by ID Johnson
Cassidy hesitated, “They just kept saying things like, ‘It’s almost time.,’ and ‘The day draws near.’ The way that I hear them, it’s just strands of words, like, with no context. There’s no way for me to connect conversations and tell who is talking to who. So… those are the phrases that stood out to me.”
“Wow,” Cadence said. “That’s really interesting, Cassidy.”
“Do you think something is about to happen?”
It was a good question, and it could be possible that the Vampires were talking about the blue moon. They were highly affected by the moon, and full moons in general could influence their behavior. There seemed to be a good possibility that they were talking about the coming blue moon and nothing more. But it was difficult to say for sure. “I don’t know,” she admitted, “but it might just be the full moon.” Full. Not blue. Don’t say that to her, not yet.
“Isn’t it blue or something?” Cassidy asked, more up-to-speed than her sister had anticipated.
“It depends,” Cadence replied. “Some people say it’s not a true blue moon unless you look at it by season, not month.”
“Oh, well, anyway, it was kind of scary hearing them say things like that.”
“I would imagine it was scary hearing them period. We have no idea what their normal chatter is like. Maybe we should test it again after the full moon and see if you’re still hearing the same sort of things.”
There was a pause, and Cadence realized she was hesitant to commit to something that made her so uncomfortable. “Okay,” she finally said.
“Was Mom flipping out?”
“Oh, I didn’t tell her,” Cassidy assured her older sister. “She thought we were shoe shopping.”
“That was probably for the best.” She was tempted to ask if she got anything cute, but she knew her sister could potentially talk about shoes for hours, and she didn’t have time for that. “Thanks for letting me know, Cass. I know it’s uncomfortable for you, but it’s so amazing that you can do that. You’re the only one on our team who can hear them.”
“I know. You’ve told me, like—five hundred times.”
“Right.” Teenage attitude back in session. “I’ve got to go now. Have a good evening.”
“’Kay.”
“Tell Brandon I said hi. He’ll know what it means.”
“Ugh, you’re so lame,” she said, and Cadence could hear the eye roll.
“Love you, Sis,” Cadence gushed.
“Love you, too, weirdo.”
Once her sister disconnected, she was alone in the world again, only the scarce sounds of the desert creatures around her and the vast expanse of sand and sky. Tempted to pick her book back up and just continue reading, she finally decided against it. She needed to let someone know what her sister had discovered.
It should’ve been Aaron, but it couldn’t be. She would talk to him again before the moon began to fill the night sky, but not now. It wasn’t quite 3:30, and if he found out now that she did have Elliott with her, he could still potentially find a way to reach her in time to ruin her plans.
The moon was actually already beginning to climb the sky, though it was difficult to see with the sun still up. As far as she knew, it didn’t matter where the moon was at in the sky, but it did need to be dark. Since the sun wouldn’t set for another couple of hours, she wanted to wait to even get the ashes out. The last thing she needed was a spill. She was also hopeful that, if she waited until the conditions were ripe, she wouldn’t have to spend several hours praying over a bag of ashes for the portal to open.
So she contacted Jamie instead of Aaron and let him know what Cassidy had reported. He found it quite fascinating and took detailed notes so that they could follow through with Cadence’s suggestion and check again after the moon to see what chatter sounded like then. He was also able to assure her that Aaron was still at headquarters, and though he’d been in a pretty foul mood the last few days, he was both confident that her goal was not attainable and irritated that she wouldn’t just come home already.
Once that conversation was over, Cadence returned her attention to her book for another hour or so before she decided the sun was low enough and it was time to contact Aaron.
He answered immediately, which let her know he had been anticipating her call. “How’s it going?” he asked.
She hadn’t really spoken to him since that day in the diner. It had been easier to ignore him than argue. “Good,” she replied. “What’s going on there?”
“The usual. I have no idea where you are, so I don’t know the time zone. Is it dark there yet?”
“Yeah, just about. I thought I should talk to you really quickly before I get things set up.”
“So you haven’t gotten the urn out then?” he asked, and she wondered how long she might be able to drag this out if she didn’t just go ahead and tell him she knew what he did.
“No, but I don’t have the urn,” she replied, cautiously.
“What?” he asked, clearly confused. “When I asked you the other day, you said you did.”
“I know,” Cadence admitted. “That was a lie.”
“I’m confused. The urn is gone.”
“Yeah, I hid it.”
“You hid it?” he asked. “Cadence, what do you mean?”
She knew how much he hated being outsmarted, be it by a Vampire, a teammate or anyone else. She was hopeful that he would potentially be proud of her for knowing him so well she could anticipate his underhandedness before it took place, but she was doubtful. “I know what you did, Aaron,” she said quietly.
“What?”
“I know that you emptied the urn.”
Silence, for a lengthy amount of time. “Okay. So… you can’t possibly know what I did with the contents.”
“Interesting choice of words,” she noted. “No, I don’t know. Although I would guess you put them in your safe in our office. The one I still don’t know the combination to.”
“No one knows it, except for me.”
“And Mrs. Carminati. Who loves me and bakes me dinner.”
“She wouldn’t tell you the combination,” he said, hesitantly.
“No, but she might use it for me.”
“But she didn’t. I checked. The remains are still there.”
“No, they’re not,” Cadence begged to differ, “but the ashes from the fireplace might be.”
The pause was even more significant this time. “The… what?”
“I’m sorry, babe. I really am. But I know you too well now. I knew you would do something like this. You said it yourself—you’d prevent me from going through with this at all costs. So… I had to be preemptively sneaky.”
“What did you do, Cadence?” His voice was much more stern now than it had been before.
She took a deep breath before answering. “I emptied Elliott out of the urn right after you left to go talk to Jamie that first night when I told you I knew about the portal, and I hid him.”
“You hid him?’
“Yes.”
“Where?” he asked, but before she got a chance to answer—not that she would have told him anyway—he continued, “Cadence! So you do have Elliott with you after all?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re planning on going through with this?”
“Definitely.”
The tone of his voice sounded more desperate now. “Cadence, please don’t do this. I am begging you not to.”
“It’ll be okay, Aaron.”
“No, it won’t. It really won’t.”
“Yes, it will. You’ll see. It will all work out.”
“Cadence, just wait. We’ll do it together, next time there’s a blue moon.”
“I love you, but I have to go now.”
“Cadence….”
She turned her IAC into complete off so that no one could contact her. The other team members had a feature in their IAC that allowed Aaron and Cadence to force them to come on no matter where they were or what mode they
were in, but something had malfunctioned when hers was installed and that had never worked. She was glad it didn’t now. She didn’t want to be distracted by anyone trying to get in touch with her.
The sky was dark, the moon was full, and though it hadn’t quite reached the meridian, she didn’t think that mattered, so she went ahead and got started with her task, hopeful that the nightmare that began nearly eight months ago would be over shortly.
Chapter Twelve
Cadence’s hands were shaking as she carefully unzipped the backpack. “It’s go time, my friend,” she said as she took the plastic bag out of the backpack and carefully set it on the ground. She was hopeful that the bag would be empty when she put it away, but she reminded herself that she promised she wouldn’t pressure him into anything.
In the other compartment, she’d tucked away the container she’d selected, an empty bucket from one of Elliott’s favorite establishments—KFC. It had gotten a bit smooshed, but she reshaped it and took both items over away from the darkness cast from the plateau.
She located a place that seemed to be directly in the moonbeams and placed the bag inside the bucket, which only came about halfway up the sides of the bag so that most of the contents would be in the light. She had no idea if the whole thing had to somehow be illuminated, but she was willing to make some adjustments if she needed to.
Careful not to spill any, she used her superhuman strength to tear through the tape on the top of the bag so that she could unzip it. Tossing the tape aside, she backed up, completely unsure how long this might take—or if it would even work at all.
It took only seconds for her to get her answer. The air seemed to shift around her, as if there was a small pull in the direction of the moonbeams, and then she realized the air above the bucket was beginning to dance. She’d seen many startling things recently, but she couldn’t help but gasp in awe as tiny blue lights began to twinkle in the moonbeams, spinning and twirling, expanding, until they spanned an area about seven feet high and five feet across.
Cadence caught her breath, her hands flying to cover her mouth, as he came into focus. There he was—only a few feet away. She felt tears stinging her eyes, and as she struggled to find her voice, he stared through the portal at her, a look of confusion on his familiar face.
Finally, she managed to find her voice. “Elliott?” she cried, his name catching as she tried to push it out.
He tilted his head to the side and peered at her. After a second, recognition morphed his expression. It was as if he couldn’t quite place her at first. “Kid? Is that you?”
“Yes! It’s me, Cadence,” she replied. Instinctively, her hand shot forward, but she pulled it back, afraid that if she reached through the portal—if that was even possible—she might allow something to come through. “Can you see me?”
“I can see you,” he confirmed, breaking into a smile. “How the hell are you?”
She burst out into a ridiculous laugh, but she knew she was teetering on a loss of self-control. “I’m… okay,” she replied. “How… how are you?”
“Great!” he exclaimed. “Everything is just great. Wow! How am I seeing you? What’s going on?”
“Well,” she began, placing her hands on her hips, “I opened the blue moon portal like you suggested.”
“The what?” he asked, and then after a moment, he began to nod his head. “Oh, right. The blue moon thingy. Right. I’m sorry. I don’t remember very much.”
“You don’t?” She was still having trouble comprehending that he was really there standing before her.
“No, I think it’s some way to keep us from being all depressed, missing everyone, once we cross over. I mean, now that I see you, I remember you, but I’m sad to say that I don’t think I would have even remembered who you were a few minutes ago,” Elliott admitted.
Cadence tried not to be offended. After all, it was hardly his fault if he couldn’t defy the physics of the afterlife. “That’s okay,” she said. “I just wanted to see you again. I miss you… a lot.”
“Awe, man, kid. I’m sure I would miss you, too. If I could.”
“Right. So things are good there?”
“Amazing,” he assured her. “I mean… I’m probably not supposed to say anything, but it’s beyond words.”
“Good,” she nodded her head, the tears starting to flow again. How could she be so selfish to even think of asking him to come back when he was so very happy where he was?
“Hey, where’s everyone else?”
Cadence wasn’t sure how to answer that. She wanted to be honest, but she also didn’t want to alarm or confuse him. Finally, she said, “Well, we didn’t think everyone should know about this, I mean, in case it didn’t work.”
“That makes sense,” Elliott agreed. “But Aaron already knew about it. Where’s he?”
She cleared her throat. “He… thought it was a bad idea. He thought I’d try to talk you into coming over, and he was afraid something evil might come through, too.”
Elliott nodded his head. “I think I remember something about that.”
“He misses you, too, though. We all do.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” he said, and she detected a bit of a waver in his own voice. “How’s Cass?”
She wasn’t a good liar, but she’d try. “Good. She’s fine. She misses you.” Cadence noticed that the blue lights were beginning to dance at the edges again.
His left eye crinkled the way it did when he was trying to figure something out. “Cadence, is something wrong with Cass? Your answer sounded… funny.”
“She’s okay. It’s been… difficult. She’ll make it. She’s got a lot of people around her who love her.”
Elliott was staring down now, though Cadence wasn’t sure if he could see the ground or whatever was on the other side of the portal. He was quiet for a long time. “Tell her… tell her I love her.”
“I will.”
It seemed evident now that the portal was closing. No longer seven feet high, it was more like six; she was having trouble seeing the top of his head. “I think it’s closing, Elliott.” She couldn’t fight the tears now.
“Hey, don’t cry. You know I love you, right? So much.”
“I know. I love you, too.”
“You got my letter?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re not mad at me for being a jerk anymore?”
“No.” It was definitely shutting. He was no longer solid, but the little blue waves that had formed his outline were twinkling now, and she was having trouble seeing through her tears.
“Cadence—don’t cry. It’ll be all right.”
“I’ll come back as soon as I can,” she promised. She stretched her hand out in his direction again, careful not to break the plane.
He said something else, but she couldn’t understand him anymore, and as the blue lights began to fade and flicker, Cadence collapsed on the ground, overcome by her grief. She had thought that seeing him again would bring her closure, but instead, all it had done was open fresh wounds. Aaron was right; she never should have done this. She should have let the healing process continue. She should have left well enough alone.
The wind whipped up again, this time in reverse, as if everything was being pushed out of the portal instead of being sucked in, and though she didn’t look up to see what was happening, her whole body heaving with each sob, she was certain that meant the portal was closed now, and Elliott was gone. Again. She broke into a fresh round of tears.
“You know, I’m really not sure what all the fuss is about. It’s not like you could even stand me most of the time anyway.”
Unable to trust what she was hearing, Cadence peeked up through splayed fingers, and then nearly fell over backward. There he was, sitting next to her on the ground, dressed in the outfit he’d been wearing at Sierraville, solid, real, alive.
“Elliott!” she screamed, launching herself at him, knocking him backward onto the desert floor. “Oh, my God! You’re here.
You’re real! You came through!”
“Ouch. Yep, blows to the head still hurt,” he said, rubbing the back of his head as she lay sprawled on top of him.
“Sorry,” Cadence said as she rolled off of him and helped him up. “I just… I didn’t think you were going to come through. I thought you were gone.”
“I wasn’t,” he admitted with a shrug, dusting the sand off the back of his black leather jacket the best he could.
Cadence helped brush the rest of his back off and then wrapped her arms around his neck, careful not to knock him over this time. He crossed his legs and pulled her into his lap. “What made you change your mind?” she asked, her head cradled against his shoulder.
“Couldn’t stand to see you cry,” he replied, matter-of-factly. “Also, I knew you were lying about Cass. Something happened, didn’t it?”
“Yes,” she admitted. “She’s okay, though. I’ll explain everything to you, I promise.”
“Damn,” he muttered. “Okay. Where are we anyway?”
“Forty Mile Desert. Nevada.”
“Nevada? You know, the last time I made a trip to Nevada, things didn’t go so well, right?”
“Oh, I recall,” she assured him. “But I needed to make sure the sky would be clear.”
He nodded his head, his curly dark mop of hair flopping around as he did so. She couldn’t help but reach up and straighten it. “So what’s the plan now, kid?”
“Do you have your IAC?” she asked. She’d have no way of knowing whether or not that would come back with him.
“Nope. Only voices I hear in my head are my own.”
She giggled. “Okay, well, I guess we head back to Reno for the night, and I’ll contact Aaron and let him know you’re back.”
“Sounds like a plan,” he replied. Then, glancing back behind her, he asked, “Is that a KFC bucket?”
She grinned at him sheepishly, “I needed something to keep the plastic bag of your ashes from falling over.” She noticed the bag was completely empty now.
He was shaking his head at her the way he did when he couldn’t believe her antics. “You know, this whole time, I just assumed you’d put me in an urn like a regular person. Glad I came back so I didn’t have to spend eternity hanging out with Colonel Sanders.”
