The Blue Moon by Madeline Gottlieb (top ten books to read txt) 📕

her, she disappeared. Zach sighed and stared at the markings on his arms, running his hands over them as he walked towards Eiko. Her black hair shined in the moonlight and the silver in her blue eyes stood out more.

"I know the questions you want to ask, Zach, but I won't give you the answers." She spoke before Zach could even take another step and he sighed as she spoke again. "There is no reason to know the answers you seek, they will not help you with what comes." She stood up and crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him.

"But Eiko, I need to know. Where is your family? Why did you come here? What is the danger?" Zach closed the gap between us and placed his hands on her shoulders. "You need to tell me, please!"

Her eyes stared into his, the silver in them seeming to get lighter with every passing second. Her soft lips were turned in a frown, and there were emotions swimming in her eyes. Zach dropped his hands to his side and groaned as she broke eye contact and stared at the ground. Instead of her white dress, she was wearing a strapless black one that fell around her feet. She took a step back and the black dress seemed to flow behind her.

"I will tell you this, Zachary Hunter. You and I, we can never be together. It is forbidden, in so many ways. Our emotions mustn't get in the way of what's about to happen. You are only here to protect me, nothing more."

A single tear fell from her eyes and she closed the gap once more, pressing her lips against his. Instead of the one second peck, this one was full of hunger; she needed it. Her hands found his hair and got twisted in it, pulling him closer, her hunger for more taking over. Almost too soon it seemed to be over, but she grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the small pond.

She kneeled down beside it and stared at the water as the fish swam near the bottom, searching for answers like Zach was. "Come here in reality, Zach, and you shall find the answers you seek. But once you find them, do not think badly of me." She looked up at him. "If our feelings get in the way of you protecting me, everything will be lost." Eiko stood, grabbing her dress with one hand, and walked away from him, and that's when Zach woke up.
--

Eiko was still asleep and it made Zach wonder if she knew what happened in the dreams. Sitting up, another burning sensation took over him and he groaned. Before he could do anything, it was over and Zach was able to breathe again. He jumped out of bed and ran into the bathroom, eager to know where it was now. As he stared into the mirror, Zach didn't expect what he saw.

"What is it?" Eiko was leaning against the door frame, her hair tangled and messy, but her eyes bright. Zach turned towards her and pointed to the new 'tattoo' that went across his chest, below his collar bones. Her eyes widened for a single moment and then she smiled. "It is true, Zachary Hunter."

He turned back towards the mirror and stared at it, thankful that he'd taken French for two years. The new marking read 'Guerrier de la Lumiére'. Zach continued to stare at it, wondering what he'd done to deserve this new marking, and title. Eiko smiled and walked towards him, tracing her fingers over the words. "The prophecy has at last come true. You are the Warrior of Light."

Zach's eyes fell down to her, a confused look on his face. "Eiko, do you remember the dream last night?"

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, she jerked away from him, her wall back up and a guarded expression on her face. "Of course I do," she hissed, her eyes narrowed. She was angry, that much Zach could tell, and she looked like a lion ready to pounce at any moment. "I need to go. There are things I must attend to that don't need a silly human like you."

She turned on her heels and was out of the bathroom and was already changing when Zach got out there. "Eiko, don't leave. It's not safe out there for you."

Her eyes were slits almost as she glared at him. "It is not safe for me here either, Zach. In case you haven't noticed, the only danger is when the sun sets and the moon rises. Just be ready for the blue moon; that is when the danger truly arrives."

Seeming satisfied with what she said, she walked out of his front door, leaving Zach there utterly confused. "You know, you should probably go after her." Cara's voice came from behind him and he faced her. "She doesn't know how to handle things on her own just yet. Her powers are beyond her knowledge, and you balance her out." Her eyes were dim and she had bags under her eyes. When she realized that he'd noticed, she sighed. "I've been praying to the Gods, I'm not sure we'll make it through the blue moon if Eiko keeps this up."

"What happens on the blue moon?" Zach asked, even though he knew asking was a waste of time.

"Go to the pond and ask the Gods, Zachary Hunter. There you will find the answers you seek. But listen well boy; if the answers given to you aren't the ones you seek, you are still the Guerrier de la Lumiére, so you must stay by her, no matter the cost. Understand?"

Zach kneeled and placed his right arm behind his back and his left on the ground, his dark brown eyes on the floor. "Of course," Instantly confused by what he'd just done, Zach stood up and stared at her.

A simple smile crossed her face and tears began to fall from her beautiful eyes as she looked at him. "The true Guerrier de la Lumiére," she said, "finally allowed rest in reality. The prophecy has finally become true, after hundreds of years." The tears stopped and she stepped forward. "Zachary Hunter, Guerrier de la Lumiére, you will end the war and allow light to once again shine as brightly as it once did."

One more tear fell and she disappeared as quickly as she'd appeared. Zach stood there, soaking up what she'd said about prophecies and light. Finally bringing himself out of the trance, he ran into his room and stripped, quickly putting on skinny jeans and a random t-shirt, followed by socks and his vans, before making his way outside.

The sun was high in the sky, only some clouds swimming across the sky. Zach followed the trail to the pond that he saw so often in his dreams. It seemed that the line the divided reality and dreams was thinning quickly, and he didn't know why. The bright light bounced off the water in the pond and onto a giant stone with ancient looking writing on it.

Zach kneeled in front of the pond and closed his eyes, praying to the Gods for answers to the questions that didn't leave his head.

"Zachary Hunter, it is nice to finally see you face to face." He looked up and gasped. In front of the giant stone, hovering directly above the glistening water, was a ghostly figure, that wore a long white dress similar to the one Eiko wore when he'd first met her. "Don't look so surprised, warrior. You seek answers, do you not?"

"I do," He answered, kneeling respectfully, although he didn't know why he did. After all, he was talking to a ghost.

The ghost in front of him seemed to become human, finally touching the water with non-transparent feet. As she became actually flesh and bone, she stepped out of the water and stood beside Zach. "Stand, warrior."He did as she said and took a long look at her. Her black hair fell to her knees almost and her silver eyes shined in the sunlight. It took a moment, but he finally realized who she looked like. "Yes, I am Eiko's mother, Desdemona."

"But you're..." Zach trailed off, not fully understanding what was going on.

She sighed and nodded. "I shall tell you the whole story, warrior, but in pieces and time, that I promise."

He nodded as well, running his hand through his hair that was everywhere. "Can I at least know where Eiko came from? Her past and whatnot?"

Her mother smiled. "You truly care for someone you barely know. She doesn't trust anyone; it takes years to tell them her name even. But I can tell she cares for you the same way you care for her, but it scares her to death to admit it." She looked at him for a moment and nodded. "I will tell you of her past today, but you shall not know of the danger until much later, warrior."

"I understand, Desdemona."

Eiko's mother smiled again and sat down, allowing her feet to rest in the water. "Well, where to begin, ah, I know. Eiko was born hundreds of years ago, like the true warrior of light, at midnight exactly. Born into a royal family was difficult for her, especially with the war going on. We'd lost all the warriors of light, and all hope seemed lost, so we sent Eiko to this time period, to find him. The only problem was that we didn't know the war would still be going on here. We'd hoped to find the warrior and bring him back to our time period. When she found you, she returned to us, only to come home to everything she once knew in ashes, her home, the small city she'd grown up in, her family and friends, gone. So she came back here. You were chosen by the Gods to stop the war and protect the last living member of the Valetor Royal family."

She paused and touched the water with one finger, then pulled away, the water swirling upwards, following her finger. "She has powers beyond her imagine that she cannot control just yet. The only thing you can do to help her is show her you don't love her. The emotions between you two cannot get in the way of anything now. Promise me, warrior, that you will tell her you don't love her and that you will not allow your emotions to get in the way."

Zach swallowed and took a deep breath. Desdemona was a very intimidating woman, but it was only because she was a ghost, or something near it. He wasn't sure of why his emotions would get in the way, and he didn't want to make the promise, let alone think about not loving someone he cared for deeply. But under Desdemona's gaze, Zach knew it was better to obey than to not, so he kneeled once more. "I promise, your Highness."

Her hand touched his shoulder and it sent bolts of electricity through his body and Zach could feel his strength draining slowly. His eyes found her and she was smiling sadly, like what was she was doing was hurting her too, and he could feel himself heading towards slumber. But the last thing he heard was, "Good luck, Guerrier de la Lumiére."

The Valetor Family

Beeping noises drowned out his thoughts and he could hear