First Moon (The Ternion Order Book 1) Read online

  At lunch time, Kyle rummaged around in the kitchen and put together a sandwich for Amanda and himself. A bowl of salsa and a bag of chips completed his culinary masterpiece. On his way out to the porch with two glasses of lemonade, he called up the stairs to let her know the food was waiting.

  In response to the warm and humid weather, Amanda wore a light sundress with a faded flowery print, wide shoulder straps, and a scoop neck. When she came out to the porch, she flapped past him in a pair of flip-flops, her knee-length dress showing off a nice pair of legs.

  “Thanks for fixing lunch,” Amanda said, sliding her chair up to the table.

  “It’s the least I could do,” Kyle replied.

  She picked up her sandwich and took a bite, and Kyle took notice of her toned arms and shoulders. This was the first time he had seen so much of her at once, and he liked what he saw.

  “Something wrong?” she asked after swallowing.

  Kyle realized he was staring and shifted his eyes to his plate. “No. I just noticed that you changed your clothes.”

  She picked up a chip and dipped it in the salsa. “Yeah, the house has no air conditioning, and my office can be uncomfortable when it gets this humid. I see you dressed down today too.”

  Kyle wore a t-shirt and shorts, his favorite weekend attire when the weather permitted. “Hey, I’m living the life of the unemployed. Might as well take advantage of it.”

  “Good for you. What have you been up to all morning?”

  Kyle finished his bite and said, “Reading and trying not to think.”

  Her eyes sparkled with mirth. “Is it working?”

  “Not really. I’m trying to make sense of what’s happening, but so much of it seems contradictory.”

  “In what way?”

  “One thing that confuses me is that you’re using witchcraft to fight demons. But isn’t witchcraft supposed to be demonic in nature?”

  Amanda sat back, a hurt expression on her face. “What gave you that idea? Has anything I’ve done seemed evil or harmful in any way?”

  Kyle waved his hands and shook his head. “No! See, I don’t know what I’m talking about. I don’t even know how to ask about this stuff without potentially offending you.”

  She went back to her sandwich, looking disappointed and a little miffed. Kyle didn’t want to risk making her angrier, but he wanted to understand what he was getting himself involved with.

  “Can you maybe tell me a little about how your magic does work?”

  Amanda gave him a considering look while she finished her sandwich.

  “First, tell me what you believe in, Kyle. You don’t strike me as a devout … anything.”

  Kyle shrugged. “I went to church with my parents when I was young, but never really connected with the whole Christian-fellowship thing. I guess I’m agnostic. I have no idea if God exists or not. If He does exist, I’ve seen no evidence that He demands worship. I consider myself to be a Wyld Stallynist. We should all be excellent to each other and party on.”

  Amanda stopped in mid-reach for a chip. “Wait … was that a Bill and Ted reference?”

  “Got it in one,” Kyle said with a grin.

  Amanda chuckled. “Okay, that’s good to know. There’s no point in talking to you about this if your mind has been shaped and closed by years of doctrine.”

  Kyle tapped his head with his fingertip. “Nope. No doctrine in here. Just confusion.”

  Amanda brushed her hands over her plate and sat forward. “Here’s what I believe. Some witches do practice a form of religion based on pre-Christian pagan beliefs and gods. My coven believes in something more basic. More elemental. In simple terms, there are dark forces and light forces. Dark forces are used to manipulate and harm, and light forces are used to protect and heal. The term ‘worship’ is defined as reverence and adoration for a deity. I don’t believe the light forces are deities, and when I petition them for help with my works, it’s more about respect and gratitude.”

  “If they aren’t deities, what are they?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t think anyone living can know. All I know is that they have the ability to help or to hinder, and that they respond to people who have personal power.”

  “But you said the werewolves are some kind of demon. Where do demons and Hell fit in?”

  “Some of the forces, both light and dark, exhibit awareness and a sense of personal identity. We call those forces ‘spirits’. We use the term ‘demon’ for powerful dark spirits.”

  “So, does that make angels powerful light spirits?”

  “Exactly. Spirits can be exorcised or banished, but we don’t pretend to know where they go. ‘Away’ is usually good enough for our purposes. Personally, I think Hell is an analog—it’s any place you don’t want to be.”

  “I can relate to that. I’ve been there many times.”

  “Haven’t we all.”

  Engine noise distracted Kyle from the conversation and he turned to see a package-delivery truck rumble through the gate and roll down the driveway toward the house. He tilted his head toward the truck. “What does the driver think about the wards?”

  Amanda shrugged. “Once you’ve been through the wards, you see the place for what it really is. Most people dismiss their initial impressions as an optical illusion, but the ward sticks with you enough that you don’t want to talk to others about what you’ve seen.”

  Kyle watched the brown truck pull up to the house and come to a stop. “That’s so cool. But I can imagine how tempting it would be to abuse that kind of power.”

  The driver went into the back of the truck, and Amanda lowered her voice. “That is why the Order exists. One of my tasks as a hunter is to watch for abuses of power.”

  Kyle lowered his voice to match hers as the driver reappeared and leaped out of the side door of his truck, hitting the ground at a jog. “So the Ternion Order is the supernatural police?”

  Amanda held her finger up to her lips in a shushing gesture, but answered his question in a whisper. “More or less.” She rose from her seat and met the driver at the screen door.

  “Hi, Pete. Need a signature?”

  The delivery man smiled and held out a clipboard. “Hi, Amanda. Line eighteen, please.” He checked her out while she signed and then noticed Kyle on the porch. He nodded a greeting, and Kyle raised a hand in response. After signing, Amanda handed back the clipboard, and the driver eased the package toward her. “It’s heavier than it looks,” he warned, and she took it from him carefully with both hands. Kyle could tell from the way her arms dipped that it was indeed heavier than one would expect for an eight-inch cardboard cube.

  “Have a good day,” the driver said before turning and jogging back toward his truck.

  “Thank you,” Amanda called to his retreating back.

  By the time she reached the table with her package, the delivery man had turned his truck around and was speeding toward the gate.

  Amanda set the package on the table and said, “Be right back.” She went into the house and came back a moment later with an old serrated kitchen knife, which she used to cut the tape holding the box closed. When she opened the box flaps, several packing peanuts swirled out and floated to the top of the table and the floor.

  “I hate this stuff,” Amanda said as she scooped up the wayward pieces of foam. She cautiously extracted a rounded object that was wrapped in brown paper, brushing more clinging peanuts back into the box.

  She pulled off the wrapper, revealing a shiny brass pot about four inches in diameter with a deep rounded bottom. She held the pot up by a thick wire handle that arched from a tab on one edge of the rim to another on the opposite side. She inspected it for a moment and then put it on the table, where it rested on three stubby legs. Astrological symbols had been etched in a band along the rim, and a Celtic knot decorated the side.

  “It’s beautiful,” Kyle commented.

  Amanda’s growing smile spread to a full grin. “I know. It’s much nicer than I expec
ted. The pictures on the web site didn’t do it justice.”

  Kyle looked at her in surprise. “You found this on the Internet? Where? The Witch Warehouse?”

  “Ha, ha. Celtic symbolism is popular, so it isn’t hard to find things like this if you know where to look.”

  Kyle leaned forward to get a closer look at the designs. “I’ll keep that in mind the next time I need some eye of newt.”

  Amanda put her hand on her hip. “Oh, you’re full of humor today, aren’t you? I thought you weren’t going to make fun.”

  Kyle flopped back in his chair and rolled his eyes. “Sorry. I was only joking.” She gave him a look as if she were deciding on the sincerity of his apology. “I didn’t mean to be disrespectful.”

  Amanda seemed mollified and sat down again. When she leaned forward to pull up her chair, the neck of her dress fell forward, revealing a white lacy bra and moderate but respectable cleavage. Kyle quickly brought his eyes back to her face before she looked his direction. If the Wizard of Oz was any kind of guide, she was definitely a good witch. She was way too hot to be a wicked witch.

  Kyle cleared his throat and tried to get past the awkward moment. “What is it for?” he asked, putting as much interest in his tone as he could.

  When she answered, she seemed to be over her annoyance. “It’s technically a cauldron, but I prefer to call it a crucible. The term cauldron is so, ‘double, double, toil and trouble.’” Kyle couldn’t help but smile, and she wagged her finger at him. “Which I never say, in case you were wondering. Anyway, it’s for you, partly. I need it for the ceremony tomorrow.”

  Kyle sat forward again, genuinely interested now. “I’m surprised you don’t already have one.”

  When she didn’t answer immediately, he looked up and realized she was blushing. She met his eyes and raised her shoulders in a sheepish shrug. “My old one was ceramic, and I broke it last week. That’s why it’s only partly for your ceremony.”

  Kyle knew better than to tease her about something that was probably an important piece of equipment for her work. He tapped the crucible a couple of times with his fingernail, making it ring. “You shouldn’t have any problems with this one breaking.”

  Amanda brightened and sat up. “That’s what I was thinking. Plus, brass complements the kind of spell I’ll be casting tomorrow. It’s a win for both of us.”

  After everything Kyle had seen over the past few days, he was getting a sense for how certain aspects of magic worked. This brand-new crucible was going to play a significant role in the exorcism tomorrow. Frowning at the lustrous object, he thought it seemed incomplete somehow. “Doesn’t it need to be consecrated or something?”

  Amanda’s eyebrows rose in unison. “I’m impressed. You’re catching on. Yes, I’ll need to put a little extra effort into purifying it tomorrow before we get started because I don’t know who might have handled it.” She picked up the heavy pot and cupped it in her hands. “In time, we’ll become more attuned to one another.”

  Kyle wasn’t sure what it meant to become attuned to a metal bowl, but he guessed it would be better if that had already happened. His fate rested in the efficacy of a spell that depended, at least in part, on this new, unproven addition to Amanda’s toolkit.

  Kyle sipped his drink to calm the sudden burning in his stomach. It didn’t help much, the lemonade being fairly acidic itself. Tomorrow night, Amanda would try to rid him of this hitchhiker he had unwittingly taken on board. If she succeeded, he would find some way to pay back Amanda and the Order for helping him. If she failed, he might have to find a cliff and jump off. Everybody dies sometime, and he refused to hand his living body over to a demon.

  Friday afternoon and Saturday passed quickly. Amanda tried to keep Kyle distracted by having him help her and Lucille with the chores around the farm, but as Saturday evening drew near, he started to get twitchy. Although his superhuman strength was helpful at times, it also underscored his situation and reminded him of the exorcism to come.

  Late Saturday afternoon, they went for a horseback ride in the horse pasture that occupied the southwest quarter of the property. The fenced-off area included a copse of tall pine trees along the western edge that offered shade for the horses.

  The horses were named Buck and Edna. After Amanda saddled Buck for Kyle, he stood hesitantly at the horse’s side.

  “What’s wrong?” Amanda asked.

  “How did this horse get his name?”

  Amanda laughed. “Don’t worry. He was named Buck because he’s a buckskin paint, not because of the way he treats riders.”

  “Good to know.” Kyle got into the saddle and followed Amanda’s instructions for how to hold the reins.

  Friday’s gray overcast had broken up into distinct fluffy white clouds that floated across the sky and blocked the sun often enough to keep the riders from getting too warm. They followed a trail around the perimeter of the horse pasture, enjoying the views of the farm, the nearby mountains, and the neighboring properties.

  While they were riding through the trees, the horses startled once at a loud rustling near the fence. Something swished away through the grass and then was silent. Kyle stared through the fence, fully expecting to find a glaring wolf, but all he saw was grass waving in the stiff breeze.

  “Probably a coyote,” Amanda said in a reassuring tone.

  They finished the ride without further incident and went inside after unsaddling the horses and rubbing them down.

  Lucille had prepared eggplant lasagna for dinner, which filled the house with a rich, mouth-watering aroma. But Amanda insisted that they wait until after the ceremony to eat so they could be fully alert. For the first time, Kyle started looking forward to the exorcism. His growling stomach turned out to be a powerful motivator for getting it over with. To take his mind off his hunger, Kyle got permission to check up on Sherry and his house.

  His first call was to the hotel where Sherry was saying. The room was in his name and he had paid for it, so the man at the front desk was happy to answer his questions.

  “Yeah, she’s still here. Son, you’d best be hiding someplace good, ‘cause she came down here madder than a wet hen asking after you. Only contact info I got is for your house in town.”

  Kyle gave the man the number at the farm in case he needed to get in touch.

  “Ain’t none of my business, but you might consider wearin’ a steel athletic cup next time you see that little gal.”

  Kyle chuckled, although he didn’t think the man was far off the truth. “Thanks for the advice. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention this call to her or give her that new number.”

  “No problem. I don’t need that kind of aggravation.”

  Kyle ended the conversation and called his landlord. Repairs on the house were progressing well and the place would probably be habitable within a week. After he hung up the phone, Kyle sighed in relief. Sherry was okay and it looked like he’d have a house to go home to. Assuming he survived another week.

  “Everything okay?” Amanda asked.

  Kyle shrugged. “As well as can be expected. Sherry is pissed at me, but that’s nothing unusual.”

  Amanda put her hand on Kyle’s shoulder and looked into his eyes. “Are you ready to do this? It won’t be full dark for another hour, but it will take some time to get prepared. The moon will be at meridian around nine o’clock, and that would be an excellent time to begin.”

  Kyle nodded as his heart rate increased. It was almost time. “What do I need to do?”

  “Get into some comfortable clothes. The moon shrine is in the attic. It can be a bit warm up there, so keep that in mind.”

  Kyle changed out of the jeans and light flannel shirt he had worn riding, and switched to cargo shorts and a t-shirt. He grabbed a clean flannel shirt in case it got cooler later on.

  He went back out into the upstairs hall, but Amanda’s door was still closed. He was trying to decide where to wait when Lucille opened the door and peeked out. She slipped a h
and through the opening and pointed toward the door next to Amanda’s. “Go on upstairs and turn on the ventilation fan that’s on the wall to the left. Don’t touch anything else. Amanda will join you in a minute.”

  Kyle opened the indicated doorway, revealing the attic stairwell. The area above was fairly dark, so he flipped a switch just inside the door. Lights came on and he started up the stairs.

  The room was warm and stuffy as predicted, but the ambiance made Kyle shiver anyway. The sconce lights in the four corners of the room produced plenty of soft yellow light, but they didn’t improve the brooding heaviness of the space. Perhaps the green and blue wall hangings were responsible.

  He spotted the ventilation fan high on the wall. Presumably, the switch positioned lower on the wall controlled it. Kyle crossed the room, carefully skirting a concrete pad that lay on the floor immediately below a hexagonal cupola. Kyle glanced up as he went around. A large picture window dominated each of the cupola’s eight sides, letting in the last glow of the setting sun.

  Kyle flipped the switch and the ventilation fan quietly ramped up to speed. Air instantly started flowing into the room from the stairwell, drying the sweat that had started beading on his forehead.

  He inspected the concrete pad. The six-foot square was about two inches thick and had a five-foot-diameter circle engraved into the surface. The purpose of the two beams he’d seen straddling the bearing walls in the hallway below suddenly became clear. What he’d thought was an odd decorative addition or repair was, in fact, reinforcement.

  The edges of the pad weren’t precisely aligned with the walls, leading Kyle to conclude that it had been oriented to true north. Corresponding with each point of the pad’s square, four circular depressions, each about five inches across, shared a tangent with the main circle. A copper tube exited the western corner of the pad and entered a lever valve before disappearing into the floor.

  Amanda’s voice came from the doorway, startling him. “What do you think of my moon shrine?”