Page 52 of Autumn Secrets
Mum looked at me. “Everything, Aurora. They helped me with the protection spell.”
“Wait, what? A protection spell?” Once again, I felt the room spinning out of control. Luckily, I was sitting down, or I definitely would have fainted. Here I was with my mum, talking about spells and mysterious lights. It wasn’t exactly what I pictured on my return from my weekend away. Mum got up from the couch.
“I’ll make us some tea. Don’t worry, honey. We will sort this out.”
She left me in the living room, and I leaned back into the couch cushions, studying my hands. Just a day ago, I saw my own hands glow and perform magic, giving life to something that had been asleep. The whole experience was more like a vivid dream, just like the memory of my grandmother showing me her gift in the garden when I was little. It was all so surreal and kind of amazing, but I had a sinking feeling that reality was about to pay me a visit. A reality that was far from the one I knew.
I heard the doorbell and shortly after, mumbling voices in the foyer. I turned around just in time to see Mr and Mrs Peters enter the living room, followed by Mum.
“Aurora.” Mrs Peters sat down next to me. She turned to Mum. “I can definitely see that she’s been in contact with the light.” I felt like a caged animal at the zoo, the way they were all looking at me.
“Me too,” Mr Peters said and gave me a reassuring smile. He must have seen how uncomfortable I felt under their stares, because he added quickly, “It’s nothing to fear, but we need to tell you what it means.”
“Mum?” I looked at her with pleading eyes. “Please, just tell me what is going on.” She sat down next to me and took my hand. “There’s so much I haven’t told you, Aurora. I guess I wanted to give you more time. You know, to have a normal life. Away from all the responsibilities that comes with…” she gestured around us “…this.”
“This?” I repeated.
“Yes, the hidden world around us.”
“Hidden world?”
“Yes. Mr Peters, would you mind starting from the beginning? I think that would be easier.”
He nodded and cleared his throat. “Of course. Are we talking about the very beginning here?”
Mum nodded. “Yes, so she can fully understand.”
Mr Peters cleared his throat once again and looked at me.
“Very well. Aurora, are you ready?” he asked gently.
“Yes. Please tell me what’s going on.”
“A very long time ago, there was a war brewing between the light and dark. Lucifer came up with a grand plan to win the battle for Earth and sent—”
My mouth unhinged involuntarily. “Wait, stop. You mean ‘Lucifer’ as in…”
“Yes, as in the devil himself.”
I stared at him open-mouthed. “You can’t be serious?” I looked at all three of them, but none of them said anything. They all just looked at me with grave expressions on their faces. “Sorry,” I muttered. “Please continue, Mr Peters.”
“Lucifer wanted to create permanent darkness here on Earth. So he decided to send his fallen angels to end the seasons by the autumn equinox, making humans live in constant darkness and giving ultimate power to the evil creatures of the night. We call them the dark bearers.”
He paused, looked at me, and kindly asked, “Any questions?”
I shook my head. “N-nothing that comes to mind right now. It’s just…a lot to take in… But wait, why the autumn equinox? Why not any other time of year?”
“Good question, Aurora. The autumn equinox is a special night for many reasons; it is the moment when day and night are equal before the night takes over. It is also the only day when light is vulnerable and can be defeated.”
“So, there’s only one night in the whole year where darkness can take over?” I couldn’t believe what I was saying.
“Exactly. Lucifer’s fallen angels came down here to Earth and mixed themselves with humans; the chosen few who were spared. The blend of fallen angels and ordinary humans created new superhumans, born to serve the darkness. You might know them as Nephilim.”
I stared at him and nodded absently. I’d heard that name before. I’d read about it. Never did I believe the stories were real.
“What do you mean ‘the chosen few who were spared’? What happened to the other humans?”
“A lot of innocent people were killed back then, Aurora. In history books it’s called the Black Death, one of the most devastating pandemics known to man.”