Luna's eyes slowly opened, looking around the room she felt groggy and confused. There was a clean steel table in front of her and a large window facing her. She saw her reflection, eyes that were now purple again shone back. This place reminded her of those interrogation rooms you see in cop shows and movies.
Looking down she saw that she was chained to a steel chair, bound by golden chains that were glowing softly in the LED illuminated room. What were these? They didn't feel hard but no matter how much she struggled against them, she couldn't budge them. She felt like a prisoner which caused more confusion. Who arrested her and why? Had she hurt some of the students by accident?
Fear gripped her heart with icy fingers at the thought of innocent people being harmed by her abilities. She remembered everything, the horde and the moment she blacked out. She could still feel the lingering heat that had erupted within her although it felt more like dying embers now.
"You're awake, good!" A gentle and smooth voice caught her attention as the door to the room suddenly opened. It closed softly but no one entered. Luna blinked at the door, was this person invisible or some kind of spirit?
Her answer came a few seconds later when a black cat jumped onto the steel table. Yellow eyes narrowed as they studied her.
"You're a cat."
"Figured that out all by yourself?" The cat licked one of its paws while keeping a single eye on her.
"You can talk."
The cat sighed, "didn't realize we had a genius detective bound to that chair."
"Don't let him bother you, he's just cranky because it's past his lunch time." Another man entered the room, smiling gently at her as he did. He was handsome with short messy brown hair and golden yellow eyes. He had a calming presence to him, as if nothing could bother him. It put her at ease despite the unusual position she was in.
"Where am I?" Luna asked, glancing back and forth between the two.
"The Nocturna City Guild Hall. I'm Sammie Salem, the Guild Master of this branch."
"But you're a cat." Luna was even more perplexed now, how in the world was a talking cat in charge of a guild of Exorcists? Was this a joke?
"Let's move past that obvious fact and focus on you. What are you?" Sammie went back to licking his paw while waiting for Luna to answer. Ren took a seat across from her and leaned back, relaxed and patient.
"I'm a human. My name is Luna Occulta, I'm a high school senior. What kind of question is that?"
"Human huh?" Sammie focused his attention on a different paw as Luna continued to stare at him with open curiosity and skepticism.
"I think what Master Sammie was trying to ask is what kind of magic do you utilize?"
"I don't know, fire magic I guess. Why?"
Ren nodded with a small smile while Sammie chuckled.
"Just fire magic?" Ren continued.
"Well, sometimes I have increased strength and speed but that's about it as far as I know. What's with the third degree and why am I chained to this chair?"
Sammie stretched and arched his back before answering, "because you lost control and damn near leveled the second story of your school with a single spell."
Luna hung her head in shame as she whispered, "I didn't hurt anyone other than the goblins right?"
"No one but goblins were hurt." Ren's answer lifted her spirits.
"Unfortunately, some of my fellow Guild Masters have decided that since they can't figure out what you are, it would be better to eliminate you. In their eyes, you are an unknown variable of extraordinary power, a ticking time bomb if you will." Sammie somehow managed to convey a look of compassion and understanding despite the gravity of his statement.
Luna was in disbelief. It was true that she didn't have control over her abilities and no amount of training growing up seemed to help. At best she felt like she was cursed, at worst she thought she might be possessed. Her mother had always assured her that she is just different from the other mages, nothing evil about her. Yet hearing these words from Sammie filled her with doubt.
"I haven't done anything wrong though."
"My thoughts exactly. I haven't figured you out yet but from what little I have learned so far, you seem to be a good person. So I told the other Guild Masters to suck it."
"Probably not the wisest of moves," Ren cut in with a chuckle, "but after talking things over with the Master, I volunteered to take you in."
Luna simply stared at them. What did that mean exactly? She had a life outside of school, kinda.
"What do you mean, 'take me in'? Is this some sort of magical adoption?"
"If you agree to it, we can accept you as an Exorcist and assign you to the Rapid Viper team."
"And if I say no?" Luna had always maintained that she had little to no interest in the Exorcist Guild. The idea of using her destructive powers, the same ones she couldn't control, to try and save people was laughable to her. Sammie was right, she was a ticking time bomb and it was a matter of time before she hurt someone again, like she had when she was younger with the bullies.
"You have the right to say no, the only problem is that I can't protect you from the other Guild Masters if you do. Joining with us makes you a member of the Guild and we have strict rules about that sort of thing."
"What would I even tell my mother or my best friend?" Luna had a feeling that her mother would have a meltdown at the thought of her joining up with monster hunters. Mary would no doubt cheer at this since she had been pressuring Luna all along to embrace her magical abilities more.
"We already contacted your mother. I apologize for that but after what had happened, we felt it prudent to notify her after bringing you here. She seemed oddly calm about the whole thing."
"She's good under pressure," Luna muttered.
"Also, keep in mind that we can help you harness your abilities. You are hardly the first unstable mage to walk through the front door," Sammie gave her a look that said he had experienced something like this before. That was oddly reassuring to her although she still didn't understand how he managed to convey emotions with a cat face.
"A lot of teachers have tried and failed to help me master my magic. I almost burnt down two different schools."
"Luckily, this school is fireproof," Ren said as he smiled at her, she couldn't tell if he was being serious or not.
"I'm aware of that, your mother filled us in but I'm confident that with enough time, we can help you. You could be a real force for good, it just takes some patience with experience."
Luna mulled over everything Sammie and Ren had told her. Despite her desire to pretend that she was a normal human, she couldn't ignore the glaringly obvious fact that she was anything but normal. The idea of using her magic had always terrified her, it was like playing with a wildfire caught in a dry wind.
Still, something about Sammie and Ren put her at ease. Despite not knowing either of them, she felt like she could trust them. For the first time in her life she felt some semblance of hope, was this worth taking a risk?
Then there was the other matter that Sammie had brought up, the Guild Masters. She knew next to nothing about them other than they were supposedly the strongest mages in the world. What lengths would they go to in an effort to eliminate what they saw as a threat to mankind? She couldn't be selfish by refusing their offer, there was the real possibility that they would target her mom or Mary to get at her.
There was only one logical conclusion that Luna could come to, "fine I'll join your club."
Sammie beamed at her with pride and Ren flashed her a bright, warm smile as he snapped his fingers. The tight golden chains dissolved into specks of light before fading away completely. Luna flexed her arms and rubbed at sore muscles.
"What now?"
"Well, now we show you around. Get you comfortable and give you the chance to meet the rest of the squad. Ren will show you to your living quarters while giving you the grand tour. I have other matters that need my attention. Welcome to the Exorcist Guild, Luna Occulta."
Luna nodded at Sammie while still trying to convince herself that this wasn't a mistake.