Moon Rise

Chapter 6

Consciousness. Awareness. Wakefulness. The first began to return to me when the mid-morning sun came streaming through my bedroom window directly on my face. The second came when I felt something heavy on my head, a sword hilt in my hand, and the rough warm paw of a wolf iver my heart. The final jolt of true wakefulness came when my mind at last took all of this in, analyzed it and came to the final result. Panic.

"Oh God!" I said in horror.

"My moon, you're safe." came Inya's voice.

"Oh God! What the... MOM!"

I struggled to free myself from the blankets. I couldn't let go of Moondance. My head felt like it was encased in something hard. There was a glove or something on my sword hand, and when I got my left hand free, another appeared out of nowhere and covered it nearly to my elbow.

"MOM! DAD!" I screamed in frustrated terror.

"My Moon, be still! You are safe." Inya spoke soothingly.

"Luna?!" came my mom's voice from the stairs.

"Are you alright?"

Mom came barreling in and slid to a stop at my bedside.

"Oh, crap!" she said in relief.
She looked at Inya.

"Nightshades?"

"Yes, Snowmother. They came while she slept. The armor came unbidden and Moondance flew to her defense when it came."

As if to prove the point, I pushed the coverlet down to my waist and a shiny silver chest plate appeared.

"Mom, help! Please!" I whined.

"Okay, okay. Do this. Look at me." Mom said quickly.

"Inya, with me." She pointed to her side.

For the first time, Inya left me and stood with mom.

"Look into my eyes and see the moonrise."

I looked and for a second I saw nothing but a cloudy mist. Then I saw the tip of a crescent moon rise out of that mist.

"Now breathe in and relax," mom continued. "The mist and shadows will leave. Listen for Moondance's song. Let it free you from fear."

I gazed in fascination at the moon rise in mom's eyes. I felt the armor vanishing from my body and heard Moondance sing as she returned to her rest on the headboard. I felt Inya's weight on the bed again and felt the warmth of her body across my lap. Then I was looking at my mom's face. She smiled and brushed at the potting soil on her shirt.

"Better, now?" She asked.

I nodded and looked around me.

"I'm cold." I said.

Inya snuggled closer and mom leaned in giving me a big hug and kiss.

"Nothing like a surprise attack on your first night as a Guardian." She said.

She pulled the coverlet up to my chin and pushed me back onto the pillows.

"Warm her up, Inya," she instructed, "I'll be right back with some hot coffee and we'll talk about this. Your father is making a delivery to the nursery, so he'll be a little while getting back. I'll shed some more of this potting soil before I come back. I think I threw it straight up when I heard you scream."

She patted my cheek and bustled out the door like nothing unusual had happened. My teeth were chattering and my nose felt like an ice cube. Inya shifted her weight and did a slow crawl up my body and rested her warm muzzle on my neck.