You and I, in a Thousand Moons

By Anastasia Burton

Anna and Steven Parker find themselves in a life-and-death situation where the only person they can turn to is their mother who they havent seen in years. Upon arriving in the diverse town named Lunar Villelocated in the middle of La Ville le Tombe, a combination of three fallen cities ruled by both the first and second sectionthe twins meet a group called Enfant de la nuit led by Eric Jefferson and Jason Stork, both controlled by the sarcastic ice cube named Eliza Peterson. The twins quickly adapt to living with supernatural beings and even decide to participate in the blood moon harvesting ritual, which can only be performed once every few hundred years and is believed to have the ability of breaking any curse and granting any wish to the participants. Dominic Devereux, the youngest druid ever known to become immortal, watches the events take their own toll while being the only one knowing how the ritual is truly carried out. Each character has their own motive for taking part in the ritual, but will they achieve their one true wish?

How will the young ambitious group climb their way above everyone else and prove that they are worthy of protecting the sections alongside the holy and unholy spirits of the supernatural realm?

Each chapter gives the viewpoint of each individual character, giving you the option of getting to know each of them by reading their personal narration of the events unfolding before them. Will they survive to see another full moon?

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Jun 14, 2017
• ISBN: 9781524678890

Anastasia Burton

My name is Anastasia but I go by the pen name Anastasia Burton. I am a young adolescence still attending high school. I originally come from Ukraine, Cherkasy. Writing has always been a passion of mine because of the different approaches I could use in telling a story. Throughout the years I’ve spent most of my time writing short stories instead of actually doing work I was assigned. I’ve always loved English, and since it wasn’t my mother tongue I always found different ways of getting my point across through my writing. I do not have a lot of faith in religion, and I know that just by saying that I can raise a lot of controversy but I can’t put my faith into one belief when I can follow my own morals which I reflect in my writing. I happen to be quite outspoken and opinionated (as I’ve been told by many) but it’s good to stand up for what you believe in and you might find that most of the characters in this book are strong minded individuals. I have always enjoyed spending time creating stories that could someday be entertaining for people to read. Before I ever considered publishing my own novel, I spent a lot of my time on different creative sites on which I could share my ideas and let others enjoy them. I strongly encourage others who are interested in writing to try and explore your options and build up your confidence with your writing. I have faith that everyone can write if they are given a chance to really feel inspired. Now that I am publishing my first novel I’d like to thank you, the reader, for choosing this novel as a means of entertainment and I hope that it does just that.

Book preview

2017 Anastasia Burton. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 06/13/2017

ISBN: 978-1-5246-7890-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-7889-0 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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Contents

Acknowledgments

Chapter one: Anna Parker

Chapter Two: Steven Parker:

Chapter Three: Yanna Parker:

Chapter four: Nikita Peterson:

Chapter Five: Eclipsida Peterson:

Chapter six: Eric Jefferson:

Chapter seven: Ace Carter:

Chapter eight: Dominic Devereux:

Chapter nine: Stephanie O’Rielly:

Chapter ten: Amiliann Gotham:

Chapter eleven: Eliza Peterson:

Chapter twelve: Nathanael Watson

Chapter thirteen: Stephanie O’Reilly

Chapter Fourteen: Jason Stork

Chapter fifteen: Anna Parker

Chapter sixteen: Amiliann Gotham

Chapter seventeen: Eric Jefferson

Chapter eighteen: Ace Carter

Chapter nineteen: Jason Stork

Chapter Twenty: Eliza Peterson

Chapter twenty one: Nikita Peterson

Chapter twenty two: Yanna Parker

Chapter twenty-three: Steven Parker

Chapter twenty four: Dominic Devereux Watson

Chapter twenty five: Eclipsida Peterson

Chapter twenty six: Nathanael Watson

About The Author

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Acknowledgments

I’d like to thank the parent council for sponsoring this book and giving me this amazing opportunity to publish my first novel; my publishing consultant Carlo Dano for this amazing assistance and giving me the best offers available as well as April Ross my check-in- coordinator for always giving me great advice; my editors Lisa O’Donoghue and Eleanor Egan for their support, encouragement, honest opinion and clear sighted critiques; my two talented and amazing illustrators Tanapat Pattarasakulchai and Adriana Voiculet, for actually bringing my novel to life and being patient with me and never failing to surprise and exceed all of my expectations! I’d also like to thank my mom for being there for me and encouraging me to continue writing even though my anxiety and self-consciousness would kick in to cloud my mind and bring me close to giving up multiple times. I’m thankful to all of my friends and family who have believed in me and gave me a little boost of confidence in my writing. I am thankful to everyone who had followed me and supported me throughout my journey of actually creating this novel. I’d like to give special thanks to Dr. Cian Aherne for supporting me and helping me through this journey. I am wholeheartedly grateful to him for always looking out for me. I wish him all the best in his advancing career.

I also wish to thank the Malone family for showing interest in my writing and supporting my work.

Chapter one: Anna Parker

Anna.jpg

Full name: Anna-Lee Parker

Age: Sixteen

Birthday: 25th of December

Parents: Yanna and Dorian Parker.

Siblings: One twin brother.

Height: 5’5

Eye color: Baby blue

Hair color: Chestnut brown

It hurt so much, it almost drove me to the break of my sanity.

I clenched my hoodie with the sudden pain I felt in my heart. My brain felt like it had exploded.

I could feel myself being sucked into a whirlpool of pain and emotion. I held my brothers hand tightly as I felt my soul being dragged out of my body, by her…

I felt my chest tighten and my breath cut short. I looked to my left where my brother was standing. He seemed to be in just as much pain as I was. He looked at me with his eyes turning black… was this the end? Is this how we are going to die?

I packed my stuff in a daze. My mind was blank and my stomach utterly empty. I probably should have tried eating something, but every time I looked at food it made me want to vomit. I felt very weak as I reached for my sweaters and threw them into my backpack. I didn’t care if they were clean or dirty, I just wanted to rest…

I kept looking around my room, making sure she was really gone… every time I turned my back to the door or the window or even looked in the mirror, I felt like she would appear right behind me. My heart was racing so fast I thought it would jump out and run away from me. I caught a quick glimpse of myself in my bedroom mirror, checking if she was truly gone. My eyes looked red and swollen. My cheeks were puffy and my face was pale. I looked dead… I mean I already felt dead but now I looked like it. I violently shoved my tracksuit bottoms into my backpack only to see father look at me with eyes full of terror. He looked at me as though I was completely alien to him. I didn’t understand whether it was because of my love hate relationship with my backpack or was it the fact that he thought I was completely insane…

Father didn’t stay long which made me feel like an outcast in my own home. I looked out my window only to see four cars driving in at the front gate. It was now clear where we were going… And it made sense why father wanted us to pack so quickly. He didn’t even tell us where we were going. Father was giving us away to a mental asylum. I tried my hardest not to cry as I read the advertisement on the car. God will reach out to you

I felt my cheeks burning and my eyes flooding. I felt anger and sadness overcome me. I didn’t know whether to break and throw everything around my room or just fall to the ground and cry. I never thought our dad would ever send us away Does he not love us? Is he too much of a coward to take care of his own children just because some strange things happen to them? Are we not important to him?! I felt anger eating away at my sanity. Just before I felt like exploding, I heard the one voice that I could trust. It was my twin brother. He whispered to me so that father wouldn’t hear, but his voice sounded broken.

‘A-Anna, follow me…’ he looked so ill, it worried me. But he quickly managed to curl his lips into a devious smile. Without thinking anything through, I grabbed my backpack and rushed towards my brother who reached his hand out to me. I didn’t care if he dragged me through hell, I’d follow him no matter what. Steven took hold of my hand and held it tightly. We both started towards the attic quietly but swiftly. We recently had all the floors changed from wood to marble, so I was only thankful that I didn’t wear heels. Why the attic? It’s the one place we can escape through without being noticed. You see the attic is the space in the manor where Steven and I had full authority. We like our privacy so it became the law that the body guards were not let near the attic. I heard something jingling in my brother’s pocket and it sounded like… keys? I knew at that moment that we were leaving for good. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that she would find us in an asylum. We would be like sitting ducks, waiting to be slaughtered, and in an asylum like that I doubt they would even care. We rushed towards the attic door and locked it behind us. Steven instantly ran towards our book shelf and pushed it aside. He told me to open the window so that we could make a quick run for it. Our attic was more like a hangout room with couches and old boxes filled with action figures and comics. There was a seventy-inch TV with two X-box’s and Play Stations’ at either side. What can I say? We are the spoiled kids of a rich business man. As I tried my best to open the window quietly, I heard footsteps outside the door. I turned around quickly to warn Steven but he was already behind me holding a medium sized box close to his chest.

‘Steven, wha-

‘No time to explain, open the window a bit wider’, Steven avoided eye contact and kept looking back at the attic door worriedly. I opened the window wider so that Steven could get out with the box. Just as I was climbing out with Steven’s help, I heard our father call our names. My brother tightened his grip on me and pulled me out of the window. He instantly caught me in his arms and gently placed me down onto the roof. The roof was not too steep, so making our way down wasn’t too difficult. I looked at my brother as he ran down the roof holding my hand tightly. I felt his hand shake and I could hear his heavy breathing as he prepared to jump. I squeezed his hand to let him know that I was ready. We jumped off the roof, (might I add we did it gracefully. I was secretly hoping the CCTV cameras caught that, because I was feeling proud of the amazing duo superhero landing) and started running towards the side of our house which was the furthest from the place the Loony house cars stood. We both heard our father and our butler scream for the guards. We exchanged terrified glances when father yelled aggressively. ‘Get them! Quick!’ We didn’t need any other warning. We ran as fast as we could (I always hated running because of two reasons. One, my legs are short and I couldn’t ever run as fast as Steven even if I tried. Two would be the obvious fact that I am a female who was running with no sports bra on… yeah you know what I mean). I was confused as to what Steven and I were going to do, but then it hit me like a bucket of cold water. The jingling noise…he was going to steal fathers’ car. That is when Steven let go of my hand and reached into his pocket to pull out fathers’ keys. We ran like our lives depended on it. Even though my body was weak from the night before, adrenaline was still pulsating through my veins. My vision blurred as I ran, the ground beneath me was like a mirage. We knew that if we stopped running, this would be the end of us. We could hear the guards’ and their dogs running after us. My heart was beating against my ribcage at this point, like a heavy weight boxing champion training to beat my opponents face in. The opponents face being my rib cage… Father forgot to put the car into the garage, because, I’m guessing he was planning on going out to party with his rich friends and their plastic wives and brag about their wealth. Steven jumped into the drivers’ seat and started the car without hesitation. His hands were shaking but he knew what he was doing. Thankfully we both got driving lessons from Carl, our personal driver. For a second I froze… watching the guards that took care of us for sixteen years, and the dogs I played with as a child. They were turned against us in a matter of seconds just because father told them to. I quickly recovered from my nostalgia and climbed into the car slamming the door shut. The minute I clicked my seat belt on, Steven stomped on the gas pedal and we accelerated towards the gate of our manor. I held onto my seat belt looking out of my window. For a brief second, as we drove by, I saw our fathers face. He looked so angry… his eyes were full of hate and disapproval. He yelled curse words left and right as he took hold of our butler’s clothing and shook him violently.

‘I bet it’s because of the car’, Steven snarled keeping his eyes glued to the road with determination. I chuckled slightly, I knew he was right, but I couldn’t help feeling betrayed by father. This was the man who claimed to love us for sixteen years. Now he wanted to send us away to a mental asylum just because we’re different. It would be so much easier to accept this if it turned out he wasn’t our real father… Steven drove like a pro, he turned at perfect times and at perfect speed. I was so proud, I am sure Carl would be too! I could almost sense that somebody was on our trail. I kept looking at Steven, he looked so determined and so… prepared. Even though we were both exhausted, he kept going… because if we stopped we would most definitely end up dead in less than a month. After a while the feeling of someone following us had left me. I could finally relax. But without realizing it, I felt my eyelids getting heavy. The last thing I saw before my eyes fell shut was my brothers’ serious face. As my eyes rolled back and my brain started to show me colorful dreams, I felt safe. Funny, it was the first time I have slept in a long time. My dream was, for once, not a horror image of somebody dying; instead, I dreamed of my mother. She looked so beautiful in my dream… almost like an angel, her blonde hair was shimmering like gold in the sunlight, as she laughed at one of Steven’s jokes. I woke up very suddenly when I heard the door of the car slam shut. I tore my eyes open to see what was going on, and to my relief it was Steven filling up the tank of the car. The smell of petrol was strong. That’s when I noticed that my window was slightly open. It was probably Steven opening it so that he wouldn’t fall asleep while driving.

I looked around the car stretching my stiff muscles. I made the sound of a yawning hippo and looked at the clock, it said 19:43. I wrinkled my forehead in confusion. How did Steven stay up all this time? I felt terrible for what I had put him through. He was forced to stay up thirty six hours, without a single break. I slowly climbed out of the car and pulled my hood up to hide myself from the surveillance cameras. I did not recognize this petrol station. It looked very old and worn down. It looked like one of those Walking Dead, abandoned zombie hang out places. The people at the station dressed like they lived in an uncivilized society where they never heard of the internet or sense of style. While I was looking around and quietly judging my surroundings, I heard footsteps coming my way. Before I had a chance to turn around someone’s arms wrapped around me. At first I felt my heart skip a few beats, my breathing became more intense and my eye sight was going blurry once again. I was only able to breathe again when I looked down at the arms that were wrapped around me. I rotated myself around so quickly I thought I had pulled a muscle in my neck. My next move was to beat Steven.

‘What the hell Steve?! I almost had a heart attack!’ I screamed turning to face Steven’s sleepy figure. Which now had my hand print on it, cute.

‘Wow, Sis chill. I just missed you. You slept like a baby. I think you even drooled a little!’

‘I did no such thing! Ugh, and I was feeling guilty for sleeping for so long and making you stay up! Forget it, I’m glad I got my beauty sleep, now you look like something out of The Ring, while I look lit’, I mocked marching over to the driver’s seat of the car. ‘Let’s see how good you are at driving you pickle’, Stephen teased me as he swung the door wide open and jumped into his seat.

‘You drove enough. It’s my turn’ I said in a confident voice as I excitedly pressed the gas pedal. I felt so full of energy. Not long after we left the petrol station, Steven fell asleep. He looked so peaceful… maybe after all that we’d been through the last couple of days, we deserved this little break? I had no idea where I was driving, or why. I knew that we had nowhere to stay. Hell, we didn’t even have anything to eat. The cash I had packed into my backpack was used to pay for the petrol. This is when I had to put my thinking cap on and use my brain. I didn’t stop driving. I was so deep in thought, trying to think of all the locations we had secret cabins at, but nothing came to mind… until a magnificent idea struck my mind! Our mother! I suddenly remembered my dream about mother. I had no doubt in the world that she would agree to take us in. Indeed our mother was not present most of our lives. Ever since her and father’s divorce, when Steven and I were only six years old. But we did get presents and birthday cards from her each year, she tried to visit as much as possible… whenever father allowed her to that is. I remembered that I had packed my phone in the front pocket of my backpack. After a few minutes of searching, I found a safe place to park and took out my mobile phone. I remembered well that she had given me her number the last time I saw her, I could only hope that she didn’t change it.

Ringing…

‘Hello?’

‘Hi…mom’, I said quietly trying not to wake Steven.

‘Anna? Is that you dear?’

‘Yes, mom it’s me… Listen me and Stev-

‘Honey, I know. I am going to send you my address details via text message. Call me if you need anything else, ok? I will be waiting for the two of you at the turn before the actual entrance to the town I live in.’

‘Oh… am… ok’, I answered in confusion not understanding how she could have known. Maybe father had called her? But that would be close to impossible… I mean come on it’s my father we’re talking about.

‘Ok then. I’ll be waiting. Don’t worry about your father, he won’t be chasing you guys. Just drive and we will talk about this in person… ok?’

‘Yes, thank you… See you soon’.

‘See you soon’.

Call Ended

I was confused, but at the same time glad. It would be too complicated to explain over the phone. I glanced at Steven who was curled up and still peacefully sleeping. He looked so childlike, it’s like the past few days didn’t even take place and we are just on a road trip. I reached to stroke his chestnut brown hair off of his face so that I could examine his face a bit more. He began to regain color in his cheeks, and looked a lot less like a sleep deprived gamer. I continued driving west to the address my mother had sent me moments after the call ended.

Message:

Follow the directions of the link I sent you. It will show you the way to my current location

13 Crescent Lane,

Lunar Ville,

La Ville Tombee

*Link Attachment*

Love, Mom

End Message.

I typed the link into my phone and I got a clearly labeled map as to where to go. I drove with only one thought in my mind, "Will she betray us too?" But I didn’t have the time to doubt her, she was our only hope at this point. I will not sabotage this opportunity for both me and my brother.

I drove for almost an hour before I reached the dark road which was indicated on the map our mother has sent me through the link. The road was more like a passage, it was surrounded by bushes, trees and fences. If I hadn’t been looking at the map I would have never guessed that this was a road to a town my mother chose for herself. I drove carefully. It was reasonably dark since it was the first month of autumn. The car lights were on, but I could still see very little. At one stage I could almost swear I saw something in the shadows. I quickly shrugged that idea and drove on putting a little more pressure onto the gas pedal. The sky was beautiful that evening. It was already 21:43 and the stars were sparkling like diamonds on an elegant ladies coat. I could see a large tree standing on its own just up the road.