Kindling the Moon Read Online Free PDF Page A

darkened, cool hallway. Frater Kantor locked the outside door, then hurried to get in front of me as I made it to the back offices. Before he could announce me, the local Grandmaster stood up. But I couldn’t have cared less about her; it was the man behind her I wanted to see.
    â€œSeléne, my darling,” he said. “It’s so good to see you again.”
    A swell of emotion caught me by surprise at the sight of him. It took me a moment to answer. “Godfather.”
    He held out his arms to me. I stepped forward into his embrace allowed him to kiss me, once on each cheek. He smelled familiar and earthy. Safe.
    Caliph Superior was in his early seventies. His once long, white hair was now short and thinning. Apart from wearing a large gold ring bearing an engraved unicursal hexagram, you wouldn’t have a clue that he was the leader of one of the most powerful magical organizations in the Western world. In his expensive suit, he looked more like a retired lawyer or someone’s rich grandfather—both of which he was. He had seven children by four different women, and a slew of grandchildren, all of whom could claim a lineage extending back to beginnings of the order. One of them would take over as leader when he died.
    â€œSoror Yolanda,” I said, nodding my head toward the Grandmaster. She nodded back and motioned for me to take a seat in a cracked leather armchair that was grouped with several others in front of an unlit fireplace. A painting of a Sumerian war goddess hung above the mantel between a William Blake print and an engraving of John Dee and Edward Kelley evoking a spirit. Caliph Superior sat down next to me while the Grandmaster shooed away her wormy assistant.
    â€œI can’t believe how much you’ve changed,” Caliph Superior said. “To see you in person instead of photos … ah, my goddaughter became a woman.” His eyes glazed over with emotion as he reached to touch my face.
    â€œYou cut your hair.” I smiled at him while brushing away a stray tear before it could fall.
    â€œYou grew yours out. It’s lovely.”
    The last time I’d seen him, my hair was cropped short. Now it fell to the middle of my back. Naturally a dark brunette, I started bleaching the underside white-blond; Kar Yee said it made me look like Pepé Le Pew’s girlfriend.
    â€œContacts?” he asked.
    â€œYes.” Blues were now brown.
    He sighed and withdrew his hand.
    When the three of us were alone, the Grandmaster sat in front of us and gave me a grave look. An attractive woman in her fifties, she had severe, thin lips that seemed out of place on an otherwise round face and plump body. I hadn’t had much contact with her since I’d moved to Morella two years ago; I did my best to avoid the E∴E∴ in my new life.
    â€œWhat’s going on? Why wasn’t I informed that my parents were coming to the States?” I looked between the two of them. Caliph Superior spoke first.
    â€œWe didn’t inform you because we ourselves didn’t know.”
    â€œThey haven’t contacted you?”
    He shook his head. “No. Nothing has changed. You know that when all of you went into hiding I agreed not to contact your parents, even through our guardians. As far as the authorities go, I’m sure Elona and Alex have hidden themselves well by now. There’s no way to authenticate their identity on the video footage. The FBI will give a cursory search, then move on to something more important when the scandal dies down. You shouldn’t worry about that.”
    I nodded. He was probably right.
    â€œRight now,” he added, “we have bigger problems than the FBI.”
    â€œLuxe,” I said in a low voice. “They know, don’t they?”
    Based out of San Diego, the Luxe Order was a rival occult organization that boasted a membership of five thousand. Though the E∴E∴ could claim only about two