Page 56 of Autumn Secrets
“You have no idea,” I muttered under my breath. “But please, just tell me everything I need to know.”
“Okay,” Mr Peters said gently. “Let’s go back to your role in all of this. As you know, the seasons are changing, and the beginning of autumn is marked by the equinox at the end of September. This year the autumn equinox falls on your birthday. This is the day you need to be ready to protect the light.”
This was reminding me of what the old lady had said to me at the markets.
“Protect the light from what exactly?” I asked.
“The darkness. Specifically, Lilith and her dark bearers.”
I looked at them. That was a new name they had dropped into the conversation. “Wait, who’s Lilith?”
“Lilith is a fallen angel, an immortal and ruler over the darkness and its creatures.”
“What sort of creatures are we talking about that live in this part of the world?”
“Mostly mages, shape shifters and vampires that have gone to the dark side.”
“And what do they want, again?”
“What Lucifer once started. They want to create permanent darkness, which would mean vampires and other creatures can do whatever they want,wheneverthey want. Without you and your bond with the amulet, the seasons will cease to exist. There will be an imbalance and nature will slowly die. Human life would most likely become extinct. It would be a total catastrophe; evil would be able to roam freely on Earth.”
“Am Iin danger?”
“We always monitor activities around Angel Falls. There has been peace around this area for almost twenty years. We managed to push Lilith and her followers out a very long time ago. From what we can see, nothing has changed and there’s no imminent danger at this point. Besides, no one knows about you yet.Youare not in danger. What they’re after is the amulet. But like I said, it’s been quiet for a very long time.”
I thought of my grandparents again. “What about my grandfather? What did he know about all of this?”
“He was a human, who fell in love with your grandmother.”
“But did he know about any of this?”
“He knew. Wenevertell humans, but your grandparents’ situation was different. He needed to know to be able to protect your family, to the best of his ability of course.”
“What do you mean by different situation?”
“They were never supposed to meet. Your grandmother was destined to fall in love with another light bearer. That’s usually how it works.”
“So, what happened?”
“No magic or prophecies in the world could keep them apart. Never underestimate the power of true love, Aurora.” Mrs Peters smiled.
“How do I know if someone from the dark side is trying to hurt me?”
“The amulet will tell you – don’t worry about that. We will train you to be aware of the signs and to defend yourself, but you also have your own powers. Don’t forget about that.”
“I don’t have any powers.”
“You do, they’re just being supressed because you’re under the protection spell.”
“This amulet you’re talking about, it’s for me?”
“Yes, the amulet will sense you now, since you started to break the protection spell. That can’t be reversed. You are now connected to the amulet until your soul departs from this world. However, for you and the amulet to be fully bonded and be able to protect each other, we need to undo what is left of the protection spell, then complete the harvest ritual on the autumn equinox. You need to wear the amulet from then on, and never under any circumstances take it off. When you are bonded with the amulet, your true powers will emerge, and the amulet’s powers will strengthen. We don’t want you to rely on the amulet. You need to train yourself to be attuned to everything around you, and to trust your own instincts.”
The dream I had about my grandmother telling me to be aware of the signs came back to me. Surely it couldn’t be a coincidence that we were sitting here talking about signs?
“Aurora,” Mrs Peters said softly, interrupting my chaotic mind. “What happened this weekend? Somehow you have broken through the protection spell. You must have an enormous amount of power to do so. It should be impossible.”
“I-I don’t know. It must have happened yesterday morning in the forest. I was out there walking by myself, when this overwhelming feeling of, I don’t know,connectionsettled over me. It was like I felteverything around me, and it looked like my fingertips were glowing. The next thing I knew I was on the forest floor picking up a plant I’d never seen before. It was like I was being guided from within. I knew I had to touch it, and suddenly I had brought it to life. Like, it was literally flowering in my hand, and somehow, I knew it was a Calypso orchid. Sorry, I can’t explain it better than that. It was like I was dreaming.”