Goddess of the Night (13 page)

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"There's
something in the tea," Vanessa declared. "It's making me
see things. It made you look different and the apartment, too. And
I'm imagining you saying these crazy things." She started
laughing then, but no one joined her.

"It's a
simple herbal tea from Tibet." Maggie sounded puzzled. "Why
would I drug you when I need to warn you about the Atrox and the
Followers?"

"Followers?"

"The
victims of the Atrox, the Followers," Maggie explained. "The
Atrox steals their hope, sucking it from their soul. Then they become
predators themselves, stealing hope from others, trying to replenish
their own and feel alive again. But their hunger is never satisfied.
They become masters of deceit. They look like anyone, you or me, but
they hate the moon because it is a symbol of Selene and represents
goodness. Under a full moon, their eyes turn phosphorescent, and even
ordinary people can sense their evil."

"So why
aren't people aware of them?" Vanessa argued. "If they can
see their eyes and

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sense their
evil, there should be squads of police fighting them."

"A woman
sees a glint of yellow in a stranger's eye and rather than trust her
instincts, she thinks it's her imagination. It's amazing how far
people will go to deny what is all around them." Maggie sipped
her tea, then continued. "The Followers also hate timepieces,
not digital ones, but watches with hands and, of course, sundials.
Anything that reminds them of their eternal bond to evil. It won't
stop them like a crucifix is reported to stop a vampire, but it will
cause them to start."

Vanessa thought
back to that first night when she had felt someone following her. Her
alarm clock had been turned toward the wall and her wristwatch had
been turned upside down. Could one of the Followers have climbed into
her room and changed her computer program to make her think it was
the crescent moon so she would walk home alone in the dark? It could
just as well have been Serena or Jimena who had climbed into her
room. Serena had done it once. Why not twice?

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Maggie
continued, "And they can never harm a person who does a genuine
act of kindness toward them. Evil is so unprepared for that. But
then, I suppose few people have ever acted kindly toward them."

Vanessa didn't
want to hear any more. It was definitely bye-bye time. Maybe Maggie
had been a teacher who had gone mental from the stress brought on at
school. Perhaps Serena and Jimena had cruelly thought that Vanessa
would find this sad woman's trouble entertaining. She glanced at them
and felt a chill settle over her. They looked deadly serious.

"Can I use
the rest room?" Vanessa asked. She'd use it, then come back,
make excuses, and

"Of
course, my dear." Maggie handed her a candle.

"I'll just
turn on the light." Vanessa started to excuse herself from the
table.

"I don't
have electricity."

"Oh."
Vanessa was startled. "I'm sorry you had your electricity shut
off"

"The
electricity wasn't shut off," Maggie said

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indignantly. "I
never had
it
turned on. I don't believe in electricity. I
avoid it when possible. It destroys the magic of the night."

Vanessa looked
around her. For the first time she noticed the utter lack of
electrical appliances; no microwave, no television, no dishwasher or
refrigerator.

"Electricity
and certain other so-called conveniences have caused modern
populations to lose touch with their deeper intuition, not to mention
what they can't see. Electricity." She formed the word as if it
left a bad taste in her mouth. "In ancient times people saw the
magic in the night. The day, too. But today? How many people do you
know who can really see? I can't understand why people insist on
ignoring the beauty of the mythical world. How many times do teachers
say it's imaginary? Or parents?"

Vanessa
shrugged, took a quick step back, and stopped. Her knees felt too
shaky to hold her. She sat back in the chair with a thump.

Maggie leaned
over, blue eyes tense, and spoke quietly. "The greatest strength
of the Atrox is that modern people no longer believe the

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demonic walks
amongst us. So you see why it is so important that you defeat it."

"Me?"
Vanessa said. "I'm going to destroy it, like vampires, with a
stake?"

"Not like
vampires." Maggie shook her head. "I'm talking about an
evil more ancient than Transylvania's undead. The spirit who tricked
Lucifer into his fall."

"You want
me to fight that?"

"You have
no choice. That is what you were born to do and it is my
responsibility to guide you and to help you understand your powers.
Your breed is descended from unconquerable warriors. Remember their
courage and never dishonor them."

Maggie seemed
to sense her disbelief. "My proof, dear, is in your gift."

"Gift?"
Something twisted inside her. Her heart beat quickly and she couldn't
breathe.

"Your
ability to become invisible." It was a statement.

Vanessa felt
herself plunging into a whirlwind of emotions. She had always wanted
someone to explain her strange ability to her, but she

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had always
thought the answer would come from science; a failed government
project, a strange overdose of radiation, some experimental medicine
her mother had taken while she was in the womb. She could even accept
being from outer space more easily than this. A goddess? Weren't they
supposed to be sweet and lovely and make flowers bloom beneath their
feet?

Vanessa stood
and grabbed her bag. It couldn't be true. It wasn't true. But even as
she was trying to deny it, another part of her mind was recalling the
shadows and the nightmares. If it were true . . .

"It can't
be true," she shouted. And then she ran.

She hurried
down the fire stairs and out into the cool night. She didn't believe
any of the ramblings about the Atrox and its Followers, so why did a
cold fear grip her chest?

"Goddess."
She let the word linger in her mouth. She didn't feel divine. She had
zits and cramps and worried about people liking her. She looked up
and saw the moon creeping over the buildings.

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"Mother
Moon," she whispered. She felt awestruck. Could it be? But if it
were true, if she were a goddess, then that meant the Atrox was also
real. And its Followers, were they somewhere nearby? She turned and
looked at the shadows hovering around the cars and trees. She had
never felt so alone and afraid in the night before.

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Chapter 16

AN HOUR LATER,
Vanessa walked into the kitchen. Her mother was at the worktable
drawing lotus flowers, vines, and paisleys on a sketch pad. A mehndi
cone lay on the table next to a plate of cut lemons.

"Hi, baby,
what do you think?" Her mother held up her hand. She had painted
her nails bright red and decorated the skin with a black design. "I
can't decide if I like the geometric designs or the ones I'm working
on now." She picked up a white cone. "Let me draw the new
ones on your hand."

"Don't you
know how to make chocolate chip cookies?" Vanessa yelled. Her
emotions had

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been clashing
inside her since she left Maggie's apartment. Frustration and anger
had won and had been building as she walked home. Now her whirling
emotions exploded into the room. "That's what mothers do. They
do things to comfort their daughters."

"Vanessa."
Her mother sounded more worried than offended. "What is it?"

Vanessa dropped
her bag and slumped into a chair at the table. All week, she had
wanted to tell her mother about Catty. She had planned to several
times this week, but every time she started, it felt too much like
closing the door to the tunnel. If her mother knew, then it would be
true.

"Mom, we
need to talk."

"Did you
and Catty do something weird again? She's been getting you into
trouble since you were both eight years old."

"No, we
didn't do anything
weird!'
Vanessa said.

"But you
mooned--"

"Mom, we
didn't do anything."

"Well,
it's pretty embarrassing when your daughter has to appear in court
because she

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showed her
buttocks in public."

"Mom, do
we have to repeat these old arguments again?" Vanessa said with
a heavy sigh. "This is really important."

"All
right."

"Mom, what
would you do if you found out something about me personally--"

Her mother
broke in. "There's nothing I could hear about you that would
change the way I feel. You're my daughter. I love you."

"Mom, I'm
. . . I'm very different from what you think I am."

"Let's
talk about
it.
We have chocolate chip cookies. How long has it
been since we ate cookies and hot cocoa?"

"You can't
make everything okay with cookies and cocoa. I'm not a kid anymore."

"I wasn't
trying to make anything better. I thought it would be nice. We could
have a long talk."

Vanessa stood.
"Maybe later. I think I'll sit outside." She didn't want to
sit around moaning over her problems. She needed a solution. Serena
had said she was going to take her to see someone

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who might help
her find Catty. Instead, the visit had added to her worries.

Her mother
looked at the window over the sink. The moon shone huge and ivory
yellow through the kitchen window. "You've always loved the
moonlight. It seems to relax you."

Vanessa looked
outside at the moon. "Do you think there is a goddess of the
moon?"

"Oh,
several," her mother answered.

"No, I
mean for real."

"I was
answering for real." Her mother pushed back her chair, then
walked over to the sliding glass door, opened it, and stepped out on
the patio. The night jasmine filled the cool air with its sweet
fragrance. "God must have many spirits to help. We call them
angels because that's what we learned to call them when we were
little. But there must be many divine beings who act as God's
messengers. I think there's room for a goddess or more. When you look
at the beauty of the moon it's easy to believe." Then her mother
turned and looked back at her. "Vanessa, why are you crying?"
She gently wiped the tears from Vanessa's cheeks.

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"Mom,
where did you get this moon amulet?"

"It was a
gift from a woman at the hospital the night you were born. I thought
you liked it. You wear it all the time."

"You
didn't question her?"

"Well, no.
She was a sweet little thing and she fussed over you. She said you
reminded her of her own child. I didn't see any harm in taking it and
it seemed to make her so happy that I did."

"Did she
tell you her name?"

"Maybe. I
don't remember. What's wrong, Vanessa?" Her mother looked
concerned and put her hand on Vanessa's shoulder.

"Nothing
really," Vanessa lied. "Just regular stuff, and I'm tired."
She wandered into the yard.

"Vanessa,
tell me. Something's troubling you." Her mother started after
her but stopped suddenly as if she sensed Vanessa's need to be alone.
"Don't get too cold," she said with worry in her voice.

Before she slid
the patio door closed, Vanessa spoke. "Mom, I'm sorry. I didn't
mean to yell at you.

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"I know,"
her mother said quietly, and closed the sliding glass door.

Vanessa sat in
the lounge chair near the hibiscus. The milk of moonlight bathed the
trees and lawn with pale magic. She leaned her head on the pillow.
Tears streamed down her cheeks.

In the gibbous
moon's glow, her molecules became restless, urging her to give in,
become invisible, and float over the city. She shouldn't. Not
tonight. She was too anxious, her thoughts too mixed. Focus was
impossible.

Her skin began
to prickle. Ripples like tiny waves washed down her arms. Her
heartbeat raced.

"Don't,"
she pleaded. Her body disobeyed her. A chill rushed through her and
her molecules began to spread. She glanced at her hands.

"Stop,"
she ordered. But her fingers refused her command. The tips of her
hands became fuzzy. She blinked. She could no longer see fingers or
palms, only feel their essence. The clothes next to her body became
invisible, their molecules aroused by the forcible change of her own.
Then her body levitated, as light as air, the transition

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complete. She
floated to the kitchen window. Her mother sat at her worktable
drawing designs she would paint on movie stars.

Her mother
turned suddenly and looked out the window. "Vanessa?" she
said as if she felt her daughter's closeness. She looked quickly
around the kitchen, then shrugged and went back to drawing.

Vanessa glanced
back at the lounge chair. Her sandals and blouse were still there,
not enough to make her mother worry or wonder. What could she do
about it anyway? Her mind was jangled, unable to concentrate and pull
the molecules together. She would have to wait until they came
together on their own.

She drifted
into the night air, rising higher and higher. A breeze carried her as
gently as a bedtime song. The moonlight permeated her molecules,
bathing them with hope. Catty would return. She felt sure now. She
continued on, riding the night air. Maggie and the strange tea party
fell further and further into a blur of memory.

She was near
Sunset and Vine when a sudden gust hit her hard. She hadn't been
prepared for a

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