The Moon Phase Trilogy | Protected | Book One | ORIGINAL

Twenty

"My dear, calm down. You are upstairs in my home. Ruby and Skull have helped you with your wounds. Jayden and Shaun are okay. You are safe now," a man explained. He was lengthy with long black hair and red eyes. His skin was ghostly pale, but he was kind, even if he looked mean. Ericka's eyes bulged out from her sockets in disbelief.

"Y--you're the one that was lingering at my home..." she stuttered. Ericka didn't know how she knew that, but she was positive that the man that stood in front of her was the lingering figure. While she was out for the week and a few hours prior, she had dreams, memories, that had him in it. "W--who are you?"

"My name is Winston Lytle. I am not here to harm you. I am here to help you. I have something for you, that is important for the journey ahead of you," he explained. Ericka shook her head, trying to remember the name her dream had given her. He had observed her actions and sighed, "I'm sure the name you are looking for is Zandyr, child."

As soon as Ericka heard the name she began to breathe heavy, "Yes...who is that?"

"He is my younger brother. I am deeply sorry about your mother. She was a wonderful woman," Winston apologized. He set down Ericka's moonphase amulet next to her before he left.

Ericka jumped down from the table, her feet still unstable to stand on her own, "Wait! How do you know my mother? Do you know where my father is?" she had so many questions for Winston that her head was going to explode.

"I will answer those when you are ready to hear the answers, Ericka. Please know that you are always welcome here as a guest. My children may not appreciate it, but you and your sisters are always welcome," he told her, shutting the door behind him.

Ericka's hands formed into fists and she clenched them, "It's not fair! I deserve to know his answers!" She growled. Skull yelped and hid behind a chair, frightened.

Ruby put her hand on Ericka's shoulder, instantly calming her, "Ericka, calm down. He will tell you when you're ready. Right now, you are nowhere near ready to know what he knows. Come, you need your rest," she told her, taking her hand and guiding her to a separate room for her to rest. Ericka grabbed her necklace before she went with Ruby. She put it around her neck and she felt stronger, the instant it touched her skin. Ruby could feel the power emerging from Ericka and smiled. "She is the one," she whispered to herself.

~*~*~*~*~

Jayden and Shaun had finally found all of the artifacts they needed. Jayden was trying to juggle them as they headed back up the narrow stairway. "You sure you don't want help, Jay?" Shaun asked. He knew she was trying to be nice, but he was also very stubborn when it came to doing things with help.

"No, I got it," Jayden answered, almost dropping them. Shaun took two of them off of his hands and carried them herself. "Okay...maybe I do need some help...but I wouldn't have needed it if the staircase wasn't so damn narrow!" He admitted. Shaun just rolled her eyes as they got to the top of the steps. She knocked on the door with her foot and the bookcase the stairs were behind opened up slowly.