Riley's Curse, A Moon's Glow Prequel (14 page)

"Sure, you can have the spare room."

She kissed me on the cheek, and that
sentiment was the last straw. It was inevitable. Even though I
tried to keep people at a distance, I couldn't with Sadie. In the
last few hours, Sadie Clark had managed to slither her way into my
heart. I would look after her, and help her in any way I could.

"Is this the necklace you gave Lucy?" Sadie
asked as we were going through some of my boxes in order to clear
out room for her stuff. We had been friends for over a month now
and had experienced one full moon together. I truly enjoyed have
company on that night, we changed a few times after that just for
fun.

I had asked her to move in, and be my
housemate a few weeks ago, but she kept saying no, she didn't want
to take advantage of me. But I finally wore her down and convinced
her that it was silly for her to live in her crappy little
apartment when she was always at my house.

She wasn't budging on my offer to send her to
college though, but I wasn't finished with that. I wanted her to be
happy, and I knew she would be, going to law school.

I glanced over the pile of boxes in front of
me, and saw that she was holding the blue velvet box. "Be careful,
that’s-" I didn't get the words out before she touched the setting
around the stone. I could hear the sizzle as the silver burned her
finger from where I sat. "Silver," I finished as she cringed in
pain. The scent of burnt flesh filled the small room.

She laughed, sticking her finger into her
mouth. "Now you tell me," she mumbled around her finger. "What's
this?" she asked leaning over to pick up a small box, marked Riley
House.

"Don't touch that," I yelled.

She froze with the box teetering on her hand.
"What's in it?" she asked softly.

My face flushed with embarrassment. I hadn't
intended to yell, but I hadn't looked in that box since my father
died.

"It's just an idea I had back in the
twenties, I forgot about it after Rowan killed my father."

She held the box in one hand, with a look of
curiosity on her face. "So can I look in it?"

With a heavy sigh, I nodded my agreement.

As soon as I agreed she tore into it, going
through the files. "What is this Nate?" she asked, a look of
admiration on her face.

Once again, I was embarrassed. "As you know
I've killed twice." She nodded. "Well, after the second time, I
helped out the wife of my victim to lessen some of the guilt. It
eased my conscience a little, but I came up with that idea to
further help others. Just that one person wasn't enough. I have so
much, when others have so little, so I want to do my part. And it
was my hope that with every life I help it will ease the burden of
guilt that I carry. I know it's selfish, but it’s the only thing I
could think of to make up for what I've done."

She gaped at me, her chocolate eyes as big as
tires. "Selfish? You think opening a home for people in need, to
provide them with food, and help them turn their lives around is
selfish?"

"My motives are selfish," I explained.

"Who cares why you help people, all that
matters is that you do." She smiled. "Why didn't you do this?"

"After Rowan killed my father, I just
couldn't think of much other than work."

She was quiet for awhile shuffling boxes.

I got up and started moving the remaining
crates into the attic. By the time I came back, the room was clear
and she was starting to put her stuff away. "I think we should do
it."

We had been quiet for so long, both of us
puttering away, that I didn't know what she meant. "Do what?" I
asked absently.

"We should build Riley House. I want to help
you."

"I don't know if I have time. I'm busy with
work."

She frowned, blowing at a strand of hair that
had fallen into her eyes. "That’s just an excuse. The store opened
last week, and John's father is back. Isn't it your job just to
open stores? Now that that's done, your job is finished here. Let's
do this. It's such a good idea." She practically squealed with
excitement. Her enthusiasm was contagious, I couldn't say no.

For the next couple of months, Sadie and I
were busy looking for places to house our charity. We needed a
house big enough to accommodate at least twelve people. Our idea
was to find volunteers to serve food, and to help with those in
need. We would provide homes for people currently in need of one,
and put them up until they could get back on their feet. We were
even planning on helping them find jobs. Sadie was very helpful
with all the planning, and wanted to stop going to school, so she
could help run it.

"You look too young. No one will believe that
you could run a place like this," I said on the afternoon that we
found the perfect house.

"Are you kidding me? I can look older, I just
haven't tried." It was hard to believe, since she always styled her
hair in braids, and usually wore jeans and rock band t-shirts.

"
Come on
, I really want to do this. We can be a team." I could
never resist her, when she whined like that. She had become like a
sister to me in such a short time. She was closer to me than any of
my extended family, and like my real younger sisters, I could never
deny her.

"Fine, we'll do it together."

We hired contractors to renovate the house to
accommodate our needs and started shopping for furniture. This was
Sadie's favorite part.

"God, I love spending someone else's money."
She said two months later, after we had finished buying everything.
The house was finished and we were getting ready to open the next
week.

We were sitting in the living room watching
TV, relaxing after a long day of shopping. We had just finished
eating, and we were each enjoying a bowl of ice cream. It was a
comfort to have someone else around all the time. I had been a
loner for way too long.

"Did you contact Marjorie?" I asked her.
Marjorie was the social worker who was working with Sadie to find
the people that would benefit the most by staying at the house. We
were looking for specific people. They had to want help, want to
find a job and a place to live. Riley House was supposed to be more
then just a homeless shelter. We wanted to help people get out of
the situation they were in.

Sadie held up her ice cream covered spoon and
pointed it at me. "Yes I did, and she found the last of the
residents. They are prepared to move in next week."

I swallowed a bite of my chocolate ice cream,
and nodded. "Good."

She stared at me, her lips in a half smile,
her eyes intense.

"What?" I asked, a little uncomfortable with
the expression on her face.

"I'm so glad I met you." Her voice was filled
with emotion. "I was lost, a drifter, after I left Miles. And I
don't know what I would have done if you hadn't come along."

My heart swelled in my chest, because I felt
the same way. I had people in my life, but they couldn't understand
me the way she did. "I'm glad I met you too." My voice was raspy,
filled with emotion. "Even if you are a pain in the butt
sometimes." I laughed at my own joke, and she joined me.

Between her high-pitched laughter, she froze.
"Did you hear that?" she whispered.

I had heard something. Tires on gravel? We
both stayed silent listening, but there was no other sound.
Suddenly the door burst open, and a shot rang out. Sadie slumped
onto the floor; her bowl and spoon fell onto the sofa. The scent of
blood entered my nostrils.

I spun around to face our intruder, and came
face to face with Rowan and the barrel of a gun. "Told you I'd be
back," he said, just before the gun exploded in his hands.

I came to slowly; my mind was groggy, filled
with cotton. I didn't know where I was or what was happening. All I
could do was lie still, my breathing was labored, and I couldn't
move. The tug of unconsciousness started to pull me back under,
until I felt a sharp searing pain in my chest. It felt like my
insides were on fire. I heard a moan that sounded far away. As my
mind cleared I realized it was me that made the noise.

"I wouldn't move if I were you." An
unfamiliar male voice said, it was deep with a hint of an accent.
Irish maybe?

Even with my groggy brain and aching body,
I caught the whiff of werewolf.
Another one
! I shot up into a sitting position and opened my
heavy eyelids. Instantly the pain in my chest throbbed, sending me
back down onto what?
Where was I
? I glanced around now that my eyes were open, and saw the
tan walls of my own bedroom filled with black and white photos of
historical homes. I glanced down and saw my chest was bare except
for a large white bandage wrapped around my torso.

I followed the offending scent, and saw a man
who appeared to be around my age, maybe a few years older. But of
course with my kind, appearance can be deceiving.

Even though he was sitting on a chair next
to the bed, I could tell he was tall, even more so than I. He was
wearing a worn denim cap, with strands of auburn hair sticking out
from under it. His grey eyes were full of concern as he looked me
over. "Who are you?" I choked out, my voice barely
audible.

He moved closer and held a cold cloth to my
forehead. I felt relief instantly, even though I didn't realize I
was burning up. "The name is Joseph, but you can call me Joe. I
came here looking for you, and I found you on the floor, dying. You
were shot with a silver bullet. It was lodged just above your
heart. I had a heck of a time getting it out. Do you know who did
this to you?"

Now the memory was coming back, sitting on
the couch with Sadie, eating ice cream, and the noise. And
then…"Rowan," I whispered his name.

"Who?" he asked, his interest peaking.

"He's a werewolf that I stopped from killing
a young girl, and ever since then he's been intent on making me
suffer, by killing people I love. He killed my father in the
twenties. And now…Sadie." Fear gripped my heart, turning it cold.
Not Sadie, she's my only family. "Where is she? Is she okay?" I
cried, desperate to hear that she was lying on the couch still
munching on her vanilla ice cream.

He closed his eyes, his lips pressed into a
line. "I'm sorry friend. She's gone. The bullet pierced her heart.
We werewolves heal fast, but if the heart is shattered, there's
nothing to be done."

I felt pain in my chest again but this time,
it wasn't physical. I finally found a person to be close to after
so many years of distancing myself from others, and that lunatic
took her away from me. Rage filled my entire being, leaving just
one thought. "I really want to kill him," I whispered.

He leaned back in his chair, folding his arms
in front of him casually. "I don't blame you, but you'll need some
silver bullets for that, and they are not easy to come by."

I shook my head, not wanting to hear how hard
it would be to get what I wanted. It didn't matter how difficult it
was to achieve my goal. I would do whatever it took to see it
through. The only thoughts in my head were that Rowan must die.

"I'm sorry friend. It sounds like you've had
a bad lot since my sister turned you."

My head spun to face him, making me a little
dizzy. "What did you say?"

His hand stretched out and I placed mine into
it. He shook it quickly. "The name is Joseph Burns, and I'm
Charlotte's brother." He pulled his hand back as I processed what
he had said. "Before she bit you, she turned me. But don't worry, I
hate the witch." I laughed, and regretted it immediately. The pain
was unbearable. "Easy now." He soothed, his hands steadying me.
"She told me what she did to you, and I had to make sure you were
okay. I don't agree with how she lives."

I liked him instantly. Our hate for his
sister gave us a bond. "Where is Sadie?" I asked, my voice sounding
a little bit stronger.

"I buried her out back for now. If you want
something else for her we can move her."

The image of her family visiting an empty urn
came to mind. The best thing for her was to have her cremated and
brought back to where she belonged. I would also need to contact
Miles, the werewolf that had turned her. If he cared for her half
as much as I did, he would want to know. Maybe he could even help
me in my quest to avenge her death.

"How long have I been out?" My mouth felt
like a paste covered the entire inside of it. "Could I have some
water?" I barely got the words out when a glass appeared in front
of me. He helped me sit up so I didn't spill any.

"You've been out a day. I don't know how long
the silver was inside you, but it was starting to spread. I got the
bullet out, but your body needs to extract what remains. That’s why
you are sweating."

"How do you know all this?"

He pulled the sleeve of his faded denim shirt
up, exposing a small circular scar. "Ten years ago, I got into a
bit of a brawl, at a pub. You don't mess with werewolves in
Ireland."

My stomach growled, reminding me that I
hadn't eaten in over a day. Panic began to bubble inside me. No
good would come if I was hungry.

"I made some soup. I'll be right back." He
stood up and headed for the doorway, where he quickly turned. "By
the way, you've had a few calls about Riley House. A lady by the
name of Marjorie said that people are waiting." Since he didn't
und
erstand Marjorie's
words, he shrugged his shoulders before he disappeared into the
hallway.

Life was going on around me, even though
Sadie was dead, and I
felt
like I was. The world didn't care that I was in pain and
grieving a beloved friend. I was needed and that was all that
mattered. I had to get better so I could continue with Riley House.
Sadie would have wanted it that way.