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Butthe strange warrior who had been staring at her had on a kind of armor that putHannain mind of feudalJapan.Hehad a chain-link sleeveless shirt which showed his muscular arms and a chain-link kilt kind of thing that came down to just above his knees.
Cometo think of it, maybe the armor was more like something from theRomanEmpire?Ornot—she wasn’t an armor expert, after all.Butwhat really made her think ofJapanwas the long, curving blade she’d seen strapped to his back.Allof the otherKindredcarried blasters—why did the strange warrior have a sword instead?
Butshe didn’t have long to ponder the strange anomalies in the warrior’s outfit or wonder why he had been staring at her—before she knew it, the three of them were stepping intoAuntLuna’sandUncleBruin’ssuite and her aunt was telling her to make herself comfortable on the couch.
“I’lljust go get you some hot tea to drink—that will steady your nerves.Thenwe can talk,”AuntLunasaid.
“Luna, darling, why don’tImake the tea?”UncleBruinrumbled, raising his bushy black eyebrows. “Hanna’swaited long enough to tell you what’s troubling her and that will give the two of you some privacy.”
“Ohyes—that’s a good idea.You’reso sweet to me,Bruin.”AuntLunastood on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to her husband’s cheek.
Heturned his face at the last minute and the kiss landed on his lips instead.
“That’sbecause you’re beautiful and perfect andIhave to take care of you,” he said, when the kiss broke at last. “Andthat means taking care of the ones you love as well.”Henodded gravely atHannawho gave him a weak smile.Shetruly was grateful that he was giving her privacy to talk to her aunt—she hadn’t felt comfortable confiding inLunauntil the two of them were alone.
Assoon asBruinwent into the kitchen—or the food prep area, as theKindredcalled it—AuntLunasat down beside her on the couch and tookHanna’shands in her own.
“Allright now, tell me everything and don’t leave anything out,” she commanded.
Hannatook a deep breath and began talking.
“…so whenIwoke up this morning,Iwas hoping it was all a dream—a nightmare,” she finished, some time later. “ButthenIlooked in the mirror and, well…look.”
Shelifted the hair off her forehead—she’d left it down to be sure it covered the strange, glowing script.Butwhen she pointed,AuntLunaonly shook her head and frowned.
“Isee nothing.”
“What?Butit’s right there!”Hannajumped up. “Doyou have a mirror?I’llpoint it out to you.”
Theywent into the bathroom together andHannalooked anxiously into the 3-Dviewer, which was theKindredversion of a mirror, only it showed you from all sides.Shewould have been ashamed of her ratty jeans and t-shirt—(she’d thrown on the closest thing at hand and hauled ass to theHKRbuilding without even packing anything)—if she hadn’t been so fixated on the glowing red letters that still burned on her forehead.
“See—there!” she said, pointing again.
Butagain,AuntLunashook her head.
“I’msorry,Hanna—Ijust don’t see it.Butthat doesn’t mean there’s nothing there—we both know yourGiftinvolves being able to seeDarkEntitiesand their works while mine does not. ”
“Wait—Ihave an idea.Doyou have anything to write on?”Hannaasked her.
Lunabrought her a pen and paper and she carefully copied down what she saw on her forehead and then handed it to herAunt.
“Hmm…”AuntLunafrowned. “Iwould have no idea in the world what this said ifIhadn’t had a dose ofTranslationBacteria.Butluckily,Ihave—Bruinmade sureIgot some so we could travel to other planets together.Buteven with the bacteria, this is tough.Ithinkit’s some form ofAncientAssyrianbutIcould be wrong…”
“MaybeIwrote it backwards becauseIwas looking in the mirror?”Hannasuggested.
“Ah—of course.Letme just hold it up to the viewer…”
AuntLunadid this as she spoke, but what she saw must have been bad, because her lovely face grew grave.
“What?Whatis it?Didhe put some kind of spell on me?”Hannademanded.
Lunashook her head.
“Worse,I’mafraid.It’sa kind of curse—alustcurse,Ibelieve,” she said frowning. “Itreads—‘she who is under this brand shall be insatiable.’”
“What?”Hannademanded. “You’rekidding!”
“IwishIwas.”Heraunt looked at her sympathetically. “Oh,Hanna—I’vebeen worried something bad was going to happen.Thecards have been foretelling trouble for you forages.”
