Chapter 9: The Maiden of the Moon
That Night
"Jamie...Jamie..."
Jamie was on the moon. He wriggled his toes. It felt so good to feel the moondust between them. It almost felt like sand on the beach.
"Jamie..."
He looked up. It was the girl. "Who are you?" he asked. Maybe I'll finally get the answer, he thought.
"I am the one that you have been looking for." she replied.
"Mom?" Jamie asked.
The girl only smiled.
"Jamie... Come to me. Alone. Leave the other girl, you must come to me alone."
Jamie simply nodded. "What about air?"
The girl giggled. "Are you not the son of The Moon Goddess? Like the children of Aphrodite on Venus, and the children of Poseidon in the water, you do not need to breathe, while you are on the moon."
Jamie would have never guessed that, but thinking about it made sense.
"It is time to wake up Jamie. You're here."
"Wake up Jamie, we're here."
Jamie slowly opened his eyes. "I've just had a dream."
Tess looked suprise. "What was it?"
"I met my mom. She told me that I had to go alone."
Tess nodded. "The prophecy said the same thing, remember?" She tried to imitate (badly) the raspy voice of the future. "Go alone to the place without air, and claim your birthright, the shinging spear."
Jamie nodded silently. "She told me that even though there's no air, i'll still be able to breathe, like how Poseidon's kids can breathe underwater."
"Wow" Tess said. Jamie got up to leave. "Wait. You're leaving now?"
"Yeah, I don't want to wait too long."
"What in Hades am I supposed to do then?" She asked, frustrated.
"Well, if I were you, I would practice pinochle." Jamie said laughing as he stepped out of the chariot and closed the hatch, leaving Tess all alone.
[JAMIE]
He stepped out onto the gray sandy landscape that seemed to go on forever. He smiled as he lifted his foot, leaving a footprint of a barefoot behind.
High up in the sky the planet Earth hung suspended. He wriggled his toes, and the feeling of moondust between his toes felt even better than it had in his dream.
It was amazing! Jamie did a cartwheel. It felt like he was flying!
Jamie turned to look back at the chariot. It must've been a good hundred feet away. The bronze horses were only covered in a dull red glow now. Low gravity rocks! he thought, leaping off into the sky.
Off to his left and about a mile away he could see the remnants of an old mortal spacecraft from decades previously.
"Jamie..." came a soft whisper.
He turned around looking for its source.
"Jamie..." It was louder now. Jamie landed in a puff of moon dust and looked rigt and left looking for the girl that he had seen in his dream."
"This way Jamie!" Jamie spun to his left and ran toward the voice.
[TESS]
It was eeirily silent in the chariot all alone. Tess's mind wondered. What was Jamie doing? Had he completed his quest? She hoped it wouldn't take that much longer.
The chariot was suddenly filled with a silver light. She covered her eyes.
"Tess Cabeiri! Where is my son?"
It was Artemis.
"Lady Artemis." Tess said reverently. "I thought you would be with Jamie. He said that he had seen you in a dream. You told him to go out there alone."
"I did NO SUCH THING." she said angrily.
Tess cowered in a corner of the chariot. "I'm sorry Lady Artemis."
Artemis's mood changed rapidly. "I'm sorry. I'm not angry at you. I'm just worried about my son."
A moment of horrifying realization hit Tess. "Lady Artemis. If you didn't convince him to go out there. Who or what did?"
A/N: Cliffhanger! Mwahahahaha! I've decided to split this chapter in two, hopefully to get people stirred up to comment.
So... Who or what do you think is messing with Jamie? I'd love to hear your opinions. The answer will be revealed soon
You also get to find out Tess's last name, if yu guys were wondering. Her name is Tess Cabeiri: (see Horses of the Cabieri for the Mythological reference)
Please Read &Review.