Blood Moon (18 page)

After Devon left the room, Darby looked at her sister and said, “This is going to be one hell of a fight, isn’t it!”

Rowan looked shocked.
 
The worst word she had ever heard her sister say was ‘crap’, but she knew she was right and nodded.

When Devon came back from putting the book in the safe he sat down next to Darby with his laptop.
 

“I did a search on the missing girls. This is what I got,” he said.

1 - Linda Danvers - La Honda

2 - Bree Nelson - Pescadero

3 - Cathy Davis - UC Santa Cruz

4 - Brenda Olsen - Loma Mar

5 - Beth Jorgensen - Davenport

6 - Sydney Alder - Bellvale

7 - Mina Jansson - Miramar

8 - Carly Smith -Halfmoon Bay

9 - Hayley Jones - Ben Lomond

10- Faith Meyer- Swanton

“Oh My God.
 
Look at that, their names match the initials on the spell..but wait this one doesn’t match. Mina Jansson, there is no M.J. on the list.”

Devon said, “That’s because it’s not Mina.
 
I’m guessing her birth name is Wilhemina. It was a very popular name at the turn of the century.”
 

“Right. Bram Stoker’s femme fatale was Wilhemina and they called her Mina.
 
Very clever, Devon. So there are three more. E.A., W.M., and S.F. before their spell is complete.”
 

“But if they don’t have the spell, then how do they know the initials?” Rowan asked.
 

“Maybe when your family pulled the spell they didn’t grab the instructions.
 
Maybe they have the instructions and no incantation.
 
They’re hoping to get a hold of the book before the Blood Moon,” Devon said.

“That would explain why you met Allys today, Rowan,” Darby said.

“She met Allys? I mean, Sally, today?” Devon said.

“Yes, she just so happens to have the same classes as Rowan. Isn’t that convenient?” Darby answered.

“What should I do?” Rowan asked.

“Act like you don’t know a thing.
 
The less they think we know, the better,” Devon suggested.

Chapter 17

Blake got home about 7:30 that evening, a little later than he had intended, but then again, he had gotten a late start. He walked into Rowan’s bedroom as soon as he came home, not even stopping to change at his house.
 
All day long he thought about their morning together and every time he did, a smile came to his face.
 
He couldn’t wait to get back to Rowan. Now that he was, he found her lying across the bed with a couple of books and a notebook, doing her homework.
 
He closed the door behind him and dropped everything where he stood.
 
She looked up at him, glasses on, hair piled on top of her head, looking sexily studious. A devious smile appeared on his face and with an eyebrow raised, he approached her.

“Hey, you. How was your interview?” she asked.

“Not as good as my shower, but as far as interviews go, pretty good.” She smiled and took off her glasses, closing the book in front of her.
 

“How was school? Terribly late?” he asked.

“Not bad, considering. The professor was none too pleased, but I’m sure he’ll live.” She rolled on to her back as he circled around the bed still wearing the devilish smile. “Of course, it was terribly hard to concentrate on anything but you after this morning.”

“I agree. Maybe we should do it more often,” he said as he too laid across the bed, his head resting on his hand propped up by his elbow so he could look at her. “Anything else happen?”

“Darby and I worked some stuff out about the Keatons.
 
She showed me the incantation she found and Devon helped us figure out some of the other mysteries behind it.
 
Seems the missing girls in the newspapers lately may be linked to the evil spell.
 
We have a feeling the Keatons are responsible for the abductions of the girls.
 
They are setting up everything like the original spell - thirteen girls to be offered to the thirteen Full Moons of the lunar calendar. It’s all rather disturbing.
 
Plus to top it all off, I met Sally Keaton today, or should I say, Allys.”
 

Blake looked puzzled and a bit pale with her comment.
 

“Did you? Where?”

“In class.
 
Seems she is enrolled in the same classes I’m in.”
 
He sat up quickly. She continued, “What, Blake?”

“What? An evil witch is stalking you and you ask me, what? Seems pretty self-explanatory. I’m worried.”

“She was plenty nice.
 
Devon thinks as long as I play ignorant, I’ll be fine.”

“Yeah? Well, Devon didn’t lose once already. I have. I’m not taking any chances.
 
Do you have any classes tomorrow?”

“Yes, one at 9:45.”

“I’m going with you.”
 

“You can’t go with me.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t think the professor would approve.”

“Then I’ll sit outside your class until you are done, then escort you home.”

“I don’t need an escort and I don’t need you as a body guard.”

“Rowan, please, I’ve almost lost you twice in a matter of a couple of months. I can’t do that again.”

“What could possibly happen to me in a class of fifty people on a campus of hundreds?
 
If you start hanging around like my bodyguard, they’ll know we know what is going on.”

“Please, Rowan, don’t shut me out. Let me protect you the best way I know how.”
 

“I appreciate that, Blake, I really do. I feel very safe with you around, but it’s very unlikely anything will happen at school.”

“You’re not going to let me win this battle are you?”

“I’m afraid not, handsome.”

He reached over and kissed her and effortlessly rolled her on top of him where she used both hands to brush away the hair from his face.
 
His brows were furrowed with worry and she gently traced the lines in his forehead with her fingertips, slowly releasing his tension.

“I can’t help it if I worry about you, Rowan.
 
I love you. I want to be there to protect you always.”

“I know you do, Blake, but you can’t be around one hundred percent of the time.
 
You have a job. I have school, but you’re here when I need you and that’s what matters. Every night I get to lie in your safe, strong arms and every morning I wake in the same safe place. That’s a lot more than most people have, and I feel incredibly lucky to have it. We’re working on a plan and we all will get through this together.”

“There is something I should tell you about Sally Keaton, since now she has her eyes on you, but I’m not really sure how.”

“What’s that, handsome?” Rowan asked.

“Do you recall me being gone for three days right after Dean and I came back from Colorado? Devon, Dean, and Darby were pretty worried about it.”

“Vaguely, why?”

“Seems Sally had put some kind of spell on me and I spent three days with her that I can’t much recall. It all seems like a fog.”

She jumped off of him and sat legs crossed on the bed next to him. “What kind of spell?”

“You’d have to ask your sister; she’s the one who undid it, but I would guess some kind of love or lust spell.”

“You mean you and she…”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure.”

“You don’t remember?”

“I remember enough.”

“I’m sure you do,” she said as she crossed her arms.

“Rowan, I didn’t know what I was doing, I had no control…I mean I did, I mean...”

“But you were with someone else.”

“Not of my own free will!”

“How did you get away?”

“Dean and Devon found me at Paddy’s.
 
Apparently we were there for drinks.
 
She went to use the restroom when Dean and Devon walked in.
 
She must have seen them, and knew they would recognize her as Allys, not Sally, as I knew her, so she ran. The guys brought me back to the house and your sister did some weird kind of spell on me, and the fog I’d been in lifted. You’ve got to believe that I would never have been with her if I knew what I was doing. Ask Dean, Darby, and Devon; they’ll tell you I wasn’t myself.
 
That’s how they knew I was under a spell.
 
Sally had to wipe my mind of you, completely, for the spell to work.”

“Oh, trust me, I’ll be talking to them too!” she said grimly.

“Please don’t be mad, Rowan. I know it’s awful, but I don’t know how to fix this.
 
I didn’t do it on purpose or to hurt you or violate our relationship.
 
She did these things. Being a vampire makes it very difficult to admit that I was not in control of the situation.
 
You have no idea.
 
I hate that someone had control over me like a puppet.
 
All the strength I have, the mental abilities, the healing, and none of it was useful. I don’t like being manipulated for someone’s amusement, let alone for their pleasure.
 
Especially when it causes problems between you and me. That makes it unforgivable.” He was steaming mad when he finished speaking.

That’s when he had been forgiven.
 
Knowing how much he hated being manipulated by this woman and that he found it unforgivable to interfere with his love for Rowan, that’s all she needed to know. She reached over and caressed his face and with the other hand traced the tension in his forehead until all the lines eased up and relaxed. Then she smiled at him.

“Do you forgive me, Rowan?”

“There’s nothing to forgive you for, Blake. Though I’m not happy about what happened, it was none of your doing.
 
I almost feel sorry for her.”

“You what? Why?”

“Because it’s kind of sad that the only way she could have someone as amazing as you is by putting you under some kind of spell. It’s downright pathetic. I mean, she must have some serious self-esteem issues.
 
She’s beautiful, gorgeous even, and this is how she deals with men? It’s sad. What kind of crappy life must she have had that she feels this is the only way she can get a man?”

“You never cease to amaze and delight me, Rowan. Someone does something mean to you and you don’t want vengeance, you feel sorry for them. I think I love you five times more than I did five minutes ago.” He sat up and kissed her passionately. It always amazed her how someone so strong could be so in control of his strength and be so gentle and tender. He asked, “So are you done with your school homework?”

“Yes. I was just reading ahead a bit, waiting for you to come home.”

“Well, I have some homework for you,” he said devilishly as he wrapped his massive arms around her and pulled her close.

“Are you grading on a curve, professor?”

“No. So if you don’t get an A, you’ll just have to keep repeating it until you do.”

“Mmmmm. Sounds very challenging.
 
Do you think I’m up for the task?”

“Most definitely. Plus, I’ll be here to tutor you.”

“I’m sure you will,” she giggled.

Ellen Addams worked at an upscale daycare facility in Woodside. Because she was the new teacher, she was the one who had to stay and close up.
 
Seems there were always those unreliable parents who didn’t care that pickup was no later than 7:00 P.M. and could afford the steep fee of $45 for every five minutes thereafter.
 

Ellen knew she wouldn’t always be the new one on the block so she, like the teachers before her, paid her dues.
 
Bobby Anderson’s parents were both professionals and both had difficulty getting there on time.
 
This evening, it was well after 8:00 P.M. when Hope Anderson came to pick up Bobby. With Bobby finally taken care of, Ellen went to her desk to grab her stuff and head home.
 
Walking out of the daycare, she turned out the lights and turned to lock the door, when something came up behind her and everything went black.