The Moon's Fangs | 1

3 | liar, liar

"Some problems are like an ember. If you turn your back on the flame, by the time you notice the smoke, all that's left is ash." - Reks Arlen; Age of Paradise.

Tiny white specks resembling a distant galaxy reflected dimly in the black opalite ring. The speckles appeared faded, as though nearly depleted of energy. I turned it between my fingers, examining it closely.

Knowing I had stolen the ring right off Nolan's finger made me sick to my stomach. Since when did I decide to pick up a life of crime? That's not me! No way did I want to be a modern day Gollum. Ew. But it was like my instincts reacted before my moral compass could redirect my actions. I never consciously made the decision to steal the ring. Yet here it was, in my possession.

Yeah, try saying that in court. I'm sure the judge will believe you.

I stroked the smooth rim with my thumb. As I did, images of the desert landscape ran across my mind. Strange decrepit ruins were in the distance, mostly hidden by the rolling sands. Two moons, one pink and the other white, hung askew in the sunrise-hued sky, where distant planets populated the strange, foreign nebula. The longer I touched the ring, the more I saw, as if merely having contact with it somehow slowed the obscure, fast-paced images tattooed in my mind.

No matter how crazy it sounded, my gut screamed jackpot. Was I really supposed to go to a desert and find that guy? And which one? There're tons of deserts! But how many of them have decrepit ruins and a pink moon...

My brows knitted together.

Why am I playing with the idea this could be real? This was all made up by a freaky dream, and I stole some poor guy's ring because of it.

But when Reks came to mind, everything inside of me clashed against that denial.

"A desert, crescent moon, a ring... big scary monsters..." I twisted the band in between my fingers, studying it like a piece of a puzzle. "Save him, save you..."

I groaned, sitting up on my bed. My gaze drifted over to the tall bookshelf by my door, filled with fantasy series, astrology novels, and all kinds of thrilling and romantic stories my nose loved getting stuck in. My luggage bag leaned neatly against it, ready to go.

With the little amount of sleep I'd gotten, driving and dealing with the airport would be a pain in the ass here in only a few short hours. Despite that fact, I felt restless. Too afraid to fall asleep again, for I knew what waited for me in my dreams.

I gingerly rubbed my neck where it was the sorest, peering through my window. The rain and darkness masked the view, but I knew past tree-line only a short walk away laid my little slice of heaven; my telescope wrapped in a protective tarp sitting beside a hammock, tied between two trees in a clearing perfect for stargazing. If it weren't for the storm, that's where I'd be. My little escape from reality.

My concentration broke when my phone lit up on the nightstand, buzzing with an incoming phone call. It lit up the framed picture of Blaire and I on the porch swing, along with my favorite necklace and the charm bracelet we'd been adding on to for forever now. We planned on adding a shark tooth to them once finding a souvenir store at the beach.

I reached over to answer the phone, clutching the ring in my other hand. "Hi, dad. What's up?"

"Uh oh. Did I wake you up? Thought I'd catch your voicemail."

Something about hearing my dad's voice caused tears to swell in my eyes. I quickly wiped at the uninvited waterworks with the collar of my favorite tee I changed into earlier. It was one my dad gave me; an oversized rock band tee with a motorcycle a few degrees cooler than the one he rode around every day. It was a vintage charcoal black with faded white and red print.