Half-Moon Blood

Chapter 6

The next morning my hands were sweaty as I walked into first period history. Ronin wasn't there. Did that mean the demon had gotten to him? My field of vision narrowed as I thought of the horrible reality of yesterday. We'd been going to see a demon. Ronin had been taking Lynx and I to see a demon. Maybe he'd died fighting it. Maybe Lynx and I would have died if my cousin hadn't made me run.

Dead.

There was a loud smacking sound. I looked down, realizing that I'd lost my grip on my pink butterfly notebook as I stood frozen between the desks like a total loser while everyone chatted and gossiped around me. Maybe even about me.

"Hey. Here you go. You feeling alright?" Someone handed me my notebook. When my field of vision widened again, I realized it was Shawn.

"Huh? Yeah. I'm okay I guess." My cheeks warmed and I knew they'd turned bright red. How embarrassing. I grabbed my notebook back from Shawn, and slipped into my desk. First period was about to start. Where was Ronin? Thinking he was dead was ridiculous. He was a vampire. Vampire's didn't die. At least, not unless they were staked, or so the theory went.

The bell rang and Mr. Taylor stormed in, just behind the bell as always, cup of coffee in hand like it was dragging him forward. He began the lesson. I tried to pay attention. Tried to take the same meticulous notes I always did. But I kept missing things and falling behind; Mr. Taylor would erase the screen before I was finished copying things down. Instead of lending people my notes for the day, I was going to have to ask to borrow someone else's. Great. Messing with this vampire was already ruining my life. Maybe Lynx was right. Maybe this mission was above and beyond what I was capable of.

But then the dismissal bell rang, and I left the class to head to my locker and there he was: Ronin, standing tall and handsome, wearing jeans and a loose fitting canvas jacket. "Hey," he said as I approached.

"Hey, you're okay?" I whispered the words, spinning my combination lock as Ronin moved just a bit sideways to allow me access.

"Sure." Ronin shrugged. "That was just a minor demon. Small, like a puppy. Gave it a good run around and then sent it back to where it came from."

I nodded, swapping out my books.

"So, I'm sorry we got disrupted," Ronin continued. "I want to go back there. Today. Show you the door. Then maybe you can figure out how to close it."

I slammed my locker shut, rounding on Ronin. "How did you find me?" I asked, trying to be polite about it, but suddenly needing to know.

He shrugged again. He seemed to like to do that. "Well, there aren't very many Half-Moon witches. Word gets around."

"Okay, then. When you were researching me, did you happen to hear anything else? Like how I suck at magic?"

Ronin crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes. "What are you saying?"

I sighed,heavily. "I want to help. I really do. But I have no idea what I'm doing. I don't even know how to begin casting a spell to close such a door. If you want my help, I'm going to have to do some learning first, or I'll probably end up being killed by the demon, puppy-like or no. That means I'm going to have to find resources that I currently don't have. So, no, I'm not going with you. I don't need to see the door. What I need is a mentor, or a spell book, or something that can tell me what I need to know before I walk into a death trap."

Ronin nodded, his eyes growing distant and hazy. "Okay. Fair enough. Maybe I am rushing this. Give me until tomorrow. I think I can find you what you need."

I paused, his words were like a vacuum sucking the air from my lungs. "Really?" I said. Until that moment, I hadn't been sure if I was saying what I was because I was trying to quietly back out of my offer of assistance. But when Ronin said he could give me what I needed, my insides relaxed and I felt relieved. I really did want to help. And I really, really wanted to learn about my Half-Moon magic.

"Really." Ronin nodded again, dropping his arms to his sides. "But I better get moving if I'm going to track it down for you. I'll see you tomorrow." He waved and then stalked down the hall, students silently moving out of his path like they could sense his unnaturalness. He didn't seem to care about missing a whole day of classes. But then, since he was actually a vampire, he probably wasn't really a student.

"Is that Ronin?" Lynx asked, bumping against my elbow as she approached.

"Yes," I answered, jumping at bit as I caught myself staring at the good looking vampire disappearing from view. "He's fine. He said he took care of that you-know-what yesterday." I secured my locker before heading to second period with my cousin.

"It looked like he was leaving. Does that mean—"

"He's getting me something," I answered.

"Oh," Lynx brushed her long hair over her shoulder. She looked great and glam that morning, and I suddenly felt dowdy without even a bit of lipgloss on. "So, we're still doing this?"

"You bet," I said, though my insides shook like sand in an earthquake. I reached up to try and smooth my unruly hair,

"Well," Lynx said, as we approached our English class, "In that case, I'm glad to see that he can hold his own. That thing sounded vicious yesterday, but it looked like Ronin didn't even have a mark on him."

I nodded, but gripped my books more tightly to my chest. I wondered if I'd get away from a demon in one piece. My notes in English were even worse than those in History had been. I couldn't get my mind off wondering what Ronin was going to bring me. And I couldn't wait to find out.