Blue Moon (Book One in The Blue Crystal Trilogy) (34 page)

“Thank you, Viyesha,” I
whispered, “thank you for showing me. Tell me, what are the
markings on the floor? Are they to do with the crystal?”

“They are the coordinates that
unlock the crystal’s power,” she said. “Ancient Egyptian
hieroglyphs aligned with the natural magnetic lines of the earth.
When the crystal is placed within their circle, at the time of the
Blue moon, they act like a nuclear reactor releasing the crystal’s
full power. Its light becomes intense, filling the entire room,
enabling us to bathe in it and absorb its energy.”

She picked up the casket and
placed it in the alcove, then moved the lever back into the upright
position, triggering the wall panel to slide into place. She
replaced the loose brick, then walked back around the room to where
I stood.

“Now do you understand why you
would not survive the crystal at the time of the Blue Moon?” she
asked. “An ordinary full moon would be sufficient, and even that
may be too much for you. That is the gamble we are asking you to
take, and to which Theo is so violently opposed.”

“Yes, I understand,” I said,
thinking of Theo and longing to be with him, imagining occasions in
the future when we could bathe together in the crystal’s light,
feeling its power simultaneously. It was a powerful image and I
quickly pushed it from my mind.

“Surely the crystal needs
protecting, Viyesha,” I said. “Couldn’t anyone come in and take
it?”

“Oh believe me, if anyone other
than us were to touch the crystal, the guardians would know about
it,” she replied. “They’d be here in an instant.”

Viyesha tensed suddenly, her
senses on high alert. “We must go,” she said urgently, “things are
happening.”

“What things?” I asked,
confused. “How do you know?”

“The Lunari are coming,” she
said, closing her eyes. “I feel their presence drawing close. Come,
we must hurry.”

She quickly stepped over the
threshold of the hexagonal room, closed the oak door and turned the
key in the lock. I watched her place it behind the loose brick,
then followed her down the spiral staircase, hardly daring to think
what lay ahead.

31.
Attack II

As we came down the central
stairway, we found Theo, Violet and Joseph in the reception area,
waiting for Viyesha. They looked tense and ill at ease.

Aquila stood in the background,
surly and menacing as ever, and I carefully avoided his gaze.
Pantera stood by his side, her face impassive and impossible to
read.

“They’ve arrived,” said Theo in
a flat voice. “Flew in to Birmingham Airport in a private jet just
minutes ago. We should go to meet them.”

“Agreed,” said Viyesha. “We’ll
take the limousine. We need to talk to them, appraise them of the
situation before they arrive at Hartswell Hall. It’s too bad Leon
isn’t here.”

“Where is he?” I asked.

“He had a business meeting,”
said Viyesha. “He should be back by now, but we can’t delay. I’ll
call him from the car and ask him to meet us at the airport.”

She paused, then quietly gave
her orders.

“Aquila, bring the limousine to
the front door. Joseph and Theo, come with me. Violet, stay on
reception, it’s business as usual for our guests. Pantera, continue
to organise the champagne reception for the Plastic Surgeons.”

She addressed me. “Emily, soon
it will be time for you to meet The Lunari. Please, wait in the
ballroom and don’t come out until I summon you. That is most
important. Do you understand?”

I nodded, not trusting my voice
to speak.

“Let me stay with Emily,
mother,” pleaded Theo. “I can’t leave her alone. She needs me with
her.”

“No, Theo.” Viyesha was firm.
“I need you with me. We have to face The Lunari together. Come, we
have delayed long enough. We must go.”

I hadn’t seen Aquila leave, but
already the limousine was drawing up outside the front door.
Viyesha hurried out, followed by Joseph, who turned and winked at
me as he went. For a split second, Theo held me in his arms,
speaking to me softly. “Do as my mother says, Emily. Go into the
ballroom and wait there. Don’t come out until she tells you.
Whatever happens, remember I love you.”

Then he was gone and the
limousine was speeding down the drive, wheels spinning and gravel
flying.

I turned to Violet.

“This is it,” I said,
shakily.

She smiled. “It’ll be fine,
Emily, don’t worry. My mother’s in control. You have nothing to
fear from The Lunari.”

There was a snort from Pantera,
who still stood at one side of the reception area, observing me
closely.

“You have everything to fear
from The Lunari,” she spat at me. “They can extinguish you like a
flame on a candle if they so wish. Enjoy what remaining time you
have.”

With a look of scorn and
derision, she brushed past me and disappeared down the corridor,
leaving the air churning behind her.

I looked in panic at
Violet.

“Ignore her. Just do as my
mother says, Emily,” she said quickly. “Go into the ballroom, and
stay there until she returns.”

Needing no further prompting, I
let myself in to the ballroom. I shut the double doors firmly
behind me, and leant against the doorframe, trying to calm my
rising panic. Inside, all appeared normal. The large purple sofas
were soft and inviting, sunlight streamed in through the windows
and sunbeams played games on the glass facets of the chandelier.
The pleated drapes, modern art and contemporary colour scheme was
as fashionable and chic as you could wish for, creating an air of
luxury that was a million years away from a world of secret
societies, age-old beings and eternal youth.

I moved quickly to one of the
sofas and sat down, pulling a large cushion on to my lap and
holding it tightly. Instinct told me to get out of Hartswell Hall
while I still could and run to the safety of my home, but I knew
that would only give me temporary respite. I had helped to create
this situation. There had been enough opportunities to walk away,
and every time I’d forged ahead, all too aware of doors closing
irrevocably behind me. Now I had to face the strange world that had
become my reality and hope I was strong enough to survive it.

My cell phone pinged suddenly,
making me jump, and I saw that a text message had come through.
Quickly, I scrolled down. It was from Tash:

Seth & I
worried bout u. Ur mum says u r @ Hall.

On the way.
One 4 all, etc. xxxx

This was not what I needed
right now. I appreciated their concern and they obviously thought
they were helping, but this was a misplaced rescue mission. They
were out of their depth and this could have serious repercussions
if they arrived at the wrong time. More than anything, I didn’t
want to place my friends in danger. If they rushed in just as The
Lunari were arriving, who knows what might happen? Like it or not,
I was on my own and I had to put them off. I quickly texted Tash,
trying to sound as normal as possible:

Thnx 4 ur
concern, all ok. Having quiet afternoon with Theo.

Get my drift?
I need space, dudes. c u Monday. xxx

I pressed SEND, then stared
aghast, as my message refused to send. What was going on? My phone
pinged again and the ‘low battery’ message filled the screen. No, I
screamed silently. Not now. This was the worst possible timing. I
pressed SEND again, but it refused to go. Now I had a real
situation on my hands. All I could hope was that Seth and Tash
turned up before The Lunari arrived and I could persuade them to
go.

I went to the ballroom door,
opened it and looked out. Violet was still there, manning
reception.

“
Violet,” I
whispered.

She looked up, eyes wide with
anxiety. “What?”

“
We have a
situation. Seth and Tash are on their way. I have to head them off
but I can’t get in touch with them. My phone has a flat battery. I
can’t let them arrive at the same time as The Lunari. And I can’t
let Pantera see them. Heaven knows what she would do.”

“
Do you want
to use this phone?” she asked, indicating the reception
system.

“
Yes, good
thinking.” I started to cross the reception area, then froze in my
tracks, as I saw two familiar figures walking up the
driveway.

“
It’s too
late, they’re coming. They must have texted from the driveway. What
can I do?” My mind raced and went blank.

Violet took control.

“
They have no
idea of the danger they’re walking into. We have to get them out of
here before the Lunari arrive. Go back into the ballroom and I’ll
send them into you. Persuade them everything is okay and get them
to leave as quickly as possible, preferably by the French windows.
While you do that, I’ll divert Pantera’s attention.”

“
Okay, good
plan,” I said, trying to calm the panic rising within
me.

I stepped back into the
ballroom, closed the door and went to sit once again on one of the
large sofas.

“
Just the
person I want to see, Emily Morgan,” said a voice from the far side
of the room.

Startled, I turned to find a
glamorous young woman, wearing a body-hugging cat suit that
emphasised her impressive curves, emerging from behind the long
aubergine drapes. I recognised her from television. It was the
glamour model, Kimberley Chartreuse, and she held a gun in her
hand.

“
What are you
doing?” I asked, not understanding how she knew my name and why she
was in the ballroom, let alone pointing a gun at me.

“
That’s a
pretty crystal you’re wearing,” she said, moving
forward.

“
What do you
mean?” I asked.

Instinctively, my hand went to
the crystal around my neck. Even if I tried to summon Theo, I knew
he couldn’t come, and I was all too aware that Seth and Tash could
walk into the ballroom at any moment. This was not good timing.

Kimberley fixed her gaze on me
disparagingly, opening wide her huge kohled eyes with their bat
wing eyelash extensions, and let out a deep sigh of exasperation
through her overly large shiny red lips.

“
Quit the
dippy chick routine, Emily,” she said in exasperation. “Let’s cut
to the chase. I know about the crystals the de Lucis family wear
around their necks… how they have youth-giving properties that have
kept them young for years. What I didn’t realise was that you wore
one as well, which makes my life so much easier. I thought I was
going to have to take you hostage and trade you for a crystal. But
here you are, alone and unprotected, wearing a crystal necklace.
What was the family thinking of? Now, take it off and give it to
me.”

My mind began working overtime.
She obviously didn’t know about the large blue crystal in the Clock
Tower. That was good. But if she took my crystal, I’d be
unprotected, and that was dangerous. On the other hand, I needed to
get rid of her as quickly as possible.

As I considered my options, I
heard voices outside the ballroom door and saw the handle turn.
Quick as a flash, Kimberley slid back behind the curtains, hissing
at me, “Act normal. Remember, I have a gun pointing at you.”

The door opened, and Violet
showed Seth and Tash into the room.

“
Here’s
Emily,” she said in a bright voice. “You see, everything’s fine.
She’s just waiting for Theo.”

“
Hi guys,” I
waved at them, trying to sound normal, willing Violet to see the
panic in my eyes. She didn’t.

“
I’ll go and
see if Pantera needs any help with the conference,” she said in the
same bright voice, and left the ballroom, closing the door behind
her.

“
Are you
alright, Emily?” asked Tash, stepping forward.

“
We were
worried,” explained Seth.

“
Yeah, I’m
fine, I tried to text you, but the battery in my phone was flat…” I
started to say, but a voice from behind the curtain interrupted
me.

“
Shut up,
Emily, and take off your necklace.” Kimberley Chartreuse emerged
from behind the curtain, moving forward and pointing her gun at my
head.

“
OMG, you’re
Kimberley Chartreuse. I’ve seen your reality show on TV,” said Tash
in an awestruck voice.

“
Cool,” said
Seth, eyeing her up and down.

This was clearly not what they
were expecting.

“
Shut it,
both of you,” said Kimberley. “Can’t you see I have a gun pointing
at your friend’s head?”

“
It’s okay,
guys, don’t panic,” I said, sounding more cheerful than I
felt.

“
Who’s
panicking? I’m not,” said Seth.

“
Typical,”
said Tash, rolling her eyes.

“
Cheers,
guys,” I said, disdainfully. “So much for rescuing me.”

“
Why d’you
want the necklace anyway?” Seth addressed Kimberley. “Oh, I get it,
you think the crystal has magical properties or something like
that. ”

“
Be quiet,
all of you. Take off the necklace, Emily, and give it to me,”
demanded Kimberley.

“
I can’t,” I
said truthfully.

“
I don’t
think you understand how serious I am, Emily,” said Kimberley. “I
want that crystal.”

“
No, I mean,
really I can’t. It has no clasp. The chain is sealed around my
neck. See?” I held up my hair to show her.

Kimberley laughed. “Removing a
necklace is simple when you come prepared.”

As she spoke, she took a small
pair of stainless steel wire cutters from her pocket and cut
through the silver chain. My necklace fell into her open palm and
she wrapped her fingers around it. Immediately, I felt depleted and
empty, and an intense weariness filled my being. In the same split
second, Kimberley shrieked and threw down the crystal.