Moon Daemon

Chapter Sixteen - Sun Goddess

"Are you nervous?" Marrok asks me as we walk down the hallway towards the kitchen. I hadn't even realized that we haven't spoken a single word since we left the library. Accalia and Tala wanted to stay behind with Raziel to do some more research, and Rollins and Conan had work to attend to. Marrok was the one that reminded me we haven't eaten today, so we decided to grab some lunch.

"I don't know if it's nerves, or something else," I confess.

"What else would it be?" he asks.

"I'm not sure," I whisper. "It's not an emotion that I am certain of, but it's also something that feels familiar."

"Hmm," he mumbles, opening the kitchen door for me.

Dawn greets us as soon as we enter. "Rae," she smiles. "It's so good to see you. I heard you've been busy."

"Dawn," I say, smiling at her. "Thank you, I have."

"What can I get you to eat?"

"Something quick," Marrok says. "Esmeray has training soon, and she needs to eat."

"Training?" Dawn asks.

"I have to learn more about my powers," I tell her without going too much into details.

"Well how about something that should be filling for all the training you're about to do?" she suggests.

"Okay," I nod.

"I can make sandwiches," she says, turning around and looking for ingredients.

I sit down at the counter and stare absentmindedly at the marvel countertop. I think back to the prophecy and go over everything I remember over and over. I remember the witch, standing in the back ground before Vilark ultimately deceives her. I wonder what it was she was going to do with the gem.

Dawn puts a sandwich in front of me, bringing me back to the room. "Thank you," I mumble, taking it and biting it.

"Where are you?" Dawn asks, standing across the island from me.

"Far away," I tell her.

"I can see that," she says, reaching across the island and gently patting my hand. "You look very concerned."

I smile gently at her, looking over at Marrok who is also watching me curiously. I finish my sandwich, thanking Dawn again, before turning to Marrok. "I can go to training alone today," I tell him. "I've kept up most of your time. You need to focus on being Alpha and this pack."

"You are part of this pack," he reminds me.

"It's just training," I say. "I'll link you if I need you."

I can see it on his face that he's disappointed, but he also acknowledges that I am right. He's been spending every waking moment by my side trying to help me adjust, he hasn't been in the public eye of the pack. I don't want to be the reason that he starts to get animosity from his pack members.

"Okay," he nods. "I won't be far away. I'll go take care of some things in my office, and I'll swing by after."

"That works," I say, smiling at him. "I can handle Raziel."

"I know you can," he laughs. "Just try not to hurt him."

"No promises," I wink, before lightly kissing his cheek and turning from the kitchen. I walk slowly down the hall towards the training facility, lost in thought. I think back to the prophecy again, and speaking to Hekate. She said that the one thing she could tell me was that I could not do this alone. I need help.

I get to the training room, Raziel is already in there, swinging his sword around and stretching.

"Raziel," I call, bringing his attention to me.

"I was wondering when you would show up," he laughs.

"I was wondering if we could do something a little different today," I say as I approach him.

"You've peaked my interest," he grins. "Do tell."

"I want to speak to Ontia," I tell him.

His face morphs from grins to dead straight in one second flat. "What?"

"I want to speak to Ontia," I repeat. "I want to speak to the Goddess of Day."

"I heard you," he says. "How do you propose we do this?"

"Take me to her Kingdom," I shrug.

"I can't just bring a moon daemon to the sun goddesses Kingdom," he scoffs.

"Why not?" I ask.

"Why not?" he repeats, shocked, like he's trying to figure out the answer to that question himself.

I raise an eyebrow at him, awaiting his answer.

"f**k," he mumbles. "She's going to kill me for this."

I watch as he transforms into his angel form, light projecting from his body like a lamp someone turned on. He walks up to me, towering over my small frame. "Don't throw up on me," he says, lifting me up and cradling my body like a child in his arms. "And DO NOT tell your mate."

"Why not?" I ask.

"He's not going to be happy about me taking you away from here in my arms," he grins. "Put your face in the nook of my neck and do not look. It's very disorientating the first time, and I can't have you meeting the Sun Goddess covered in vomit."

"You just don't want me to know where we're going," I roll my eyes.

"That too," he says. "Hold on."

I bury my face into his neck as I feel him take off from the ground. We start moving unbelievable fast, much faster than I could ever levitate myself. I feel my arms tighten around Raziels neck from fear of falling. I concentrate on the beating of his heart against my chest, as I continually swallow the excess amount of saliva forming from my nausea. I open my eyes just once, noticing that we are higher than I've anticipated in this short amount of time and I shut my eyes before I throw up all over Raziel.

I start counting his heart beats, slowly, concentrating on the numbers rather than the motion. I get to 32 before I finally feel Raziel start to slow down. I open my eyes slowly and hear the gentle flapping of his enormous wings, and see the ground forming below us.

"You did well," he says. I don't answer him, I don't think I could manage actual words without vomit sneaking up on me, so I continue to count until I feel his feet touch the ground. He slowly lowers me down, and the moment my feet touch the grass, my legs give out and I collapse. My stomach rejects everything I've had in this past week, and I vomit for a minute straight.

"Or not," he laughs, bringing my hair behind my neck and holding it there.

"You do that often?" I cough, brushing my mouth and spitting the remnants of my stomach from the corners.

"You get use to it," he says, patting my back.

"I seriously doubt that," I mumble.

When I can finally stand, I brush the dirt off my knees and lift my head, taking in my surroundings. The area is bright, making everything look just a little off color. The grass is a lighter green than I was expecting, and the sky was light pink, like the sun was setting.

"It looks exactly like how the humans describe heaven," I whisper.

"Well, it's not," he says, walking ahead of me and leading me towards a field in front of a castle. "Do me a favor? Don't antagonize Ontia. She's not very keen on having moon daemons here, and she wasn't happy about Hekate recruiting me."

"Why not?" I ask.

"You have to remember that the Moon Goddesses, except for Hekate, were against Ontia. Ontia put a lot on the line to destroy Vilark, and she was punished by the other goddesses for it."

"Punished?" I ask as we reach the end of the field and approach stairs leading to the castle.

"Ontia was never one for staying up here," he explains. "She preferred her freedom. But after Vilark, she was banished from Earth and forced to stay here. She stopped blessing sun daemons; I was one of the last ones."

"How old are you?" I ask.

"26."

"You were born right when Vilark took power?" I ask.

"I was," he says. "Then I lost both of my parents to the battle when I was three."

"I'm sorry," I whisper.

We approach the castle and I see others gather around the door when we walk in. I watch as the others around us widen their eyes at the sight of me, whispering amongst each other.

"Keep walking," Raziel whispers to me.

"Why do they look so shocked?" I ask.

"You're the last moon daemon," he shrugs. "We thought you were all extinct."

I slouch my shoulders down to make myself smaller as Raziel leads me throught the myriad of hallways in the castle. I see some Angels narrow their eyes at my appearance, and I try to hide behind Raziel's back more.

"Remember," he tells me as we approach a door. "Do not antagonize her."

He knocks three times on the door before it cracks open. He pushes the giant wooden door open and leads me into what can only be described as a throne room. There are others standing amongst the sides of the room, who part as we walk in. I look up and see Ontia, sitting on a massive throne, her blonde hair falling around her body. She looks like she's glowing, and her beauty is beyond comparison to anything I've ever seen before. My mouth drops open slightly, and I see Raziel bow slightly in my peripheral, so I do the same.

"My Goddess," Raziel says.

"You are bold, child," Ontia says, looking down at me. "Bringing a Moon Daemon into the Sun Goddesses home."

"Forgive me," Raziel whispers.

"I asked him to," I say, lifting my head.

"You dare speak to me?" Ontia snaps, standing from her throne.

Well s**t.

I look over at Raziel who is silently begging me with his eyes to shut up.

"I do," I say, narrowing my eyes at him before turning my attention back to Ontia. "I asked Raziel to bring me here so that I could speak to you."

"Why would a Moon Daemon want to speak to me?" she asks. "I didn't even know that there was another one of you until Raziel got requested to assist you."

"Hekate blessed me," I tell her, observing her eyes.

"Hekate," she repeats. "She was the only of the Moon Goddesses to agree with me."

"I know," I say. "She told me. I came here to tell you that I agree with you too."

"It's too late for that," Ontia says, sitting back down on the throne.

"It's not," I say, walking closer to her throne. "I learned something about the past, that's going to effect our future."

"Like what?" Ontia asks.

"Vilark," I say slowly, watching her face scrunch in anger. "He's going to return."

She doesn't say anything, she just stares at me. I wait for her to respond, and I see Raziel next to me nervously staring at her as well.

"Get out," she finally says.

"Ontia," I say, holding my hands up.

"My Goddess, please," Raziel says. "I've seen her memories, I know what she speaks about. I would not bring her to you unless I knew it was warranted."

"How would Vilark come back?" she asks.

"It was forseen, by a witch, the day that Vilark rose to power," I tell her. "My mother was the Moon Daemon that he kidnapped."

"That means you are," she starts to say before narrowing her eyes at me and standing up. "You're the child."

"Yes," I whisper. "Technically I am the daughter of Vilark."

"Get. Out." she says again.

"Please, just hear me out," I beg. "Vilark will rise to power again, and I am the only one that can prevent his destiny from happening. I need your help!"

"The next time I tell you to get out of my Kingdom, I will kill you," she warns. "I will prevent Vilark from ever reaching power again, even if that means sacrificing you."

"My Goddess," Raziel says. "The prophecy is already upon us. Esmeray is the only one who can defeat Vilark once and for all."

"Then you would be wise to remove her from my Kingdom before she speaks of anything else," Ontia says, narrowing her eyes at me one last time, before I feel Raziel take my arm and pull me from the throne room.

"Wait," I whisper at him, too afraid to say something to make Ontia mad.

"I'm sorry," he whispers back. "But I can't have you dying here. It's time to go home."