Losing The Light Of The Moon

Harnessing The Connection...

Chapter 44: Harnessing The Connection...

TATIANA

Jace’s gift to me continued to touch my heart as I stood with everyone on the field, continuing our training with Raven.  But it was his words during our embrace that seemed to spark something in me now—a possible solution to our problems at the Forest of The Vines. 

“A cherished—bond,” I thought out loud, “I wonder...”  My words trailed off as I tried to envision if the idea forming in my mind would work.

Everyone’s eyes were intently on me as I stood in silence for a long moment. Soon, however, Persephone knowingly broke in, “That look tells me you have a rather wicked plan forming, dear Sister. Do tell.”

“We both know that look,” Reina smirked, “Brainstorming is always better done together, Tati!”

“Auntie?” Raven prodded, her caramel eyes gazing at me full of curiosity.

“The connection you share with Jace—though you are not his mate, there is still a deep magical bond connecting you to one another—and Loa is your aunt,” I slowly breathed out, “It leaves me to wonder if it doesn’t provide us with a very interesting opportunity.”

Persephone quickly caught on to my train of thought, protectively warning, “That is an incredible amount of power to harness, Sister. Not that I doubt your strength, but the effects it could potentially have on you, especially knowing the immense power of the Firebird Phoenix.”

Her eyes darting over to Loa, Raven stated in wonder, “You want to see if you can combine all of our powers.”

Her eyes growing wide, Loa shockingly asked, “All five of us?”

Reina worriedly stated, “I feel it would be an overwhelming task that could be very dangerous for you, Tati.”

“I would not be attempting the task alone,” I slowly reasoned out loud, “I believe I can teach Raven to harness the power as well. We would work—together.”

“Work together not only to harness it, but provide the balance needed to utilize it,” Raven thoughtfully contemplated out loud.

“Is that even possible?” Loa breathlessly questioned, “Do you really think it can be done?”

“Well, let’s see, shall we? Would you like to give it a try, Raven?” I grinned, extending my hand out towards Raven, who nodded and smiled at me in return, placing her hand in mine.

********

As hoped, Raven excelled quickly during our lessons. Her determination and drive to better her abilities evident even more so today...which would bode well for the plan I had in mind for the Forest of The Vines...

Walking several feet away from everyone, I quietly gave Raven my instructions before we firmed our grip on one another’s hand, each of us closing our eyes and concentrating on the simple task. Streams of light emanated from our clasped hands, spiraling downwards towards our feet before Raven’s bright pink and my emerald green auras slowly began intermingling with one another until our robust magical powers melded into one.

Opening my now glittering green eyes, I instructed, “Let’s see if we can make our powers fly, Raven.” 

Raven’s eyes fluttered wide open to reveal a glowing pink hue as our combined powers moved forward, glistening in the sun as they took the shape of a hummingbird with bright pink wings outlined in green and scrolls of our combined colors glittering all along its body.  

“Now!” I sang out just before Raven and I thrust our hands forward, sending the bird zooming across the field, swiftly turning back to whip all around my sisters and Loa, who beamed in response, before coming back to circle and hover in front of us. Both of us proudly grinning, Raven and I reeled our powers back in as our little bird dissipated into colorful dust. 

“Oh, that was beautiful, girls!” Reina excitedly stated, clapping her hands as she bounced up and down.

“Indeed, was!” I happily replied before asking, “Raven, how are you feeling, dear?”

“Fine,” Raven delightfully confirmed, “To be honest, this was very exhilarating!  Our combined powers provided this amazing energy inside me. My wolf even reacted to it. It felt—stronger somehow.”

“I know the exhilarating feeling very well,” I mused, “I think we have confirmed this is possible, but your wolf’s reaction is very intriguing—makes me curious as to what the possibilities truly might be!”

My sisters and Loa continued to smile brightly in response to our test, but Persephone’s protective nature was still in full force, tenderly stating, “I can’t deny that this test was a complete success and would be an incredible and valuable asset to our cause. However, it will require some very intense training by all of us so we can transfer all five of our powers safely.  It will take time to perfect this little endeavor of ours and I won’t be a part of it if I sense any danger for you two.”

“Nor will I,” Reina immediately confirmed in a resolved tone, quickly followed by Loa, “Nor I.”

Nodding in agreement, I thoughtfully stated, “I agree—it is an overwhelming amount of power to wield. But it could prove to be a very powerful tool at our disposal—hopefully, I can convince The Council of the same.”

*************

“Oh, Tati, your bench is lovely!” Reina gushed, placing her arms around my shoulders from behind as we admired the beautiful addition to my spot by the lake, “Jace truly outdid himself. I had no idea my nephew had this hidden talent!”

Sitting down beside the engraved words in the center, Persephone caressed them with her fingers, her dark eyes misting over as she tenderly stated, “You can see Jace’s love for you in every inch of this, Tati, but this—this part is my favorite.”

“Mmmmm,” I murmured, “Seems you two inspired that after your talk yesterday. I’m not sure I deserve that kind of adulation, but it touches my heart immensely that Jace sees me in such a way.”

A playful smirk on my lips, I continued, “And it would seem Jace isn’t the only one you two inspired a great deal yesterday.”

As expected, Reina giggled behind me, tightening her hold on my shoulders, leaning down to whisper, “Whatever are you talking about, Sister? Though I have noticed a certain extra sparkle in you today!”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about, Sister,” I humorously chided, “What exactly did you noisy ninnies say to Horacio?”

Slowly bringing her sparkling dark eyes up to mine, Persephone’s round face reddened slightly, lightly defending, “Nothing that wasn’t true...after years of experience, we know pushing you directly never works, so we gently pushed Horacio instead. Shameful, I know—but Reina and I...we’re so happy...”

“And we want our baby sister happy too,” Reina dreamily murmured in my ear, “From the day we returned, Horacio has been devoted to you, Tatiana. But what really motivated us to give our little push was the way he looked at your paper fairy as we told our story—how he didn’t want to let go of it—the way he looked at it with such—reverence and love. The same way he looks at you every time he is near you. The connection between you is so beautiful—it’s a connection that even the Moon Goddess herself can’t deny. Though I will readily admit, we didn’t expect him to be that impatient—but in the end, I’m glad he was!”

My breath caught in my chest as I was rendered speechless by my sister’s words. I could see Persephone’s warm soft pink smile and feel the same one radiating at me from behind from Reina. 

“Embrace it, Tatiana,” Persephone lovingly blew out, “Every ounce of Horacio’s deep love for you. Embrace it and allow the feelings I know you have for him to fulfill their purpose—two hearts together as one—completing one another. Facing whatever challenges lie ahead of us together, protecting and loving one another always. If you really think about it, you and Horacio are meant for one another—both in battle and in life—together you are the darkness and the light—The handsome King of Fury and his exquisite Fairy Queen.”

************

Sitting together with The Council in Nicholas’ office, I explained the changes of venues from my previous vision—something that did not sit well with Soren, nor did my idea for the five witches at their disposal based on the dark expression on his plump wrinkled face...

“You want to make the Power of Three the Power of Five?” Madeline’s stupefied voice immediately rang out, “But I thought you had to be—”

“As we were able to prove earlier with a trial of combining just our magic, Raven’s connection with Jace makes it possible,” I calmly told her, “And while we have not yet tested the full theory, I believe Loa’s connection to Raven should enable us to utilize her powers.”

“That is an extraordinary amount of power, Tati,” Lorenzo anxiously muttered under his breath, “In particular with you and Raven. I’m not sure it is safe—for any of you.”

“Which is why we will slowly combine the powers and test it thoroughly before moving forward with what I have in mind,” I emphatically told them, “But if it works, it may be our answer to Frieda’s hold on the Forest of The Vines, if you will allow me to try it. Otherwise, if the battle I have seen is held there...the Power of Three will be rendered useless.”

“Which could cause problems rescuing Mattias and Guntur,” Nicholas purposefully stated, “Have any more decisions been made with regards to them yet? Something that will enable us to get to them before the battle needs to be fought?”

“Unfortunately, no,” I confirmed, “And as such, I feel we need to cover all our bases.”

“Do you think it will work, Tati?” Mahan calmly questioned, “If combining your powers is possible, can you reverse her spell and keep Frieda oblivious to both what you have done and the foreseen battle that will take place?”

“I cannot give you a full guarantee just yet, but if it works, that will open the door of possibility to what Soren and I have both wanted since the day we put Frieda in that cell,” I unevenly breathed out, looking over at my old friend who appeared to be in a deep contemplative trance until he heard his name.

Soren continued to stare at nothing for a few moments as we all waited to hear his thoughts on my plan, an answer heard soon after as he harshly whispered out, “You have both my confidence and my vote, Tati. If anyone can find a way to accomplish this feat, it’s you. The Forest of The Vines and Frieda need to finally be destroyed. Once and for all!”

**********

AMELIA

After my talk with Frieda and plans put in place, I returned home finally feeling hopeful, sensing that victory could be held for all involved in our plan for revenge against the Crescent Moons and The Council. Plans that had been altered thanks to Frieda’s suggestion regarding the Forest of The Vines. A discussion of a battle plan I had at breakfast with my trio of trouble, Kristoff, Lucious, and Arturo. 

While originally, I had been enjoying Kristoff being away from the house searching for new members to join our army—fortunately a successful endeavor—I was glad to be able to discuss everything with all three Blood Horizon leaders—until the inevitable happened...why was every conversation with these three always adversarial?

Sitting back in his chair, Kristoff folded his arms in front of him, astonishingly asking, “So, our plan is to divide them up?”

“Yes, we need to make sure Raven, Loa, Persephone, and Reina are kept occupied elsewhere,” I smirked, “I need Tatiana there alone—powerless.”

“You’re sure she will show up? This Tatiana?” Lucious gruffly asked, “If she has no powers there—”

“Frieda has come up with an ingenious plan. Tatiana will show up to save her son and everyone else we will have tucked away after I make my rounds,” I coldly interrupted, “A deal will be made—Tatiana will be forced to trade her life...for all of theirs.”

“And what of these powerful visions of hers?” Kristoff contemplated out loud, “You already suspect that she will know of your plans to utilize the Forest of The Vines.”

“My protection spell here is obviously keeping Tatiana from being able to find us or they would have already made a rescue effort to save Mattias and Guntur,” I proudly boasted, “Which means our slight alteration to the plans will remain unknown—until we are ready.” 

“Timing is going to have to be perfect,” Arturo cautiously warned, “I know you will have a spell in place at each battle to delay their arrival to the Forest of The Vines, but the witches they have at their disposal—in particular, Raven—they will more than likely crack your magical code quicker than you think—or we would like.”

His tone turning sarcastic, Arturo sneered, “Whether you want to admit it or not, Amelia, Raven is vastly more powerful than you and these other two from the Power of Three sound as if they may be as well—all we have is you and a witch who is locked up and of limited help, leaving us at a disadvantage strategically. To protect ourselves, we need to proceed with caution.”

Instantly infuriated, I pushed myself up out of the chair so hard, it flew backwards, loudly crashing down on the floor. Slamming my hands down on the table, I put all my weight on them, leaning forward across the table to glare at Arturo, loudly and furiously scoffing in response, “Are you doubting my abilities?”

Arturo didn’t move an inch, unfazed by my action as he spat back, “No, but I’m also smart enough not to doubt theirs, either! While your focus is on this Tatiana witch, it’s not our focus, remember? We aren’t just here to serve your needs!”

Pushing myself forward until I was directly in front of his face, I seethed, “I am well aware of your needs!”

“Well aware is one thing, trust is another—Arturo has a point,” Kristoff angrily interjected, “Seems your plan satisfies your desired outcome at the very beginning. Who’s to say once we help you get your revenge that you won’t leave us to fend for ourselves?”

Snapping upright, I spitefully replied, “I am a witch of my word—it’s up to you if you trust that or not. But I have every intention of helping you kill the Council Alphas and their inner circle once they show up—too late, of course, but we will show them a bit of mercy. They won’t have to suffer long with their losses—we will send them all to join their precious family members soon after.”

Leaning forward to rest his arms on the table, Lucious intriguingly asked, “And what does this backup plan of yours involve should anything go wrong?”

“Sending as many as possible down in flames,” I sneered, “trying to save the lives of Mattias and Guntur, who we will conveniently leave here—until the time is right.”

*********

After our breakfast meeting ended on the usual low note, I decided to go check on our hostage, Guntur, to make sure he was continuing to heal. It also made for a good opportunity for a little torture where Mattias was concerned, carrying the breakfast tray down to them instead of Jillian, especially after Arturo informed me that Mrs. Dottie had sent her down to our tent area to serve breakfast to our new army members. 

Fortunately, Guntur was awake and, while weak, was not suffering from as much pain as the day before. Hopefully, the potion I mixed into his orange juice will help continue his recovery. I wouldn’t want him to miss what I had planned for them. 

Judging by the look on Mattias’ face—especially the devastation reflected in his deep blue eyes—when he realized Jillian would not be visiting him, I succeeded in my plan, adding to my jovial mood. In fact, Mattias looked like he needed the potion to alleviate pain more than Guntur. Quite satisfied with myself, I retired to my room for a while to work on my plans for Tatiana—who would soon meet a long-overdue and incredibly satisfying death.

************

MATTIAS

I was frustrated after Amelia left—I faltered—unable to hide my disappointment that Jillie didn’t return for breakfast. But after remembering her note, which I imprinted word for word in my mind before it disappeared, I regained my composure...unfortunately it was too late—Amelia got what she wanted—but if I had my way, it would be for the last time...

“You okay?” Gunter weakly asked, toying with a toothpick as he pulled his sandwich apart, pulling out the cheese—another reminder of my Jillie, “You’re not eating. Not that this stuff is appetizing in any way—man, I wish I had some of mom’s pancakes! But still, you should eat. We need to keep up our strength.”

“You need it more than me, so eat,” I earnestly breathed out, watching as he aimlessly ran the small wooden stick across the unappetizing yellow square, “I need you better so we can get the hell out of here—with Jillie. How’s your head?”

“Pounding still, but at least I’m somewhat functional. I’m probably going to have a permanent battle scar that I can use with the ladies,” Guntur half-heartedly laughed out, slowly standing up before taking careful unbalanced steps towards me, “But I like your train of thought—any ideas how we can accomplish that yet, future Alpha?”

“Nothing concrete, but working on it,” I heavily sighed, hitting one of the bars between us with my fist, “I’m afraid all of it may put Jillie in danger.”

“Maybe after I eat this cheese, we will have some inspiration,” Guntur pointedly stated, holding up the cheese between us, making sure to keep it hidden from any peering eyes. Looking down, I was surprised to find a secret note carved into the center—

Bracelet

Spell

Tatiana

Folding the cheese in half, Guntur took a huge bite, his whole face scrunching up in disgust as he muffled out mid-bite, “We better make something happen soon! I’m not sure this stuff won’t kill me!”