Moonlight

Chapter 7

Randall said" Goddammit, Hamish. Get it out, Hamish!" Lilith and I were a team for foosball, Hamish and Randall were a team. Jack walked in,
He said" Kyle is a dead werewolf."
Randall said" No hello? Rude."
Lilith said" Where've you been?"
Jack said" I told you. I was being hunted by a necromancer."
" Oh."
" Oh? She could see the future. She had an army of dead bodies and she was trying to kill me!"
Randall said" Did she get you?"
" No, she didn't get me." Then Hamish and Randall scored,
Hamish said" Ha!"
Randall said" Good one!"
" I got stabbed, you know. Magic blade."
Jack said" I know."
" Wound would not heal."
Lilith said" Thanks to your magic douche-posse."
Jack said" They're not my magic douche-posse. And I told you how to fix it."
" You told us to read a book."
Randall and I said" You said, and I quote, It's brown."
" So, thanks for that."
Jack said" I can't tell if you guys are mad at me or not."
Hamish said" We're just happy you're home."
Lilith said" Ha! Suck it! Three in a row." Randall and Hamish walked away,
Randall said" Damn it! Hamish!" I followed behind them, failing to beat my brother to the couch.
Jack said" Well, for what it's worth, it doesn't sound like the order has any idea who's a wolf, or how many there are. So... we might be safe." Hamish pushed Randall's legs off the couch, I sat next to Randall, Hamish sat on the other side of me.
" So, what was this magical misery tour all about?"
" Coventry sent us to pick up this device that lets you talk to the dead. Alyssa said it would help him find someone, but she didn't say who."
" Ah. Does it work? Who'd you call?"
Lilith said" Your mom?"
Jack said" If it was her, not a version I wanna remember."
Hamish said" Is that why you look like someone killed your dog?"
" That, and I'm pretty sure Alyssa hates me."
Lilith said" Aw, I think he actually cares."
Hamish said" Genuine heartbreak face."
Randall said" Hey, man. We've all been there."
Jack said" You've all lost a girlfriend after being hunted by a necromancer for a magic phone that calls dead people?"
" Yes. Metaphorically, yes."
Hamish said" The Knights of Saint Christopher have a foolproof cure for a broken heart."
——
We were in a booth at the pub,
Hamish said" Day drinking."
Jack said" This seems like your solution for everything." Randall handed me a beer, I was sitting between him and Lilith.
Randall said" To Kyle."
I said" No."
Lilith said" Fuck that."
Hamish said" Nope."
Jack said" Not toasting that dickleak."
Randall said" Guys, he was Knight, even if it was only for five minutes. And he sacrificed himself for us."
Lilith said" That was Cannon Fodder."
" Come on. We're a brotherhood."
Jack said" Gender neutral collective."
Lilith said" Thank you. Fine. To Kyle What's-his-douche. Long the road and short the life."
Randall said" Cheers." We clinked glasses, then we heard the ringing,
" Magic? We just sat down."
Hamish said" We should keep a low profile, at least until we know how they were hunting us. No unnecessary transformations." We looked at Lilith, instantly," Understood?"
" Why are you looking at me? Fine." Then a group of guys came in,
" This is never good." One of them started messing with a girl, Randall looked down, he's gonna do something.
He said" Okay." He got up,
Lilith said" Hey. She doesn't need saving."
" I know." He grabbed Lilith's beer, then walked over,
" That was my beer." I handed her mine, I listened, Randall knew the answer to the girl's question and the guy walked away.

Lilith was talking about something that I don't understand, we switched places because I don't like being on the outside of a booth.
She said" It's the mom from... that show, but she's in high school, and her and that guy from that robot show, they're killing people, but it's funny."
Jack said" It doesn't even sound real."
" No, it's real!" Then she accidentally hit the rude guy's ass as he walked by us. He stopped," It was him." Hamish nodded,
He said" Keep your hands to yourself, bitch." Oh... no. Lilith stood up instantly,
" Oh, I'm the bitch? You're gonna look real cute when I turn that wallet chain into a leach and make you roll over." Hamish got up,
He said" Hey, hey. Let's all take a breathe. You know there's only one way this plays out. She insults you, then I try to talk everyone down, but you get insulted by something I say and threaten me. She'll insult you again, and you'll do something stupid like swing at me. She punches you, your pals step up, the whole place jumps off, and someone calls the cops. So, what if... instead of all that, we buy you guys a round and call it a night?"
The guy said" Call me stupid again, dumbass."
Lilith said" You know, aggression is a sign of a micropenis."
Jack laughed" Micropenis." The guy took a swing, and hit Hamish, proving Hamish's theory correct. I tripped the fourth guy and jumped out of the booth, punching him in the face. Lilith snarled,
Hamish said" Lilith, no!"
Lilith said" Well, that's boring!" I threw the guy onto the floor,
Jack said" Woo! Day drinking rules!"
——
I woke up to magic ringing, I covered my head with my pillow then sat up, grabbing my phone. No text from Randall? Weird. He usually always texts me especially if we were drinking, to make sure I was safe. I called his phone, but he didn't answer, I gulped. I started biting my lip, then called again, still no answer... okay, okay, he could still be passed out, uh, his phone dead... there are normal, logical reasons to why he's not answering his phone. My fang pierced my lip, ow! I wiped off the blood and changed clothes. My phone rang, Hamish, I answered,
He said" Is Randall crashing with you?"
I said" No, he's not home?"
" No. He's not anywhere in the house, I don't believe he even came home."
" What? So... w-wha..."
" Rachel? We called Jack, meet up at the Chalice."
" Okay..." I hung up, there still has to be a normal reason, no reason to panic at all... right? It's Randall, he's a goofball, his phone is probably dead or off or something... but he's also texted me daily every single morning since we got phones! Randall wouldn't just not text me. That's the most un-Randall thing he'd ever do.

I was holding down my knee with one hand,
I heard Jack say" Anything from Randall?"
Hamish said" Nothing. None of the bar staff remember seeing him after the fight."
" What about that girl he was with?"
" No one knows her."
" Did you try his phone?"
Lilith said" First thing. No answer."
" Maybe he was asleep."
" I suppose your magic phone is gonna work where mine didn't?" Then I heard Randall's ringtone, Lilith got up and grabbed Randall's phone. Hamish stood,
He said" You know, I heard the sound of magic this morning."
" Me, too."
Jack said" It woke me up." I looked at them,
Hamish said" Lilith, Rachel and I will check his usual hangout spots. Jack?"
" I'll check the temple. Make sure he's not there." My body kinda just froze, the magic this morning, and my brother missing... that's honestly the most terrifying thought.
Lilith said" And she's frozen, come on, littlest one." She tried to lift me up out of the chair, my claws started to dig into the table. Hamish just lifted me up, wrapping my legs around his stomach. They walked out," Is she gonna be okay?"
Hamish said" Randall said once he ran away, and he came back to Rachel sobbing, frozen on the floor with her knees to her chest."
" Oh. That's not good."

We walked to the hide lockers,
Lilith said" I can't do this."
I said" I-I can't..." I shook my head fast,
Hamish said" Lil, Rachel, we have to. He's not in the gym, he's not in class, he's nowhere."
Lilith said" It doesn't mean that he's dead. Doesn't mean that his hide came home."
" I know. So, let's be sure." Please be empty, please be empty. Hamish grabbed a candle and opened Greybeard's locker." Nothing."
" Okay. So, then where is he?"
I said" But he's still alive, right? No hide, so he can't be dead." Hamish and Lilith looked at me," Right? Right?! The hide would have returned home by now..." I started shaking, I gulped, whimpering.