I blinked at the glare of the shimmering sun that was splashing and playing on Snow Melt Lake outside the living room window. I left Izzy in town quite some time ago and had been sitting there ever since in some sort of strange reverie. Seeing Isis' bloodied body dislodged the memory of me finding Dammon's body.
I missed him.
Every day I missed him more than I had the day before. Seeing him again and being with him again in my mind was all I had left. But every time I had to leave him to join the world outside my head I had to relive the mourning. I had to remind myself that in flesh and bone Dammon was gone. And I didn't like doing that. I didn't like it the first time, having to accept this cruel fact. So accepting it every time I pulled out of my memories of him royally sucked.
He was gone because of me.
I killed Dammon.
This hurt like no other pain I had ever known. And I had known a lot of pain. I carried this guilt around with me where ever I did roam. It was mine. It belonged to me. And I was taking it to the grave with me.
I shoved off the couch and looked around at all the boxes that were neatly stacked in corners and alongside the walls. I uncurled my fist, unwrinkled the little note my mother had left in my bathroom upstairs, and reread what she had written on it.
Luna,
I had some business to take care of in the city. Be back tomorrow. I'm flying to Burling tomorrow night. I'll be gone for a few days. Hopefully you'll be around tomorrow night. I'd love to spend some time with you before my flight.
I love you,
Mom
I rolled my eyes, stuffed the note back into the pocket of my blue jeans and got to work taking one box at a time and emptying it of its contents. I started with the boxes marked Living Room, which were filled with pictures, new DVDs and stereo and television components, new candles and knickknacks and whatnots and this-thats. I took my time, hoping that if I did, night would fall quicker than normal. The anticipation of seeing Ashmodai was somewhat overwhelming. And keeping my mind off everything was hard, even with the work I had before me. When Addy moved us to Burling we had very little. But after Barron bought Addy this property on Snow Melt and she went on a shopping spree, we owned a lot.
To the back of the living room, a long wall divided the room from a big, den-like area. The movers had put our new black leather furniture in a u-shape in front of the large fireplace. The new love-seat faced the fireplace and two deep, overstuffed chairs flanked the black lacquered coffee table in the center. Two large triangular-shaped windows on each side of the fireplace framed the view of the forest with the mountain range etched in the horizon. It was definitely a cool sitting area, but I had no idea which of our belongings to unpack into this room. We didn't have any boxes that were marked Cool Den-Like Room. So I put a few new apple-cinnamon scented candles on the coffee table and a few on the rock mantle. I threw Addy's new, fluffy, animal hide-looking blanket over the arm of one of the chairs then moved on to the kitchen, just to the right of the living room.
For such a big house, I was surprised that the kitchen was so very humble. It was cool, though. The side wall was actually a turret of windows that had a bench seat built into it. The movers had put our new, round breakfast table there, creating a cozy sit-spot. I was looking forward to sitting there with some coffee, a pastry and the morning glow coming in through all the glass.
Unpacking the house was definitely a great way to pass the time, but it failed at keeping things from passing through my mind, even with all the new and exciting discoveries. Each box was filled with things I hadn't seen before, except for the pictures and a few other personal belongings, like my grandmother Jade's vase.
When I pulled the vase out of one of the boxes, I paused to examine it. It was my absolute favorite thing Addy and I owned, even out of all the new and wonderful purchases Addy had made. The vase wasn't really a vase, but I didn't know what else to call it. As I turned it, carefully, in my hands, the sun splashed across its smooth, opaque surface. It was cream in color but had swirls of black, glittery smoke through it. The vase was so creamy that it looked like my fingers could sink right into it. Its shape was odd. It was square, like a treasure chest, but it rose up into a cylinder at the top, where an old cork, the size of a plum, plugged the hole. The vase was not only unique in a visual aspect, but there was something out of the ordinary about how it felt. It was both evil and good. It reminded me, in a way, how Ashmodai felt to me. Somehow the vase had a balance to it. A yin and a yang. But it wasn't the vase, really. It was what was inside of it.
While growing up, my fascination with the vase grew as I did. Addy was adamant that I never, ever, try taking the cork off. I obeyed Addy for a very long time, even despite my nagging curiosity.
But then one day, I just couldn't take the suspense any longer. I had snuck the vase behind the sofa and tried ripping the cork from its neck. But the cork was stubborn. It would not budge. Desperation drove me to becoming reckless. Suddenly it didn't matter if I got busted disobeying Addy. All that mattered was that I uncorked the vase. I tried a knife, a fork, a screwdriver, a pair of pliers, but nothing worked. I was crabby for the rest of the day, after I had finally given up.
That same exact night I had a crazy dream. My grandmother came to me. She was on the back of a dragman beast named Chard, who was half a man and half a dragon. Jade was young. She had very distinct eyes. They were like sparkling peridot. And her long, silky hair was like a fountain of melted coal. She was laughing, giddily, soaring to the ground on that beast's back, coming toward me. I was standing at the shore of a body of water that looked like black ice. When Grandmother landed, all I could do was stare at the beautiful beast she was straddling. He was gargantuan. He reminded me of Bane, with his jet black hair and golden skin, the rippling muscles and black, feathery wings. But this beast had eyes like emeralds, and they glowed just ever-so-slightly. The man part of this beast ended at the waist, where the dragon began. He was magnificent. I had never, to this day, seen anything mightier or more astonishing than the dragman my grandmother showed me in my dreams. His scales emanated a green, gaseous mist that glowed in the dark around him. There were sharp, little barbs on each and every one of his scales. I couldn't imagine how my grandmother sat there on his back looking as comfortable as she did.
When she came to me that night in my dreams she came to warn me about the vase.
"Luna, it is not time," she said, smiling her pleasant, peaceful smile. She looked like a princess, so beautiful and pristine. "Have patience, Moonshine. There will come a day when the vase shall be opened. I will return to you again and I will tell you all. Until then, little warrior, keep it safe."
Then she road off on that great beast and I woke from the dream.
With a distant smile on my face, I reached upward, standing on the tips of my toes, and I placed the vase carefully on one of the beams that stretched across the top of the kitchen. I wasn't sure why I felt it needed to be hidden, but it did. I was certain of it.
I plopped into the living room couch and sighed. Nearly all the boxes were unpacked now, except for the ones in the bathroom and my bedroom. And probably the ones in Addy's room, in the bedroom to the right of the den, since she couldn't seem to stick around long enough to take care of business.
The sun was nearly ready to hide itself away for the day. Splashes of pink and strokes of muted orange waved back at the sky from the surface of Snow Melt. I wanted to just sit there until nightfall, simply admiring the view, but there were still some things I needed to do in order to make this house feel more like a home. I had been stacking the empty boxes outside on the porch with the intentions of making a bonfire out of them. There were still a lot of them laying about the house, so I walked around and gathered them up.
I had just finished bringing the last load out onto the deck, when I turned my back to the lake and that creepy feeling came over me, dropping over me like a heavy, cold blanket.
Someone was watching me.
I was just about to s
pin around to look behind me when a large hand clamped around my neck and I was shoved into the side if the house so hard that my face knocked against the log, and sparkly, black stuff floated in my vision. Thick, strong fingers squeezed my throat, choking off the flow of air. A solid, hot body pressed against my back.
Oh, freak, it's Sean!
The image of Isis' mauled corpse flashed before my eyes, and I knew, it was Sean who left the mangled corps in the woods behind the church, and I was about to be laid down in bloody grass.
The hand at my neck forced me to turn around. Again, I was slammed against the wall, but this time with a force that shocked my lungs on impact. Warm lips crushed my mouth, and I was kissed by a savage.
A deep, gravely voice whispered on my lips, "My Lady Moon." The fingers around my neck loosened. The fuzziness in my vision cleared. Now I was looking up into blue-black obsidian eyes.
These were the eyes of My Dark Angel.
****
Chapter Forty
Luna