Moonlight

Chapter 17

I walked down as I heard Nicole leave,
Randall said" I hate lying to her like that."
Hamish said" Telling her we're responsible is not going to make it better."
" She's right, though. We should look for that stuff."
Jack said" No, what we should be doing is hunting down Foley and rescuing Midnight."
Hamish said" We're not doing anything until the Order says so. We need to show Vera we can be team players."
Randall and I said" Why? Do you want her to like us?"
" I want her to not punish us."
" Hm. Right, that, too. We guess that's valid."
" Jack-"
Jack said" I know. I know, heel." He walked out, Hamish looked at Randall and I.
——
Jack said" This doesn't make any sense. This isn't an alliance, it's an amnesty for theft."
Randall said" It's not an amnesty, it's terms of surrender. We can't sign this."
Hamish said" I think you're overreacting."
" And I think you're protecting your girlfriend."
" We're not... uh, we..."
Vera said" How dare you?"
Randall said" Wha-"
Jack said" Randall, it's not that bad."
" There's a code of conduct, a pledge of fealty, a dress code?"
Vera said" You could use one."
" We can't even call ourselves the Knights of Saint Christopher. Our hide lockers stay at the temple? Oh, no, no, no, no!"
Hamish said" Some of these items are a little extreme... Grand Magus."
Vera said" Nevertheless... these are... the terms." She cut her finger and placed it on the paper,
Jack said" Look, Grand Magus, it's not that we don't appreciate the offer, but-"
Randall said" We don't."
" We were expecting an alliance like the ones you offered the Prometheans."
Vera said" Oh, well, the Sons of Prometheus are a separate organization. You are not. Never have been. Before facing Rogwan, you and Ms. Bathory said an oath that sounded familiar. Right there." We looked at the book,
Randall and I said" I give my life to the cause..."
Hamish said" Of defending the Hermetic Order of the Blue Rose..."
Jack said" From threats both within and without."
Vera said" Your true oath. Time to come home."
——
We were sitting at the chalice, staring at the paper,
Jack said" The Knights of the Blue Rose. Guardians of the Vade Maecum. Can you believe this?"
Hamish said" Cassie told me everything I had to know was in those journals."
" And?"
" I got distracted."
Randall said" Dudes, if we do this, we are killing the Knights of Saint Christopher."
" Think of Lilith. The Order can help us track down that library and find the right spell."
" Or it's a trick."
" It wad all in that book. The Knights originally served the Order."
" Of course you'd believe her."
Jack said" I believe her."
" Dude, for real?"
" Look, it's just a feeling I'm getting from Silverback. Don't you get feeling from Greybeard?"
" Just hunger."
Hamish said" It's probably a tapeworm."
" Can I see a menu?"
" If she's telling the truth, we need to honor our history, and that oath."
" Oh, god, this is your argument about user agreements all over again."
" I can't believe you don't read those."
" I can't believe you do."
" It's a binding contract, like our pledge. We have to sign. She's got us."
" And if we don't? What's she gonna do, kill us?"
" She's too smart to kill us, not while praxis has our hide lockers. It'd be like giving your enemy a loaded gun. No, she'll probably just imprison us."
" Okay, you don't have to sound so impressed."
" It's sound tactical strategy." I looked at Jack, raising my eyebrow,
He said" Guys! Fighting each other is not going to help us. Look, I get it. You don't like the Order. But Vera is not Edward, all right? She's not a monster. She could've killed me at the Commons. We gave her every reason to when we robbed her, but she didn't."
Randall said" So you trust her?"
" I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt."
" I vote no. This feels too much like a surrender. Knights don't surrender."
Hamish said" Our problems are too big to handle on our own. Our needs are tied to the Order's. I'm a yes."
" Okay. So that's one yea and one nay." He looked between me and Jack, I sighed,
Jack said" Maybe."
" I invoke privilege."
" What is privilege?"

Jack said" Boom! I win!"
Randall said" Yeah, congratulations."
Hamish said" Now you choose."
Jack said" I what? No, I don't want to decide."
I said" Winner always decides."
Randall said" What fid you think we were playing for?"
Jack said" Not- No, that's way too much pressure."
Hamish said" No kidding."
" That's why you made me play, huh?"
" Newest knight, freshest eyes."
Randall said" That, and I always beat him."
" Not always."
" Most of the time. Beer pong's the reason you're still alive."
Jack said" You decided my fate over a game of beer pong?"
" We usually do best two out of three."
Hamish said" Quit stalling."
Jack said" A choice I don't make will be made for me."
Randall said" What was that?"
" Something Vera once told me. No. Before, I thought joining the order would solve all of my problems, and then I found out the cause of all of my problems was in charge of the order, and so everything went to shit."
" Wow. You really need to work on your pep talks there, coach."
" No. My point is, before I joined, I thought the Order was good. Remember with Rogwan? They wanted to stop him."
" Yeah, after they released him."
" That wasn't the order, though. That was some idiot that was doing it for his or her benefit, like Edward with the Vade Maecum. All right? Maybe... The Order isn't the problem, but the people in charge. So if we make it our responsibility to keep them in line..."
Hamish said" To protect it from threats, both within and without."
Randall said" So, we're magic internal affairs cops?"
Jack said" Randall, we can turn the Order into a magic society that works for the benefits of everyone, not just the members. The only way to go forward is to sign."
" So, that's it? It's the end of the Knights as we know them."
" It's not the end, it's just a change."
Hamish said" Like puberty. Don't worry. You'll know what it's like someday."
Randall said" Ha Ha Ha. Well, you have to have the talk with Lilith when she's back." We walked to them,
Jack said" So it's settled." I held up my hands and brought out a claw, I cut my finger. We put our fingers on the page.
Hamish said" So? How do we acknowledge this momentous, life-altering event?"
Randall said" I got a two-for-one pizza promo."
I said" I'm not going to get it."
Hamish said" Why?"
" Oh, maybe because I almost died the last time I went to get food for Randall, you know? The whole reason I'm a werewolf in the first place."
" Oh, yeah."
Randall said" I said I was sorry like a thousand times."
Jack said" You're still mad about that, Rach?"
Hamish groaned" No..."
I said" He sent me out to my near-death! And he got me turned into a werewolf, no offense Moonlight, but I killed like a thousand tiny rabbits! So, he's the murderer of a thousand tiny rabbits!"
Randall said" I'm sorry!" He hugged me, squeezing me in his arms," I told you Moonlight was like that!"
Jack said" How many rabbits?"
I said" 1,355 rabbits were killed and eaten by Moonlight over the course of a year. My senior year!"
Hamish said" Yeah... Moonlight also ruined her prom dress..."
Jack said" Ooh, How much did Randall have to pay?"
Randall said" I had to send her money to buy her a new one, and skype her while she tried on dresses... for five hours. And hear her rant about it for weeks."
I mumbled" Shut up, overgrown fur-ball."
" Uh-huh, Squirt." I pushed him, he pushed back, and he ran off, I chased after him.
Hamish said" Don't destroy... Never mind." I tackled Randall and pinned him down, he rolled us so I was pinned under him. I growled and kicked his stomach, flipping us over and using my body weight to hold him down.
Jack said" Do they do that often?"
" Usually when Randall goes too far on annoying her, or when he calls her Squirt, she hates it."
" Good to know."
——
I took the shoe glass from Randall, he whined and I took a gulp before giving it back. Then we saw Nicole and Carter,
Nicole said" Randall! Rachel!"
Randall said" Nicole! Hey!"
" Um..." She pointed back to the people,
" Oh, don't worry, everyone's way too drunk. Watch. Hey, guys, I'm part of a secret society dedicated to fighting evil magic." Everyone cheered," See? See? No one cares."
" Okay. I found the spell that's going to work. We can do it tonight... or tomorrow morning." Randall looked at it,
" This spell only retrieves non-living things. Lilith is most definitely alive."
" How did I miss that?" She threw the book," I'm just..."
" It's okay. You're wiped. You haven't stopped since she disappeared."
" I've been through every book in Vera's reliquary. That was literally our last chance. If I ever get my hands on whoever robbed us..." I looked at Randall, okay... we gotta tell her, it's gone too far.
" That... would... be... us. We robbed the vault so we could leave the order, but then Praxis robbed us, so really, it's their fault."
" This whole time, I've been blaming myself."
" No one is laying any blame on you."
" I was!"
" This is totally on us."
" So what happened to her is her fault,
Then? And I'm just the idiot who thought she was in love with a hero. She wasn't trying to save me, she was trying to cover her own ass."
" This all came out wrong. We want to rescue her more than anyone, and we will, believe me."
" No. No, I can't screw up again. Not like this. I... I can't." She walked off,
" Okay, I feel like we're just talking about two different things here. Nicole!" I walked away from him, Carter following me,
I said" Nicole recruited you, huh?"
Carter said" Yeah, she was going insane."
" No wonder, looking through all those books." I gave him my cup, he smiled and drank," So, Carter, what the hell is this relationship?"
" I have no clue. I think your brother might kill me if I actually dated you."
" He'd get over, and I am a big girl, I can handle my own."
" I've heard them call you little one."
I laughed" Fuck you, Carter!"
" What? I did!" We walked into the lounge and saw Gabrielle and Alyssa singing. Alyssa walked off,
Jack said" I remember you saying how much you hate it." I looked at Carter, he smiled at me, I smiled back, I saw Randall squint his eyes slightly at me and Carter. I gave him the finger as I kissed Carter, I wrapped my arms around Carter's neck.
——
I woke up in my bed, I turned my head and saw Carter next to me, he was already awake.
He whispered" I think your brother's gonna kill me."
I said" He'd have to get through me first... and he wouldn't dare hurt me. He's so gonna bitch though."
" You'll be fine."
" Mm-hmm, I'll just repeat it all back to you."
" Don't." I laughed, and stood up, wrapping my blanket around me as I went." Oh come on, I already saw you."
" Poor you." Carter got up and grabbed his clothes, pulling them on, he looked at his phone.
" I gotta go. See you later?"
" Maybe." He walked out, I sighed and got dressed, my phone dinged, I grabbed it, Jack checking, I texted I'm good. I grabbed my bag and walked out my door, heading for the den.

I got to the den,
I said" Hey, Randall! Hamish!" Randall came into view,
He said" Did Jack text?"
" Yep, where's Hamish?"
" I don't know."
" Okay, let's find him." We walked outside, and started looking around, Hamish could have wolfed out and fell asleep for all we know, or worse since the Order was attacked last night. I looked around then looked behind some brush, I found clothes," Ran, I found something." He walked over and grabbed it, then Jack ran up.
" Found this... tossed into the bushes."
Jack said" Hamish wolfed out." Jack grabbed some sticks," Look familiar?"
" Yeah, another killer stick girl."
" They came for him last night."
I said" They came for us."

We were inside,
Randall said" Look, I don't care how big Praxis is. They hurt him."
Salvador said" Your friend's alive. At least, he was the last time I saw him. I-I know you're angry." We turned to her,
" Angry doesn't even begin to describe what I am. Start talking. Now."
" Foley sent me here last night to kill you."
I said" Interesting start."
" But I didn't, because last night, I saw the world that Foley sold us on right here. The Hermetic Order of the Blue Rose and the Knights of Saint Christopher. No one was fighting. A world of peace. A world of magic. When he found out that I didn't complete the mission, he threatened to kill me unless I took your friend."
Jack said" Okay, get to the part where we start caring if you live or die." We stepped closer,
" Foley changed after he robbed everyone. He's a werewolf, too, but he's obsessed with power. I didn't sign up for murder. Please. You have to help us. I can show you where he is, and you can rescue your friend."
" Yeah, walk right into your trap."
" I took a huge risk even coming here. It's not a trap. I promise."
Randall said" Oh, great. She promises, Jack. What's in it for you?"
" You leave me alone. Let me try to convince the others to bring Praxis back to its roots. It's still a good idea, and... last night I saw what it could be."
Jack said" We'll check it out. And you'll stay right here."
" What? No. What if you fail? What if he finds me here and he-"
Randall said" It's not up for debate.
Tell us where he is."
" Okay. Okay. Uh... Take highway 8 out of Norwich, then get off at exit 20. Take the third left, head in for two miles. You'll find an old station house there."
" Okay. Upstairs, now." He grabbed her arm and led her upstairs, I looked at Jack.
——
We got to the place, Jack and I went up to the window we saw Foley at,
Jack said" Hey, professor!" I pointed behind him, Foley turned around and saw Randall, wolfed out.

Randall and I tried to interrogate Foley, and it didn't work, we walked down the stairs and to Jack and Hamish.
Randall said" Well, he won't tell us where the stuff is, but he did give us a great recipe for Rice Krispies squares."
Hamish said" My turn."
Jack said" Hey, hey, whoa, whoa! We need him alive. Okay? I will talk to him." He walked away from us, heading inside.
After a few minutes,
Randall said" You know what I'm craving?"
Hamish said" Rice Krispies squares?"
" Rice Krispies squares."
" Sometimes I wonder how we're all still alive."
" Yeah. Me, too."
Jack said" We're going." We turned to him,
" Give me one more shot at him."
" No, we need to take him to Vera, okay? We're obviously terrible at this enhanced interrogation."
Foley said" FYI, that is a good thing."
" We need her, and she needs Foley if she's gonna remain Grand Magus."
Randall said" Maybe she shouldn't."
Hamish said" Do you really wanna take that risk? 'Cause I don't."
" We can handle this on our own."
" Maybe we shouldn't have to."
Foley said" Well, if you want my opinion-" Jack pushed him as we started walking.
——
We got to the temple, dragging Foley in, Vera walked up,
She said" Is everyone okay?"
Jack said" Did we miss anything?"
" Just in time."

We were at the chalice, we clinked glasses,
Jack said" To the Knights of Saint Christopher."
Hamish said" AKA the Knights of the Blue Rose."
Randall said" Still not used to it."
Jack said" Gotta go." He jumped out of the booth,
Hamish said" I'm gonna take off too."
Randall said" W-Wait, come on. At least stay and finish your drink with me."
" I'm not thirsty." He walked away, I looked at Randall,
" Oh, my god, we have a hostage. Can I get two burgers to go?"
I said" We forgot we had a hostage... oh, we're stupid."

We got to the den, walking upstairs,
Randall said" Well, you were right about Foley, hope your..." We saw claw marks," Hungry." He picked up a piece of clothing," Holy shit."
We said" She's a werewolf."