Echo

               I was just stepping out of the shower after a night with terrible luck in the sleep department. I looked like I was twenty years older than I was, or dead. My phone began to ring, cutting off the music I was listening too, my sad attempt to wake me up fully.

“Hey Lu, what’s up?”

She sounded frantic on the other side of the phone, and I knew something had to be terribly wrong for her to ask me to call Lycan and the others, now fully awake I hurried through my after-shower ritual and dressed in the first pieces of clean clothing my hands brushed against in my closet, I hurriedly braided my hair and left the house, grabbing my keys as I went.

I never drive my Porsche, it was a guilt-gift from my grandparents since both pairs live in London, and now I’m assuming they have seats on the Councils. It was a gaudy yellow that stuck out even in the richest neighborhoods around here, and had the top-of-the-line accessories… but I never drove it because I didn’t want to give them the satisfaction. But I lived the furthest away from Luna and the others and Accalia had gone to a friend’s place after we got home last night so she was out of the question.

“This is for Luna. Not them.” I whispered to myself as I turned the ignition over.

The purr of the engine did nothing to settle my nerves, was Luna okay? Was that Unspeakable poisonous last night? Was she healing, okay? What if she died?!

No, I can’t panic. Luna needs me.

I dialed Lycan’s number and hooked my phone to the Bluetooth.  I knew he was sleeping, but he could yell at me later.

Lycan

           I was sleeping and my phone woke me up, it was Echo, seriously? She breaks up with me and she still calls at seven in the morning on a Saturday? I picked up thinking it must be important.

"Yes? Echo what is it?" she was crying.

"Luna just called. She sounded really upset and she wants us all at her house like immediately she didn't elaborate or anything but could you call the girls?"

"Yes of course. Do you need a ride?"

"No, no I have my Porsche. I'll see you guys soon." she hung up and I got up and threw on the first clothing items I saw.

 I finally looked down and noticed I grabbed two shirts and no pants. I hurried back into my room and grabbed a pair of black jeans. I dialed Snow's number and told her everything Echo told me. She said she understood and hung up already dialing Accalia's number. 

I raced down the stairs and rushed out the door, running next door to Luna's home. I knocked rapidly on the door and I waited and I turned and saw that Echo pulled to the curb, and Snow and Accalia as well and they rushed up the stairs to greet me,

"Echo what the hell is going on?" Snow asked.

"I don't know anything more than you Snow." just then the door opened and Luna's mother was standing there.

"I'm terribly sorry for the wait, my husband is busy calling the Elders, and I was making tea. But my daughter did say come in. I suppose you were too busy arguing."

"Sorry Mrs. Everett." We hurried inside and followed the sound of Luna's weak voice.

"Luna! What happened?" I asked in shock, she looked awful, like death warmed over. 

She looked up and smiled faintly. She motioned with her hands that her voice was fading rapidly. Her father and Mr. Placksworth walked through the doors and her father explained to us the Elders would join us on Speaker Phone.

"My daughter this morning was getting ready for breakfast when she was overcome with a vision of the future."

"Darling please let Luna drink her tea so she can tell the vision."

"Alright." Mrs. Everett gave Luna the tea cup and helped her drink it. After a moment Luna opened her mouth and said,

"Thank you all for coming on such short and early notice."

"No problem you’re our friend no matter what Luna." Accalia said sweetly. Luna looked up surprised at Accalia.

"I didn’t sleep well at all last night, I had strange dreams about fire castles, and this woman that looked a lot like me and I knew her name, I knew what she was and then I kept seeing something called Lucia’s Gate. Then this morning, I was going to check my leg, and I saw what I can only assume is a vision… and I think I saw inside Lucia’s Gate.”

"Okay but what was the vision?” Snow asked impatiently.

"I'm getting there. Okay so the vision was like this," Her eyes had turned all black and her voice was almost demonic in nature as she recounted us with her vision.

“Well, that’s not creepy or anything.” I whispered.

“Now, I want to know, what the hell is Lucia’s Gate, and who is this, Lucia?”

Luna’s question hung in the air, and no spoke, no one breathed…and the adults in the room had scared expressions on their faces.

Accalia

                I was scared for Luna, not only was she bisexual and low-key hated by her parents, but now she could see the future and spout prophecies? I was worried that this archaic culture we were born into would burn her at the stake. I may not want to be a Guardian, but that didn’t stop me from reading up on the culture and history… plus now that I knew I was a supernatural being, it made a lot of things about me start making sense, like my dreams. I took Luna’s hands in mine, and carefully asked,

                "Luna when did these visions start?"

“She just told us when they started!” Echo whispered harshly, but Luna shook her head and closed her eyes in thought,

"Today, but what's funny is that last night I was attacked by that Unspeakable, today I had that vision."

“I only ask because I’ve been having dreams for years about this mysterious boy… I thought maybe it could be related.” I whispered just loud enough for Luna to hear,

“Is no one going to answer my question?” Luna demanded.

I looked to the others; what question had Luna asked? The rest of my friends looked just as confused as I felt. Luna never seemed so frustrated, so scared. What had she seen in her dreams last night?

“Lucia’s Gate is an ancient prison. It was created three hundred years ago I think, it’s been a long time since I read this story. When the Mage that would become the All-Powerful One was at the height of his terror campaign, the Guardians of the age were led by a young Alpha couple Lucia and Lazarus. They are actually distant relatives of ours. Lucia accepted the help of the Queen of Hell, Beezlebub. Together, along with twenty Elders and twenty Protectors they created a pocket dimension they named Lucia’s Gate. Beezlebub was lost that day, pulled into the void as Severin was being imprisoned, some speculate that she is still there.” Dianna whispered, barely making eye contact with her daughter,

“But what does that have to do with my vision?”

“We can’t be sure, but it could be that the prophecy takes place inside the prison.”

"Maybe she passed on her knowledge from her creator to you." Mr. Placksworth mused.

Placksworth had been in his own little world, not paying attention to the story Dianna was telling.

"How do you mean sir, how would an Unspeakable be able to do something such as this?"

"According to Guardian records Lycan, older and more powerful Unspeakables have certain gifts. I am understanding that you killed a very, very old and powerful Unspeakable. What did she look like exactly?"

"She was blonde but it wasn’t natural, sucking on my ex-boyfriend's face, she had cloudy blue eyes and mint cover up breath."

"Yes, I know exactly who she is.” Placksworth’s face drooped. “She's the one who cursed me years ago. Her name was Victoria and she was created I believe fifteen hundred years ago. She was a Princess Warrior. Her mother was a witch and Victoria inherited the ability to see the future."

"You mean she saw that she was going to be turned into this grotesque creature?"

"Yes, I believe so, she preys on teenage boys with troubled home lives. It was how she targeted me."

"You said before she cursed you, how?"

"When I was sixteen, I fell in love with her, and I found out what she was and I tried to break it off but she used her magic and turned me into an old man. That was thirty-two years ago and well I'm still a sixteen-year-old boy mentally just trapped in a sixty something man's body and only true love's kiss can break it."

"You can't be serious." I said,

"Oh, but I am Accalia."

"Okay so have you found your true love?"

"I well, the curse entitles me to fall in love with a sixteen-year-old girl."

"What?!" Snow screeched.” But you’re like fifty! And anyway, thirty-two years later you'd still be at least in your forties."

"He would be forty-one. He told me he was close to retiring, that would make him at least sixty-five in this body. First cursed, he’d be in his forties." Lycan snarled. "Now tell us who you have fallen in love with before I rip out your throat."

Lycan rushed at him and pinned him against the stairway wall. "Tell us." from where I stood, I could see his fangs had grown and were inches from Placksworth's throat.

"Placksworth just tell him!" Luna cried.

Snow

The sight in front me was terrifying. My boyfriend was going to kill our mentor. I closed my eyes but nothing could block my superhuman ears because I heard Mr. Placksworth's voice whisper,

"Snow."

            Lycan's eyes flashed gold and he released him only because he was transforming into his wolf form. Tears fell from my eyes. I ran to Lycan to calm him to tell him I loved him but if this would help Mr. Placksworth then I had to do it.

 Lycan's eyes and teeth returned to normal and he stood. He looked to Placksworth and pulled me into his arms and kissed me for the first time in front of our friends and family to make Mr. Placksworth jealous, I was mad. I pushed away from him and walked over to Mr. Placksworth.

"What's your real name?"

"Trevor Aguirre."

"Okay Trevor."

I leaned over and kissed him quickly or I meant to but he pulled me to him and wouldn't let go. I realized that I loved him or at the very least a very small part of me did. Placksworth protected us our whole lives, he was my uncle’s best friend, he was basically my non-blood uncle. Why wouldn’t I love him just a bit? When we pulled apart, he wasn't my principal, he was a handsome sixteen-year-old boy with dirty blonde hair and baby blue eyes. I backed away and into Lycan's arms.

"Thank you Snow."

"Trevor, I hope you know that I can never be with you. It would be way too weird and I love Lycan."

"I understand. I will continue to mentor you and save your furry asses for society." He stormed out. I collapsed into Lycan's arms.

"Hey you did a good thing okay. You let him down easy."

"You broke his curse, right?" Accalia asked. "He's sort of cute."

"What so you want him?" I asked, "You can fucking have him." I sneered,

“What? EW, of course I don’t want him!”