The Call of the Moon

by Kristy Breckenridge

  “Wait, so…this witch is located in Oklahoma?” Roy said with a raised brow.

  Once Fenrir drank down practically half the beer, he nodded, leaning forward against the island. “Yup. Apparently. That was all the people could give me. Apparently, even a kidney transplant wasn’t viable enough for them to give me the exact location.”

  Roy chuckled, knowing damn well Fenrir was pretty darn good at lying. But even still…

  With all four of them in the kitchen, that was when the vampire decided to show up. He immediately noticed how went the front of his dress shirt was. The vampire must have realized he noticed too. “I was helping Faye with her bath.”

  “What?” Fenrir perked up, anger starting to bubble up inside of him. He didn’t know why, but the thought of this vampire helping his naked mate out…it pissed him the fuck off. “She’s a big girl, she can take care of herself.” She growled. “By the way, where the hell is she? We really need to get on the road.”

  “Not before I switch out my wardrobe.” Selene sighed heavily, exiting the kitchen and disappearing, no doubt, more than likely in her bedroom.

  That was when Noct decided to speak. “Faye cannot travel.”

  “And why the hell not?”

  “Can you just-” Roy, rested his hands upon the counter now, looking directly at Fenrir. “be a little less insensitive?”

  What the hell did he mean by that? “Roy, we have pressing matters at hand, and time that we can’t afford, and you fucking know that.”

  “She can’t go.” Noct interrupted. “How are we supposed to explain why she looked like she’s been hit across the face with a shovel a dozen times? Or, why she’s so badly weak?”

  Fenrir blinked. She looked that bad? “We can just say it’s cancer treatment. Or something along those lines.”

  Noct was already shaking his head, before he could finish. “She can’t even…walk.” And when Fen didn’t speak, that was when Noct continued. “I’ve even given Faye my blood.” That angered Fenrir. “Quite a few times, at least.” That angered him even more.

  “You gave my mate, your blood?” He was coming around the counter, practically seething with anger again.

  “Last I checked, you didn’t want this mate of yours.” Noct stood his ground. “That girl was sick. If it wasn’t for my blood…I have no idea what kind of state she would be in right now, Fenrir. I had to do, what I had to do.”

  “He has a point, Fen. Cut the shit.” Roy could be heard in the background.

  They both managed to cut their shit, and they simply backed up from one another, staring at each other awkwardly. “So.” Noct cleared his throat. “Now that we are back to the same page, as one another. Who is this witch and where is her location?”

  “Oklahoma. Same fuckin’ state we’ve all been living in.” Fenrir turned and went back to his beer. “Her name is…oh hell…I don’t remember. Lilith, Lilliana?”

  “Lilian Sunstorm.” Selene spoke, now returning back to the kitchen, only Faye was hanging off of her shoulder. The woman managed to…drag her? Fenrir looked at Faye with sadness in his eyes. She was bruised in a few spots on her face, obviously from her falling. But she also looked…deathly ill. It made it a little hard for him to look at her.

  “Lilian Sunstorm?” Faye asked, looking at Selene. “Why didn’t anyone say anything to me?”

  “Why? Because you were sick, Faye. And besides, how would you know something we have already spent countless of hours researching.”

  “Because Lilian is my friend.”

  Noct then looked at her, as if he’d just witnessed something extraordinary. “Wait…Lily?”

  Faye nodded, in a tired manner, still holding tightly onto Selene. Her other hand came up behind the dining room chair. “Lily was adopted as a baby. But she would tell me often, about her apparent birth mother whom she’d never met. I recall the last name, Sunstorm.”

  All of them looked at her puzzled, shocked, and with bewilderment. Even Fen was surprised that Faye had an answer that they’d been looking for. And she must have noticed the look on his face, because she sheepishly smiled. Faye knew all along who they needed.

  Faye had officially put them on the road to fixing their problem.

  “We must contact Lily right away.” Noct smiled at Faye, and rushed out of the room, cell phone in hand.

  Fenrir was still looking at Faye with disbelief, even though he was smiling. She was too, but out of the blue, her smile faded, as she stared at him with wide eyes. His head tilted to the side, because something was…off about her. And that was when her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and like slow motion, she fell into a heap on the floor.

  ◆◆◆

  “Faye?” Someone spoke.

  Her eyes opened, and the ceiling came into view. The living room ceiling. Her vision almost seemed tunneled in a way.

  “She does not look too good. What the fuck did you guys do to her?”

  Lily! Lily was here! Faye’s eyes slid around the faces in the room, and then they finally landed on a face that was extra nearby. Sure enough it was Lily! “Faye!” She squealed in excitement, rushing back over to her to wrap her arms around her neck. If she were laying completely back, this would have been a big problem. Someone must have propped some pillows up for her beforehand. All Faye could do was smile, once her best friend came into her vision again. From what she could tell, the rest of the strange and unusual gang was smiling too.

  Who would have thought, out of all the people she truly knew, she would be the only real human one. Of course, Witches were human, but they were at least gifted with someone. Faye seemed to be gifted with fucking up.

  Speaking of witches. Lily was a real witch, according to her first birth certificate. Did this mean they had already done the spell? What had happened since she’d passed out? “How long was I out?” She finally asked, and realized just how extra hard it was to get those words out.

  “Two days.” Noct spoke up, and Lily’s head whipped around so that she could throw him a glance. She then looked down at her with an agitated look. “Look Faye. I just saw a man grow some serious hair, and look ugly as fuck. And then our boss?” She blinked, looking as shocked as ever. “Our boss grows fangs?!” She then looked worried. “Faye, what kind of friends do you have?”

  Faye was silent. Truth be told, she wasn’t sure what kind of friends she had. She knew Noct was a good guy…at least she thinks he is. And Lily would be the best friend anyone could ever have. But the rest…there was no way any of them cared as much as those two did.

  “And what in the hell is going on with you? Noct said you were very sick.”

  She went back to two days. Was she really out for two days?

  “I’ve got the basic run down. You are mated with some guy, who doesn’t want you.” She heard a growl in the background, and Lily turned her head in his direction. “And don’t you wolf out on me bud. At first I thought Lily should go for you, and boy was I ever wrong.”

  Noct then chuckled at that very moment, obviously happy with what Lily was saying. But then someone else spoke. Definitely not a Noct, and not a Fenrir. “Man, I like this girl.” Roy could be heard.

  “Anyways.” Lily shook her head, now finally sitting on a dining room chair that had apparently been moved in there, just like the one in her bedroom had. “I haven’t been here all this long Faye. But, there is this woman here. Uhm, Selene?” She looked around at the room. “I think she’s getting some books together or something, because she said I need a little bit of training in this…stuff.” She motioned all over out in front of her, as if trying to prove her point. “But Faye…from what I am understanding, this is very serious. And you know me. I’m your best friend, so I will do my best. I promise.” Lily then allowed a tear to slip her cheek.

  Oh how she could give anything in the world to be able to comfort her best friend. “Don’t…” She swallowed the dryness in her throat. “don’t cry.”

  “This is all my fault. I took you to the go
ddamn club, and now look at you.”

  There was a moment of silence once again, because Faye couldn’t answer Lily. Not at all. It was true. Look at her. From what she recalled the last time, she was looking absolutely horrid. She could only imagine what two days more looked like on her.

  “Geez.” Faye remarked, with a big grin on her face. “Why don’t you just go get me a bag for my face, then.”

  Lily laughed then, and reached up to flick the one single tear from her eye. They both laughed in unison, well…what Faye could muster up that is.

  Selene came in with a small vial, a dropper, and a big big book squeezed under her arm. “Okay. So I made the mixture.” Selene cleared off a spot on the coffee table, now laying each every single piece there. “Basically, what we will do with the liquid, is drop it onto the-” She came over to Faye quickly. “-now, let me see, Dear.” With that said, she helped slide the blanket down to her hips, and then lift her night shirt up to her chest. Luckily, the woman was nice enough to keep her modest in front of all these people. “Oh my…” She spoke softly, standing up straight. Now everybody showed up at the foot of her couch, and Roy’s tall frame was just behind the couch.

  “It has seriously grown.” Roy spoke softly, and the look on his face was nothing other than horror.

  Faye looked down, as good as she could. The vine had traveled across her stomach, and on up to her chest. Selene pulled the shirt up just a little bit more, as if observing her calculations. “It’s almost there.” She said. “My whole thing has been off. Two or three weeks? More like a week. At this rate, she could be gone anytime now.” She looked over at Lily. “We need you to learn this spell. Because we may have to do it here shortly.” Immediately, both witches went to kneel at the coffee table, doing just that. “And I need these end tables cleared off, and Fen, dear, you go fetch some candles. There should be some under the bathroom cabinets, as well as the kitchen. We want them to be white.”

  “Yeah, you dog.” Roy laughed. Faye understood. She’d mentioned the term fetch. Now she chuckled.

  “No time for nonsense.” Selene demanded, glaring back at Roy. “You help get this area clean, so that we can place the candles about. NOW.”

  As if Roy didn’t need anymore coaxing, he quickly went around the living room, making sure things weren’t in the way. Noct helped him, but a little more quickly with his…speed? Vampires had speed? You could barely see when Noct moved across the room. And because Roy was not as fast as him, Noct pretty much had it all done in a matter of seconds. “I think that will do it.”

  Fenrir came in with candles, placing them about the room with a little help from Selene telling him where to put them. Faye simply laid there, watching them in curiosity. If she were at home, having not met the wolves, she would have thought that all of this was bogus and ridiculous. And perhaps it still was ridiculous, because deep down…Faye just had this feeling that none of this would work.

  “You know son. None of this would be happening if you’d just have taken your mate.” Lothos spoke aloud. “I mean, honestly. Who the fuck cares what she is.”

  “Because I have Reina to get back to. Listen, we’re not discussing this. You already know, now respect my wishes.” He placed another candle on the other end table, at her feet.

  “She’s fucking you over son!” His father roared. The accusation was so incredibly loud, that even Faye jumped. Despite her weakened state.

  This, however, made Fen stand still with his back towards him. But then he slowly turned to his head, looking over at his father over his shoulder. “And where did you hear this from?”

  “Max said it.”

  “You know what, I don’t really think this is the time for this kind of conversation, but I’m going to jump into it anyway.” Roy started. “It’s Reina and Eric.”

  Fenrir scoffed and let out a sarcastic laugh. When he realized none of the others were laughing along with him, that was when he stopped.

  “When Max came to me about it-” Lothos began. “even I was beyond pissed off. That’s one thing we don’t do, is betrayal like that. And she did. And somehow I knew it all along.” He chuckled, scratching his head. But he had that face on…that face that he knew what he was going to say was piss his son absolutely the fuck off, and yet…he liked that. He liked the fact that he may cause a big scene here, and Faye somehow knew why…Lothos wanted what was best for his son. “So I went to Eric myself, and confronted him. He threatened to fight me. Luckily it didn’t go down that way.” He nodded. “And that was when he told me, where you were.”

  So Eric sold out his best friend, all because he got caught?

  Fenrir suddenly left the room, and out the front door. The front door slammed so hard, that she could have sworn something knocked off the wall and shattered.

  “Nice going old man.” Lily said, looking over her shoulder at him.

  “Old man?” Lothos said with a surprised look on his face. He laughed then. “Old man?” He pointed towards Roy just then. “You see that man over there? Can you believe we’re the same age? And can you believe I could look just like him if I just…toned up a little bit?”

  Roy snorted. “Toned up?” And then he too laughed.

  Boys. Faye thought. Boys.

  “This is half a century and more worth of work. Not-” He motioned towards Lothos in a playful manner. “vegging out in front of a tv, and using sex as my motive to work out.”

  “Okay, I totally did not need to know that.” Lily went back to working on the book. Little whispers could be heard between the two witches, no doubt, trying to figure out a spell.

  Truth be told, Roy was built. Extremely built, and probably even bigger in terms of volume, compared to Fenrir. Fenrir was just taller.

  Suddenly Selene jumped up, and it was then that they all heard a howl. Fenrir had shifted, no doubt. “We have no time to deal with him. We must get this started. Roy, I am going to need you over here, holding her shoulders down, because it will be needed.”

  “It will hurt?” Lily asked, as she brought the book over towards where Faye was laying on the couch. She knelt down beside her, on the floor.

  Selene nodded, holding the vial tight in her hand. “Sam, Dear, be at her feet. She must not move, whatsoever, because the circle has to be as small as possible around her.” Pulling out a little pouch, she grabbed some very white powder and proceeded to run it in a circle around the entire couch. The circle was small, knowing as what Faye was seeing. If she were to roll off of the couch, she’d no doubt be completely out of the circle.

  It took Selene only a minute to do the powder business, before she stood before Faye. Roy already had his hands protectively on her shoulders. “No no.” Selene shook her head. “We must all be in the circle. Either out or in. No in between.” She motioned to Roy’s feet, as he stood at the end of the couch, holding her shoulders.

  “When what do I do?” He asked, and Selene thought for a minute. “Prop her up.” Lily lowered the book to the floor, and helped Faye prop herself up. “Put your legs under her, and keep her still. And Faye?” She looked down at her, and all Faye could do was listen. “We are going to need to take your shirt off dear. The liquid will have to touch it all.”

  Faye nodded, and Roy helped lift her up some more. Lily grabbed her shirt, and carefully pulled it over her head, before folding it up and placing it onto the coffee table behind her. That was when Roy hopped up onto the couch, sitting there under Faye. His legs were spread, so that each one rested at either side of her body. She allowed her head to rested at the center part of his body.

  Any other time, this would just be awkward as hell. Sam had done the same, at the foot of her body.

  “Man. Do I feel wanted or what? I mean…Look at all these hunks surrounding me.” Faye grinned, and even though her voice was incredibly sad and tired, they all laughed. “Lily, you jealous?”

  Lily rolled her eyes, shaking her head and also grinning.

  “Alright. We need silence. We are about to begin
.” Selene spoke in her usual serious tone. There was nothing but silence after that, and that was when Lily and Selene both began the chant.

  Faye looked up at the ceiling, but her gaze actually rested upon the under section of Roy’s bearded chin. Lowering her gaze, they fell on Noct’s, who was staring at her intently. He stood a big distance away from the circle, leaning his back on the wall. She could tell he wished he could help.

  From what Faye could tell, Lily was a natural at this. She spoke the strange language so perfectly, you would have thought she were from those parts. Wherever those parts may be. It was when Lily grabbed the vial, that Faye instantly became nervous. Roy held her down, as she popped open the cork.

  Continuing to chant, she used the dropper, filled it up and hovered it over the markings. One drop made Faye scream out from pain. It felt like acid! Her body jerked, and she could feel Roy applying much more pressure than before, keeping her shoulders in his lap. When she looked down with horror at her body, sure enough, the spot where that drop had landed, was sizzling like acid.