First Full Moon

by Michelle Alstead

  “Save it, Juliet. You and Romeo are destined to die in every lifetime. I just saved you years’ worth of misery.” Claire smiles. “I want the spell book and you four are going to get it for me.”

  “We don’t have it.” Bennett steps forward, taking off his jacket. He flexes his neck muscles, turning his head from side-to-side.

  “Oh jock boy thinks he has a chance. How cute. What’s your name again?” Claire grins, displaying a set of pointy-sharp canine teeth.

  “If you weren’t evil, I would like you so much right now,” Larkin says.

  “We aren’t getting anything for you,” I say, stepping forward.

  “Oh, you will.” Claire folds her arms.

  She’s confident—too confident.

  “What did you do?” I ask.

  “I have your grandmother and if you ever want to see her alive again, you’ll get me the spell book.” Claire turns on her heels, walking toward the door. “Candy?”

  “What?”

  “Do better than your mother. She hardly put up a fight.” With a toss of her fake-red hair, Claire reaches the doorway.

  I don’t think. My hands fly up and I scream without any real thought. Wind races into the house, but Claire hangs on to the doorway.

  Larkin grabs my arms, pulling me back. When I look up, Claire is patting her hair back into place and straightening her suit.

  “Wow, and you’re supposed to be the ‘one’ who can finally break the curse?” Claire laughs. “I didn’t even break a nail.” She steps back into the house, walking toward me.

  “Leave,” I say.

  “You don’t scare me.” Claire stares me down. “Because at the end of the day, you’re just a lost little girl looking for her mommy in all the wrong places.”

  “If you hurt my grandmother—”

  “Oh!” She slaps her leg. “There goes the mommy issues again. Hey Larkin, get her an appointment with your therapist.”

  Larkin frowns, taking a step back while Jasper shuffles forward, getting in between Claire and I.

  “You’re a little late to the party,” she says.

  “Fighting isn’t my thing. I don’t like confrontation, but I’ll make an exception for you.” Jasper wipes his nose with the back of his hand. “You’re technically our grandmother and this behavior is not maternal at all.”

  She peers at Jasper, whose eyes are cast downward. Lifting his chin, she talks in a low voice. “I had a brother like you. We didn’t know what was wrong with him back then, so we stuck him in a corner and ignored his strange compulsions. We had low expectations, and still he couldn’t meet them.” She pats Jasper’s face. “Just know I do blame myself for passing on whatever defective gene made you this way and I’ll be happy to put you out of your misery. Just ask.”

  I raise my hands, ready to fight or send magic fireballs her way if I could figure out how. “Don’t talk to him like that. There’s nothing wrong with him.” Before I can let loose like I did with Oksana, Claire grabs me by the throat and tosses me to the floor.

  “You don’t seem to understand what you’re dealing with. So, let me show you.” Claire grabs my hands and squeezes them so tight I’m sure my fingers will break. “You remember that day in the woods when your mother and aunt tried to break the curse.”

  I shake my head violently. “No, I don’t.”

  Claire grips my chin, staring into my eyes. “You do. You just don’t want to go back, but now it’s time. No more fighting it little girl.”

  Little girl. Those words, her voice—take me back to the day I’ve worked so hard to forget.

  I’m standing in the woods with my red rubber ball. My mother kneels before the stone altar. My Aunt Candice kneels across from her. Their hands are bleeding, dripping into a bowl as they chant. My mother wears a blue necklace that shimmers in the light. The clouds shift blocking out the sun making it night. Lightning strikes a nearby tree.

  "Mommy! Stop, Mommy!”

  But she doesn’t hear me; she can’t over the sound of more trees catching fire. Aunt Candice holds up the bowl, begging for nature to heed her words. Neither of them notices when Claire emerges from the woods. My aunt is the closest. Claire grabs her from behind, ripping into her neck with her sharp teeth. She feeds until my mother intercedes, using magic to pry Candice from Claire’s arms.

  But it’s too late. Candice lands on the ground, eyes wide open, blood spilling out. Their spell is broken. Daylight returns as Claire grabs my mother by the throat.

  “Please, don’t. Not in front of my daughter,” she begged.

  “It has to be in front of your daughter. The society wants a message sent. As long as no one tries to break the curse, we’ll let the McGregors live. Anyone who crosses us and tries to break it will meet a fate worse than death.”

  In one swift motion, Claire lifted my mother above her head and brought her down on top of the altar. My mother screamed as her bones cracked. She lay broken on that altar while Claire gave me a smile and disappeared.

  When she was gone, my family finally came.

  “Candy? Are you all right?” Grandpa was at my side, checking me for wounds.

  Grandmother rushed to Candice’s side while my father took my mother in his arms.

  “She’s dead,” Grandmother cried, weeping with her daughter in her arms.

  “I have to get Brigid to the hospital,” my father said. “Take care of Candy.” He rushed past me. My mother’s eyes met mine as they passed, but she didn’t say a word.

  That was the last time I saw my mother.

  “You remember! Repression is such an interesting thing. One minute you’re living a quasi-functional existence and the next—you’re crying over the mother who abandoned you,” Claire says.

  “You broke her,” I say.

  “Well, yeah, I had to send a message.” Claire releases me. “Get me the spell book or your grandmother will be the next McGregor buried.”

  “But we’re family,” Jasper says. “Nothing is more important than family.”

  Claire moves toward the front door. “My family died a long time ago. You all are just reminders of what I’ve lost.” She steps outside onto the front porch. “You have until midnight or your grandmother dies.”

  With those parting words, Claire runs off—a blur racing away from my house. I slam the door shut and bolt it before I run to Ryan’s side. He moans as I touch his head.

  “You’re alive,” I say, clutching him in my arms.

  “We have to break the curse, Darby.”

  “I know.” I press my cheek against his.

  “Uh, Candy?” Larkin steps forward. “What’s this?”

  Oksana stirs, groaning. “No use magic.”

  I help Ryan to his feet. “This is Ryan Connelly but I used to know him as Carrick.”

  Bennett helps Oksana up. “What do you mean?” he asks.

  “It was me,” I say slowly.

  Ryan gives me a nod, encouraging me. “The only way we’ll finally beat this—is if you embrace who you really are.”

  I draw a breath from my diaphragm, exhaling slowly.

  “I am Darby, the little Irish witch.”

  CHAPTER FIFETEEN

  “What do you mean you’re the little Irish witch?” Larkin asks.

  Ryan leans on me while Oksana stands a few feet away, glowering.

  “I mean the paintings weren’t dreams. They’re memories.” I say, searching Ryan’s face. “What did I do to you?”

  “This wasn’t your fault. It was mine,” he whispers.

  Bennett steps forward, standing next to Oksana. “You’re saying you’re what? A reincarnation?”

  “I . . .” I study Ryan’s face, hoping he can fill in the gaps.

  He swallows hard. “Yes, she was reincarnated.”

  There’s more he wants to say. Anyone can see the past weighs on him. But Ryan shakes his head, so I don’t press.

  Bennett gives Ryan a once-over. “And who are you?”

  “Ryan Connelly but I
am also known as Carrick.”

  Jasper blinks. “That’s an old Irish name.”

  Ryan gives a slight nod that seems to take all of his energy. “It’s a very old name.” He gives me a smile that sends fire rushing through my veins.

  Larkin chokes on her gum. “If you’re Darby then that makes him—”

  “My one true love,” I say.

  Larkin frowns, then shakes her head, and finally pulls more gum from her jacket pocket. “Yeah, okay.”

  “You have to tell me everything.” I say to Ryan as I glance at my cousins. “Maybe not now but—”

  Bennett coughs hard. “Your past life regression therapy is going to have to wait. Grandmother is the priority now. We can’t let anything happen to her,” he says.

  “How can we be sure she’s been taken?” Jasper fidgets in the corner. “Claire’s the villain in this story. She could be lying. Villains lie.”

  Bennett pulls his cellphone from his pocket. “There’s only one way to be sure.”

  Larkin frowns. “Who are you calling?”

  “Branson.”

  “You have Branson’s number and I don’t?”

  “He’s been giving me Muay Thai lessons.”

  Larkin folds her arms and puckers her lips. “I want Muay Thai lessons.”

  Bennett gives her a side-glance. “No, you just want Branson. Besides, you punch like a girl.”

  At the sound of those words, Jasper presses his body against the nearby wall and covers his eyes. Larkin takes two steps, kicks Bennett’s legs out from underneath him, and punches him square in the solar plexus. He groans, his face turning purple.

  “Jerk,” she mutters.

  “I’m sorry.” He holds up his hand. “Help me up.”

  Larkin raises an eyebrow. “Are you really sorry?”

  “Yeah, now give me a hand.” Bennett grasps her hand, yanking her to the floor, and pinning her down by shoving an arm under her chin.

  “Get off me!”

  “You couldn’t handle Muay Thai.” He jabs her in the ribs. “You’re not tough enough.”

  “Bennett, I’m going to kill you!” Larkin throws him off, scrambling to her feet.

  Oksana shakes her finger at both of them. “Enough! Spoiled stinking kids.”

  Larkin grunts. “We’re not spoiled.”

  “She’s right!” I snap. My muscles ache from propping Ryan up. “Save the fighting skills for when we really need them. Now why would you be calling Grandmother’s butler?”

  Bennett gets up. “Butler? Are you serious?”

  “Um, no?”

  Of course, I’m serious. Why else would I be asking?

  Bennett retrieves his cell from the floor and dials. He puts the phone to his ear. “You’ve seen the guy. He’s an ex-Navy Seal and Grandmother’s head of security. She only called him her butler so the little kids wouldn’t worry.”

  Larkin was right. I believed too easily. I missed signs that things weren’t what they seemed.

  Never again.

  “Branson, we have a—” Bennett frowns, his face growing darker with each passing second. “Yeah, I get it. Okay.” He hangs up and it’s very clear there’s only bad news.

  Larkin examines a scratch on her arm. “What?”

  “Turns out we weren’t the only ones who got a ransom demand or even the first.” Bennett shuffles his feet. “My dad and the rest of the family are working on a plan to get Grandmother back. They have been for a few hours.”

  “How will they get her back if no one can find my dad?” I ask.

  “Branson’s on it. He’s got connections everywhere. They’re going to find your dad and the book.”

  Suddenly, the weight of Ryan’s body grows heavier on my shoulders. His eyes roll back in his head.

  “Hey, stay with me,” I say, shaking him.

  His caramel-colored skin has a gray tint while blood oozes from the cut on his scalp. Ryan’s eyes flutter open. “Sorry, I just need to sit down,” he mumbles.

  I motion to Bennett. “Help me set him down on the steps.”

  My cousin obliges and between the two of us, we maneuver Ryan around Oksana and onto the bottom step of the staircase.

  “You need a hospital and stitches. Maybe surgery. That head wound looks bad.” I touch Ryan’s forehead, but he pulls away

  “I don’t need a hospital.”

  Larkin comes over and takes a look. “Yeah, you do. That’s a concussion to say the least.”

  “I don’t need a hospital.” Ryan lifts his hands, closes his eyes, and chants in what I recognize as Gaelic. Black smoke hisses from the palms of his hands, scurrying past Larkin and I until the snake-like monster finds the two potted plants in opposite corners of the entryway. The smoke, dividing in two, wraps itself around the small trees strangling them until the branches turn to ash and the leaves disintegrate.

  It’s the most horrifying thing I’ve ever seen.

  When I turn back to Ryan, the whites of his eyes are black again—only for a second—before his skin color is restored and the bloody head wound is gone.

  He doesn’t smile, but he stands up and rubs his hands together. “Let’s get to work. We need that book to break the curse.”

  Grandmother warned us there were serious consequences if we ever tried to use magic to heal. Are these the consequences she was referring to? What has Ryan done?

  “Magic come with price. Dark magic take life,” Oksana growls. “You leave now.”

  Bennett steps forward, taking off his jacket and flexing muscles that have won him every arm wrestling contest since the third grade. “I’m with her. You need to leave.”

  “Wait,” I say, stepping in between them. I don’t like what Ryan’s done. I can taste the evil he’s channeled, but I can’t get past our connection.

  “Candy, I’m all about hotness and the melty way he looks at you when you aren’t watching,” Larkin says. “But he killed the plants. That cannot be good.”

  I can’t argue with what she says. Not with words anyway. I just know now that I have Carrick back, I can’t let him go. The thought splits my heart in two.

  “Claire doesn’t have the spell,” Ryan says quickly.

  “What do you mean?” I ask.

  “She doesn’t have the original wolf spell. She needs the Grimoire to find it and once she gets it, she’ll destroy it.” He holds his hands protectively in front of his torso.

  “But she said she had the book in that email,” I say.

  “That’s not possible.” Ryan’s eyes dart back and forth between Oksana and Bennett as if he’s trying to decide who’s the bigger threat.

  “How do you know that?” Bennett asks.

  “Because I wrote the spell and hid it. The only way to find it is by using the key I created in Darby’s Grimoire. It’s the reason Claire wants the book.” Ryan’s nose bleeds. He uses the back of his hand to wipe the fluid away. “Without the spell, there’s no breaking the curse.”

  “You wrote the original spell?” I ask.

  His face contorts in pain. “I’m sorry. I wanted to tell you. There’s just so much you don’t remember, and we have so little time.”

  I shake my head. “Doesn’t matter. This is still my mess, and I’m going to clean it up. It’s the right thing to do.”

  “So Claire was lying?” Larkin paces, twisting her hair.

  “I told you. The villain is often a liar,” Jasper says.

  “Yeah okay, man, relax,” Bennett says.

  “Relax? We have less than five hours to find the spell book and save Grandmother. This is hardly the time to relax.” Jasper slides down the wall to the floor, wraps his arms around his legs, and rocks back and forth.

  “Don’t upset him.” Larkin sits down next to Jasper. “It’s okay, Jas. Want me to sing?”

  He moans in return. Larkin gently hums his favorite song.

  “I wasn’t trying to upset him,” Bennett says.

  “Boy need to leave. This family matter,” Oksana says suddenly
. She reaches for Ryan, but I intercede grabbing her arm.

  She looks at my hand on her arm and draws back.

  “No, Oksana. He stays.”

  “Candy—”

  “We need his help. Like he said, he’s the only one that knows how to find the spell.”

  “There other way.”

  “It’s not just the spell,” Ryan says. “Darby and I mixed our blood when we cast it. There’s only one way to break the curse—with my spell and with my blood.”

  And that’s the sacrifice my family has been missing all this time.

  “Candy, you need me.”

  Ryan’s right. There’s no doing this without him.

  “No, Candy. I promise Father I protect. Boy leave now.” Oksana tears her arm from my hand, raising her hands one more time.

  “No, Oksana. You need to leave,” I say quietly.

  Her head whips in my direction. “What?”

  “You need to leave,” I repeat, my heart officially breaking. “There’s just no other way.”

  Her face registers my words and for the first time, her guard comes down. Oksana is hurt; I can feel it. She takes several steps backward, staring at me with disbelieving eyes. This woman has raised me since my mother left, and I have let her down. The pain is more than either of us can bear. She opens the front door, pausing in the doorway. “Not all soulmates good.” Without a backward glance, Oksana walks out leaving a hole in the house.

  And in my life.

  Larkin clears her throat. “Does anyone else notice that we just kicked out the only adult in this group?”

  “I kicked her out. It’s on me,” I say.

  Ryan walks over to me, placing a hand on my shoulder, but I pull away not deserving the warmth that comes every time he touches me.

  “You did the right thing,” he says.

  “Then why does it feel so wrong?” I ask.

  “Sacrifices have to be made. It’s the nature of magic.” He touches my hair, tucking it behind my ear.

  “Magic sucks.”

  “Magnus?” Larkin’s voice interrupts my pity party.

  My uncle stands on the threshold. “I heard there was a party here.”