Chapter 85

The woman looked just like Francium down to the cut of her jaw, but she held herself with a different sort of poise than he did. She was dressed in a simple shirt and pants, but her jacket had a hood pulled up over her head. Where had she come from? How had she gotten behind me when she had been in front of me. The unease that had been building since I’d arrived in this town only got worse, but I couldn’t say exactly why.

Where had all the people gone? Why did I feel like someone was just behind me, ready to pounce? I turned my head quickly, trying to catch sight of the person, but there was no one there. I still felt it, though as I turned back to the woman.

Her eyes focused on me. She seemed completely unafraid though my heart was hammering. The entire town seemed empty, and that just couldn’t be right. Where had all those people gone?

“I’m looking for Francium,” I said. “My name is Hedy.”

Her eyes brightened, and she approached me, taking my hand and squeezing it. “Hedy? I’ve heard so much about you!”

I wasn’t sure what to think about that. Had Francium told her about me or Claire? The sense of danger faded around me. I couldn’t even tell where it had come from. The sound of people shuffling around returned and the people who had been there before returned as if they had always been there.

The familiar faces turned away and seemed not to pay us any attention, yet I still felt that they were listening and watching intensely.

Had she been hiding them or had it been someone else? Maybe she was of an awakened bloodline too? Or was she more a vampire than anything like the book said she should be. The man could change his face. One of them had created the illusion of fire when we were in the forest. All of this could have been part of an illusion.

Was I even inside a real town? Maybe this place was somewhere deep and dark in a mountain and I was just under an illusion. The coolness in the air felt different than the normal winter cold.

“Come on! We have so much to talk about. It’s rare that anyone from Francium’s school comes to visit. I’m Francia, his mother.”

The name struck me. Francia: Francium. Candida: Candido. There had to be something about the names that I should remember. Were Norton and Sibyl the same way? Were they even real Red Moon pack members or some other pack that had taken over in the original pack’s steed? It felt like the more I learned about the packs, the more lies I uncovered.

I worried my lip. I’d have to look into it.

“It’s nice to meet you. He… He’s never mentioned you.”

“Well,” she said. “That’s part and parcel. Mostly not by choice, but it hardly matters!”

She pulled me along with a bright voice. “Francium told me all about how you stood up for him. Thank you so much for that. You and your friend Claire were all I heard about for weeks.”

She laughed. “I had never heard him so happy. Thank you so much of befriending him…”

“I’m… glad for that,” I said. “Was he… I mean I didn’t know much about him before them, but he didn’t seem to get along with his brothers.”

She chuckled. “How could he get along with those brutes? You may not like literature, dear, but I doubt they could even spell it!”

I chuckled at that. “That was probably true…”

I fell into step with her, glancing around and searching for danger.

“You seem tense.”

“A little… It’s a little… Well, your town isn’t what I expected when I got directions…”

She grinned. “We like to be left alone is all. This is the original capital of New Moon. The Old Capital, as they call it in the new capital these days. Much too remote to hold all of the theaters.”

I nodded. “I can’t imagine people hiking the mountain in tuxedos.”

She laughed. “What a sight! Especially those pesky Red Moon people. I saw you crashing that wedding, dear. Brilliant work. The drama! The emotion! Sibyl was never fit for the alpha king.”

She grinned viciously up at me. “To see you charging into the ceremony in that brilliant white gown. Oh, my heart. My brother has been working on a new play and decided to include a wedding crashing scene in your honor.”

My lips twitched. “Thanks… She really is terrible.”

“Oh, I know. I’ve met her and her mother. Terrible people, both of them. And rude!” She pat my arm. “And don’t be nervous about that little confession of Francium’s. I know Francium had a crush on you, the romantic and dramatic boy that he can be. It’s in his blood, I’m afraid, but I don’t hold it against you for rejecting him. I am quite happy that he learned from it and found his mate.”

“Have you… met Claire?”

Her eyes brightened. “Of course, I have, dear. We met in the capital when they were supposed to go see the show. Sadly, it was canceled, but the show must go on. We had a delightful dinner out. They are such a striking couple. I had never seen my little Francium like that with anyone. I knew upon seeing her that she was his mate even though he didn’t seem to want to acknowledge it.”

Claire had never mentioned meeting this woman. Had she known that this was Francium’s mother at the time? Had he even known that it was his mother if she had power over illusions or could change her face at will? Was she actually his mother, or was I just following this woman recklessly? I didn’t know, but Francia chattered the entire way to her little cottage. The further I walked, the more at ease I felt, even though I couldn’t say exactly why.

“Why not?” I asked. “They seemed… into each other.”

Her lips twitched. “Well, any connection to the alpha king’s retinue would be seized upon and my son isn’t meant for politics.”

The air was cold around us. I tried to listen to what Francia was talking about, but I felt so on edge that I couldn’t do anything else but scan the area. Everyone around us looked oddly pale. Their movements were different than any werewolf I had ever seen before.

We reached the cottage and I looked up at it. It seemed old like the archway. It was more of a small stone castle than a cottage, but I couldn’t get my brain to think of it any other way. That had to be an illusion or someone trying to affect my mind. I fought it until I could see every detail on the front of the building.

For a moment, I saw it sprawling on either side like a large and tall castle, but then it seemed to shrink to the size of a small cottage.

“Come on in!” Francia cheered, pushing the door open.

My phone buzzed. “Can I take a call really quick?”

“Of course! Come on in though. It gets cold quickly here.”

I nodded and stepped into the foyer. The inside was cold. I saw a table through the open doorway. The scent of blood was faint in the air. There were two glasses on the table with the thinnest layer of red liquid inside. It could have been wine, but I didn’t smell wine.

I pulled out my phone and realized that it was the Moon Shadow phone. I answered it.

“Where are you?” It was Armageddon’s voice. “Your beacon’s showing as you being somewhere in the mountains.”

“I am,” I said calmly. “I’m visiting. I’m fine.”

“Be safe,” he said stiffly. “We’ll be monitoring you until you leave the area.”

“Thanks.” I hung up and put my phone in my pocket. I turned briefly, looking out the window, and I saw one of the people outside dart past. Their movements were almost liquid. I thought back to the surveillance cameras of the attacks and the vampire attackers.

Whoever it was, they were a vampire. Then, I thought about the town and its aesthetics of the town. Most of the buildings were built of old stone. Some of them looked to be made of newer stone, but the feeling of the town felt ancient. The clouds that had moved in didn’t move, obscuring the sun.

I turned back to look at Francia and watched her lift the glass to her lips and drink. There was a flash of light in her eyes as she finished the glass of blood and turned back towards the kitchen.

“I’ll make us tea.”

Francia was a vampire.

They were all vampires.

I was surrounded and alone. My heart started to race.

Were they in league with that vampire? How long would it be before he found out I was here?