“You are not the author of my fate.” Goldie jutted out her chin.
“Well, thank goodness for that, because if I was, I probably would have written a very different, less auspicious story.” He laughed a small, self-deprecating laugh. “I seem to have a knack for messing things up. When Burnside brought you to live with his sister and brother-in-law, I was sure that you were fated to suffer for my misdeeds. I thought there was little I could do to contain the darkness my act of blood magic had unleashed. But then I began to question that.”
Cosimo turned and reversed directions. He was now pacing counter-clockwise. “The older you got, and the more successful, the more amazed I was by you. The stone’s curse didn’t seem to have any significant effect on you. I so desperately wanted to keep it that way!”
He stopped abruptly. “I couldn’t stay away from you. I needed to know that you were all right. It was entirely selfish of me. And I never expected to feel… this…” He threw his arms open wide as if he meant to embrace the entire world. She could see there were tears in his eyes. She didn’t think vampires were supposed to be able to cry. It was proof that some of his humanity remained.
“I never anticipated the strength of our connection,” he said, not even bothering to wipe the tears that spilled over. “My life is nothing but regret. I would do anything for you, Ondalune. Tell me what to do, and I will do it. I am ready to walk into the light of the eclipse and atone for my sins.”
“I don’t want you to sacrifice yourself for me, Cosimo.” Goldie spoke quietly and gently. “It isn’t necessary. Once I get the stone back, I will return it to the ocean. You don’t have to do anything. Except perhaps…” She hesitated here, because she knew what she was asking was a near-impossible task. “You need to find a way to forgive yourself.”
“And you, Ondalune? Can you find a way to forgive me?”
I already have.
Although she thought it, she didn’t feel quite ready to say it.
“Come to bed, Cosimo.” Goldie rose to her feet.
“You know I don’t sleep,” Cosimo argued.
“But I do, and I so desperately need to get some rest. I’m beyond exhausted. This has been one of the longest days of my life. You can watch me sleep if you must.”
“You would invite me to your bed?” His eyes had softened, but there was still a hint of that feral glow, that hunger.
“To sleep.” She couldn’t help but suppress a weary smile.”Tomorrow will come, no matter how much we argue and debate, and no matter what we decide.”
“And the bloodstone?” he asked.
“We will know what to do with it tomorrow,” she said. She took his hand and led him to the bed. “But I am going to go to sleep now,” she insisted. She pulled back the covers and slipped between the cool sheets. They felt almost as wonderful as the water.
Cosimo did not join her beneath the blankets. He stretched out beside her on top of the coverlet, removing only his shoes. Crossing his arms across his chest, he lay as still as a mummy. Goldie did not know what the morning eclipse would bring, but for the moment, she was happy not to face it alone. As she snuggled up beside him, she was surprised by how quickly she drifted off to sleep.
* * *
The clockon Goldie’s nightstand read nine a.m. She was alone. The coverlet was rumpled on the other side of the bed, but other than that, there was no sign of Cosimo. Nor was there any sign of the young witch who her uncle had assured her would come to deliver the stone to them.
“Zani will find you,” Burnside had insisted. “And you’ll know what to do.”
But Goldiedidn’tknow what to do. Last night, as she drifted off to sleep, she’d felt certain: calm and patient, as if she were wrapped in the mantle of fate and could do no wrong. This morning, she felt the opposite, naked and frantic. And also alone. The eclipse was coming in less than two and a half hours, and neither Cosimo nor the cursed stone were anywhere to be found.
She switched on the radio as she hurried to dress.
“Good Morning Catalina! The Island is hopping today with tourists in town for the film festival and to view the big eclipse. Can you believe we are only two hours away? Make sure you bring your protective eye gear, and if you’re viewing from the water, make sure to drop anchor before the event begins. Just a reminder from the Coastal commission not to disturb the marine life off the coast of our sanctuary rocks. We just got a crazy report that someone spied a man swimming out toward Bird rock early this morning. Stay safe folks, and don’t forget your sunscreen!”
Goldie froze. He wasn’t still planning to go through with his idea to end the curse. Was he?
Item No. 137-L | When you need some clarity
Lunar Lenses
I found them in a quiet optical shop in Geneva, tucked between a watchmaker’s and a tobacconist. The optician told me the lenses were crafted from a rare volcanic mineral, quarried only during moonless nights in Iceland. The frames, made of a titanium alloy, felt impossibly light when I slipped them on.
Stepping outside, they darkened instantly. Later, when I stepped inside a shadowed cathedral nave, they cleared without fanfare. The adjustment was seamless. Inscriptions I hadn’t noticed became legible from across the room. Tiny details in shadow took form. Patterns emerged. Night or day, near or far, these spectacles allow you to take it all in without squinting.
Since then, I’ve worn them from snowfields to catacombs, in sandstorms and fog-bound harbors. They’ve never once needed polishing, never once fogged.
What they provide isn’t just vision, it’s clarity.
