Luna Catalina (ENG)

Chapter 19

When I felt my feet touch solid ground again, I opened my eyes. We were in what looked like a cave. It was quite dark, as there was no natural lighting. The only light in the room came from small blue fires floating in the air. Thanks to these fires I could see that we were in what looked like a corridor. Ozias let go of my hand and started walking. I followed him without question, until the corridor widened, leading to a small kitchen, also lit by floating blue fires. With a gesture from Ozias, the light given off by the fires grew brighter. 

Sure enough, from the stone walls, I confirmed that we must be in a cave. It was cold and damp. The kitchen was small and not very clean or tidy. There was a wooden table in the center, with four chairs. A couple of worktops, an oven, a fridge and little else.

-“Go take a shower before you get mud all over my house," Ozias said to me. "Follow me." 

We left the kitchen and passed through a small living room. All the walls were covered with books. There were a couple of single armchairs and a low table, also filled with books. At the back of the room was a desk, with a chair and a lamp. The table was littered with what, from a distance, looked like scrolls. Ozias kept walking, not stopping in the room. We entered a narrow corridor. At the end of the corridor, there were two doors. Ozias opened the one on the right and stepped aside, inviting me in. 

-“This will be your room," Ozias said, "You'll find towels and clean clothes in the wardrobe.”

Without another word he left. I studied my new room. It was quite small. It had only a single bed, a wardrobe and a small single armchair, just like the ones in the living room. I opened the wardrobe to get some clean clothes. Perfectly folded were five white T-shirts and five pairs of jeans. Ozias hadn't wasted much time picking out my clothes. However, to my surprise, everything was in my size. It took me a long time to shower, as I had mud on absolutely every corner of my body. I took advantage of the shower to think about the situation I was in. 

I didn't know where the cave was located. Besides, it didn't seem easy to escape from there, considering that there was only one entrance and exit, without any windows. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the entrance was protected by magic. We had teleported, so we had left no trace that could help Kayden, or my brothers find me. The situation was anything but positive. It was true that Ozias hadn't tried to touch me or hurt me, which gave me some peace of mind, but I mustn't let my guard down. 

When I was clean and dressed, I decided to go out and look for Ozias. I found him sitting at the desk in the living room, writing intently on one of the scrolls. Ozias's huge, muscular body didn't fit in at all in that small room full of books and scrolls. It was a funny contrast. Ozias lifted his head from the scroll and looked at me. 

-“Is something wrong?" he asked.

-“It doesn't suit you to be a scholar," I replied, not holding back.

He stood up abruptly, as if he had just remembered something, and snapped his fingers. My eyes widened like saucers. The gigantic, muscular Ozias had disappeared, giving way to an older gentleman, very short in stature. His hair was very long, grey, and pulled back in a braid. He wore a purple robe with gold stars embroidered on it. His skin was very wrinkled, he had an aquiline nose, and his eyes were very small, hazel. He picked up a pair of small, round glasses and put them on. He looked at least a hundred years old.

-“Impressive," I said, folding my arms. 

-“People get more impressed with muscles than with brains.” He replied with a shrug. 

-“Are you going to explain what I'm doing here?" I asked. 

-“Straight to the point, I like it." He said as he walked over to one of the chairs and waved to the other. –“I'm sorry we had to meet this way, but it's the only option I had," I looked at him, not understanding what he meant, "I tried to contact your brothers first. I told them I had to talk to you, and that it was a life-or-death situation. They thought I was an old crackpot and ignored me. Then I tried to talk to Alpha Kayden, but he thought I was a stalker, and threatened to kill me if I showed up on his pack."- I nodded, I could perfectly imagine both situations happening-"Alpha Kayden has you under constant surveillance. So, I had no choice but to kidnap your mate's sister and wait for you to come looking for her."

-“Surely that was the only option," I said wryly. “And the rogue attacks, why?”

-“That's not my doing," Ozias replied, "I simply took advantage of the confusion of the attacks to implement my plan.”

-“And what did you have to tell me that was so important that you had to kidnap me?" I asked, looking at him seriously.  

-“Step by step," he said, "You need all the pieces of the story in order to understand why you are such an important part of what is going to happen. The first thing you need to know is who I am. As you know my name is Ozias and I am a wizard. In the wizarding world there are two Orders: The Order of Hamelot and The Order of Hussian. The Order of Hamelot is composed of wizards who are known as light wizards, while the Order of Hussian is composed of dark wizards, known as such because of their love of the dark arts, dark magic. Each Order is led by a person known as The Sorcerer. Under him and at his command are all the wizards of his Order. The Sorcerer is always the most powerful wizard in the Order, and the position can be contested by anyone who believes they can defeat the Sorcerer. In this way, The Sorcerer is guaranteed to always be the most powerful wizard in the Order. I, Ozias, am The Sorcerer of the Order of Hamelot."

He smiled proudly at me and I looked at him in surprise. It was surprising that such a peculiar little man, living in a small dark cave, was The Sorcerer of one of the two existing Orders of wizards. The most powerful wizard of his Order. Probably what this man really is is a poor, delusional old man.

-“How old are you?" I asked without thinking, immediately regretting my rude words. 

-“547 years old," he said, still smiling. 

The more I looked at him the less I could believe that Ozias was The Sorcerer of Hamelot. He was a tender little grandfather, over 500 years old, who conveyed gentleness and innocence. 

-“I'm sorry, but I find it hard to believe everything you're telling me," I said sincerely. 

-“My dear, don't be carried away by appearances. I remind you that today they have played a trick on you." He said, staring at me with his small hazel eyes. 

-“If you are The Sorcerer of Hamelot, how come you live here? where are your wizards? don't you have a big palace or something?" I asked.

-“It is not necessary to have great possessions to be a Sorcerer. The important thing is to have great knowledge. I gave up my palace and my servants. I don't need any of that. All I need are my books, and, as you can see, I am well served here." He said, looking proudly at his bookshelves full of books. –“Besides, I can have any of my wizards appear here immediately if I so desire."

I nodded, studying him more closely. The stars of his purple robe were embroidered with a very fine gold thread, the bottom was embroidered with letters I had never seen before, and around his neck hung a huge round pendant, decorated with inscriptions made from the same letters used on the robe. 

-“And what does the Sorcerer of Hamelot need from a simple she-wolf?" I asked curiously. 

-“You know, Catalina, it's certainly curious how fate plays with some people's lives," he commented, leaning back on the sofa. –“It's not just one reason why you're here today, but several. Firstly, you are not just a she-wolf, you are the Luna of the most powerful pack in America, Blood Moon. Secondly, you are here because you are a direct descendant of Azalea, one of the most powerful witches ever. And thirdly, you are here because you are the niece of Alejandro Alix."

- "I have not yet been named Luna, and I don't know who Azalea is. Also, I haven't had contact with my uncle for over ten years. I don't think I am the person you are looking for."- I said getting up to leave. With a gesture from Ozias, a huge force made me sit back down. 

-“Don't be impatient, my dear. You have a vital part to play in this whole story, and it is vitally important that you understand it properly." He said, leaning back towards me. –“Do you know where the Blood Moon pack gets its name from?”

I shook my head. Usually, packs were named after some feature of their territory or in honor of one of the forms of the moon, where our Goddess resides. 

- "The pack is named after a magical phenomenon that happens in that territory every 100 years.”- Ozias began to explain. –“Because of the way the stars are aligned, the moon turns a blood red color, bathing the whole territory in its red light. It is a unique phenomenon. But the Blood Moon does not only bring with it a magnificent visual spectacle, but it also generates the most magical night of the century. The levels of magic in the territory increase a hundredfold, causing magical creatures, such as wizards, witches, werewolves, fairies, vampires, etc., to see their powers increase abysmally. That night, all magical creatures are able to do things they couldn't do on a normal day."

-“Why isn't Blood Moon famous for this phenomenon? I've never heard of such a thing before." I asked him, curious as I was. 

"Phenomena like this tend to attract greedy people.” He spoke. -“A number of tragedies have occurred as a result of this phenomenon. So, it was decided to start hiding it from the population, to turn it into a legend. Nowadays, people think that the effects of the Blood Moon are not real. The only magical creatures that live in your territory are werewolves. As you sleep at night, which is when the Blood Moon happens, very few are aware of what is happening, unaware of its increased power. And those who do find out do not tell, for fear of being treated as mad."

-“When is the next Bleeding Moon?" I asked, beginning to understand where this was going. 

-“Five weeks from now," Ozias replied, dropping his smile and turning serious. –“The Blood Moon phenomenon has been hidden from many people, but not from everyone. There are powerful and overly ambitious people who know that it is going to happen in five weeks and plan to take advantage of it to carry out their plans."

-"Who?" I asked with a frown.

-“My brother, Gideon, Sorcerer of the Hussian Order, and your uncle Alejandro," he replied. 

My eyes widened like saucers and my mouth opened in a big O. What was my uncle Alejandro doing in all this? I thought he was in Spain, leading the pack he had taken from my parents. Was he here? Was he near Blood Moon? My heart began to pound at the thought of this cretin being anywhere near Kayden, Lily, my brothers, or any of the people I cared about. 

-“How could my Uncle Alejandro possibly know about the Blood Moon pack? I don't think he even knows where California is." I asked, anxious to know the answer. 

-“I'm afraid that's Gideon's fault," Ozias replied. “For centuries, Gideon has had an ambitious plan. For hundreds of years, he has been searching for a way to carry it out. It was only recently that he discovered that the Blood Moon was not just a legend, but real, and he decided to put his plan into action. He needs you to be part of his plan, so he looked for someone who hated you enough to join him. That's how he found your Uncle Alejandro, who agreed to be part of Gideon's plan without hesitation."

-“What is that plan?" I asked, not sure I really wanted to know. 

-“Gideon has always been passionate about dark magic and has always dreamed of becoming the most powerful wizard in history," Ozias said. “When he became the Sorcerer of the Order of Hussian, he realized he wanted more power. He decided he wanted to rule over all the magical creatures in the world. Something like a King of the magical world. Thanks to the book of an ancient and powerful wizard, he discovered that the souls of different creatures can merge, creating hybrids. That is, you can take a werewolf and insert the soul of a vampire into it, so that without the need for either of its parents to be a vampire, it becomes a hybrid."

"Gideon is aware that existing magical creatures would only obey someone of their own race. They would never consider a wizard as their king. Therefore, he decided to insert the soul of every magical creature in existence into his soul. Never before has a spell of this magnitude been cast, and never before has the soul of more than two different creatures been put into one person. He has been experimenting for years, to ensure that when he casts the spell on himself, it will be a success. He has been kidnapping hybrid people for years, to try to put more souls into their bodies. It's a way of shortening the process, since a hybrid already has two different souls naturally bonded together.”

I could tell I was as white as wax. I couldn't believe everything Ozias was telling me. It was absolutely crazy. Gideon had to be stopped at all costs.

-“What's my uncle's role in all this?" I asked curiously. 

-“Your uncle has become Gideon's personal hitman," Ozias replied, "Gideon has promised your uncle to make him his right-hand man when he rules over every magical creature in existence. In return, your uncle is in charge of carrying out the attacks to get hybrids to experiment on, he has helped to carry out the experiments and is leading the plan to get you. Thanks to him, neither Gideon nor his wizards got their hands dirty."

-“Why do they want me, and is it to do with this Azalea you mentioned earlier?”

-“Do you know the different types of witches?" he asked. I shook my head, embarrassed at how little I knew about other magical creatures. –“It's quite complicated and not entirely relevant right now. All you need to know is that there are different families of witches. Each family has different powers. However, there was one family of witches that accumulated the powers of all the other families. It was a powerful family, but it died out. All the witches and wizards were afraid of them and envied them, so they were killed, one by one. The last witch belonging to that family was Azalea. For a witch to pass on all her powers to her daughters, her mate must be a wizard. Azalea's mate, however, was a werewolf. The bond between them was so powerful, Azalea could not resist it, and she decided she would rather be with her mate than ensure that her daughters could inherit her powers."

"Thus, Azalea became the last witch capable of possessing and wielding all varieties of powers in existence. But this is not to say that her daughters and descendants inherited none of her powers. Each and every one of her descendants carries a piece of Azalea's soul and some of her powers. You, Catalina, are Azalea's only living female descendant. Gideon wants that piece of your soul more than anything else, to incorporate it into his own. Your uncle has been manipulating packs for over a year to declare war on Blood Moon and paying rogues to attack Blood Moon, with the aim of weakening the pack and having great allies, to have an advantage when the times to get you comes". 

I felt like throwing up and felt myself getting dizzy. Everything Ozias had told me was too much to process in such a short time. I consider myself a strong, brave and fighting person, capable of facing anything. But from there to having become a key player in the plan of a powerful mad wizard, joined by my petty uncle, was a step. I wasn't even sure I could do anything about it. What could I do against Gideon?

-“I understand it's a lot of information all at once," Ozias said, resting his hand on my shoulder and squeezing it affectionately. –“But your role is crucial in all of this. You are the Luna of the most powerful pack that has ever existed, your mate is the most powerful and feared Alpha in living memory, and you are Azalea's heir, you have her powers. Moreover, you have a power of your own that I have rarely seen before. And I assure you, in all my years of life, I have met many people."

-"That's not true, I don't have any kind of power, I never have." I exclaimed in frustration.

-“You think you don't have them because you don't know how to use them yet," Ozias replied, standing up. –“Obviously, your powers are not like those of a normal witch, but whatever powers you do have, they will be strong and powerful. However, time is against us. I will only have time to teach you how to defend yourself against Gideon's magic and to teach you the spell that will help counter Gideon's when the time comes. In the future, I will teach you how to use the rest."

-“So, is it up to me alone to stop all this from happening?" I asked.

-“Indeed, Catalina. You are our only hope. But I promise you that you will not do it alone. I will be by your side every step of the way. And I'm sure you'll get more people to support you," Ozias replied.