Dead Moon Awakens: A tale of Cherokee myth and Celtic magic (Mystic Gates)

by Teresa Joyce Jackson

  Kelile told me Lance was going on a weekend visit with the Jamesons tomorrow night—which I already knew, but acted like I didn’t. On Saturday night, he wants to take the canoe and leave. I didn’t know what to say. I swear, the more lies I tell, the more I have to tell. I don’t like this. I’m so afraid I’ll get mixed up and tell the wrong thing to the wrong person. But this is the only way I’m going to be able to find Ma.

  Anyway, I went along with him and said I would do it. Morri exploded when I told her. She finally agreed that I had to play along with him now. But because of that, we have to move the canoe tomorrow night instead of Saturday night. And Saturday night I have to pretend to leave with him and be surprised when we discover the canoe is gone—which is really kinda good. I told Morri that now he won’t be hounding Lance anymore because he’ll think the canoe is missing. She smiled at that.

  Wish me luck, Ma.

  *******

  Friday, April 12

  “This is working out well, Aish. I didn’t know you had it in you,” Morrigan said as they snuck into Preacher Collins’ office after curfew and retrieved the key to the storage building.

  Aishling wasn’t nervous this time. She rubbed her amulet under her shirt. What could go wrong?

  But, when they crept past the playground, a rustling noise behind them startled her. She grabbed Morrigan’s arm and stopped, whispering, “Did you hear that?”

  “No. I didn’t hear anything.” Morrigan listened a moment. “You’re just skittish. Come on. Let’s get this over with.”

  “Turn around and go back.” The warning seemed to resonate through all the trees.

  “Morri, wait. I don’t feel good about this now. I feel like we should go back.”

  “What? We can’t. Remember? Because of your silly mistake, we have to do this tonight. Now, come on.”

  “Okay,” she whispered, still lingering there. It couldn’t be Lance. He was gone. Besides, he knew. And they had been quiet when they snuck into the preacher’s office. They had even made sure Kelile was asleep before they left the house. Everything should be fine. And since she was wearing her amulet, surely she’d be protected.

  Once inside the storage building, Aishling spotted the large gear bag Lance had described to her. “Morri, here.” She picked it up and lifted it into the canoe. “Have you got Lance’s ‘must-have’ list?”

  “I don’t need it. I memorized it,” Morrigan said, looking through the compartments of the backpack. “Plastic fold up water jug; mini survival kit—it’s a little metal box with fish hooks, safety pins, wire—here it is; compass; flashlight; maps; cooking pan; and water purifying kit. Where is that? Oh, this must be it. We still need his knife, a flint stone, tent, and two sleeping bags.”

  Aishling looked around again and found a smaller backpack. Rolled tightly and fastened to the bottom was one sleeping bag. Rolled up inside was a lightweight tent. She also found his knife and flint inside. “But there’s only one sleeping bag.”

  Morrigan lifted the heavier pack and found the other sleeping bag also rolled up and attached on the bottom. “Okay, here it is. We’ll just take everything. Put that pack in here with this one. Come on, hurry.”

  After securing the gear in the canoe, Aishling said, “How are we going to make it look like someone broke in?”

  “I hadn’t thought about that.”

  Aishling worked her way over to one of the two windows. As with the other window, this window’s glass pane had been painted with white paint. No one could see in or out of the window. “Could we make it look like the window had been left unlocked and someone pried it open from the outside?”

  “Let’s try.”

  She unlocked it and followed Morrigan outside. As they both pushed up on the glass panel, it lifted just enough to wedge their fingertips underneath the frame and finish prying the window open.

  “Great! Let’s get out of here. Hurry,” Morrigan said.

  They struggled carrying the canoe, having to rest several times before reaching the bushes where they had planned to hide it.

  “Run. Run. Run!”

  Aishling almost bolted with this warning. When they set the canoe down by the bushes, she checked the perimeter.

  “What’s the matter?” Morrigan asked.

  “I hear a voice telling me to run. I don’t feel good about this.”

  “Stop being so scared. There’s no one around. Fix the flashlight to shine in the bushes and help me push the canoe in. Hurry!”

  Then it happened.

  A stream of bright light from behind them reflected off the canoe.

  “You girls are in for it now.”

  Return to Beginning

  begins transformation

  15

  “Get that light out of my face,” Morrigan said.

  “Don’t you girls know a canoe goes in the water?” Kelile chuckled.

  “Ho, ho, ho, very funny, slave boy.” Morrigan rushed him, grabbing for his flashlight.

  “Get away from me, prissy queen.” He jerked backwards. “You’re gonna think funny when I turn you two in to Preacher Collins.”

  “No, Kelile, please, let us explain,” Aishling said, clutching his arm.

  He yanked away. “Don’t you be puttin’ your voodoo hands on me.”

  “You’re not telling Preacher Collins.” Morrigan stepped in front of Aishling. “You thought your eyes hurt before, slave boy? That was just a taste of what I can do.”

  “Morri, back off.”

  “You think you scare me, prissy queen?” He shoved his face within inches of Morrigan’s. She crossed her arms and stood rooted in place, as immovable as a boulder. He bared his teeth at her, then said, “And, I’ll think it’s funny when Lance tells you what you can do with his canoe.”

  “Stop, both of you. Stop!” Aishling said too loudly.

  “Shh,” Kelile and Morrigan hissed.

  “Quiet, Aish! You’ll wake everyone.”

  She coddled herself. “You and Kelile stop arguing.” Focusing on him, she said, “Listen to me. Lance already knows what we’re doing.”

  “He does?”

  “That’s right, slave boy. It won’t do you any good to go to the preacher because we’ll tell him we caught you stealing the canoe. I’m sure the preacher would believe—”

  “Stop, Morri.” Aishling searched for the right words to say next. She couldn’t let him ruin their plans, yet she didn’t want to hurt him.

  “I don’t get it. Why would he want you … Ah, the perfect setup.” He glowered at Aishling. “I thought we were better friends than this. You were playing me all along. Well, this sweet little scheme won’t work now unless you take me with you.”

  “Oh, so now you’re going to blackmail us? Huh. Don’t you see, slave boy, Lance doesn’t want you to come.”

  Hoping to console him, Aishling said, “Since we knew you’ll get to leave in a few weeks, we thought you’d be okay.”

  “Right,” Morrigan echoed. “You’ll have to stay behind and be patient.”

  “You know better than that,” he snapped at Aishling before rounding on Morrigan again. “I doubt that, prissy queen. If anyone gets left behind, it’ll be you.”

  16

  *******

  1:10 a.m., April 12 no 13

  I can’t go to sleep. I’m worried about two things. One is my amulet. So much was going on tonight that I didn’t know it had come out from underneath my shirt. I don’t know if Morri saw it or not. I hid it with my old diary before she got back. I’m also worried about what will happen when Lance returns. I don’t want him and Kelile to be mad at each other. I don’t know why Lance doesn’t want him to go with us. And, I don’t know why Morri got mad at me when I talked Kelile into waiting on Lance. All I said was that the four of us might be able to work something out. After he left, she hardly talked to me. We hid the canoe, and I did an enfolding enchantment to blend it with the bushes. Then she told me to leave because she had to focus on her “ant” spell. But when she
came back, she still wouldn’t talk. Sometimes I don’t believe she really is my soul friend. I’ll be so glad when Lance gets back!

  *******

  April 13, 7:50 a.m.

  I think my amulet protects me from bad dreams. Since I didn’t have it on last night, I had another nightmare.

  In this dream, a circle of fire surrounded Ma. She had her arms open, waiving for me to come thru the fire to her. I was too scared at first, but in my mind, I kept hearing Ma tell me not to be afraid, that the fire would protect me. When I got enough courage to walk thru the flames, I hit an invisible wall. The wall wouldn’t let me move forward. The harder I tried pushing ahead, the heavier the pressure got. Ma reached out, grabbing for my hand, then everything went black and I was suffocating. No matter how hard I struggled to breathe, I couldn’t get any air. I thought I was going to die.

  I woke up and the pressure was gone, but my pillow was on top of my face. I must have been suffocating myself. Then Morri scared me when she grabbed the pillow and pulled it off. She said I had woken her, and she saw me struggling with the pillow. Weird.

  Sometimes I wish I could hide in a cave from everybody! I get so tired of trying to figure everything out—my dreams, what happened to Ma, why I remember nothing about the fire, whether Mrs. Dawes will get rid of me before I run away, why Morri acts the way she does, and why Lance doesn’t want Kelile to go.

  11:25 p.m.

  I’m so mad at Morri right now I could spit!!! She confessed to me that she had told Lance it was me who didn’t want Kelile to go with us, and that I would snitch on them if he did! No wonder Lance hasn’t been nice to me. And now, she wants me to tell him that I’m sorry for the way I acted, that I changed my mind, and it’s okay for Kelile to go with us. How dare her!!!

  Oh, this makes me so mad!!! I like Lance. I don’t want him to think I’m that kind of person. She begged me to do this for her. She told me she knows soul friends don’t do anything to hurt each other and that she was sorry she had lied to me. She started crying and said she had had a vision that if Kelile goes we’ll get caught and then we’ll never be able to leave this place.

  If I don’t lie to Lance, I’ll lose Morri. If I do, Lance will never like me. And no matter what I do, Kelile won’t like me! I shouldn’t have to act like a monster to Lance and Kelile! I’m tired of everyone thinking I’m evil or a monster!!!!!!!

  *******

  Sunday, April 14

  Aishling sat next to Kelile when she went to breakfast. The note she’d written was folded tightly in her hand. She wanted to slip it to him when Morrigan wasn’t looking. Though she didn’t feel like eating anything, she had to stall and wait for Morrigan to finish breakfast and leave.

  After a sleepless night, she had thought of a plan that might keep her friendships with at least Morrigan and Kelile. Two out of three wasn’t bad, was it?

  She ate one small bite at a time, chewing it as long as possible, thinking about how nice Morri had been that morning after she had agreed to lie to Lance. Everything had gone back to normal between them. Now, if she could just get Kelile to go along with her plan, she’d be happy enough. She hoped.

  Even though she sat next to him, he wouldn’t look at her or talk to her. She assumed he was biding his time until Lance got back that afternoon. Besides being exhausted, she felt like throwing up. What if he finished breakfast and left before Morri did?

  “I’ll see you back at the room,” Morrigan said, getting up and taking her plate to the kitchen.

  Aishling shoved the note into Kelile’s hand and frowned at him, mentally telling him not to say anything. He looked surprised, but seemed to understand. He put the note in his pocket and got up from the table.

  As he was going into the kitchen, Morrigan came out and stuck her tongue out at him. “Come on, Aish.”

  “I’ll be there in a little while.” She took another bite of food.

  When Morrigan left the dining room, Aishling got up and took her plate into the kitchen where Kelile stood reading her note.

  “What’d you want to talk about?” He wadded up the note, stretched, and leaned backwards against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “Please listen to me until I finish, because Morri may come looking for me any moment.” She paused until he nodded. “Lance never said you couldn’t go. Morri told him that I didn’t want you to go, and that I would snitch on them if you did.”

  “I know that.” He snickered.

  “You knew already?”

  “No, I mean I knew voodoo queen was up to something, and I knew you’d do whatever she wanted.”

  “Oh … Kelile, listen. Please do me a favor. I know you probably don’t feel like I’ve done you any favors, but—”

  “Probably?”

  “Kelile, Morri wants me to apologize to Lance for threatening to snitch on them if they took you.”

  “What?” He shook his head and covered his ears with his hands.

  “Please listen,” she said, trying to lower his hands.

  “Go ahead.”

  “I did want you to go, but she had told me Lance didn’t.”

  “Jeez, this is like a soap opera. Why would I believe you now? You did lie to me, girl. I bet you’re settin’ me up again.”

  “I’m not! Look, things got all messed up. I’m telling you the truth this time.”

  “Uh-huh. Why would you lie for her? And girl, I’m not lying to Lance to save her neck.”

  Aishling clasped her hands together and held them underneath her chin. “Please go along with it. Tell him I came to you and told you I was sorry, and that I confessed everything, that everything’s okay.”

  “Just what in your mind will that accomplish?”

  “Lance won’t be mad at her. Morri won’t be mad at me. You won’t be mad at him. And, hopefully, you won’t be mad at me.”

  “Oh, so you’re cool with being the bad girl to Lance? Uh-huh. Again, I’m gonna ask you, why would you go along with voodoo queen?”

  “You don’t understand, Kelile. She’s the only friend I’ve had since coming here. No one would talk to me before she came.”

  “Girl, you’re twisted. She’s not a real friend.” He dropped his arms to his side. “I’m your friend, Aishling, I am. I don’t know why after all that’s happened, but I’m your friend.” He shook his head, pushed away from the counter, and walked out of the kitchen.

  When Aishling returned to the bedroom, Morrigan was sitting at her desk, writing in her diary. She hopped up and closed it. “I wish there was a way we could keep slave boy from going with us. I know he’ll ruin everything.”

  “Why do you dislike him so much?” she said while fidgeting with her shirtsleeve.

  “Oh, Aish, we’ve already talked about this. If you want to call me prejudiced, go ahead. I am. He’s black, and I don’t want to go anywhere with a black guy.”

  Morrigan stared past her, then, “After you smooth everything over with Lance today, we’ll figure out a way to keep slave boy from coming.”

  “No.” Aishling lowered her eyes and looked at the floor. “I’m not doing anything to keep Kelile,” emphasizing his name, “from going with us. It’s important to him. He wants to help his mother, and I’m not stopping him.” She glared at Morrigan straight on. “If you try anything, Morri, I’ll tell Lance the truth.”

  “Oh! Now you’re going to blackmail me? Why are you being mean? I can’t help it if I don’t like him. I’ve never been around those people before. And, Aish, you’re forgetting my vision. We’ll get caught if he goes with us. I’ve seen it.”

  “Look.” She took a deep breath and sat on the edge of her bed. “His skin may be a different color, but he’s still a human being. He stands on the same ground and breathes the same air as we do.” Morrigan rolled her eyes, but Aishling continued staring at her, determined not to give in this time.

  “Oh, all right. I know you’ve been taught all that gobbledygook. But, I’m a witch, and I tell you I’ve foreseen it.” M
orrigan huffed. “Swear you won’t tell Lance.”

  “If you swear you won’t stop Kelile from coming with us.”

  17

  Immediately after they had argued over Kelile, Morrigan became belligerent again. In church, she attempted to get Aishling in trouble by tapping her foot. Aishling knew it was deliberate because Morri kept looking at her and grinning. Since Aishling was sitting next to the aisle, she slid her feet out where Preacher Collins could see that she wasn’t doing it. When he demanded to know who was, Morrigan stopped.

  At lunch, Morrigan snapped at her, asking her why she always took so long to eat. After lunch, at the swings, she insisted Aishling rehearse over and over what she was going to say to Lance.

  When they went back to Weaver House to wait out front for him, Aishling hunched over in exhaustion, wanting to crawl in bed and sleep for days. She idly watched Morrigan pace back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. Though scared about what would happen next, she was relieved when Lance’s ride pulled up. Even so, her heart rate did backflips when he got out of the car; and when Kelile approached, she had to swallow back her lunch.

  Once Lance said goodbye to his potential new family, Morrigan latched on to his arm, pulling him close, and whispered something. While listening to her, he looked at Kelile, then focused on Aishling and frowned. “Let me put my things up first. I’ll meet you at the river.”

  As she forced herself to smile, Aishling attempted to make eye contact with him; but he wouldn’t look at her. She searched Kelile’s face next, trying to get a clue whether he was going to play along with her. His expression remained blank. Every muscle in her body tensed.

  “Go ahead … Kelile.” Morrigan glanced at Aishling, smiling. “We’ll be right behind you.”

  She couldn’t think what to say or do, so she walked with Morrigan in silence. After reaching the river, Kelile stood stiff, staring at the ground. Morrigan paced, while Aishling sank to the ground.