Reborn In Moonlight

The Journal’s Secret

Aerin sat on the cold floor of the store room of Whispers & Ink, with the journal open in her lap.

The wind echoed through the narrow and quiet streets of Velgrave. It clattered the windows of Whispers & Ink, creaked through the old wooden shelves and doors. The journal's pages turned, the moment she laid her hands on it, revealing a message written in dark ink.

" *To heal him, you must first remember".*

Aerin fingers trembled as she touched the words on the journal.

_Remember? Remember what?_

The events of the previous night still lingered in her memory and the name, Maeron echoed in her mind like a warning.

She didn't know who he was, but the mere mention of his name made her skin crawl.

"I don't even know who you are," she whispered to the empty room. "But I feel like I know you".

The journal pulsed beneath her touch again.

" *Go to the stone circle at midnight. Bring salt and blood".*

"Blood?", she whispered aloud astonishly. "Whose blood?"

The page darkened, and a new line appeared beneath the previous ones.

*"Yours"*

Aerin closed the journal with a snap and stood, her breath short, hands shaking. She glanced at the wooden clock on the wall. It was almost ten. Midnight was close.

"But why the stone circle? Why can't it be somewhere else other than there?" She asked rhetorically.

She tried to recall the memories.

Children were prohibited from going there, especially during certain nights . But her heart clenched with something she couldn't name. Something that longed for it .

As if something... or some one was awaiting her .

"Maybe the place isn't just calling me to it, but a part of me is calling me to it".

She gathered what the journal had asked for: a small pouch of salt and a pocketknife from the drawer where she kept spare keys. The blade was partially blunt, but sharp enough for it's purpose.

Slipping it into her coat pocket , she muttered , "Let's hope this doesn't end with me bleeding myself to death".

And then she left. The path that led to the woods was shrouded in shadows. The pine trees stood as guards, and the air became colder with every step taken. Everywhere was so quiet that she could hear her footsteps. She stomped on small stone pieces as she tried taking small steps.

The journal was clutched tightly to her chest like it was a baby.

The moon hung above them, casting a creepy glow over the clearing. Twelve stones arranged in a perfect circle, each one covered in moss.

Aerin stepped between the stones.

"I've been here before", she whispered, the truth setting slowly into place. "Maybe not in this life. But... I'm familiar with this place".

She knelt at the circle's center and laid the journal down.

Then, with deep breath, she took out the knife.

"Wait... I'm i really going to cut myself because a book instructed me to ?"

She hesitated, unsure if what she was about to do.

What would be the result of this?

She wondered.

Deep down, she already knew the answer.

"This better not be some kinda joke", she murmured raising her sleeves up. "Teresa, if you're the one guiding me, don't mess this up".

Aerin slitted her palm with the pocketknife and made a cut that wasn't deep but enough. Blood oozed out from her palm immediately, it was red and hot. She allowed it drip onto the soil, then poured a circle of salt around herself with her hands shaking.

As soon as the circle was complete, the ground beneath her vibrated.

The journal flew open on its own and light exploded from it's pages, green and white, glittering like fire. It wrapped around her wrists, her chest, her head and wounded hand. A sharp wave of pain tore through her chest and then everything went black.

She screamed, no words coming out just sounds.

When she opened her eyes, things became different.

She found herself standing in a battlefield.

The sky above was blood-red, filled with smoke and falling ash. Bodies of men, women, and wolves filled with agony sorrounded her. Fires shone and screams echoed from somewhere distant.

She looked down and gasped for breath . "What is this?"

She was putting on robes, not modern clothes, but something grand, embroided with cryptic symbols. Her hand shimmered faintly with green fire.

And Kyre stood next to her.

He wasn't the tattered man she had met in Velgrave, but a prince instead, his silver eyes glowing, his chest bare and smudged with blood. He stared at her with a mix of grief and awe.

"You came back", he said hoarsely.

Aerin opened her mouth to speak, but the words that came out wasn't hers. They were Teresa's.

"I had to. The spell... I had to finish what I started"

"You should have run", he said bitterly. "You should have saved yourself. You aren't safe here".

She grabbed his wrist tightly. "No. I came for you... to save you, to make you human again".

Suddenly, there was a roar. A shadow loomed overhead and there came a spontaneous wind.

And then...

A dark figure stepped forward from flames. Tall and veiled, his face obscured. His presence was poisonous, evil with dark magic. Even in her dream and memory. Aerin dreaded him. Fear gripped her.

"Maeron", she uttered in fear.

"Miss me? It's been a while you know. But I'm pleased to see you my love" His voice echoed evilly.

Teresa's memories rushed forward in waves. This was the man who began the war. The one who had turned wolves to monsters. The one who had cursed Kyre and ripped out his humanity.

He was once a sorcerer, a protector of the ancient ways. But something had happened to him. He had fallen in love with power. With Teresa.

He was consumed with hatred and the desire for vengeance because Teresa had rejected him.

"I warned you", Maeron echoed, his inhuman. "You would regret choosing the beast. Now be prepared for what's coming".

He raised his hand. Darkness gathered in his palm.

Kyre came and pushed Aerin behind him. "Run Now!!" He shouted with fear.

"No..."

But it was too late.

Maeron's magic struck them, tearing the place apart.

Aerin screamed and the vision ended abruptly.

She gasped awake, lying in the middle of the stone circle with the journal burning against her chest. Her palm was healed and the salt had scattered. The night stood still as if the wind paused to listen.

She sat up, breathing hard. Her heart pounding.

"That wasn't just a vision but a warning instead", she whispered clutching the journal. "That was me. Teresa".

When she got home, dawn was breaking, giving Velgrave a soft pink and gold color mixture. Aerin sat by her window staring at the misty hills with the journal placed on her laps but her thoughts were far beyond what it seemed. The town still slept unaware of the truths that lay below it's surface.

She could still head Kyre's voice in her ears... "You came back".

"He was cursed because of me... because Teresa chose him", Aerin said to herself .

And Maeron was still out there. Somewhere. Waiting for the right time to surface.

Far away in the forest, Kyre stood at the forest, with sweat on his eyebrows. He had felt the magic stir. Teresa's magic.

"At last, she remembers , he whispered, his voice sounding fulfilled.

Scenes of the battle had emerged in her mind. How she had tried to protect him, how she had fallen and how Kyre had held her in his arms as the curse took form.

Maeron's laugh. The fire. The anger. The grief.

It had shattered him. Now, after centuries of insanity, pain and lurking in the shadows, the bond had returned.

And danger too.

Kyre stared at the moon. "No more running". "It's time for action".

Kyre could feel the past war rising again, this time filled with secrecy.

There would be no room for second chances. Things were getting intense.

Aerin shut the journal, no longer sure of her path.

"I'll find you, Kyre. I'll save you. She said aloud. "I'll finish what she started. I'll end this curse once and for all".

And in regards to Maeron?

She stood up facing her mirror.

"If it's war you need... I'll give it to you in an unimaginable way. You chose the wrong with to haunt". She said boldly with a firm face.

She was ready for him, ready for whatever hits her, but she wasn't backing down.