First Full Moon

by Michelle Alstead

  “Yeah, you bring the booze?” Larkin asks.

  Bennett gives her a small shove, and she pushes back.

  “Enough with the sarcasm. Be serious,” he says.

  “Someone has to bring levity, or we would all implode,” she replies.

  “Grandmother’s been taken by Claire.” I study Magnus’s face, waiting for a reaction.

  “I know. It’s why I’m here.” He steps inside and glances around. “It’s been a long while since I’ve been inside this house.”

  “What do you know?” I ask.

  Magnus walks over to Ryan. “Do I know you?”

  Ryan takes a step back. “I don’t think so.”

  “No, you look really familiar.”

  “He’s Candy’s reincarnated soulmate. Oh, and btw, she’s the reincarnation of the little Irish witch,” Larkin says.

  Magnus runs a hand through his shaggy hair. “What?” he asks.

  I exhale. “It doesn’t matter. Why are you here instead of with the rest of the uncles?”

  Magnus gives Ryan a side-glance. “Their plan sucks, so I came to join forces with the real power. No pressure, kid, but you’re only real hope of saving my mom.”

  Bennett raises a finger. “The McGregor Corporation has access to the best technology in the world. What makes you think Candy can top that?”

  Magnus comes over to me and grins. “Because she’s special. She’s not just a McGregor; she’s a witch born from the most powerful coven on the planet.” He touches my hand. “Your mom may have left you, but she didn’t leave you powerless. Tap into your birthright, and we’ll use that power to cast a locator spell.”

  “So Vampire Diaries was right. Locator spells are an actual thing,” Larkin sits down on the staircase. “Will we need blood?”

  Magnus draws a painful breath. “We’re going to need more than blood. My brother could be anywhere in the world. You’re going to have to channel an immense amount of power to find him and the Grimoire.”

  I chew my lip. “I don’t know.”

  Ryan leans in and I know exactly what he’s thinking.

  We could do this together. Together we’re so much stronger.

  I won’t use dark magic. I’ve seen enough to know it’s bad.

  Ryan jerks his head back. Our non-verbal conversation is over.

  “What do we need?” I ask.

  “Your blood, something of Davin’s, and a map,” Magnus says.

  Larkin holds up a phone. “I got a map app.”

  “It’ll do,” my uncle says. “The stuff is the easy part. Candy is going to need an anchor.”

  “An anchor?” I ask.

  “Yes, something or someone that will bind you to this world. Otherwise, your soul could slip into another dimension.” Magnus glances around. “Maybe it can be Larkin. You like her the best, right?”

  Larkin jumps up, grinning. “Of course, she does.”

  My head pounds and the room swims. Ryan whispers something to me, but I can’t hear him. Jasper gets up and says something about his tablet. He needs his tablet. Bennett tells him to relax again, and Jasper yells. Larkin is yelling. Magnus shouts over them. It’s too much noise. I can’t hear myself think.

  I did this. All of this. It all started with me saving my family in the worst possible way. Am I evil? I have to get out of here.

  “Candy? Where are you going?” Magnus calls.

  “I need a minute to think!” I push past Ryan and head for the kitchen, shutting the door behind me.

  Going to the sink, I grab a glass and gulp down what feels like a gallon of water. In my peripheral vision, I see it—the metal box Oksana wanted me to open. It’s just sitting there, waiting for her to come and insist I can open it.

  I set the glass aside and move to the box. I study it for a second before I wave my hand over the lock. It makes a clicking sound and the lid pops open. The kitchen door behind me swings open, but I don’t turn around.

  “How’d you do it?” Larkin asks.

  “I finally accepted who I really am.”

  “You didn’t always?”

  “No.” I reach inside the box and find a picture of Oksana holding my five-year-old hand. She doesn’t smile even though I do. “The truth was always sitting just beneath the surface, but I would never allow myself to admit it.”

  Larkin steps up to the counter and places a large box with a blue bow on it. “Open this.”

  “What is it?” I tuck the photo into the back pocket of my jeans.

  “It’s your birthday present. I stashed it in the hall closet a couple of days ago waiting for the right moment.” She pats my back. “Now kind of seems like the time.”

  “You didn’t have to.”

  “Just open it.”

  I remove the lid. There’s a bright red leather jacket sitting in the box. I smile.

  My cousin touches my hair briefly. “I used to think blue was your color but now I think red looks the best on you.”

  I take the jacket out—the leather is so soft—and pull it on. Larkin straightens my collar so my hair isn’t tucked in.

  “What do you think?” I ask.

  She takes my hand in hers and squeezes. “I think it’s time to do the spell.”

  “We can’t give Claire the book. If we do and Ryan’s right, we won’t be able to break the curse.”

  Larkin shakes her head, wobbling it from left to right. “Maybe Ryan isn’t right or maybe Claire’s a liar, and she’s already killed Grandmother.”

  “Don’t say that. We can’t lose her.” Tears come even though I don’t want them to.

  “Candy, my point is that there’s a lot here we can’t control. The only thing left to do is the one thing they raised us to do.” Larkin gives me a nod.

  “Fight. They raised us to fight.” I squeeze her hand, leading her toward the kitchen door.

  And that is exactly what we’re going to do.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  “This isn’t going to be easy. In fact, it’s going to hurt so much you’ll wish you were dead.” Magnus stands in the middle of my backyard holding a tall, black candle.

  He came prepared to cast a spell—candles, torches at four different corners of the yard, and a ceremonial knife.

  Because someone is going to bleed.

  “Clearly, you haven’t been paying attention to the last three days of my existence,” I say, avoiding Ryan’s eyes. “They haven’t exactly been a good time.”

  The candle creates a light that flickers across Magnus’s face. “What you’ve felt is just a warm up for what’s to come.”

  Larkin’s upper lip curls. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  Bennett stands next to her, frowning too. “It means that nature has its own way of preparing us for the worst.”

  “I don’t like the sound of that,” Jasper says.

  “Take a corner. Each of you,” Magnus says.

  I go to the east corner. Ryan takes a step back, standing outside the human square that Larkin, Jasper, Bennett, and I form.

  “Not you, Candy.” Magnus points to the center where he stands. “Hey boyfriend, take Candy’s place over there.”

  Ryan and I pass each other sharing a gaze that thrills and hurts me all at the same time. He steps into my original spot while I take Magnus’s.

  “Why are we doing this outside? It’s January! It can’t be more than twenty degrees out here.” Larkin rubs the sleeves of her puffy silver jacket.

  I could have worn the red leather jacket, but it didn’t feel like the time or place.

  “Witches draw their power from nature.” Bennett rolls his eyes at Larkin whose mouth drops open.

  “Stop that!” she says.

  “Why? You do it to everyone else,” he replies.

  “Grandmother has been taken. Candy has to cast a spell, and we’re all facing an uncertain future. But you two are still fighting.” Jasper shakes his head. “And they say I have issues.”

  “You don’t have issues, Jas. You’re pe
rfect just the way you are,” I say quietly.

  The cold night air goes silent. Larkin stares at the ground while Bennett shoves his hands in his pockets. Ryan is staring at me. I don’t have to look up to confirm it. I can feel his eyes on me and sense his thoughts.

  You don’t need your family for this. We can do it together. We should do it together.

  My eyes find his face. No, black magic. “Magnus, how will this work? How is magic even real?”

  “I think we need a quick history lesson for the kids at home.” Magnus waves his hand over the candle. The flame dances as the wind shifts direction.

  “We don’t have time for a history lesson. Let’s just get this over with.” Larkin gets cranky when she’s cold.

  “You can’t understand how your life is about to change unless you understand why it’s going to change.” Magnus shakes his head. “I never thought I’d be the one to tell the story. Not after—”

  In the time it takes my uncle to say those words, his guard comes down and I catch a mental glimpse inside his head. There are two scenes that flash through his mind. In the first, he’s kissing a pretty dark-haired girl. In the second, he’s weeping over the stone altar in the woods. I clutch my chest, feeling his heart aches for that girl—someone he’s never mentioned.

  “Magnus—”

  My uncle shakes his head. “There was a time when man roamed the earth in search of food and shelter. Mother Earth was cold and cruel yielding little to no sustenance.”

  “You sound like the weird narrator in the science films they make us watch at school.” Larkin yawns. “I sleep through those too.”

  Magnus flexes his jaw. “Fine. The short version. The twelve original tribes gathered under a full moon.”

  “Why a full moon?” I ask.

  “Because it’s easier to access magic during celestial events. Without a major natural occurrence, it’s impossible to cast powerful life-altering spells.” My uncle tugs on his hair. “Are you guys going to let me tell the story or not?”

  “Yeah,” we say collectively.

  Magnus draws a breath and holds it. But none of us speaks, so he begins again. “Each tribe made a sacrifice to appease the Gods, begging for the earth to provide food and shelter.” My uncle—my young, frequently drunk, rarely has a serious moment uncle—wipes a tear from his left cheek. “And the creator moved by the tremendous sacrifices, came down and accepted their offerings.”

  “What did they sacrifice?” I ask.

  Magnus studies the light in his hands, not making eye contact. When he speaks, he whispers. “That which they loved the most.”

  “Well, I love cake but I don’t see God handing over magical powers in exchange for chocolate decadence.” Larkin groans, rubbing her arms some more.

  “The Creator didn’t hand over anything.” Magnus clears his throat. “Power is born from pain and sacrifice. The creator took one member of each tribe and put them through trials that brought them to the brink of misery, insanity, and death.”

  “Why?” I ask.

  “Because it was the only way to weed out those who wouldn’t survive the change. Only the strong would be able to carry the burden of magic.” Magnus rubs his chin. “I miss it. As hard and painful as magic can be, I miss feeling connected to. . .”

  My uncle stares at the ground, and I know he’s thinking of that girl. Where is she? What happened to her? Is she the reason he drinks like a fish?

  Larkin throws her hands up. “To what? Enquiring minds want to know if we’re going to turn sixteen and suddenly mind-meld with each other.”

  Magnus squats down, tearing up a handful of grass. “To be a witch is to be a servant of nature. Using magic builds a connection to Mother Nature and in turn—life—all life. The earth is a living breathing organism that connects all forms of beings that roam this world. Channeling power—real power requires becoming part of the whole instead of just a piece of it.”

  Larkin nods in my direction. “Do you feel what the hippie over there is describing?”

  “Nope.” I push back the hair the wind blows in my face. But I really prefer to feel nothing at all.

  “You will in time.” Magnus gives me a small, encouraging smile.

  “Time isn’t exactly something we have,” Jasper says, pointing to his watch. “Whatever it is that you have planned, we need to do it. Two hours until midnight.”

  “He’s right.” Magnus crosses the yard. “Do you have your anchor?”

  “I don’t know.”

  My dad is gone. My mom is still M.I.A. and I sent away the only person who’s never left me—Oksana.

  “You need someone or something to ground you.” Magnus motions to my cousins and Ryan. “They’ll help but ultimately there has to be something that roots your soul in this realm.”

  “Hey, green eyes, what’s he mean by this realm?” Larkin says to Ryan.

  “He means that the universe is made up of different worlds otherwise known as realms. Without an anchor, Candy’s soul could be yanked from this world and into another.” Ryan rubs his hands together; he’s not wearing a coat. “Trust me, you don’t want that.”

  I put my hands in the back pockets of my jeans only to find the picture of Oksana and I. Taking it out, I study the photo. Even though she’s gone, she wouldn’t want me to fail. “I think I have my anchor,” I say.

  “Good.” Magnus takes my face in his hands. “We have to find the Grimoire. It’s the only thing you can be thinking about. Do you understand?”

  His firm hands wrap around to the back of my head.

  “How can I focus on a book I’ve never seen?” I ask, stiffening into his grip.

  “Maybe I wasn’t clear before. As long as you serve nature or even the greater good, you’ll have the power to connect to any living thing.” Magnus blinks, squeezes his eyelids close for a few seconds and then opens them. “Connect with me, Candy.”

  He bites his lower lip and I know he doesn’t want to let me in.

  “No, Magnus. One skull-splitting migraine is enough for one day.” I try to pull away, but he’s a wolf. Even when he’s in human form, he’s stronger than I am.

  “You have to, Candy. We’re running out of time.”

  “No.” I don’t want to see inside his head or anyone else’s.

  “Just do it. I’ll let you in. You’ll see the book.”

  “I’ll also see everything you’re working so hard to hide.”

  Magnus squeezes my neck. “I loved her. I never meant to—”

  “She doesn’t need you to do this.” Ryan shoves Magnus hard, pushing him away from me.

  “You didn’t mean to do what, Magnus?” I ask, swallowing hard.

  He hangs his head. “You have to break the curse.”

  I want to ask him what he means, but Ryan steps up as Magnus takes several steps back.

  “Candy, I wrote the spell in the Grimoire. I’m inherently connected to the magic in that book. Forget Magnus. Take my hands, and we’ll say the spell together,” Ryan says.

  “I don’t know.” I look to my uncle who shrugs. He cracked the door open to something that will break him if it ever truly gets out. For now, he’s gone into his shell.

  “We’re running out of time.” Ryan takes my hands in his.

  “But we don’t have a map.” I chew the inside of my lip.

  There has to be another way. I can’t have the darkness that runs through Ryan touch me in any way. I just couldn’t handle it.

  “We don’t need a map.” Ryan squeezes my hands. “We just need each other and little blood.”

  Larkin raises her hand. “Um, no. It’s not sanitary and the risk of an infection—”

  Magnus holds up a silver knife with a wooden handle. There’s markings on both sides. They’re Gaelic and biblical. My uncle hands the knife to Ryan who pierces his palm. Blood pools on his skin.

  Ryan smiles. “It won’t hurt much,” he says.

  Glowering at my untouched palm, I exhale loudly. “I don’t want
it to hurt at all.”

  “Magnus, there’s really no other way?” Larkin takes a step forward into the square, but our uncle shakes his head violently.

  “If there were another way to save my mother, don’t you think I’d take it? The last thing I want is to drag the four of you into this world. You’re my family.” Magnus rubs his eyes. “Family is everything.”

  “He’s right. Family is everything,” I say, taking the knife and holding it over my hand.

  “Don’t worry, Candy. I’ll clean it when we’re done. There won’t be sepsis on my watch.” Larkin gives me the nod to go ahead.

  Better to be fast, a voice inside my head whispers.

  I jab the tip of the knife into my palm, refusing to cry out as pain shoots through my skin and down into my wrist. My blood rises to the surface; Ryan presses his hand against mine.

  We make a connection that forces me to gasp for air. The torches shoot fire upward toward the sky. I grab for Ryan, holding onto him with both arms as a force shoots through me.

  “What’s going on?” Larkin yells.

  “They haven’t said the spell yet!” Bennett’s voice is more scared than angry.

  “Let them be. This is beyond me,” Magnus answers.

  I stare at Ryan, seeing him fully for the first time. His hair is long and his eyes are more blue than green. He’s Carrick again, and I am Darby.

  “We’re soulmates,” he whispers.

  “I don’t want to go back,” I say.

  “You don’t have to.”

  “I can’t relive that day. Every time I get close, I feel like I’m drowning. Is that how I died?” I ask.

  He shakes his head. “This is about the Grimoire. We need to find it. Repeat after me, okay?”

  I nod though I feel a strong tug from the past. My mind wants to go back to the day we were married; my soul needs closure.

  “Yes,” I say.

  “Reversus veni ut qui pereunt,” Ryan chants, grasping both my arms with his.

  “Reversus veni ut qui pereunt,” I repeat.

  My toes tingle then burn. An unseen fire burns through my calves, heading for my heart.

  “Ow!” I scream, crumpling.

  Ryan holds me tight refusing to let me fall. “Just keep going. It’ll get easier.”