A laugh bubbled from my lips.
“And you.” She walked to Raf and put a gentle hand on his shoulder. “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry about your mother. I’m sorry I didn’t trust Harper’s instincts about you. I was wrong.”
Raf looked up at her, eyes still shining unnaturally. “No, I understand,” was all Raf said, but it was enough.
Mr. Beuterbaugh moved to help Olivia up.
“Mr. Beuterbaugh?” she asked, clearly still totally confused that the school principal was there. “Am I in trouble?”
He laughed a deep slow laugh and, with waddling steps, guided her through the doorway toward the exit. “No, Olivia, you’re not in trouble. In fact I think it’s time we talked.” They faded into the darkness together.
Mambo sidled up to me on Kaska’s back. “Hey, Harper.” Though her eyes no longer glowed, they were still turning like molten gold. Heat radiated off her like she had just popped out of the oven.
“Mambo,” I bowed formally because it seemed like the right thing to do. She nodded with approval.
“We’ll need to talk once things settle down. Until then, I think he will need your help.” She rose her chin toward Raf, still cradling his mother.
I swallowed. “Yeah,” I said. “What happened here? I thought Mrs. Louie was a Solaris like you?”
Mambo looked sadly at Mrs. Louie still unconscious on the floor. “There’s been a fracture among my people for a long time now. A group of Gnomon and Solaris leaders formed a secret alliance. Their plan was to wipe out the Lunates altogether.”
“I thought the Gnomon were neutral.”
“They’re supposed to be. It is the order of things. But some, like Martin, decided to choose a side and tip the balance in their favor.”
She looked at her husband with such sorrow I swallowed my angry comment.
Mambo continued, “Perhaps they wanted power for themselves. Or perhaps they just grew tired of our fighting, but they reached out to the Solaris and formed a pact.”
“And my dad?”
“Kane Dae stood against the Solaris leaders when they agreed to work with the Gnomon. He said it was wrong. That it would disrupt the basic balance of the world’s Anima.”
“So my dad was taken by his own people? Is he….alive?”
“He was taken by the Solaris leadership, and yes, I believe he’s alive.” I thought about that for a long while.
“But Selene was trying to gain her own power?”
“She was right to say that the Solaris have wronged her. The allied Gnomon and Solaris have been quietly killing Lunate children for almost a hundred years now. Raf’s own twin sister was one of the children they murdered. It’s the main reason your father refused to help them.” Mambo looked sadly at Selene’s lifeless body. “I think she was driven mad by grief when her daughter was killed. Could think only of revenge. Her methods were abhorrent, but her goals honorable.”
I digested that, looking over at Raf whose own psyche was so damaged by Selene’s evil. Can the means ever justify the ends? If she had succeeded and destroyed the Solaris Pact, my mom would have been let go and maybe my dad would have been set free? Would I have traded Raf’s well-being and Olivia’s life for my father’s freedom? The answer was no. I wouldn’t. Which is who I am. The answer to everyone’s question.
“What should we do with them?” I pointed to Mrs. Louie and Mr. Silver, both still unconscious on the muddy floor.
“I’ll send some people to bring them in. Make no mistake, Harper, war is coming, and you will have a role to play. Your friend Rafael as well.”
“What do I do with this?” I held up the Jade Moon.
“That belongs to you now.” With a bow toward me, Kaska and Mambo wheeled and rode off after Olivia and Mr. Beuterbaugh.
Raf limped over to us. “We should get out of here. I suspect my mom’s people want to bury her. Plus we have a lot to talk about I think.”
He looked different, stronger.
With arms thrown around each other for support, the three of us emerged into the blinding sunlight.
As we climbed into Raf’s Lotus he asked, “What now?”
I looked into his grey eyes and said, “Hell, we’re rich, I’ve got some kind of fancy superpowers, there’s a war brewing, and I’m going to find my dad.”
He gave me a lopsided smile and together the three of us drove off into the unknown.
THE END
Jade Moon (Celestial War Book 1) Page 18
