Gryphon's Glenn

Chapter Thirty-Three

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Luna had tried to handle interrogating Fallon by herself first thing in the morning, but she didn't get far. The only thing she knew was that his magic had become inexplicably dark and when she pushed him, he tried to attack her.

"Did you get any answers, Captain?" Layla asked hopefully as she spotted her.

"No, but he did attack me. He's definitely evil, Layla. I'm sorry," Luna replied.

Layla took a deep breath. "Are you going to kill him?" She asked softly. Luna admired the fact that she didn't break down even though this was obviously hurting her.

"I won't just kill Fallon," she reassured Layla. "He's obviously not himself. Something else is at play here. All I feel is fire, but it's dark fire. It's not like any magic I've felt before, but when it flared up, it was like he was a completely different person."

Nat happened to be walking by as Luna said this. She touched one of her necklaces before she said, "Luna... I think I can help."

Luna was skeptical, but she shrugged. "I don't know what to do about this, so I'm open to suggestions. How do you think you can help?"

"Yesterday, I met Artemis. She gave me a talisman."

"Well, Artemis isn't big on men, so I guess she was either going to pick you or Regan," Luna said with a laugh.

"Regan's a lesbian?" Nat asked in surprise.

"No, but she's completely asexual. She has no interest in anyone romantically or sexually. Anyway, what does meeting Artemis have to do with helping Fallon?"

"She told me something about a horrible magic that they're using to turn people evil. It's very dark, but she thinks my other talisman can reverse it."

"You have more than one?"

Nat pointed to the one she'd touched before. "My parents... The ones who raised me, I mean... They told me to never take it off because it would protect me. Apparently, it comes from Gryphon's Glenn. She called it the Talisman of Light."

"The talisman that balances the one Marcus tried to kill Casey over? I guess it's good no one knew you had it. Artemis really thinks it can reverse the spell?"

"Yes. When she tested me, I activated it." Nat looked slightly haunted and Luna could tell her test had freaked her out a bit. "I don't exactly know how to use it, but I think it's just something I can use on instinct... It seemed to react to my thoughts during the test."

"Do you think it will work?" Layla asked Luna hopefully.

"I guess we'll find out... But you are not going in alone, Nat. I want Mari in there with you. She and Lillith seem more familiar with the strange magic we've been seeing lately than the rest of us are," Luna said.

"Okay. Let's do this!" Nat said excitedly.

"You're not going to accidentally blow up my husband because you get distracted by something shiny, right?" Layla asked.

Luna laughed. Nat didn't seem especially offended as she replied, "I'll do my best not to."

"Go have some breakfast," Luna said. "I'll find Mari and see if she's up for this. You can try in a little while."

"Breakfast sounds good," Nat admitted. She skipped away.

"My husband's fate is in the hands of a girl who skips and gets distracted at the drop of a hat..." Layla said with a sigh.