The Moon's Fangs | 1

“Some problems are like an ember. If you turn your back on the flame, by the time you notice the smoke, all that’s left is ash.” - Reks Arlen; Age of Paradise.

Tiny white specks resembling a distant galaxy reflected dimly in the black opalite ring. The speckles appeared faded, as though nearly depleted of energy. I turned it between my fingers, examining it closely.

Knowing I had stolen the ring right off Nolan’s finger made me sick to my stomach. Since when did I decide to pick up a life of crime? That’s not me! No way did I want to be a modern day Gollum. Ew. But it was like my instincts reacted before my moral compass could redirect my actions. I never consciously made the decision to steal the ring. Yet here it was, in my possession.

Yeah, try saying that in court. I’m sure the judge will believe you.

I stroked the smooth rim with my thumb. As I did, images of the desert landscape ran across my mind. Strange decrepit ruins were in the distance, mostly hidden by the rolling sands. Two moons, one pink and the other white, hung askew in the sunrise-hued sky, where distant planets populated the strange, foreign nebula. The longer I touched the ring, the more I saw, as if merely having contact with it somehow slowed the obscure, fast-paced images tattooed in my mind.

No matter how crazy it sounded, my gut screamed jackpot. Was I really supposed to go to a desert and find that guy? And which one? There’re tons of deserts! But how many of them have decrepit ruins and a pink moon…

My brows knitted together.

Why am I playing with the idea this could be real? This was all made up by a freaky dream, and I stole some poor guy’s ring because of it.

But when Reks came to mind, everything inside of me clashed against that denial.

“A desert, crescent moon, a ring… big scary monsters…” I twisted the band in between my fingers, studying it like a piece of a puzzle. “Save him, save you…”

I groaned, sitting up on my bed. My gaze drifted over to the tall bookshelf by my door, filled with fantasy series, astrology novels, and all kinds of thrilling and romantic stories my nose loved getting stuck in. My luggage bag leaned neatly against it, ready to go.

With the little amount of sleep I’d gotten, driving and dealing with the airport would be a pain in the ass here in only a few short hours. Despite that fact, I felt restless. Too afraid to fall asleep again, for I knew what waited for me in my dreams.

I gingerly rubbed my neck where it was the sorest, peering through my window. The rain and darkness masked the view, but I knew past tree-line only a short walk away laid my little slice of heaven; my telescope wrapped in a protective tarp sitting beside a hammock, tied between two trees in a clearing perfect for stargazing. If it weren’t for the storm, that’s where I’d be. My little escape from reality.

My concentration broke when my phone lit up on the nightstand, buzzing with an incoming phone call. It lit up the framed picture of Blaire and I on the porch swing, along with my favorite necklace and the charm bracelet we’d been adding on to for forever now. We planned on adding a shark tooth to them once finding a souvenir store at the beach.

I reached over to answer the phone, clutching the ring in my other hand. “Hi, dad. What’s up?”

“Uh oh. Did I wake you up? Thought I’d catch your voicemail.”

Something about hearing my dad’s voice caused tears to swell in my eyes. I quickly wiped at the uninvited waterworks with the collar of my favorite tee I changed into earlier. It was one my dad gave me; an oversized rock band tee with a motorcycle a few degrees cooler than the one he rode around every day. It was a vintage charcoal black with faded white and red print.

“No, you’re totally fine. I just can’t sleep.” My throat stung, but I kept my tone level. “Bad dream.”

“Oh yeah? What about?”

“A glowing snake.” I laughed to mask the tears rolling down my cheeks. “It turned into a giant anaconda, then bit me.”

“Hey now, since when have you ever been scared of snakes? That’s not the brave Aims I know.” he chuckled, and I imagined his dimples deepening the way they always did when he laughed. “They’re probably just tryin’ to haunt your dreams since they can’t get to ya in real life. How about you boil some water and make yourself a hot tea? You’ll feel better after.”

I couldn’t help but smile at his reasoning.

“Okay, will do,” I said, putting him on speaker phone, then reaching over for my necklace. “Are you on your way home?”

“’Fraid not.” He said, then the sound of sirens blared in the background. “But hey, always remember that nightmares are just a way our brains cope with changes in our lives. The snake could just mean, uh… now that high school is over with, it’s time for you to shed your skin and uh, become a firefighter with your dad.” He chuckled. Other voices could be heard under the siren wails.

“Yeah, sure. Let’s go with that.” I clipped the dainty silver chain together behind my neck, letting the blue gem rest in the dip of my collarbone.

“I’ll bring you and Blaire breakfast from the local diner on the way home. We’ll share a quick meal together before you two leave for the girl’s trip.” It became hard to hear him over the growing commotion. “Love you, sweet girl. Oh, and make sure to put some honey in your tea!”

“I will.” I smiled. “And I love you, too.”

After hanging up, I slipped on a pair of jean shorts under the oversized tee, pocketing the ring and my phone in opposite back pockets. I made my way to the unlit kitchen while fastening my charm bracelet around my wrist, then pressed the button on the electric kettle to boil water.

While searching for the honey, lightning flashed in the windows from the living room and near the front door. My knees buckled as the flash exposed the silhouette of a person searching the ground in the front yard. My breath hitched and I dropped to a crouching position behind the kitchen counter.

“No, no, no, no,” I whispered, peeking around the counter as the next flash lit up the front yard. But this time the silhouette vanished.

The ring in my back pocket felt suddenly heavy. Nolan. He must have come back after realizing his ring disappeared. How long had he been out there searching? It must be important to him if he couldn’t wait until morning, or at least until the storm passed to search for it.

Not good.

My stomach dropped as the doorbell rang. My hand clasped over my mouth and I pressed my body against the island as though willing myself to melt into it and disappear. Friiiiick.

After an excruciating minute went by, it rang again, followed by a series of knocks. “Sleepwalker, you awake?” Nolan loudly whispered through the door.

The blood in my veins froze. Had he seen me in the kitchen?

Surely he’ll give up if I wait long enough.

I planned on holding my breath and keeping my mouth shut until he did finally give up hope, but that went out the window when Blaire stepped out of the guest bedroom, wiping the sleep from her eyes. “What’s going on?” she asked, flicking on the light.

I grimaced, clenching my teeth. The worlds against me, I’m convinced.

“Nothing. Go back to sleep.” I whispered, standing up slightly.

Then Nolan knocked at the door again in response to the house lighting up. “Hey, it’s me – Nolan! I think I lost something out in your yard. Can I borrow a flashlight?”

Blaire’s eyes flashed with excitement. “ohemgee, he came back?” she squealed, dancing on her tiptoes. “I wonder if his cute brother came too!”

Okay, first off, Nolan had his grouchy brother beat in that department. But I'd save that argument for the airport.

“Blaire, we are not answering the door,” I stated. “We don’t know him. It could be a trick.”

She pouted, dropping back down to her heels. “But…”

“Look,” Nolan spoke through the door again. “I’m really sorry. I wouldn’t be doing this, but the ring belongs to my family. I sort of… borrowed it without permission. If I lose it, I don’t know how I’ll face my grandfather. He might literally kill me. I can’t go back without it.”

Crap. Why did he have to sound so sincere?

Guilt washed over me.

“How can we refuse that, Aims?” Blaire said, taking a step toward the door. “Don’t worry. I have a bat.”

I still had no idea where she found that bat in the first place. “Blaire—” I insisted, but she was already unlocking the door.

My legs thrummed with the urge to make a run for it and hide, but there wasn’t time. And I couldn’t just leave Blaire to fend for herself.

Nolan shivered and flashed a wide, appreciative grin at us as Blaire opened the door. “Don’t ya think it’s kinda weird showing up again, what… an hour later?” she asked, hand on hip.

Nolan pushed back at his sopping wet hair. “Super weird,” he agreed. “I feel like the biggest weirdo on the planet.”

“Aw, it’s going to be okay! We’ll forgive you this one time. There’s a big flashlight somewhere around here, right?” she turned to look at me with big doe eyes.

“Uh, yeah.” I blinked, turning towards the back hallway. “Don’t move. I’ll go grab it real quick.”

The electric kettle beeped upon completion as I left the room. When I grabbed the heavy-duty flashlight from the hall closet, my panicking brain scrambled for any way out of this mess. The idea of tossing the ring in the grass while helping him search popped up in my head. Yeah, that could be an easy way out...

But that idea of losing possession of it made my neck sting, like in warning. Well too bad!

When I turned the corner back to the kitchen, Blaire and Nolan were sitting at the kitchen counter. The blood drained from my face. No, no, no. She should have kept him by the door, dangit!

I had yet to see the dry version of Nolan, but still, he was obviously handsome in a boy-next-door, everyone’s crush, kind of way. Easy on the eyes, and that smile… no, that grin of his probably let him get away with just about anything he wanted.

“Are you making tea?” Blaire asked innocently.

I set the flashlight on the counter in front of Nolan without making eye contact. “Yeah. I can make Nolan a to-go tea while he’s searching for his lost item outside.”

“So, what color is it? I’ll help you look for it.” Blaire offered.

“Black,” Nolan said. “Sleepwalker, you saw it, right? In the car.”

I fumbled with the tumbler. This guy was way more observant than I gave him credit for. “Gosh, maybe?” my insides screamed from that stupid answer. Maybe? How can someone maybe see a ring? I set the two mugs and tumbler down beside the kettle and reached over for the tea bags. “Did you search your brother’s car?”

“I’m actually one hundred percent certain it’s here,” Nolan said.

Tension rapt the space between us.

Was guilt eating at my soul, or did Nolan know I had the ring?

It’s settled. I’m doomed.

Might as well do some fishing before laying down in the grave I dug myself.

It sounded crazy, but if Nolan has a connection to this ring that magically matches the one in my dream, then what are the odds of him having a connection with the other images? Theoretically thinking.

I poured hot water into each cup with an unsteady grip. “Random question. How do you feel about deserts? I was thinking about checking one out this summer and thought you might have a good recommendation.” I never wanted to facepalm myself so hard before until after saying that. Death by cringe coming in hot.

I glanced up to see an unsure, yet hardening expression on his face. Even his cheery tone changed into something more serious. Either I confused the heck out of the guy, or I pinched a nerve.

“Can’t say I’m a fan of desert landscapes. I’m more of a woodsy or lake guy myself.”

I pressed my lips together, taking the crazy-talk a step further. “Oh yeah? I once saw this big, white snake - crazy, I know - on one of the trails close to here. It was practically glowing.” I laughed somewhat sardonically, looking up to meet his ever-growing suspicious gaze.

I searched his expression for any telltale signs of… I don’t know, catching my drift? But Nolan kept a cool face, seeming to stay intentionally unreadable.

“Wow,” Blaire said. “The beach is my favorite. But I’ll give them all a try.”

Then the sound of the rain outside came to an instant stop as if mothernature had turned off the showerhead. A slight weight lifted from my chest to know the storm finally decided to move on.

“Oh, lucky break.” Blaire hopped out of the barstool chair. “I’ll go get my shoes on, then we can go look outside while the tea steeps.”

“Man, thanks so much Batter-Batter.” Nolan grinned after her as she flitted off to the rain boots by the front door. But his smile turned grim when he looked back at me again. “I can’t leave here without that ring, Amelia.”

My body temperature skyrocketed.

His hazel eyes, like new autumn leaves, saw right through me. He knew.

Blaire frowned when noticing my face paling on her way back over.

With one last card to play here, I held his stare and asked, “Do you know a man named Reks?”

He blinked, staring blankly back at me. “Sorry, I…”

“Then Sio? Do you know someone by that name?” I pressed, uncaring of how weird I came off right now.

Yet this name did warrant a response — recognition.

Nolan’s body went rigid, alert. “How do you know about-” He started to say, but froze. His eyes went suddenly wide, and he spat an unfamiliar curse belonging to a language I didn't recognize. “Get down!” He yelled just as the ceiling above our heads ripped apart.