Chapter 4: What Does it Mean?

Cadence read the letter twice, tears streaming down her face as the sound of his voice filled her head. When she was done, she folded it back up, handed it to her grandmother, and began to sob uncontrollably.

Janette patted her gently on the back, “There, there, darling. It’s all right,” she whispered quietly. “I’m sure the last thing he would want is to cause you grief all over again.”

While Cadence knew that was true, it was still very difficult to get a grip on herself. It had been over six months since Elliott had died, and it still seemed like yesterday. Even though she hadn’t known him that long, she’d become extremely close to him very quickly. She regretted the time she’d spent away from him, trying to figure out who she really was now that she had become a Vampire Hunter, trying to decide whether or not she should continue to fight for Aaron or let him go. Elliott was right—if he hadn’t died, she would probably still be fighting with Aaron instead of engaged to him.

Eventually, she was able to get a handle on her emotions, and she excused herself to go into the restroom to wash her face and blow her nose.

Looking in the mirror, she hardly even recognized who she had become. Vampire Hunting had certainly made her more muscular. She looked more mature than she had just a year or so ago when she’d started this new adventure. Was that all the time that had passed? It seemed like this had always been her life, and yet, not that long ago, she was a college student, hanging out with her high school friends on the weekend. Now, two of those friends were dead, and she’d lost Elliott as well. Aaron had also died, though not for long. And she’d nearly been killed herself when Laura shot her with a titanium bullet in an attempt to take out Giovani (who was also now dead.) Her sister was some sort of half-Vampire, half-Hunter the likes of which no one had ever heard of before. So much death and destruction. Why had she chosen this life again?

Of course, there had been lots of moments that made it all worthwhile as well. She couldn’t count how many victims she’d saved just before a Vampire was about to strike. There’d been the sweet little girl in Oklahoma, when they’d taken Brandon on his first hunt. And the baby she’d rescued from Henry. If she hadn’t chosen to Transform, she wouldn’t know any of these people. She certainly wouldn’t be engaged to the most intelligent, talented, sexy guy she’d ever met. She wouldn’t be crying about Elliott because she would have never met him. But then, if she hadn’t joined the team maybe he’d still be alive.

And so would a hell of a lot of monsters.

Sighing, she dried her face off on a towel and tried to get control of herself. What was done was done. Now, she just needed to move forward. There was so much to do and never enough time to do it. Forcing herself not to think about Elliott anymore, she went back to the living room, happy to have received word from him but resolved not to let this distract her.

When she walked back in, she could see her grandmother reading the letter. She sat down next to her, and saw a tear wending its way down her wrinkled cheek. “Grandma? Are you okay?” she asked, quietly, placing her hand on her grandma’s knee.

“He knew….” she whispered, shaking her head. Finishing the letter, she inhaled deeply, folded it up, and slid it back into the envelope

“I guess so,” Cadence said, assuming she meant he knew he was going to die. Feeling that resolve starting to loosen, she steeled herself and took the letter from her grandmother.

“No, that’s not what I meant,” she said softly. Cadence turned her head to look at her grandma, curious, and she continued. “Yes, it does seem like he knew something was about to happen. That doesn’t surprise me. Guardians have intuition like no one else. You know that.”

Thinking of all the times Aaron had told her things she didn’t think he could possibly know, and then the exact event happened, or he told her something he’d pieced together somehow with very little information, she nodded.

“But this is something else—something very few of us were supposed to know about.”

Cautiously, Cadence asked, “What’s that?”

Grandma Janette took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “If I tell you, I’m certain Aaron will be very cross with me.”

“Grandma,” Cadence began, “if you and Aaron—and Elliott—have a secret, I think you should let me know about it.”

Janette opened her weary eyes and looked into Cadence’s. “Do you know what a blue moon is?”

Caught off guard by the question, instead of a revelation, Cadence wasn’t sure how to respond. “I… don’t know. It’s just an expression, isn’t it? Like ‘see you around’?”

“Sure. Usually. But a blue moon is a real thing, too. And sometimes people get confused and think it’s something it isn’t.”

“Grandma, I’m not following,” Cadence replied, scooting back against the couch.

“Some people think a blue moon is when you have an extra full moon in a season—and technically, that’s true. But it can also be when you have an extra full moon in a month—at least for our purposes. They are both very rare.”

“Okay…” Cadence said, confused, but doing her best to follow.

“For thousands of years, people have believed there was something magical about the blue moon. Some think it brings luck, wealth, or fertility. Others thought that sleeping with a blue moon’s light on your face could cause insanity. Perhaps there are some truths to those superstitions, though I doubt it.”

“And what does the blue moon mean to you, Grandma?”

Once again, Janette took a deep breath. Exhaling, she resituated herself so that she was turned toward Cadence. “When I was younger, I heard a story about a Guardian who had been summoned using the blue moon portal. He was accidentally killed by a Hunter, and the Hunter felt so terrible, he searched to the ends of the earth to find a way to bring him back. On the night of a blue moon, he took his friend’s remains out, on a cloudless night, and set them on the ground, coffin open. Just as he had been told by an ancient Guardian, a portal opened, and he was able to speak to his friend.”