First Moon (The Ternion Order Book 1) Read online

  Jonathan cleared his throat. “We’re heading out. Kyle, it was good to meet you,” he said, shaking Kyle’s hand. Jonathan turned and went back to the driver’s side of the SUV. “We’ll be back in a bit to drop off Kyle’s Explorer,” he called over the hood.

  Amanda and Kyle watched as Jonathan backed around and drove off. The SUV’s tires crunched in the gravel, and a thin gray cloud of dust swirled in its wake.

  Kyle looked over at Amanda to find her staring at him. It wasn’t an unfriendly stare, but she had the look of someone who was trying to solve an unexpected problem. That problem would be me.

  “This will be interesting,” she said in a musing voice. “Come on inside and relax for a while. I have a project for work I need to finish today, but I can give you a full tour in a couple of hours.”

  Kyle followed Amanda through the screen door and onto the porch. To his right, a cushioned porch swing looked like the ideal place to kick back with a beer and have a relaxing conversation. Kyle also looked forward to enjoying a meal at the round glass-topped table and wrought iron chairs that had been arranged on the left side of the porch.

  Rich, musty smells enveloped Kyle and soothed some of his tension the moment he entered the house. The place was old, but someone had nicely renovated it. Most of the lighting fixtures, electrical outlets, and wall switches looked relatively new. The living-room walls were white-painted plaster above natural wood wainscoting that had become dark with age. Kyle had a thing for wood, so he immediately appreciated the design sensibilities of the person who chose the mahogany furniture. Everything was mission style, dark and sturdy, with thick cushions covered in maroon or pine green.

  Amanda poured each of them a glass of lemonade and suggested that Kyle sit on the porch and enjoy what was left of the cool morning. He could help himself to anything in the refrigerator or cupboards if he got hungry.

  Kyle took a sip of his lemonade. “Mmm. This is good. What is it you do for work?” he asked, reluctant to let her leave him alone.

  “I’m a marketing copywriter. I write sales copy for web pages, e-mails, brochures, stuff like that.”

  “Cool. And you can do that from home?”

  “That’s the beauty of it. I can make my own hours, which is almost a necessity for anyone who is active in the Order. Every once in a while, like now, I have a deadline to meet, but I can usually spend a lot of time working on whatever I want.”

  “Nice. As a beneficiary of that freedom, I’m glad.”

  Amanda chuckled. “Like I said, I do have a deadline right now, so I’ll be back down in a bit. If you want, you can explore the grounds by yourself. Just be sure to stay back from the fence.”

  “Electrified?”

  “Not exactly. Let’s just say it’s a protective barrier and leave it at that.”

  More mystery. “No problem,” Kyle said with a sigh.

  Amanda gave him a wink and left the kitchen. A few seconds later, her feet pounded up the stairs to the second floor.

  Kyle went back out to the porch and sat on the swing for a few minutes. He closed his eyes and listened to the chickadees peep and robins chirp. The swing was as comfortable as it looked.

  After a few minutes of sitting alone, his thoughts turned back to the predicament he was in. The Order had granted him sanctuary. Now what? He had made it to the farm, but Amanda was busy working on a copywriting project. That seemed so ordinary, after everything that had happened. Part of him wanted to go up the stairs and try to talk her into putting everything else aside so she could work on his problem. How could some web page possibly compete with the fact that he would be dead in a week?

  A strange creaking sound came from the thick acrylic tumbler that held his lemonade. Kyle relaxed his grip, realizing he had nearly cracked it. Unable to stay still any longer, he got up and went into the front yard, taking his drink with him. He spotted the barn and decided to start his explorations there.

  As soon as he stepped into the sunlight, the sun’s intense glare replaced the morning cool hoarded by the trees near the house. His skin welcomed the sun’s warmth, but after only a few steps, sweat beaded on his forehead along his hairline.

  A blue tractor squatted under an overhang on the right side of the barn. The odor of diesel and oil floated on the air. The tractor and the implements stored behind it were rusting where the paint had worn off.

  The barn door was partially ajar, so Kyle peered into the gloomy interior. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dim lighting afforded by the grimy clerestory windows up in the loft. Horse stalls lined both sides of the barn. Most of the stalls were given over to the storage of old junk, but the last two on the left were clean and thoroughly stomped by hooves.

  Tubular fence panels formed a generous corral alongside the barn. Sandy ground churned up by hoof prints indicated regular use, but no horses were present.

  Next to the corral, goats milled around in a large fenced area. Their little tails wagged and their mouths were in continuous motion. A goat resting on the ground stretched its neck forward, looking like it was about to throw up, but then settled back and started chewing. Not knowing much about goats, Kyle made a mental note to ask Amanda if they chewed a cud.

  Across from the goats and behind the house, Kyle found a tidy garden with a tall fence around it to keep out deer. He wasn’t much of a gardener, but he recognized corn stalks, and he spotted green and yellow summer squash growing under plants with enormous spreading leaves.

  The garden shared a fence with a chicken yard of equal size. A big chicken coop straddled the two areas, but the garden side was closed up so the chickens couldn’t molest the crops. Upon consideration, Kyle thought he understood the arrangement. The chickens and the garden were rotated between the two areas. Each year, a ready supply of chicken manure would be waiting to help the new plants grow. Meanwhile, garden waste could be thrown over the fence to the chickens.

  Continuing past the garden, Kyle found the horses in a fenced pasture. He rested his arms on the gate to watch them. The brown-and-white equines cropped the grass near a cluster of pines along one edge of the pasture. They were pintos or paints, or whatever the correct term was for horses with big white patches.

  Both horses eventually turned their heads his way and started walking toward him. When they reached the gate, he put his hand out to let them sniff, keeping his fingers curled under in case either one tried to bite. The bigger one nuzzled his hand and pushed at it, probably wanting a treat of some kind.

  “Sorry guys. Maybe next time I’ll bring something for you.”

  The horses lost interest quickly and went back to grazing.

  Kyle watched the horses for a while, enjoying the bucolic peacefulness of Hayworth Farm. The sun was intense out in the open, but a light breeze kept him cool. He tipped up his glass to suck down the last of his lemonade and wondered when Amanda would be finished with her work.

  The horses raised their heads in tandem and perked up their ears when the goats started bleating. Kyle looked over to see all of the little animals scampering toward the near side of their pen. Something in the tall grass on the other side of the property fence had apparently spooked them. He walked over to take a look.

  Kyle tried to calm the goats with a soothing voice, but they mostly ignored him. He walked along the outside of the pen toward the property fence to see what made them so agitated. He’d heard that North Idaho had no poisonous snakes, but the goats probably didn’t know that.

  The flutter of a colorful but faded ribbon tied to one of the fence posts caught his eye. The ribbon held several plant sprigs tight against the post. The odd decoration reminded Kyle that Amanda had told him to stay back from the fence.

  The breeze picked up at that moment and blew the grass back to reveal a black nose and gray furry muzzle. Amber eyes glared at him through the fence, and Kyle took an involuntary step backward. The plastic tumbler slipped from his hand and hit the ground with a clatter of ice cubes. The huge wolf bared its teet
h and growled, ending the growl with a sharp admonishing bark. Having delivered its message, the wolf faded back into the tall grass. Kyle tried to track the wolf’s movement, but the fitful breeze randomly shifting the heavy seed heads made that impossible.

  So much for secrecy. The Pack knew he was here.

  Kyle reached down to pick up the tumbler with a shaking hand. He dumped out the remaining ice and wiped off the dirt that had stuck to the condensation on the outside. Walking back toward the house, he figured he should tell Amanda right away about what had happened. But Amanda was already at a second-story window, staring toward the grass beyond the goat pen. She had probably heard the goats through the open window. She looked down at Kyle and motioned for him to come inside.

  Amanda met him at the front door. “What happened? I heard the goats and saw you drop your glass. I thought I heard a bark too. Did a dog scare the goats?”

  “It wasn’t a dog. I think it was Reggie.”

  Amanda gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. “Are you sure?”

  “Not really. It could have been any huge wolf, but it seemed to know me. Sorry, but I think they know I’m here.”

  Amanda scrunched her face and waved away his concern. “Don’t worry about that. It wasn’t much of a secret. The Order has only a few refuges in this area. The Pack would have guessed we’d bring you to this one.”

  “Then why the gasp? Do you know Reggie?”

  With a preoccupied expression, Amanda took the dirty tumbler from Kyle’s hand and carried it into the kitchen. He followed her, wondering why she wasn’t answering the question.

  She rinsed the remaining dirt off the glass and left it in the sink. Then she turned and leaned against the counter, facing Kyle. She stared at the floor, obviously debating what she was going to say.

  “I do know Reggie. Well, I used to know Reggie. Before he became … one of them.”

  A new puzzle piece spun in Kyle’s mind, trying to fit into what he already knew. “Was he a boyfriend or something?”

  The eyes that met Kyle’s were haunted with painful memories. “He was my brother.”

  Kyle was stunned speechless for a moment. The puzzle piece stopped spinning, but he still couldn’t make it fit. “Is what happened to your brother the reason you are helping me?”

  She swallowed hard and nodded. “Yes.”

  Something more hid within her eyes. Reggie was a full werewolf, well past his first moon, so he couldn’t be saved. Or could he?

  “So, what—you don’t want to see someone else suffer the same fate as your brother?”

  “Exactly,” she answered a little too quickly.

  Kyle didn’t trust the way she latched onto the explanation he had dangled in front of her. There was something else she wasn’t telling him. He had never fully believed that her motivation was pure altruism. Did she have something more to gain? Kyle blinked a couple of times when a possible answer came to mind.

  “You think you can save him.”

  She looked at the floor again and said nothing. Her silence was answer enough.

  “But you told me that the demon would take over and I’d be gone after First Moon. Was that a lie?”

  Amanda straightened up and took a step forward, her hands clasped together at her waist. “No! It wasn’t a lie. That’s what everyone believes.”

  Kyle thought he was finally beginning to understand. “Everyone except you. I’m your test subject. If you can help me, you might be able to help your brother.”

  Her shoulders sagged and she wouldn’t meet his eyes. “I know it’s a foolish hope, but I have to try.” When she looked up at Kyle, her eyes were brimming with tears. “I miss him so much.”

  She reached up to wipe her eyes and then covered her mouth when a sob broke free. When Kyle stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her, she didn’t resist. She rested her head on his shoulder and fought to control her grief.

  Once she stopped crying, she squeezed Kyle’s shoulder and eased back from him. She took a step into the living room and yanked a tissue from a box that sat on a side table. After wiping her eyes and nose, she spoke quietly. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you everything. I didn’t think it mattered, and this is hard for me to talk about.”

  Amanda was right. The full explanation for why she wanted to help him didn’t matter. But knowing the truth about her motivations gave Kyle a comforting sense of clarity that he’d lacked before.

  “I think I understand. I’m sorry I opened an old wound, but I feel better knowing where we stand. If helping me helps you get Reggie back, I’m more than happy to be your guinea pig. Just don’t keep me in a cage or make me run any mazes.”

  She laughed and gave him a quick hug. “I promise. Thank you for not being mad at me. How about I give you that tour, and then maybe we can have lunch. I have a little more work to do before I can send off the files for my writing project, but later on, we can sit on the porch with a couple of beers, and I’ll explain what I’ve got planned for Saturday.”

  Beers on the porch. She’s a girl after my own heart.

  “Sounds good. But since I’m here, should we try for tonight or tomorrow?”

  “We can’t do it tonight because I won’t have everything I need until tomorrow. And tomorrow’s bad because of the celestial alignments.”

  Kyle scoffed. Celestial alignments? “Are you telling me that we have to wait until the stars align?”

  Amanda looked annoyed for a moment, but then took a deep breath. “It sounds stupid when you put it like that, but essentially, yes. Planetary influences are subtle most of the time, but I don’t want anything working against us. Exorcism is not a simple spell. We’ll need all the help we can get.”

  Kyle hung his head. “Sorry. I’ll have to take your word for it.”

  “Thank you.” Amanda put one hand on her hip and wagged a finger at him with the other. “And it would help if you stopped making fun. I know you are struggling with all of this, but considering everything that has happened, you really should try to be a little more open-minded. It will help us both on Saturday.”

  Kyle’s voice took on a defeated tone. “Amanda, I don’t understand much about what’s going on, and the more I learn, the scarier it is. I’ll try to tone down the snark, but sometimes I think it’s the only thing keeping me sane.”

  Amanda’s expression softened. “I understand. The paranormal has a way of enveloping you. It will be hard to simply walk away once you’ve seen what’s behind the curtain.”

  She’d touched on one of Kyle’s biggest fears. His life had been torn to confetti over the past few weeks. He’d never be able to pick up all the pieces, just as he was no longer the blissfully ignorant software developer he had once been.

  What did that mean for his future? Who, or what, was Kyle Nelson going to become?

  Late in the afternoon, Kyle helped Amanda lead the horses back to the barn where they would spend the night. Jonathan and Noreen came by with Kyle’s Explorer and his luggage, but they didn’t stay. Kyle unpacked his things in a small but serviceable bedroom upstairs.

  After dinner that first night, Kyle relaxed with Amanda on the porch swing. Lucille sat at the table, quietly knitting a scarf from several shades of red yarn. The sun was barely above the horizon, the last rays warming the side of Kyle’s face as the heat of the day rapidly dissipated.

  Kyle closed his eyes and enjoyed the scents flowing around the porch. The occasional whiff of horse manure added its tangy odor to the earthy scent of hay and the perfume of summer’s last wildflowers. The occasional bleat of a goat or snort of a horse punctuated an otherwise peaceful evening of birdsong and the whisper of aspen leaves.

  When he opened his eyes, he glanced at Amanda and found she was staring at him. “What?”

  She smiled. “You seemed so relaxed there for a minute. You’ve had a clenched look from the moment I met you, and I think this is the first time you’ve loosened up.”

  Kyle nodded and took a deep breath, noting with
satisfaction that he could inhale without his chest feeling restricted. “I think this place is good for me.”

  Lucille gathered up her knitting and stuffed it into a floppy cloth bag at her side. She levered herself up from her chair and said, “I’m running out of light, so I’m heading in.” She picked up the bag and went over to the swing. “Do you have anything special planned for this evening, Amanda?”

  Amanda glanced at Kyle. “All things considered, I think it’s a good idea to strengthen the wards.”

  Lucille nodded. “I agree. Will you need anything from me?”

  “No, thanks. I still have plenty of herbs left over from last time.”

  “All right, dear. I’ll be inside reading if you change your mind.”

  Amanda thanked her and bid her goodnight. Kyle wished her a pleasant evening as well and thanked her for letting him stay at her farm.

  After Lucille went inside, Amanda checked the sun’s position. It was below the horizon, but there was still plenty of light. She got up from the porch swing and went out onto the front lawn. She looked up at the sky for a moment and then came back.

  Amanda went to the front door of the house and paused with her hand on the doorknob. “I’m going inside to get some things. I’ll be right back.”

  As the evening darkened, the breeze picked up and grew cooler. Kyle was thankful for Amanda’s suggestion that he bring out a flannel shirt, and he slipped it on.

  Several minutes later, Amanda came out onto the porch carrying an aromatic cloth bundle, a battery-powered lantern, and a glass carafe of what appeared to be water. “This is going to take me a while, so if you want to go inside and watch television or something, feel free.”

  Television didn’t sound appealing, and neither did sitting alone on the porch while she was out “strengthening the wards,” whatever that meant. The idea of watching Amanda perform witchcraft was both unnerving and fascinating. “Do you need help?” he asked spontaneously.