Love and the Moon Sliver

“I’m sorry mom.”

Claire had a lot to be sorry for. It’d been at least a year since Claire had last visited her mother’s grave. Probably right before she and Vanessa had gotten together, actually. But if she were here, she’d be mad as hell that Claire had broken their one rule. But she’d also broken one of her own first by falling in love in the first place.

“Never use the Moon Sliver.” Her mother had repeated it time and time again.

“And, why don’t we use it?” Her mother asked.

“Because then the bad men can find us.” Claire recited. At this point, it was essentially Claire’s mantra.

“I had to use it. It was the only way to protect Vanessa. Like you protected me.” Tears started to bead around her eyes.

“Let me explain…” Claire sat down on the dew-covered grass under the willow tree next to her mother’s headstone. “I’ll start at the beginning…” and Claire began the recount to her mother like a child trying to explain how the lamp in the living room broke so they wouldn’t get grounded.

“It all started when Vanessa walked into my work…”

Holy Hell. Claire had such a visceral reaction that she almost said it out loud, but caught it at the last second.

A young woman had walked into the clothing boutique Claire was working. Her long, curly, dark brown hair fell softly on her shoulders. Her eye color perfectly matched her hair, and little dimples accentuated her cheeks. The woman might have only been a few inches taller than Claire, but her long athletic frame made her stand taller somehow. Her olive skin glistened in the sunlight as she walked through the door, seeming to bend the light itself. Curious, Claire reached out with her magic. She only ever used it as a last resort, and Claire was certain this was some magical creature that had been sent to find her.

Vampire? Golem? Glamour Spell?… Human…Really?! Claire couldn’t believe it.

The woman walked up to Claire, a smile on her face. She tucked a loose curl of hair behind her ear, asking, “Hi, um, do you work here?”

After a longer than socially acceptable pause, Claire found her words, and they tumbled out like a toddler first learning to speak.

“Yup!.. I mean yeah! I mean yes, I do work here!” Claire was pretty sure that all came out much louder than she intended.

“How can I help you?” Finally, something came out sounding at least a little normal and professional.

“I need some help finding an outfit for my sister’s party. It’s supposed to be like clubbing theme, but it’s house party. It’s supposed to be ironic or something. I’m not sure, but could you please help me?”

Claire was skeptical; the woman looked so put-together that she doubted a woman who looked like her needed help in picking out an outfit. I feel sorry for the poor woman’s sister. If she’s attending the party, no one would be looking at the birthday girl. After regaining her composure, “Of course,” Claire responded and guided her to a fitting room.

Claire already had the perfect outfit in mind for her vintage seventies. The store had a pant-length romper in the back from that era. The garment was emerald green with leather pants and a deep plunging V-cut top covered in emerald sequins. Its jewel tone would complement her skin tone. But Claire was in no rush for the woman to leave. So, she grabbed every outfit combination she could think of. Some she knew were going to be bad. Some that would be solid maybes, but none of these combinations were going to be clear “yes” picks. Claire even resorted to some of the store’s riskier choices, some of which had a bunch of tassels. The tassels probably made the woman question how Claire got this job. Through the outfit changes, they chatted, making small talk, each offering little bits of who they were to a stranger. After Claire had essentially held the woman hostage for hours. She reluctantly brought out the romper.

She laid the garment on the purple-cushioned ottoman. The woman’s face lit up in the mirror. A pure joy that invoked a little envy in Claire. She grabbed the garment off the ottoman and rushed to the changing room. She practically ran to the raised pedestal surrounded my mirrors. Claire stood staring at her. The soft light of the chandelier hanging above bounced off the sequins, hitting the mirror at a hundred different angles. She spun on the pedestal, shimmering like a proper emerald set in a display case for all to see.

The young woman squealed, “I’ll take it!” So, Claire packaged up the romper and guided her to the checkout counter to ring her up. At least get her name, you coward, Claire’s inner voice exclaimed. Claire wanted to speak, but her lips seemed to be glued shut. It was as if she had gone mute and forgotten how to speak. But then the young woman did something that surprised Claire.

“Gimme your hand,” the woman said in more of a commanding tone.

Claire’s arm moved on its own as if she’d been hexed by the woman’s words. Claire knew about hexes, and this didn’t appear to be one. The woman had an uncapped marker in her other hand, and with it wrote “Vanessa 477-656-3229” on the back of Claire’s hand. Vanessa then pursed her lips and blew the lightest puff of air across the ink. The soft touch of air made the hairs on Claire’s arm stand straight up.

“To make sure it dries, wouldn’t want it coming off.” Vanessa said with a wink. “Now, you have number. So, you better call me for a real date or I’ll come back here and make you try on every outfit in this store next time instead!”

Claire gave a nervous giggle, like a child who’d been caught sneaking extra dessert. With that, Vanessa grabbed her bag, turned and headed toward the store. Right as the bell of the door rang, Claire yelled,

“Claire!” and the slightly softer, “My name is Claire.”

“Well, nice to meet you Claire. I look forward to your call.” And with that, Vanessa was gone.

After a couple of days, Claire was finally able to muster the courage to call and ask Vanessa out. They went on three dates in three nights and had been inseparable ever since. They couldn’t stand being apart, so after three months of dating, they moved in together. Day after day, Vanessa chipped away at Claire’s defenses. They’d cuddle watching Rom-Com’s together on the couch. They’d even gotten an adorable tortoise-colored kitten together and named it Butter. Claire still wasn’t sure why Vanessa named it that. Claire had never been much of a pet person in general, but it made Vanessa happy. After six months, they told each other, “I love you”. Vanessa said it first, of course. Claire eventually met Vanessa’s parents. Her mother gave great hugs. This was a relationship Claire had always wanted, but was always too scared to have. She wasn’t sure if she could handle another loss. Vanessa had done the impossible and had gotten Claire to open her heart. Something that had been locked off since her mother’s death. Eventually, after a year of dating, Claire had finally decided it was time to tell Vanessa that she was a witch.

So, after a late night out at their favorite bar, Claire had intended on divulging her biggest secret. They had wandered into the nearby park. The brisk, cool air provided a respite from the warm and overcrowded bar, so they meandered the paths, enjoying the quiet where they found a lone bench under a willow tree. Her mother’s favorite. Claire took it as a positive sign and guided her love to the bench.

“The Moon is so big tonight! I swear I could reach out and touch it!” said Vanessa, still a little giddy from the two margaritas at the bar.

“It does appear rather large tonight.”

“Aw come on! Where’s your sense of whimsy?”

“It’s sitting right next to me.” Claire said with a half-hearted nudge.

“You okay?” Vanessa asked. Her face reflected the concern in her voice.

Claire’s eyes must have given her away. She was overwhelmed with emotion. She had run through this conversation thousands of times in her head and knew what she wanted to say. But fear was a strong motivator for not doing something. Claire sat terrified of how Vanessa would react. It has to be done. Vanessa deserves to know every part of her.

“Oh, I’m fine. It’s just… I need to tell you something. I’ve been trying to tell you for over a month now, but I’m honestly terrified.”

A breeze caught the willow branches overhead; they swayed about and caressed Claire’s shoulder. That’s when she sensed it. Something was wrong. A sense of unease grew in her stomach.

“We need to go…now” anxiety creeping into her voice.

“What? Why?… You said you needed to tell me something.” Vanessa said, confused by the sudden change.

“I’ll tell you at home… We just need to go.”

Claire could see the disappointment on Vanessa’s face. To Vanessa, this was just another time when Claire put up her walls when they tried to talk about something personal. Because Claire had problems when it came to processing her feelings. This time was different; Claire had wanted to tell Vanessa the truth. But something was telling Claire that they needed to leave now.

“Good evening ladies,” a voice echoed out of the darkness.

Too late. Four well-dressed and seemingly young men appeared on the path under the street lamp.

“Hello…gentlemen.” Claire had no doubt in her mind that these four were far from gentlemen. The tall one, Claire assumed to be the leader, stepped towards the women first. Leaving the soft glow of the fluorescent bulb, the light of the full Moon shone upon his face and revealed his true face to Claire. This was what she sensed. Her magic working subconsciously had found a threat, and Claire had been right; these four were far from gentlemen. This was a pack of vampires.

“Do you two happen to know of a good bar around here?” The leader asked, magic swirling through his words. A vampire’s way calm their prey. Claire detected it immediately. They didn’t seem to know she was a witch, so she still had the element of surprise. The other three started to form a semi-circle around them, limiting their number of escape routes.

“Sure, there’s a real good pub just up that path, right outside the park,” said Claire while trying to position Vanessa behind her.

“Appreciate the tip, but we were thinking we’d just get a drink here,” the leader responded, grinning under his fangs.

“That sounds great.” Vanessa agreed from behind her, clearly sub-coming to the magic-laced words from the leader.

“Sorry, she’s had a little too much already tonight. We don’t actually have any drinks on us. So, I’m just going to take her home. You guys have a good rest of your night.” Claire piped in.

The leader tilted his head in confusion. Perplexed as to why Claire had not also fallen into line. He took a deep breath and held it.

“Ah, I see now, we have found ourselves a witch.”

Nervousness and fear crept into her. The stakes were higher now. She managed a quick glance back at Vanessa. The poor thing was dazed. A vampire’s speech magic could do that to a human.

The goon vampires hissed and snarled, shedding the illusion of their human masks. Revealing their pale, bony faces and long fangs. Claire had to act now before they all rushed her. She said the old words her mother taught her for times like these, and moonlight became solid around Claire and Vanessa. Then a second incantation, one she’d seen her mother do many times out in the meadow. The willow tree’s limbs came to life. Claire reached out with the branches and plucked the nearest two vampires off the ground, pulling them closer to its trunk. The vampires struggled under the limbs, but more and more wrapped around them until they were fully cocooned within a mass of limb and leave. The tree continued to constrict its prey, and then finally no more movement or sounds came from the cocoons. Blood dripping out the bottom.

“You bitch!” yelled the third vampire goon while rushing towards Claire, much faster than anticipated. She was slow to react. She’d been lax in keeping up with combat training. The vampire threw himself at Claire, and they tumbled to the ground. The vampire had her pinned and kept trying to slash at her with his claws, but the Moon-shield held for now. Claire struggled to find an upper hand, was finally able to hook her leg under his and roll. The roll gave her the opening she needed. Another incantation and a wooden stake appeared in her hand. It was much easier than summoning fire; otherwise, she’d just torch him. She slammed the stake down, aiming at the vampire’s heart, but he caught it mere millimeters from his heart. The vampire snarled and hissed at her: he’d probably not felt this close to death in a long while.

“That’s quite enough little witch, we wouldn’t want the little human here to lose her head.” The leader vampire had fully entranced Vanessa and now stood next to her, hand on her throat. The Moon-shield would protect against stabs and punctures, but it wouldn’t protect her if he tried to snap her neck. Both Claire and the other vampire untangled from each other and rose to their feet.

“Just let her go and I won’t have to kill you!” Claire’s voice had become stern and dangerous. She meant every word.

“Kill me? Darling those three.. They’re barely one hundred years old. Their power is nothing compared to mine.”

Claire knew he was telling the truth. Her magic sensed his power. He was much older and stronger than the others. I will not let him hurt her…No matter the cost.

“Sorry mom. You can scold me later.” Claire whispered the words under her breath.

Claire held out her right wrist, exposing a crescent moon tattoo. She knew the words she wasn’t supposed to say, but she’d deal with the consequences later. The incantation spilled out. Her tattoo began to glow bright white, and a silver oak wand with a dark gray top rose out of it. The Moon Sliver. A powerful magical wand given to her family long ago by the Moon Goddess herself. Claire reached out and grabbed the wand with her other hand, wrapping her fingers around the handle of the wand.

“Thank you for that, you just made my decision a lot easier.”

“Who..Who are you?” the leader vampire froze in fear.

“My name Claire Silverthorne, daughter to Millie Silverthorne, granddaughter to Greer Silverthorne”

“Silverthorne? You’re supposed to be dead! He’s going to come for you now!”

“Yes, but you have threatened someone I love and we need a head start.”

Claire raised the silver wand and spoke an incantation.

“Wait! Wait! Wait!… We can talk about this!” The vampire was terrified now. So much so that he pushed Vanessa away from him, back towards Claire. The other vampire rushed at her again. He had found a pipe, and raised it to bring it down on Claire’s head. A beam of white light exploded from the Moon Sliver and launched towards the charging vampire. It hit him in the center of the chest, blasting a hole straight through him. He dropped instantly, his mouth still agape from shock. Claire turned towards the leader.

“Your turn.” Her words laced with anger and spite.

The vampire turned and ran, but he was not fast enough to outrun this. Another beam of white light shot out of the wand. Instead of piercing, the light engulfed the vampire. It burned through his fancy suit, skin and everything else. Until nothing was left but ash. Claire released the wand, and it dissolved into light to be summoned again later, and she ran to Vanessa. Vanessa was laying on the ground nearby. Claire knelt next to her and cradled her head.

Vanessa’s eyes fluttered open. Still dazed, she said, “You’re glowing.” Then she passed out from the shock of the evening.

“So you see Mom, I did one thing you wanted me to do and found love and one thing I wasn’t supposed to do and used the wand. So, all in all we’re even.” Claire pictured her mom’s face. She could see her mother’s smile combined with glaring eyes because she’d be conflicted on whether she was angry or happy. Then, her mom would want to know anything and everything about Vanessa.

“I wish you were here to meet her.” Claire said as she used her sleeve to clean off some grime on the headstone.

“Oh and I actually managed to explain what happened and me being witch without her completely freaking out and running away. But, we need to go on the run for a little while.” Claire pointed down at the car packed and ready to go with Vanessa sitting in the front seat.

“So, I won’t be able to visit for a while. But, don’t worry I won’t let grandfather get the Moon Sliver. And, I won’t be alone this time. Until next time.” The tears in Claire’s eyes broke through and ran down her cheek, and she stood up to head to the car. No idea where her new life would lead, but the uncertainty was worth it with Vanessa by her side.