The Tasks of the Moon Goddess

Chapter 21

Author's note: The photo is Cullum and Abigail.

Cullum arrived around noon with a very pretty, very pregnant girlfriend. Her name was Abigail. She was five foot six with long blonde hair, an upturned nose, wide mouth and beautiful gray eyes. She seems like a sweet girl.

"Hello mother, father and Joyana. I would like you to meet my girlfriend Abigail," Cullum said. We are to be married next week and I hope you will all be in attendance."

"Nothing fancy," Abigail said. "We just want it done and over with before the baby comes."

"Oh, how come you didn't tell us," my mother said. " We could have done something for you. We still can."

"I was sort of waiting for the right moment, but it never came," Cullum said. "So here we are. Joyana, did you like my present?"

"I'm sorry, Cullum. I didn't even open any presents because of... Well you know," I said.

"What? I got you something very special," he said.

"What was it?" I asked.

"It was a music box. Like the one I broke when we were children," he said.

"That's so sweet of you," I said. "I'll find it and open it as soon as I return to the Shadow Moon pack."

"I am a thoughtful guy," he said. "Abigail, I would like to formally introduce you to my parents and my little sister."

Abigail strolled forward and shook my father's hand. My mother pulled her in for a hug and I did the same.

"We're going to be family," my mother said. "In this family, we hug."

Abigail, as it turns out, grew up in the Southwest. She was the only child of a family of wasps so she wasn't used to affection. She met Cullum in Las Vegas on a trip she took for work. Abigail was a librarian. Apparently they had conferences all around the nation.

That gave me an idea. I've never searched our library for information and I know we have personal diaries from past Kings and Queens. Hopefully, someone will have mentioned a visit from the Moon Goddess. I spent the rest of the afternoon scouring diaries in the library. Most of the ones I searched had nothing to do with their youth. Until I found one. It was from 150 years ago.

Viktor, I think I found something.

What is it?

It's a diary from one of my ancestors.

What's it say?

"The moon goddess visited me again last night, this time with a dire warning. The first time she came was in a dream, but this time she was in person."

I can't read the rest.

What do you mean you can't read the rest of it?

The page has deteriorated too much.

"What a wonderful library," Abigail said, stepping into the room. What's that you have there?

Who's that?

My brother's fiance. Let me get back to you.

"It's a personal diary for my ancestor, but I can't read it," I said. "The page is ruined."

"All you need is a scanner and you can probably bring out the rest of the page," she said. "Try different contrasts."