Blue Moon (Book One in The Blue Crystal Trilogy) (32 page)

On a lighter note, Joseph
finished working on my car and one evening he and Theo delivered it
to my driveway. I could hardly believe what I saw.

“It’s fantastic, Joseph,” I
said, giving him a hug. “Are you sure it’s the same car?”

Martha indeed looked completely
different: her paintwork, her hub caps and her chrome work shone
with an intensity that was blinding, and inside she smelled as if
she’d come straight from the showroom.

“She has new spark plugs, new
brake pads, a new battery and new tyres, and I’ve given her a
spring clean inside and out,” Joseph informed me.

“It looks more like a complete
overhaul,” I said in amazement. “Thank you so much, Joseph, you
don’t know what this means to me. Tell me how much I owe you.”

Joseph put up his hand.
“Nothing, Emily, it was a pleasure. I love bringing things back to
life.”

“Come on, let’s take her out
for a spin,” suggested Theo. “You can drive, Emily.”

I sat in the driving seat, Theo
by my side and Joseph in the back. As I turned the ignition, she
roared into life and shot forward the moment my foot touched the
accelerator. I braked quickly.

“Whoa! What have you done to
her, Joseph?” I squealed. “She was never this powerful.”

“I might have modified her
engine slightly,” admitted Joseph. “Sorry, couldn’t resist it. I
should have told you.”

I looked in my rear view
mirror. “Modified it how, exactly?”

“I’ve given her a V8 engine,”
he said gingerly.

“OMG, you’re kidding! Did you
know about this, Theo?”

“Nothing to do with me,” he
said, grinning. “Just take it slowly, okay.”

“I don’t think that’s possible
in this car,” I laughed.

This time I eased forward
tentatively, aware of the power beneath my feet. Martha moved
effortlessly up the lane and slowly I began to get accustomed to
her new levels of responsiveness. She went like a dream, a deep
throaty roar emanating from her bonnet, and I headed for the
motorway. It was 7pm and the rush hour traffic had dispersed,
giving me the open road to play with. Theo turned on the sound
system and Jon Bon Jovi’s ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ filled the
cabin.

“These acoustics are amazing,”
I shouted back to Joseph. “Don’t tell me she’s got a new sound
system too?”

“Latest Fender soundpack. Just
wanted to check it out,” he grinned.

Once on the motorway, I put my
foot down and Martha surged forward, burning rubber and blasting
rock music. It felt fantastic and for a short time I was lost in
the moment, oblivious to everything but the pounding beat, the
roaring engine and the rapidly disappearing tarmac. And, of course,
the two beautiful creatures with me in the car.

All too soon, it was over and
we were back on my driveway. I turned to Joseph. “Wow. That was
unexpected. You are full of surprises.”

He gave a mock bow. “We aim to
please, madam.”

How I loved this family. If
only they’d been ordinary people. If only they’d been human.

29.
Viyesha

After my trip out in Martha, I
couldn’t take the grin off my face, but next day came the news I’d
been dreading. I was summoned to have a ‘chat’ with Viyesha.

It was now the second weekend
in May and Hartswell Hall was open for business. As yet, there was
no sign of The Lunari, but I knew their arrival was imminent and
there was no doubt in my mind as to why Viyesha wanted to talk with
me. Just over two weeks had passed since Granddad died and although
I still felt raw and out of kilter with the world, I had begun to
accept he wasn’t coming back and that Theo had been powerless to
alter the course of events. Without Granddad’s guiding hand in my
life, I found myself relying on Theo more and more. My mum seemed
glad I had a boyfriend to lean on, especially such a good-looking,
reliable, sensible boy as Theo. I had to suppress a rueful smile
when she said that. If only. She admitted that she’d met someone,
too.

“It’s not serious, just someone
from work,” she told me. “We’ve only been on a couple of dates, so
I won’t introduce him yet. But he makes me laugh and that’s what I
need right now.”

It was a glorious summer
afternoon, the bright sun giving everything a lazy, hazy feel, as
Theo and I walked up the gravelled drive to Hartswell Hall. I was
going to drive over in the new rejuvenated Martha, but decided
against it at the last minute as I didn’t want to advertise my
presence. I preferred to stay as low key as possible.

Violet stood on the steps
waiting for us, watching us approach.

“Hi, Emily, how are you?” she
asked sweetly, embracing me and giving me one of her most engaging
smiles. “Mother’s in the library. Come and say hello.”

She led the way past the
reception area, decorated with beautiful flower arrangements of red
and pink roses, blue irises and white lilies. The windows were
open, letting in the fresh air and sunshine, and it felt warm,
welcoming and normal.

“We have our first guests,”
announced Violet.

“That’s great,” I said,
feigning interest. I felt too nervous of what lay ahead to take
much interest in their new business venture.

“We’re hosting the annual
conference of the National Institute of Plastic Surgeons,” said
Violet, “and Kimberley Chartreuse, the famous glamour model, has
booked in for a couple of nights.”

“That’s really exciting,” I
said flatly. “I’ve seen her reality TV show. She looks amazing, but
I suspect she’s had a lot of work done. Just as well you’ve got
plastic surgeons on hand in case she needs anything else
fixing.”

“Take it from me, there’s
nothing natural about her,” said Violet. “And what a prima donna.
She arrived last night, all airs and graces. Changed rooms three
times, insisted on having a full tour, broom cupboards and all, and
gave mother a real grilling, asking her where she’d come from, how
long she’d been here and how old she was. I don’t know how mother
stayed so polite. I’d have told her to take a running jump.”

“Probably jealousy,” I said,
“because Viyesha’s more beautiful than she is.”

By now we were standing outside
the library and Theo opened the oak panelled door.

“Good luck,” he whispered, as I
walked in.

In the library, Viyesha sat on
one of the leather Chesterfields, turning the pages of a fashion
magazine with beautifully manicured, slender fingers. She was
dressed immaculately, as always, this time in a pale blue
Chanel-style jacket and matching pencil skirt, with a soft white
cashmere rollneck. Her lips were painted pale pink, her blond hair
was loose around her shoulders, and her blue eyes sparkled and
twinkled. A CD of Liszt’s Liebestraum played softly in the
background.

“Emily,” she purred, placing
the magazine on the coffee table in front of her. “Come and sit
with me. It’s delightful to see you.”

She patted the place next to
her and, like an obedient pet, I walked over and sat down. At once,
I experienced the most wonderful sensation of wellbeing.

“Hello, Viyesha,” I purred
back, “It’s good to see you, too.”

I heard the door close behind
us.

“Can I get you anything?” asked
Viyesha. “A cup of tea, a drink?”

“No, I’m fine, thank you,” I
said politely.

“I won’t beat about the bush,”
said Viyesha, sitting back in the Chesterfield and turning to face
me. “There are things of which I need to speak, Emily.”

“I know,” I said, feeling
nervous. This was it. The conversation I didn’t want to have.

“I understand Theo has told you
certain things?”

“Yes,” I said, looking down. I
didn’t want to look into her large blue eyes.

“Tell me what you know, Emily,”
said Viyesha softly.

I swallowed, unsure what to
say, then looked Viyesha square in the face.

“I know about the blue crystal
and its powers of conveying eternal youth on those who bathe in its
rays,” I began, feeling self-conscious. “And I know you have to
wait for a Blue Moon to activate the crystal. I also know you
brought the crystal from Egypt…” I faltered, then said, “The truth
is, Viyesha, I don’t know what to believe, it all sounds so
incredible. Theo said I would be at risk from The Lunari, but I’ve
seen no evidence of them. He also said Aquila and Pantera consider
me a threat, but apart from them being generally unpleasant to me,
there’s hardly been an attempt on my life. Well, apart from the
wall collapsing on me,” again I faltered, “but that could have been
an accident.”

I dared not mention the Blue
Moon Ball, or that I had secretly observed her guests and taken
photos.

Viyesha stood up and walked to
the window. She looked out over the grounds and seemed to be
thinking what to say. Then she turned to face me. “Emily,” she said
in a matter-of-fact voice, “be under no illusion what is going on
here. Believe me, The Lunari exist and they would eliminate you
like that if they so wished,” she snapped her fingers, “Be under no
illusion about Aquila and Pantera, either. They are Guardians of
the crystal and have killed many times to protect it. While you
wear Theo’s crystal necklace you have protection, but should you
remove it, I cannot guarantee your safety.”

My hand went involuntarily to
the crystal hanging round my neck, my fingers touching its smooth,
faceted surface. Viyesha looked at me a little more kindly.

“I’m sorry, Emily. It was not
my choosing to bring you into the family or place you in danger.
That was Theo’s doing, which leads me to a further complication.
Theo believes you to be the reincarnation of the woman he loved and
lost many years ago. There certainly appears to be a connection
between you, and you bear an uncanny resemblance to the woman he
once loved as you saw on the necklace he wears.”

She smiled softly, “He believes
it is you. But he wants to protect you from the crystal, in case
its power should prove too great and he loses you again.”

She returned to the sofa,
taking her time before speaking again.

“Emily, my son has been unhappy
for many years and I would do anything within my power to change
that. The obvious solution would be for you to join us, but you are
young, with your life ahead of you and it is not for me to force
you into a course of action you will regret for the rest of your
days. You need to think through the options carefully before making
your decision. It may still be possible for you to walk away and
for me to appease Pantera and Aquila and The Lunari, but you would
never see Theo again.”

My mind filled with dread. The
thought of losing Theo was more than I could bear.

“The alternative is for you to
bathe in the crystal’s light and enjoy the gift of eternal
youth….and Theo’s love for eternity.”

“As long as I survive the
crystal’s power,” I said.

“It is true, many do not
survive the initiation,” she said, “The crystal is immensely
powerful and its rejuvenating powers can work in reverse, speeding
up the ageing process. We have no way of knowing how you would
react. The risks are great.”

She looked at me anxiously.
“There again, should you rejuvenate successfully, the rewards are
infinite. Time cannot touch you, the world is your playground and
you would be with Theo forever, enjoying eternal youth together.
You would step beyond the confines of the mortal body and
experience supernatural power and beauty.”

I stared at her in dismay. It
was like being faced with a proposal of marriage, but too early on
in the relationship to know if it was the right thing to do. What
she was saying was so far beyond my powers of comprehension, I
simply couldn’t apply reason and common sense. My future hung in
the balance, my life was at a pivotal stage, and I had no way of
knowing which choice to make.

“I don’t know what to do,
Viyesha,” I admitted. “Half of me wants to have an ordinary life
and enjoy all the things other people of my age are doing.” My
voice dropped to a whisper. “But the other half wants to be with
Theo and stay young forever, to bathe in the crystal’s light. I
couldn’t face a future without him.”

“It is a blessing and a curse,
Emily,” said Viyesha, “to live through history and experience it
first hand as time rolls through the centuries…. to enjoy youth and
beauty others can only dream about… to live a life of magic and
mystery, with untold wealth and power…to live as an immortal and
hold eternity in the palm of your hand.”

Her eyes shone as she spoke and
I knew she was seeing things in her mind that I couldn’t even
contemplate: events, people and places that had shaped history;
experiences, opportunities and possibilities that were limitless,
ageless and timeless.

“But the bad almost outweighs
the good,” she said, in a whisper. Now her eyes clouded over and
she was seeing a different picture. “Imagine, Emily, having your
very existence dictated by an event that occurs every three years;
having to bathe in the light of a crystal to restore your failing
youth or endure an unimaginable death: the agony of rapid ageing as
your organs cease to function, your bones grow brittle and your
skin dries out… to cease being, all in a matter of minutes…”

She stopped and took a deep
breath.

“Forgive me Emily, I don’t wish
to frighten you, but your eyes need to be opened if you are to make
the right decision. Now, ask me anything and I will try to
answer.”

“Okay,” I said, the issues
before me so huge and incomprehensible as to render my mind blank.
“What do you eat? I’ve never seen Theo or Violet eat.”

Viyesha threw back her head and
laughed. “Oh, Emily. So many metaphysical and esoteric issues, and
you pick the mundane.” She smiled at me. “I’m sorry, I truly forget
how young you are and how many moons I have seen pass. It is a
relevant question. The answer is that we eat sparingly and
discerningly. We are highly evolved Light Beings, which means our
bodily systems are extremely sensitive and can digest only that
which comes directly from light: vegetarian food as you call it,
plants, vegetables, seeds and nuts, which we produce ourselves. The
Lunari are so refined, they metabolise the sun’s rays into energy
and live on light alone.”