Iron Moon

by Jenny Phillips

  A breathy, disgusted laugh escaped me. “I didn't drink enough to black out by any means,” I countered directing my attention to Harlow. “And you ended up telling me everything anyway,” I reminded Harlow, my voice dropping to a whisper.

  “You would've kept digging. And when things got serious between us, Rayna, I thought you should know. I wanted you to. I trust you.”

  Silence fell between us as I let the weight of his words sink in. Part of me wanted to forgive Harlow, but I couldn’t bring myself to. Not here and not now. Without trust we were nothing. And right now, I didn't trust him—or any of them for that matter. “I don’t know what to say,” I whispered, my voice brittle.

  “Rayna,” Harlow pleaded, taking a step toward me.

  “No, Harlow,” I countered. “I need time.”

  Harlow dragged a hand down his face. “Time is the one thing I don’t have,” he said, taking another step toward me, closing the gap between us. “Ivy,” he said though his eyes lingered on mine a moment too long before giving her a firm nod over his shoulder.

  “Harlow, I can’t!” she objected. “You know how dangerous this is!”

  “How dangerous what is?” I demanded, shifting my gaze back and forth between them.

  “Strepunt aures!”

  “Ah!” I cried out, clutching my hands to my head as an intense ringing in my ears drown out their conversation. I watched uncomfortably for several long minutes as they argued back and forth, pointing, and gesturing at each other—sometimes even in my direction.

  The ringing stopped.

  Something in Ivy's stare was distressed. “What are you doing?” I asked, my tone guarded as I took a step backward. Ivy threw her hand up and in return, I was rendered motionless. “Ivy!” I shouted at her, as I fought to move.

  My eyes landed on Harlow. “I’m letting you go,” he explained with a notable pang of regret. “I want you to go home. Forget what you saw and heard here tonight,” he began to tell me.

  When I realized what he was doing I tried even harder to fight against Ivy’s magical hold on me. “You don’t have to do this!” I shouted, tears stinging the corner of my eyes. I was mad at him, but not mad enough to want to forget about him.

  “This isn’t your battle, Rayna,” Harlow replied, stepping closer to me. “You’ll be safer this way and you’ll have all the time you need. But I need you to give me the necklace back.”

  Somewhere in the distance Nick cursed.

  My arm moved into the right pocket of my peacoat involuntarily as if my brain and my body were no longer connected and I dropped the necklace into Harlow's palm. “Don't do this,” I begged.

  “I want you to forget about our time together and everything I told you about wolves, hunters, Ivy's magic and the necklace; all of it. You’ll only remember me as Rider’s friend; just another student at HGH. You came out to the woods tonight for some fresh air and to clear your head. You won't remember being out here with any of us.”

  “Please, Harlow!” I begged once more, tears streaming down my face.

  Ignoring my pleas, Ivy stepped forward. “I’m so sorry, Rayna. You won’t feel a thing,” she told me as she pressed two fingers to my forehead.

  I blinked, feeling a little dizzy, and stared out at the vacant forest in front of me. The air had begun to chill my body, despite my coat. I turned on my heel, feeling a strong urge to head home.

  Snow began to fall as I walked through a clearing near my house and I stuck my hand out, catching a snowflake in my palm. Whatever had been bothering me before was a distant memory now. Shoving my hands into my pockets for warmth, I continued the trek toward my backyard.

  When the back door slammed against the frame, my mom yelled from the living room. “Rayna! Is that you? Dinner’s almost ready!”

  “Yeah, it’s me!” I replied, sliding my boots off at the doormat before I trotted to the coat closet to hang up my red peacoat. After sliding it onto the hanger, I joined my family at the dinner table.

  “Where were you?” My dad asked.

  “I went for a walk. I needed to clear my head,” I told him.

  “Did something happen?” Dalyn probed.

  “It doesn’t matter, I’m feeling better now,” I smiled, digging into my dinner while the rest of the family moved on in conversation.

  chapter thirteen

  I COULDN'T BELIEVE WINTER BREAK WAS ALREADY over The first half of my senior year had flown by so fast it was practically a blur. I found it a little daunting to think that in no time at all, I’d be heading off to start my freshman year of college, a painful reminder that I still needed to figure out what school I would be attending come fall. Choosing where to spend the next four years of my life was an intimidating decision—and definitely something I wanted to consult with Lacey and Arianna about. They had both been out of town all break due to family vacations.

  For Lacey’s family, that meant a two-week-long excursion to an all-inclusive resort in the Bahamas. The Becks weren’t fans of the winter weather Maine so graciously provided—even though they chose to live practically as far north as humanly possible in the United States.

  Arianna’s family used the break from school to rent a ski-in/ski-out condo in Colorado. She had sent me a picture of the words ‘miss you’ traced in the snow atop a run a few days ago. It made me smile. I couldn’t wait to be reunited with them and I knew the feeling was mutual. It would be so hard if we all ended up at different colleges—but that was the most likely scenario. Next year would be so different without them.

  As usual, we decided to meet up at Beach’s Pizzeria to catch up on every life detail that we’d missed out on over break. Unfortunately, I didn’t have much to say. My dad canceled our annual Utah trip last minute on account of an important work meeting he said couldn't be rescheduled. So, I spent the break drinking hot cocoa and hanging out with my mom. It could have been worse, but I was definitely looking forward to hearing about my friends’ trips. It was a welcome opportunity to relive my entirely uneventful winter break vicariously through their stories.

  I arrived first, so I grabbed our usual corner booth and ordered a pepperoni pizza and three Cokes. Minutes later, Lacey came bursting into the restaurant—she definitely knew how to make an entrance.

  “Rayna!” she yelled with an excited smile on her face, oblivious to all of the heads that turned in her direction at her outburst. I scooted out of the booth to give her a hug. “I missed you!” she said as we embraced. I knew, but it was nice to hear her say all the same.

  “I missed you, too, Lace! I can’t wait to hear all about what you did on your trip!” I replied with equal enthusiasm.

  “I think you’ll be more interested to hear about who, not what,” she said with a wink and we both doubled over with laughter.

  Arianna entered the restaurant next. She spotted us and gave a small wave, smiling as she approached.

  “Hey Aria,” I greeted her as we all embraced for another hug.

  “The gang is back together again!” Lacey squealed. “Shall we?” she motioned toward the table and we all slid into the booth.

  “Word on the street is Lacey had a gentleman suitor in the Bahamas,” I informed Arianna, jokingly.

  “Word on the street is correct!” Lacey replied delightfully. “I think I’m in love!”

  Arianna and I giggled.

  “Yeah right!” I teased, unconvinced.

  “Sounds scandalous, yet I'm not surprised! So tell us about him!” Arianna encouraged. It was different to see Arianna so interested in Lacey's latest rendezvous. Granted she always listened, but most of the time she couldn’t relate because Arianna and Lacey had vastly different dating habits.

  “His name is Luke and he’s a sophomore at Columbia in New York City,” she paused a beat, “Yes, the big apple! Turns out, like me, Luke was on a family vacation too, staying at the same resort that we were. I spotted him at the pool one day and decided to take a chance and approach him. We hit it off almost instantly. You know it
was one of those situations where it felt like we'd known each other forever. You get it,” she said, looking at me as if I could vouch for her experience.

  I gave her a quick nod of agreement.

  Lacey smiled and continued with her tale. “We spent practically the entire trip together, drinking strawberry daiquiris by the pool—when my parents weren't around obviously.”

  “How often weren't your parents around?”

  Lacey made a face at me. “Let me finish...we walked on the beach,” she paused, swooning at the memory, “making out under the stars. We even went parasailing together one afternoon and he kissed me while we were flying! Trust me, it was a welcome distraction. The whole thing was so romantic and Luke was incredibly sweet! He left the day before I did, but promised that we’d see each other this summer, so I’m holding out hope. Oh, and you have to remind me to tell you about the day my brother got stung by a jellyfish!” Lacey smiled wickedly at the memory. “I know I shouldn't laugh, but it was hilarious!”

  “Sounds like a scene out of a movie!” Arianna sighed enviously. “I mean you and Luke, not the jellyfish thing.”

  “That would only happen to you, Lace,” I replied with a laugh. “I’m so happy for you, though, it sounds like a pretty amazing trip! So you and Vince...” I started to ask.

  Lacey made a sour face at the mention of him. “Vince who? Let’s be real for a second, we all know that relationship was going nowhere fast. The poor guy is afraid of me.”

  I sucked in a breath and it made a hissing sound between my teeth, “Sadly that is true…” I mused, agreeing with her.

  Arianna giggled.

  Lacey fanned the air in front of her as if to wave off the memory of him. “Enough about me,” she said diverting the conversation, “Aria, tell us about your trip!”

  Arianna smiled sheepishly at the prompt—an expression I didn’t know she possessed, so I knew we were in for something totally unexpected. “Well, mine went a little bit like yours, Lacey…”

  “WHAT?” Lacey and I exclaimed in baffled excitement.

  “Well for starters, I may or may not have kissed my ski instructor...” she alluded, blushing.

  “Look at Arianna playing coy!” Lacey pressed a hand to her chest like a proud mother, “I've taught you well. Now give us details!”

  She sucked in a deep breath in preparation for the story. “His name is Caleb. I took lessons with him on the first day. At first, I thought he was just flirting with me so I would give him a good tip or something, but at the end of the day, he asked for my number. Turned out Caleb lived pretty close to where we were staying, so we met up that night. He showed me around the town and we had a super romantic dinner at this little Italian restaurant he suggested. I swear best baked spaghetti I've ever had! And then, at the end of the night,” she paused thoughtfully, “he kissed me. We skied together every day after that when he finished with lessons for the day. I’ve always wanted to kiss a boy on a ski lift, so I guess I can knock that off of my bucket list.”

  “I can’t believe it!” Lacey cheered. “Look at you breaking out of your shell!”

  “Something like that,” Arianna agreed with a smile. “So, what about you, Rayna? Any exciting happenings on your break?”

  “Not nearly as exciting as either of yours! I told you guys before you left that my dad canceled our Utah trip, so I stayed home most of the time binge watching shows with my mom. And I drank so much hot cocoa that I'm pretty sure I now bleed chocolate. But I can't complain too much. I didn’t mind the relaxing break, it gave me a chance to recharge which I needed, to be honest.”

  “Did you see you-know-who?” Lacey asked suspiciously, nudging my shoulder with hers.

  Arianna smacked Lacey's arm from across the table, giving her a stern look of disapproval.

  Lacey sat back, out of Arianna’s reach, glaring.

  “What do you mean?” I asked, puzzled by both the question and Arianna’s reaction to it.

  “You know… tall, dark and handsome. He who shall not be named?” she elaborated vaguely. If that was her way of dropping hints, it wasn't working.

  “The only men I interacted with over break were of the fictional variety. Otherwise, I have no idea who you’re talking about.” Her weird behavior hadn’t gone unnoticed by me, but I wasn’t about to comment on it as our server delivered us our pizza.

  Lacey all but rolled her eyes at me as she reached for the pie server. “So, do you think Rider will host another back-to-school party?” she asked, sliding a piece of pizza onto her plate.

  “He has to, it’s our senior year! Besides, he’s due for a party.”

  Again, Lacey looked to Arianna, and Arianna shook her head at something. I was completely lost by their silent conversation.

  “Okay, you guys, seriously. What’s with the weird looks? Did I miss something?” I blurted out.

  “What weird looks?” Lacey asked, pretending to be confused.

  “Never mind,” I muttered, letting go of my suspicions.

  “Anyway, you’re right, Ray, Rider is definitely due for a party!” Arianna agreed cheerfully, ignoring my comments altogether.

  “Maybe now that you’ve had your ski instructor excursion you’ll finally make a move with Rider,” Lacey joked, taking a swig of soda.

  “I don’t know. I mean, yeah, I like him, but I know he’s not really the commitment type. At this point, it seems almost useless considering we’ll all be going away to college soon and who knows where I’ll be, let alone Rider.”

  “Don’t remind me!” I whined. “I can’t handle the fact that senior year is almost over.”

  “Have you guys finished your college applications yet?” Lacey asked as she sprinkled red pepper flakes onto her slice of pizza.

  “I applied to NYU. My parents would love for me to go there, but I’m not sure I’ll go through with it if I get accepted.”

  “Well, if you do end up there, I could visit you all the time when I’m in the city seeing Luke!” Lacey said and we all laughed.

  “I suppose that’s true. What about you Arianna?”

  “I submitted my applications to Bates College and Colby College. Fingers crossed!”

  “Small liberal arts schools, definitely right up your alley,” I agreed. “Let me guess, Lacey, you're thinking NYC?”

  “I wasn’t before, but I might be now! Luke’s presence makes the city so much more appealing. Who knows! I just want to have fun for the little time we have left of senior year! Maybe I’ll find a community college near Columbia,” she laughed.

  “I’m sure Luke would love that,” Arianna smiled, reaching for another slice of pizza.

  We spent the rest of our meal planning all the things we wanted to do before we graduated. Of course, there was still prom, final exams, the senior class prank, and graduation. We were going to be quite busy for the remainder of the year. It was almost nine o’clock before we left the pizzeria. We stopped outside the door to say our goodbyes. Lacey went in to hug me first. “You sure you’re okay?” she whispered and I could tell that her concern was genuine.

  “Of course,” I replied. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  She sighed and let me go. I hugged Arianna next and she wished me a good night before hugging Lacey and making her way to her car. I waved one final farewell to my friends and got into my car to head home.

  I entered the house to find my parents playing cards at the kitchen table. “How was Beach’s?” My mom asked.

  “Good!” I said, leaning against the back of my mom’s chair. “Lacey and Arianna both had great vacations.”

  “Good to hear,” my dad commented without taking his focus from the cards in his hand.

  My phone buzzed in my pocket and I pulled it out to see a text from Rider.

  RIDER: Back 2 School party at my place tomorrow! Starts at 8 pm. Bring your party pants. ;)

  I smiled to myself at the irony. I was definitely in the mood for a party!

  * * *

  The next morning I
startled awake, sitting straight up in bed, panting and sweating—another nightmare.

  Ever since the first night of winter break I’d been dealing with a recurring nightmare. I never used to have bad dreams, at least not like this, not even as a kid, so I wasn’t sure what had changed to cause them now. In the dream, I’m standing in a forest and the darkness is so dense I can barely distinguish the outlines of the trees around me. I try to run, but I’m frozen in place. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot a pair of bright yellow—inhuman—eyes staring at me from the tree line. The eyes encroach on me in the darkness, getting closer and closer. Panic rises within me and just before the creature behind those eyes gets too close, I jolt awake. My mom was of the opinion that the nightmares were brought on by stress, but I wasn't quite convinced.

  I took a few minutes to catch my breath before making the decision to get out of bed, even though it was still dark outside. I needed to change out of my sweaty clothes. I also desperately needed some air. Two weeks cooped up in the house was starting to take a toll on me—or at least my sleep. After slipping on a pair of jeans and a mint green sweater, I quietly headed for the stairs.

  Downstairs, the clock on the microwave read 5:34 AM. I had an hour, maybe an hour and a half before anyone would notice I was gone. I put on my puffy, blue winter coat and snow boots and slipped silently out the back door.

  Standing in the backyard, I sucked in a breath of fresh air. The cold awakened me further as it filled my lungs. As I headed for the trees, I stuffed my hands into my pockets to keep them warm and it didn't take long before I felt good about my decision to come out here. The woods had always offered me an uncanny sense of calm—even as darkness descended upon the trees. Reaching the clearing, I smiled, spotting my favorite oak tree. I pressed my palm to the cold, rough bark, trailing it behind me as I walked the circumference of the tree once before settling in beneath the shelter of its branches and closed my eyes.

  As I relaxed, something in the atmosphere seemed to shift and I became keenly aware that I was no longer alone. Someone or something—an animal maybe—was lurking nearby, its presence slowly but surely pressing in on me. An eerie, unsettling feeling crept over me, sending a ripple of goosebumps across my skin in the silence between me and it. The sensation reminded me of my nightmares. Please don't be a rogue animal, I thought at the thing.