Chapter 11: The Edge of the Full Moon

A shadowy haze enveloped the sky as Alec, Kade, Jax, and Luna arrived on the outskirts of the forest where they were supposed to perform the ritual. There was a tangible tension among them. Only two days remained until the full moon, and that basically meant that all their hopes were hanging on the unlocking of the relic power to stand a chance against the Nightborne.

The place they decided upon was an ancient clearing in the interior of the forest. The clearing was, as they were told, a place of power, an ancient sacred site of rituals centuries old, where the wolves of yore had interceded.

As they stepped into the clearing, the air seemed almost to hum with digitized energy, and it felt as though the very ground had recognized its intended purpose. The sun illuminated the trees while long shadows traversed the floor, all knowing that the full moon was about to rise.

"This should be a good spot for the ritual," Alec said, with a low and thoughtful voice as he took a look around.

Luna stood next to him, her gaze scanning the clearing. The entire place felt vast and ancient, having witnessed magic and transformation for what seemed like eons. Her heart raced in anticipation of what was to come.

He also tossed his backpack onto the ground and started to bring out a mixture of items they had brought for the ritual. Candles, herbs, crystals; all were crucial to the process. "We only have some hours left to set everything up before night time,”explained Kade. "The full moon is going to be at the top by tomorrow night, and we really need to be ready." 

Jax, still unruffled, assisted Kade in arranging the supplies. "Let me set the perimeter," he said. "No chance whatsoever of having someone interrupting us."

Luna felt uneasy watching the others work. The clearing was now peaceful yet heavily overshadowed by the growing weight of the moment on her shoulders. It was all moving too fast for her. The relic in her bag faintly pulsed; she could feel its power coursing through her tissues but still felt an ominous chill within-the unknowns were still much.

"And how do you feel about all this?" Alec asked softly as he moved closer to her. His voice was even, his eyes searched hers for any doubts.

Luna looked at him with conflicted expressions. "I have no idea," she confessed. "Feel overwhelming. I have the relic, I know the ritual, but what if it backfires? What if we fail to control it?"

Alec took her hand-a warm, reassuring grip. "We are in this together," he said, voice steady, and squeezed her hand. "Whatever may happen, we will take care of it! You have come this far, Luna. You have been stronger than any of us."

Luna managed a small smile, although the weight of her fears still loomed over her. "I just don't want to fail. Too much is at stake."

"You won't," Alec said, squeezing her hand once more. "We won't let that happen."

Just as the last light of day left, they finished setting out the ceremonial area. Candles lit up the large circle in the clearing, the flames flickering in the increasing wind. The herbs and crystals were arranged in such formations that were pleasingly similar to the symbols encoded in the ancient texts. Everything was finally set. 

"We should probably get some rest," Kade said quietly, inspecting their work. "Tomorrow, it's going to be... intense."

The group agreed, though the prospect of sleep seemed doubtful. Luna, especially, lay sleepless and restless, her mind racing with thoughts of what lay ahead.

Hours passed; night deepened. Luna would not allow herself to sleep anymore with all those restless thoughts buzzing in her head. She could feel the energy of the relic tugging at her, becoming stronger with every moment that passed, the full moon's approach coming. The air in the clearing sizzled with anticipation and enveloped with a rather foreboding feel.

She sat upright, feeling the urge to breathe the cool night air, and got out of her tent quietly. The moonlight illuminated the clearing, while the flickering candles still glowed softly in a refreshing night breeze. The sight of what they had set up, the circle of energy they had created, sent shivers down her spine.

Luna walked toward the center of the clearing with her bare feet brushing against the soft grass. She gazed up to behold a silvery pearl of a nearly full moon that cast a ghostly light upon all things she perceived. She couldn't help but ponder for a moment about the ritual, the Nightborne, and the power that awaited her.

As she stood there, lost in thought, she suddenly sensed the presence of someone close behind her. She whipped around, her heart racing, to see Jax standing at the edge of the clearing, his ambiguous-dark eyes unreadable.

"You couldn't sleep either?" Jax asked quietly, walking toward her.

Luna shook her head. "No. Too many thoughts in my mind."

Jax stopped a few steps away from her, having an intense stare. "I can't shake the feeling that something's going to happen tomorrow. Something big..." 

Luna frowned. "You mean the ritual?"

Jax hesitated, and then shook his head slowly. "Not just that. I feel like... there's something we're missing. Something important."

Luna grimaced at Jax's words. She felt that, too, the nagging sense that there was more to the relic and the ritual. "Do you think it's dangerous?" she whispered.

Jax's expression turned dark. "Anything about this is dangerous in my opinion. But we don't have a choice."

Luna nodded, feeling her heart sink under the weight of it all. The Nightborne were coming, and they would never survive if they couldn't find a way to harness the relic's power.

"I don't like keeping secrets from the others," Jax said suddenly, his voice raw with emotion. "But there's something I need to tell you."

Luna could hardly breathe from the excitement. "What is it?"

Jax hesitated again, weighing each word as if it was made of glass. "Right before we met you, before all of this... I had a vision. A glimpse of the future. It was fast, but it felt real. In this vision, I saw the relic... and you."

Luna's eyes went wide with shock. "What did you see?"

Jax's expression could have been hard to read, but his voice was very much intense, like a burden he bore alone. "I saw you holding the relic, with chaos all around us. The forest was in flames, and the sky was red. And then, just before it went dark, you... you disappeared."

Luna's breath seized in her throat. "Disappeared? What do you mean?"

"I don't know," Jax said, voice strained with frustration. "It was just a vision, but I have tried to think it through then. But now, with everything going on, I can't help but feel like it has a connection." "As if the relic is in some way fated to you."

Luna's heart raced in her chest. Cold fear gripped her as his words sank in deep, heavy words that rested heavily upon her shoulders. Was tomorrow, the day of the ritual, going to end in disaster? Would she be engulfed in it?

Moving up to her very close, Jax fixed his eyes into hers. "Luna, whatever happens tomorrow… I need you to promise me you'll be careful. Don't let the power of the relic consume you."

Luna swallowed very hard; her mind raced with all the possible scenarios she didn't want to face. Yet she nodded, almost a whisper. "I promise."

The moon was still floating slowly in the sky as solemn silence appeared around that clearing, and Luna felt the shuddering weight of Jax's warning settle deep in her.

Tomorrow would change everything.