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Louise
mumbled. “ Really ,
Antonio?” 
    “ Then explain why me and my
friends were gone for nearly an entire month,” Antonio
suggested. Louise shrugged; she couldn’t really deny that as a
fact. 
    “ Well... even if it is true,” she
said, “then why are you going back?” 
    Antonio scratched his chin. “To finish off any
unfinished business we had accidentally left,” he said, and then
stood up. “Anyway. If Mari comes back while I’m away... of if I
don’t come back, and she does... then tell her where her father
went. 
    “ And then tell her he’s sorry
that he wasn’t there for her.”  
    Antonio then turned around and
left, leaving Louise sitting on the couch. She didn’t even go after
him; she simply listened to the screeching sound of Antonio’s tires
as they raced through the street. 

Return to
Lunaria
    The adults had no time to take a break during
the day. There was much to discuss – and that included making
plans. It quickly turned out that no one truly had any idea what to
do – after all, the adults didn’t know what they would be up
against. The fact that they would be forced to put their children
in danger didn’t help, either.
    The adult Guardians spent the time
they had left instructing their children on what to do when they
got to Lunaria; just simply stay close to their parents and wait
for further instructions.
    Anna and Lucy promised James they
would stick together. The two women knew their children would need
someone to talk to. They’d had the same experience twenty-five
years ago, so they knew what the teenagers were going through. The
kids that stayed behind, for that matter, promised to take care of
each other – nearly every teenager had a sibling they’d be leaving
behind (save Felicity and Tony, as they were both part of the Bond
of Light).
    But eventually, night-time came, and it was
time to go to sleep.
    *
    Unlike his previous visit, James was not the
first to wake up this time, nor did he wake up in Keepers’ Cove, as
he’d originally expected. But, of course – why would the Spirits
send him and his friends there? It made much more sense that Akilah
would bring the Guardians to the castle.
    James put on the clothes he found at the foot
of his bed; it was his old Guardian’s attire, but then brand new –
and fir for his newfound bread shoulders. Obviously, the clothes he
wore as the scrawny sixteen-year-old he’d been, never would’ve
possibly fit him now.
    As soon as he was dressed, James went out to
explore the castle, in search of his friends – the room he’d woken
up in had four more empty beds, so he instantly assumed that the
others were already awake – and most likely waiting for him,
too.
    James felt curious as to what he was about to
discover; the other Spirits, Akilah’s siblings, would be there now,
too. And since the Guardians had never met any of them – save
Akilah, of course -, this was bound to become an interesting
meeting.
    As he walked around the castle, James took
some time to appreciate its breathtaking beauty. A lot had changed
in the past twenty-five years; as he looked out of the windows as
he passed them, James could see that the Land of Light had been
restored to its full glory. The light had been returned, and it was
beautiful; it nearly made James forget why he was there.
    He quickly tried to find his way
to the Ritual Chamber, where he expected to find the others. It’d
been a long time since he’d last set foot in this castle, and even
then, he never got to see too much of it, which made him more or
less worried that he would get lost quite easily.
    But luckily, that didn’t happen, and he’d soon
found the room with the glass-ceiling.
    As soon as James had been noticed, all five
Spirits of Light rose from their seats. “James,” Akilah said
warmly, beckoning him. “We were waiting for you. Please, join
us.”
    Before sitting down, James shook hands with
the other Spirits; it was as if they were idolizing him.