Cresent Prophecy

goin’ out,” she began. “The city is busy, so I don’t worry about walkin’ at night. I was walkin’, and a van pulled up beside me. I didn’t even see it until it was there…”
I glanced at Boone. It might’ve been a glamour like the one Fae-Alex had used to hide his true face, or she may have genuinely not seen it.
“Two men jumped out…” She hesitated, then went on. “I don’t know what happened after that. The next thing I remember, I was tied to a chair in a dark room.”
Oh, God…
“The men were there… They said something about a ritual, and they took me blood…” She held up her hand where an angry-looking gash split across her palm. “It mustn’t have worked because they came back and were really angry. They…” She sniffed. “They argued about what to do with me. One wanted to kill me and throw me in the Liffey.”
I glanced at Boone.
“The river,” he said.
“The other one didn’t want the trouble, so they decided to cast a spell on me.”
“What did they do?” I asked gently when she stalled.
“They thought they’d wiped me memory, but it didn’t work. So I pretended…” She was on the verge of tears, her fist clutching around the talisman for dear life. “I pretended, and they dumped me on the street outside the dorm.”
“Oh, Mairead…” I wrapped my arms around her, and she fell against my chest and started to sob. “Did they hurt you anywhere else?”
“N-no.”
It must’ve been the talisman that made them think she was me. We looked similar, and she was carrying an identical necklace that was imbued with Crescent magic. It got her into trouble, but when it counted, it had saved her from having her memory wiped clean. Who knew what their intent was? She could be a mindless shell right about now—or worse…floating facedown in a river.
“Boone?”
“Yeah?” He snapped to attention.
“Could you make Mairead a hot cup of tea? And there are chocolate biscuits in the top cupboard.”
He nodded—not giving me any lip about my secret stash of biscuits—and glanced at her once more before stomping into the kitchen.
“I won’t lie to you, Mairead,” I said once we were alone. “I’ve dropped you into the middle of a war without meaning to. There are people and things out there that want me dead, all because of what I am and what I can do. I’m so sorry. I never meant for you to be dragged into this. I wanted to protect you.”
“It’s true?” Her eyes sparkled with tears, and her skin was puffy.
“It’s true.”
“You can do magic? Actual magic?”
“Yep. Freaks me out, too.”
She sniffed and wiped at her eyes, pulling away from me. Opening her palm, she stared at the crystal.
“I made it to protect you,” I said. “See those gold flecks? That’s the color of my magic.”
“Really?”
I nodded. “I’m sorry I got you into trouble.”
“They wanted to hurt you, Skye. Whatever they wanted it sounded bad.”
I didn’t want to be reminded of the prophecy, but here it was in all its gory glory. It was time to sit up and start paying attention. The war the Crescents had been waiting a thousand years to come to blows was finally here, and the enemy had made the first move. I had to up my game and fast.
“Here,” I said, gesturing for Mairead’s injured hand. “Let me see.”
She held out her hand and rested it gingerly in mine. Closing my opposite hand over hers, I focused my magic. Feeling the warm golden glow in my stomach, I nudged it into the cut. Since we were away from the hawthorn, it was only a trickle, but it was enough that Boone reappeared.
“Skye…”
“Shh,” I said. “Let me do this.”
Imagining Mairead’s skin growing and joining, I finally felt the magic cease as the spell ran its course. Removing my hand from hers, I smiled when I saw the cut was completely healed. She needed a bar of soap, but that was trivial.
“Oh mo dhia,” she whispered, staring at her hand.
“Good as new,” I declared, rather pleased with myself. This magic thing was getting easier the more I practiced. Boone was right about the instinctual thing, but I’d had a hard time connecting the two things together until now. Magic and intent.
“Was Aileen like you, too?”
“Yes, she was.”
“That explains so much…” she mused.
“Do your parents know where you are?” I went on. “Do they know what happened?”
“Don’t tell them!” she exclaimed.
“They need to know you’re not at school,” I countered. “But the magic and the kidnapping thing…”
I didn’t like it, but we had to keep it a secret. The police couldn’t do anything against Carman and her agents, neither could Mairead’s mum or dad. Telling them and making a fuss would only expose all of us, and then we’d all be locked up in some government facility where we would be cut open and experimented on. That would be a real hoot. I wondered what the food was like…
“You cannae tell anyone about this, Mairead,” Boone said, kneeling before the girl. “Magic is dyin’, and Skye is the only one who can stop it. If somethin’ happens to her, then I don’t know what’ll happen to the rest of us. And that’s only the beginnin’ of it.”
“Way to alarm the girl,” I declared, but Mairead nodded.
“I know,” she said. “I figured since people don’t believe and all.”
“We have to figure out something,” I mused aloud.
“I can’t go back,” she exclaimed, grasping my arm. “I can’t go back there.”
“We’ll figure it out,” I said.
“Skye, I’m afraid.”
It was the most genuine I’d ever seen Mairead. Usually, she was aloof and did whatever she could to hide her emotions, but in the wake of her ordeal, her mask was gone. Underneath, she was just an eighteen-year-old girl with the same hopes, fears, and dreams as everyone else. I was all for individuality, but at our core, we all had the same feelings.
“Will they come here?” she asked fretfully.
“No. We’re protected here,” I