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book had
gently thrown them against a wall after they’d touched it, and I
told them about our adventure and the consequences that come with
touching that book.” He grinned. “So... nothing out of the
ordinary, I’d say.”
    “ And... how did they
respond?” Samira said worriedly. “Did they take it
well?”
    “ They did go a bit
pale, I believe,” James said. “But they’ll probably be fine; I told
them we’d be staying with them all the time and would protect them
at all costs. Something which I believe is our duty as parents, am
I right?”
    The others nodded
agreeing. It was their duty. And a duty they’d die
for to fulfil, although they hoped heavily that it’d never have to
go that far.
    “ I’d suggest we spend
some time preparing them a bit for what’s to come by allowing them
to read the book,” Lucy suggested. “That way, you guys have some
time for yourselves to get your memories of Lunaria all together.
There might be something you remember from your last visit that
will bring an advantage for you.”
    “ Lucy, you’re
brilliant!” James said, as he sat down on his knees and bent over
the coffee table to draw his friends closer. “We can base a
strategy on things that went well – things we should repeat – and
things that went wrong and which we should avoid repeating at all
costs.
    This visit will be different and
probably more dangerous – or not, who knows – than our previous
visit, but if we take another look at our past victories and
failures, we can learn from those.”
    The others agreed
with him; while there’d been plenty of plans that had worked, many
had failed. If they could remember what happened when their plans
failed, they could work around that to make them work –
hopefully.
    It wasn’t a foolproof system, but
it sure was a good and useful system. James shortly left to return
the book to the teenagers and explain to them what they had to do,
before returning to his own crew and discussing
strategies.
    This war wasn’t over yet. It’d
only just begun – twenty-five years ago.
    *
    When Antonio drove home later that afternoon,
he felt nervous. And not because of the grim future that lay
ahead of him and his friends, but because he had to tell his
ex-wife about it. 
    He hadn’t spoken to her in three
years, and she probably didn’t have any interest in doing so now,
but Antonio believed that Louise had the right to know what was
going on. 
    As he pulled up in his ex’s
driveway, Antonio nearly had second thoughts, but as he began to
back out of the driveway, the front door opened, and Louise
appeared in the opening; her eyes widened in surprise at the sight
of her ex-husband’s car. 
    “ Antonio?” Louise asked, trying
hard to sound friendly as Antonio got out of his car. “What
are you doing here?” 
    “ There’s... a situation,” Antonio
said, wearing a serious expression on his face. “We need to
talk.” 
    Louise, although clearly reluctant
to do so, told her husband to come inside.  
    “ Does this have anything to do
with Mari?” Louise said. “If not, then I’m afraid I’m not
interested. 
    “ It’s not about Mari, but it is
about your family,” Antonio said. “Well – your former family.
Me.” 
    “ Isn’t it always about you?”
Louise said; she simply couldn’t keep herself from making snarky
remarks at her ex. Antonio paid it no mind. 
    “ I have to go back
to Lunaria, Louise,” he said. “Do you remember that old story
I told you shortly after we got together? It’s happening
again.” 
    Louise set her jaw. “You’re kidding,
right?” 
    “ Ah, of course,” Antonio sighed.
“You never believed that story.” 
    Louise sipped from her coffee. She
hadn’t offered Antonio any. ”I don’t see why I
should.” 
    “ Well, maybe
because it’s true?” Antonio snapped. “There are five people –
no,  seven  people who’ve confirmed that everything I told you was
true.” 
    “ Magic?”