Page 59 of Missing Moon
I pull out my wallet and show her my PI credentials.
“Moon? I’m supposed to recognize that? Congrats. You have the same first name of my youngest.”
“Mom. Good grief.” I sigh. “I got married. You have been stuck in here for thirty years.”
“Now I know you’re full of it.” Mom shakes her head. “You don’t evenlookthirty.”
“Argh!” I pop my wings. “Shit happened!”
She stares at me in shock.
“What on Earth is going on here? I’ve been wandering for only a few hours and haven’t seen nor heard a single person… then you suddenly show up, with this kid and this man…”
Tammy laughs. “I’m older than he is.”
“Mom. Calm down and listen to me for a sec.” I exhale. “A vampire attacked you. I’m not sure what you did to rebuff it, but I’m thinking you tried to defend yourself, and things went sideways. Somehow, your soul ended up here while your body remained in the normal world.”
Anthony snaps his fingers. “Now I understand. Grandma has been randomly possessed over and over by any odd spirit that happened to wander close enough. That’s why her personality seemed to change so much. When she’s blank, she’s, um, empty.”
“What are you saying?” Mom looks at him. “Did that young man just call me Grandma?”
“Mom, that’s my son Anthony.” I facepalm. “He’s sixteen.”
Mother stares at him. “What the hell are you feeding him?”
“Angel foodcake,” mutters Tammy.
“Oof.” I look down. “That’s areallylong story. I promise I will tell you everything. We have to get you out of here while we still can. You’ve been living in a freakin’ tree, for goodness’ sakes!”
“I was wondering about that. Been seeing it here. Thought it was a souvenir shop or something. But inside, it feels warm and cozy. Like a real house.”
Tammy steps closer. “What happened that night, Grandma? When you were attacked?”
Mom looks at her. “I’m really a grandma already?”
“Mom, you’re…” I do some mental math. “Seventy-one now.”
“Oh, shit.” She looks at her hands, but they look smooth and young. No help there.
“So, what happened to you?” Tammy tilts her head.
“Just like this woman claiming to be my daughter said.” Mom gestures at me. “Was out gathering some herbs for a spell I needed to cast to keep us safe, and this vampire comes out of nowhere. We get into a scrap. Obviously, I’m no match for a creature like that in a fistfight, so the only thing I could really do is try to enchant myself so the dark bastard can’t get in.”
“Does she mean dark master?” asks Tammy.
“I certainly do not.” Mom folds her arms again. “I said what I said. Do you know how vampires work?”
“Oh, yeah.” I wince. “Just a little.”
“I sense sarcasm.” Mom narrows her eyes.
“Did you somehow know a vampire would be coming after you?” I ask.
“I did, yeah. Didn’t know when, of course. The monsters tried going for my mother, and my grandmother.” Mom lets out a long sigh. “They’ve been after us for generations. And ifwhat you’re saying is true, I wasn’t around to teach you how to defend yourself.”
“No, you weren’t.” I look down.
“Did you get unlucky... or they just haven’t attacked you yet?” asks Mom.