Two Moons, One Earth

Ch26: Ying Tao and Loke

"B-But, how can that be?! I-Aaron said that........This doesn't make any sense..." I flip farther into the book. "You see, in order for Aaron to actually do the spell, it requires blood magic." Noellen explained.

"But what's so bad about blood magic? Why is it that it's so powerful that it can kill someone?" I look up from the book. "Because....Blood magic is born from genes....It's not learnt....In this case, Aaron did not inherit blood magic whatsoever....So the consequences for him to learn blood magic....Is to perform the ritual and die along with it....." Noellen said bitterly.

"So in order to save my life, the Phoenix's life, to finish his mission, he'll take the blow him-" "Hey, is dinner ready yet? I'm gettin tired of hearing this jokester up here complain." Aaron suddenly pops his head from the staircases. I hurriedly hide the book behind my back and nod quickly.

"Is something wrong?" Aaron looks at both of us weirdly. "N-Not at all." I stammer. "Just preparing the rest of dinner." Noellen intelligently said. I nod surely this time. He looks at us once and then another second before he nods it off and heads back upstairs.

As soon as Aaron's out of hearing site, or at least I think so, I breathe a sigh of relief. "Where did you find this book anyways?" He shrugs and replies "The night he left to get the materials he needed for this ritual, he left this book behind on accident. Well, I found it, discovered the risk and thought that you might want to know." Noellen looks me in the eye, telling me that he sincerely had consider this.

I sigh and give the book back to him. Folding my arms, I thought up a plan, and it was a plan that Aaron was definetely not going to like nor hear about.

##--------->

I sit upstairs, skipping out on dinner as I look through the book. I'm calculating the process of the whole plan when I hear footsteps coming up the stairs. I'm very cautious about this particular event of plans, so I slide the book under the couch and stand up, as if I'm getting ready to go down for dinner.

False alarm, it's only Ava. "........I'm leaving.....Percy...." He says silently. "W-What?!" This news shocks me so, but not enough to get Aaron and the ritual off my mind. "I'm not getting a connection from my family...." He says. He's as silent as ever.

"I don't understand...." I reply. "I'm a shapeshifter, but I also have a family. Being a shapeshifter, let's me connect to the mind of my family. We can send messages to each other to send each other warnings.......I haven't been getting messages from them since this morning, that's not a good sign. I keep sending a message over to them, but it's not being replied to." He solemnly tells me.

I rub his back and tell him I'm sorry. "Then by all means, you have go then...But we'll miss you..."

He nods his head and with that, we head downstairs, where everyone's waiting. They must already know what Ava is going to do, hence their silence. Everyone nods, in turn, as Ava announces his removal from the gang. I hear Valorie kick Lewis's foot under the table and Tia gasp lightly. Everyone else just silently sat in composure, ready for the send off.

Although Ava was never with us for long, it's like he became our family. But I'm sure that his family is important to him as we are to him.

We all followed him towards the door as he readied for departure. "Good luck Ava...." Tia said to him. "And the best of wishes to you!" Valorie added. "And may whatever dangers and fortunes.....Bring you back to us..." I told him.

Everyone nodded as he looked back one more time and then, disappeared into the night...

##-------------->

I sat up silently in the dark as everyone else was sound asleep and retrieved the book from under the couch. I went to the window where the moon's light showed and read the following pages on how to perform the blood magic.