Dead Moon Awakens: A tale of Cherokee myth and Celtic magic (Mystic Gates) (4 page)

March 16

I think Morri’s jealous when I talk to Kelile. I
don’t know why. Anyway, he was upset today. After lunch, he told me he needed
to talk to me, alone. That’s when she got mad and stomped off.

He said he had called home and his little
sister answered the phone. She was crying and told him that her daddy had hit
mommy. He is so mad. He thinks his mother’s in danger and he wants to run away
now. I told him I couldn’t leave yet, that there’s something I had to do first.
I don’t want to leave until I get my things back. Besides, Morri’s
insisting
I get my things first. She said something about a Suti Stone, that I might have
it. I told her I doubt it. But she’s going to help me get my things back. If
anyone can do it, she can. And I want her to come with me when I run away.
Anyway, I told Kelile he didn’t have to wait on me. He just shook his head and
walked away. I’m sorry, Kelile. I hope your mother is okay.

When I found Morri later, she said she was sorry
but she had been excited and wanted to tell me something. She wants me to
become her soul friend on Ostara this coming Thursday. I can’t believe it. I’m
so happy she likes me that much.

March 17

I had nightmares last night. I remember all of
them, too. It seems I have no trouble remembering my dreams now. Anyway, I
thought I was going to die in my sleep. First, I was looking in a mirror and I
saw this shadowlike woman in black robes hovering around me. I heard her
chanting, I think in Gaelic. I couldn’t understand her, but I could tell she
wanted to hurt me. I could even smell the evil, like rotted vomit. Though her body
looked like a dark shadow, her eyes stood out because they were blood red. Then
I heard heavy breathing. When I stared in the mirror, I realized it was me
because the shadow-woman was suffocating me.

Then I found myself buried in dirt up to my
neck, being crushed to death. I could still see those eyes. I heard laughing,
and I knew she was going to rip my head to shreds.

Then I was under a canoe that had turned over and
trapped me underwater, my feet felt like they were weighed down. I knew I would
drown. But this time, I heard a soft voice saying, “Breathe. Breathe through
your fear. Breathe through your grief. Breathe through the water.” I did,
hoping it would stop the nightmare. It did.

Monday, March 18

After classes, Morrigan stood on the dock by the
storage building with her hands on her hips, a stern look on her face. “Okay,
now, repeat it back to me.”

“Why are you looking like that?” Aishling rolled
her eyes and grinned.

“I’m in character, remember? I’m Mrs. Dawes. Now,
what do you say next?”

“But you’re not Mrs. Dawes, and you look funny.”

“Come on, this is important. We’ve got to get your
stuff back. We talked about it. Your amulet could have the Suti Stone in it.”

“You keep talking about that stone. I don’t know
what it is or what it looks like.” Aishling sat on the dock. “Since I don’t
know what it is, it probably isn’t in my amulet.”

“But what if it is? I’ve told you, it’s a very magical
stone. Like I said before, that stone is so powerful that the one who controls
it could predict the future, see into the past, reign over other realms. And,” she
hesitated, “I haven’t told you this before, but it could be used to bring
people back from the dead.”

“What? But what makes you think it’s in my
amulet?”

Morrigan sat next to her and picked up a piece of
bark. “My mother told me that the last place anyone had seen the stone was in
the Snowbird Mountains. You’re from that area.” She broke off pieces of the
bark. “She said it could only be handled by a Celtic healer with special
powers. Your mother fits the description. Just think, Aish, we could get our
mothers back!”

“Wouldn’t I know if I had this stone? Ma would
have told me if it was so special.”

“Look, I know you have it. I had a vision. I have
to get it. I know it’s in your amulet or with your other things. Is your
mother’s
grimoire
or any other old book with your stuff?”

“You asked me that before. I don’t know. And wouldn’t
Ma keep it with her? What about your mother’s
grimoire
? Couldn’t it lead
us to the Suti Stone?”

Morrigan threw down the pieces of bark. “It burned
up in the car accident.”

Not wanting to bring up any more bad memories,
Aishling stood and stretched. “Okay. Let’s act it out.”

“Yes.” Morrigan bounced up, placing her hands back
on her hips. “Okay, Ms. O’Brian, what is it you want to ask me?”

Thursday, March 21 (Ostara)

“I added three white candles and a lighter to the
bag,” Morrigan whispered before crawling out their bedroom window after curfew.
Tonight, they would do the soul friend ceremony.

“How did you get all that?” Aishling handed
Morrigan the bag that also contained their soul friend gifts and the items she
had smuggled from the kitchen—three plastic cups and grape juice. She crawled
through the window next, stopped midway, and backed up, whispering, “I forgot
the blanket.”

A waxing moon didn’t provide enough light. With
only one flashlight between them, they stumbled through the grounds until they reached
the hawthorn tree by the river. Aishling laid the blanket on a clear patch of
dirt underneath the tree, and Morrigan set out the items from the bag on top of
it.

“Okay, what do we do now?” Aishling asked.

“We need to draw a circle around us. I wish I had
an
athame
.” Morrigan used the blunt end of the flashlight and inscribed
a circle in the dirt surrounding their blanket. Next, she poured grape juice
into two of the plastic cups. “We each sip some of the grape juice in our own
cup, then we pour what’s left into this cup.” She held up the third cup.

An owl hooted close by. They flinched, and then
giggled.

“
No, no, no, no
…”

“What?” Aishling asked.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“Oh.” Aishling breathed in the smell of dirt
churned up by the flashlight. Clearing her throat first, she drank some juice
from her cup as Morrigan did the same. One by one, they poured the rest of
their juice into the third cup.

“Now, we state our intentions to each other,”
Morrigan said. “I’ll go first. Aishling Bran O’Brian, I, Morrigan Shae
MacAuley, am your true friend. I am your soul friend. I will be your friend for
life. I am your sister and your protector. I will teach you all I know. You can
depend on me through thick or thin. I will never betray you, hurt you, or take
advantage of you. So mote it be.” She nodded to Aishling. “Your turn.”

“
No, no, no
…”

“What?”

“I said it’s your turn,” Morrigan answered.
“What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing.” Aishling looked up into the branches of
the hawthorn tree.

“Come on, Aish.”

She listened again, but all was quiet. “Okay.
Morrigan Shae MacAuley, I, Aishling Bran O’Brian, am your true, soul friend for
life. You can always depend on me to help you, and be there for you through
thick or thin. I am your sister, your protector. I will teach you all I know. I
will never hurt you, desert you, or betray you. So mote it be.”

“Now, we both drink from this third cup.” Morrigan
drank first and passed the cup to her. While she drank, Morrigan lit a candle.
“You light a candle too.”

After both candles were lit, Morrigan lifted the
unlit one, saying, “This third candle represents the spirit of our joined
friendship. When it is lit by both our candles, its glow will show the world
and all the other realms we are on the same journey and will support each other
throughout this journey. We both should light it at the same time using our own
candle. We’ll say together: By this candle I am bound to you as your soul
friend, your
anamchara
.” They moved in unison lighting the third candle,
repeating their pledge, and extinguishing the other two candles.

Morrigan held up the third candle again and said,
“Repeat these words exactly as I say them. This will complete our pledge to
each other. Ready?” Aishling nodded. “All my wisdom and all my secrets I will
share with you.”

“
No, no, no
…”

Aishling stopped breathing and listened intently.

Morrigan stared at her. “Aish!”

“All my wisdom and all my secrets I will share
with you.”

“For as long as I live, until we meet in the next
life. So mote it be.”

“For as long as I live, until we meet in the next
life. So mote it be.”

Morrigan blew out the last candle. “We did it. You
are my raven, just as the Morrigan of old had her raven
familiar
.”

Although she hugged Morri, something didn’t feel
right. Maybe it was Morri’s last statement. Or maybe it was the whispers she
had heard from the hawthorn tree. But her uneasiness fleeted, replaced by
happiness at the realization she now had a soul friend and sister by heart.
“So,
anamchara
means soul friend?”

“Yes. Now, we give each other our gifts. Me
first.” Morrigan picked up a gift and handed it to Aishling. “I know you’ll
like it.”

Smiling, she carefully removed the brown wrapping
paper. “Oh, it looks like your diary.”

“It just looks like it, but it’s a new one for
you.”

“How did you manage to get it?”

“Open it up to the first page.”

When Aishling did, she shined the flashlight on it
and frowned. A maze covered the page. “What does it mean?”

“Don’t worry. It’s just a maze spell. It won’t
hurt anyone.” Morrigan smiled. “If someone other than you or I pick it up, the
diary will open to the maze. No matter how much someone wants to turn the page,
they won’t be able to. Their eyes will be captured by the maze. You and I are
the only ones who can release anyone from the spell. See, it won’t hurt anyone.
But, you’ll always know who has tried to read it. Wasn’t that clever of me?”
Morrigan tapped her hands together.

I don’t know.
Aishling had seen a maze
spell once on the front of her grandmother’s
grimoire
. Her mother had
warned her never to stare at it. In fact, her mother had been so concerned, she
had glued a thick piece of purple cloth on top of the maze. “Are you sure it
won’t hurt anyone?”

“Positive. I’m the one who did the spell, silly.”

“How do you know how to do these things, Morri?”

“My mother taught me a lot after I had my
Naming
Ceremony
. Didn’t your mother teach you more after yours?”

“I never had it because of the fire. We were
planning it for the next
Twelfth Night
, but she disappeared …”

“It doesn’t matter. Remember our pledge to teach each
other what we know? I have a lot I can teach you.”

Aishling nodded and picked up her gift for
Morrigan. “Well, I made this for you. At least I remembered how to do
something.”

Morrigan ripped off the paper. “A
knot charm
bracelet
. What charms did you tie into it?”

“Love, protection, friendship, joy, and healing.”

Morrigan stared at the bracelet, then, “Thank you,
my raven.”

Friday, March 22

“Good afternoon, Aishling. My, you look happy
today,” said Mrs. Dawes.

“Thank you.”

“I’ve some good news for you. The couple I told
you about before will be here a week from tomorrow.” She smiled and nodded.
“They thought they would meet you first then take you to lunch.”

“Oh.” She had forgotten. “I don’t know if I’m
ready, Mrs. Dawes.”

“I think you will be. You’re looking much better
these days. I’m pleased with how you’ve opened up and made a new friend. Even
your demeanor has improved over the last couple of weeks. You’ll be fine.”

“Oh.” Before saying anything else, she mentally ticked
off Morri’s directions—
Talk politely, smile, and make her think she’s
wonderful. She’ll give you a lot more information that way. Also, take control
of the conversation
.

“Mrs. Dawes, since you think I’m doing so well, I
wanted to ask you a few questions.”

“What did you want to ask?” She clasped her hands
on top of her desk.

“Well, first I wanted to tell you I’ve stopped
blaming everyone for what happened. I realize how much you’ve done for me.
Thank you for being so patient.” What was her next line? “Also, I understand
how hard you’ve worked to find a home for me. I know you want to help me get
adopted.”

“I’m glad to hear it. So, what are your
questions?”

Aishling cleared her throat several times and
faked a cough. How was she supposed to start?

“Child, what did you want to ask?”

“I wondered about my home. I didn’t see it after
the fire. Did it burn down?”

“No, if I remember the report correctly. Why?”

“Well, does that mean it still belongs to me?”

“Oh, I see. Yes. But, it is in trust with the
State of North Carolina.”

“Does that mean the state also controls my
belongings, anything that was left or anything I brought here with me?”

Mrs. Dawes scrunched up her eyes. “The state is in
control, yes. Why?”

“Since I might be going somewhere else soon, I
wanted to go through my personal stuff.”

“Just what do you think the state has that belongs
to you?”

“Pictures, books, letters, stuff like that.”

“Anything that survived the fire will be in
safe-keeping until you’re of age.”

Tensing, Aishling grabbed the seat of her chair.
“What about the stuff you took from me when I came here? Since you have that
here, I’d like to look at it. Isn’t that my right?” Sitting up straight, she
willed herself to stay calm and in control. She had practiced this again and
again with Morri.

“I have told you before, we’re concerned about
giving those items to you. There are things your mother was involved in that
might not be good for you to delve into.”

Prying a smile on her face first, Aishling then
said, “But, those are
my
things.”

She held her breath as Mrs. Dawes picked up a
pencil and fiddled with it. “Aishling, I’m afraid I cannot give you those items
yet. This would be a big step. I want to make sure first that you are ready for
it.”

Trying to restrain the jitters taking control of
her body, she mentally repeated the other things Morri had said—
Remember, if
she doesn’t agree with you, stay calm and control her. Tell her that legally
she cannot keep those things from you.

She forced herself to speak calmly. “Mrs. Dawes,
it is my legal right to have possession of my own things.”

“And, it is my legal responsibility to look out
for your welfare. As I have told you before, we want to make sure you are
mentally fit first. I would need to discuss this with Preacher Collins. Even
then, there will be things you don’t need to see, at least until you reach
maturity.”

She began pinching her right wrist. “Why? Why do
you need to ask the preacher? I want my things, now!”

“See, this is exactly why I know you’re not
ready.” Mrs. Dawes pushed her glasses up and cleared her throat. “No. If you—”

“I’ll report you to the state.” She gripped the
edge of the desk.

“You may do so if you like, but it will not do you
any good.”

“I want my things!”

“No.”

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