Timeless Moon

by C. T. Adams

“We need you here. Now.”

  That widened her eyes and she glanced around her carefully to make certain nobody was in sight or scent range. “Can you explain?”

  “Not over the phone.” Amber’s frustration was evident. “No, wait. I have an idea.” She paused, her voice very careful as she asked the next question. “Do you remember what mother did to you when you were eight.”

  She shuddered at the memory and began rubbing her arms from a chill that had nothing to do with the weather. “It’s not the kind of thing one would forget. Yes, Rick explained it.”

  “Only Charles, Antoine, Nana, Duchess Olga from the Chicago pack are involved. Tony Giodone is fine. Does that make sense?”

  Amber had just named all of the seers besides herself with foresight. For an instant she wondered if…but no, she had been having future visions. She just hadn’t been in the visions. Besides, Charles himself had told her that her powers were too erratic as a result of what Maman had done. They would have to kill her, because never again would her powers be bound.

  Silence stretched along the line for so long that Amber began to panic.

  “Are you there? Did you hear me? We need you here, need you to break the spell. They’re dying, Josette. All of them. We’ll be blind.”

  Josette wondered if her sister realized the danger of what she was asking. If Josette wasn’t strong enough, if even the smallest thing went wrong in a breaking ritual. But no, in reality, it didn’t matter. Even if it killed her, she had to try. Maybe that was why she wasn’t in the visions. Perhaps she would be forced to give her life to the spell. The others were the true eyes of the Sazi. They watched the future, planned events, kept the entire world, both human and shifter, safe. Josette knew in her heart that she was expendable, while the others weren’t.

  “I heard. We’re in the middle of nowhere. I’ll leave for the city immediately. Just tell me where you are and I’ll take the next plane out.”

  “No, we’ll send Bruce and Lucas with the jet. It will be faster and safer. They know where we are going, so I won’t say it on the line. But can you make sure the weather is clear enough for them to land at either end?”

  She shook her head. “That’s a bad idea. We have no idea how strong whoever did this is. I don’t want to waste strength that I may need for the working. There’s an airport in Grodin, New Mexico. I can meet them there.” She thought for a moment, considering everything she might need to break the magic that bound her friends, for while most of what she did would simply use her own innate power, there were words and rituals that might help. “And when I get wherever you are I’ll need a white pillar candle for each of the seers affected, some church incense, and the book.”

  “What book?”

  “The book Grandmère Helene gave me, the one that had been in her family for generations. Surely, you remember.”

  “Oh! That book.” Amber didn’t quite manage to keep the disgust from her voice. Not that Josette blamed her. The book had been a gift to Josette from their paternal grandmother when she had discovered that Josette was a seer. It was ancient, with different sections written in various ancient languages, but was, she’d been assured, a mystical volume exploring the seers’ gifts. The cover was made of snakeskin identical to the ones in the jungle cave and the German cave—which would not have been nearly as disturbing if Josette hadn’t had a vision where she was inside the mind of the Sazi snake who had been flayed for his skin to make the bindings. It had only been a matter of sheer luck that the volume hadn’t been in the house at the time of the explosion.

  Could that have been what the snakes were looking for? But they already had a book. She’d seen it. If they needed more than one…Oh, this was bad.

  Thankfully, a year or so ago Charles had asked to borrow it. He’d wanted it available for Tahira’s research on power wells when she finally appeared in the canvas of the future, which was now the past.

  “Do you still have it?”

  “Of course. It’s at the house in Germany. I can get everything you require and have it all waiting when you get here. We’re in Charles’s old hometown.” There was no hesitation in her voice. “We’re having all the others brought here as well, so you’ll only need to do the ceremony once.”

  Josette understood the logic of her sister’s plan, but it couldn’t happen in New York, where she’d first appeared at his offices so long ago. Too many powerful Sazi in one place would affect the weather patterns. More to the point, security would be a nightmare. How tempting would it be to their enemies to strike when all the seers were in one central spot. And New York was a major hub. People could arrive from anywhere.

  “Amber…” she began to argue, but her sister cut her off.

  “We have to risk it. There’s not enough time to do anything else.” Her voice dropped to a mere breath of sound that only her sister could hear. “They’re not doing well Josette. Please hur—”

  With an annoyed yowl that would probably be heard inside, she snarled, “Arrêt, Yvette! Stop! Listen to me, petite souer—” She didn’t often call Amber little sister, especially since she was technically the younger born, so it stopped her cold. “You must listen. Not New York. This must be south, much farther south. I saw this event once, long ago.”

  That did it. Amber stilled completely and her voice regained its usual calm. “I see. Very well then. I must rely on your judgment in this. Where must we go?”

  How could she tell her the location without anyone overhearing? She fumbled in her memory just as Rick started to walk down the railroad tie steps to where she sat.

  “Do you remember when we visited the grasslands together, down at the tip of the country?”

  A pause and then a slow answer. “Vaguely.”

  She prompted more, without directly saying anything. “Surely you remember that austere British gentleman, Matthias…oh what was his last name? Morning? Evening? Night? He built that lovely hotel.”

  Amber’s voice brightened. “Oh. Oh! Yes, I do remember him. He was quite the flirt. Yes, I think we can manage that. It’s too early in the season for anything horrible. Good pick.”

  It wasn’t without reason. The vision she’d seen so long ago said that the book wouldn’t be the one they needed. No, she would need the other book—the one from Grandmère Giselle. Even Amber didn’t know about that one. Nobody did, except Giselle herself. There were four ancient magic books originally, and three were needed for any great ritual working. Most believed that there were only three, which is why one was kept secret. At any given time, those who sought to do evil with them might have all three. But the one Josette possessed, and which was safely hidden in Daytona Beach, Florida, could undo them all. It wasn’t a power book by itself. It was strictly an eraser. With one power book and the canceling spell, anything could be corrected.

  She folded the cell phone closed and removed the small battery pack. Then, with casual strength she crushed the phone in her hand, ignoring the pain as the sharp plastic shards dug into the flesh of her palm. She needed to get out of here, now. They needed to get to Florida before the others arrived.

  She turned in time to see Rick hurrying toward her.

  He stopped a few feet from where she sat. “What’s happening? You’re upset.” Rick’s voice rumbled with the panic that she felt. She wished she could explain it better.

  “I haven’t foreseen this, Rick. Haven’t seen any of it, and I should have.” That was alarming, terrifying even. Because her friends, her family, needed her. She would not let them down. Not so long as there was breath left in her body. There might be frictions between them, old grudges that would never heal, but none of that mattered now.

  He seemed taken aback. “But I thought I just heard you tell Amber that you did see this.”

  She pulled back her arm and tossed the crushed cell phone into the center of the pond and pocketed the battery to dispose of in the trash inside.

  “Pfft You just weren’t close enough to smell the lie. I just needed to get them t
o the town where we need to go next. You know Amber. Without the comfort of a vision, she won’t risk anything. There were visions, old ones, but without form, just impressions about potential events. But we need to get back, deal with whatever’s happening here quickly, and then leave to meet the others. Tell me about your conversation on the road.”

  He nodded and put an arm around her waist as they walked back toward the house. They were a team again, at least for a time. At this point, she trusted him, and she couldn’t trust many people.

  Once they were back on the motorcycle and riding back toward Pony, he told her about his conversation with Raven. He had to speak loud to be heard over the rushing wind, but she was enjoying holding him close and resting her chin on his shoulder so she could hear. It felt familiar and safe.

  “Okay, here’s the scoop. Lucas, Amber, Charles, and Bruce came up to my house in South Dakota and told me about the problem with the seers. You already know that. But as they were arriving, someone attacked Charles. It was an assassin, a snake.”

  Oh! That changed a lot of things. “But how would the snakes know where you live and—” She didn’t complete the thought because he nodded and continued.

  “Precisely! They shouldn’t know, unless someone was being tracked on the way up there. And, in fact, everyone was being tracked. All except for me. We found bugs in the cell phones, the laptop, and even the clothing and Amber’s stethoscope.”

  “Merde! No wonder they shut down the whole network. Who could have done such a thing?” But before the words even finished leaving her mouth, she knew and could kick herself. “Yusef. He must have done it. I knew he had betrayed Charles, but didn’t warn either one.”

  But, to her surprise, Rick shook his head. “Stop blaming yourself for the failings of others, Bun. For as many visions as you’ve had over the centuries, you can’t see everything. It’s a bad habit and one that Charles shares. He blamed himself, too, but Amber swears she bought the stethoscope after Yusef died, and it’s only been out of her sight a few times—one of them while she was visiting Wolven headquarters. He might have been involved, but he’s not the only person. Unfortunately, we’re not certain who else might be involved. I know it’s not me, and I’m pretty sure it’s not you—”

  A semi passed them, and the rush of air forced them nearly onto the shoulder before Rick could correct the bike back onto the two lane road. “That’s stating the obvious. And I can’t imagine Lucas, Amber, or Charles are involved. But frankly, I’ve never trusted Bruce completely. I know Charles does, but Bruce has always troubled me. I’m certain he’s in league with the snakes,” Josette said.

  Rick shrugged. “Anything’s possible, I suppose. But the snakes aren’t who worry me. I don’t think they’re behind it.” The words sounded loud in the sudden silence; they were coming to a stop at the light near the edge of town.

  She could hear the incredulous tone in her own voice. “What do you mean? The snakes are always involved in plots to overthrow the world! They’ve been trying ever since Sargon sat on the council.”

  He turned his head and gave her a serious, nearly offended expression. “Your prejudice is showing, Bun. You might as well say that all lion shifters are insane because Sabine was. That was another nasty habit of yours even when we were married. I know it’s with good cause, but it’s not fair. I happen to like a lot of the American snakes. I’d trust any number of them to guard my back.”

  He was dead serious, and she reared back in surprise. Her temper began to rise. “I am not prejudiced! I killed snakes at my house. Somebody set an explosive that blew up my home, and the only scents were snakes, plus me and Tasha. There were snakes in the SUV that tried to kill Ellen and me in Albuquerque. It was a snake seer whose mind I entered in the vision in the hotel, and who had a fucking casting circle painted on the cavern floor in the jungle. Those are facts, Rick. How do you figure I’m blindly throwing suspicion their way?”

  “I didn’t say it was blind suspicion. But just because they’re after you, doesn’t mean they’re after all the seers, or involved in every evil plot in existence.”

  She couldn’t even decide how to respond to that, and knew her anger was soaking into him. It would make it nearly impossible for him to drive, but he had no right to call her a bigot! She’d told him everything last night, after they made love. Brought him up-to-date on what had happened in her life for nearly a century, and he did the same. There wasn’t much to tell, up until the past several days. But snakes were definitely in the picture. She just didn’t know what they were planning.

  She watched as he battled the emotions, trying to stay calm—and finally, he pulled the bike over under the metal shelter of an old, closed gas station, then straddle-walked it through a gap in the corrugated fencing so they were hidden from traffic. The twin pumps standing in the old repair yard were tall and rounded with real dials, instead of a digital ones. There were skeletons of vehicles that seemed to be from the fifties and sixties. She doubted anyone would be wandering nearby while they talked.

  He got off the bike, stepped away from it, and leaned against the wall near a faded logo so he could face her. The wind was rising again, and she was a little afraid that the dark clouds appearing on the horizon were her fault.

  “I’m not disputing the things that have happened to you. But do you seriously believe that the snakes would work with someone like Ray? You know Ahmad. He’s one of the more tolerant of them about full humans, and he’d squish that man like a bug.”

  She thought about it for a moment—thought back to the various encounters with him. Her words came out slow and thoughtful. “Actually, no. Ray’s from a raptor lineage. Ellen said she got her feathers from both sides of the family. They will work together if they must, but I can’t imagine Ray would have survived more than a week. He’s just not bright enough not to say something stupid—and I saw that he detests shifters. All of us.”

  Rick’s head dipped an acknowledgment. “So, then, what about the cards? There were pictures of seers on them, including you. If Ray and his buddy aren’t working for the snakes, then who are they working for? Is there some sort of raptor group starting up? I can see birds calling a working plot a “movement.” Could Ray’s family ties be bullying him, even while he detests the family members who turn?”

  Josette pursed her lips and looked down while she tapped one finger on her jeans. The polish was chipping badly. Either she was going to need to remove the glossy red or smooth over the missing bits.

  “I suppose it’s possible, but he didn’t really seem the type. He’s more of the passive aggressive sort. He’d tell them he’d help and then just never get around to it. No, I was inside his head. Whatever this “movement” is, he’s in for the long haul. He’s working with people, like Harold, despite disliking them, for the greater cause. I could sense a fanaticism in him—he’s a true believer in whatever’s going on.”

  “In other words, we’ve got two problems. The snakes are casting some sort of spell on the seers, and The Movement is trying to eliminate them. Does that sound about right?”

  Josette noticed he’d turned Ray’s term into a title of sorts. And now that she was thinking along the lines of two distinct threats, more of the things in her recent visions and conversations were making sense.

  Rick opened his mouth to say something when she interrupted. “Something that just occurred to me might be important.” He closed his jaw and raised his brows for her to continue. He always was good at letting her speak when a thought possessed her. He seemed to instinctively know that she might lose track of the thread if he interrupted. “When I first met Ellen, she said Ray didn’t intend to let her take her bird form on the moon.” After Rick snorted his opinion on that and rolled his eyes, she continued. “But then I saw in Ray’s mind during my vision that as soon as he made Ellen right again, she’d know how much he loved her.”

  Now she had his full attention and he pushed off from the wall to walk closer to where she still sat on the back o
f the motorcycle. “So what are you saying?”

  “Ellen mentioned that she was afraid her father was going to use her as a guinea pig for some stuff he and his buddies were brewing in the desert. Could it be that what we saw isn’t a drug lab?” She amended quickly, “That is to say, it is a drug lab, but not recreational drugs for the humans?”

  He was quiet for a long time, staring blankly at one of the gas pumps while tapping his foot, like he always did when he was working out a big problem. Finally, he shook his head.

  “Well, I don’t think either of us will have any way of knowing, even if we went back. Plus, we’ll just be inviting someone to connect the two of us. For the moment, I think we need to proceed like we planned. Get Raven out here and turn this aspect over to him. Even with the network shut down, there are still untraceable ways for agents to contact one another. He can sneak out there, take a sample of whatever the stuff in the test tubes is and get it to Bobby Mbutu, the chemist at Wolven. I imagine he’s still there, even after all these years. What we need to do is get you to wherever it is you need to go to meet Charles and the others.”

  “And, in the meantime, make sure that The Movement doesn’t find me. I didn’t notice your picture on those cards, so you’re still unknown to them. That could be useful. But I’m just not willing to walk away and leave Ellen to some sort of horrible fate, either. Maybe what I need to do is track down that caster in my mind again and try to eliminate him. If the caster’s gone then, like when Maman killed the one blocking my gifts, the spell will dissipate on its own. Then we can stay and concentrate on things here until they’re resolved.”

  He shook his head. “That’s a huge risk, Bun. What happens if something happens to you? Are you willing to—”

  Rick’s voice disappeared as the world abruptly shifted. She felt herself slump and fall from the motorcycle but couldn’t feel anything beyond that, like whether or not she slashed open her head on the discarded, jagged metal fence that had been next to her in the yard.

  Rich soil and decaying vegetation filled her nose as she walked through the verdant jungle. The recent rain had coated every leaf, so that as she walked, wetness splattered on her skin and clothing. She paused to dip her hands into a massive fern frond where fresh water had collected. The hands that came into view were definitely male—slender and hairless with a dark, nutty pigment to the skin. The water tasted cool, but her nose detected the bitter overtones of a viper over the scent of the greenery.