Stray Moon

by Kelly Meding

  “Do you have a premature bald spot or something?” I asked.

  He nearly dropped his spoon. “What?”

  “The hat. Don’t you know it’s rude to wear them indoors? Especially at the table.”

  “We aren’t eating at a table.”

  I seriously dated this guy? “Dude, really?”

  “Shiloh, leave it,” Mom said.

  “It’s all right, Elspeth,” Jaxon said. “Believe it or not, the hair has already begun to grow back in.” He whipped the ball cap off and tossed it onto the counter, then lifted his chin to look me in the eye.

  The top left side of his head was nearly bald in a patchy, hand-shaped section, while the rest of his sandy hair was a few inches long. A golden fuzz had overtaken the bald spot, and I kind of wanted to rub my hand over it to see how soft it was. I stared at him, a sense of wrongness about that strange spot I couldn’t place.

  “I’m guessing that isn’t the result of a bad haircut,” I said.

  “No, it isn’t,” he replied, the words clipped. “But I should probably trim the rest so it doesn’t look quite so strange. I didn’t have a chance before we were whisked away to Baltimore for questioning.”

  I wanted to ask why. What happened? His sharp expression kept me from questioning him further, however. If he wanted to tell me, he could.

  “Trim it,” Novak said in between mouthfuls of chili. “You look like an idiot.”

  Jaxon laughed out loud. “Supportive as always, thanks.” Then he flipped Novak off.

  The easy camaraderie between the pair was both bizarre and familiar, which only fueled my frustration over this supposed memory loss. Novak obviously knew and trusted Jaxon, but that didn’t mean I did. Or ever would.

  This whole memory loss thing was going to be a long, ongoing mind-fuck of epic proportions. “So I know we’re all suspended for seven days, but I have a possible thing to keep us busy in the meantime,” I said.

  Jaxon blinked at me. “You’ve been in an interrogation room with no access to phones or the internet for the better part of two days, and you have a thing?”

  “She reached out through astral projection.”

  “A witch reached out to you?” Mom asked.

  “A moon witch, yes. Her name is Chandra Goodfellow, and she worked on the other Para-Marshal squad under Weller.”

  Novak stiffened. “You want to trust one of Weller’s people?”

  I shrugged. “She seemed sincere and as oblivious to Weller’s double-crossing as we were. Besides, she wants help investigating the missing werewolves, and I think we can all agree that’s important. She knew one of the mated couples personally.”

  A familiar gray mist swirled around the room, hiding the walls and appliances, and leaving only the island, me, Jaxon, and Novak. Mom flat-out disappeared. Jaxon leapt from his stool, instantly alert.

  Good timing.

  “It’s okay, it’s her,” I said.

  “Her who?” Jaxon asked.

  “My name is Chandra,” said the moon witch in question. She appeared out of the mists, the same as before with the strange, glowy skin and white flowers in her hair. “Chandra Goodfellow. We met a few years ago, very briefly.”

  “I remember,” Jaxon said.

  Novak grunted.

  “Where’s my mom?” I asked.

  “Your unknown female companion?” Chandra asked. “Exactly where she last saw you. You haven’t physically gone anywhere. This is all happening in your minds.”

  “Tell us why we should trust you?” Jaxon asked. The brusque, businesslike manner was kind of appealing.

  Chandra pinned him with an icy stare. “I was betrayed by my squad leader, the same as you three were. I trusted Adam Weller with my life, and with the lives of all of the Paras we sought to protect and police. I never imagined he would dabble in the black arts, much less be orchestrating such a mass conspiracy against vampires.”

  “And your other teammates?”

  “Lars is, as you know, in custody for being a double agent. I trust my other two team members implicitly. However, they’ve chosen not to assist me in this private matter that I’ve described to Shiloh.”

  “Shiloh didn’t get that far before you zipped us here, so why don’t you describe it to us?”

  She did, repeating what she’d told me about the Andersons almost word for word. Jaxon’s pensive expression never wavered. Novak looked bored and was probably annoyed at having his meal interrupted.

  “You’re asking us to assist you in investigating the Homme Alpha of the California Pack,” Jaxon said. “That’s not a small thing. Any crimes committed on Pack land are subject to Pack laws, not man’s laws. There’s no due process, and we can’t drag them in for murder, if the Alpha did, indeed, order those children killed. Further, it would be incredibly dangerous—there’s nothing to stop them from simply attacking us if they wanted.”

  “I’m not asking you to help me in punishing anyone,” Chandra said. “I simply wish to locate all the missing werewolf couples and find answers for the Andersons about their dead children. What they choose to do with those answers is their prerogative.”

  “We’ve been suspended for seven days,” I piped up.

  “My team as well, which changes nothing. This has to be an off-the-record investigation, and I’m well aware that limits our backup and resources.”

  That was pretty much what I figured, anyway, but wanted to her to confirm it.

  “You mind ending the mental conference call so we can discuss this as a group?” Jaxon asked. “Maybe give us a phone number we can reach you at?”

  Chandra’s lips twitched in a half smile. “Cell phones have a habit of bursting into flames near moon witches. Technology isn’t our friend. All Shiloh needs to do is say my name, and I’ll hear her.”

  “Why Shiloh?”

  “Because she’s a woman.”

  On that cryptic note, she winked out and the gray swirl disappeared. I blinked hard, suddenly aware of my mother in my face, shaking my shoulder. “Hey, stop, what?” I said.

  Mom cupped my chin in her hand. “You went totally blank, Shi. All three of you froze in place, and I sensed magic around you. What happened?”

  I jerked my chin out of her grip. “Chandra astral-projected into our heads for a brief conversation.”

  “Why wasn’t I included?”

  “You aren’t a Marshal. She didn’t know you.”

  Mom huffed. Jaxon took pity, I guess, because he filled her in on what Chandra had to say. “Isn’t going after the Homme Alpha very dangerous?” she asked when he finished.

  “We aren’t going after him, exactly,” I said. “Apparently the Packs aren’t doing much to locate their own. We’re hunting down missing werewolves and then finding proof that the Anderson kids were murdered. That’s it. No one’s putting the Alpha on trial.”

  “Yet,” Jaxon said. Now that he was back in the real world, he didn’t seem as defensive or irritated. Maybe he didn’t like astral projection?

  Actually . . . .

  “You’re not totally human, right?” I asked.

  He stared at me like I’d asked if the sky was polka-dotted. Then the puppy dog thing again. “No, I’m not. I’m a skin-walker.”

  “Cool.” I’d heard of those, but never met one before. “What’s your skin?”

  “A stag.”

  I stifled a snort. “Of all the animals you could magic into, you chose a deer?”

  Jaxon bristled. “We don’t choose our skins, they choose us. And you didn’t have a problem with my two-hundred-pound deer saving your life the other night.” With that, he stalked out of the room, leaving a cloud of anger in his wake.

  “Well, that was counterproductive,” Novak said.

  “I don’t remember him!” I curbed the urge to stamp my foot in frustration. “I know this is weird for everyone, but how do you think I feel? You are telling me I bargained away all memories of the person I loved the most, and apparently that’s the grumpy blond guy wh
o magics into a big-ass deer. Nothing about the last six years of my life is the same as I believe it to be, and that’s a huge thing to get my head around.”

  “It’s going to be an adjustment for everyone,” Mom said. “Give yourselves time. But also go a little easier on him? Maybe going to California without him is what’s best for now.”

  My thoughts exactly. I needed to take people I knew and trusted.

  “No way.” Novak dropped his spoon on the counter with a sauce-flecked thunk. “We go as a team, or not at all. The three of us. You, me, and the deer.”

  “How come you get to call him a deer?” I grumped. “And what did Jaxon mean about saving my life the other night? The vampire fight? He said we both bled.” I hadn’t seen any wounds in the shower, though—they must have healed when Tennyson gave me his blood. Still didn’t remember Jaxon being part of the fight, though. I didn’t remember anything, and it was starting to get frustrating as hell.

  “Tennyson will be able to give you more details,” Mom said. “I only saw some of it from a distance. Mostly I helped with the aftermath.” She pulled a face. “I can say that while still in his stag form, Jaxon was wounded very badly. And because he was still using his magic at the time, even when he changed back, the wound was projecting an aura. It wouldn’t have healed on its own.”

  “Head wound?” The hair was kind of a giveaway.

  “Yes, a vampire tore off one of his antlers, as well as a patch of skin.”

  “Ouch.” A shiver wiggled up the backs of my legs as a mental image I didn’t want flashed through my head. “Really big ouch.” I glanced in the direction Jaxon had gone. “But he seems okay now.”

  “Because Tennyson gave him blood. At your request.”

  “Shit.” No wonder Jaxon was pissy with me. I vaguely recalled Tennyson and my mom being busy right after the vampire fight, and then my dad poofed into the room to tell me . . . something. But still nothing about Jaxon, though, wounded or not, and no recollection of Tennyson feeding anyone besides me his blood.

  “The donation saved Jaxon’s life,” Mom said. “But the experience left him quite . . . irritable. I don’t know that a skin-walker has ever ingested vampire blood before, so I didn’t know what to expect. His wounds healed, as we’d hoped, but he was also quick to temper and he lashed out several times, even after we were transferred to Baltimore.”

  I jumped to my feet. “Did he hurt you?”

  “No, it was all verbal. Especially when he wasn’t able to see you. After he got the details of what happened on the farm, I think he needed to see for himself that you were alive. He cares for you a great deal, even if you can’t feel it. We all do.”

  “I’m sorry.” I hugged her, and she tried to squeeze the life out of me. “I’m sorry I scared you guys.” Those few, terrifying seconds between realizing Tennyson was about to make a wish and the cold shock of that melon baller piercing my chest, granting that wish, and fading out, made my entire body tremble. I’d come as close to dying as I ever wanted to get, all to help out a vampire Master I hadn’t even known existed a week ago.

  Mom made a soft sound that was half sob. “I swear I have more gray hair because of you and this job. And I suppose I should thank your father for your hearty constitution. Being half-djinn is probably the only reason you survived all of those wounds.”

  “You’re gonna thank Dad?” I pulled back so I could see her eyes. “I want to be there for that. I’ll bring popcorn.”

  My parents coexisted politely, but they both had differing views on my childhood. Mom resented him for being gone all the time—thanks to being an earth djinn who followed the call of Wishers and magic—and he resented her for that. She’d known what he was when they began their affair, and he had to be true to his nature, as he had been true to it for the last eight hundred years. But that didn’t make it an easy relationship.

  The HQ landline rang before Mom could conjure up a proper retort. Novak didn’t look at the phone, and it still felt weird to let Jaxon answer it—if he even tried, from wherever in the house he’d gone—so I grabbed the kitchen handset.

  “House of horrors,” I said.

  A deep, vaguely melodic chuckle filtered over the line. “Are things truly that bad, young djinn?”

  “Tennyson?” A flash of genuine happiness hit me hard. Mom’s eyebrows rose high on her forehead.

  “It does me well to hear your voice, Shiloh. You sound strong.”

  “I am. I think. I mean, I’m exhausted and could probably sleep for eighteen hours straight, but I’m not dead, so that’s a plus.”

  “And your bloodlust?”

  “I’m still craving a rare steak dinner, but I don’t think I’ll start drooling if I nick myself shaving my legs.” I hope. “Hey, how did you get a phone? Did the authorities release you?”

  “Not yet. I don’t believe they’re entirely certain what to do with me. It’s not as if a human prison will hold me, if I choose not to be held.”

  I groaned. “Did you gazelock someone into letting you call me?”

  “Perhaps.”

  “You broke the law so we could chitchat?”

  “Yes. You’ve become important to me, and I needed to know for myself that you were well.”

  For some reason, that made my heart turn over a little bit. Dad would be horrified that I had any kind of positive feelings for a vampire, but whatever. Tennyson had saved my life twice since I’d met him. He was calling to check up on me. He was officially a friend.

  “I’m as well as I can be, I guess, considering the memory loss thing, and the being suspended from work thing. The whole my-boss-was-a-criminal thing.”

  “You’ve had a busy week.”

  Sweet Iblis, I think he cracked a joke for the second time ever. “The week isn’t slowing down, either. We still have missing werewolves to find.”

  “While you’re suspended?”

  “How did you know?”

  “An easy assumption to make, given the circumstances.”

  Right. “The job is off the books.” And I didn’t need to share anything else about that. The fewer people involved the better—even if I kind of wanted Tennyson along for the investigation. He was crazy smart, and good in a fight.

  “Be careful, Shiloh. From what I’ve heard, there are greater powers at work here than just your US Marshals’ Office. Shadow agencies with hidden agendas. Powerful people with vast resources.”

  “Aw, you’re worried. That’s sweet.”

  He grunted. “We have shared blood. While you are not one of my children, we are now connected, and we always shall be. I cannot sense you the way I could when the sharing was fresh, but if you need me, I will come.”

  I blinked hard a few times, because no way was I getting misty-eyed over his promise. Nope. “Thank you. I don’t suppose the statements I wrote on your behalf have helped?”

  “Not so far, but I have faith that my incarceration will end soon. I’ve reminded my jailers that I need to feed, and none of them seem keen on volunteering.”

  “Keep eyeballing their necks and lick your lips a lot. Maybe it’ll light a fire under their asses.”

  “Perhaps it will. Be safe on your journey.”

  “You too.” I didn’t want to hang up, because Mom was likely to pepper me with questions. But the instant I dropped the handset into the charger, she wasn’t the first voice to speak up.

  “The vampire called you?” Jaxon asked. He stood in the archway, arms crossed.

  “Yes, he did.” I didn’t have to ask to know that he and Tennyson didn’t get along. It was all over Jaxon’s face. “And you can call him by his name. He saved your life, too, you know.”

  “Elspeth told you about that?”

  “Duh.” I stifled a yawn, too tired to fight with anyone else today. “I’m sorry I joked about your skin. I shouldn’t have done that.”

  His posture relaxed a fraction. “Thank you. Look, I know it’s early, but why don’t you go to bed? You look like you’re going to c
ollapse any minute. We can talk more about California in the morning.”

  “I like this plan. Thanks.” I turned around. “Mom, are you staying the night?”

  She shook her head. “No, honey, I think it’s time for me to head home. My plants are overdue for a good watering.”

  A minor issue sprung to mind. “Uh, how are you getting home? I kind of swung by your house and kidnapped you.”

  “I’ll drive her,” Jaxon said. “You get some rest, okay, Shi?”

  The nickname sounded incredibly right coming from his lips, but he was still an unreadable stranger running off with my mom in tow. “Mom?”

  “Jaxon is a dear friend,” Mom said. She enveloped me into another perfect Mom Hug, and I breathed her in. Soaked in her love and support to tide me over until I saw her again. “I love you so much, my sweet, stubborn girl.”

  “Love you too, Mom.”

  I watched them drive away from one of the living room windows, unsettled and exhausted and ready for it all to stop for a while. Except tomorrow would begin a brand-new adventure, and this time, we didn’t have any real backup.

  “You okay, kiddo?” Novak asked.

  “I don’t know.” I wasn’t very okay, but as the default team leader, I had to put on my happy face and be positive for his sake. “But I will be.” I had to be.

  Right after a nice fourteen-hour nap.

  Chapter 3

  After managing to sleep straight through the night and into the next morning, I finally rolled myself out of bed around ten o’clock and into the shower. More out of habit than anything else. The scent of coffee drew me downstairs like a witch to a ley line. I filled a mug, then dumped in some sugar and an ice cube so I could drink it faster.

  The general silence of the house weirded me out. The dining room, where our massive, offline computer system was set up, was empty, and so was the living room. There was one bedroom we mostly used for weapons storage that looked like it had been recently ransacked, and the door to the little-used garage stood half open.