Page 3 of Marked By Moonlight

She blinked at the strange command and jabbed her thumb at the apartment behind her. “Has something happened to Lenny?”

Those piercing, ancient eyes narrowed. “I seen the boy. These ol’ eyes seen a whole world of things.” She paused, pointing twognarly, arthritic fingers to each of her eyes. “I seen the boy. And he’s gone. Just forget ’bout him.”

Claire gave her head a small shake, suspecting the woman with her strange words wasn’t quite right in the head. “Thanks.”

“You see that boy, run the other way! Hear me? Run the other way!”

Her smile wobbly, Claire moved toward the stairwell, pausing on the top step. “Er, yes, ma’am.”

The dog’s frenzied barks followed her as she crossed the street to her car. Disappointment squeezing her chest, she dug for her key fob, noticing a figure streaking across the empty playground in front of her car. Suddenly he tripped and fell, stirring up a cloud of red sand. Resting her elbows on the roof of her car she waited, the teacher in her compelled to see the youth rise to his feet.

The sun had disappeared below the rooftops, tinting the sky a hazy purple. Visibility fast fading, she squinted across the distance, watching the boy rise. He glanced over his shoulder to check behind him.

And she saw his face.

“Lenny!”

Their eyes met across the playground. Recognition flashed in his face. He slapped a hand in the air, batting her away before sprinting off in the opposite direction.

Oh, I don’t think so.She hadn’t tutored him hours after school and paid his testing fee so he could blow her off and skip his exam. Stuffing her keys in her pocket, she slung her purse over her shoulder and took off after him. He was taking his SAT tomorrow. She would see to that. Few teenagers could turn their lives around so late in the game, especially at her high school, where the students were predominantly “at risk.” She wasn’t going to let Lenny slip through the cracks.

Her khaki-clad legs ate up the ground, her sensible shoes poundingthe earth as dusk sank into night. Darkness encroached and the shadows took on a life of their own, pressing all around her. Only streetlights kept night from swallowing her entirely. Up ahead, Lenny passed beneath one, its beam a spotlight on him as he turned and disappeared between an all-night Laundromat and a nail salon with pink blinking lights. Halting, she peered into the alley’s dark, cavernous depths.

Panting for breath, she lifted her face, watching as the clouds parted, breaking to reveal a full moon. The alley was suddenly awash in a pearly glow. A lone Dumpster sat against one wall, its putrid scent reaching her nostrils. The alley looked empty. No sign of Lenny anywhere. A dead end loomed ahead, so he couldn’t have escaped. He had to be on the other side of the Dumpster.

Legs aching from her run, she moved the toe of one shoe into the alley.

“Lenny!” Her voice bounced off the two buildings on either side of her. “It’s Miss Morgan! Please come out. You’re not in trouble.”

A low, anguished groan answered her.

“Lenny?” She advanced one sliding step at a time, concern for him swelling in her heart. Had his foster father hurt him? “Are you okay?”

“Stop! Don’t come any closer,” came his muffled voice, almost indistinguishable. “Can’t stop it, can’t help—” His voice faded into a moan.

Then nothing.

Silence.

Nearing the Dumpster, the soles of her shoes scraped over loose gravel, the only sound in the unnatural silence. She heard nothing beyond the rasp of her breath, and she could not help thinking the city was never this quiet.

“Lenny? Are you hurt?” Her voice cracked on the air.

Shadows pressed in, closing upon her. Her nape tingled and she trembled. The world beyond vanished, the narrow space becoming a tomb, blotting out all life, trapping her within.

A desperate whisper flew through her mind.Go! Get out of here!

Her feet rooted to the ground, unable to obey the silent command. She stole another glance at the sky. Her breath caught. A red-tinged moon. No longer pearl white. Blood moon, her mother called it.Blood moon, someone’s dying soon.

As that litany echoed in her head, her feet shuffled backward. She hugged her leather purse to her chest, the strap slung limply over her shoulder.

Abruptly, the moon’s glow vanished like a candle snuffed out. Darkness descended. With a shuddering breath, she searched the dark sky for a glimpse of moonlight to get her bearings. The tiny hairs at her nape tingled anew. She squinted against the murky air just as a large shape materialized in front of her.

“Lenny? Is that—”

Pain exploded in her face. She staggered and fell, her head hitting the ground with a sickening smack. Tears sprang to her eyes.

A massive weight fell on her, so crushing she couldn’t draw air. She raised hands to push it off, encountering only fistfuls of coarse hair. Dazed, she wondered how the dog had gotten loose and followed her.

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