Blue Moon (Book One in The Blue Crystal Trilogy) (28 page)

Arriving back at home, I let
myself in through the front door and attempted to climb the stairs
and creep into bed. But my mother surprised me by coming through
the lounge doorway fully dressed.

“Oh, there you are. Where d’you
think you’ve been all night?” her voice had an edge to it I didn’t
like.

“It’s not how it seems, mum, I
wasn’t with Theo.”

My reply seemed to surprise
her. It was obviously not what she’d expected to hear.

“Well, if you weren’t with
Theo, where were you? This had better be good. I’ve been sitting up
worrying half the night. Every time I phoned you I got
voicemail.”

I thought quickly, I had to
find some excuse that sounded plausible. Secret passageways, blue
crystals and eternal youth would not go down well.

“For a start, I’ve lost my
phone,” I said, “I can’t find it anywhere. That’s why you couldn’t
reach me. I was in the church.” I decided honesty was the best
policy, well up to a point.

“The church? What were you
doing there?” This was a curved ball and took her by surprise.

“I, er, went to pray,” I said,
failing to convince even myself.

“To pray? You're not even
religious. Since when did you go to the church to pray on a Friday
night? Please credit me with a little more intelligence and at
least come up with a more plausible excuse.”

This was not going well. I
tried one more time.

“I’ve been studying George
Herbert’s religious poetry for English, and I decided I wanted to
look in the church. While I was there, I decided to say a prayer
for Granddad, then when I came to go out, the door was locked and I
was stuck overnight. I couldn’t call because I didn't have my
phone. Believe me, it’s not an experience I want to repeat. It was
freezing and I didn’t sleep. I only got out when someone unlocked
the door.” It was as close to the truth as I dared tell, just a
couple of small white lies in there.

My mother looked at me as if
I’d totally lost my marbles.

“I guess you’d better go to bed
for a while. Just as well it’s Saturday.”

I climbed the stairs to the
landing, then called softly back, “How’s Granddad?”

My mum looked up worried. “He’s
okay, but he’s not getting any better. I may ring for the doctor
this afternoon. We need to keep an eye on him.”

“He won’t like that,” I
commented. “Once I’ve had a sleep, I’ll sit with him.”

“Thanks, Emily, he’ll like
that.”

I went into my bedroom and
crawled into bed fully clothed. Worn out by the events of the last
two nights, I fell immediately into a deep, dreamless sleep and
didn’t wake until two in the afternoon. I showered and pulled on
fresh clothes, then went downstairs. My mother was sitting in the
breakfast room, drinking tea.

“Would you like a cup? There’s
tea in the pot,” she said.

I poured myself a cup and
proceeded to make myself cheese on toast.

“You had a good sleep,” she
commented, coming into the kitchen. “Do you feel a bit better now?
I can’t believe you spent the night in the church.”

“Neither can I,” I said, and
that was most definitely the truth. “How’s Granddad?”

“Still not good, I’m wondering
whether to call for the doctor. Have you seen him?”

I shook my head. “I’ll pop in
when I’ve eaten.”

As soon as I saw Granddad, I
knew something was wrong. The room felt hot and airless, and the
curtains were partially drawn, keeping out the daylight. Granddad
lay back on the pillows, his eyes closed, face pale and his lips a
blue colour. He seemed to be having difficulty breathing.

“Granddad?” I called, trying to
rouse him. “Granddad, can you hear me?

His eyes flickered open, trying
to focus on me.

“Emily?” he said faintly.

“Don’t try to speak,” I
instructed him. “I’ll get mum. You don’t look well.”

His eyes flickered shut again
and his breath sounded ragged and shallow. I ran to the top of the
stairs and called down to my mother.

“Mum, mum, I think you’d better
call an ambulance. Granddad really isn’t well. I don't know if he’s
had a heart attack.”

My mother appeared downstairs
carrying the portable phone.

“Let me see,” she said and ran
up the stairs into Granddad’s room. She took one look at him and
said, “Right, I’m dialling 999. Hang on in there, Dad, we need to
get help.”

Ten minutes later, the
paramedics arrived and my Granddad was on oxygen. It seemed to
revive him a little and he gave me a weak smile. They placed him on
a wheelchair, wrapped him in blankets and carried him carefully
downstairs.

“Can I come with you?” I asked,
as they wheeled him into the back of the ambulance.

“Yes, that’s fine,” answered
the young male paramedic who was tending him. “He may have had a
mild heart attack, we need to get him to hospital as soon as
possible.”

“I’ll drive behind in the car,”
said my mother, her face white and drained.

In no time we were at the
hospital and Granddad was placed in an Assessment Bay. A young male
doctor came to see him immediately.

“We need to get him up to the
Assessment Ward straight away and ensure he’s stabilised.” Seeing
our distraught expressions, he added kindly, “ Please don’t worry,
he’s in the best possible hands. Wait in the Relatives’ Room and
we’ll let you know as soon as you can see him.”

My mother and I waited, barely
speaking, for what seemed an age.

“He can’t die,” I said
tearfully, “he’s the only Granddad I’ve got.”

Eventually, a dark-skinned
nurse in a starched white uniform, with a jolly Caribbean accent
informed us that we could see Granddad.

“We don't think he’s had a
heart attack,” she informed us. “It’s more likely he has bronchitis
and needs antibiotics. We’ve booked a chest x-ray and will know
more then.”

Granddad sat up in bed with a
clear oxygen mask around his face, attached by a tube to a large
oxygen canister. He looked much better than I was expecting and
even managed to smile.

I put my arms round Granddad
and gave him a big hug.

“Gramps, you had us worried,” I
said. “I thought you were at death’s door.”
“Glad to see you’re looking better, Dad,” said my mum. “Sorry to
get the ambulance, but I didn’t have any choice.”

“I know,” he said through the
mask, “don’t worry, I’ll be back at home in no time.”

He wasn’t though. While the
x-ray showed no evidence of a heart attack, it did reveal that he
had emphysema of the lungs, which was not good news. We were told
it was too risky for him to go home while he had a chest infection
and that he needed to stay on oxygen until he’d stabilised. There
was no cure for emphysema, it was a chronic lung condition probably
brought about by many years smoking Woodbine cigarettes when he was
younger, and in latter years a pipe. We sat with Granddad until
early evening when it was obvious he needed to sleep. The sister
suggested we go home.

“I’ll call you if anything
changes,” she told us, “but the best thing you can do is get some
rest and come back in the morning. I’ll take care of him, don’t
worry.”

My mother drove home slowly,
both of us shell-shocked. Granddad was the lynchpin that held us
together. We simply couldn’t comprehend a world without him. At
home, we drank sweet tea to give us energy, but neither of us had
much appetite. My mother sat in the lounge watching Saturday night
trivia shows on television, but taking nothing in. I went upstairs
and lay on my bed, feeling empty and strange. I thought about the
last few days and all that had happened. It seemed dreamlike and
remote, as if it had happened to someone else, and I could hardly
focus on any of the detail. The reality was Granddad lying gravely
ill in hospital, suffering from a condition that would never get
better and which would eventually kill him.

If only there was a magic
potion, I thought, that would heal his lungs and make him better.
Then I remembered the kitten. Violet’s kitten that I’d seen run
over and killed in that terrible accident, then miraculously
brought back to life with no apparent injuries or after-effects.
And what about the old people at the Blue Moon Ball? Those gnarled
old fossils who’d been restored to youth. Would it be possible? I
hardly dared hope… I knew the de Lucis family had the power to heal
and restore. All I had to do was ask Theo. They had the blue
crystal. If it could keep them young for centuries and bring a
kitten back to life, then it could surely heal Granddad’s
lungs.

I went downstairs to find the
portable phone and took it back up to my bedroom. With trembling
hands I dialled Theo’s number. As I waited for him to pick up, one
hand went subconsciously to the crystal hanging round my neck and
squeezed it tightly.

Then Theo was speaking on the
phone. “Emily, are you alright? What’s happening? Are you in
danger?”

“No, no,” I’m fine,” I said,
unsure what to say next. Then suddenly my words came out so fast
they were falling over one another. “It’s not me, it’s Granddad.
He’s in hospital. It’s serious. We thought he’d had a heart attack,
but it’s bronchitis. They’ve done a chest x-ray and discovered
emphysema. Theo, he could die.”

“Emily, I’m so sorry,” he said
gently. “It must have been an awful shock for you and your mother.
Do you want me to come over?”

“Yes. No. I don’t know.” How
could I ask him? I had to. He was the only person who could help
me. “Theo, I need your help.”

“Yes, anything, just say.”

“Anything?”

“Anything within reason,
Emily.” I think he was beginning to see where this was going.

“Can you make him better, Theo?
Like the kitten and those old people at the Blue Moon Ball? Can you
use the blue crystal?”

There was a silence on the
other end of the phone. Then he said, “It’s not quite as simple as
that, Emily. We can't make an old person young and well again. It’s
not possible.”

“But you brought the kitten
back to life.”

“That was different,” said
Theo. “The kitten had a faint pulse when we picked him up. He was
badly injured but his life force was strong. We were able to heal
him. Your Granddad no longer has that life force. We can’t make him
young or healthy again.”

“But you made all those old
people at the Blue Moon Ball young again?” I persisted.

Theo sighed. “Emily, they were
young when they first used the crystal. That’s the way it works. It
restores you to the age you were when you first used it. The only
reason they were ageing is that it was time for them to renew their
energy. At your Granddad’s age, he’d never survive the crystal’s
power. He’s not strong enough. And even if he did, would he want to
stay at that age forever? For all kinds of reasons, it’s not
possible.”

“So you won’t do it?” I
asked.

“Not won’t, Emily, can’t.”

“You mean we’re not rich
enough,” I said coldly. “I remember what you told me. ‘Eternal
youth doesn’t come cheap.’ What you really mean is my Granddad
isn’t wealthy enough.”

“No,” protested Theo, “it’s got
nothing to do with money. I would do anything for you, Emily,
anything within my power. Surely you know that?”

“I thought I could count on
you, Theo.”

“You can, Emily, just not for
this. I’m sorry.”

“So am I, Theo. Well, at least
I know where your loyalties lie. And they’re not with me.”

“Emily, it’s not like that,” he
started to say, but I interrupted him.

“I’d like to say it’s been nice
knowing you, Theo, but I can’t. Goodbye.”

Tears choked my voice and I
hung up, throwing the phone onto the bed. My hands went to the
silver chain hanging round my neck and, pulling it sharply, I
attempted to hurl it across the room. But it wouldn’t break no
matter how hard I pulled, and when I tried to find the fastener, it
wasn’t there. It was just one continuous chain. And now I had a
sore neck where it had cut into me.

I lay on the bed and sobbed.
Only a few weeks ago I had a normal life, with good friends and
everything ahead of me. Now, my life was in danger from all kinds
of enemies, supernatural and otherwise, I’d met a boy who wasn’t
human, I had to decide whether I wanted eternal youth or not, and
if I did I might die in the process. On top of that, my Granddad
was ill in hospital, I’d alienated myself from my friends and I’d
just split up from my boyfriend. Could things really get any
worse?

Hearing me sobbing, my mother
quietly opened the door and came in to sit by me. She gently
stroked my hair, like she did when I was little. I put my arms out
and pulled her close to me.

“Oh mum,” I sobbed, “why is
life so difficult? Why can’t it all stay simple and easy?”

“Because life isn’t simple and
easy,” she said, holding me tight. “You’re growing up and finding
out how painful it can be. When you’re a child, you’re sheltered
from all this, but I can’t protect you forever.”

I buried my head into her
shoulder and said through my tears, “I’ve just split up with
Theo.”

“Oh, Emily, I’m sorry. He
seemed so nice. Do you want to talk about it?”

Where would I start? That my
beautiful ex-boyfriend was actually thousands of years old, that he
bathed in the light of a powerful blue crystal to stay young
forever, that he’d placed me in mortal danger and even as I spoke
strange creatures could be outside our house planning my demise.
How could I tell my mum any of that? It was ridiculous beyond
belief and so I just said ‘no’ and cried some more.

“You’re worried about Granddad,
as well, aren’t you?” asked my mum, gently.

How could I say that I’d split
up with Theo because he wouldn’t use his super powers to save
Granddad? It was all too complicated.

“Is Granddad going to die?” I
asked my mum tearfully.