“It doesn’t matter what Lord Reineke says, I’m still going!”
“Lune.”
“Please! Don’t leave me behind!”
“Lune.”
“Please... I don’t want to be left behind again.”
The memories flashed before my eyes: my family leaving me to the monsters, my adoptive mother rushing to her death to reunite with Lady Lulu, my father and brother executed before me. I’d had enough of being left behind on my own. Even at the cost of my own heart, I wanted to stay with my dear brother.
“Lune...” Liam said, conflicted by how desperate I was.
“Go with Lune,” Lord Reineke said, taking my side.
“Lord Reineke?” Liam looked up at the giant fox, on the verge of tears.
“Liam, you practice yoga daily, do you not? Take a deep breath.”
At the spirit’s instructions, Liam leveled his breathing. I could tell that the flow of mana around me had changed, as could Bal and the knights. Everyone watched with wide eyes.
“Good. If you are able to hold in your mana like this, you’ll be fine,” Lord Reineke said, patting Liam with his large tail. “Take Lune with you. You’ll be able to protect her.”
“I will?”
“Yes, but you must remember: Do not let the darkness consume you.”
Liam gave a solemn nod. After exhaling slowly, he turned to me with a determined look.
“All right, Lune. But don’t push yourself.”
“Okay! You too, dear brother!” I said, releasing him and stepping back down onto the ground.
Liam turned to look at Bal and the knights. “There should be a hidden entrance farther up from here. Find it and get it open in case of emergency.”
“Got it!” Bal nodded. “I’ll go get Master Theo.”
“I’m counting on you, Bal.”
“Leave it to me!” The boy pressed his fist to his chest.
“Ready?” Lord Reineke asked.
Liam and I nodded.
“Lune’s light will show you the way.” The fox pressed his tail to mine, causing my tail to light up faintly like a lamp. “Now go.”
“Right!”
“And return safely.”
Liam nodded, drawing a sword from the sheath at his hip. It was the Eclipse Blade, which had been in House Renard for generations. Facing the cave, Liam drew a pentagram with the sword.
“Leader of night, ruler of the chaotic darkness from which light is born, Lord of Darkness, Nott—take me into the abyss.”
The moment Liam spoke the taboo name out loud, the groaning from within the cave stopped. I could no longer hear the current of the stream nor the cries of the birds. All sound disappeared, and the sun hid behind the clouds. The fur on my tail stood on end.
A hole appeared in the transparent wall that had knocked Bal back earlier. Liam took a deep breath, and I did the same. Then, we clasped our hands together and stepped forward.
As soon as Liam and I stepped into the cave, the thin barrier behind us hardened like glass. Bal and the knights rushed over and pounded their fists against it, but to no avail. I waved my shining tail to show them that everything was fine.
“Let’s get going,” Liam urged.
We walked into the depths of the cave, shrouded in purple shadows. Liam lit his lantern, but sighed when he saw that even the flame was dim. My tail would have to be our only source of light, guiding our way forward.
“I’m glad you’re here,” my brother said.
“I’m glad you’re here too,” I replied, squeezing his hand in mine.
“You think your sister’s being honest? She hates this.”
The darkness coiled around Liam’s head, speaking words that were far from the truth.
“Lune, are you really not scared?” Liam asked me, concerned.
“Not at all,” I said with a smile.
The darkness then tried to wrap itself around me instead.
“Lune’s just pushing herself because she doesn’t want to be abandoned,” it whispered. “We can see right through her. She can’t say what she truly thinks.”
Liam bit his lip.
“That’s not true!” I said, shaking my head.
The darkness recoiled.
“Tch! You have a spirit contract, don’t you? And you’re not even of Renard blood! Why did you enter here?!”
“Because foxes guide humans!” I responded, repeating Lord Reineke’s words as I proudly puffed out my chest.
“Damn it! How annoying!”
The purple shadows once again clung around Liam, even more tightly than before.
“You’re bothering Lune. She doesn’t love you,” it hissed.
“What are you talking about?! Fools! You guys must be demons that stir the darkness in people’s hearts, but you’re so far off the mark it’s just plain laughable!” I said, poking my tongue out.
There was a moment of silence.
“You’re the fool,” the darkness said at last.
“Losing your temper so quickly? You must be new to this whole ‘temptation’ thing.”
“No we’re not! We’ve always been here, doing this—”
“Oh really? Then I guess you’ve been away from humans for so long that you’ve lost your touch. Lord Reineke is much better at tormenting people than you. Maybe you should go get someone better to do this for you.”
“Why...why would you say something so cruel? Don’t you dare compare us to some spirit!”
“You were cruel to us first, so this is just payback!” I exclaimed.
It seemed the darkness had no answer to that.
“Sorry, that might’ve been too much...” I added, unnerved by the lasting silence.
“Too late for regrets!” suddenly came the reply.
The shadows dove to the ground and coiled around Liam’s feet, dragging him down like quicksand.
Liam let go of my hand as he sank. “Run, Lune!”
I reached back for him, only barely managing to grab ahold of his wrist. Together, we fell into the murky bog.