I woke up a few hours later. The sun had gone down and it was pitch black outside. 

When did I fall asleep? 

I groggily remembered what happened before I fell asleep. Tears started to roll down my face. I sat there contemplating my next step.

The spell.

I got up and went to mom's closet, squatted down, and pulled up the loose floorboard. I peered into the small cubby. There were two pieces of paper, a cloak, a bag of coins, and a spellbook.

One paper was a spell and the other was a letter detailing how to activate the spell. The cloak was a simple black cloak with a bright pale blue gem at the clasp. I read the note. 

Hello, Lunette, if you are reading this then that means something has happened to me. I have left you a cloak that you need to keep with you at all times. NEVER let it out of your sight. I have also left you with a spell that will explain things a little better. To activate the spell all you need to do is get a drop of your blood on the symbol. 

~Mom

P.S. I love you. Don't ever forget that. 

My heart throbbed as I read over my mother's words. I got up and headed to the kitchen bringing the spell with me. I sighed at the mess and picked up a small knife I use to cut strawberries. Laying the spell on the table I pushed the cold blade into my skin. I winced as blood welled up on my fingertip. The symbol started to glow a soft blue as I smeared my blood on it. Both the note and the spell disintegrated into sparkling blue dust and formed an image. It was my mother. 

"Hey," Mom’s sad voice filled the room, "I'm sorry this happened, Lunette. I should be there to tell you this in person. I shouldn't need to have an emergency spell for if something bad happens. Yet here I am. And something must have happened that you need this message."

The dust shifted to form an image of the cloak I was given. 

"As stated in the note it is imperative that you keep this cloak with you at all times. The cloak itself isn't anything special but the gem is."

The dust shifted again. It was an image of the moon phases. 

"I can't explain much, but you are the next vessel for the moon spirit. An ancient spell along with the other five spells created for maintaining balance. You know the story. This is the birthmark you were given signifying you as the next spirit. I used a simple illusion spell to hide it from you." The dust changed back into my mother’s face. She looked ashamed. 

"I didn't want you asking questions and leaving me or getting yourself killed." 

Tears started to roll down the dusty image of mom's face. And the image changed to five other symbols. A sun, water droplet, flame, tree, and spiral. 

"you need to find the other five spirits. I heard rumors of the sun spirit being in a small town called Dragon's Creek. Sorry I couldn't give you any more information."

The dust shifted into one piece of paper. It was a map. It had a blue path showing me the way to Dragon's Creek.

My breath hitched as I took in everything that had just happened. I fell to the ground crying.

Mom is gone. Do I search for her? No, that would be stupid. I have no clue who took her or even the direction they went. My only lead is what Mom gave me.

I had decided that I would leave in the morning to investigate the town and look for answers. I knew I should get some sleep but I couldn’t. My mind was racing. 

Getting up off the ground I started to pick up the mess that was left behind. 

Three hours had passed and it was probably midnight by the time I had everything cleaned up. Yawning I decided to crawl back into Mom’s bed, I was now emotionally and physically drained. I curled up and slowly drifted into a restless sleep. 

The next morning I struggled out of bed. My body ached from crying. Getting out of bed I shuffled to my closet. I picked out a lavender turtleneck and simple blue jeans for the journey. As I was changing I noticed a symbol just under my collar bones. It was the symbol of the moon phases in Mom’s message. I ignored it and finished getting dressed. I pulled the cloak over my shoulders and slipped on my boots. I grabbed a bag I had found while cleaning and shoved in the spellbook and money. I noticed we still had some apples left that weren't crushed and placed them in the bag as well. I grabbed a canteen and filled it with water, slinging the strap over my shoulder. Though I had to adjust the cloak. Then I grabbed the map and headed for the door.  Pausing I grabbed a small knife and slid it into my boot. It wasn’t the best idea without a sheath but it was better there than in my bag where I couldn’t reach. 

Then I left not looking back.

I followed the path the map had marked out. It lead in the opposite direction of town and past Rosy’s little house. 

I had followed the small path till sundown. Crickets started chirping as the sun slowly disappeared. The trail was small and looked like it wasn’t traveled on much. I looked at the map. I had walked about halfway and the blue dust was gone for the distance I traveled. 

I walked off the trail and into the thick forest so as not to be seen by any greedy travelers. Not that it was very likely. I chose a good spot and sat down. I pulled out the spellbook and searched for a protection spell. After a couple minutes of searching, I found one. I looked around for a long stick to draw the spell and got to work. It wasn't too complicated, it just drained my energy. I sat down with a sigh of relief. I then found a simple fire spell to keep me warm. I pulled the cloak in tighter as I ate an apple. I only had a few apples left. 

I really didn't think food through.

I decided I'd figure it out in the morning and drifted off to sleep as the fire died out.