The Rising Moon (13 page)

When Emi completed chanting, two young girls, maybe nine or ten years old, carrying a basket filled with black roses made their way through the crowd and handed everyone a rose. Emi was the first one to place her rose over the casket, followed by her brothers. I was reluctant to walk alone, so I joined Lyle when he too walked up to the casket. I felt a burning sting on the back of my head as I walked past Emi.

“
What is she doing here?” she asked Lyle.

“
She’s with me.” He hissed, giving my hand a gentle squeeze.

After the burial, everyone proceeded to the nearby garden for an outside reception. The funeral reception was not like any I have ever attended before. It was as grand as a wedding with waiters handing out drinks on fancy silver trays. Twinkling lights created a magical canopy over the entire garden. The four-tier stone fountain that stood in the middle of the garden was filled with floating candles, and a pianist played softly as the guests continued to make their way inside. Lyle walked me over to meet his brothers.

“
This is Angelia Lafosse,” he said as he placed his arm around my waist, “These are my brothers, Connal, Gregory, Caleb, Edmund and Rafael.”

“
I’m sorry for your loss.” I said, “I’m also sorry we had to meet under such circumstances.”

“
Don’t feel sorry. Our grandmother is home now. Where she will no longer feel pain but joy to be with our ancestors,” said Connal, the second eldest of the Ulric brothers.

They were all very handsome and very different. Fenix, was the tallest. Connal was the most muscular of the bunch and the shortest, Gregory had blue sparkling eyes that reminded me of the spring sky, Edmund was quiet and shy, and Rafael looked a lot like Lyle. They could’ve been twins, except he had shorter hair and a heavy scar on the side of his face. Emi saw us and quickly made her way through the crowd. She stood between Lyle and me, and the other five brothers.

“
How dare you have the nerve to come to my grandmother’s funeral.” She said gnashing her teeth and stepping up to my face.

“
Watch yourself, Emi.” Lyle warned.

She turned to face her brothers. “You see this girl?” she asked pointing her long finger at me, “She’s the reason grandma died. Grandma was too weak to fight our enemy so she died in order to pass her powers unto me. And she dares to show up for her funeral?”

Like a wave, I saw their expressions turn from pleased to meet me to wanting me dead. My legs became liquid. I held on to Lyle’s arm to keep from falling.

“
I’m warning you Emi,” Lyle said.

“
Whose side are you on?” she asked him. “Don’t be a fool, brother. She’s already met Adam and it won’t be long till she tosses you aside like that bitch Zaria did with our great uncle.”

Lyle ignored her and looked at his brothers, his lips curled with anger. “I’m warning all of you to stay away from her.” He grabbed my arm and led me out of the reception.

“
What’s going on, Lyle?” I asked as I tried to loosen myself from his tight grip.

“
I’m taking you home.” He snapped.

“
You’re scaring me,” I said finally free.

He stopped and looked me in the eye, “I’m sorry.” His dark brows drew together, “I need you to trust me. I swear I would never do anything to hurt you. I love you.”

The last three words he said surprised me. I wasn’t sure if I felt the same way about him. I did care for him deeply, but love him? I wasn’t sure. His eyes looked sad, as though he read my mind.

“
Whether or not you love me, I’ll always be yours.” He placed my hand on to his lips and softly kissed my knuckles, “now and always.”

A black bird flew up in front of us, skinning our heads. Lyle hissed at the bird. It winged through the woods ahead as we walked along the dirt road.

“
Let’s get you home,” he said, wrapping his arms across my shoulders.

As we continued to walk, I thought back to the vision I had earlier in the day of a bird, a black wolf, and the pool of blood. I wondered if it was really a sign or if I was just jumpy.

“
Would you like to come in?” I said when we arrived at the cabin.

“
I would love to but there’s some unfinished business I need to take care of.”

“
Oh,” I said disappointed.

He didn’t look well. His face was pale and sweat rolled down the side of his face. I cupped his face in my hands. It felt hot. His body trembled. I wasn’t sure if it was because of the weather, or because of the full moon.

“
Are you sure you don’t want to come in?” I asked.

He pulled away from my touch.

“
I really must go.” He turned and quickly disappeared, into the woods.

∞
CHAPTER 18 ∞

I FELT THE VIBRATION of the cell phone in my bag. Ryan had been calling me all night. I had six missed calls and five text messages from him. I opened the door and silently made my way into my room, trying not to wake John who was sleeping on the couch.

I called Ryan. I wanted to let him know that I was fine and still breathing before he continued to blow up my phone.

He answered on the first ring. “Lia?”

“
Yes, it’s me and no I’m not calling you from beyond the grave.” I said with a smile.

“
Ha, ha, ha,” he replied sarcastically. “I’ve been calling you all night. Why didn’t you pick up? You had me worried about you. I swear I was just about to heard over there right now.”

“
Relax. I’m fine. I didn’t hear the phone because I silenced it.”

“
Why would you do that?”

“
Because I went to Ramira’s funeral.” I bit my lip and waited for what came next.

“
What? Are you crazy?” He shouted into my ear.

I rolled my eyes, “Nothing happened. It was a funeral for crying out loud. What did you think would happen? And besides, I was with Lyle.”

“
Did Emi threaten you again?”

“
No. We didn’t even talk.” I hoped he didn’t read through my lie.

“
So tell me. How was the witch’s funeral?”

I thought back to the two women dressed in black cloaks and Emi chanting a spell that brought back the spirits of their ancestors with the night fog.

“
It was---different. But you should know, weren’t you there?”

“
No,” he quickly replied.

“
But, I thought I saw a black bird tonight. It hovered around Lyle and I all night. It even followed us home.”

“
It wasn’t me. Didn’t you ask me not to follow you home today? Well I listened, although, now I regret it. I can’t believe you would put yourself in harm’s way after Emi warned you to stay away from her family.”

“
I didn’t tell you because I knew you would react like this.”

I heard him take in a deep breath as if he wanted to say something, but changed his mind. “So, besides going on a suicide mission tonight, you’re fine, right?” he asked.

“
Yes.”

“
Would you like me to come over? You know I can be there in five minutes,” he insisted.

“
No. You don’t have to come and check up on me. I’m fine, really. I’m exhausted and need to get some sleep. But if you like, we can meet tomorrow morning at Centennial Park around ten o’clock and I’ll tell you all about the funeral.”

“
Ok,” he replied. “Goodnight.”

“
Goodnight,” I yawned and ended our call.

I set the alarm clock nine o’clock, placed my cell under my pillow, and crawled under the covers.

I felt a long pinch on my left ankle. I quickly removed the blanket to examine my foot when I saw seven small spiders scatter about on the edge of the bed. They scurried to the floor and as if out of a sci-fi movie, the spiders morphed into a large brown hairy spider before making its way to the dark corner of the room.

I tried to shake my leg, but I couldn’t. My leg felt numb. The numbness rapidly crept up my entire body. I fell back unto the bed, paralyzed as the spider’s venom consumed me. I shouted for help, but the sound never went past my lips. My mouth was heavy. My shouts were silent. I realized I was in trouble.

I looked to the corner of the room, to where the spider disappeared to and from the corner of my eye, I saw a figure emerge from the darkened shadow. My eyes popped wide when I realized it was Emi.

“
Look at you,” she said as she walked over to me, “you’re so pathetic. I seriously don’t know what my brother sees in you. When I look at you all I see is a weird-eyed bitch! And I mean that literally.” She laughed a wicked laugh. “I warned you to stay away from my family and you didn’t listen. And now that my brother isn’t here to protect you, I’m going to teach you a lesson and show you that when I say, ‘stay the hell away from my family’--- I mean it!.”

She raised her hand in the air and squeezed her fist shut. My chest felt hot…burning. I couldn’t breathe. It felt as though my ribs were being crushed. Emi opened her fist and I gasped for air.

“
This is only the icing on the cake,” she said and raised both her hands in the air and began to chant a spell.

The window flew open and a black wolf jumped inside. The wolf was large, with thick black fur. It growled and snapped at Emi. He gnashed his teeth together, backing Emi up against the wall.

“
Now I see which side you’re on,” Emi said to the wolf. “Mark my words she isn’t worth turning you back on family, brother. She’ll never love you.”

The wolf growled and with his mouth opened wide, he reached for her neck, but she disappeared before he could rip open her throat. He backed away, jumped unto the bed, and stood over me. The bristled hairs on his muzzle were wet and smelled like blood. My heart began to beat violently against my chest as Lyle, sniffed my hair, face and neck. His breath on my face was hot and musky. I closed my eyes and waited for the vicious bite of the Lobison, but he didn’t bite me. He shook his head and jumped out the window. I stared at the ceiling, the room began to spin, the walls began to wave and my eyes became heavy. My eyelids slowly closed, until everything went black.

Once asleep, the nightmares returned. I heard the loud, terrified cries of a man.

It was Adam.

His face was badly beaten and swollen. He was surrounded by a pack of wolves, a man and a woman dressed in a long black robe. Adam was being beaten to a pulp by the much larger man. Although he struggled to remain on his feet, Adam didn’t give in, he continued to strike back and defend himself.

The woman and man mocked him but Adam got lucky and struck the man with all his might, sending him dropping to the ground. Adam pulled out a dagger and went for his throat. But the man quickly stood on his hands and feet and transformed into a large black wolf with devilish green eyes. With on quick jump the werewolf snapped his jaw shut across Adam’s throat. Dark, bright blood rushed down his neck and chest. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I stepped back, snapping a branch and the woman turned to look at me. She looked a lot like Emi, but I couldn’t make out whom she was.

“
Go after her!” she commanded the werewolf.

The werewolf released Adam’s limp body from his mouth and allowed the rest of the pack to take their share. I ran as fast as I could, pushing through bushes, branches…everything that stood in the way until I suddenly came to a dead end. I recognized the scenery. It was the cliff I’ve seen numerous times in my dreams. With no other place to go, I picked up a sharp stone from the ground, jabbed it through my heart and jumped over the cliff. I fell slowly, as if time was standing still. The wind wiped away every tear that rolled down my eyes as I continued to soar through the air in slow motion. I closed my eyes and saw memories of another life flash through my mind. I saw Adam’s pale blue eyes. I felt his embrace…he was all I wanted to see before I hit the rocks below.

Beep, beep, beep…

The annoying sound of the alarm clock awoke me. I reached to turn it off. Taking a deep breath and rubbing my eyes, I realized I had over slept. The alarm must’ve been beeping for an hour.

I looked at my left ankle. The skin was clear, smooth, with no signs of a bite on it. I wiggled my toes and looked over at the window. It was closed.
Was it a dream?
I wiped the side of my face and sniffed my fingertip, saliva and blood. Perhaps it wasn’t. I felt a vibration coming from under my pillow. It was my phone with a text message from Ryan, “@ da park. Are u coming?”