Valley of the Moon

by Bronwyn Archer

  “Looking forward to the dance?”

  It was over a hundred degrees in the steam room, but a violent chill rolled through my shoulders.

  “Um, yes.”

  “And Caleb Weaver, of all people, is your escort for the evening, is that right?” Ramona knows him. The boy her daughter used to like—the boy who had scorned her daughter. Of course she knew him. My shoulders tensed. I knew something unpleasant was coming.

  “Well, I wouldn’t normally interfere like this, Lana, but I have to warn you. Caleb is not the Prince Charming he seems. Believe me.” The mist cleared and her black eyes found mine.

  “What are you talking about?” My breathing got shallow in the choking, wet air.

  She slid her sandals onto her manicured feet. “I heard he likes his girls, shall we say, not quite sober. Makes the conquest easier. He tried it with Cressida, but I’d hate to see you get hurt. The way he hurt her.” The word flew from her mouth like poison blow darts aimed straight at my heart. Ramona stepped down off the steam room platform and walked out without glancing at me.

  The glass door swung shut behind her. The steam had almost completely dissipated but my skin burned hot. I knew she was lying; but I couldn’t understand why she’d bother to go out of her way to make me doubt my boyfriend—and myself. Because she’s sick. But I also knew she never acted out of pure spite, like her daughter. She always had some motive.

  It’s obvious—she wants you to break up with Caleb so her daughter can have him. Well, if that was the case, she was out of luck.

  I was shaky and disoriented and I needed fresh air. And a huge glass of ice water from the pitcher by the locker room that had all the cucumber slices floating in it. I stood up and shoved my feet back into my flip-flops. A fresh burst of steam started to fill the room again. Feeling slightly less disturbed, I took a step towards the door. As the mist pressed against the glass door, words appeared on it. Right in front of my face.

  Someone had written something with their finger on the steamed-up glass. I hadn’t noticed it earlier. The letters were a little faint but I could make out the words.

  TANITH FREMONT.

  ***

  Our suite was fantastic. There was a private bedroom with a four-poster bed, and a huge living room decorated with elegant furniture. Everything was white, crisp, and immaculate. Or would have been without seventeen tons of teenage detritus littering the room. It looked like Piper’s bedroom. There were extra shoes, discarded clothes, rejected pieces of jewelry, and cell phone chargers strewn on every surface, plus at least three hair dryers. Which we didn’t even use, since we’d gotten our hair done in the salon downstairs.

  Piper wore an elaborate updo, but my hair hung full and loose in shiny waves around my shoulders. We did our own makeup—I even let Piper glue a few fake eyelashes to the outer corners of my eyes.

  I didn’t say a word about my chat with Ramona in the steam room. It was ridiculous—according to my ex-stepmother, who cared so deeply about me, Caleb was some kind of monster. Yeah, right. You’re the real monster, Ramona. You’re wrong about him. I won’t let you scare me away from him.

  The writing on the glass—I couldn’t explain that one. Unless the letter-writer had been at the spa. Getting a Brazilian, maybe.

  The other explanation—that my friendly neighborhood ghost wrote it—was the craziest. I let Piper think my jitters were all pre-prom nerves. I vowed to get to the bottom of the entire letter/Tanith Fremont/ghost situation as soon as I got home.

  Even if I had to go hire the little woman who cleaned haunted houses in the Poltergeist movie. Because enough was enough. But there was a leaden pit in my stomach and I could barely touch the fruit and cheese plate Piper ordered up to the room. I pushed away my nerves and fears and tried to focus on the night ahead, which would involve me and Caleb, alone in a hotel room. Technically Piper and Wyatt would be there too, but they had a whole bedroom to themselves.

  As soon as we were beautified, we stood together in front of the mirrored armoire in the bedroom. Piper looked like a queen. Her strapless black satin gown hugged her tall, lean frame. I wore the dress Candy had made me. She’d insisted, and I was thrilled not to waste any more of my pitiful savings on a dress I’d only wear once—I was still suffering the financial effects of my Hawaii shopping spree.

  The snug bodice cinched my waist and the flowing skirt hit the floor, even though I was in three-inch heels. I’d found the material at a fabric store in Santa Rosa. Candy used three layers of emerald-green chiffon over a layer of lustrous green silk.

  “Candy is the best dress designer! How do those Spanx fit?” Piper asked. She had tossed me a pair while we were getting dressed. She had packed at least six pairs in various styles. “You totally don’t need them, but trust me.” When I examined the high-tech stretchy fabric, I thought it looked like a chastity belt. A chastity belt wouldn’t be a bad idea, actually.

  “They fit great.” I examined my hindquarters in the mirror. “With all my unsightly butt hair, I needed something to press it down.”

  There was a knock on the door, and Piper trotted over to it, stepping gingerly around piles of girl stuff in her heels. I followed her, but hung back and leaned against the back of one of the sofas. I willed my heart to stop pounding so I wouldn’t pass out, but I was more nervous than I’d been on our first date. I hadn’t seen him in person since our airport fight.

  Since I threw a live grenade into our relationship.

  She peeked out the peephole. “It’s them! Lana, BREATHE.”

  Wyatt burst in first, carrying a small duffel bag.

  “Anybody here order a couple male escorts?” He was grinning like a fool. He eyeballed the two of us and yelled, “Dude, check out these babes!”

  Caleb silently emerged from behind Wyatt’s hulking form.

  I held my breath when I saw him. His dark blond hair was parted on the side and slicked down. He was freshly shaved and his eyes looked bright blue against his black tuxedo. I held onto the back of the sofa for balance. My feet wobbled in my new gold strappy sandals.

  A slow grin spread across his face. “Hello,” he said. “Look. At. You.” He walked over to me and ran his hands from my shoulders to my hands. Chills galloped down my arms in their wake. “Wow, great dress.”

  “Hi,” I said. “Great tux.” We stood smiling at each other for a few seconds and then he pulled me into his arms and kissed me hard. He whispered in my ear, “Why don’t we just stay here and forget prom?” The butterflies that had been multiplying in my stomach all week went into a full riot.

  A sudden loud POP made me jump.

  “What was that?” Caleb jerked his head towards Wyatt.

  “We brought you girls a present,” he said, holding up a bottle of champagne. “Prom juice. Ladies, care to join us in a toast?” He started pouring fizzy liquid into the glass tumblers on top of the minibar.

  “Last year, two seniors got kicked out for drinking at the formal. Remember, Piper?” She just shrugged.

  “Boys, don’t mind her,” she said. “It’s her first prom. Dude, one glass won’t kill us. Most of the other girls are probably halfway hammered by now.”

  Caleb handed me a glass. “It’s prom, Lana. It’s the law.”

  ***

  We walked into the ballroom under an elaborate canopy of lush flowers and green vines. The Midsummer Night’s Dream theme was in full effect—although I was pretty sure Shakespeare’s play didn’t include ear-splitting EDM. Girls in a rainbow array of dresses were squealing and hugging friends. Clumps of guys stood around in baggy tuxedoes.

  As we weaved through the crowd, I squeezed his hand and he looked back at me and winked. A tremendous flutter ran through me. The hormones in the air were causing a chemical chain reaction in my body.

  At the “bar,” Caleb handed me a plastic cup of punch. “Don’t worry, it’s nonalcoholic. But looks like some of your classmates found a way around that.” He gestured to a cluster of girls dancing wildly. One slippe
d and fell, knocking a second girl flat on her back.

  “Oh boy, look who’s here,” Piper said, jabbing me with her elbow. “Turn around.”

  Trevor Blazick and his friend Brett White were squeezing into the ballroom through an emergency exit door, followed by a cloud of pungent smoke. I averted my eyes and tried to control a wave of nausea.

  I hadn’t seen Trevor in years. Not since his New Year’s Eve party. Since the truth-or-dare game that went bad.

  “Are they here with Cressida? I thought you said she turned over a new leaf. Those guys are dirtbags.” If she only knew.

  “Okay, enough standing around. It’s go time, chicks.” Wyatt said. I tried to resist as Caleb tugged me towards the mosh pit. I hadn’t danced in public since quitting ballet when I was seven.

  “I don’t feel like dancing yet.” Trevor stood at the edge of the dance floor, his arm draped around Cressida. But he had spotted me.

  “Come on, it’s your prom!” Caleb yelled over the music. I relented, but when I took a step backwards, I heard a piercing scream. I whirled around and found Ginger holding her foot in the air.

  “Jesus, watch out!” Her date, a beefy guy with a goatee, guffawed wildly. She gritted her teeth and glared at me. Apparently she hadn’t gotten the memo about Cressida and me being new best friends.

  Valentina wiggled over to us. “Lana, hey! We WILL we see you at the after-party, right? It’s going to be insane!” Her eyes ping-ponged from me to Caleb. “It’s at Cressida’s. You both know where that is, right?”

  The after-party—I hadn’t told him about it yet. What if Trevor’s there? Maybe you shouldn’t go. Maybe the whole thing is a bad idea.

  Piper yelled back at her, “Yeah, we’re going. If you guys promise to be nice.”

  Valentina rolled her eyes at Piper. She grabbed both my hands and said, “Cressida really wants you to come, Lana. It means a lot to her, you know.” She wrapped me in a tight hug. I could smell alcohol on her breath, and she stumbled a little as she walked away. Ginger ignored me and limped off the dance floor, her date tagging along behind her.

  I turned back to my date. Teenage bodies gyrated all around us, but Caleb stood very still. His smile had vanished.

  “Cressida’s having an after-party? And she invited you?”

  “We sort of made up.” He blinked and shook his head as if to clear it. Then he grabbed my hand and yanked me away from the dance floor. He didn’t stop until we got to a small alcove behind a pillar at the back of the ballroom. A couple was making out a few feet away from us, but they ignored us.

  He pushed me up against the pillar. Then he abruptly dropped his arms and shoved his hands into his pockets.

  “Explain.”

  “I should have told you. I didn’t really think she meant it, actually. But I guess she did.”

  In the dimly lit alcove, his eyes were huge and dark. “I thought you guys hated each other. Now she’s your BF?”

  “She confronted me this week and apologized. For everything. I decided to give her a chance. That’s good, right? Isn’t that what you would have told me to do?” He stared at me.

  “So that’s it? It’s all over now?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe not. But I have to find out.”

  “And you want to take me as your date—to her house?”

  “Why not? What do you think she’ll do?”

  He sighed. “I know her too well. Or, at least I did.” The DJ started playing a pop anthem and the dance floor went wild. The couple making out nearby skipped away.

  I stroked Caleb’s hand. “I spent a long time wanting her to accept me as her sister. I know this is crazy, but now I have a chance to at least be her friend. Will you please come to her party with me?”

  He put his hands on my forearms and leaned in close. “The only after-party I want to have is with you. Upstairs in your hotel room.” My heart stopped beating for a second. His palms moved to my shoulders. The feeling of his hands on my bare skin sent electric shocks through my body. It felt like I was falling through the carpeted floor of the ballroom.

  “You’ve been waiting a while, I know. Aren’t I worth waiting a few more hours for?” I ran my fingers down his cheek to the tiny bit of stubble on his chin. His eyes reflected the spinning dance lights flashing across the room. A slow smile spread across his face.

  “Really?”

  “Yes.” And at that moment, I meant it. I was ready. Heat rose off his chest through his scratchy tuxedo shirt. He tilted my chin back with one finger.

  “Fine. But if you’re going make me wait until later,” he whispered, “I’ll take what I can get now.” He kissed me and crushed his body into mine, pressing me into the pillar. His hands slid to my hips, and then down to my rear end. My heart felt like it was trying to leap out of my body and into his. I’m in love with you, Caleb. Do you know that? Did he love me? Did it matter? I was sure he liked me. Was it enough?

  His mouth found my ear. “I want to be with you tonight, Lana. In every way. In naked ways.”

  “Whoa, down, boy.” There was a girl standing right behind us, giggling. Caleb reacted like he’d been stung. He swung his head to look and blinked a few times. It was Cressida.

  Or someone who sounded like Cressida.

  She was utterly transformed. Her white-blonde curls had been straightened and glossed. Her hair hung straight down to her waist. Black cat-eye makeup made her aquamarine eyes look huge. Her silvery, nearly sheer dress featured a halter-top cut dangerously low, while the body-skimming skirt had a slit cut dangerously high. The delicate fabric did nothing to hide her newly amplified chest, which needed no bra. A girl with gangly long legs and no behind had turned into a supermodel overnight.

  Her eyes were bright and shone stark white in the strobe lights. She smirked at us like she’d caught us red-handed. “The fun’s supposed to start after the prom, you two.”

  I wiped some smeared lip gloss off my cheek with the back of my hand.

  “Yeah, we’ll be there.”

  “Good.” She shot Caleb a look. “I’m counting on that.” I grabbed his hand and led him away from the pillar. I didn’t really want to chat in the dark with my boyfriend and his ex-whatever she was.

  “Let’s go dance, okay?” He nodded, but he looked rattled.

  On the other side of the pillar I ran right into Trevor, who reeked of weed.

  “You guys seen Cress?” he slurred. She emerged from the shadow of the pillar.

  “I’m right here.” Her eyes lit up. “Hey, Trevor, you remember my stepsister, don’t you?”

  How I wished I could forget. He was taller, lean and pale. Shaggy black hair brushed the top of his shirt collar and fell across his forehead, covering his slitted eyes. His mouth was frozen in a crooked sneer. Acne scars pitted the skin along his jawbone.

  I tried my hardest to not spit on his shoes. His eyes widened when he recognized me.

  “No way.” He brazenly eyeballed me from head to toe. “I thought that was you before. Lana Goodwin, right?” You know exactly who I am, you cretin. My skin crawled in his presence. “Hey Brett, dude, check out who’s here!” Trevor shoved his friend forward.

  I remembered him too. The years had not done him any favors. He was still short and muscular, but his arms had gotten beefier and he had a linebacker’s gut. His dark hair was cut short, with short bangs gelled down so they were plastered to his forehead. His small eyes were a little too close together and his teeth had a yellowish cast to them. A narrow goatee bisected his double chin and his face was bathed in sweat.

  His round mouth split into a crescent moon.

  “No way! Wow, looking good, Lana.” He bobbed his head up and down as he checked me out. “All grown up now, I see. What’s going on, baby?”

  “Not much, guys,” Caleb said, stepping forward. “I’m Lana’s boyfriend.” Trevor and Brett looked at each other.

  “Easy bro, we were just saying hi to an old friend, okay?”

  Caleb shifted at
my side. Someone’s phone rang. Cressida slid her hand into Trevor’s jacket pocket and pulled out a cell phone covered in blue rhinestones.

  “Jesus, I have like fifty-eight texts,” she said, scrolling messages. “The shuttle buses will be here in an hour.” She winked at me. “Don’t be late, you love birds!” She shimmered away into the crowd, followed by her two hulking minions.

  Caleb glowered at me.

  “Shuttle bus? How will we get back?”

  “We’ll take one of the shuttles back. We’ll just make a quick appearance.”

  He put his hands on my waist and bent his lips to my ear. “Or we skip her stupid party and go upstairs. I need to get you in private.” His words made my stomach twist. But I had promised.

  “I know. And you will. I promise.” His blue eyes darkened and stared into mine.

  “I am going to hold you to that.” I shivered.

  Lana Goodwin. Prom night cliché.

  11

  Mare Frigoris ~ Sea of Cold

  The bus packed with rowdy teenagers pulled up to the gate at the foot of the winding driveway. The headlights illuminated the carved stone lions on top of the tall brick pillars. The gate rolled back and the sleek black coach crunched up the driveway to the mansion built to look like Versailles. If Versailles had been built by a personal injury attorney.

  I had an overwhelming urge to flee the bus and take off running down the hill.

  “Hey, are you okay?” Piper was hanging over the seats in front of me and Caleb. “Is this weird for you?”

  “Nope, it’s fine. This will be fun. Right, Caleb?” I looked over at him but he just shrugged. Wyatt handed him a flask and he took a swig.

  The bus shuddered to a halt and everyone onboard cheered.

  I was back.

  ***

  Dance music reverberated through the cool night air as we made our way through a side gate and onto the grounds. White overstuffed couches and heat lamps were strategically placed around the Olympic-sized pool, turning it into an outdoor lounge. Dozens of candles floated in the pool on silver lily pads.