Dead Moon Awakens: A tale of Cherokee myth and Celtic magic (Mystic Gates) (8 page)

1:10 a.m., April
12
no 13

I can’t go to sleep. I’m worried about two things. One is
my amulet. So much was going on tonight that I didn’t know it had come out from
underneath my shirt. I don’t know if Morri saw it or not. I hid it with my old diary
before she got back. I’m also worried about what will happen when Lance returns.
I don’t want him and Kelile to be mad at each other. I don’t know why Lance
doesn’t want him to go with us. And, I don’t know why Morri got mad at me when
I talked Kelile into waiting on Lance. All I said was that the four of us might
be able to work something out. After he left, she hardly talked to me. We hid
the canoe, and I did an enfolding enchantment to blend it with the bushes. Then
she told me to leave because she had to focus on her “ant” spell. But when she
came back, she still wouldn’t talk. Sometimes I don’t believe she really is my
soul friend. I’ll be so glad when Lance gets back!

April 13, 7:50 a.m.

I think my amulet protects me from bad dreams. Since
I didn’t have it on last night, I had another nightmare.

In this dream, a circle of fire surrounded Ma.
She had her arms open, waiving for me to come thru the fire to her. I was too
scared at first, but in my mind, I kept hearing Ma tell me not to be afraid,
that the fire would protect me. When I got enough courage to walk thru the
flames, I hit an invisible wall. The wall wouldn’t let me move forward. The
harder I tried pushing ahead, the heavier the pressure got. Ma reached out,
grabbing for my hand, then everything went black and I was suffocating. No
matter how hard I struggled to breathe, I couldn’t get any air. I thought I was
going to die.

I woke up and the pressure was gone, but my
pillow was on top of my face. I must have been suffocating myself. Then Morri
scared me when she grabbed the pillow and pulled it off. She said I had woken
her, and she saw me struggling with the pillow. Weird.

Sometimes I wish I could hide in a cave from
everybody! I get so tired of trying to figure everything out—my dreams, what
happened to Ma, why I remember nothing about the fire, whether Mrs. Dawes will
get rid of me before I run away, why Morri acts the way she does, and why Lance
doesn’t want Kelile to go.

11:25 p.m.

I’m so mad at Morri right now I could spit!!! She
confessed to me that she had told Lance it was
me
who didn’t want
Kelile to go with us, and that
I
would snitch on them if he did! No
wonder Lance hasn’t been nice to me. And now, she wants
me
to tell him
that I’m sorry for the way I acted, that I changed my mind, and it’s okay for
Kelile to go with us. How dare her!!!

Oh, this makes me so mad!!! I like Lance. I
don’t want him to think I’m that kind of person. She begged me to do this for
her. She told me she knows soul friends don’t do anything to hurt each other
and that she was sorry she had lied to me. She started crying and said she had had
a vision that if Kelile goes we’ll get caught and then we’ll never be able to
leave this place.

If I don’t lie to Lance, I’ll lose Morri. If I
do, Lance will never like me. And no matter what I do, Kelile won’t like me! I
shouldn’t have to act like a monster to Lance and Kelile! I’m tired of everyone
thinking I’m evil or a monster!!!!!!!

Sunday, April 14

Aishling sat next to Kelile when she went to
breakfast. The note she’d written was folded tightly in her hand. She wanted to
slip it to him when Morrigan wasn’t looking. Though she didn’t feel like eating
anything, she had to stall and wait for Morrigan to finish breakfast and leave.

After a sleepless night, she had thought of a plan
that might keep her friendships with at least Morrigan and Kelile. Two out of
three wasn’t bad, was it?

She ate one small bite at a time, chewing it as
long as possible, thinking about how nice Morri had been that morning after she
had agreed to lie to Lance. Everything had gone back to normal between them.
Now, if she could just get Kelile to go along with her plan, she’d be happy
enough. She hoped.

Even though she sat next to him, he wouldn’t look
at her or talk to her. She assumed he was biding his time until Lance got back
that afternoon. Besides being exhausted, she felt like throwing up. What if he
finished breakfast and left before Morri did?

“I’ll see you back at the room,” Morrigan said,
getting up and taking her plate to the kitchen.

Aishling shoved the note into Kelile’s hand and
frowned at him, mentally telling him not to say anything. He looked surprised,
but seemed to understand. He put the note in his pocket and got up from the
table.

As he was going into the kitchen, Morrigan came
out and stuck her tongue out at him. “Come on, Aish.”

“I’ll be there in a little while.” She took
another bite of food.

When Morrigan left the dining room, Aishling got
up and took her plate into the kitchen where Kelile stood reading her note.

“What’d you want to talk about?” He wadded up the
note, stretched, and leaned backwards against the counter, crossing his arms
over his chest.

“Please listen to me until I finish, because Morri
may come looking for me any moment.” She paused until he nodded. “Lance never
said you couldn’t go. Morri told him that
I
didn’t want you to go, and
that
I
would snitch on them if you did.”

“I know that.” He snickered.

“You knew already?”

“No, I mean I knew voodoo queen was up to
something, and I knew you’d do whatever she wanted.”

“Oh … Kelile, listen. Please do me a favor. I know
you probably don’t feel like I’ve done you any favors, but—”

“Probably?”

“Kelile, Morri wants me to apologize to Lance for
threatening to snitch on them if they took you.”

“What?” He shook his head and covered his ears
with his hands.

“Please listen,” she said, trying to lower his
hands.

“Go ahead.”

“I did want you to go, but she had told me Lance
didn’t.”

“Jeez, this is like a soap opera. Why would I
believe you now? You
did
lie to me, girl. I bet you’re settin’ me up
again.”

“I’m not! Look, things got all messed up. I’m
telling you the truth this time.”

“Uh-huh. Why would you lie for her? And girl, I’m
not lying to Lance to save
her
neck.”

Aishling clasped her hands together and held them
underneath her chin. “Please go along with it. Tell him I came to you and told
you I was sorry, and that I confessed everything, that everything’s okay.”

“Just what in your mind will that accomplish?”

“Lance won’t be mad at her. Morri won’t be mad at
me. You won’t be mad at him. And, hopefully, you won’t be mad at me.”

“Oh, so you’re cool with being the bad girl to
Lance? Uh-huh. Again, I’m gonna ask you, why would you go along with voodoo
queen?”

“You don’t understand, Kelile. She’s the only
friend I’ve had since coming here. No one would talk to me before she came.”

“Girl, you’re twisted. She’s not a real friend.”
He dropped his arms to his side. “I’m your friend, Aishling, I am. I don’t know
why after all that’s happened, but
I’m
your friend.” He shook his head,
pushed away from the counter, and walked out of the kitchen.

When Aishling returned to the bedroom, Morrigan
was sitting at her desk, writing in her diary. She hopped up and closed it. “I
wish there was a way we could keep slave boy from going with us. I know he’ll
ruin everything.”

“Why do you dislike him so much?” she said while
fidgeting with her shirtsleeve.

“Oh, Aish, we’ve already talked about this. If you
want to call me prejudiced, go ahead. I am. He’s black, and I don’t want to go
anywhere with a black guy.”

Morrigan stared past her, then, “After you smooth
everything over with Lance today, we’ll figure out a way to keep slave boy from
coming.”

“No.” Aishling lowered her eyes and looked at the
floor. “I’m not doing anything to keep Kelile,” emphasizing his name, “from
going with us. It’s important to him. He wants to help his mother, and I’m not
stopping him.” She glared at Morrigan straight on. “If you try anything, Morri,
I’ll tell Lance the truth.”

“Oh! Now
you’re
going to blackmail me? Why
are you being mean? I can’t help it if I don’t like him. I’ve never been around
those people before. And, Aish, you’re forgetting my vision. We’ll get caught
if he goes with us. I’ve seen it.”

“Look.” She took a deep breath and sat on the edge
of her bed. “His skin may be a different color, but he’s still a human being.
He stands on the same ground and breathes the same air as we do.” Morrigan
rolled her eyes, but Aishling continued staring at her, determined not to give
in this time.

“Oh, all right. I know you’ve been taught all that
gobbledygook. But, I’m a witch, and I tell you I’ve foreseen it.” Morrigan
huffed. “Swear you won’t tell Lance.”

“If you swear you won’t stop Kelile from coming with
us.”

Immediately after they had argued over Kelile,
Morrigan became belligerent again. In church, she attempted to get Aishling in
trouble by tapping her foot. Aishling knew it was deliberate because Morri kept
looking at her and grinning. Since Aishling was sitting next to the aisle, she
slid her feet out where Preacher Collins could see that she wasn’t doing it.
When he demanded to know who was, Morrigan stopped.

At lunch, Morrigan snapped at her, asking her why
she always took so long to eat. After lunch, at the swings, she insisted
Aishling rehearse over and over what she was going to say to Lance.

When they went back to Weaver House to wait out
front for him, Aishling hunched over in exhaustion, wanting to crawl in bed and
sleep for days. She idly watched Morrigan pace back and forth, back and forth,
back and forth. Though scared about what would happen next, she was relieved
when Lance’s ride pulled up. Even so, her heart rate did backflips when he got
out of the car; and when Kelile approached, she had to swallow back her lunch.

Once Lance said goodbye to his potential new
family, Morrigan latched on to his arm, pulling him close, and whispered
something. While listening to her, he looked at Kelile, then focused on
Aishling and frowned. “Let me put my things up first. I’ll meet you at the
river.”

As she forced herself to smile, Aishling attempted
to make eye contact with him; but he wouldn’t look at her. She searched
Kelile’s face next, trying to get a clue whether he was going to play along
with her. His expression remained blank. Every muscle in her body tensed.

“Go ahead …
Kelile
.” Morrigan glanced at
Aishling, smiling. “We’ll be right behind you.”

She couldn’t think what to say or do, so she
walked with Morrigan in silence. After reaching the river, Kelile stood stiff,
staring at the ground. Morrigan paced, while Aishling sank to the ground.

As Lance approached, Kelile and Morrigan sat on
either side of her.

“What’s going on?” he said.

“Sit down, man. We need to talk,” Kelile answered.

“Morrigan said you caught them with my canoe.”

“Yeah, man.” Kelile pointed at Aishling and
Morrigan. “Them two told me you didn’t want me to come with you. But this
morning, Aishling told me she’d been blackmailing you, and she begged for my
forgiveness.” He shrugged. “I have to say, though—” nodding his head at her “—I
don’t believe
she
would do that.”

Glimpsing sideways, she saw Morrigan glower at
her, so she blurted, “I’m so sorry, Lance. I did tell Morri I’d snitch on
you-uns if you took him. Please forgive me.” She didn’t have to fake her tears.

“Oh?” Morrigan said. “You mean you won’t turn us
in? Isn’t that wonderful, Lance?”

Aishling sank further to the ground.

“Wait a minute, prissy queen,” Kelile said.
“You’re the one always making fun of me and tryin’ to get rid of me. Are you
sure it was
her
who didn’t want me to go?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about … Kelile.”
Morrigan smiled. “At least I haven’t pretended to like you the way she has.”

“What? I do like him. I do like you, Kelile. I’m
sorry about what I did. Can you please just forgive me and let’s move on?”
Tears streamed down her face.

“Okay, Aishling.” Lance leaned forward and touched
her hand. “Don’t cry. I believe you’re sorry. I think Kelile does too.”

“Yeah, I believe
you
, girl. We’re friends.
All’s good.” He grabbed her left hand, formed it into a fist, and tapped it
with his fist. As she wiped her tears, he said to Lance, “Now, what are the
plans?”

“We’re leaving here as soon as we can. Morrigan
and Aishling hid my canoe so I wouldn’t know where it was.” Looking at
Morrigan, he said, “You did hide it where no one could find it.”

“Yes.”

Kelile smirked. “Are you sure you two hid it
better after I left?”

“Of course, sla—Kelile,” Morrigan answered,
smiling again.

“I’m going to report it missing tomorrow.” Lance
glanced over at the storage building. “It doesn’t look like it’s been broken
into, though.”

“Oh, I thought of that, Lance,” Morrigan said,
then pointed. “We made it look like the window on the other side had been pried
open from the outside.”

A tingling sensation moved up Aishling’s neck and
into her cheeks.
That was my idea.

“Good. The Jamesons want me to visit again on the
26th. I’ll have to stay with them that weekend, and I’ll be back about this
time on the 28th. I’ve already looked at the calendar. It’ll be a full moon
that night. We’ll leave as soon as we can after curfew. We need to meet after
school the next few days—maybe after curfew—to plan everything. I’ll get a
message to you, Morrigan. Are you okay with this, Kelile?”

“Yeah, man.”

Lance looked at Aishling. “You swear you’re not
going to snitch on us?” He raised his eyebrows.

Her heart leaped. Tears bubbled in her eyes again.
She gulped and tried smiling. “I swear.” She crossed her heart with her left
index finger.

“Great.” He smiled at Morrigan. “Thanks for
working everything out.”

Aishling jumped up, unable to take any more. “I’ve
got to go,” she said, and ran away.