Chapter Seven: "Lunar Madness"


Ami and I had deliberated for several minutes which would be best: To arrive early and find a good place to hide, or arrive late, and hopefully not be noticed before we found a good spot.

Anxious to see what was going to happen, we actually decided to compromise and started off fairly early. Due to the curfew, we couldn't drive the car, and walked a good mile or so before reaching the beach. The area was actually fenced off. There was also a sign warning that the land beyond was private property and any trespassers would be prosecuted. I glanced straight east up the hill and could see the dark outline of Miss Voss's castle.

Signs and fences had never deterred me from discovering the truth before, and they weren't about to stop me now. I figured Ami and I were going to meet this she-devil one way or another.

I helped Ami scale the fence before climbing over it myself and held onto her arm as we made our way down to the beach. There were tall grasses and driftwood along the way and I didn't want either of us to trip and fall. A broken leg or twisted ankle would definitely alter our plans.

"How are we going to know where to find them?"

I continued guiding us through the weeds and sand, drawing Ami to one side to avoid a large stone. "I imagine we'll hear them before we see them."

Up ahead were some dark shadows we discovered was a grove of trees. They weren't very tall but would provide a good cover as we walked.

Once in a while, we passed by a marker that was planted in the ground. I assumed they were the dock numbers. When we reached marker number thirteen, I stopped Ami with my hand and whispered to her.

"Listen." Over the rhythmic sound of the gentle ocean waves lapping against the sand, I heard voices. "We need to be extra careful from here on," I advised. We were getting close.

"Where are we going to hide?"

I had no answer. The further we walked, the fewer trees there were until suddenly, there was nothing but open sand and a few grassy patches. Both Ami and I squinted in the dark to see something - anything to hide behind.

It was Ami who first spied the larger shadow ahead and we hurried to it, ecstatic to discover a group of large boulders jutting out of the sand. They were fairly low, to begin with, although we were soon forced to begin climbing.

Immediately I was concerned with Ami. I had never seen her wear anything but high-heels and she was wearing them now. Apparently, she was reading my mind.

"Don't worry about me. I can climb Mt. Everest in these shoes."

Regardless, I was going to watch out for her and help her all I could. I climbed and then lifted her to me on three separate occasions until we were finally at the highest platform, at which point we lay down on our bellies and scooted our way over to the edge.

Perfect! Straight down from us was dock thirteen. There was already a small group of people huddled there. I wanted to see if I recognized any of them from town, but their faces were hidden behind hooded robes. When one of them turned toward the bonfire that was burning, I made out a gold symbol on the back. I didn't recognize it but made a mental note of its design.

We waited and watched. One by one more villagers came and the bonfire grew in size. Ami and I inched back a little just in case the light reached us.

"Which one is Asa?" I heard her whisper in my ear.

I turned my head to reply as quietly as I could. "I don't think she's here yet. I have a feeling her arrival will be on a much grander scale."

"I believe you're right."

Prophetic I was not, but I knew people, and I had suspected all along that this woman desired attention as well as allegiance. She was going to put on a good show. I could almost guarantee it.

After several minutes, I checked my watch against the firelight. Both hands were straight up.

Right on cue, a horn was blown and the hundreds of villagers who had shown up all stepped into their designated spots. When all were still, they had formed some sort of shape. A star, maybe. When the horn was blown again, the people making one point of the star stepped aside.

Our attention was drawn a short distance down the beach where burning torches slowly came into view. Holding them were two large men in hooded cloaks like the others. Behind them walked a woman. She was not wearing a hood and the closer she got to the fire, the better we could make her out.

"That's her," I heard Ami whisper. In reply, I nodded my head.

Her hair was long and as dark as the sky. She was tall and rather thin but had a shapely figure nonetheless. Her robe was red and made from some type of clinging fabric. In her hand, she carried a book that cast a reflection against the light. There had to be some type of metal on it.

As she drew near, someone carried in either a crate or box for her to stand upon. One of the torch carriers assisted her in stepping upon her perch. The movements of that man as well as the way he carried himself seemed familiar. When he turned away from Asa, I managed to make out part of his face. There was no mistaking who he was.

"That's Quinn!" Ami announced too loudly for my comfort.

"Sh!"

"Sorry," she replied at a more acceptable noise level.

"What is Quinn doing here?"

It was a good question, but I had no idea why, unless this creature had influenced him as well. I couldn't wrap my head around that idea though. I simply couldn't picture Quinn ever being dominated by a dame.

The star shape had once again closed with Asa the focus of one of its points. She handed the book to someone and then thrust both hands up to the sky. As soon as she had done that, all the participants began speaking in rhythm.

"What are they saying?" I asked Ami. I'd never gone to college, but whatever it was, didn't sound like English to me.

Ami listened intently as their voices rode the winds sweeping across the sea. "It's either Greek or Latin, I think."

"Can you speak either one?"

"Not really. I know a few words in Latin but mostly legal terms I've learned in class."

Again, she listened as the noise of the chant grew in volume, until a bright light leaped out of the bonfire and sent us crawling back into the cover of darkness.

"What was that?"

"Pyrotechnics," I replied. "Asa or one of her flunkies tossed some gunpowder into the fire. That's all it was."

No wonder she kept these people confined to the past and restricted their exposure to most modern things. That way, she could scare them with something as simple as gunpowder. She was nothing but a street magician trying to fool an audience into believing her magic was real.

"Ego autem serve deam lunae!" she said. Each phrase was repeated by her loyal followers. "Et erit ut liceat ea erunt! Ea luna est dux noster et vires! Et erit ab illis qui defendat nos voluerit nocere!"

"Did you catch any of that?"

Ami had been focused on every word. "Some of it. She's talking about the moon giving her power, and that her subjects should serve her without question, blah, blah, blah…"

I agreed. I'd heard enough, although it was far from over. Next, someone dragged in a live goat on a leash that was complaining the entire time, almost as if it knew what was about to happen. I had a bad feeling about this, as did the goat, I imagined.

"No. Please don't hurt the goat!" I heard Ami quietly utter.

The goat was held before Asa, who withdrew a long, curved knife from the folds of her robe and quickly ran it across the animal's throat. A large, golden cup was held beneath the goat to catch its blood, which was then passed around. Each villager appeared to drink some of the blood.

"That's disgusting."

Ami wouldn't speak for a while. I could tell from the look on her face, she was still upset over the goat.

Lastly, the cup returned to Asa's hand and she held the cup over her head using both hands.

"Sanguis innocentis tuebitur omnis bibentibus illam!"

Hopefully, for the last time, the group echoed Asa's words. She then drank from the cup herself and passed it to the two men who had escorted her in. I watched closely to make sure Quinn participated. Either he did, or he'd put on a good show of it. Apparently, Asa believed he was devoted to her, or else he wouldn't be standing by her side, would he?

"Something about the blood washing…no, protecting those who drink it." Ami translated. "I think that's right."

For the next hour or so, those who had drank the blood seemed drunk themselves and wildly danced around the flames. Asa, along with her escorts had left the scene, as did we.

I'd seen enough. This woman was nothing but a con artist who had tricked an entire community into believing she was some moon goddess sent here to protect them all. What a bunch of baloney!

"Now what?" Ami asked once we'd traveled far enough away not to be heard.

"Who does she think she is? A god? A witch? Whichever one, she has these people convinced. Even Quinn! That just doesn't make sense to me! How is he not able to see right through her?"

"I don't know. Drugs perhaps? Maybe that goblet not only contained blood but something hallucinogenic. Did you see the way those people were dancing?"

"Yeah," I replied. "Like they'd lost their minds."

We walked silently along together for a while before Ami spoke again.

"You know, I didn't recognize Aggi as one of the dancers."

She was right. "I didn't either. In fact, everyone I did recognize was all older. Do you think there's an age requirement or something?"

"Do you remember how many live here? Wasn't it close to 3,000?"

She was right again. I hadn't thought about that. "There definitely wasn't that many at dock thirteen."

"There must be a reason."

Once again it seemed that a little knowledge only uncovered more questions; more than we already had. And still, we didn't have the information we needed to explain Quinn's odd behavior.

"I suggest we go sleep on it and in the morning…"

"Go talk to Aggi again?"

My detective skills appeared to be of little help in this situation. "What other choice do we have?"