Moon Shadows

by Neena Jaydon

  Infuriated, Max buried both hands into his hair, fingernails digging into his scalp. He wanted very badly to hit something. His hands slid down his neck, then down his chest, to hang in fists at his sides. When he spoke, the hoarse near-growl that came out seemed to belong to somebody else.

  "You just keep running and running. Don't think I'm going to keep chasing you forever."

  Theo's eyes flashed, and he looked away, his mouth jerking. In profile his face was particularly handsome, making nothing easier.

  The chill breeze ruffling his hair told Max he had to leave, and he heard something smash behind him as he stomped out of the kitchen. Once he'd slammed the front door shut, he leaned against it, lightheaded. The neglected shrub next to the stairs began to rock back and forth, brushing against his shoulder. He hadn't made it out alone.

  "I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to call you." The collar of his jacket flapped against his cheek hard enough to sting. "No. You can't stay here." His entire jacket rippled around him, and he was pushed against the door. "You can't stay here. Go!" He glared into the distorted air hovering in front of him. Shapeless, the poltergeist still managed to give him a dirty look before it slunk off.

  Heart pounding, jaw tense enough to give him a headache, Max ran down the stairs and slammed his way into his car.

  Like hell. Like hell this is how it goes!

  *~*~*

  Max wanted to sit alone in the dark of his trailer and smoke. Yet he knew that he wouldn't be allowed to have that; even if he did go to his trailer, Anastasia would come looking. Instead, he marched into the house. It at least meant that the last clinging poltergeist fled, scared off by the protections on the house.

  "Hi, Max." Anastasia's voice came, muffled, from the living room. Max cursed under his breath and went into the kitchen to pretend to be interested in things in the fridge. As expected, Anastasia came into the kitchen. She was wearing rubber gloves and carried a dust rag. "Hey, where's Theo?"

  "He's not coming over."

  "What? Why not? That was the plan, wasn't it?"

  "Plans change." He slammed the fridge door.

  "What's going on?" Anastasia started stripping off her gloves.

  "Leave it."

  "Max—"

  "I said leave it!" Anger chased him out of the kitchen before he could take more of it out on her. Unfortunately, she followed, catching him by the back of his shirt. He whirled on her, glaring, but she just glared back. He couldn't remember the last time he'd actually been able to intimidate her. Max spoke through clenched teeth. "He's not coming over because he ended it with me."

  "What?" Anastasia's eyes widened, and her hand released his shirt. "Why? What did you do?"

  "What did I do? Christ, Ana." He waved her away. "Don't you put this on me. I did my best with that cowardly prick."

  "Max, we need him. How are we going to deal with the shadow spirits without him?"

  "Fuck the shadow spirits. Why are they my responsibility too? Huh?"

  "It's not about responsibility, Max. They're hurting people. One of these days somebody's going to die if we don't do something."

  "So why do we have to do something? We can scare the fucking things off, but that's it. And we can do that with or without—" His voice broke and he hastily looked away.

  "No, we can't. This family needs Theo. Whatever happened between you, we can't be cut off from him. Max, do you understand what I'm saying to you? Max!"

  "Leave me alone!" Max fled to the only place he could: his old bedroom. He leaned his back against the door and dug into his pocket. The only thing in it was his cellphone; he'd left his cigarettes in his trailer. "Goddamn it!" He hurled the cellphone at the wall. Splinters of plastic went one way, the battery another. "Ah, fuck me." He went to pick up the pieces. The cellphone was obviously a lost cause. He sat on the floor with his back against the end of the bed and turned the pieces of plastic around in his hands. "Fuck him." Max threw them aside, put his hand over his eyes, and leaned his head back. "Fuck everybody."

  *~*~*

  She had the charm bouncing off her chest, but Anastasia still felt nervous about being out of the house as she walked up the sidewalk toward Theo's house. She knew Max would be furious with her.

  That's fine. I'm not too happy with him. She walked up the steps to ring the doorbell. Anastasia found herself a little excited too; she'd never been in Theo's house. It wasn't charitable of her, of course. He was bound to be quite upset after yesterday's breakup. She took a deep breath and toyed with her purse while she waited.

  "Anastasia?" Theo's tone matched his wide eyes as he rather quickly opened the door. "Are you okay?"

  "Um, that's what I came to ask you." She put a hand to her mouth, trying not to smile. So much of what Theo did was so endearing. "Can I come in?"

  "Yeah, of course." He opened the screen door to let her in.

  "Oh, you've got company." She was startled to hear voices coming from within.

  "Uh, yeah. M-my cousin and his fiancée. It's okay. Got tea on."

  "You?" Anastasia peered around curiously as Theo led her down a short hall and through a doorway into the kitchen. What a cute little house. Somehow it doesn't seem like a place he'd come up with, though.

  "Ade likes tea," Theo muttered. "Adrian, Kelsie, this is Anastasia Shevchenko. Max's sister."

  "Max's sister, huh." Adrian lounged in a chair he was clearly too big for, while Kelsie sat more circumspectly with both hands wrapped around a mug. Kelsie nodded mildly while Adrian looked Anastasia over more thoroughly than she liked. "Nice to meet you."

  "And you." Anastasia chose to stay standing, seeing there weren't enough chairs. Theo looked unhappy about this, but she quelled him with a smile. She stood near him by the sink with a cup in hand. "I don't know how to ask this, Theo, but can we talk? I mean, really talk?"

  "Yeah." Theo cleared his throat. "She's in on the family secret."

  "What? Did you tell everybody in the whole freaking town?" Adrian demanded.

  "Says the idiot who got himself seen on their farm," Theo snapped.

  "Wait." Anastasia frowned at Adrian. "Do you drive a red truck?"

  Adrian shrugged stiffly.

  "I think I've seen your underwear, then." She tilted her head challengingly. Adrian's eyebrows shot up. A moment later, Kelsie made a sniggering sound into her tea.

  "Like what you saw?" Adrian asked, smirking.

  "Naw. Tighty-whiteys are kind of boring, don't you think?"

  Adrian sneered and looked like he was about to say something, but Kelsie cleared her throat. Looking sullen, Adrian made of show of looking into the corner. Anastasia looked at Theo, who was watching her sidelong. "Just because Max—just because of what happened, it doesn't mean we should lose track of each other. The shadow spirits are still out there. There was another collapse at the mall last night."

  Theo's shoulders crept up toward his shoulders. "We have to do something."

  "I know. I just don't know what. Mom found out that they can move between dimensions pretty much at will. That's why they shift back and forth from being solid. Only getting through all the layers between where they come from and here seems to require a place of boundary and a medium to be a portal. After that they can kind of jump around in the spirit world."

  "A place of boundary?" Theo asked.

  "Usually a place where two elements meet. Water and land is a big one—that's why Fort Rivers draws so much spirit activity, with the rivers meeting and the land in between. The mall is built into a hillside and surrounded by trees." She gazed down at the dingy linoleum. "The spirits are scared of the shadow spirits too."

  "So they can t-touch spirits?"

  Anastasia felt like she was almost, but not quite, picking up on the idea buried in that question. "I don't know."

  "Because maybe spirits could touch them... Y'know, could touch them back."

  "I don't know." Anastasia bit her lip. "That's a really interesting question. I think maybe tonight I'll see if I ca
n't summon somebody to ask." She bumped Theo's elbow. "Good idea."

  "This is some crazy bullshit you two are talking." Adrian's upper lip was slightly curled.

  "Seriously, are all werewolves skeptics?" Anastasia demanded.

  "Pretty much," Kelsie said, the first time she'd spoken. Unlike her fiancé's booming baritone, she had a slightly flat, terribly normal voice. "Are all ghost hunters—"

  "Mediums," Theo said quickly.

  "Mediums, then. Are you guys all not scared of werewolves?" Kelsie looked directly at Anastasia in a way that was uncomfortably steady.

  "I'd be dead if it weren't for Theo," Anastasia said, irritated. "Why would I be afraid of someone who jumped into a river to save me?"

  Kelsie and Adrian exchanged a look. Kelsie straightened up. "What's this all about?"

  Theo's face turned dark pink. Adrian crossed his arms over his chest and gave Theo a narrow look. "Who was getting after me for almost getting seen saving that Max guy?"

  "Just how obvious were you?" Kelsie demanded. "You know what your grandmother would say."

  "Nobody saw," Theo mumbled, then repeated it vehemently. "Nobody saw!"

  "But you sure as hell told people you're a werewolf, you stupid runt—"

  "Let's talk in the living room," Theo said hastily. Anastasia nodded eagerly.

  "We'll still talk about this later, Theofanis." Kelsie's tone didn't change much, but it was clearly not willing to accept denial.

  "What did I just do?" Anastasia whispered as they sat down on the couch.

  "Uh, old family argument." Theo removed his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose.

  "Are you okay, Theo? Be honest."

  "Don't worry about me, Ana." Theo spoke too quickly. "And if you need my help, call. Just—not tomorrow night." He pointed upward. "You know."

  "Oh. Gotcha." She tried again. "But I really do want to know if you're okay."

  "I—" Theo smiled tightly, and the strain visible in the corners of his mouth made a lump rise in her throat. "I'll be okay. I've got family here."

  "Yeah, you do." Anastasia finished her tea in a series of hasty sips. They sat in silence, and Anastasia could swear she heard Theo's thoughts in it. She answered the unspoken question. "He's not happy, Theo, but he'll live." She patted Theo's forearm. "And you'll always be welcome at our house, no matter what."

  "Thanks," Theo said hoarsely.

  "I'd better go. I'll keep you updated, though." She hurried away before he could offer to show her out.

  "Anastasia?"

  "Hm?"

  "Be careful." Theo gazed at her with calm concern. He looked haggard, but at the same time trustworthy and steady.

  "Thanks, Theo. You too." She smiled and let herself out. Outside, she shook her head ruefully. My brother is such an idiot.

  *~*~*

  Full Moon

  Max hadn't yet taken the app off his laptop that told him what phase of the moon it was. He kept glancing at it as he typed an e-mail to Dad. The tiny full moon seemed to be trying to get his attention, leaping into his peripheral vision when he looked away. It wasn't doing anything, of course; it was a static picture of a moon. Max finally gave up and closed his laptop.

  Unfortunately, everything he had to do involved his laptop. He looked for something to procrastinate with; none of the books on the shelf interested him, being mostly the historical novels his parents liked. If he went downstairs, Anastasia was likely to start in on him again. If he went out to his trailer, she'd be pounding on the door in no time.

  It was so quiet in the house. No dogs, no twins, no parents, no... Max abruptly went to the door. He'd put on a charm and go check the kennels. He'd top up water bowls and brush coats. That would pass some time.

  The TV was on downstairs as he went by, but so was the light in the bathroom, so he managed to dodge his sister. He put on a charm and his barn coat, then went out into the dark. The cold night air numbed his sense of smell, so the charm's fragrance wasn't immediately obvious. A dog barked, almost conversationally, as he came down the stairs. Max paused and looked left and right; the driveway was so empty, with only his car and Anastasia's present. Not even Theo's car was there to fill space. It wasn't the emptiness that bothered him; it was his own need to check his surroundings.

  Can't I feel safe at home anymore? Have those goddamn shadows taken that away from me? Max yanked the cigarette pack out of his pocket. He put a cigarette into his mouth, lighting it. He was in full sight of the house, if Anastasia happened to look out the kitchen window. Somehow he didn't care if he got caught right now. He forcefully expelled smoke and flicked ash away. One of the Weimaraners stood in her kennel, giving him a tentative wag when he glanced in her direction.

  "Go back inside, Betty. It's too cold for you out here." He wandered over to hold his knuckles against the fence so she could sniff them. Her tail cut through the air as she wagged harder; some of his simmering anger cooled. "Seriously, I can tell you're cold."

  He turned his head to take another drag. As he inhaled, he felt the cigarette shudder between his lips. Just as he realized his fingers had begun to tremble, he tasted more than smoke. He tasted swamp, moisture, and moldering fear.

  Max whirled around, his heart thudding. He heard the scrape of nails on cement and the squeak of a dog door as Betty fled. Yet it was his other senses he turned to now, casting about for any indication of a spirit nearby. There was a little tickle from what was probably a poltergeist out in the trees somewhere, but that was all. The sensation of being about to drown in brackish water had quickly come and gone.

  Shit. The last thing I want to do is go crazy. He'd heard of mediums who did, although it was all second- or third-hand information. Mom had always been high-strung, meaning at times she'd withdrawn into emotional or even physical isolation. He still wouldn't call that crazy—who hadn't gone through the occasional dark patch? But once he started to doubt his own senses, his own ability to tell what was actually there and what wasn't...

  "I refuse to let my life turn into that." He aggressively dragged on the cigarette, welcoming the searing in his throat. His fingers had steadied, but he still had the urge to get inside, where light and safety beckoned. Max stubbornly held out where he was. "It's not that dark anyway." Between the yard light and the full moon, there were thick shadows, but also blue-white patches of illumination. Max turned his head so that the moon was in his peripheral vision. He spat smoke.

  "I bet he's managing just fucking fine."

  *~*~*

  Despite his body's urgings, Theo couldn't settle down. The bedroom pushed him away like magnets with polarities reversed. He found the house claustrophobic and yet empty at the same time. Needing more space, he creaked his way through the kitchen, every joint protesting. He opened the back door and carefully eased himself out onto the back step.

  He stared up at the moon, felt her light on his skin, and shuddered. It was like tentacles sucking directly at his life force. The cold hit him too hard, getting past his weakened defences. Even so, he crept down into the backyard. Then his legs gave out and he fell backward into the snow.

  It was painfully cold. He wore a button-down shirt, jeans, slippers under his robe, and still the chill came right through. He never looked on Mother Moon naked when she was full like this. At least, he hadn't in years, when he and Ma and Grandmother had slept out here four-legged during hot summer nights.

  Theo didn't like pain, but he welcomed the cutting cold and the wicked burn in his body. It was an answer to his irritating restlessness. It reminded him of himself, made him aware of his own body in intimate detail. This hurt him, and only him. It didn't require anybody else.

  I don't want anyone here. The longer he lay there, the harder it got to move. Numbed hands and legs added to his weakness. If he didn't move soon, he'd be stuck out here. I could really use a hand. That admission of dependency angered him into action. He rolled onto his side and, cursing steadily under his breath, dragged himself through the snow, up the step
s, and inside. That was the limit. Just inside the door, he unfastened everything and let his clothes hit the floor. Then he changed and sank down on top of them. He put his chin on the linoleum and sighed heavily through his nose.

  There's no point wishing he was here. He was never supposed to be here. He was never supposed to know.

  That produced a new kind of ache. He was really glad to be four-legged, in a body that didn't weep.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Tucking his arms behind his head, Adrian sighed as he looked up at the dingy motel room ceiling. "That's better."

  "Mm-hm." Kelsie slid from the bed, her fingers trailing over his bicep. It was one of their traditions: once the moon fully let loose her grip, they'd have a thorough romp in bed to celebrate.

  "Why'd we have to come back here, though?"

  "We've got some privacy here," she said on her way to the bathroom.

  "What? There's doors in Grandmother's house."

  "Yeah, like I'd do anything with you under your grandmother's roof—much less with Theo in the house."

  "Since when are you shy?"

  "It's not being shy, Adrian, it's being normal," she called as she closed the door. He snorted, scratching at his cheek and listening to the shower run. Left without anything specific to do, he got up and pulled on a pair of boxers. He picked his jeans up off the floor, then paused. He inhaled through his nose. "There's that smell again," he muttered, frowning as he got into his jeans. Fastening them, he went to the door; the dense, inky smell grew weaker there. "What the hell is that?"

  When he turned back, about to call to Kelsie, a startled yell escaped him instead. Every hair on his body stood up at once and he took a step back from the black figure. Fiercely cold fingers touched his wrist, and he twisted to see another cookie-cutter shadow behind him, and another to his left. All three came at him at the same time.

  "Adrian?" Kelsie's muffled voice reached him from the bathroom as he crashed back onto the bed. He struck the lamp off of the bedside table with a flailing arm, crying out again as he felt something go straight through his skin and into him. Layer after layer of alien energy sank into his mind, crushing him, blocking his access to his other body. His body went suddenly numb and still despite his desperate thrashing around inside it.