her. Robyn sat in the middle one, next to her sat Cleo on one side and Silas on the other, with Grant beside him. Luna couldn't recognize the boy who sat beside Cleo. Each throne seemed to reflect an aspect of the personality of the person sitting in it.

No one moved, seemingly content with their positions. Each of the thrones was illuminated by a light with golden glow, however the last throne on either side didn't seem to be glowing at all. A sort of shadow was wrapped around it, darker than anything Luna had ever seen. She couldn't see through the haze at all, not even through her light-shadow. The seats seemed to be blacked out entirely, as if erased from existence, but never truly gone. "Elijah... and Skye..." she whispered, however the sounds of people in agony coming from the room and ringing through her ears took the sound away before it could vibrate through the air.

She tried to step closer, but the sound of the screeches became agonizing again and she collapsed to the ground bathed in shadow. The thrones loomed over her, the responsibility crashing on to her with the weight of the world. One day ever so soon she would take one of those seats, and she will have accepted her role as a holder of Cyrensix. An ascension to a throne to signify a mastery of her abilities.

The realizations were too much for her. Her light-shadow flickered, scaring her as it went out over and over.

A colony of bats descended from nowhere, bringing even more deafening sounds to the mix. Luna could feel herself screaming, screaming for anyone or anything, but no one could hear her. No one was there to help her. The bats flew in circles above her head, singing beautiful songs of death and catastrophe. The flapping of wings was suddenly overbearing, the sound of the screeches deafening to no end. Luna clamped her hands over her ears, attempting to block out the sound but it still rang in her ears. She fell even closer to the ground, her shadow flickering out for a final time, forcing her eyes closed.

Luna's eyes opened once again, her eyelids feeling heavy and her eyes blurring and clearing, the shapes around her barely colors with fuzzy edges.

She felt a pair of warm lips press against her forehead. She struggled to clear her vision, and as she did, she realized she was lying in her sleeping bag in the Refuge House. The room was empty except for a shadowed figure stepping further away from her. Her heart started to beat faster and faster. "Lloyd?" she called attempting to sit up.

"Go back to sleep," a familiar voice came, but it wasn't Lloyd's. Trae stepped into the dim light, looking tired and as if he hadn't slept from worry. Luna could tell that he was still upset, but she didn't know what she could say to him.

"Trae! Wha-what are you doing here?"

"Luna... I was so worried about you. I had to see you. I had to make sure you were okay. After we left the park, you seemed really off."

Luna smiled softly as he sat down beside her. He put his arm around her, drawing her in close. He planted another kiss on her forehead, widening her smile and sending butterflies through her stomach.