Rise of the Moon: Arcana Book One

by JB Caine

  “I guess you were expecting us?” Claudia asked cheerily.

  “I figured you’d show back up eventually, yes.”

  “Good to see you again, Lia,” she said, extending to shake my hand.

  “Yeah, I don’t think so.” I kept my arms crossed. “I’m going to take a hard pass on mind control attempts today, thank you.”

  She blinked at my boldness and slowly withdrew her hand. “Well,” she said, “you can’t blame a girl for trying.”

  “Agree to disagree on that. Look, I’m willing to hear you out, but no more of the sneaky manipulative shenanigans. I’ve been doing some research, but that only goes so far. You want me on your side, and I want straight answers. Can you play fair, or do we part ways here, and you can drive your Range Rover back to wherever you came from?”

  “Well, well. You seem to have found your sea legs.”

  “You could say that,” I said in annoyance. “What’s it going to be?” Honestly, I was surprised at my own bravado. Rudeness wasn’t usually part of my repertoire.

  “Your candor is rather...brave.” She hesitated, and I wasn’t sure if she was reassessing how to deal with me, or trying to figure out how to hide my body. “Sure, let’s talk.”

  I gestured toward the Adirondack chairs by the large angel oak in our front yard.

  She nodded curtly and started walking, and John followed, giving me side-eye the entire way. She made a face when she noticed the less-than-pristine condition of the chair, but forced herself to sit on the very edge, rather awkwardly. John followed suit, and I plopped myself in another.

  “So, I take it you have considered what we discussed last week?” she began, seeking to regain the upper hand.

  “I have indeed. And upon reflection, I concluded that you focused more on intimidation than you did your actual message. So why don’t we try this again, and you can explain to me exactly what role you are asking that I play in this great revolution of yours.”

  “Indeed. Well, you should know that we represent a very powerful family…”

  “Yes, The Tower. Janus. I know.”

  Her wide eyes betrayed her. She hadn’t expected I’d known even that much. It set her off balance.

  “Yes.” She cleared her throat, seemingly unsure of what to say next. “It appears you’ve done some homework since we last met.” When I didn’t respond, she continued. “The fact is that we are very interested in the political climate. Florida is a battleground state in federal elections, and also a good test case for other goals that interest us, because your electorate here is fairly evenly divided along political lines.”

  “And my role?”

  “The exact details remain to be seen, of course, but as the Moon, and also as a Floridian, you are in a unique position to help us ensure that elections tip in favor of someone who shares our values. Without knowing exactly what your abilities entail, it would be difficult to define your role exactly.”

  “I see.” My gut told me that she was being largely truthful, even if she wasn’t sharing the whole plan. “So you don’t exactly know what you want me to do. You just know you want me and whatever abilities I may manifest to be on your side.”

  “That’s it, in a nutshell. We want to know we can count on you for the greater good.”

  “Who decides what the greater good is?”

  “In most cases, it’s pretty obvious what the greater good is,” she replied flatly. “But some people in power can’t be bothered with it because their greed blinds them. We think that if they could be made to see reason, made to see the Universal Pattern, then it would benefit everyone. We aren’t talking about killing anyone. We’re talking about persuasion.”

  Sounded a lot more like mind control to me, but I didn’t say it.

  “I’ll tell you what,” I said, standing. “I’ll give what you said some thought. I don’t want to dismiss your proposal entirely just because I don’t appreciate your tactics. Why don’t you leave me with a number, and I’ll contact you if I have questions. Then you can contact me like normal people do if you want to share information.”

  Claudia was displeased at what was clearly a dismissal. I had called her intimidation bluff, and it appeared that Mary had been right: they had no intention of harming me at this point. She dug in her purse, pulled out a business card, and held it out to me as she stood up. I still didn’t want her fingers that close to me, though.

  “Just leave it on the arm of the chair. I promise to pick it up.”

  “This has been a very interesting and, if I’m honest, surprising conversation,” she said. When I didn’t reply, she nodded to John, who had slightly more difficulty rising gracefully from the low chair. They turned back toward their vehicle.

  “One more thing,” I called. Claudia looked at me over her shoulder, curious. “Don’t follow me anymore. It’s creepy.”

  She chuckled, and as they got in and drove away, I realized that I had pulled off the greatest illusion of all: courage.

  Even a full day after my showdown conversation with Claudia, high school drama seemed like pretty small potatoes. I wasn’t sure exactly what abilities The Tower extended to Claudia, but I knew that its primary interpretation in most card readings, according to my research, was chaos and destruction, and somehow that seemed like all kinds of not-good.

  The halls of St. Augustine High School seemed pretty mild in comparison. I felt like I was sleepwalking through my day, just waiting for lunch so I could talk to Treigh and hear about normal teenage gossip and normal teenage problems. On the first count at least, he did not disappoint.

  “This boy…” Treigh collapsed dramatically onto our bench. “He’s going to be the death of me.”

  “How is it that you don’t have Michael eating out of the palm of your hand already?” I asked. “You’re slipping, brother.”

  “Don’t even say it. I’m having all these feelings…” He made a face like he had stepped in something gross.

  “And he’s not? I can’t believe that!”

  “He doesn’t know WHAT he wants. I’m not sure he’s ever actually been in a relationship, and I think he doesn’t know if he wants to deal with all that mess in high school. He’s cool in private, but in public, it’s like we barely know each other.”

  “That sounds alarmingly familiar,” I sighed.

  “I know, right? What is it with these men? Are they sharing notes?”

  I almost slipped up before biting back the truth about what had happened with Alex. I wasn’t even sure why I was resisting the urge to tell Treigh about our break-up. He already knew about the fact that I had manifested abilities; he just didn’t know about this one.

  “It’s just so unfair. I know he wants us to be a thing,” Treigh continued, “but he just won’t commit. It’s cruel irony. Usually I’m the one allergic to commitment.”

  “You really like him that much?”

  Treigh sighed, and not with his usual flair. Just genuine heartache. “Yeah, I really do. I wish I knew what the magic words were to get him over whatever is stopping him from being with me.”

  I’d never seen Treigh so sincerely vexed about anyone. “I wish I could help somehow.”

  “Yeah, me too. Will you help me do something pathetic?”

  I arched an eyebrow. “Like what?”

  “Like walk up to the lunchline with me to go buy some random thing, and tell me if he notices me walking by.”

  “That I can do,” I said.

  I fished a dollar out of my pocket to buy some chocolate chip cookies for Treigh and I to share. As we crossed through the cafeteria, I kept a side-eye on the table where Michael sat with a couple of his friends. He definitely took note of Treigh passing by, and he was definitely trying to look like he hadn’t noticed. As we stood in line, Treigh kept his back to Michael so that I could cast sneaky glances toward the table. Each time, I would catch Michael’s surreptitious looks in Treigh’s direction. And yet, as we made our way back past the table, cookies in hand, Michael kept h
is eyes focused on anything but my friend. It was all I could do not to call out an obnoxious greeting.

  When we got back to the bench, Treigh claimed a cookie and demanded a full report.

  “He was definitely checking you out,” I said. “Why didn’t you say hi or anything?”

  “I was trying to see if he would.”

  “This is too complicated,” I complained. “Are you sure he knows YOU’RE interested?”

  “Girl, yes. He knows.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “He’d have to be dead not to notice. I text him on the way to school every day.”

  “Not that I’m an expert on relationships, Treigh, but I can testify that boys can be pretty dense about hints. Maybe you should just ask him out for coffee or something.”

  “I tried that. He said he had to get home and change to go to work.”

  “Oh, well, I guess that’s possible. Did you try for a different day?”

  Treigh gave me a belabored glare. “It’s his turn to ask. I already put it out there.”

  “You’re giving me a migraine. I can’t keep up with all these sneaky dating rules.” The truth was that I couldn’t keep up with any dating rules, apparently. But there was no point feeling sorry for myself about something that was my own fault.

  We had a substitute in drama. It was like a gift from on high. I loved drama class, but I was mentally exhausted. Mr. Adams had left lesson plans, but like most subs, this one had no intention of making us do the assignment, as long as we behaved ourselves. I lay down on the corner of the stage apron and closed my eyes. I’d never been any good at napping, but today felt like I was going to break tradition.

  I am sitting in a canoe on the ocean. The water is like undulating glass; the moon above me is reflected on its surface and creates a brightness that blinds like cool daylight.

  I am not alone. Selene sits with me, at the far end of the small boat, her gaze fixed out to sea.

  The horizon stretches out before us; the shore is in the distance behind us. I look down to discover a pair of oars in my hands.

  ‘Where to?’ I ask her, but she does not answer.

  ‘I’m not sure which way to go,’ I say, and this time she turns to look at me.

  ‘It doesn’t matter to me which way you go,’ she shrugs. ‘I will ride along with you in whichever direction you choose to take.’

  ‘How will I know if I’m going the right way?’

  ‘There are many right ways.’

  ‘That’s not very helpful,’ I pout at her.

  ‘It is not my duty to help you, though sometimes I will.’

  ‘Can’t you give me any advice?”

  ‘Only this: if it harms none, do as you will.’

  ‘Well, of course, I wouldn’t harm anyone on purpose. I didn’t know what I was doing to Alex. Was that harm?’

  She shrugs again. ‘He is not damaged. Are you?’

  I don’t know how to answer that. In the distance, the foghorn blasts forth from the lighthouse.

  I woke with a start as the foghorn in my dream morphed into the dismissal bell. Shaking the cobwebs out of my head and trying to process what I suspected was not completely a dream, I gathered my things and headed for home.

  The goldenrod envelope stood in stark relief on the Adirondack chair. Without opening it, I knew it was a message from the Tower. To my surprise, though, it was from John rather than Claudia.

  Lia,

  I know Claudia can be a bit much, and often comes off as someone with nefarious motives. I would like to give you an opportunity to see first hand what types of things we can accomplish by working together.

  If you are interested, meet me at the place where you and Claudia first spoke. I will be there from 4:00 to 4:30. I don’t have Claudia’s ability to influence you, but I do believe in the good we can do. I hope you will come.

  John

  I wondered if she knew he was meeting me without her. For that matter, I wondered if this was some type of trap. I should have been suspicious, but somehow I felt like his intentions were genuine. I checked my phone for the time. 3:42. That gave me time to consider his offer carefully before meeting him, if that was what I decided to do.

  I took the card inside and up to my room. One thing Aunt Kitty had taught me was the importance of quieting my mind when it came to using the abilities I was learning to control. I lay the note on my bed, set the Moon card next to it, and sat cross-legged in front of them. I practiced the deep-breathing technique I’d learned.

  In my mind, I stood in front of the closet filled with boxes, each skill I’d gained clearly labeled in front of me. I studied them one by one, weighing which ones would serve me the best in this situation. I took down the boxes labeled intuition and influence. I took the lid off of the intuition box. Inside I found a headband with a crescent moon symbol embroidered silver on black velvet. I lifted it out and positioned it carefully on my head.

  Next, I selected a box labeled influence. I cringed at the thought of Alex, but thought it would be very important to have the ability to convince John not to harm me if, by chance, his motives were less than pure. Inside the box was a tube of lip gloss and a pair of binoculars. I painted my lips, then placed the gloss back in the box. I hung the binoculars around my neck. I wasn’t really sure what to do with them, but I felt like their use would become clear if I needed them.

  I was reaching to close the closet door when I heard her voice.

  You’re forgetting something, she whispered. Suddenly, there she was beside me, smiling mysteriously. She stepped toward the closet and pulled out the box labeled illusion. She reached inside and pulled out a pair of sunglasses. You should always have these with you, she advised.

  No disrespect, I said carefully, but do you think you could maybe give me a little useful information here? Is this meeting even a good idea? Should I stay away from these people?

  She shrugged. Your choices are your own, she said. Trust your instincts. Not all steps on the pattern are predetermined. Good or ill can come from any choice.

  That’s unnecessarily cryptic, I complained.

  I’m Mistress of Illusions, she replied simply, patting me on the head as she walked by. Cryptic is what I do best. When I turned to reply, she was gone.

  I opened my eyes and walked over to the mirror. I couldn’t see any of the items I’d taken from my mental closet, but I could feel their weight as though they were physical. I checked the time again. 3:58. With a deep breath, I centered myself and prepared to hear what John had to say.

  Chapter 21

  When I walked into the doughnut shop, I found him sitting at the same table where we’d been before. He was sipping on an iced coffee, and at the empty spot across from him, a chocolate cake doughnut sat waiting for me. He stood as I approached the table.

  “I’m so glad you decided to come,” he smiled. His voice was smooth and cool, like polished stone, but I didn’t detect any hint of manipulation in his words or his tone. He motioned for me to sit in the vacant seat.

  “I was intrigued by the honest approach.”

  “That was my hope.” He directed his gaze to the rather worse-for-wear man in the booth by the main entrance. “Do you see that man? His name is Blake Freeman. He comes here every Thursday at this time.”

  “Okaaayyy…”

  “Mr. Freeman has some, shall we say, chemical problems. He’s addicted to a variety of substances. He has a family. He also has, for the moment at least, a good job at a law firm. He is teetering on the edge of losing all of that. He is mere months away from a binge that will get him fired and endanger his son, which will also cause his wife to leave him.”

  “How do you know this?” I asked.

  “Let us just say that there is another member of the Arcana who has brought Mr. Freeman to our attention. He comes here because there is a church a couple of blocks from here that holds a Narcotics Anonymous meeting at 5:00. He has never gone, but he comes here and gets coffee and thinks about it. He wat
ches one of the sponsors come in every week and buy doughnuts for the meeting. A part of him wants to follow the sponsor out, follow him all the way to the meeting. But he’s afraid.”

  “Afraid of what?” I was intrigued by the story.

  “Failure. Disappointment. Judgement.”

  “What is it you want from me?”

  “I want you to influence him to attend the meeting. Help him find the courage he can’t find in himself.”

  “That’s it?”

  “That’s it.”

  “Why do you care so much about this guy?” I was skeptical. I found it hard to believe that this was pure altruism.

  “Ah, an excellent question. If Mr. Freeman manages to get his life together and keeps his job and his life, he will play an important part in a legal decision that will set a very important environmental precedent. If he loses everything, he won’t be able to do that, and the case may be lost.” I had to give it to John. His candor was very convincing. “You can help him, Lia. And by doing so, you can help his family, and the environment.”

  A man came into the shop with a rumpled plaid dress shirt and khakis. His hair was somewhat wild and disheveled, but his eyes were kind. Freeman’s eyes followed him up to the counter as the man ordered a mixed dozen and dug through his wallet.

  “If you’re going to help him, Lia, you only have about 60 seconds,” John said, and then sat back in his chair, waiting for me to make my choice.

  I wasn’t sure what to do. All I could do was picture his poor man leaving in shame week after week. I closed my eyes.

  In my mind, the doughnut shop began to move in slow motion. The girl at the counter was chatting and laughing with the sponsor as she selected tasty pastries from the case. I raised the binoculars I wore around my neck and studied Blake Freeman. I studied the pain behind his eyes, the shame in his heart. The tiny kernel of hope surrounded by fears and insecurities. I focused on that hope, examined it closer. It took the shape of a locket with a photo of a dark-haired woman holding a laughing, chubby toddler. I looked closer and closer, focusing the binoculars to see the sadness behind the smile, and behind that sadness, I found love, faith, and hope. I concentrated, pulling her light out through the photo, bringing her glow to envelop the locket, making its intensity brighter and brighter until it was nearly blinding.