Rise of the Moon: Arcana Book One

by JB Caine

  Chapter 24

  Not calling or texting Treigh took all my willpower, but if I had any hope for a chance at forgiveness, I was going to have to respect his wishes. I snuffled and blubbered all the way home, and dragged myself up the stairs and crawled immediately into bed to blubber some more. It seemed like I was doing an awful lot of crying lately, and I hated it. I just wanted to stay in bed for a week and wish it all away.

  I am floating on my back in the ocean, looking up at the moon. I have a sense that the ocean is made up of all the tears that have ever fallen. Selene’s voice is all around me.

  Your friend is ungrateful. In the past, people would have offered blood sacrifice in exchange for what you gave him for free.

  He didn’t ask for my help. It wasn’t my right to step in.

  Her vexed sigh is the breeze across my skin. Humans make no sense.

  And then I float away into a blessedly dreamless sleep.

  Literally the last thing I’d wanted to see this morning was a tell-tale goldenrod envelope under my windshield wiper as I slid into my driver’s seat. With an internal groan, I pulled out the card inside.

  Lia,

  Haven’t heard from you in awhile. Would like to touch base. Give us a call when you can.

  John and Claudia

  Awesome. More confrontation. This one possibly laced with danger. Even though I was in no condition to find strategic ways to handle the Tower, I knew that if I didn’t get back to them today, they were likely to show up somewhere inconvenient. As I drove to school, I tried to work out what to say to make it clear that they weren’t going to get my help, but at the same time not invite their wrath. By the time I parked, I came up with something I thought might serve.

  Hi, John and Claudia, it’s Lia.

  There has been a lot going on lately, and I think it’s very important that I better learn to control my abilities before putting them to any kind of use. I would like to stay in touch, but I hope you will respect my decision to figure out what my skills are and how to use them safely before trying to include me in any plans you might have. I have sent this by text so that you will have my phone number, as a show of good faith.

  It seemed a little bit risky to let them know how to contact me, but how does the saying go? Keep your friends close and your enemies closer? I didn’t know which category they fit into, and I didn’t want to completely cut them off just yet.

  Across the parking lot, I heard the annoying peal of the first warning bell. I had ten minutes to get to Trig. I gritted my teeth at the thought of it, and for once in my life, I was glad to be in a class that had assigned seats. I was pretty sure Treigh wasn’t going to welcome me to sit next to him, and since my seat was a couple of spots away, it took the stress out of that first-of-many awkward moments.

  He didn’t even look up as I entered the room; he just kept scrolling through his social media account. I averted my eyes and slunk to my seat. Class was half lecture and half bookwork, and when the bell sounded to leave, he got up and walked out without a backward glance. I don’t know what I expected, but the sense of isolation I felt was profound.

  I walked alone to English, and the usual scene of Alex talking to Gemma and Trina awaited me. Gemma and Trina looked up and smiled, but Alex’s eyes only darted in my direction for an instant. My loneliness deepened, and I thumped into the seat and put my head down, waiting to be saved by the bell yet again.

  When second period ended, Gemma caught me on my way out the door.

  “Hey, Lia, here’s your script! I hope you’re okay with playing Elphaba? Cool! I’ll talk to you in drama!”

  I hadn’t managed a single word before she was gone.

  That’s pretty much how most of the day went. Other than “excuse me” or “I’ll have a Cuban sandwich, please,” I made it to the end of the day without actually holding a conversation with anyone. In drama, Gemma and I ran our lines and talked about the script she had cut together, but managed not to engage in much social conversation. Then, at the end of it all, I made my way back to the car.

  In the midst of my gloom, I had one of those random revelations that comes in times of quiet reflection. I realized that there were probably dozens of students at St. Augustine High School who spent every day as I had just spent this one: without any meaningful connection with anyone at all. No friendly banter, no flirting, no venting. Nothing but functional conversations with no purpose other than to get a bathroom pass or complete an assignment. It seemed to me a very empty way to live, especially if the isolation was imposed by social groups and cliques who wouldn’t accept you for whatever reason. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with or about this new perspective, but it also seemed too important to ignore.

  Once I got home, I started looking through the script cutting Gemma had put together. Looked like it would run about seven minutes, which seemed pretty good for a duet scene. It seemed to highlight the evolution of Glinda and Elphaba’s relationship without really delving into much of the rest of the story. The highlight, naturally, was the two of us singing “For Good”. I pulled the song up on YouTube and tried practicing my parts, but the more I sang it, the more I thought of Treigh, and it made me feel that much worse. I threw on my sweats and decided to go for a walk.

  I was tired of feeling so alone, and yet my coping mechanism was to be...alone. Yeah, it made no sense, but my life didn’t make much sense right now either.

  I wandered through my neighborhood, just trying to empty my mind of all the emotional clutter that had been pelting me for days. I couldn’t exactly feel sorry for myself, because I’d largely made my own bed, but I also didn’t know what to do. I felt lost without Treigh, and even my traditional escapes of reading and music weren’t offering much relief. Sleep wasn’t much better; Selene might decide to do a dream fly-by at any moment, and so far, that hadn’t exactly brought much in the way of comfort. I got the feeling that comfort wasn’t really her thing.

  When I arrived at the median bench where Treigh and I had sat eating ice cream drumsticks just a few days ago, I plopped down and tried to wrack my brain for a way to make things right with him. There had to be a way; we had been through too much together. But the ideas weren’t coming, and the cold from the stone bench was seeping slowly through my Slytherin sweatpants.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone approaching. I turned and saw the man who had come to my door (Was it two months ago? It seemed like an eternity.) and returned my folder. He was out walking two black German Shepherds. He spotted me and waved in greeting. I didn’t want to appear rude, so I waved back, and then the unthinkable happened. He headed my way to chat.

  “Well, hello! Long time, no see! Lia, wasn’t it?”

  “Yes, excellent memory. I’m sorry...I don’t think I ever got your name.”

  “Dominic Quinn. Forgive me for not shaking hands. Darcy and Tess are two hands full.” The dogs began sniffing around the grass on the median. “Are you waiting for someone?”

  “Oh, no. I just was out for a walk, and decided to sit for a few minutes.” It occurred to me, a second too late, that I probably shouldn’t have told him that.

  “Sort of gloomy weather for a walk,” he remarked, looking up at the cloudy gray sky.

  “I suppose so,” I replied, “but I like it. Makes the cup of tea waiting for me seem that much more appealing.”

  “I imagine it would,” he smiled, revealing dazzling white teeth. There was still something nagging at me, something familiar about him that I couldn’t place. One of the dogs, Tess or Darcy, I’m not sure which, was marking territory on a small sapling while the other sniffed around my feet. Instinctively, I reached down and pet the dog’s head. It leapt back, startled, and then started hopping around its master’s legs. “There, there, Tess. She was just being friendly.” He patted the dog’s flank, and she settled down, but continued sniffing the air in my direction. “Well, then, I suppose we’d better get going. Good to see you again, Lia.”

  “You, too.” I
watched as they walked down Rainey Avenue, and then turned a corner out of sight. Once they were gone, I stood up and headed for home. Suddenly, drinking a cup of tea while safely inside my warded kitchen sounded like the best idea I’d had in days. I chided myself for being so jumpy, but my nerves didn’t settle until I’d locked the kitchen door safely behind me.

  The next couple of days were no better. I fought through Wicked practices with Gemma, and despite the emotional challenges of doing a scene about friendship while my most important friendship was in turmoil, the performance was improving. Maybe my emotions were adding to it, I wasn’t sure.

  But on Thursday evening, the night of Treigh’s black belt test, I couldn’t think of much else. I knew how hard he’d worked on it, and I hoped he’d do well. I wondered if his family would ask why I wasn’t there, and what he would tell them if they did. I wondered if Michael would be sitting in the seat where I should have been.

  Unable to just let the event pass unmarked, I pulled a blank notecard out a box I’d had for probably three years and wrote a short message:

  Treigh,

  I wish I could have been there tonight, but I know you did great. I just wanted to let you know I was thinking of you and wishing you well.

  Love, Lia

  He lived about fifteen minutes away, so I drove over there, knowing no one would be home. His car was in the driveway, since his parents had no doubt driven to the karate school. After the test ended, they would all go out to dinner. I sighed and put the note under his windshield wiper for him to find in the morning. Then I headed back home.

  In an age when cookie-cutter neighborhoods have all their announcements on some social media page, my neighborhood is old school. When something important is going on, we still staple notices to the wooden telephone poles that dot the streets. It’s endearing, really, even if the flyers don’t last very long. It usually only takes a day or so before some property-value do-gooder comes by and tears them down because it “makes the neighborhood look junky”.

  As I slowed down to pull into my driveway, I passed one of these flyers in front of the house next door to mine. I couldn’t read the text, but I could clearly see a photo of one of Dominic Quinn’s dogs taking up the center of the flyer. After parking, I walked over and read the text: Lost Dog. This is Tess. Her brother and dad miss her. If found, please call the number below.

  Aw, that made me sad. I made a note to keep an eye out, hoping that Mr. Quinn found her soon.

  Despite not being a particularly religious household, Sundays were always the most low-key day of the week. Mom and I would usually have a nice brunch and then tackle various household or homework tasks in a relatively leisurely way. This weekend was no exception. I made some corn muffins and set out some pepper jelly while mom cooked up some Canadian bacon and eggs.

  “Treigh’s still not speaking to you?”

  “No, not really, but he acknowledged my presence on Friday. Actually made eye contact. I count that as progress.”

  “Aw, honey, I’m sorry. Maybe he just needs some time.”

  “I hope so. This sucks.” I bit into a gooey-spicy-sweet corn muffin.

  “You going anywhere today?”

  “Nope, no plans. Gemma and I did our rehearsal stuff yesterday because she had some family obligations today. I’m just going to do my laundry and maybe clean out my closet and pull out stuff to donate. Maybe watch some movie or other.”

  “Sounds like a good day. How about a movie night later? Some old monster movie from the ‘50’s?” Mom had gotten me hooked on golden-age monster movies before I was ten.

  “That sounds excellent. Especially if it’s popcorn-for-dinner night.”

  “Consider it done. I’m going to make a quick run to the grocery store and the ATM. Do you need anything?”

  “Probably could use some toothpaste. Other than that, I’m pretty well set.”

  “All right,” she said, standing and taking her dish to the sink. “I should be back in about an hour. Could you take the kitchen trash out to the can? It’s starting to reek a bit.” She patted me on the head.

  “Sure, no problem. See you soon.”

  After cleaning up the dishes, I tied up the trash bag and slipped some shoes on so I could take the bag out to the small enclosure that housed the large trash cans. I hoisted the bag into the large plastic bin, and as I turned to go inside, something dark streaked across the end of my driveway. I stepped out from behind my car and saw Tess the dog sniffing around the chairs in my front yard.

  “Tess! Hey, Tess! Here, girl! Come here, Tess!” The dog looked up at me and sniffed the air. She cocked her head to one side and sat down.

  “Oh, you’re going to make me work for it, huh?” I slowly moved toward her, remembering how jumpy she could be. I extended my hand and spoke in a soothing tone. “Hey, sweet girl. Your daddy is missing you! Wouldn’t you like to go home?”

  I could see that she was still wearing a red collar. All I had to do was get a hold of that collar, and then I could figure out how to contact Mr. Quinn and return her. I cursed the fact that I had left my cell phone on the table when I was taking out the trash.

  Almost there...I was only about two feet away from grabbing her collar when she suddenly barked and started trotting off in the other direction. “Gah!” I exclaimed, and started after her. “Come back here!” She wasn’t moving at a full run, but it was just fast enough that I couldn’t quite catch up. She stopped here and there to smell the grass, always popping up and skittering away before I could grab her. I’d followed her for about a block and a half, and I had resolved to go back and get my phone, call the number on the flyer, and alert Mr. Quinn to where I’d seen her headed. She started pawing at something in the gutter next to a burgundy van.

  “Find something interesting, girl?” She seemed very intent on whatever she had found, but more importantly, she was holding still. “Whatcha got there?” I reached out slowly and started slipping my fingers under the back of the collar.

  Before I could get a solid grip, the sliding door on the van whipped open behind me. Strong arms encircled me, pinning my arms to my side, while simultaneously something, a pillowcase maybe, was dropped over my head. I was lifted off my feet and started screaming and kicking as I was being pulled backwards into the van. I heard the van door slam shut and a sickly sweet scent filled my nostrils. Something laced with the scent closed over my mouth and stifled my screaming. I fought with all my strength, but I could feel myself losing consciousness. As my mind went blank, my last memory was the sound of Tess barking as the engine in the van sprung to life.

  Chapter 25

  I awoke sometime later and found myself on a bed with my wrists bound behind me and my ankles tied together and tethered to a bedpost. There was something in my mouth that felt a bit like a washcloth. The room was dim, and my foggy brain tried to make sense of my surroundings. There wasn’t too much furniture, just a bed, a nightstand, and a couple of chairs, but it appeared to be clean. The pillow had a fresh fabric-softener smell. The light filtering around the edges of the window shade across the room told me that it was still well into the daylight hours.

  I tested my bonds. My ankles were zip-tied, so it stood to reason that my wrists were as well. Not much hope of pulling those loose. I couldn’t see anything sharp within my reach, so I couldn’t saw through the plastic like I had seen captives do on film. Panic was replacing the fuzziness in my mind, and I thrashed my feet, trying to yank the rope free that acted like a leash to the bedpost. No luck there either, but I had made sufficient noise that I appeared to have attracted someone’s attention. I could hear a shuffling movement on the other side of the closed door.

  There was no point in trying to pretend I was still unconscious, because I’d made such a racket. Instead, I struggled into a sitting position so I could my kidnapper in the eye. That wasn’t much protection, but false bravado was all I could muster. I could hear a man’s voice humming something that was vaguely familiar, but my clouded
brain couldn’t quite place it.

  The doorknob turned and the door swung open.

  There, facing me, was a smiling Dominic Quinn, flanked by Darcy and Tess. Somehow, that was not much of a surprise.

  “Ah, Lia. So sorry to have to do things this way, but I don’t think I have much choice. You needn’t be afraid; I have no intention of doing you any harm at all. We just need to come to an understanding about a few things.

  I mumbled incoherently into the washcloth. It wasn’t incoherent in my head, though, and I think under the circumstances, my mother would have forgiven me for my colorful vocabulary.

  My mother. She would be so worried…

  My fear was transforming itself into anger and I felt a familiar prickle along my skin. How had I managed to forget that I had a whole new skill set that could help me with this predicament? The substance he had used to knock me out had not fully left my system, and I was having a little trouble focusing my attention. I centered my thoughts on the prickly feeling, willing it to become lightning.

  “Now, now, we can’t have any of that,” Quinn said reproachfully. He produced a small syringe from his pocket and, like a flash, jabbed it into my shoulder and pushed the plunger. “This won’t harm you, but it will calm you down a little bit. The effect will also dampen those lovely abilities of yours. Can’t have you throwing a chair at me while we chat, now can I?”