Moon Bloom

Chapter 17

Rise up, O Judge of the earth; pay back to the proud what they deserve.

- Psalm 94:2

Lexi woke up to see her ceiling swimming before her eyes. Lizzy and Kaity hovered over her, both of them had their hair tied in a ponytail. Lizzy had changed into a plain black shirt and dark jeans. Her silver studded belt rested lightly on her hips and her black flip-flops were worn thin. Kaity, looking quite contrary, was wearing  a bright purple shirt with a lime green and black striped one under it that had slightly longer sleeves. She also wore orange capris and a belt that was designed like a piano. Her hair stuck out funny as she looked down at her red converse shoes. She jangled her mess of necklaces impatiantly.

"We should get there early, I don't want to be the ones who are late," Lizzy said.

Kaity nodded.

"What time is it?" Lexi asked.

"Six," Lizzy replied.

Lexi groaned, "Actually, I don't think I wanted to know."

Kaity smiled, "We'll wait in the kitchen while you get ready."

She then led Lizzy out and Lexi sat up. She hurried to her closet and looked through, pulling out a soccer shirt that was from three years ago and quite faded. She changed, adding jean capris to her outfit and grabbing tennis shoes before slipping into the kitchen. She pulled her messy blond hair into a ponytail like her friends. Kaity handed her a cold poptart.

"Your going to need it," Lizzy said, taking a bite of her own.

Kaity nodded as she bit into an apple. "Leave a note for your mom so she doesn't worry," she said between crunches. "Have anymore of these?"

Lexi nodded and pointed to the fridge. Kaity grabbed two for the road and led her friends out into Lexi's yard.

"How are we going to get there if we don't have a car we can use?" Lexi said.

Lizzy smiled, "Easy, I fly and you two run on paws."

Kaity nodded mid change to werewolf. Lizzy spread her wings and they tore two neat holes in her shirt. She lifted off the ground and headed in the direction of the skate park. Kaity waited for Lexi. Lexi changed and then followed Kaity as she picked up speed. She was surprised at how fast she could travel, the ground speeding away beneath her. Carefully, she adjusted her stride trying to keep up with Kaity. They finally skidded across the empty road to the skatepark. It was a good thing it was Sunday, or there would be more traffic. They hurried in and the two werewolves changed human incase traffic picked up. They waited barely fifteen minutes before the boys came. Deshawn hurried over to Lizzy and stroked her hair smiling. She beamed with joy. Lexi couldn't help feel a pang of jealousy. James came in looking extremely tired. His dark hair was knotted and had leaves in it. Kaity smiled when she saw the clean blue shirt.

"Long night?" she asked. She pulled some of the leaves from his hair when he came closer. "You look awful."

"I was tracking," he yawned.

Lexi resisted the urge to comb his hair with her fingers, "How are your injuries?"

He smiled and pulled up a bit of his shirt exposing a fading scar, "Good. Werewolf comes in handy when it comes to healing quickly."

Lexi was quite surprised, "That's great."

"I've found him, although he was all over the place last night. He made a phone call to California and ran into Idaho. We have lots of reasons to be very suspicious. He's six miles southwest from here, near the border," James said.

"Strange," Kaity said.

"How do you know all this?" Lexi asked.

James smiled warmly, "Twin mental conection. If I concentrate really hard, I can see fragments of what he sees, hear bits of what he hears... you get the idea."

Lexi nodded, "So, what now?"

Deshawn smiled, "We stop the mischeif Ryan is going to create. I'll travel by water, Lizzy can fly there, and you three will run."

"I may be fast, but I don't hold up to distance," Kaity said scowling. "We may have to take a break once in a while."

Lexi nodded, "I have no idea how I will do."

"You'll do just fine," James said running his hand over his hair.

"Easy for you to say. You could sprint for miles!" Kaity said.

James put his arm around her, "I don't know if I've ever seen you turn down a challenge."

She rolled her eyes, "I'll give it a fair try."

"Well, we should hurry before he moves further away," Lizzy said.

She kissed Deshawn on the cheek and then took flight. Deshawn nodded in agreement and hurried away to the nearest river. James and Kaity changed to wolves and turned to Lexi. She sighed heavily.

"I've got an idea! Give me a head start," Kaity said trotting away. "I'll take a breather and then you will catch up and I won't hold you back for a while."

Lexi looked at the large black wolf that sat across from her. She was suddenly aware of how alone they were. She bit her lip.

"What's the matter?" James asked.

She sighed, "I feel like I don't fit in. You and Kaity know so much and were once wolves. I'm... was human. I'm different."

"Lexi, everyone is different. What a boring world it would be if we were all the same. Besides, Kaity and I have way different personalities," James said. His silver eyes were lit with humor.

"I wish none of this had happened. I wish I was in New York with Emma and Matt. If I hadn't moved to Montana, there wouldn't be all these magic creatures and prophecies about me having to kill someone. The only things I can kill have six legs. I'm scared, and alone in this suddenly crazy world," Lexi said.

"No matter where you are, you will find myths that aren't myth. You have many good reasons to be scared, but look how many shoulders you have to lean on. Lizzy, Deshawn, Kaity, and me; we are here for you. The world was always a place of the unknown. You're not alone," James said. His expression hardened.

Lexi paused, "Are you... trying to mess with my mind and dig into my thoughts?"

James looked apalled, "I wouldn't change your memories unless I had to. I would never raid someone's memories either, other than my brother's. You never know the horrid things so many people go through unless you looked at their memories. I've learned my lesson before. No matter how much knowledge you may gain from it, good or bad, you will be scarred."

"Good," Lexi said.

A silence hung over them for a while. Lexi shifted under his gaze. She then decided to change into a werewolf.

"Shall we go?" James asked.

She nodded and began to run, slowly gaining speed. James easily kept pace with her and stayed by her side as they ran over roads and through woods. They hurried as the morning became noon. They had to find Ryan before he got beyond their reach.