Black Moon (20 page)

It also means the Conway’s will know what’s happened and come searching. They’ll be more brazen now that my power has descended from the heavens, or genes, or whatever you want to call this natural ability.

Guys, my power has stopped. Everything’s back the way it was before. They’ll be hunting us shortly,
I say.

Get to the house, Candra. Quickly!
Mom commands.

There’s something I have to take care of,
I say.
I’ll meet you guys later.

You can’t just leave us! What’s so important that your family and friends have to wait?
Jana asks with a hasty shake of her head.

Blake adds,
And that you have to go alone.

If I told you, you all will be even more upset with me, so let’s leave it at that.

Nobody speaks the rest of the way home. When I’m certain they’re safely inside, I resume my trek across town. Jana and Blake had threatened to follow, but I warned them not to, not after Blake injured Ben. If Blake knew that’s where I’m headed, he might inflict more injuries, and I won’t be able to stop him.

Folded clothes wait for me upon my arrival at Maggie’s. She didn’t glance up from her work when I enter, yet she didn’t know it was me when I showed up on her doorstep thirty minutes ago. Strange. Why was she angry then? It’s almost as if she thought I was someone else . . .

I pass through the hallway and into the guest bedroom where Ben sleeps. His slumber isn’t peaceful, though; his head twists from side to side and he mumbles disjointedly. Bloodstains blotch the sheet underneath him, and the cuts from his stomach and chest have bled through the throw over his body.

“Maggie!” I yell. “Do you have any gauze?”

Cabinet doors open and shut in the kitchen, and then she steps into the hallway.

“Here,” she says, tossing several towels toward me, “this should do.”

I tug at the blanket tucked snugly around Ben and drop it to the floor to inspect his wounds. His erratic sleep patterns might have opened the fresh gashes, or maybe they haven’t had time to fully close. Whichever way, the bleeding has to stop so he can heal properly.

Maggie waddles up beside me, cane in one hand, salve in the other. She sets a grey-marbled bowl on the edge of the mattress, digs her fingers into the green-colored goop it holds, and slaps it on Ben’s wounds. He cries out, but his eyes never open.

Two more hours, Ben. That’s all we need,
I anticipate.

“There,” she says, applying the finishing touches on his cuts. “He’ll be good as new by tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” I glance up, searching her face for any indication she might be jesting. She’s not. “Maggie, we don’t have until tomorrow. We’ll be lucky if we have
hours
.”

She grumbles. “Then I suggest you find a way to make the most of the time you have.” With a wink, she exits the room, closing the door behind her. Make the most of the time I have? What’s that supposed to mean?

Like the noise cars make when spark plugs fail, it clicks—I have to use my power. In order for this to work, I’ll need to freeze everyone but Ben and I, and, once he’s fully healed, we can continue . . . whatever is between us. He and I will find a way to stop Alaric and the Ancients from taking over Hartford, and the rest of the world.

The tough part of using my newfound ability is that I don’t actually know
how
to apply it yet. I mean, yes, I manipulated time less than an hour ago, but that doesn’t necessarily indicate I can practice it now. Without essential training, I’m forced to conjure ideas of time becoming immobile, anything and everything stopped. Getting to that point is only half the battle.

What was I thinking when I halted time before? Blake harming Ben? If I can grasp that thought and hang on, then I might have a way to replicate my previous actions. I need to confirm this. If I can watch anything set in motion, then I’ll know my power will work. The nearest object which moves is Maggie, but she won’t approve of me taking advantage of her. The next closest thing is outdoors—birds, insects, cars speeding down the road. But all of these items aren’t fixed, and I’m afraid once one disappears, I’ll have to search for a new outlet.

Right now, though, it’s all I’ve got, considering time is limited.

“I’ll be outside,” I say in passing. In the open air, there’s nothing that’ll help my quest. So, I pick up a stick, throw it, concentrate, and then watch it land on the other side of the yard.

Lame.

I try again. Focus, focus, focus. Still, nothing.
Think of your family,
I tell myself. Who knows what they’re going through right now. Have the Conway’s reached Randy and Beth’s? Are they fighting for their lives?

Closing my eyes, I imagine people, places, and things suddenly frozen on site. The air surrounding me shifts, until realization strikes that even the atmosphere isn’t budging. I peek through one half-closed eyelid and notice silence is brassier than ever. Rushing back inside Maggie’s house, her hand lifts the faucet handle where water pours out, mute. I dart to the guest bedroom where Ben lies motionless. Tapping him once, his breathing resumes.

So, it worked. That’s good. Now, all I need to do is delay the rest of the world for an hour or two, until Ben heals. If my hold slips, however, then I’m back where I started.

Ben murmurs a few words, ramblingly. I wish I had the ability to heal him and take him somewhere we can both live without strife. As it is, we’re stuck here until a change is made. I’m just terrified at the price to be paid if change does happen.
 

“Candra?” It’s barely a whisper, but it’s something.

“I’m here,” I respond, carefully squeezing his arm. “I got you out before your parents and the others arrived. Good thing, huh? They would’ve been the death of us.”

“And your family?”

“My family’s fine. Jana and Blake are fine. Everyone’s fine.” Except, I truly don’t know if they’re okay; they might be in a mid-action fight sequence in Randy and Beth’s living room. Shaking the negative thoughts, I stand and grab one of the towels Maggie so politely provided. Dabbing the extra goop leftover from her poor attempt at curing, I finish by laying the remaining clean cloths over the gashes so the salve will stay in place. “That should work.”

Ben reaches out, grabbing my hand. “Don’t leave me.”

“I won’t.” I sit on the edge of the bed, clutching his hand between both of mine. “Promise.”

He drifts out of consciousness again, departing as swiftly as arrived. Time passes, though I can’t say how much, but I can feel it taking its toll on my body; I’m growing weaker by the minute. If Ben doesn’t heal soon, I don’t know if I can stretch my power to its limits, and then what will I do?

Bored and wondering what my family is going through, I rocket through their heads, seeing what they see. At first, I think it’s almost a joke, the way my parents are face to face with Alaric—human, even—but the way he holds up his hand in front of everyone, and because of the glower on the Conway’s’ faces, I realize Alaric’s not joking. He’s about to perform some hoodoo ritual using black magic, and this time the dark skill includes my parents.

Sure, I have to stop him. My concern is whether I’ll make it in time. I’m already too weak from splitting matter, which defies the laws of physics, twice in one day. Anything more and I’m likely to collapse from exhaustion, anything less and my attention will die along with my family. Based on my body’s wobbly movements when I stand, it seems I won’t make it to Alaric’s anticipated reunion. This notion is solely supported by my physical being, not my mental and emotional self. If the latter has anything to say about this, then I’d be halfway to Randy and Beth’s by now.

One foot in front of the other, Candra.
It’s easier to believe this than actually perform the act. All my mind really wants me to think about is food, and how I’ll need lots of it if I ever want to wake from this nightmare. I stumble toward the front door and out onto the lawn. Keeping focus on my parents’ vision, which is nothing more than Alaric, I use them as my incentive.

Too quickly, I realize this isn’t going to work. I’m several blocks away and can hardly hold myself up, let alone stop an Ancient from hurting my family and friends. If it takes every last ounce of energy in me, I’ll crawl to Randy and Beth’s. I’ll drag my lower body. I’ll . . . figure something out.

You are too late, Candra lovely,
Daciana
offers at random.

No, I’m not. I can make it.

She laughs, coldly, sending a lungful of icy breath to my heart.
Let go.

I shiver.
No! I can’t do that.
Who am I kidding? I
should
free myself, yes. My muscles shake from overexertion, I don’t remember my last meal, and there’s a dark, airbrushed halo making an appearance just at the edge of my sight; out of reach, unattainable head-on. But this is my family we’re talking about. If I can’t save them, who will? Ben’s in Coma Land for the next two hours or more, and Maggie sure as hell won’t help since she’s not keen on picking sides.

You cannot win against him, little one,
says
Daci
.
He is far too powerful.

Thank you for pointing out the obvious. We’ve already been over this—Ben and I will find a way to release you and
Ulric
, but we have to defeat Alaric first.

And you disagree you are not in a state to face him?

I lug myself a few feet more.
Doesn’t matter. I have to reach them. When my power stops, they may not be alive. If I can get there before my body gives out, then I can move them to safety. That’s all I can center on right now.

Would it not be so much easier if you just gave in to your body’s wishes, listened to your mind screaming at you to stop this madness? You could return to your precious Benjamin and feel him in your arms again. Instead, you crawl on all fours like an injured dog with no one here to aid your lost cause.

I swear, if I had the ability, I’d kill you with Alaric and be done with the entire mess,
I inform her.
You know, nothing good can come of my carrying someone else’s soul inside. It’s not like I signed up for this.

No, you did not. But your bloodline descends from mine, and Benjamin from
Ulric’s
and Alaric’s. Your families were the first to quarrel since mine and
Ulric’s
. When Alaric cast us away from this realm and into the next, he made a pact: we could not return until history repeated itself.

History repeats itself all the time,
I say as pointedly as possible.

The history of two families warring over power and greed, maybe. History repeating a son and daughter from opposite factions falling in love, marking one another, and fighting until the end? Now that is something to brag about. You may see me as a temporary curse, Candra lovely, but you really are gaining a wealth of information.

I grit my teeth.
All of it completely unwanted, I might add.

She scoffs.
Oh, of course. Yet, you still find all of my words useful, to a certain measure.

When I don’t respond, she laughs again; it echoes from deep inside me. There are times when I want complete privacy, left alone with my own thoughts and ideas. Unfortunately,
Daciana
is a part of me now, and I can’t get rid of her soon enough. As much as I hate to admit it, she’s right—I won’t make it to Randy and Beth’s in time. I don’t have the energy to pull myself that far, nor do I have the energy to pause time long enough for everyone to make an exit and reach safety.

Lying face down on the sidewalk, I press my cheek to the cold cement and cry. There is no possible way for me to protect them. I pray Alaric will show mercy to all, but it’s unlikely.