Rise of the Moon: Arcana Book One

by JB Caine

  “Perhaps we can be of assistance?” Claudia offered. “A favor for a favor?”

  “Hard pass. Like I said, I’m not feeling too trusting these days, and the last thing I want to do is enter into some kind of magical agreement on accident.”

  Claudia looked frustrated, but let it drop. She changed tactics. “So, you mentioned you’d like to stay in touch…”

  “Generally speaking, yes. I don’t trust anyone not to try and take advantage of me right now. I also don’t think I’m generally on the side of interfering with free will. But I do think that you are trying to do what’s right by your own standards, anyway, and I don’t think we need to be enemies.”

  “But not allies either?”

  “Not exactly, because I still feel like you have things going on behind the scenes that you aren’t telling me. I don’t expect you to; you don’t know me either. But maybe we can see each other as sort of colleagues or something.”

  “Back to my original question, then,” she pressed. “Can we set up a regular check-in schedule? Perhaps to let you know what we have going on, and see if you’d like to be part of it?” It was really taking a lot of effort on her part to be so accommodating. “At least until we are able to build up some level of trust?”

  “I guess that would be okay. But you have to text first. No more showing up on my lawn or at my school. I look like an FBI snitch or something.”

  John covered his mouth in a fake cough to hide his chuckle. Claudia wasn’t fooled and shot him a side-eye glare.

  “I find your terms acceptable.” As if it were some kind of legal proceeding. “Shall we say bi-weekly?”

  “Sure, that’s fine. But I don’t really need a set schedule. Not as long as you text first. I’m just done with surprises from members of the Arcana.”

  “You mentioned something like that a moment ago. Have you had surprise visits from...someone else?”

  The goosebumps on my arm told me she knew something I didn’t, and she didn’t want to show her hand too soon.

  “Yes. Someone else.” I wasn’t going to show my hand either.

  “I see.” She shot a look at John, whose brow was furrowed with genuine concern. “Perhaps someday we can try and offer you some information to help you deal with unwanted advances.”

  I gave her a hard look. “I studied irony in English class. Did you?” That was both snarky and rude of me, but the audacity of her offering me assistance against “unwanted advances”...

  Then she did something unexpected. She laughed. “In fact, I did. I believe our five minutes are up.” She rose to go, and John followed suit, as usual. I stood and opened the screen door. “Speak to you in two weeks,” she said, and led the way to the SUV.

  John paused just long enough to whisper, “Be safe.” as he passed me. Then they both got in the SUV and drove out of sight.

  I took a deep breath once they were gone, and resolved to go upstairs and crawl into bed, and not get up for the rest of the day, except to eat or pee. I was SO done.

  I told Treigh the whole Gemma-as-unknowing-spy theory on our way into school on Monday, and my opportunity for Phase One came during English class. Mrs. West had given us the obligatory just-back-from-break-so-here’s-some-group-work assignment, and we were allowed to pick our own groups of four. I jumped into Gemma’s group with Trina and Alex (for once, Alex wasn’t my motivation for such a move). We were brainstorming ideas for persuasive speeches, which gave me an excellent chance to slip in a probing comment as we worked. As usual, she was spinning her ring around and around on her finger. I took a closer look at it. It was a simple gold band, with little triangles cut out of it at intervals.

  “That’s a really pretty ring,” I said simply, and then I reached out with my influence, willing her to offer up information about it. I wasn’t sure it would work, but I was hoping that since I wasn’t asking her about it directly, the Magician’s magic wouldn’t catch onto mine.

  I ran my hand over my front jeans pocket, where I’d hidden a small bagful of blessed hematite that Aunt Kitty had given me. Hematite crystal had grounding properties, she said, and if properly blessed, might just cancel out the enchantment on the ring. If I could get my hands on the ring, that was.

  “Aw, thank you! You know, I don’t even remember where I got it? I just found it a couple of months ago in my jewelry box when I was digging around for an earring. I think it might have been my mom’s, but I’m not sure.”

  “Oh, well, it’s nice,” I complimented her again. “It really suits you.”

  I let the conversation drop at that point, because if Quinn was listening, I didn’t want him to know that I had any interest in the ring other than a generic compliment. We continued our assignment, and I didn’t bring it up again.

  At the end of class, though, Alex reiterated his offer of a coffee date, and I eagerly accepted. We decided on Wednesday, because he didn’t have to work. I wanted to be more excited, because he was actually showing interest without any influence from me, but ensuring my safety took top priority, and my focus was more on what I’d learned from Gemma.

  Based on the information she had volunteered, I thought it was likely that the ring was, indeed, a talisman. Now to figure out how to convince her to take it off. I had to find an opportunity that seemed organic, but fortunately I had enough contact with her that I could probably figure something out. English class wasn’t a likely time to get her to divest herself of the item, but there was always drama, and I could also probably hit her up for some final rehearsals of Wicked outside of school, since our evaluation was only a week away.

  No natural opportunity arose in drama for me to enact Phase Two, so I asked her if we might get together Tuesday afternoon at her house for a short rehearsal. Just to make sure we were ready for our evaluation, of course. She eagerly agreed, and I wondered if I was dangling a huge carrot out there for Quinn to try and snatch me again.

  “Hey, maybe Trina and Treigh could come and watch, too...maybe give us some feedback?” I suggested.

  “What a good idea!” she gushed. I breathed a sigh of relief. I’d feel a little bit safer that way. At least I couldn’t get snatched off the street. Besides, Treigh was my limousine service these days.

  Tuesday afternoon, we all convened at Gemma’s house and, true to form, she had an array of snacks out within moments. She definitely knew how to hostess, and to win Treigh’s allegiance. The way to a man’s heart and all that.

  We rehearsed our scene a couple of times, and then performed it for our somewhat captive audience. Mostly they told us how great we were, but they also made a couple of good blocking suggestions for movement and gestures that would add to the scene overall. When we finished the practice, I started helping her gather the dishes to take to the kitchen.

  “Oh, you don’t need to do that!” Gemma insisted.

  “I do, though! I really abandoned you last week. Let me help!”

  “You’re so sweet; thank you!”

  I carried the stack of dishes over to the farmhouse sink, and decided this might be my chance. I slipped the idea into her mind that her parents would really appreciate it if she cleaned up not just our snack dishes, but the breakfast dishes that were still in the sink.

  “You know what? I think I’m going to take a minute to clean up these dishes.”

  “Oh, good idea!” I replied. “You wash, I’ll dry!”

  “You are just the best!” If she only knew…

  I sent her another suggestion: an image of her ring slipping off of a wet finger and falling down the disposal. She looked around for a moment, confused, and then slipped the ring off and placed it on the windowsill above the sink. We worked on the dishes for a couple of minutes, chatting while we worked.

  “What are you two up to?” Treigh called from the other room.

  “You just settle down,” Gemma laughed and turned to poke her head in the other room. I took the opportunity to snatch the ring off the windowsill and slip it into the bag of hematite in o
ne quick movement.

  She walked back to the sink, and we finished the dishes. She gathered them up and headed across the kitchen to put them back in the cabinet.

  I knew I had to try to distract her from the fact that she wasn’t wearing her ring, so I gave her sense of urgency around getting her homework done a little nudge. Okay, a big nudge. I hated messing with her thoughts, but I didn’t see any other way to accomplish what needed accomplishing. Plus, it was a matter of self-preservation. I was definitely Team FreeWill, but I wasn’t an absolutist.

  “Hey,” she said as she closed the cabinet. “I hate to rush you guys out the door, but I have a lot of homework tonight, and a test in French tomorrow, and I really need to study.”

  “No problem at all,” I smiled. “I really appreciate you letting me come over so we could practice. I really want an A on that scene.”

  “Me, too. I think we’ve got this!”

  I agreed, “Totally! Okay, Treigh, time for us to head out! Gemma’s got a boatload of homework to do!”

  We all said our goodbyes, and Trina, Treigh, and I got in our cars to leave. Once we had pulled safely away from the house, I took a deep breath and let it out.

  “What is that about?” Treigh asked.

  “I’m not sure I can tell you just yet, but can you take me over by the train tracks on the way home?”

  He cocked one eyebrow at me. “Do I even want to know?”

  “Not yet, you don’t.”

  As requested, Treigh pulled off into a parking lot off of Route 1. There were train tracks running behind the aluminum business building and, beyond the tracks, the San Sebastian River. I jogged across the parking lot and the tracks, and took off my boots and rolled up my jeans. I busted a little brush, and sunk my toes into the muck on the edge of the river. I pulled the hematite bag out of my pocket, pushed up my sleeves, and shoved the bag several inches down in the sticky mud. Then I swished my feet and hands in the water and waded back onto solid ground. I wiped the bottoms of my feet on the railroad ties, grabbed and pulled on my boots, and made my way back to Treigh’s car.

  He was leaning on the driver’s door as I approached.

  “Girl, what in the name of good sense are you doing?”

  “Get in the car and take me home, and I’ll tell you all about it.”

  When we got back to my house, he came inside and I called my mom into the room. Then I called Aunt Kitty and put her on speaker.

  “Well, I’m hoping Gemma is no longer Dominic Quinn’s personal livestream,” I announced, and then I told them what I had done with the ring.

  “That was very clever,” Aunt Kitty approved. “Let’s hope it works.”

  Chapter 30

  My mission accomplished, I was able to focus my energy on what I should have been able to focus on, had I been a normal teenager anymore: my coffee date.

  This time, I knew that I had not influenced Alex’s interest in me. Sure, he might never have given me a second thought had I not accidentally bewitched him, but the past was the past, and I could dwell on that. It also occurred to me that if Gemma had been somehow influenced by the Magician, it was possible she wasn’t the only one.

  I figured it might be wise to protect against that possibility. I sat cross-legged on the floor of my room and pictured the protective energy field the Empress had placed around me. I imagined it glowing with a bright white light that would repel anyone who would wish me harm. It occurred to me that the protection spell had not kept the Magician from kidnapping me, maybe because by his way of thinking, he didn’t mean me harm. Some modification of the spell was going to be necessary. I concentrated and pictured myself in front of the magical closet that held my abilities.

  Beside the closet door is a full-length mirror. I face it, and I see the protection around my body like a second skin. I turn my right palm upward in front of me and reach for my own power, willing the Magician to keep his distance. A thin stream of something that looks like bright violet smoke begins to flow out of my index finger. I focus on it, put my strength behind it. ‘You and your agents will stay away!’ I think, infusing this thought into the stream of power. The violet energy blends in white in swirls, creating a pulsing watercolor of protection.

  ‘Beautiful work,’ says a voice behind me.

  ‘Selene,’ I whisper, and I turn to face her. ‘Can you protect me from him?’

  ‘Your power flows from me. In this way, I am always protecting you. Just as his power flows from his god. We do not manifest directly onto your plane of existence; you are our hands here.

  ‘So Mercury helped him kidnap me?’ I am both angry and afraid. Why would Mercury give me a second thought?

  She inclined her head slightly. ‘Not precisely. It may be that Mercury supports his larger goal, and the ends justify the means to him.’

  ‘Can you just ask him?’

  ‘What have I to do with Mercury? I know his name, and that is all, just as he knows mine.’

  ‘I thought maybe Greek and Roman deities might, you know, run in the same circles.’

  ‘No, my dear. Gods rarely interact with each other. There was a time when each pantheon might have recognized each other, though not as much as humans always thought. We do not think or feel quite as you do. We see a much larger Universal picture and tend to focus on things beyond the minute obsessions of humans. I do not say this to belittle you, Lia. We are just...other...than you. I am bound to you by the card, and so my energy is intertwined with yours. When you are strong, so am I, and vice versa. The same is true of the Magician. We care about you two because we are part of you. We are not, however, part of your world, or part of each other’s, technically.’

  ‘That’s confusing.’

  ‘Because you do not see the Pattern as we do. But I can tell you that the protection you have woven around yourself is quite potent. You have infused my power into your own. Well done.’

  My head is trying to understand what she has told me about the nature of gods, but I can’t quite grasp it.

  ‘Am I safe from him?’ I ask. It’s the only question I really want to wrestle with right now.

  ‘What you consider safety and what he considers safety may not be the same thing. But he will be less inclined to have anything to do with you at all with these modifications you’ve made.’

  I nod. Good enough, and probably as direct an answer as I’m going to get. I drift back down into full consciousness.

  I wasn’t sure how long I had been meditating, but I was feeling very tired. Apparently, tapping into Goddess energy and making use of it takes a lot out of a person. I crawled into bed, opting to figure out a traffic-stopping outfit in the morning.

  I woke up ten minutes before my alarm was set to go off. Honestly, is there anything worse than that? Not enough time to doze back off, just enough to let you know you’re up early. Ugh. But I resolved to put the time to good use. I jumped through the shower, dried my hair quickly with the blow-dryer, and parked myself in front of my open closet. Alex and I had been on several dates, and I’d already shown my A-game. I was going to have to figure out how to impress him yet again, this time without my magical enhancements. No glamour, just me.

  That thought gave me a moment of clarity.

  Just me.

  I stopped rifling through my closet looking for the “perfect” ensemble. If Alex was going to like me, it was going to have to be without all the crazy effort to look my “best”, whatever that meant. I reached in and pulled out a deep green sundress. It might be too cool out for a sundress...it was the first day of December, for goodness sake...but I wanted to wear something that made ME feel strong, something that I liked, not something I thought he might like. I threw the dress on and pulled on my Docs. I wound my hair into a messy, spiky bun and put a coat of mascara on my eye lashes. My lips got a quick coat of dark purple lip stain. No twenty-minute make-up jobs, no thirty minutes curling or straightening my hair. I grabbed a black leather jacket and surveyed my handiwork in the mirror. A gran
d total of thirty minutes to get ready, half of which was spent drying my hair. Yep, this was me. He would like me or he wouldn’t, and at least this time it would be his choice.

  We had a test in English, so we didn’t get to talk much, but he did grin and give me an appreciative thumbs-up when I walked in. At the end of class, he asked me to meet him at his car and he’d drive to the coffee shop. He seemed unfazed by my new and improved protections, so I felt pretty confident he wasn’t another accomplice to the Magician.

  I got to his car before he did, and leaned on his trunk while I waited. I had to admit, standing out in the open like this made me a little nervous, so I imagined pulses of electricity crackling over my aura to try and energize the protection surrounding me. When he finally arrived at the car, he opened the passenger door for me and I slid into the seat, my stomach flipping and flopping, but more out of excitement than fear.

  We stood in line and gave our orders to the barista, a jaded looking twenty-something, most likely a student at Flagler. Once our names were called, we took our coffees and sunk into the over-stuffed chairs that had been put in to make the corporate chain seem somehow less corporate.

  “I’m glad you decided to give me another shot,” he began.

  I couldn’t let him go down the apology road again. He had no idea that he had nothing to apologize for, and I couldn’t explain to him why that was.

  “Let’s not focus on past events, okay? Let’s just be in the present.” I took a deep breath and sipped my blonde vanilla latte. Not Goth at all, but here I was, just being me, and I was not an edgy coffee drinker.

  “Yeah, cool,” he agreed. And then he asked about how I thought Gemma and I would do on Wicked, complained about leading rude tourists on ghost tours, talked about school. Just normal stuff. No great pronouncements about his feelings or my beauty. Just a nice, relaxed, friendly conversation. Not exactly the stuff of romance novels, but a good place to start if we had any chance to build anything real.