CHAPTER THREE:
THE DESCENDANT OF THE MOON GODDESS
Sam's hands trembled as she stared at the page. "What... I—what am I seeing?" she whispered to herself, her breath shallow. "This is strange. Maya has this sign on her back. I've seen it before. No... it couldn't be what I'm thinking." She tilted her head, her eyes scanning the ancient text again. "And it says... only the descendant of the Moon Goddess possesses this sign."
"Hmm?" Clara stirred beside her, mumbling an exclamation in her sleep. "Clara," Sam hissed, "open your darned eyes and come see this!"
Clara groaned, rubbing at her face. "I hope this is worth thirty thousand gold pieces," she grumbled, "or I'm cutting your ears off."
"Here." Sam shoved the book into her hands.
Clara lazily gazed at the inked symbols. "What is it?"
"Look at that drawing," Sam pressed, impatient. "Have you seen it before?"
Clara squinted at the mark. "Yeah... it's on Maya's body somewhere. Can't remember where I saw it." Her brow furrowed—then realization struck. "Wait! What's the mark doing here in this book?" Her eyes widened.
"Now you know," Sam said, calmer but no less urgent. "It's worth thirty thousand gold pieces. It says only the descendant of the Moon Goddess possesses it. And, to be frank, I've only seen it on Maya."
Clara's lips parted, her voice dropping to a whisper. "No wonder I found the mark creepy when I saw it on her... it's no ordinary scar or birthmark." Curiosity shone in her eyes now.
"She needs to know about this," Sam said firmly.
"In the morning," Clara said with a sigh. "I need to sleep right now. What are you even doing awake?"
"Couldn't sleep," Sam muttered with a shrug. "But fine—let's sleep now." She slid the book carefully back into Maya's bag.
At dawn, Sam and Clara woke early, their hushed voices arguing softly over what to do. Should they announce the discovery to everyone, or keep it quiet? In the end, they agreed Maya should hear it first. If she wanted to tell the others, it would be her choice.
"Hey, Maya," Clara said gently, smiling as she approached.
"Oh, Clara. Good morning," Maya replied with a soft smile, busy packing her bag. "Sam and I have something to show you," Clara said hesitantly.
Maya glanced up. "What's that?"
"The map book," Clara said, nodding toward it in Maya's hand.
"This?" Maya waved the book lightly. "Sure." She handed it over.
Clara flipped through the pages until she found the mark.
"Hi, guys," Sam greeted, walking up behind them with a sly smile.
"Sam," both women said at once.
"I see you wanted to show her before I did," Sam teased Clara.
Maya frowned, puzzled. "What is this thing you want to show me alone?"
"This," Clara said, handing the book back to her.
Maya took it carefully, eyes moving from the strange drawing to her friends' uneasy faces. "What's this?" she asked, confusion tightening her voice.
"I know, right? It's shocking. Unexpected," Sam said, folding her arms. "I was right when I said the Moon Goddess wanted us to find this book."
Clara leaned in, her curiosity too great to hold back. "If the blood of the Moon Goddess herself runs through your veins... does that mean you also possess some kind of powers we don't know about yet?"
Maya stared at the page, then closed the book abruptly. "I haven't once in my entire life performed magic or a spell," she said. "So it's hard to tell right now."
Sam's voice softened. "If this is true, Maya... you're the Chosen One. The one who was seen in the Revelation three decades ago."
Maya scoffed, disbelief warring with a creeping sense of destiny. "I can't believe there was a revelation about me even before I was born."
"Frankly speaking," Clara said, a slow smile tugging at her lips, "it all makes sense now—why you have this natural leadership in you. Everyone just seems to follow your orders."
"That's not totally true," Maya said with a small laugh. "There's one girl we all know who doesn't listen to anyone."
"Pat!" Sam exclaimed.
"I kinda miss her, you know?" Clara said softly. "Yeah. Me too," Maya said with a wistful smile.
Sam's gaze turned toward the men by the horses. "What do we do about this? Should we tell the guys?"
"No, please," Maya said quickly. "Let's keep this a secret for now. We're not sure yet. We can't jump to conclusions."
Both Sam and Clara nodded in agreement.
"Thanks, guys," Maya said, managing a faint, grateful smile.
David's voice cut across the morning air. "What are you divas talking about over here?" he asked with a grin as he strode toward them. "Don't we have a stone to find?"
Clara straightened, putting her usual sarcasm back on like armor. "We do. And we were just about to start preparing to leave," she said, walking off.
"Good morning, Mark. Good morning, Michael," Maya said warmly as she made her way to her horse.
"Good morning, Maya," both men replied.
"We should have a long day ahead," Michael said as he mounted. "Let's get moving, guys."
"I couldn't agree less," Mark said, adjusting in his saddle.
"Wonder what's happening back home," Sam mused.
"That's no home," Michael scoffed. "It's a prison." He dug his heels in. "Hiyah!" The horses neighed, and laughter rippled through the group as they rode.
Their journey took a deadly turn when they encountered the live guards of the forest.
The moment the creatures stepped into view, they knew—these were no ordinary beings. Their eyes burned like embers, claws sharp as forged steel. They were demonic.
Now, the real journey began.
"Stop right there!" one of the creatures barked, its voice a guttural snarl.
Sam scoffed, swinging down from her saddle. "I've never listened to people my whole life."
The creature's lip curled. "You must be brave to come here seeking the Stone of Tears. Pity you'll all meet your ends here."
"You chose the wrong set of people to mess with today," Maya retorted, drawing her blade.
"Destroy them!" the creature roared.
The clash of steel rang through the Dark Forest. Blades struck, claws raked, blood sprayed across roots and leaves as human and demon fought with primal ferocity. Maya and her friends fought like cornered wolves, every strike fueled by survival. The creatures fought to kill.
David fought two massive beasts at once, his strength waning as they closed in. He didn't see the third demon creeping up behind him, its blade poised for the kill.
"Maya!" Sam shouted—too late.
Maya lunged, shoving David aside.
The blade plunged into her instead.
"No!" David's scream tore through the chaos. Clash. Clash. Clash.
The fight raged on, swords hacking, throats slashed, until at last, the forest grew silent but for ragged breaths and dripping blood. The creatures lay lifeless, the stench of death heavy in the air.
David fell to his knees beside Maya's body, almost lifeless on the forest floor. "Look at me, Maya. Look at me!" he begged, tears streaming freely.
Maya coughed, forcing a weak smile. "I'm fine, David," she whispered. "I'm fine." "Hush," he said, voice cracking. "Don't talk. Save your breath." His tears fell harder. "Maya," Sam whispered softly, sitting beside her.
Michael numbly dropped his sword.
Mark stumbled, falling to his knees. "The journey hasn't even started yet, and we've already lost someone."
Clara shook her head, voice trembling. "We won't lose anyone. We haven't lost anyone." "False hopes can't help us now, Clara," Mark yelled. "We're doomed!"
"No one forced you to come along!" Clara shot back, her tears hot with fury. "Why are you taking the anger of your own decisions out on us?"
"If she hadn't brought the idea, would we even be here?" Mark shouted.
"Shut the fuck up, motherfucker!" Clara roared. "You could have stayed back if you wanted. You chose to come. Now keep your damn mouth shut!"
"Bitch! I'm gonna teach you a lesson—" Mark charged toward her.
"Guys, stop it!" Michael shouted, standing and punching Mark square in the face before he reached Clara. "Look around you! Is this really the time to argue about who's wrong or right? Maya is dying! Get some sense!"
Maya coughed weakly, her voice barely a whisper. "Guys... you don't need to blame yourselves for this. I'm running out of time, and I think I need to say this now... or I may never get the chance."
David's tear-streaked face turned toward her.
"I know you've liked me ever since," Maya said, smiling faintly through the pain. "And I want you to know... the same goes for me. I love you, David. I didn't think this is how I'd be telling you this, but I had to let you know. And if the map book is truly right about me... I promise you, I will come back to stay by your side."
Her trembling hand reached for his wet cheek but fell back before it could touch him. Her eyes closed.
"Maya!" David sobbed, his cry breaking the silent forest.
Minutes crawled by like hours.
"What did she mean about the book being right about her?" Michael asked quietly.
"She's the Chosen One," Sam said.
"Chosen One?" David asked, hollow, confused.
Clara's voice shook. "We found out last night. She has the birthmark."
Mark stared. "Why are we just now hearing this?"
"We wanted to tell you," Sam said softly, "but she asked us to keep it a secret."
David swallowed hard. "So if the book is right... will she return?"
"Probably," Clara said, her eyes fixed on Maya's still form. "We'll have to wait and see."
"And by waiting," Sam said grimly, "we mean keep moving. We can't just stay here. We don't know what else is out there."
"We can't just leave her body open to the wild," Michael said.
"Let's hide her behind those bushes," Sam suggested, pointing to a thicket.
"What if she comes back? How will she find us?" David asked. "She doesn't even have the book."
"She's Maya," Clara said. "Maya always knows the next step. We need to go." They laid her gently in the brush, mounted their horses, and rode on.
Moments later, a trio of ragged survivors stumbled upon her. "Look what we found," one said. "Something... or someone?"
"She's not dead," another said, crouching beside her. "Shallow breathing—we can help her."
"She might be stuck here, like us," the third said. "Let's help her."
They carried her to their hidden refuge and tended to her wounds.
Time passed in hushed murmurs and rustling leaves until, at last, Maya stirred.
She coughed, eyes fluttering open. "Who... are you people?" she asked, sitting up cautiously, muscles tense with instinctive alertness.
"Is that how you say thank you to those who helped you?" one of them chuckled lightly. "Anyway, we're like you—trapped in this forest for a very long time."
"Trapped?" Maya echoed, confusion clouding her face.
"We're searching for the Stone of Tears," said another. "Probably the same reason you're here."
"I hope you can try to walk yourself," said the first. "We can't stay here much longer. We need to continue our search for the stone if we ever want to get out. We've been searching for twelve years. There's no way out until the stone is found."
Maya nodded weakly. "Yes. I can try to walk."
"You heal so fast," the third person observed, eyes narrowing in fascination. "That's... fascinating."