Moonlight Ridge

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To her surprise and delight, Rem was on the farm to greet her. The other dogs had been killed and she could feel that Rem mourned for them. She tried to cheer him up by letting him tag along to all the chores and then into the house with her. She even let him eat eggs and sausage with her for breakfast.

But her mind had been nagging her. She had been finding things to keep busy with but it was past time to open the trunk.

She had worked up the courage to wedge out the floorboard and now stared at the small trunk. She took a steadying breath and pulled the trunk out. The trunk was a dark brown and dusty. She wiped it off with her sleeve and noticed that it didn't have a lock. She tried to open it but it wouldn't budge. Somehow it was staying closed. She bit her lip in thought and inspected it closer. There was writing etched into it. One of her eyebrows lifted as she tried to read it.

" 'What blood has made, only blood can destroy' " She read aloud.

She frowned at the riddle and sat thinking a moment. Did this mean that this trunk was somehow made from blood? An idea grabbed hold in her mind and she ran into her kitchen. She got her sharpest knife and brought it with her into her room. She knelt down and held the knife over her left index finger. She rolled her eyes at her own hesitation. This just all seemed like some weird voodoo stuff. She brought the knife to her finger and poked hard enough to bring a bead of blood out. She smeared her finger over where the lock should have been.

The trunk creaked and rattled a bit then made a popping sound. She stared at the trunk for a moment then edged closer. Her fingers brushed against the front of it. She moved her hand away in shock. It was humming. Her brows furrowed in concentration as she lowered her hand to open the trunk. It opened easily. She looked inside eagerly. There, nestled inside was a small book. It wasn't what she expected. She'd hoped that there'd be books or even a bigger book than what was there. She pursed her lips and grabbed the book. She brought the book closer to her face. Her heart was pounding. She felt nervous and anxious about what was inside.

Mentally, she shook herself out of it and looked closer at the book. It was a slender book with a beautiful hard cover. The cover was mahogany with designs etched into it. The designs were intricate and almost seemed to be a language. There was no title that she could see. She studied the cover a few more moments then opened it cautiously. Her eyes immediately were drawn to beautiful handwriting. Even more surprising was that it was in English. She thought for sure it would be in another language. Her eyes devoured the words.

'If you are reading this, then you have the gift. A gift that has been protected by many forefathers before you. However fortunate or unfortunate the situation matters not. What matters now is that you protect this gift, including by death if need be. Perhaps you are wondering what this gift is, dear reader. Do not fret, I shall enlighten you. Allow me to provide the story. Long ago, there was two parallel realms. That of beasts and magic called Athrea and that of non magic called Earth. Both realms could cross to the other through portals or with a simple enough spell. There was an uneasy truce between Earth and Athrea, but the bloodless ones threatened the balance with war. They wanted both realms. The oldest of the magical beings, the elves, banded together to close all portals for good. It was a hard decision, mind you; because everyone had friends, family and lovers on both sides. But it had to be done and time was of the essence. All creatures that were on the human side were told through visions that Athrea was to be closed off. Many rushed back home but some had made their home in the human realm. Those brave souls were left behind. The blood drinkers were unaware of the closure and were left on Earth. Athrea and Earth were safe. Eventually the humans forgot all about Athrea. Lost in a dream or perhaps they thought they had made it up. Now, let us go back to the elves and why our blood line has this gift. The elves were considered to be most in tune with magic and nature. During the time that the elves had decided to close Athrea, it is said that the elf prince, Theodre, fell in love with a human woman. His father would not leave him in the human realm but on the way to bringing them to Athrea, a bloodless one attacked them. In the fight, it had appeared that Prince Theodre's wife died. The Prince believing that nothing was left for him on Earth, left into Athrea. What the elves did not know was that his wife had survived the attack and was rescued. Perhaps the most devastating thing was that his wife was pregnant with his son, unbeknownst to him. (When elves and humans intermix there are rarely females born from the union. So our foremother and all her male heirs after only had sons. The gift skips several generations. Those of us that have this gift can smell better, taste better, and hear better. We are in tune with and can wield magic on a small scale. Along with feeling all living animal's energy). Long after the damage was done, Prince Theodre found that he had many human heirs. He fell into a deep sadness when he realized his wife was left to raise his son by herself. He used his magic to speak a prophecy into existence. The prophecy says that his first heir daughter will have the ability to pass into the magic realm. When that daughter is born, she will be the closest to the elves in genetics with the exception of pointed ears. She would possess all the mentioned talents and more. She will be the one to destroy the cold ones. She will unite Athrea and Earth once more. This prophecy is well known among the magical beasts and other beings that reside here in the human realm. I am certain that those in Athrea are also well acquainted with it. There is another unknown part of the prophecy but I have had no luck persuading any beings from Athrea to tell it. Take the utmost care that you do not let our secret be told. If the blood drinkers or some other ill intent beast discovered this, there could be war again. I wish you luck and love dear reader, for if you are reading this, you are my kin.

Godspeed,

Allister Williams.'

She let out a breathe she didn't even know she was holding. This was more to take in than the shifters. According to this book, she was the many times great granddaughter that this Theodre was waiting for. She could enter this Athrea. Something inside her felt pride at this but then fear at the thought of a world ruled by vampires stamped down everything. She closed her eyes and hoped to her ancestors that these shifters were honorable. Just in case, she would play along and feel them out. She wouldn't reveal who she was to them until she was sure they weren't part of the beings that wanted to take over both realms.

She put the book back in the trunk and hid it under her floor again. She would speak to Brandon about his people when he came back. Before she felt awkward at the possibility of seeing him and now she only felt impatience to see what kind of people they were. She sighed as she went out to start on the evening chores.

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