| Book Prologues |
| Goddess Of The Night In ancient times, it was said that the goddess Selene drove the moon across the sky. Each night she followed her brother Helios, the sun, to catch his fiery rays and reflect the light back to earth. One night on her journey, she looked down and saw Endymion sleeping in the hills. She fell in love with the beautiful shepherd. Night after night she looked down on his gentle beauty and loved him more, until finally one evening she left the moon between the sun and the earth and went down to the grassy fields to lie beside him. For thre nights she stayed with him, and the moon, unable to catch the sun�s rays, remained dark. People feared the dark moon. They said it brought death and freed evil forces to roam the black night. Zeus, King of the Gods, was angered by the darkness and punished Selene by giving Endymion eternal sleep. Selene returned to the moon and drove it across the night sky, but her love was too strong. She hid Endymion in a cave; and now, three nights each lunar month, she leaves the moon to visit her sleeping lover and cover him with her silver kisses. In his sleep, Endymion dreams he holds the moon. He has given Selene many daughters to guard the night. They are powerful and beautiful like their mother, and mortal like their father. Into The Cold Fire In antiquity, Hekate was loved and revered as the goddess of the dark moon. People looked to her as a guardian against unseen dangers and spiritual foes. All was well until Persephone, the goddess of spring, was kidnapped by Hades and ordered to live in the underworld for three months each year. Persephone was afraid to make the journey down to the land of the dead alone, so year after year Hekate lovingly guided her through the dark passageway and back. Over time Hekate became known as Persephone's attendent. But because Persephone was also the queen of the lower world, who ruled over the dead with her husband, Hades, Hekate's role as guardian goddess soon became twisted and disorted until she was known as the evil witch goddess who stalked the night, looking for innocent people to bewitch and carry off to the underworld. Today few know the great goddess Hekate. Those who do are blessed with her compassion for soul lost in a realm of evil. Some are given a key. Night Shade Diana was the goddess of hunt and of all newborn creatures. Women prayed to her for happinessin marriage and child-birth, but her strength was so great that even the warlike Amazons worshipped her. No man was worthy of her love, until powerful Orion won her affection. She was about to marry him, but her twin brother, Apollo, was angered that she had fallen in love. One day , Apollo saw Orion in the sea with only his head above the water. Apollo tricked Diana by challenging her to hit the mark bobbing in the distant sea. Diana shot her arrow with deadly aim. Later, the waves rolled dead Orion to shore. Lamenting her fatal blunder, Diana placed Orion in the starry sky. Every night , she would lift her torch in the dark to see her beloved. Her light gave comfort to all, adn soon she became known as a goddess of the moon. It was whispered that if a girl-child was born in the wilderness, deliveredby the great goddess Diana, she would be known for her fierce protection of the innocent. The Secret Scroll Long ago, darkness reigned over the night. People were afraid and remained inside their shelters from sundown until sunrise. The goddess Selene saw their fear and gave light to their nocturnal world by driving her moon chariot across the starry sky. She followed her brother Helios, who rode the sun and caught his shining rays on her magnificent silver chariot, then cast them down to earth as moonbeams. She felt pride in the way the earthlings were comforted by her lgiht. But one night when she had abandoned her chariot to walk upon the earth, she noticed that in times of trouble many people lost all hope. Their despair bewildered her. After considering their plight, she knew how she could make her moon the greatest gift from the gods. From then on she drove around the earth and each ngiht caught her brother's rays from a different angle. This way the face of the moon was everchanging. People watched the moon decrease in light every night, until it could no longer be seen from the earth. Then after three nights of darkness, a crescent silver returned and themoon increased in light until it was fully illuminated as before. Selene did this to remind people that their darkest times can lead them to their brightest. The ancients understood Selene's gift in the lunar phases. Each night when they gazed at the moon, they knew Selene was tellnig them never give up hope. The Sacrifice A.D. 1239 The boy's eyes could not adjust to the dark. It was as if he had been blinded in his sleep. He called for a knight who had been charged with protecting him., but no one answered. Why had his guard allowed the hearth fire to go out? The boy listened. He could no longer hear the urgent voices of his father and te other knights in the banqueting hall. Had they left already on thier crusade? Then a strange presence filled the room, the boy knew he was not alone. He had heard his father and the priests whispering about an ancient evil. He felt his thumb for the ring his father had given him for protection. It was gone. Has it fallen off while he slept? He smoothed his hand under the pillows and down the bedcovers, searching for the comforting stone and metal. The door to his room slowly opened. He squinted against the sudden light from the lamp torches in the hallway. A girl stood in the doorframe. She looked more goddess than human, the way her skin seemed to glow. Abruptly cold air made him turn from her and look up. Threatening shadows gathered above him, whirling into a monstrous form. Then without warning, the darkness rushed over him. He screamed for his guardian knight, but it was the goddesslike girl who fought throughthe thickening blackness and rescued him. She held him tight against her and ran. The demon shadow raged after them with a force that shook the castle's stone walls. The girl fell, and the darkness kidnapped the boy. The Lost One A scraping sound came from the kitchen below the little girl's room. She wondered if her parents were still cleaning up from dinner. She glanced at the clock on her nightstand. It was four in the morning. At this hour they should be in bed, deep in slumber. Another, softer noise made her tense. It wasn't the natural creak and pop she sometimes heard at night. Thump. The noise repeated. She sat up with a start. Someone was walking up the stairs. She threw back her covers, crept to her door, and peered into the hallway. Her heart lurched. Two shadowy figures pressed agaisnt the wall. She could scream for her parents, but caution told her to be still. Instead she slipped back across her bedroom to open her window, pushed out the screen, and crawled onto the thick branch of an elm tree. She had done this many times. She liked to sit there to think and write in her journal. She had never clambered the length of the branch to her parents' bedroom before, but it looked possible. She tugged at her nightgown and struggled to thier screen, but suddenly stopped. The streetlamp cast a beam of lights across thier carpet.Why were they sleeping, sprawled together across the floor? She bit her tongue hard to keep the scream in her throat from coming out, then she blinked rapidly, not allowing herself tears. She needed the strength to find her sister, Jamie. With new resolve she reached forward and tore off the screen. It fell to the ground below, landing silently in a bed of pink and red carnations. She mounted the windowsill and pulled herself inside. She didn't let her mind consider what made the carpets warm and wet beneath her feet as she crept forward. She crouched behind their door and looked out. Two men were entering her room now. As soon as they did, she dashed on tiptoe across the hallway to where her sister slept. She rushed in and almost tripped over Jamie, lifeless and curled in a ball near the canopied bed. Her knees were suddenly too weak to hold her, and she sank to the floor, realizing everyone in her family was dead. She knew that soon the men would be looking for her.She rose and started to hide in the closet, but something stopped her. Instinct told her the two men would find her there. Queitly she raced across the hallway and down the stairs, stooping low against the banister. When she reached the landing, she heard the men behind her. She swung open the door as thier footfalls pounded down the steps. At last she ran out into the night, guided by the full moon. Moon Demon During the Peloponnesian War a brave Athenian soldier fell desperately in love with the daughter of his commander. He asked for her hand in marriage but she had to refuse. Having dedicated her life to the goddess Selene, she had vowed not to marry until an evil power called the Atrox was vanquished. The soldier swore to destory the dark force and free his beloved from her vow. He traveled day and night until he came to the western side of the river Oceanus. There he passed through groves of baren willows and poplars until he found the cave that led to Tartarus, the land of the dead. He entered it, and when he reached the impenetrable darkness, demons swarmed around him. A towering black cloud surged toward him. He knew it was the Atrox. But instead of trembling with fear, he became intoxicated with his own bravery; he alone had the courage to face the Atrox. If he destroyed it, he would not only with his bride, but also become as powerful as any of the immortal gods. Pride overtook him as he shot his arrow. A terrible scream pierced the msity air. Then the unimaginable happened. The Atrox surrendered to him and humbly offered a gift of gold ankle bands in tribute. The young man, eager to return to his love and flaunt his victory, clasped the heavy metal bands around his legs, but as he did, flames ravaged his body and the evil he had set out to destory consumed him. The Atrox had tricked him and given him not ornaments but shackles, condeming him to an eternity of servitude. Demons carried him away from the underworld and cast him out from earth. Over the centuries many people have seen the young soldier in the night sky and though hom only a falling star. He wanders the universe alone, unable to return to Earth unless summoned by his master, the Atrox. Possession In A.D. 1223 an infant was born, clutching a jewel in her tiny fist. Her peasant father ran to the castle to bring back a preist, but by the time they returned to the hut, the jewel had disappeared. The priest declared that such would be the child's life: all good would slip through her fingers. The years passed, and the girl's beauty became celebrated. Knights and kings journeyed far to gaze into her eyes before leving on thier crusades. Women and children mage pilgrimages to look upon her angelic face. All who saw her felt blessed. But an ancient evil called the Atrox also saw her unearthly perfection and pursued her, offering her father great treasures if she would betroth it. The girl saw her father's poverty and agreed to the union, making only one request for herself-that her beauty should last forever. The Atrox agreed, and she pledged her devotion for eternity. A follower of the Atrox came to take the young woman to the underworld, but when he saw her beauty and grace, he fell desperatly in love with her and she, too, with him. They tried to hide their love, but the Atrox saw through their deception. When the young women stepped into the Cold Fire to recivev immortality, instead of preserving her beauty for eternity, the flames consumed her felsh and bones, turning her into a wind spirit. The knight could not endure life without her. The force of his love drove him across the world, searching for a sorceress with the power to restore her human form. As he was crossing the sea, a storm broke out and sent his ship off course to the island of Aeaea, where Circe, an ancient enchantress, lived. Circe gave him a magic potion. With it, his beloved could possess any body she desired. Since the many young women have felt her presence and wondered afteward what made them act so wickedly, never understanding that for a brief time, the spirit of the wind had taken over thier mind and soul. The Choice In ancient times, the Gorgon Meduse lived on the far side of Oceanus in the land of Night. She was an awesome dragonlike creature with bronze claws, great golden wings, and fierce eyes that turned her beholder to stone. At one time she had been a beautiful young woman who filled the world with joy, not death, but in a moment of foolish pride she had compared herself to Athena. Such arrogance enraged the noble goddess, and in revenge she turned Medusa's lush hair into a tangle of vile, hissing snakes. From that moment on, Medusa's stare brought the stillness of death to anyone who dared look into her eyes. Meanwhile Polydectes, King of Seriphos, wanted to destory Perseus, so he sent him off to bring back Medusa's head, knowing that her gaze would kill the young hero. But Athena heard the king's command. Still angry with Medusa, she gave Perseus her bronze shield to defend himself when he attacked the Gorgon. Holding the shield as a mirror, Persues saw only Medusa's refelction, and her deadly stare did not harm him. He cut off her head and put it into a cloth bag, then flew away with the aid of a pair of winged sandals given to him by Hermes. As Persues soared over the African desert, blood seeped through the bag and fell to the hot sands below. As each drop hit the scorching ground, it turned to steam, and rising vapors transformed into three dangerously beautiful nymphs. The Talisman Maggie stood on the roof of her apartment building, her eyes weak and unable to bring the night lights into clear focus. An ocen breeze curled around her back, and the sudden chill roused a sharp pain in her spine. She had waited to long to take the potion given to her when she was a girl in Athens. Now she pulled the glass vial from her skirt pocket and held it to the eastern sky.The liquid inside shimmered silver, anticipating the moon. For the potion to work best, she had to drink it in moonlight. But sometimes she took it during the day, finding pleasure in the stunned expressions of people who witnessed her transformation back to youth. A sad smile crossed her wrinkled facec, mirroring her mixed emotions. It was time for another to take her place. She would have to tell her successor soon. In her own mind it was clear. When evil forces in the world become too strong, the good in the universe always sent someone to restore harmony. Saints, mystics, sometimes a prophet, once a savior. This time an ancient moon goddess had come to earth, but as often happened, she had no awarenessof her true identity. The girl was hostile and filled with too much self-confidence. What would she do when she learned the truth? It had been nearly impossible to convince her that she was a Daughter of the Moon, and now Maggie had to tell her that she was an ancient goddess and destined to take Maggie's place. At last the moon rose. Its gentle radiance touched the flask, and the potion became a rainbow of lights spiking from the glass. Maggie sipped the sweet elixir. Heat seared through muscle, bone, and skin. Her body tightened, becomnig young again. When she finished drinking, the flask vanished, leaving only a cascade of sparks in her thin, graceful hands. This was the end. She had no potion left to restore life. That was sad but good. After living for more than two thousand years, she was ready. Her mind turned back to the girl. How would it feel to think you were one person and then learn you were entirely another? Convincing the girl was not going to be an easy task, but it had to be done quickly. A sudden change in the wind jarred her thoughts. Her stomach twisted as fear rose inside her. The gust blew from the northeast. Such winds always carried omens of doom. She traced her fingers through the humming currents, gathering the vibrations on the tips of her fingers. She breathed it in and knew with terrible certainty that the Atrox had somehow escaped her binding. It hd taken human form again, but how was that possible? She turned and hurried back to her apartment, praying she wouldn't be too late this time. As she rushed down the stairs, memories of her youth came flooding back. |
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