watching how her mother carried out those rituals. For her, the gestures and words had been as natural as breathing. It was all totally new for Luna, so different from her way of life. It had nothing to do with the rushing of the city, with daily chores and aims. Magic should be like a walk in the countryside: to enjoy, think over, drench oneself in every detail... And Luna had never done anything like that before, but she showed an enthusiasm and willingness to learn that Emma had not seen in anybody. All she needed was time.
She covered herself with the sheet and tried to relax. The attacks on her mind had seemed weaker during the past week. It was possible that her protection spells were finally taking effect or that the person who was trying to gain access had given up. She muttered a prayer of thankfulness to the Goddess and, a few seconds later, felt how sleep finally took over.
She appeared to be walking down a tunnel full of white light. At the very end, a sweet woman's voice was calling her. She tried to identify it, wondering who the woman who wanted to appear in her dream was, but she had never heard that voice before. At the end of the tunnel of light she saw the image of a forest on a spring morning.
She left the tunnel behind her and began to walk down a path in the forest. She was under the impression that, despite the radiant sun shining through the trees, it had just stopped raining. The ground was moist and the leaves glistened, reflecting light around her. The breeze carried the smell of wet earth, of honeysuckles in bloom and a very subtle smell of salt air from a sea not far away. Emma walked slowly, letting herself be seduced by such a vibrant landscape which seemed to breathe, filled with a power that she had never felt before. She stopped under a large oak tree and stroked its bark. She could feel its life running through the trunk; it almost seemed as if the tree wished to communicate with her, to let her know that it was happy for her visit. She realized that the thing that ran through the landscape like an invisible electric current was in fact magic. It smothered everything, making life bloom around her, filling it with happiness and power. She felt capable of doing anything she wished.
The voice called her again. Emma followed the sound until she reached an opening in the trees. The light that shone between the branches seemed to join together in the centre, making a figure shine. The figure was that of a woman, young, blonde and dressed in white. The lights that shone upon her blurred her features. Emma stopped at the edge of the opening, looking on and feeling astonished at how the breeze blew her golden hair and made her ethereal clothes dance and swirl, wondering what type of apparition that was and what it wanted to say to her.
— Welcome to Eilean, Emma— the woman greeted her.
— Eilean?— Emma asked—. Is that where we are?
— Eilean is my world. This is only a representation in your dream— the woman's voice grew sad—. Many years ago, it was full of the magic and splendor I am showing to you.
— And it's not like this now?— Emma walked a little bit closer to the figure, even though the light around her hurt her eyes.
— No, now it is perishing— Emma thought she heard the young woman's voice break into a sob—. For this reason I have called to you, for you to help us save it.
— Me? How could I help?— a part of her mind sent a warning alarm to her. Despite knowing that she was only dreaming, she was under the impression that everything was very real indeed and that she had to learn more about that woman before promising to help her—. Who are you? And why do you think I can save you?
— I do not have much time. Eilean is on a different plain, completely apart from Earth, and communicating with you takes a lot of strength. I can only say that it has taken us years to find you, that our best telepath has been trying for weeks to ensure that you are the right person to help us to avoid the magic leaving our world completely, resulting in its full destruction. And that, if you do not help us, there will be nobody who will be able to.
— And how can I help you?— Emma asked.
— You would have to pass over to our plain to take part in a rite that will renew the magic of our land— the woman explained.
— But I can't leave now. I know it seems like a ridiculous excuse, but I can't leave my niece alone.
— You have no need to worry— the white figure interrupted—. We shall carry out the ritual this very night. You will return by dawn. Everything will remain the same except for the pride you will feel of knowing you have helped to save a world and that the Gods will compensate you for it.
Emma stood still thinking for a few seconds. She didn't know what to do. On one side, everything was very strange and confusing. It was very hard for her to imagine herself as a savior of worlds and she didn't like the idea of letting herself be guided by a being in her dream that she knew nothing of. But, on the other side, the woman had been honest with her, she had confessed that it had been them who had tried to enter her mind... She couldn't sense any lies in her words and it would be so very sad for so much beauty to be lost just for not helping them... Plus, if at any point she saw something strange in what the woman asked of her, she could always stop.
— In the case that I wanted to help you, what would I have to do?
— Thank you, thank you...— the woman's voice filled with happiness. Even the light from the sun shone brighter and the birds sang with more strength than before—. It is very simple. We have perceived a place of power close to where you live, a place in which the pass over to another plain will be easier. Somebody has filled it with strange white sculptures.
— The Park of the Restless Souls. I know where it is— Emma intervened.
— That is correct. All you have to do is head there and carry out a ritual to pass over to our plain.
— But I only know how to carry out pass over's between plains when I am sleeping. I don't know if I will be able to do it awake.
— You need not worry, it will not be a normal pass over. You will pass to our world in body and spirit without suffering any harm— the woman calmed her—. That place of power will make it easier. And we will support you from here to aid you. As soon as you pass, we will have the rite prepared and then we will help you return to your own world.
— I hope it's as easy as you say it is.
— It will be. We have been preparing for this moment for years. We are waiting for you.
Emma woke up and sat up straight in her bed, looking around the room as if she could not believe that she was back. The landscape in the dream had been so strong... It had felt so real that, next to it, the bedroom seemed blurred and inconsistent. She rubbed her temples with her fingers, trying to organize her thoughts. She was certain that it had not all been just a dream, that that woman had really called her, that she needed her. But it was all so strange...
She got up and put on a pair of jeans, a jumper and trainers. She would go to the place the woman had told her and try to carry out the ritual. If it had all been a dream, nothing would happen. And if at any point she felt unsure, she would interrupt the ritual and return to bed. But she knew that, if she didn't try to do it, she would spend the rest of her life wondering what would have happened to that place and if it had disappeared because of her.
She left the room quietly and looked down the hallway. Luna's bedroom door was shut, she must have been sound asleep. She walked down the stairs slowly, trying to avoid the floorboards from creaking, and left the house. The forest was calm and silent, almost inviting her to take a night stroll. She followed the path that led to the Park of the Restless Souls, contemplating the bright stars in the sky, but not even their beauty managed to get rid of the nervous feeling that invaded her entire body.
Luna turned over in her bed again, staring up at the ceiling in the darkness of the room. She hadn't been able to sleep going over the ritual to close the circle over and over again in her mind, to be able to prove to her aunt that she could do it. But she couldn't remember is she had to do the exorcism of the water first or the blessing of the salt.
Upon hearing the sound
of a door close and muffled footsteps in the hall way, she sat up in her bed. Maybe her aunt couldn't sleep either. They could drink a cup of hot milk together until they felt sleepy and, while they chatted, Luna could ask her about the doubts she had concerning the ritual. She got out of bed and opened the door. She saw her aunt, fully dressed, walking silently down the stairs. She watched her for a couple of seconds. Where was she going at that time of night? For a moment she was tempted to close her bedroom door and go back to bed, thinking to herself that she should not get involved with her aunt's private business. But something deep down inside her, a warning bell, seemed to shout to her to follow her, that it was very important to do so.
She put on a pair of trainers and a jumper over her pajamas and rushed down the stairs. She had heard the front door when it closed and if she didn't hurry, her aunt would enter the forest and she would lose her for sure. As soon as she walked on to the porch, she bent down as to not be discovered and looked around her. Emma was walking down the path that led to Estella. Maybe she was going to meet somebody in the city but, why hadn't she told her about it? Was she going to meet a secret lover? No, it couldn't be that. Her aunt would have told her about it and plus, there was something about the way