Page 60 of Missing Moon
“I got unlucky.” I nod. “Elizabeth’s stooge got me. Spent ten years as a bloodsucker with that bitch in my head.”
“Ten years?” Mom raises an eyebrow. “Are you dead, Sammie?”
“I was. But I got better.” I smirk, and give her a Cliff’s Notes version of how I ended up as a psychic vampire.
Since time is likely weird in here, I also go into some detail about Anthony’s near death at age seven and Tammy’s second childhood in the faerie realm. This, more than me being a vampire or Ant’s angel situation, seems to worry her.
“You let the faeries take your daughter?” barks Mom. “Are you sure that’s really her?”
“I’m not a changeling, Grandma. I wasn’t a baby when Iwent willinglywith Queen Maple.” Tammy almost scoffs. “They didnotabduct me.”
It’s at this point, Mom notices Tammy’s leaf dress. They exchange a stare-down like a pair of Old West gunslingers… until their expressions morph into the same sort of mutual respect a pair of doctors might trade… albeit doctors from two different disciplines. Got a strong feeling Mom is not terribly fond of faeries. I’m going to guess she had a bad experience with one at some point. Granted, theycanbe quite notorious pranksters. Unless someone does something hostile toward them, faerie pranks are rarely dangerous—but wow are they embarrassing, or annoying. Granted, dark faeries are an entirelyotherproblem. Those little bastards are evil. Fortunately, they are not native to the normal world and even Tammy hates them.
“All right. Let’s say I believe you,” says Mom, looking at me. “What do you want me to do?”
“Come home. There’s also some bad news.” I look down, kicking the toe of my sneaker at the dirt.
“Yes. I know already. Artie’s on borrowed time.” Mom lets out a long, sad sigh. “Sorry for being a little obstinate and playing dumb, but I had to make sure you weren’t another hallucination. I am aware of how long I’ve been stuck in here. Been trying to get out the whole time but just couldn’t manage to do it. I’m sorry, Sammie.” Mom looks down. “My defensive magic was trying to shield my body so he couldn’t get in. I wasn’t trying to catapult my soul off into wherever we are now.”
I hug Mom. “You don’t have to apologize. Wasn’t like you were trying to do this to yourself.”
“I’ve been stuck in here for so long...” Mom gazes off wistfully into the trees. “Sometimes, I’d almost find my way back. I’d get close enough to see and hear, but talking or doing things was difficult. The connection never lasted long. I know my body is out there roaming around, empty and playing hotel to any wandering phantom that comes by. Ghosts, faeries, demons, whatever happens to find it. I can see why you thought I was kind of erratic.”
“Yeah… ‘erratic’ is one word you could use.” I sigh. “One day, you’d barely acknowledge we existed. The next, you’d be singing and dancing in the greenhouse.”
“That’d be the faerie possessing me.” Mom frowns. “The little shits probably thought it was hilarious.”
“Hey…” Tammy frowns. “They’re notallmean.”
“Sometimes you’d even get into an argument with Dad and the way he talked it’s like he didn’t even know who you were.” I rub my hands up and down my arms.
“Because he didn’t.” Mom grumbles. “He knows I’m not really in there. Poor thing’s been trying to help get me back.He read some book on Native American shamanism and got it in his head that being high makes it easier to commune with spirits. What he didn’t realize was that marijuana didn’t work like that. Ithadto be peyote.”
I gawk. That puts Dad’s massive weed habit in an entirely different light. He wasn’t trying to escape reality—he’d been searching for Mom. Freaking Elizabeth! How could she do so much damage to an entire family?
“Easy, Sammie.” Mom rests a hand on my shoulder. “Being angry won’t do you any good. You already killed her.”
“This is seriously weird that Grandma looks like she could be mom’s sister.” Anthony grins.
Tammy folds her arms, smiling. “And Auntie Mary Lou looks like she could be everyone’s ma.”
I look around at the woods. “Okay, what now? Does anyone know how we can get out of here?”
“You really are new at this whole magic thing, aren’t you?” Mom pats me on the arm. “If you opened a portal, lead me back to it. Hold my hand or this realm’s hold on me will cause me to become confused and get lost. You will need to physically pull me through the gateway. I can’t go on my own. This place won’t let go of me otherwise.”
I take her hand. “Fair enough. Let’s go. Are you ready to leave?”
“I am, Sammie. Lead the way.”
Chapter Twenty-five
The Other Side
We hurry back across this crazy netherworld realm to the portal Tammy opened earlier—except the portal is gone; luckily, Tammy doesn’t have too much trouble reopening it. The worst part of the process is that she had to touch the Eye of Anubis, which she really didn’t like doing. According to her, it’s ‘icky.’
“That’s the sort of artifact that ought to be locked away in a vault somewhere and forgotten about,” says Mom as the gateway opens in front of us. “Nothing good will come of its use.”
I’ll need to figure out if I’m going to entrust it to Max’s care or try to lock it away somewhere. Maybe Iwillbury it on the Moon. Nah. With my luck, a century from now when we start colonizing the lunar surface, settlers will find it and an army of zombie vampires will end up attacking Moon colonists.