Blood Moon (17 page)

Cautiously, I sit down across from her. “What happened, Georgina? Why did Lavenia die after taking Maggie’s life?”

Her voice is a gentle breeze, barely there. “The crystal holds great power, but it’s enchanted so if used for the purpose of death, the one who casts the spell will perish, as well.”

“And you didn’t see this incident in your visions?”

“Nay, I did not, or I would have prevented it from occurring.”

I actually feel sorry for the girl. Maggie must’ve been her best friend, and Lavenia was her teacher. Now, they’ve both been removed from her life.

“When you saw visions of Ben and me, what did you see?”

Her eyes meet mine. “Death and destruction. Ye would have ruined our plan, but I guess, in a way, ye already managed that.”

“For what it’s worth,” I tell her, “your deaths would’ve been a last resort.”

Minutes tick by in silence, and Georgina is the first to speak. “I did not like her plan—Lavenia’s—but I could not stand up to her. Maggie was braver than I.”

“So, we can trust you won’t kill the entire town?” Ben asks, moving to stand behind me.

Georgina glances at the kettle brimming with hot poison. “Nay, I shall destroy the contents.”

“You should probably pack your things and leave this place,” I say. “They’ll come looking for you after what happened earlier, since you worked for Lavenia.”

This time, when Georgina observes Ben and me, there’s determination behind her eyes. “Ye are correct. I shall pack my things at once, and the baby’s, though I will miss my home.” She jumps to her feet and rushes to the back area of the cottage.

“I totally forgot about the kid,” I say. “I wonder which one of them had it.”

Ben shrugs. “I don’t know, but at least Georgina is left to take care of it. I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

“Well, that leaves us, then. I guess we’re stuck here,” I say.

Ben pulls a chair up beside me and sits down. “At least we’re together.”

My voice sounds so insignificant when I respond, “Yeah.” First, we lost Maggie. Now, we’ve both lost our futures, our families and friends, and life as we knew it.

Georgina clears her throat, and Ben and I glance over our shoulders. “There still may be hope. I know a spell, but I cannot guarantee the outcome.”

“Will it send us back home?” Ben asks, hopeful.

“That is the idea,” Georgina says. “But I must warn ye . . . the future may not be as ye recall.”

I don’t know if I like her proposal. What if we return and our parents aren’t really our parents? Or what if our friends never existed? Maybe
we
never existed, and we’ll be forced to live on the streets because we have no place to go.

“What are you saying?” I query further.

Georgina sighs impatiently. “Many of the previous moments may be forever changed.”

It’s not like we really have much of a choice. Either we go home or we don’t. It’s as simple as that. Personally, I don’t want to be stuck in the sixteenth century for the remainder of my life. I want to see my family and friends again.

“I’m in,” I say.

“If she’s going, then so am I,” Ben adds.

“Very well then.” Georgina closes her eyes and begins chanting the same language Lavenia used. All we can do at this point is trust that she knows what she’s doing and won’t send us one hundred years in the future, or one thousand. Or to Mars.

As Georgina finishes the spell, she opens her eyes and a swirling, multi-colored portal appears in the center of the room. I feel an automatic pull toward its beauty, the glistening whirlpool of time just at my fingertips. I’m almost giddy with excitement.

Then I remember what Georgina said about our futures, and my emotions wane.

“Come what may, do not release thy hold on one another.”

Before jumping into the vortex, I consider another important piece of information, something that will prevent further damage in this lifetime and ours. I don’t hesitate to voice my concern to Georgina.

“Promise me something?” I say.

“Whatever ye wish.”

“Promise me that if and when Alaric Conway asks for a banishment spell, you’ll tell him there isn’t one.”

She narrows her eyes suspiciously, but they soon return to normal. “Aye, ye have my word.”

“And one more thing,” I add. “Promise you’ll do everything in your power to break the werewolf curse, that Alaric, Ulric, and Daciana will all be free from their enchantment, that they’ll live normal, happy lives.”

Georgina mentally considers my request for several seconds, responding, “No longer shall blood be shed, and no longer shall dark creatures roam the night.”

I smile, believing her every word. I have the feeling Georgina will change everything the future holds, maybe some parts for the better and some parts for the worse. But at least we’ll know our ancestors were returned to their former selves. At least we were gifted with the opportunity to meet them, however short the amount of time was we spent together.

“Then we’re ready,” I state.

Georgina motions toward the portal. Ben hooks his arm around mine and clutches my hand in a death grip. With one swift nod toward Georgina, he and I hop inside.

Traveling through time is just as I recall—beautiful displays of colorful swirls in one long, seemingly never-ending tunnel, all masking the fact that we can take a detour and end up in a different century. We definitely don’t want that, though, especially when we can’t control time anymore. As if sensing my personal thoughts, Ben embraces me even tighter.

But just as the end of the channel is in sight, it’s like invisible hands yank us apart. I scream, stretching toward Ben, but our fingers never touch. I’m no master at time manipulation, but I’m pretty this is
not
supposed to happen.

“Candra!” Ben yells. He makes one final attempt to reach out prior to being sucked through the end of the portal, but it’s no use, and he disappears.

I crash onto a set of old, rickety stairs. Gradually taking deep breaths and pushing off with my hands, I notice an all-too-familiar house, with missing floorboards, busted windows, and graffiti everywhere I look.
No,
I think.
No, no, no.
I’ve come so far over the last year, and so much has happened, and now the universe wants to throw me right back where it all started.

“Dude, you seriously need to pick up your feet,” Sean says.

“And watch out for the missing steps; we don’t want you falling through to the first floor,” Layla remarks.

Oh, my God. This is
exactly
what happened before I was shipped off to Connecticut. If I think hard enough, I bet I can recite every last word from tonight, like I’m reading from a script.
C’mon, check this out.

“C’mon, check this out,” says Sean, right on cue.

Next, Layla will walk through the doorway of the first room on the left, where she’ll run directly into the spider web hanging from the door jams.

Not two seconds later, she’s screaming bloody murder and dancing in the hallway, arms flailing.

“It’s just a cobweb,” Sean says. “Here, I’ll brush it off.” He directs the beam from his flashlight onto her back, where a spider’s shiny, dirty-gray netting clings to her hoodie. Sean eventually calms Layla, and they decide to reenter the room—which is precisely where we’ll be when the cops show up, thanks to Layla’s screams and high-pitched squeals alerting the nearby neighbors.

“You first, Expulsion.” Sean had called me that ever since I was kicked out of my old school. I transferred to another one in the next town over, but that wasn’t working out so well, either. It’s crazy to think the actions I’m reliving right now are the same actions that got me where I was ten minutes ago. My head hurts just thinking about it.

Like a puppet forced to perform, I repeat what I said over a year ago. “All right. Hand it over.”

“Awww yeahhh,” Sean says, cackling like a maniac. He tosses me a can of spray paint, and I hold it steady, preparing to leave my mark on this abandoned house.

Shaking the contents, I press the button and black paint spews from the tiny hole. Unsure of what I’ll leave behind, I deliberate for a moment longer before settling on what comes naturally. The ears, the eyes, the fangs, the fur; it’s all in my DNA.

Sean and Layla squint at my terrible artwork.

“Is that a dog?” Sean asks.

“A wolf,” I correct.

“A wolf?” Layla says, incredulously. “That’s . . . totally not what I was expecting.”

I shrug. “Eh, it’s something different.”

“I’ll say.”

Truth be told, I just want to leave a symbol, so if I ever come back to visit Charleston, I’ll know I really was here, and I won’t have to pinch myself. Plus, my stomach is all knotted up at the thought of where Ben might be. Has he arrived safely in Hartford? Will he remember everything like I do? It’s only a matter of time before I find out.

Sirens wail in the distance. I already know who they’re after and what will happen from this point—receiving a lecture from my parents, the decision by a judge that I need some form of therapy, the agreement my parents make with him that I’ll be sent away to live with Randy and Beth. The next three weeks will feel like an eternity, because I’m that much closer to seeing Ben again. I just wish I had a fast-forward button.

“Shit, they’re getting closer,” Sean says, snatching the spray paint from my hand and shoving it into his backpack.

The old me would’ve poked along. To be completely honest, I feel as numb now as I did back then. Who cares if the police are about to arrest us for trespassing? Who cares that I’ll have to go to court for fessing up to destruction of private property? It’s all going to play out exactly as it’s supposed to, right?

“They’re coming for us,” I say, impassively.

Sean and Layla seem frazzled by my sudden psychic capabilities. They glance at one another and then at me.

“How do you know that?” asks Layla. She and Sean slowly step backwards, toward the doorway. They’ll run. They’ll run, and they’ll escape. But if I try to run with them, I’ll trip on the stairs, injure my ankle, and by then, I won’t catch up.

I genuinely smile at them. “You two better get going before you’re caught.”

“What? We’re not just going to leave you here,” Sean protests. “Get up! Let’s go!”

“Unfortunately,” I say, “I have to stay here. I can’t explain everything right now, but I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.” Taking a seat on the floor, I wait.

Layla sprints over and grabs my arm, attempting to pull me up. “Candra, don’t do this! Now is not the time to play the part of a rebellious teenager. You have to come with us!”

“Go!” I yell. “You don’t have time to argue. I’m staying right here.”

Sean shakes his head in disbelief. “You’re fucking crazy. C’mon, Layla. Leave her dumb ass here.”

Of course, this isn’t how the event originally happened, so I’m a little surprised to hear Sean’s callous words, especially coming from a best friend. He and Layla meant more to me in this era of my life than my own family. There was nothing I wouldn’t have done for them. But now? I see things have changed.

I laugh cynically. “Run, bitches, before I tattle that you two were in on this!”

Sean stares at me like I’ve suddenly grown a second head. “Who are you, and what have you done with Candra?”

With a stable grin adhered to my face, I gaze up at the pale moon through the broken glass jutting out of the windowpane. “She doesn’t exist anymore.”

They don’t hesitate any longer, taking my words as confirmation to flee this dump. Even as I recall what happened previously, I realize they weren’t my friends at all; they left me injured so I could take the blame. I was just the pawn. Now entirely alone in this dark house, I understand why fate sent me back to this precise event in my life. Since I recognize Sean and Layla were never my friends to begin with, I can move forward, without them. Currently, though, the one recognizable piece of the puzzle gleams at me through the window, conveying its message loud and clear:
You did the right thing.

Chapter Fourteen

Unlike last time, I actually enjoy the Colonial houses and majestic trees towering over me. Apparently, Randy and Beth reside in the same home as before, because we’re traveling on the same route as the first time I came here. As far as I know, Conard High School still sits a couple of blocks away, which is where I’ll be attending on Monday.

Two long days until I see Ben. Is he like me? Does he remember everything, or was I the only one? If he doesn’t recognize me, I don’t know what I’ll do. Probably crawl into a corner and bawl my eyes out, to be honest.

“Here we are,” Mom says. She and Dad haven’t conversed with me much over the last few weeks, not since the incident at the abandoned house. I don’t blame them; what I did was wrong, and I knew it then like I know now. But that was my only chance to end up in Hartford, so I can be with Ben once again. How else would I have explained my sudden interest in my distant aunt and uncle?

I was correct in assuming Randy and Beth live in the same house. Dad coasts down the gravel driveway, and the front door opens as we pull to a stop. I jump out before my parents can protest. To say Randy and Beth are taken aback is an understatement, especially when I yank them into a small group hug.

“Oh, my!” Beth chuckles, even though her eyes are wide and her eyebrows rise taller than a skyscraper. “We’re happy to see you, too, dear.” She returns the hug, lightly patting me.

Randy smirks. “We didn’t think—”

“I’d be happy to see you?” I finish for him. “Yeah, well, you were wrong.” I grin so hard my cheeks hurt.

Randy and Beth glance at each other, and then at my parents. Obviously, they weren’t expecting my excitement. Before, I was too upset about moving to a new town, where I didn’t know a soul, except my relatives. Now I can’t wait to see Jana and Blake . . . and Ben. My Ben. My everything.

“Let’s get you inside,” Beth says. “I have dinner on the stove, and I’m sure you’d love to rest a bit from your little road trip.”

“Actually, I’m not tired at all,” I respond. “So, if it’s okay, I’d like to sit down and chat with you guys.” I smile once again, and she narrows her eyes skeptically.