The Blue Moon, Madeline Gottlieb [the beginning after the end read novel TXT] 📗

know is that you know something about what is going on with Eiko.”

Christian nodded. “Yeah, you’re her Warrior of Light, and we’re your Warriors.” He said, kneeling down with John and placing their fists over their hearts.

As they stood up again, Zach stared at John. “You knew this whole time. Even when I told you about the dreams, you knew.”

“Those weren’t dreams, Zachary.” John mumbled. “Those were memories.”

Christian nodded. “Yeah, you and Eiko have been alive for hundreds of years, never changing appearance. And in all your lives, you’ve died a different way.”

Zach sat down, trying not to blow up with all this that he was learning. “But why isn’t Eiko here in this time period?”

John let out a breath and scratched his head. “We're not in a different time period, Zach, but a different realm."

Zach covered his face with his hands, trying to get everything straight. “So, I used magic to get myself into a whole different realm?”

Christian and John nodded. “Basically, man.”

They shrugged and didn’t know what to say after that and Zach didn’t blame them; he was still trying to take in everything. “So wait, do you two have any markings like I do?”

In sync, the two lifted their shirts and in the same place Zach had my marking, they had ‘Protecteurs de la Lumière

’ on their chests. “So wait, I’m the Warrior of Light, and you two are the ‘Protectors of Light?”

“You protect the Royal family, and we protect you.” Christian said, John nodding in agreement. “There were never Protectors of Light until you were the last Warrior. We’re almost 100, while you’re only 17 in this life. We’ve trained all this time because we knew there would only be one more Warrior left, and that someone would have to protect him.”

“But… how were you in grade school with me?”

John smiled. “Cool thing, wizard magic.” Christian smiled as well.

Zach stood up and looked at both of them, seeing them in a whole different way now. “Do you two know how a Warrior figures out how to use his powers?”

Christian nodded, running his fingers through his short brown hair. “Yeah, it’s all based on emotions and how you use them.”

“It’s hard to master, Zach, it took us 20 years.” John added, letting out a sigh.

Zach shrugged. “I don’t have 20 years. I have now, and that’s all I need. Will you two help me?”

Christian and John shared this look and then kneeled down and placed their fist over their heart. “Notre devoir est de vous protéger jusqu'à ce que nous tombons.

” They said, power echoing in their voices. When they stood back up, John smiled and repeated it in English. “Our duty is to protect you until we fall.”

A Trip to the Grave

After the long conversation at the skate park, Christian, John, and Zach all went back to Zach's place and decided it’d be a great idea to rest up. Of course, Zach was hoping for a different kind of dream, one with Eiko, but for once since he’d turned 17, he had a normal dream. But while Zach slept, Christian and John stayed up and spoke quietly.

"What do you think will happen if the Princess changes sides?" Christian's voice was quiet and his orange eyes sparkled in the light.

John sighed. "Everyone in Aulinaber has heard about the prophecy concerning the Princess. If it does happen..." he paused and shook his head, "then we'll have no choice but to choose sides once and for all."

"What if there are no sides to choose?" Christian raised his eyebrows. "What if there's something bigger here, something about the crystal that we haven't been told?"

"Then..." John turned his gaze to Zach, who was sleeping peacefully, "everyone will make a sacrifice, even if it means taking him from his family here."

With that, the two boys got quiet and soon they joined Zach in peaceful slumber.
--

The three boys had slept until noon and when then woke up, the first thing Christian wanted to do was train Zach to fight, with a sword. Now Zach could’ve understood the whole sword concept if he wasn’t in this realm. “Christian, this is crazy.”

Christian simply smiled and twirled the blade around in his hand. “Be ready, Zach. This is a real sword.”

Sighing, Zach got into the stance Christian showed him and got ready to defend himself. Glancing at John, Zach realized he was smirking. “Well, Zach, it seems we might finally beat you at something.”

Zach flicked him off and returned his gaze to Christian, who was still twirling the blade. “Are you ready?”

Once Zach nodded, Christian had come at him, thrusting the sword in every direction, with Zach blocking it. Now from Zach's view, fighting with a sword soon became easier, although Christian and John knew the secret behind his fighting skills. Christian would jab his sword every direction and Zach would try to block it.

Anytime he missed, Christian hit him with the flat side of the sword, and that stung like a bitch. But as the two continued, Zach managed to learn to block, and he felt proud of himself.

After a few hours of learning to block, they finally decided to rest and talk about fighting. “It’s seems you aren’t that bad,” Christian said, chugging down some water, “which is good. In order to use a sword, you must have strength and agility,” He looked Zach up and down for a moment, “which you have.”

John nodded in agreement. “It’s also important to never let your guard down, no matter what.”

Zach chugged the bottle of water he had and nodded, looking up at the sun. “Eiko’s been gone for almost a day, and there’s no sign of Cara.”

Christian laughed. “Eiko can handle herself when she’s in her realm, trust me. And as for Cara, I’ve never seen someone so hot.”

“You’re such a whore,” John muttered, rolling his eyes. The sun was high and was shining down on the three.

Standing up, Zach pulled his shirt over his head and threw it onto a chair, stretching his arms. He picked up the sword Christian had given him and twirled it around like Christian had, smiling to himself. “Seems like the power of the Warrior is true; it’s said that when a Warrior is needed the most, they know how to do anything even if they’ve never touched it or done it.”

John nodded. “Great, it is.”

Zach smiled and looked around. His small house seemed to stand out even more now and he could finally see the ring of shimmering Light that surrounded the house. Looking over the fence to his left, he stared at the grave site, remembering that Chris was buried over there. “Was Chris a Protector too?” Zach wondered out loud.

From the corner of his eye, he saw John give Christian a sad look, who then nodded. “He was; the best we had. He learned quicker than we did and was always going on about he’d protect you to the death, no hesitation.”

“And that’s what he did,” John finished, frowning. His eyes landed on the grave site as well. “None of us thought he’d be the first to die.”

As Christian nodded, there was a flash and Cara was standing in front of them. She was still in the armor and her red locks hung around her shoulders, the bruises on her face fading. She bowed and placed her fist over her heart. “The magic ones are gone for now. Eiko is safe.” Zach let out a sigh of relief and she stood up. “But she will be staying in Aulinaber for the next few days to ensure safety.”

Christian smiled and let out a small nod. “That is a good idea. So does that mean you will be staying here with us?” The crooked smile appeared on his face and he leaned closer, winking at her.

She simply rolled her eyes. “No, but someone else will.” Her eyes found Zach's. “But Zachary must get to him and convince him to return to us.”

“What do you mean ‘return to us’?” John asked, straightening up.

Cara’s ice blue eyes were swimming with emotions and she cleared her throat. “Zach must go see Chris and convince him, otherwise we are doomed.”

“Chris!” The three boys yelled in sync, their eyes wide.

She nodded. “You don’t have much time, Zach. You must go now.” She took a breath. “In order to reach Chris, you must use your power. Only a Warrior can return to the dead to life.”

She turned to look at Christian and John. “You two must go with him and make sure nothing interrupts this, or he may get stuck wherever he is as well.” Cara glanced back at Zach. “Be safe, Warrior. We need you.”

He nodded and turned to look at John and Christian as Cara spoke. “Do those two have a thing?”

John laughed. “They have for almost 80 years. It’s amazing, really.”

Nodding, Zach looked back at the two in time to see Christian kiss her and smile. He stepped back and she disappeared in a flash, leaving the three of them alone. At once, Christian was back to his Protector self. “We need to go now, like Cara said.”

Zach nodded. “Well, let’s jump the fence.”

John rolled his eyes and muttered, “Meet you there,” to Christian and grabbed Zach's arm before they disappeared. When the two reappeared, they were standing directly in the middle of the graveyard, right in front of Chris’ grave.

Christian appeared in the next second and smiled. “Cool, huh?”

Nodding, Zach sat down in front of Chris’ grave and stared at the stone.

Chris Harrison

An amazing brother, friend, and son.

July 14, 1994 – May 16, 2011

The words on the stone stared back at Zach and he wanted to hit something for taking Chris away from him. Christian placed his hand on Zach's shoulder and kneeled down next to him. “Are you ready, Zach?” When Zach nodded, Christian smiled. “Then clear your mind and only think of Chris, it’s the only way to get to him.”

Zach stared at the grave and wondered how he was supposed to clear his mind and think of only Chris. It was harder than it sounded, that was for sure. Zach heard Christian and John talking, but it seemed that with every word they were sounding more distant. A bright flash caused Zach to close his eyes and at once he felt lighter than a feather. Opening his eyes, Zach realized he was no longer in the graveyard, but in a white room with only a window. He blinked and standing in front of the window was Chris.

Chris looked the same as he did months ago. His short red hair was messy like his brother’s, John, and his green eyes were dim, but had a small light in them. When Zach looked him up and down, he realized Chris didn’t have the wounds from when he died. “C-Chris?” He mumbled, taking a few steps closer to him.

Chris looked over at Zach, a confused look crossed his face.