Guardian of the Moon Pendant (6 page)

I doubled back though the hallway, hoping to locate Granny, poking my nose into the kitchen, iron pots and pans dangling from its ceiling, a glass cabinet along the wall stacked uniformly with white plates, saucers, and cups, all polished to a pristine shine, a bubbling pot crowded the stove with an eruption of green foam overflowing onto the tiled floor.

I ascended the stairs, cautiously, still crying out her name. A faint whimper echoed down the darkened hallway. I walked into Granny’s room, a soft wheezing sound murmuring from her bed.

“
It’s
pitch black in here,” I said flipping the light switch on.

Granny cowered away, averting her eyes from the bright light, her blue-grey hair coiled up in a tight bun, her frame small surrounded by feathery pillows, a ruffled night gown buttoned up to her wrinkled neck. “Too bright,” she moaned, gesturing at the nightstand. “Hand me my shades, love.”

I withdrew the sunglasses from the drawer, resting them in the palm of her tiny hand. She raised the sunglasses up, fastening them snuggly behind her ears, turning to me she cracked open her wrinkled eyelids, exposing a thin milky layer over her eyeballs.

I gasped.

“How can you see with those cataracts?” I asked horrified.

“That’s better,” she said, adjusting the leopard framed sunglasses. “I see just fine.” Granny shifted her body to sit upright in the wide bed while I fluffed a few feather pillows behind her back. “Would you hand me my grog?” She asked sweetly, gesturing to a pewter chalice, sitting on top of a heavy oak desk flushed with the far wall, its surface covered by a dusty computer.

I picked up the silvery chalice, covered in swirling Celtic symbols, its cup filled with green foam. Curious, I raised it to my nose, sniffing its putrid contents, it foul stench made me gag, a swell of tears misted in my eyes, as I placed it securely into Granny’s fragile hand.

I went over to the window, in need of some fresh air, the sour smell from chalice still tickling my nose. Swiftly, I yanked back a white lace curtain, gazing out the window, awestruck by the massive monoliths rising up from the crest of a hill, cold, silent, their presence beckoning me to stay.

“Your nurse is superb,” I said to Granny over my shoulder. “She even cooks!” My eyes studied the slabs of stone, their tips towering high, framed by the pink and grey streaked sky. “I’ll stay for a bit,” I informed her, “but then I’ll be on the next ferry out.”

I started to count the standing stones, ticking each one off with my fingers; nineteen in all, eleven forming a center circle, two stones jutting out on each side, marking north, south, east, and west, just like a compass. Their placement piqued my interest, reminding me of a Celtic cross.

“The new moon is here,” murmured Granny, her fingers fumbling to open the buttons on her nightgown.

I watched a dense, swirling mist, blanketing the embankment to the east, wisps of dewy clouds whirling around the stones. Breaking through the fog was a man, a warrior, dressed in a kilt, covered in his tartans, and a sword fastened to his side.

“Did your mother tell you of your duty?” asked
G
ranny, wheezing heavily.

“There’s a Highlander outside?” My eyes squinted, trying to focus on the strange man, watching him leap around the lush green hill, and then heading
back to what appeared to be a c
astle within the mists.

“The scroll,” gasped Granny, “did you bring it?”

“But, there’s a man?” I said in disbelief.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a pulsating light, flickering on and off. I spun around, wondering why Granny was beaming a flashlight at me, my forearm rose to my eyes, blocking the blinding light. Granny sat upright on the bed, a shimmering necklace wrapped around her neck. Out of it poured rays of blue and white light with a moonlike center stone, while eighteen smaller stones scattered around it, all of them burning white hot.

My heart pounded like a drum. “It’s alive!” I screamed, watching blue waves spilling out of it, enveloping Granny in its aura.

“It is your duty as a MacAlpin,” roared Granny, black veins twisting along her bare chest beneath the mystical pendant.

Gobsmacked, I swallowed a lump in my throat.

“Take it!”

My body tensed.

“It is my duty to get you better,” I stated firmly, “go home, and get married!”

“You must become the Guardian of the Moon Pendant!” Granny said persistently.

I was enraged. Mother never told me about this becoming a “Guardian” of anything. I was here to do my duty as a granddaughter, and that was to take care of my Granny. At least, that’s what I thought I was here for.

I inhaled deeply, calming my frantic nerves. “You’re a bit delirious, Granny,” I said casually, trying to laugh off all this “Guardian” stuff, my hand reaching for the chalice, scooping it up and handing it to her. “Have some more grog.”

Granny’s wrinkled hand shot out, clamping down onto my wrist, squeezing it tightly, splattering green foam all over the white linen sheets, and the chalice clattered onto the planked floor.

I tried wrenching my arm away, but I froze, mesmerized as she lifted up her sunglasses, her eyes glowing, twinkling,
staring
at me dead-on.

“You must say the oath!” Granny growled.

I jerked my arm away from her grip. She was mad!
So I humored her with a simple, giggle and a soft, “Of course, Granny,” patting her arm, and sidestepping toward the door.
“Let me refill your grog,” I said, snatching the chalice from the floor. “I need to, umm, go make a phone call.”

A wild wind rattled through the room, whipping around my body, blowing the door shut. I clasped onto the doorknob, twisting it frantically, wrenching it back and forth with all my might, jerking it wildly. It was locked. The palm of my hand slapped against the door’s cold wood, knowing that I was trapped.

Suddenly, the base of a lamp bumped against the back of my head, knocking me forward. Rubbing my head, I crouched low, spinning around on bent knees. Debris began to whirl around me like a tornado, the lights flickering on and off, blinding me as I raced toward the window. I fidgeted with the latch, opening it and then pushing on the window’s frame. It didn’t budge. It was bolted shut. 

“You
will
fulfill your duty as a MacAlpin,” commanded Granny. She swayed a few inches above the bed, hovering, her mane now writhing uncontrollably, swaying in the turbulent air.

“Ok…Ok…” I babbled, trembling, knees buckling.

In a grand swish, Granny waved her hand over the necklace. It unclasped and slipped off her throat, floating into the air like a feather, descending over my neck, searching for a home.

I gasped for a mouthful of air, choking back on a sob. I witnessed the Moon Pendant spring to life, stretching out thread-like tendrils toward my neck, a parasitic organism, seeking its new host. It clamped onto me, its roots burrowing deep into my chest.

I stood there terrified, frozen in fear.

“Say the oath,” demanded Granny.

My mouth dropped open.
Oath?
What oath?

“Say the oath,” repeated Granny. “Wind of MääGord, lift me. Earth of MääGord, build me. Water of MääGord, wash me. Fire of MääGord, bind me!”

My lips quivered uncontrollably as I began to recite the oath. The Moon Pendant tunneled its tendrils deep into my chest, implanting itself into my body.

I felt strong.

An earth-shattering roar thundered outside, throwing me down onto my derriere.

“The Portal is now opened,” muttered Granny, her body collapsing onto her bed. “Close it before we are all…” Her eyes rolled back into her head, a speckle of foam dripping from the corner of her mouth. “…doomed,” she puffed, taking her last breath.

Chaos immediately erupted outside the window, as a dark vortex of clouds swirled above the MääGord standing stones, bolts of lightning danced within it.

The door creaked open. “You must go, dearie, before it’s too late,” muttered a tiny woman standing just two feet tall, her goblin ears perked up. She resembled the odd statue by the front door. Her left hand cradled a wooden spoon coated in green foam.

“Go?”

“To the standing stones, dearie!” she squeaked, fluttering her thick eyelashes at me.

“Why?”

The grayish faery pouted her bright red lips, crossing her arms and huffing aloud. “The bond has been broken.”

I cocked my head to the side, raising an eyebrow to the tiny faery woman.

“There’s a rift, and the Portal is awakening. The Moon Pendant must take back its control over the Portal. No time to waste, dearie, hurry, hurry!” she squealed, scooting me off with a sticky spoon and minuscule hands.

I dashed out of the room, in a state of utter fear, leaping down the stairway in twos. Before I knew it, I was stepping over a low lying iron fence on the edge of Granny’s property line, my feet scurrying up the grassy hillside, and poised before the MääGord standing stones. Each pillar of stone was enveloped in an electric blue cloud, a swirling mist of energy flowed between each one. 

How was this possible? A vortex of pure energy had emerged out of nowhere. Suddenly, a beam of light shot out from the standing stones, straight into the Moon Pendant, lurching my body forward, draining its power, weakening me until I crumpled to the ground.

My eyes cracked open, slowly, gazing down at the Moon Pendant, noticing the outer gems had faded as if the light had gone out of them. I scrambled onto my feet exhausted. I was just a few yards away from the center circle of stones. I took a few more labored steps when another beam of energy struck the center of the Moon Pendant, hurling me back, crashing me down onto my spine, knocking me out cold.

A familiar voice in my head awoke me, whispering,
Close
the p
ortal
before it’s too late.

I gathered my strength, trying desperately to fulfill Granny’s wishes. I crawled into the stone circle, scrapping my forearms and knees along the rough terrain. The cold stone monoliths had transformed, bathed in a silvery lunar light. Pale androgynous faeries had taken form, magical, lithe beings floating within each one of the standing stones, their gowns billowing in the powerful winds.

In front of me was a horizontal stone, unchanged, laying flat in the center of the circle. I knelt beside it, examining the etched runes, running my finger through its grooves. Surrounding the runes was a fierce, fire breathing, double-winged dragon.

I placed the palms of my hand firmly on top of the stone’s icy surface. It vibrated underneath my hands, and a powerful surge of energy transferred from my body into the slab of stone. I could hear the stone faeries moaning, writhing in pain, their iridescent shells diminishing.

“It’s working!” I screamed, excitedly.

Just then, another bolt of energy sliced through the misty air, piercing the core of the Moon Pendant, its force catapulting
me
high into the electrified air, my body suspended within the ring of stones, my hair whipping around wildly in the hurricane
force winds. I slumped over, crippled in shear agony, my body shaking violently as if I were having an epileptic seizure.

“No more,” I pleaded.

Slowly, the winds died down, and my body plummeted to the ground below, my back cracking hard against the ground. I whimpered in pain, wheezing as I coughed uncontrollably, unable to catch my breath. I rolled to my side, spewing out a mouthful of blood, splattering its red clumps across a few patches of grass. With the back of my hand, I smeared away the remaining blood dribbling from my lower lip.

I stared at my hand, covered in blood. I was disgusted. What had I signed up for? The stone faeries eyes blazed with joy, happy to have regained their upper hand.

This was not happening.

“No one gets the upper hand on me,” I said under my breath. I needed to take control of the situation, and I needed to do it now. The last jewel, the largest one, in the center of the Moon Pendant still
pulsed
its radiant light.

I summoned all my strength, taking in a deep sharp breath. In a swift swan-like motion, I smacked my hands down onto that slab of stone.

Lights exploded over my head, the whirling vortex changed into a laser light show, shafts of brilliant light shot out in every direction, bursting into brilliant fireworks, popping, whistling, and blasting through the purple streaked sky.

The Moon Pendant’s energy and my own morphed into one powerful transformer, reversing the stone faeries’ dominance. I was one with the Pendant, bound together like a host and a parasite, unsure of which one I was, the host or the parasite. Its power fleeting away through my arms, slowly my body became frail, shattered, paralyzed with pain, all my energy lifted away. Exhausted, I crashed to the ground for the last time.

My body lay limp, twisted in a mangled mess, sprawled in the center of the standing stones, listening to the keening wind die down, softly fading away, until there was only
silence. I was delirious in my pain, twitching muscles, shredded skin, throbbing limbs, and my arms prickling with residue energy.