"Moon Song" by Katie Verdigris Smoke

Moon Song

It was full moon. There were no clouds, no trees to block the view from Chloe's window and no parents to stop her from sitting up all night, gazing at the silver orb floating above her. That was the best thing about boarding school. She had a cubicle to herself, no sharing with her idiot brother, John, who was always complaining to her parents when she tried to moon-gaze. Here, no one minded if she was up until three in the morning, as long as she didn't disturb anyone or fall asleep in lessons.

Chloe loved the moon. It held a magic beyond even that of books, the magic which drew her to it every night. It was a cold and distant magic, forever hidden, forever tempting her with glimpses of its nature. Tonight it seemed especially strong, even for a full moon. Chloe found herself longing for the touch of its silky shine on her skin, longing for it to come and ease some of the pain that often threatened to overwhelm her.

It was the pain of not belonging. At home, at school, in the boarding house or in her cramped corner of the shared bedroom in the London flat with her brother's mess spilling out onto the floor in a writhing heap, wherever she was it made no difference. It was as though there was an invisible bubble surrounding her, cutting her off from other people. She could not break through it however much she tried, so she had turned it into a sort of armour. Chloe locked herself away from the world and, if she ever got lonely, she gazed at the moon.

Suddenly, Chloe knew that the time had come. She had been waiting for this but, now it came to it, she wasn't sure if she wanted to do it. However, she had no choice. The moon had her feet and they pulled her gently from the bed, landing her on the floor as softly as falling dust in a sun beam. A new lightness had overcome her body, creating a blanket of silence around her as she drifted down the sleeping corridor to the stairs and then down their steep spiral to the ground floor. The front door was locked, of course, but this proved no obstacle, as a milky light surrounded the keyhole and it clicked open to reveal the silver moonlight gleaming off every surface. To Chloe, it appeared as though the whole world was honouring the magic of the night, rejoicing in the moon as it shone far above, reflecting and enlarging the glow till it filled her vision and she could see nothing else. A faint strain of music, a perfect tune caught in time, filled her ears as the moon swelled to fill the sky, magnified by the tears that blossomed in Chloe's eyes. The world shimmered, dancing with lights, swimming with shadows, swirling round and round her head, flushing into her heart and soaking it in the cocktail of moon magic. There was no escape from its pure power, its force so gentle that it did not even seem to be there, yet so powerful that Chloe knew she would surely die from it, die from the energy being poured into every facet of her being, die from joy.

And so, like all moon-children had done before her, and all shall do after, Chloe made her first change. It began slowly with a shudder that filled her up, shaking her very essence to the core. It passed up her body, loosening bones with harsh clicks that echoed around the empty school courtyard. Her jaw dislocated, her shoulders popped out of their sockets and her knees buckled as every joint in her body protested against the unnatural contortions that racked her frame. She felt that she was being taken apart piece by piece, her muscles screaming as they tried to grow, her bones yelling over them, her skin joining in the orchestra of pain that was being conducted through her body, like an electric current being forced through a wire too small for it, shrill, insistent, eternal.

The world of calm silver was gone now, the moon had betrayed her, led her out to endure the torture that was waiting in every deceptive beam of light. Her last friend had left her, brought her to suffer alone, betrayed, betrayed, betrayed. Chloe curled into a ball, her shoulder blades straining against the skin of her back.

How long she lay there, Chloe did not know. But finally the pain ceased and she felt able to raise her head. The beauty of the night had returned, the nightmare was over, but something had changed. Suddenly it was not peaceful but full of crackling, jumping energy and excitement. The soft music had changed in her ears to a vigorous beat, pulsing with life and purpose. Chloe leapt to her feet, feeling her muscles respond in a new way, the right way. The way they were meant to respond. She bounded away into the night, dancing with wonder at the ease with which her legs carried, wishing to speed away as fast as possible and never come back, to leave the school, leave her parents, leave the world altogether and go with the moon wherever it led. Her new tail slashed the air with eager anticipation.

How funny to think that she had dreaded this night! When her grandmother had told her, Chloe had felt so scared, so terrified of this freedom.

“You are like me Chloe,” her Grandmother had said., “You have the moon-child's blood in you. You must make the change when your time comes, as must I. You must leave this world and find the other. Your moon magic is strong, Chloe, possibly the strongest I've ever met. You're time will come soon, very soon. Be ready for when it does.”

At the time, Chloe had not known what she had meant, but over the past month, she had slowly found out what her Grandmother had been saying. She was a moon-child, a werewolf, and she must be ready to take up her inheritance when the time came. She would know. The moon would call her, as it had called her Grandmother, and so many others throughout the globe. And when it did call, she would follow it - where?

But none of that mattered now. All that mattered was the chase, and the road that the moon cast for her to follow.

Katie Wakelin