Guardian of the Moon Pendant (30 page)

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 knowl
edge 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
on
to
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
i
s 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
sneer
ing 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!”
M
other 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?

Mother cleared her throat loudly. I quickly shot her a
What
gives?
look
.

She nodded, her wild eyes fixed on me, talking to me silently.

I squinted at her, giving her a
Go ahead and do what you think you should do
look.

Mother gripped her shotgun and then let out a loud raspy cry, “Izzy, pull!”

I immediately knew what she had meant. I shot my hand out, focusing all my energy on one of the massive monoliths, wiggling it, and plucking it out of the ground, its mass flew over the demon’s body, drifting above her head ready to drop at a moment’s notice.

Lainahwyn laughed brazenly, gazing up, “That stone will not kill me, MacAlpin.”

“No,” I said coolly, my lips curving up into a tight smile. “It won’t.”

Behind me, I heard the shotgun safety clicking back.

“But,” I mumbled to myself, “Mother’s shotgun will.”

Mother fired an iron slug from her shotgun. A powerful shell rippled through the air targeting the demon’s head, the demon’s silvery eyes bulged, realizing her impending doom, she let out an unearthly wail before the iron slug pierced her head, exploding it into a million pieces,
her
torso shook violently, crumpling to the ground.

Mother snuggled up next to me, clapping me on my back, snorting, “You’d think she figure out these decoys, eh?” she said, congratulating me.

The demon was dead.

Chapter 27

♦♦♦

Izzy

The Màrmann dispersed into the landscape, fleeing for their lives. I had no idea if they were still blood-sucking Màrmann, thirsting to eat any man, woman, or child that crossed their paths. Or if they returned to their original states, real men, searching for their homes, who were once lulled in by the demon’s charms.

Though, right then, I didn’t give a rat’s arse – who or what they had transformed into.

Fergus was free!

Along with Hamish and Edgar, of course, but Fergus, he was mine! My body rippled with true joy, knowing that now we could be united and spend the rest of our lives together as husband and wife. There were no restrictions for the Guardian of the Moon Pendant being with a civilian, just a Sentinel of Light.

My face beamed, clapping my hands together ecstatically, watching Fergus slink out of his chains, tossing them aside. He was a true Scot’s man through and through. His scruffy face shined with glee, his feet kicked up into a dance as he pranced toward me, his elbows bent upward jovially, swaying his neck back and forth, parading around like a school boy, elated he just got out of his meeting with the principle.

Time then quickly began to change, shifting into a slow crawl, each moment played out as if it were in slow motion.

Fergus’s chestnut eyes met mine, shining brightly.

I laughed loudly, doing my pathetic little dance of shimming my arms up and down as if I was in
Saturday Night Fever
.

Fergus raced toward me, his arms open wide, bubbling with joy.

I opened my arms wider, welcoming him back to the real world. Free of demons.

Fergus gave me a genuine smile, his boogying body just a few feet away from me.

“I love you!” I called out to him, gleefully, thinking of how long I wanted to hold him in my arms and there he was, right in front of me, racing to me, wanting me, smiling excitedly.

I couldn’t ask for more. A new life with the man I loved, and who loved me back, no matter how long or short it was. I was going to live my life to its fullest. And it was all going to start right now, at this moment in time.

Amen!

My jaw dropped open and I stopped dead in my tracks. The hair on the nape of my neck stood up, tingling with icy chills, exploding all over my body into tiny goose bumps.

Fergus’s eyes rolled back into his head, a desperate look of surprise flashed across his face, his shoulders sagged down, his legs buckled, and his body crumpled to the tall grass, moaning.