Blue Moon (Book One in The Blue Crystal Trilogy) (17 page)

“You don’t know what’s out
there,” he said enigmatically, “and I need to keep you safe.”

“You keep talking about keeping
me safe,” I said, “it’s starting to freak me out. What do you mean?
I don’t understand…”

“I don't expect you to
understand. It’s just there are things in my world that can be
dangerous. Please don’t ask me to explain, just wear the
necklace.”

“What things?” I asked. “Am I
in danger? What do you mean ‘your world’? You have to tell me,
Theo. You can’t just give me a beautiful necklace, come out with
all these cryptic comments and expect me not to ask questions.”

He looked at me blankly, not
knowing what to say.

“I’ll do a deal with you Theo,”
I said. “I’ll wear the necklace as long as you tell me what’s going
on.”

“Great,” he said, sound
relieved. “Let me put it on you.”

I allowed him to stand behind
me and bending my head forward, felt him doing up the clasp. The
blue crystal swung down on top of my T-shirt, sparkling and
gleaming. It was beautiful and I had truly never seen anything like
it before. I tucked it inside my neckline, so that it wasn’t on
display for all to see.

“Okay, that’s my side of it.
Now it’s your turn. Tell me ……..”

I broke off, unable to continue
speaking. As the crystal touched my skin, I experienced the most
extraordinary sensation. It felt as if something very cold had
touched my chest, but was generating an incredible heat within me.
It wasn’t unpleasant. On the contrary, as the warmth spread
outwards from my chest, into other parts of my body, I felt the
most wonderful peace come upon me. I’ve never taken drugs or
alcohol, but this is how I imagined it would feel. Immense love
flowed from me to Theo and to the rest of the world. I was at one
with everything; energised, refreshed and reborn. I felt radiant,
as if rays of light were shining forth from my fingertips and my
body was emitting starbursts of energy. It was the most heavenly,
beautiful, amazing feeling.

“Theo,” I whispered, “it feels
incredible. What is this crystal?”

He looked at me kindly.

“Hush, don’t ask any more
questions. There are some things it’s better you don't know. Keep
the crystal hidden and never take it off. If ever you need me and
I’m not around, hold the crystal tightly and mentally call my name.
I’ll know straightaway you’re in trouble and I’ll be there as
quickly as I can.”

I entwined my fingers with his,
cocooned in a bubble of wellbeing, and looked into his deep blue
eyes. Eternity stretched out before me, deep and clear and blue,
and I knew I was lost. I was irrevocably linked with this boy and
whatever he wanted, I would do. I was utterly and completely in
love with him. Body, mind and soul were totally ensnared.

“What are you, Theo?” I asked
faintly, afraid to speak and spoil the moment. “I have to know.
You’re not – a vampire, are you?”

My words were so quiet I hardly
made a sound. He looked at me and for a moment, I thought he was
angry. Then he threw back his head and laughed, looking at me with
amusement.

“Is that what you think I am?
Oh Emily, you’ve let your imagination run riot. No, I can assure
you I’m not a vampire.”

“Oh,” I said, feeling stupid,
“it’s just something Seth said…”

“This has come from Seth, has
it?” Theo’s voice sounded a little cold. “I think Seth would be
better concentrating on his college work, rather than spreading
ridiculous rumours.”

“Oh, he hasn’t,” I stuttered.
“He hasn’t said it to anyone else, only me. I think it was probably
more a joke than anything.” I looked down at my hands. “Sorry,
Theo, I know it sounds ridiculous. Please forget I ever said
it.”

He looked at me tenderly.
“Okay, I’ll forget it. One day, I will explain things to you. But
not yet. For now, can we just be happy together?”

“Of course.”

“And no more awkward
questions?”

“No.”

“Good.” He glanced at his
watch. “ I have to go. I have a tutorial that I can’t miss. See you
later?”

He stood up and bent over the
table to kiss my forehead.

“Yeah, see you later.”

As I watched him leave the
cafeteria, my fingers unwittingly went to the crystal lying just
beneath my T-shirt. My fingers felt its outline and once more,
feelings of peace and love filled my being.

That afternoon, I didn’t travel
back with Theo and Violet in their car. However good the crystal
made me feel, I didn’t relish the thought of seeing Aquila again,
and I told Theo I needed to sit with Tash and discuss a new
assignment we’d been given. It was almost true.

As we were sitting on the bus,
Tash turned to me and asked, “Are you using a new foundation cream,
Emily? Or was it that beer facial I gave you? Whatever it is, it
looks good. Your skin has a real glow to it.”

“No, I’m not wearing
foundation,” I replied. “And I still haven’t got round to using the
facial.”

“Maybe it’s because you’re in
love,” said Tash, enviously. “Your pheromones are activated or
something like that, making you look all bright-eyed and
glowing.”

My hand went to the crystal and
I wondered whether to tell Tash about it. There again, we seemed to
be back on an even keel and I didn’t want to spoil anything. If she
thought Theo was giving me expensive gifts, she might just get
angry again. I decided to keep quiet about it for the present.

“Tash, you don’t half talk a
load of rubbish sometimes,” I said with a grin. “You’re nearly as
bad as Seth wittering on about vampires. Theo thought it was
completely ridiculous.”

“What, you told him Seth
thought they were vampires?”

“It sort of came out,” I said,
feeling silly.

“Oh, smart, Emily. Now they
know we’re suspicious of them. Why couldn’t you keep your mouth
shut?”

“It’s okay,” I said
defensively, “he thought it was funny. It’s not a problem.”

“No?” said Tash, frowning. “He
would try to fob you off, wouldn’t he? I still think there’s
something not right about them. He might have pulled the wool over
your eyes, but not us. Seth and I are going to keep a very close
watch on them. And if we see anything strange or out of the
ordinary….”

“What?” I asked, looking at her
with amusement. “What are you going to do? Sprinkle them with holy
water or call for Van Helsing? Come on, Tash, you don’t know how
ridiculous you sound.”

Tash looked studiously out of
the window. “Okay, I agree vampires sounds a bit far-fetched, but I
still don’t trust them. Especially after what you told us about
your visit yesterday. Surely you haven’t forgotten that
already?”

“No, I haven’t, I just think
maybe I over-reacted a little. I don’t think Theo would put me in
any danger,” I said.

“What’s happened to you?” Tash
asked. “You’ve changed your tune since this morning. Are you on
happy pills or something? I still maintain, we don’t know anything
about them and we need to keep an eye on them.”

“Okay, Sherlock,” I acquiesced.
“Let me know if you find anything out, and I’ll do likewise. But if
we don’t get up now, we’re going to miss our stop.”

I felt dreamy and
other-worldly, and when I got home, I took off the necklace and
placed it in my pocket. Immediately, the drugged feeling lifted and
although I didn’t have quite the same sense of peace, I felt more
in control again. I decided to keep the crystal in the breast
pocket of my SuperDry jacket; close at hand should I need it, but
not close enough to be under its spell.

Later that afternoon, after
we’d had an early tea, I received a text from Theo:

‘
Hi Em,
Missing u. Fancy going 4 a walk? Your favourite
vampire.’

I texted back:

‘
Dear
favourite vampire, Why walk when u can fly?’

He texted back straight
away:

‘
U r muddling
us with witches. Shall I come over?’

I answered:

‘
Yes. C u in
a bit(e). Ha Ha.’

At last. This felt more normal.
This is what you were supposed to do. Hang out. Send silly text
messages.

I went up to my room and
changed into my faded blue jeans and new Hollister top. As I did
so, the blue crystal necklace fell out of my pocket and onto the
floor. I picked it up, staring into its many facets and thinking
how pretty it looked. I wondered how old it was and what kind of
crystal it was. Some crystals were supposed to have certain
properties, which might explain why it had such an effect on
me.

My mum was in to all this sort
of thing, attending a meditation circle, using Angel cards, dowsing
with crystals, looking for orbs and so on. I’d grown up with it and
while I’d occasionally dabbled, I hadn’t embraced it in the way my
mother had.

Granddad thought it was all a
load of ‘New Age baloney’, to quote his exact words, but there
again, he didn’t believe in anything. ‘When you’re dead, you’re
dead’, he would say, not wanting to contemplate the possibility of
a great hereafter. He maintained all religions were simply a means
of controlling the masses, and worship of gods had nothing more to
it than agriculture and fertility. ‘Food and fornication,’ he said,
‘the basic requisites for survival, that’s why the old gods were
revered and worshipped.’ It was a very black and white viewpoint,
with little room for discussion or manoeuvre, and was the complete
antithesis to my mother’s beliefs.

I’d grown up amidst these two
opposing camps and, as a consequence, had taken on a little from
each, which meant I basically didn’t know what I believed in. I
found it easier not to think about such things, preferring to
concentrate on the here and now. Books, films, music, make-up and
technology were the mainstays of my world, and maybe I was shallow,
but at least I wasn’t deluded or bigoted.

The crystal glinted in my hand
and I felt compelled to put it on. It would complement my blue
Hollister T-shirt very well, I reasoned. As soon as I’d done up the
clasp, I felt the same mellowness and peace flow through me,
although not as powerfully as before. This time I felt more in
control and, while I was still aware of the crystal’s presence, it
didn’t seem to dominate me so much. I decided to leave it on.

“That’s a pretty necklace,
Emily,” said my mother, as I came downstairs. “Where did you get
that from?”

“Theo gave it to me,” I
answered.

“Did he?” she said, with a
glint in her eye. “I’m getting to like that boy more and more.”
Taking a closer look, she asked, “D’you know what it is? Would you
like to look in my crystal book?”

“There’s no need, mum,” I said.
“Theo will be here in a moment. We can ask him.”

Right on cue, the doorbell
sounded, and I ran to answer the door.

There he was. Beautiful,
gorgeous, radiant Theo, standing on my doorstep.

“Hi, Theo,” said my mum, in a
flirtatious voice that was totally embarrassing, hanging over my
shoulder, desperate to feed her eyes upon him.

“Hi, Mrs Morgan, how are
you?”

“Come in, Theo,” I said,
smiling at him.

His eyes went immediately to
the crystal round my neck and he looked relieved.

“I see you’re wearing it. It
looks good on you.”

He stepped in the hallway and I
closed the front door behind him.

“It’s a beautiful necklace,
Theo,” said my mum, “and a very unusual crystal. I was going to
look it up in my crystal book, but Emily says you can tell us what
it is.”

He looked momentarily
reluctant, then gathering his thoughts, said, “It’s a crystal
called Celestite, the celestial crystal. Very powerful, creates
feelings of inner peace and harmony, facilitates telepathic
communication, brings balance and purity. It’s very calming, but
also sharpens the mind, it creates openness to new experience, and
provides a channel to universal energies… Is that enough?”

We both stared at him,
wide-eyed.

“Wow, no wonder I feel good
when I wear it,” I joked.

“You’ll have to let me borrow
it,” said my mum, winking at me. “I could do with some universal
energy.”

“No,” said Theo sharply.
“Nobody else can wear it. Sorry. Emily is the only person…”

“It’s alright, Theo,” said my
mum, seeing his discomfort, “I was only joking. Emily doesn’t let
me borrow anything of hers. It’s quite safe.”

“Okay,” said Theo, relaxing
slightly. “Sorry, Mrs Morgan, I didn’t mean to jump down your
throat. It’s just…”

“I know, it’s okay, I get it,”
said my mum. “The crystal’s attuned to Emily’s energy, you don’t
want a different energy field messing things up.”

Sometimes my mum’s new age
crankiness does come in handy.

“Something like that,” said
Theo. “I’ve told Emily to wear it all the time and it will protect
her.”

My mother looked fit to burst
that I should have found such a wonderful boyfriend who not only
looked divine, but also shared her off-the-wall beliefs. In her
eyes, he was perfection personified. And in my eyes, he came pretty
close too, despite his slightly weird family.

“So, what are you two going to
do this evening?” asked my mum.

“I thought we could take a
walk,” said Theo. “It’s a lovely evening and it seems a shame to
waste it inside. What d’you think, Emily?”

I would walk anywhere with him,
whatever the weather.

“I think it’s a great idea,” I
said, grabbing my jacket off the coat stand in the hallway.

“Be back by around half nine,
will you?” said my mother, “It’ll be getting dark by then.”

“We will,” said Theo, adding,
“Don’t worry, Mrs Morgan, I’ll take good care of her.”

My mother had started to look
starry-eyed and love-struck, and I quickly got Theo out of the
house before she embarrassed herself further.