The Quarter Moon (Afterlife saga)

by Stephanie Hudson

  It was times like this that I was thankful to Pip for re-arranging her sleep patterns for me so that I didn’t become a complete night owl or a bored to tears daylight walker. She told me that this was no big deal as she was an Imp and therefore needed little sleep. Her exact words were along the lines of ‘More chance for mischief’.

  In fact the very reason we spent so much time in her apartment was because Adam would get restless if he didn’t feel her close by. I did, however, have to put a limit on helping her chain him to their bed (which turned out to be a giant round cage shaped like a castle turret), as that went far beyond the realms of friendship…plus he kinda scared the shit out of me!

  So, some hours later and with most of my nails long gone, I was soon barging into Lucius’ stylish office that had a strong influence of art deco. Even the espresso cup he drank from was made in sharp lines and bold colours. He was also on the phone and didn’t look impressed at my intrusion.

  “Ich werde Sie zurückrufen” (means ‘I will have to call you back’ in German) He cancelled his call and raised one eyebrow at me in question.

  “And to what do I owe this pleasure little Keira…browncoat?” I flushed as I looked down at myself and I had indeed forgotten I was still wearing Pip’s Firefly outfit. Well, at least I didn’t still have the gun so Lucius would think I planned on robbing him…but fat chance at that, although, I was now wondering if I could get him to tell me Draven’s whereabouts at gunpoint?

  The sound of Lucius laughing brought me from my semi-violent thoughts.

  “Keira, tell me you didn’t barge in here just to look cute and confused because as amusing as that is…” I cut him off by slamming the book down and sliding it across to him so that it faced the right way for him to read. He looked down and I could see his stunning grey eyes work as he read each word.

  “I think we have re-established our new relationship, my dear.” I groaned in frustration and said,

  “Not that, the last line.” He released a big sigh and then leant back in his chair.

  “And what of it Keira, it’s just another Quarter Moon?”

  “It’s not just another Quarter Moon, Lucius…don’t you see that…look.” I held out my arm and my bracelet, which now had a beautiful Yellow moonstone to match the others, gleamed under the spotlights.

  “There is only one stone left.” Lucius crossed his arms across his chest.

  “And?”

  “And, it means that on the last Quarter Moon I will be reunited with Draven!” I said not being able to help getting animated throwing my arms up, hoping this time he would take me more seriously.

  “Keira…” And there it was. That same way he would say my name every time I would get impatient at how long it was taking or how I wished he’d let me do something, go somewhere, ask someone…just anything other than sit around wasting my time when I could be getting closer to finding him.

  “No Luc! I am not going to wait any longer, I can’t do it…I need to find him.”

  “Just give it some more time, Keira.” He tried now with the soothing voice and the next stage after this tactic would be enveloping me in his arms and telling me everything would be alright before sending me on my not so merry way.

  Well, not this time.

  “But that’s just it, there is no more time! The Oracle told me I would see Draven again on the last Quarter Moon, the fourth stone would change and that is tomorrow!” On hearing this he finally started to look as though it was sinking in.

  “And the Oracle…she definitely said this…those exact words, think about it carefully, little doll?” I put both my hands on his desk, leant forward and said in clear certain words,

  “Yes Lucius, I swear by the Gods that is what she said.” He looked at me for a moment, as if trying to pry the very truth from the exact time that had long passed. It didn’t take long before he found it and after another big sigh he nodded.

  “Very well, I cannot intervene any longer…forgive me.” He said this last part looking up at the Heavens.

  “Lucius?” I asked not understanding…well, that was until he opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a small piece of folded parchment paper. He handed it to me and when I opened it I couldn’t help the gasp that came from me.

  “Is this what I think it is?” I asked but he didn’t answer me. Instead he picked up his phone and after a few seconds said,

  “Adam, have the jet refuelled and ready to leave.” After a few seconds more he then added,

  “Italy.” He put the phone down and faced the rage that was building from inside me.

  “You knew!?” I shouted like a whistling teapot too long on the boil.

  “Try to understand, this was for your own good, Pet.” Ok, now sod the teapot I was now going for a steam train off the rails!

  “YOU KNEW!” I screamed now wishing I had the superhuman powers of strength so that I could flip his desk out of the way so I could strangle him.

  “I knew.” He said those two little innocent words which I never expected would be the ones to light the fuse that made me blow. I was surprised that it didn’t come in the form of violence or even me screaming about how I would make it my mission to murder him in his sleep. No, instead I just leant further into the desk and said with as much venom as I could muster,

  “Fuck your jet and fuck you!” And then I turned and stormed out of that office with the address Lucius had given me firmly in my grip. My plan worked for about five feet until I felt Lucius’ arms band round me, restraining me to his chest. I didn’t struggle. I no longer had the heart for it.

  “Listen to me very carefully, little dove, because you don’t know what you are about to walk into by going to that address.” He said all this leaning down to my ear and I couldn’t help but take note of the seriousness in his tone. I remained frozen in his arms but this didn’t hide the hurt and anger I still felt as I panted as though my lungs were too furious to work properly.

  “And what exactly am I walking into?” I asked through gritted teeth.

  “A world of hurt.” I couldn’t help but shudder in reply.

  “That’s the right reaction to have.”

  “Are you going to stop me?” I asked tensing my body as I awaited his answer.

  “No, because it is not in the fates any longer, but I can at least warn you and have you know, I did what I felt I had to do in order to protect you…I…I only wanted you safe, my little Keira girl.” At the sound of the emotional hitch in his voice my body couldn’t help but soften in his hold. As soon as he felt this he turned me quickly and crushed my body to his in a fierce hug.

  “I’m sorry Keira, for whatever might happen next, but I want you to know, you will always be welcome with me and my people…” He pulled me back by the arms so I could look up at his face before he whispered,

  “I will always protect you.”

  And this turned out to be our goodbye.

  Lucius, being a man of his word, protected me all the way to a hotel in Milan and even provided me with a driver to take me to the address when the time came. I knew I had a lot to think about and even more so after the cryptic way Lucius tried to warn me about something he wasn’t allowed to say. So now I didn’t know where the danger lay. Was it with the people that had him or what would happen to me if I got caught? I asked Lucius if he could help me rescue him but he just shook his head and said that in this matter, if I couldn’t set him free, then no one could.

  The flight hadn’t taken long but it was long enough to drive me insane with questions I had no answers to. I found I couldn’t stay still as the adrenalin, from so many heightened emotions coursing around my body, was making what felt like my very soul vibrate.

  It had been hard saying goodbye to everyone, but seeing how well Percy was coming on under the careful instructions of Adam and Pip, it was lovely to finally see him happy. And boy was he taking his new role seriously. He even had Hakan teaching him some fighting moves and Ruto teaching him to use weapons. During my sta
y, Pip and I would often spend our nights watching them and cheering on Percy whenever he got it right. Pip even went to the extreme of dressing up like a gothic cheerleader, which caused Adam no end of embarrassment when he would find a tent in his pants. It was moments like this that his helpful wife would drag him away giggling and spell out ADAM in her new cheers.

  When it came to saying goodbye to Pip she started sobbing like a baby, which was hard to take seriously when the person crying was wearing a pair of knitted square glasses without the lenses but with lickable candy canes as the arms. In the end Adam had to pick her up and carry her away from me or the plane would never have left without an extra passenger. All the while I would hear him whisper,

  “You know you can’t go love, she must do this alone.” Which just made my own tears fall even harder.

  My goodbye with Lucius had been just as emotional for me, but no words were needed after his last promise. He had simply kissed me on the forehead and called for Adam to come and take me where I needed to go. I had little in the way of luggage, thanks to my kidnapping, as I had been rescued with nothing but the feathers on my back. However, thanks to Pip I was not taking this trip naked and had with me a small cabin bag with everything in it that I needed.

  Which brought me to now and hanging up the few items I had to wear, which thankfully were more my taste than Pip’s. I was just placing the few toiletries I had in the spacious bathroom’s counter when I looked up to see a tired looking Keira staring back at me. I could barely believe it was actually me, not really taking in my new appearance until now. So much time had passed since the beginning of this trip, yet thanks to everything that had happened, it felt like only yesterday that I was getting on that first flight leaving the States behind.

  And now my quest had brought me to Italy, which hopefully would end up being my last destination in finding Draven. I didn’t want to think about what I would do if I got to this address and found my search had to continue further. No, I couldn’t think that way, not after everything I had been through to get to this point. I had to remain strong, just a little while longer, if not for me then for Draven’s sake.

  With all of this going on around in my head, I thought it would have been impossible for me to find sleep, but as soon as my head hit the pillow I found for the first time today the questions finally stopped.

  The next day I woke late in the afternoon with only one thing on my mind…Draven. I couldn’t wait to see him again, but before I let my excitement rule my head I needed a game plan. I had tried looking up the Villa at Lake Como to see if there was any information on it but it was as though it didn’t even exist. I was just glad that when I handed the driver the piece of paper, he seemed to know where it was.

  The drive wasn’t that long, just over an hour, but given the amount of time I had now been separated from Draven, then even an extra hour felt like an extra month! The summer heat felt thick, like a storm was coming and I wiped my sweaty palms down the dark denim of my jeans. I had decided to wear black clothes, despite the weather, as I wanted to go as undetected as possible if I was going to pull off any kind of rescue mission.

  I was just glad that I had the foresight to buy a baseball cap from one of the shops by the hotel I’d stayed in. As we were travelling I gathered up all my hair and tied what I could back with an elastic band I found at the bottom of Pip’s bag she’d given me and put the cap on, pulling my hair through the back. I looked down at myself and thought I just looked like a tourist. I had wanted to wear a pair of my gloves but knew this would be too obvious in this weather and for the first part of my mission, I wanted to blend in.

  I was wearing a black vest that had on it a faded grey rose, (one of Pip’s), jeans and a pair of heavy duty boots in case I found myself in a situation that required running or kicking. My bag contained the Ouroboros book, a small first aid kit just in case, a map of the area, a Spiderman wallet with some Euros (a gift from Pip) with a credit card (provided by Lucius), a new passport, a new smart phone (complete with everyone’s numbers) and a few miniature bottles of spirits, including tequila (also a gift from Pip).

  So, with my decent sized bag acting as an unusual survival kit hanging around my torso on its long strap, I got out of the car to look around the area we had just pulled up to. I had asked the driver not to get too close to the actual house so that I wouldn’t be seen by anyone. From the start it was pretty obvious the type of place it was going to be from the amount of private estates we passed on our way. The multimillion Euro homes could only just be seen through their gates, amongst their beautifully designed gardens and almost all of them exclusive, which translated into, ‘hard to break in!’

  I got out my map, which the driver had circled for me and walked along the winding road which I could see was taking me closer to the lake. It must have been the last house along the road, which also happened to be the biggest, if the view in front of me was anything to go by.

  The whole property was surrounded by a high stone wall that was sectioned by Roman style columns, each mounted at the top with Goddess figures. From what I could see, as I passed by the guarded gates, the Villa itself was made from large sandstone blocks with parts rendered and painted in a pale terracotta colour. As I walked as slowly as I could without looking too obvious, I noticed there were at least three different buildings all surrounding the main mansion but all were situated on different levels. The one closest to the lake was the hardest one to see as it was blocked by all the trees, but from what I could see it looked as if most of that building was covered in ivy, reminding me of Afterlife.

  I heard someone clear their throat and jumped. The security guard by the gate nodded for me to carry on and I laughed nervously holding up my map.

  “Sorry, I think I’m lost.” I said thinking how stupid, as the guy probably couldn’t understand a word I said, but then he surprised me by not only speaking English but also having an American accent.

  “There won’t be anything you’re looking for beyond this point as its all private property…where are you looking for?” He motioned for me to come over and I gulped down my panic. He looked like he was going to look at my map which, considering the place he guarded was circled, I didn’t think it one of my best ideas to let him see it.

  “Oh…uh…that’s alright, you know I think I will figure it out.” I said just as I heard a car coming down the road. As it slowly got closer I decided to use the new powers I was forced to learn and threw up every mental barrier I could, just in case whoever was in that car was not of the human world.

  I watched the guard quickly get back to his post and the gates started to open to let in the blacked out Bentley saloon car that was coming our way. I quickly pulled down my cap and turned just as it swung round to enter, making the big flashy tires crunch on the gravel of the long driveway. I started to walk away from the car not knowing who was inside but willing my head to keep down the driving urge to look.

  I had the greatest need to pull down on sleeves I wasn’t wearing or start tugging on gloves I had bravely left behind. So instead, I held on to my map and pulled out my phone taking pictures of the countryside, trying to pull off the whole tourist gig. It was only when I heard the roaring of bikes coming along the same road, that I nearly dropped both phone and map. I looked back at the car that was disappearing out of sight and noticed no-one was looking so, instead of hoping the whole tourist thing still worked, I stepped into the wooded area and hid.

  I crouched down low and as I heard them coming, I could only pray no-one could see me. I really wanted to look but knew I couldn’t chance it, just as I couldn’t do with the Bentley. In my head though the possibilities seemed vast and the list of bikers I now knew was growing. There was Vincent, Sigurd and now Jared’s lot of beasts…who was next I had no clue but the most important question remained, were any of those riders someone I knew?

  By the time I had memorised a good enough lay of the land, I had a firm idea in my mind of where would be best to sneak in.
I could only hope they didn’t have motion sensors, cameras everywhere but most of all, nasty growling attack dogs, Mr Burns’ style!

  I decided it wasn’t so much the getting in part that would be the hardest, although I wasn’t expecting the red carpet welcome, it would really be the getting out that would be the tricky bit. I had spent the rest of the day checking out the surrounding area and found there was a small gap that led straight through the woods down to the lake. It was from this bit that you could climb down to the water and swim round to the lakeside of the property, which just so happened to have a stone wall that could be easily jumped over.

  So, the plan was to use a tree to climb close to the main wall to get in and depending on what state Draven had been left in, to get to the lake and jump in, then using the darkness as a good cover to escape. The best part of this plan was that the closest property to where the woods led to the lake, looked to be locked up tight and without occupants. This meant my driver could wait down the private road and wait for us without being seen, or more importantly asked to leave.

  I was lucky in the sense that Lucius must have told my driver to do as I said with no questions asked, because it surprised me when I didn’t receive any weird reactions to my odd directions.

  Which brought me back to now and under the cover of night, I zipped up the black hooded sweater shirt I had brought with me, as now the weather had turned a little wild. The angry clouds and clammy heat of the day told me there was going to be a summer storm tonight and I wanted to be ready for it. I hooked my thumbs into the thumb holes of the Goth style top and pulled the big baggy hood over my head to conceal myself further. I told the driver to park by the empty Villa and wait for me no matter what.

  He nodded to me in way of acceptance as I’d learnt early on he didn’t really say much. This was just fine by me considering I had plenty to occupy my mind without having to explain myself at every crazy decision I made. I watched him back out of sight and leave me at the same spot he had done earlier that day when I was playing spy mode Keira.