Moonlight Calls (Demon's Call Series Book 1) (3 page)

 I wasn’t nearly
quick enough.  The dog hit me square in the chest with his massive front paws,
following me down as I collapsed flat on my back.  I felt his teeth on my
throat and froze.  I would love to say my life flashed before my eyes, but all
I had time for was a thoroughly heart-felt and succinct “
fuck!”

I caught my
breath.  I realized that I was sobbing and somehow managed to control myself. 
The dog was still at my throat, but unmoving.  I cautiously opened one eye and
peeked at him.  He stopped growling and peered over my shoulder at something
lying on the ground. My throat was still
in
his gigantic mouth.  I could
feel a long strand of saliva growing cold as it ran down my neck.

 Suddenly, all
of the coiled tension seemed to disappear from the dog.  He smoothly released
my neck and transferred his weight off his front paws-and my lungs- and onto
his back legs, so that he ended sitting between my feet.  I sat up, realizing
belatedly that the move only served to put my nose in his face.  I froze for a
second, staring into those odd green eyes. There seemed to be an almost human
intelligence behind that gaze.  And were they glowing again?  I closed my eyes,
telling myself to get a grip.

 I almost jumped
out of my skin when the dog leaned forward and licked the tip of my nose.  My
eyes sprang open and I found him watching me with a stupid, friendly expression
on his doggy face, his ears cocked forward with curiosity.  As if he hadn’t
just mauled me.

I shook my head
in disbelief.  The horse-sized dog chose that opportune moment to stuff his
nose in my chest and make a snorting noise that brought me out of my trance. 
“Honestly,” I said shakily, “not on the first date.”

I batted him
away and got to my feet.  He limped up to my side and I glared at him
suspiciously.  Funny how that limp disappeared when he was trying to eat me. 
He slurped the palm of my hand in a good imitation of the big dumb dog he once
again appeared to be.

“Get lost.”  I
said in annoyance.  “I don’t have any food for you today, and I’ve decided I
don’t want a dog anymore.  I think I’ll get a nice, tame goldfish.”

 I dusted off my
butt as the dog loped away into the trees.  A lovely rust colored stain appeared
on the front of my pants when I wiped my hands on them.  I looked down at the
palm the dog had licked, finding a nice bloody scrape, no doubt from scooting
around on the ground.  Well, now it had dog spit in it. 
Awesome.

 It wasn’t until
I turned around to go inside that I noticed something on the ground.  I stooped
to pick up the tube of silver ointment that I had dropped when I’d flung myself
backwards on the ground. 
Freaking crazy-ass mutt.
 

I shuffled back
inside and headed for the bathroom to disinfect the scrape on my hand and grab
some Tylenol for the throbbing headache that was building behind my eyes.  At
this oh-so-wonderful moment, the doorbell rang. I’d forgotten all about my
would-be roommate.  I glanced out the front window, surprised to see a beat up
old VW bug sitting in my driveway.  So much for my rich old lady idea.  Maybe
she would still love cleaning.

I glanced at
myself in the mirror and started.  My nice, crisp button down shirt was
wrinkled and I was pretty sure that spot on the front was dog blood.  My brown
curls had partially escaped the ponytail that was supposed to be subdued and
elegant.  Instead, my hair was an unruly mess of fuzz only a witch could envy. 
I turned awkwardly and surveyed my generous rear end, noting the lovely brown
and green stains from scooting around in the grass on my butt.  There was no
time to change now.  I smoothed out my hair the best I could, wrangling it into
a knot at the nape of my neck.  A few shorter strands floated away to curl
dementedly around my ears and temple.  I made a face at myself in the mirror
before rushing to the door, stumbling as I opened it.

 There, on the
front step, waited a tall, slender young woman dressed in a bright yellow
sundress and strappy sandals.  The innocent, girly dress was challenged by the
edgy cut of her bright red hair.  It was stick straight and cut at an angle,
the front strands reaching down nearly to her breast, while the back just
bumped her shoulders.  My gaze lit on her fiery red hair and my first thought
was that she looked like the stereotypical naughty “girl next door” that men dreamt
about.  I stood there in my grass stains and dog spit, feeling like a toad.

“Hello.”  She
extended a pale, slender hand.  “You must be Mya? I’m Ailis.”

As I met her smiling
eyes, I caught a flash of silver in their gray-blue depths.  It reminded me of
the woman in the grocery store parking lot.  Her aura started to creep into
existence, but I firmly blinked it away.  She didn’t seem put off by my idiotic
staring and blinking.  Instead, her smile grew.  The expression bothered me. 
For some reason, I really didn’t want to take her hand.  Fear slithered over
me. 
Damn it. 
This was not the time for another panic attack.

 I chided myself
for being afraid of the slender ray of sunshine standing on my porch.  Fighting
my instincts, I took her proffered hand.  The feeling of fear didn’t subside. 
Instead it shifted to something more pleasant- like the feeling you get when
you reach the top of a rollercoaster.  You’re so scared you almost wet
yourself, but you
like
it.  Feeling foolish, I released her hand and
stepped back, gesturing for her to enter.

“I’m Mya.  Come
on in and take a look around.”  I plastered a smile on my face, afraid I was
well on my way to losing my mind.  As I showed her around the house, I could
feel Ailis unobtrusively sneaking glances at me, no doubt wondering at my
disheveled appearance. 

 “I’m not
usually such a mess- or at least not as much of a mess.  I just had a bit of an
argument with a very large stray dog...”  I trailed off, not wanting to
babble. 

Her dove gray
eyes widened.  “I just love dogs,” she said with a sly grin.  “But you should
be careful of strays.  They can be dangerous.” 

I finished the
tour of the house, showing her the expansive kitchen and dining area, the tiny
living room with its scuffed, but glowing, hardwood floors and mismatched
yard-sale furniture, and the two large bedrooms, each with their own bathroom. 
I saved the back patio and the view for last.  As we stood on the patio, Ailis
turned to look back at the house, furrowing her perfect brow.

“Well,” she said
slowly.  “I understand the rent now.”  Turning back to the view of the woods,
she smiled sweetly.  “But this definitely makes up for it.”

I compressed my
lips as I considered what my old house looked like to a stranger.  “Maybe we
can do some sprucing up once you move in.”

She nodded. 
“Sure, it’s really not that bad.  There’s tons of potential here, and I’m not
afraid to get my hands dirty.”  I nodded.  I couldn’t help smiling in return. 
It was impossible not to when she turned her sunny expression toward me.

“I really need
to move out of my old place as soon as possible,” she said with a grimace.  “My
landlord is a monster.”  Have I mentioned I’m a sucker for strays?

 I handed her
the lease and offered to help her move.

I made my way
into the spare bedroom and hefted the last box onto the top of the huge pile,
puffing idly at a stray curl that had escaped my ponytail and was now glued to
my forehead.  It was hot as hell, and the humidity was horrendous.  I heard
Ailis come in the front door, kicking it closed while she balanced the last of
her boxes.  They were large, but she carried them with ease. She came into the
room and I helped her to deposit the boxes on the pile.  I grunted, surprised
at how heavy they were.  Maybe I should renew my gym membership, now that my
finances wouldn’t be stretched so tight.

“You are never
going to get this all unpacked,” I commented wryly.

She just
grinned.  “Not by myself, anyway.” 

I sent an
envious glance her way.  The heat didn’t seem to be affecting her at all.  She
hadn’t even broken a sweat while carting all the boxes off the moving truck. 
She took feminine to the next level, always appearing polished and perfect. 
Everything that she wore, right down to the shorts and halter-top she had on
today, looked as if it had been tailor made to cling to her willowy body.  She
pushed back the giant sunglasses she was wearing and batted her eyelashes at me
comically.

“If you expect
me to help with
that
there had better be something in it for me,” I said
tiredly.  “Maybe dinner.”  To say I can’t cook is an understatement.  It was a
wonder I’d been able to survive these last few months by myself.

She laughed and
flitted away to the kitchen.  “Actually, you lucked out in that department. I
love to cook.”

It was good to
know that there was more to her than all that polish and a pretty face.  I
don’t think I could’ve survived a roommate who was an airhead.  I already felt
like we had been friends for years, instead of a few days.  I took a deep
breath and fought the part of me that was utterly horrified that I was
beginning to trust someone new.  I didn’t have a good track record in that
arena.  In fact, aside from Amanda, I didn’t do the whole friend…thing.

She offered me a
cold bottle of water, and we headed into the living room.  I flopped
full-length onto my ratty yard-sale couch.  We had turned on the TV for
background noise while we worked, but now the news was on.  Mr. Happy the
newscaster was reporting on the missing boy again.  Turns out they’d found his
bloodless body the night before.  I stretched to get the remote off the coffee
table without sitting up.  I hastily hit the power button before I could hear
all the grisly details about the cult they thought was behind the murder, and
their allegedly sacrificing children.  It’s scary how many people out there are
absolutely insane.  If we ever really took time to think about the world we
live in too closely, we’d all go crazy.

The TV went
quiet and I sighed in relief.  I closed my eyes and tilted my face back to
catch more of the heavenly breeze from the ceiling fan.  A bead of sweat ran
down my neck and the breeze turned it cold.  I shivered, lifting the corner of
my old t-shirt to dab at my neck.  A few minutes later, I opened my eyes to
find Ailis staring at me.  Her aura was a soft blue haze around her body.  When
she caught me looking at her, her eyes darted away to scan the collage of
family pictures lining the living room wall.  A rash of goose bumps washed over
my body.  What was it about her?

“Is that your
mother?”  She asked, startling me out of my thoughts.  I blinked rapidly and
followed her glance.  She stood by the wall of photos, gazing intently at a
picture of my mother when she was about my age, in her mid-twenties or so.  The
picture showed her leaning against a flower-covered rock wall, holding a chubby
toddler with a mop of light brown curls.  My mother’s beautiful face was haloed
in sunshine and she was laughing into the camera, her stunning blue eyes
crinkled at the corners as if she knew a secret.  I loved and hated that
picture. It was beautiful, but it always reminded me how unexpectedly life can
change.

“Yeah,” I said
softly.  “That’s one of the few good pictures I have of her. She died when I
was a little girl.”

“I’m so sorry,”
Ailis said quietly.  Her pretty voice held an emotion that I couldn’t place
right away.  Maybe she felt guilty for bringing it up.

“And that’s your
father in that one?”  Ailis asked softly, pointing to a picture of my very
pregnant mother standing by a lake somewhere next to a handsome, burly young
man with brown eyes and dark blond hair.  His arm was draped about her
shoulders as he poked teasingly at her giant mid-section.

“Yeah,” I
sighed, “that’s him.”  I only kept the picture because my mother looked so
happy.  I just couldn’t quite bring myself to cut him out of it.

Ailis studied
the pictures for a moment.  “Your Mother was beautiful,” she said with a soft
smile.  You look a lot like her,” she paused to glance my way.  “It’s the eyes,
I think.  Your Dad’s quite the looker too.”

I studied the
old picture for a few moments.  I certainly didn’t resemble the blocky, rugged
man in the picture.  I seriously hoped that I hadn’t inherited one single thing
from him.

“Can I ask what
happened to your parents?” Ailis asked intently.  I was a bit startled by her
question, but I saw no reason not to answer.

“My mom… she
died in a car accident.”  I studied the images as I had a hundred times
before.  I was always surprised by the happiness portrayed in the pictures,
happiness that I couldn’t even remember.  “My dad left me at a Catholic girl’s
home.”  Apparently, he just couldn’t deal with life without his wife.

It was a long
time ago, and I didn’t remember my parents, not really- not their personalities
or their voices- just the pretty people in the photos. 

“I’m sorry,”
Ailis said again.

I shrugged. 
“Don’t worry about it.  It was a long time ago.  I mostly don’t even remember them. 
I spent some time at the orphanage, but I eventually landed with a foster
mother, and I was lucky enough to stay with her until I was old enough to be
out on my own.”  I gestured at picture of an older lady with white hair and a
gentle, mischievous smile.