Goddess of the Night (8 page)

Vanessa thought
about it. How would she survive on a different planet? Even if that
was where she belonged. "I don't want to leave. My home is
here."

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"But,
Vanessa, if it's true."

"It's
not--"

"Just if.
If they come for you, don't let them leave me behind." Catty was
serious.

"If,"
Vanessa said. "If it is true, I promise."

"Thanks."
She paused a moment. "I keep having this awful dream. In it
these shadowy people are trying to reach me. I can't see their faces.
I wake up, and it feels so real. Maybe the others are using telepathy
to contact us, but our skills are too rusty to pick up their
message."

"Stop,"
Vanessa whispered. "You're frightening me."

"Sorry,"
Catty said.

"Maybe we
should try to get some sleep."

"Okay,"
Catty agreed.

Vanessa turned
off the lights and opened the shutters. She and Catty crawled into
bed and stared out the window at the night sky.

"I wish we
only had normal problems like everyone else," Vanessa said.

"Me, too.
It'd be fun to just worry about school, zits, and boys."

"I worry
about that. It's not fun."

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"Yeah,
it's not fun for me, either," Catty said. "I wish I knew
why we're so different."

"Freaks of
nature," Vanessa whispered and wondered how she could ever have
a boyfriend. Maybe it was better not to try.

"It's hard
sometimes," Catty added. "If you weren't here, I'd be so
alone, probably smoking pot with lodos on the back lawn at school."

"Yeah,"
Vanessa said. "I'd probably be a shy little mouse with a stack
of books in front of my face and no friends." She pushed back
tears crowding into her eyes. "I'm glad you're here."

"Ditto on
the mushy stuff." Catty pulled her covers tight around her.

As she was
falling asleep, Vanessa decided to visit Serena tomorrow. It was her
last hope before confessing everything to her mother. Maybe Serena
could look at her tarot cards and tell her who had been following her
and why.

100

Chapter 10

SUNDAY EVENING
VANESSA walked up the tinted stone walkway of a large Spanish
colonial revival house. Faded ceramic frogs and trolls sat under the
spiked paddles of a prickly pear cactus. The wind blew, and
purple-red bougainvillea flowers rained over her.

She started to
knock on a large wood door, when it opened.

"Hi,"
Serena greeted her. "I'm glad you came." She wore
Hawaiian-print bell-bottoms and a pair of clogs painted fairy-tale
red with blue flowers. She looked like a pixie, the way her hair was
moussed with glitter on the ends.

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"Let's sit
in the kitchen," she said. "The light is better there."

Vanessa stepped
inside and waited for her eyes to adjust to the dimness. Then she
followed Serena down an unlit hallway. Their footsteps echoed through
an imposing dining room that felt cold and never used. Finally, they
pushed through a swinging door into a yellow kitchen that smelled of
freshly baked cookies.

A raccoon sat
on the kitchen table on top of papers that were scattered around a
laptop computer. A cello rested against a long counter. Its varnished
wood reflected the warm kitchen lights. Vanessa had expected to see
anarchy symbols and smell incense, or maybe worse.

"I
practically live in here," Serena explained. She seemed nervous
to have Vanessa visiting. She picked up a pile of papers. "This
is Wally."

The raccoon
stood on its hind legs, then climbed off the table and scuttled
flat-footed away from Vanessa.

"I got him
on a camping trip. His mom deserted him, same as my mom deserted me,
so my dad let me keep him. Have a seat."

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Vanessa sat
down.

Serena went to
the counter next to the sink. Wally followed on her heels, his bushy
ringed tail in the air like a flag. She tossed the raccoon a cookie,
then brought a plate of chocolate chip cookies to the table. "Here,
have one. I just made them."

Serena didn't
look like the kind of person who would bake. Vanessa picked one, had
a moment's hesitation wondering what might be in the cookie, then saw
Wally chomping daintily away and took a bite. It was rich and
buttery. The chocolate melted in her mouth.

"It's
good." She wished she hadn't sounded so surprised.

"I'm glad
you like it." Serena smiled. "Sometimes I think about
becoming a chef. Well,
if
it weren't impossible."

"Anything's
possible." Where had that come from? She sounded like her
mother. Standard Lecture No. 9.

Serena shook
the spangled bracelets on her arm. "I guess my life is pretty
much planned for me.

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Vanessa felt
sorry for Serena. Too many kids at school had parents who drew road
maps for their lives.

"It's not
what you think," Serena added quickly. "Dad's pretty cool.
It's other things."

Vanessa started
to ask like what, but before she could ask, Serena spoke.

"What do
you want to drink? Soda? Coffee? I'm having milk."

"That
sounds good."

Serena poured
two glasses, then came back to the table and sat down across from
Vanessa. She shuffled her tarot deck, then placed it in front of
Vanessa. "Think of your question while you divide the deck into
three piles with your left hand."

Vanessa took
the worn deck and shakily separated it into three stacks. She
wondered if the cards would be able to tell her who was following
her. When she glanced up, Serena had a peculiar look on her face and
her eyes seemed dilated the way Catty's became before they
time-traveled.

"What?"

Serena shook
her head. "Sorry, I was

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daydreaming."
She took the deck, gave Vanessa a sly smile, then turned over the
first card. "Ace of cups. Love affair. Don't worry about
Michael. He likes you. It's genuine."

Vanessa tried
to smile, but worry kept pulling at her. Did she dare ask Serena
about her real problem? An odd sensation rippled across her mind. It
wasn't unpleasant, but it felt peculiar, almost like the feeling she
sometimes had after completing a difficult algebra problem. She
glanced up. Serena was staring at her again.

"You
know," Serena began carefully, "if you have other problems,
I might be able to help with those, too. I mean, we could ask the
cards."

"I've got
a problem," Vanessa whispered.

Serena clicked
her tongue piercing against her teeth and waited. "You want to
tell me about it?"

"I cant.

Serena
continued to stare at her. Why did her pupils seem so large? She
blinked and her eyes looked normal again.

"Well,
maybe the cards can help you if you just think about your problem."
Serena turned

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over the next
card, but she didn't seem to concentrate on it--her eyes kept
returning to Vanessa.

"Do you
see something bad in the cards?" Vanessa asked nervously.

Before Serena
could answer, the back door opened. The salty smell of the ocean
drifted into the room. A boy walked in, his sandals flapping against
the back of his heels. His face was sunburned, his nose peeling, and
his lips still had traces of white zinc oxide. Lines from dried salt
water traced around the back of his deeply tanned neck. His
sun-bleached hair fell in his blue eyes and down his back in a shaggy
ponytail.

"This is
my brother, Collin," Serena said. "Vanessa's a friend from
school."

"Hey,"
Collin nodded, but he barely looked at Vanessa.

"Hi."
Vanessa could see how Morgan would have a crush on him.

"Anything
for dinner?" He walked over to the stove.

"Macaroni
and cheese," Serena said.

"Where?"

"The oven.

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He took the
casserole from the oven. Steam rose into his face. Collin set the
casserole on a trivet, then took a spoon from the dishwasher and dug
in.

"It's
hot," Serena called out.

He bit anyway.
"Hot!" he yelped, and danced around. Wally scampered under
the table.

"Collin's
a surfer," Serena said adoringly, as if that explained
everything.

"The
macaroni is great," Collin yelled. He scooped some onto a plate
and left the kitchen. The sound of MTV came from someplace deep in
the house.

Serena turned
back to Vanessa. "He's pretty cool for a brother, actually.
Morgan had a big crush on him for a while. But I think she's had a
crush on everyone, especially Michael."

Vanessa sighed
and wondered if she even had a right to date Michael. After all,
Morgan was her friend and--

"Don't
worry about it." Serena interrupted her thoughts. "Collin
says Morgan doesn't have boyfriends, she takes prisoners. She's
really possessive. So maybe she didn't have a relationship

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with Michael
like she thinks she did."

Vanessa still
felt bad. Had Michael taken advantage of Morgan? Was she too
embarrassed to tell Vanessa everything about it? Maybe Michael had--

"She never
had a real date with him." Serena spoke in a soothing voice.
"She saw him at a party and they got together."

"How do
you know so much?"

"I
listen." Serena smiled. She shuffled the cards. "Let's
start again. Think of your question. You need to be specific for the
cards to work."

"Okay,"
Vanessa said.

"Ready?"
Serena snapped the cards. "Divide the deck into three stacks
again."

Vanessa nodded
and thought, Am I in danger of having my secret discovered? Then she
divided the cards into three stacks.

Serena gazed at
her, her green eyes fiery. Again Vanessa had an odd feeling, this
time like a whisper of wind roving around her mind. It was relaxing.
She started to close her eyes.

Serena slapped
the first card on the table.

Vanessa opened
her eyes with a start.

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"The
knight of cups," Serena said. "He's always a bearer of
important news or an invitation to social events." She grinned.
"He also brings new developments in love. Are you sure you're
not thinking about Michael?"

"Yes."
Vanessa tried to concentrate on the two different nights when she
felt as if someone had been following her.

"Maybe you
should be more specific."

"How would
you know if I was specific or not?" Vanessa asked.

"I can't
know." Serena giggled. "Just in general people aren't very
specific. It's easier for the cards to work if you add in all the
details."

Vanessa
shrugged and thought of the night with Michael at the Bowl; then she
looked at Serena and stopped. Serena's pupils were enlarged again,
and she was staring. Vanessa winced. That feeling in her mind was
strong this time. Maybe she was getting a migraine. She rubbed her
temples.

An odd look
gathered on Serena's face as if she saw something that amazed and
puzzled her.

"What do
you see?" Vanessa asked, the balls of her fingers working her
scalp.

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"Nothing,"
Serena said; but her voice filled with wonder and she seemed excited
about something. Then she turned the next card. "Damn," she
muttered, and her mood seemed suddenly dark.

The card showed
the image of a moon with the face of a woman. Two yellow dogs barked
at the night sky.

"I think
this one was out of order." She started to push the card back
into the deck. "Let's go to the next."

Vanessa grabbed
her hand and took the card. "What does it mean?" she said
nervously. She didn't really believe in fortune-telling, but it
frightened her the way Serena was acting.

"The card
means an unforeseen danger. Something is not as it seems." She
looked at Vanessa long and hard. "It means you should be
cautious. Very cautious."

"Why?"

Serena clicked
the piercing in her tongue against her teeth. "It's
complicated."

Vanessa waited.

"According
to the card, you're looking for answers, and the information you'll
receive will be

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difficult to
believe, so you'll put yourself in danger. You'll have confused
feelings and not be sure what to do, but you can't run from this
problem. The only way is through it."

Serena looked
down at the cards. She turned over the next and let out a small gasp.
Before Vanessa could catch her, she stuck the card back in the deck.
Her quick jerky movement toppled her glass of milk.

"Sorry."
She ran to get paper towels. She brought them back to the table.

Vanessa helped
her sop up the milk. "What did the last card say?"

"Nothing,
I didn't even really see it before I spilled the milk."

Vanessa knew
she was lying. She had looked too frightened. She had seen something
in the cards. And why did she keep staring at Vanessa? Maybe Morgan
was right.

Serena tossed
the wet towels in the trash, then came back to the table. "So do
you want to watch some TV, or go down to Ed Debevic's and watch them
dance on the counter? I love their hot fudge sundaes."

111

Serena was
talking too quickly. What was she afraid of? Surely she would tell
her if she thought she was in danger.

"You
didn't tell me what you saw in the last card," Vanessa said.
"The one that frightened you.

"Oh,
that." Serena tried to laugh but it came out sounding fake. "I
would have told you all the usual stuff that everyone thinks
fortune-tellers make up anyway, about a happy life and all that."

But Vanessa
knew she was hiding something. "Are you sure there wasn't more?"