Oh, and don't forget the werewolf legend —it's all about the full moon!"
Inwardly, I roll my eyes. There are no such things as werewolves, vampires, or demons —only immortals, and the immortal rogues who are determined to kill them.
"Can I ask why you're asking all this?" she says, draining the last of her espresso and pushing the cup aside.
"In a minute," I say, my words clipped, terse, far less conversational than hers. But unlike her, I'm not vacationing in Paris, I'm merely tolerating the view to get to the answers I need. "One last thing, what's so special about a full moon during l'heure bleue, or blue hour as it's called?"
She looks at me, her eyes wide, her voice breathless when she says, "Do you mean the blue moon?" I shrug, remembering how the moon was so blue in the image it practically blended with the sky. Then figuring it was somehow symbolic of an actual blue moon with the way its color pulsated and shimmered, I say, "Yeah. But the blue moon specifically during the blue hour, what do you know about that?" She takes a deep breath, gazing into the distance as she says, "The mainstream thought is that the second full moon in a month constitutes a blue moon. But there's another, more esoteric school of thought that says the true blue moon occurs when there are two full moons occurring not necessarily within the same month, but within the same astrological sign. It's regarded as a very holy day, one when the connection between the dimensions is very potent, making it an ideal time for meditation, prayer, and mystical journeys. It's said that if you harness the blue moon energy during I'heure bleue , then all sorts of magick can occur. The only limitations, as usual, are your own."
She looks at me, wondering what I'm up to, but I'm not ready to share that just yet. Then she shakes her head and says, "But just so you know, a genuine blue moon is very rare, only coming around every three to five years."
My stomach twists as my hands grip the sides of my chair. "And do you know when the next blue moon will occur?" While thinking: Please let it be soon, please let it be soon!
Feeling like I'm about to puke and keel over simultaneously when she shakes her head and says, "I have no idea."
But of course! The most important thing I need to know —is the one thing she doesn't know.
"Though I know how we can find out." She smiles.
I shake my head, just about to inform her that as far as I can tell, my access to the akashic records has just been revoked, when she closes her eyes and a moment later a silver iMac appears.
"Google, anyone?" She laughs, pushing it toward me.
CHAPTER 38
Even though I fell like an idiot the second Ava manifested that laptop (I mean, duh, why didn't I think of that?), we did get our answer fairly quick. Though unfortunately, it wasn't the good news I was hoping for.
In fact, it was anything but.
Just when everything was coming together, seeming like it was destined to be —it all fell apart the second I learned that the blue moon, that rarest of full moons that only comes around every three to five years, which also just so happens to be my one and only window for time travel, has its next scheduled appearance—tomorrow.
"I still can't believe it," I say, climbing out of my car while Ava feeds the meter from a neat stack of quarters cupped in the palm of her hand. "I thought it was just another full moon, I didn't know there was a difference, or that they're so rare. I mean, what am I supposed to do ?"
She snaps her wallet shut and looks at me. "Well, from what I can see, you have three choices."
I press my lips together, not sure I want to hear any of them.
"You can do nothing at all and just sit back and watch while everything you love and care about completely falls apart, you can choose to handle just one thing at the cost of all the others, or you can tell me just exactly what is going on here so I can see if I can help."
I take a deep breath and look at her standing before me, back in her usual outfit of faded jeans, silver rings, a white cotton tunic, and brown leather flip-flops.
Always there, always available, always willing to help me, even when I don't realize I need it.
Even back when I was being dismissive (and if I'm gonna be honest —more than a little mean), Ava was right there, waiting for me to come around, never once holding my bad attitude against me, never once turning her back or shunning me in the way I shunned her. It's like she's been standing by all this time, waiting to step in as my psychic big sister. And now, she's pretty much the only one I have left —the only one I can count on—the only one who comes close to knowing the real me—including most of my secrets. And in light of everything I just learned, I've no choice but to tell her. There's no way I can go it alone like I'd hoped.
"Okay." I nod, convincing myself it's not just the right thing to do, but the only thing to do. "Here's what I need you to do."
And as we head down the street, I tell her what I saw that day on the crystal. Managing to explain as much as I can while avoiding the I word —honoring my promise to Damen that I'll never divulge our immortality. Telling Ava that Damen will need the antidote so that he can get better, followed by his "special red energy drink" so he can rebuild his strength. Explaining that I'm faced with a choice between being with the love of my life, or saving four lives that were never meant to end. So by the time we're standing outside the shop where she works, the shop I've passed many times before but swore I'd never enter —she looks at me, her mouth opening as if to say something, before clamping shut again. Repeating this scenario a few more times until she's finally able to mumble, "But tomorrow! Ever, can you leave that soon?"
I shrug, my stomach sinking when I hear it spoken out loud. But knowing I can't wait another three to five years, I nod with more assurance than I feel when I look at her and say, "And that's exactly why I need you to help me with the antidote, then find a way to get it to him along with the elix —" I pause, hoping I haven't aroused her suspicions, trying to recover when I say, "—that red energy drink —so that he can get better. I mean, now that you know how to get inside his house, I'm thinking you can find a way to, I don't know, spike his drink or something," I say, knowing it sounds like the worst plan ever, but determined to see that it works. "And then, when he's better—when the old Damen returns—you can explain everything that's happened, and give him the—the red drink." She looks at me with an expression so conflicted I'm not sure how to read it, so I forge straight ahead. "I know it probably seems like I'm choosing against him —but I'm not. Really I'm not. In fact, there's a good chance that none of this will even be necessary. There's a good chance that when I go back to how I was, everything else will go back too." "Is that what you saw?" she asks, her voice soft, gentle.
I shake my head. "No, it's just a theory, though I think it makes sense. I mean, I can't imagine it any other way. So all of this stuff I'm telling you now is just a precaution since it won't even be necessary. Which means you won't remember this conversation since it will be like it never occurred. In fact, you won't have any recollection of having known me. But just in case I'm wrong —which I'm pretty sure I'm not—but just in case I am, I need to have a plan in place—you know, just in case," I mumble, wondering who I'm trying to convince, me or her.