Moonlight War- Act II (The Realmers Book 3) Page 7

  “No matter how horrible one demon is, there’s always another one who’s worse,” Bane observed.

  “Shut up!” Emi screamed. “You both need to heal Evan, he’s going to die. I don’t have healing sorcery. Please!”

  Sintian was already there, placing his hands on Evan’s head as Bane moved to help. Evan went cold at Emi’s words. Strangely, he hadn’t thought his life was in danger until she’d said it. He felt curiously calm, despite the copious amount of blood leaking down into his eyes and the fact it felt like multiple hands were sticking hot knives into every inch of his skull they could reach.

  He wondered faintly whether the croc-demon’s teeth had made multiple holes in his head, but he was too tired to worry much. He couldn’t keep his eyes open as Bane and Sintian started healing him. He knew he shouldn’t sleep, he may never wake up, but the darkness was just too inviting.

  “Evan, Evan, can you hear me?” Emillia’s voice drifted somewhere around him. “Evan, please!”

  Evan noticed the sky for the first time as the overhanging trees swayed with the wind. The black leaves parted, revealing a yellow sky full of pink clouds. Pretty, he thought, then his eyes stayed closed.

  *

  When he awoke, the sky had darkened to a teal colour. It must be night here.

  “Thank Rueda you’re awake.”

  Evan craned his neck to see Emi sitting next to him. He raised a hand to his head to feel for puncture wounds. His skull felt like it was full of lead and he had a splitting headache, but on the other hand he no longer had teeth marks and gory holes on his scalp.

  “I washed some of the dried blood off you,” Emi said, “not with water from the river, obviously, but with water magic.”

  He noticed they’d carried him into the trees and away from the clearing. He was glad to be far from the river.

  Bane lay on the jungle floor; his arms cross over his chest, like a vampire in a coffin, whilst Sintian lounged against a tree. Bane hummed a tune which sounded like a lullaby. Sintian glared at Evan. What’s his problem this time?

  “There’s been no activity from up at the temple,” said Sintian, “and no more monsters from the river either.”

  “I wanted to go into the temple without you,” Bane remarked. “In fact, Sin and I were going to leave Emi to watch over you, whilst we completed the mission. But the frightened little girl called Veneseron.” Bane shook his head at Emi.

  “What did they say?” Evan asked her.

  “Because Bane and Sintian are experienced in healing magic, the Monitors are reassured that you’ll be okay,” Emillia said, shooting a glare Bane’s way. “They also said to call back if you don’t wake up within the hour, and they’d come to take you to the infirmary.”

  “And also cancel our mission,” Bane snapped, “putting a permanent blemish on my record.”

  “They also instructed us to wait for you to wake up before entering the temple,” said Emi. “So bossy boots is mad at me, but I don’t care. Your health is more important.”

  “Bossy boots? Are you five?” Sintian chuckled.

  “You needed the time to regenerate your sorcery anyway, so stop complaining,” Emi replied.

  “Thank you,” Evan said. “To all of you.”

  “Yeah, if it wasn’t for me, you’d be chunks inside that demon’s belly right about now,” Bane smirked. “You owe me one, Umbra, and don’t forget it. I may ask for something in return one day.” Bane’s expression softened to genuine concern for a moment. “You’re okay now though?”

  Evan nodded. “I think so.”

  “Good, I can’t have a Venator’s death on my record; just think what that would do to my standing in the Fortress.”

  Evan couldn’t believe his ears, but before he could reply, Bane rose to his feet gracefully. “C’mon then, let’s get to this temple already.”

  Evan’s right boot was ruined, half chewed and dented by bite-marks. The tip was missing, probably halfway down the demon’s gullet, and he could see the end of his sock. When he staggered to his feet, his headache seemed to double. But he tried to shake it off and follow Bane, who was already striding back to the river.

  “Wait,” said Emi, hurrying after him. “We’re just going to use the bridge again. What if more monsters come out of the water?”

  Bane shrugged. “Walk quickly.”

  Evan studied the river; the section in this clearing wasn’t too big. “What if we freeze the water, temporarily, just in case.”

  Bane sighed. “Fine, if you want to expend sorcery that we’ll need to fight cultists.”

  Evan and Emillia crouched either side of the bridge and put their hands on the ground. Evan watched the water closely, looking for the first ripple of a creature approaching. Fortunately, his spell worked first. The water’s surface crystallized into ice, all the way to the other side of the bridge.

  “That will melt in about a minute. Let’s move,” Evan said.

  They ran across the bridge and to the bottom of the mountain. Something in the water groaned far below. As they set off up the mountain path, Evan’s spell wore off and the water returned to normal, but luckily, no more monsters emerged after them.

  The mountain path was so narrow they walked in twos. Emi and Bane moved ahead and Sintian fell in step beside him.

  “Thank you again,” Evan said. “For healing me and everything.”

  Sintian whispered so only he could hear. “I’m surprised you didn’t use your demon magic to get out of that one.”

  Sintian’s words filled him with anxiety. Stray just wouldn’t let it go.

  “I told you already,” Evan said through gritted teeth. “I don’t have demon magic. I don’t even know what that is.”

  “I know what I saw the night of the battle,” Sintian said. “I know-“

  “There’s nothing to know,” Evan interrupted. “There was loads going on during the demon invasion. I don’t know what you saw, but it wasn’t this demon magic you keep going on about. You might’ve been hit on the head, which caused you to see things.”

  Sintian chuckled wryly. “Sure, Evan. Whatever you say.”

  “Hey, what’s so funny?” Emillia said over her shoulder.

  “Nothing,” Evan said at once.

  Sintian looked like he wanted to take things further, but then the temple’s entrance came into view. The tower had no door, but a hole punched into its side. It was the monsters by the entrance which made them all stop, however.

  “What are they?” Emillia squeaked.

  “Nephilim giants,” said Bane, his tone free of mocking arrogance for once, replaced by awe.

  The giants were twenty-foot tall, resembling humans with bulging muscles and with veins as big as snakes rippling their bodies. Their flesh was a bluish grey and their faces looked carved out of stone. Fortunately, both Nephilim were fast asleep.

  “If they wake up, we’re dead,” Bane warned.

  “Wow, I thought Mandon were big,” Evan murmured. “These are twice the size.”

  “And twice as dangerous,” said Sintian.

  “It’s okay, we can just sneak past them,” said Bane. “Easy.”

  “What?” Evan said. “Are you crazy?”

  “We should be okay if we use the Mutemove spell, so the giants won’t hear our footsteps,” Emillia suggested.

  “Whoa,” Sintian gasped, “Mutemove might work actually. You aren’t as dumb as you look after all.”

  “Eat Ushk,” Emi replied.

  Bane shrugged. “I was just going to take our chances with sneaking past them normally, but if it makes you feel better.”

  They conjured the anatomy spell upon their feet, making their movements soundless. Curiously, the giants didn’t snore, which was good, since the sound would probably be thunderous. As he passed the first Nephilim, the giant’s head jolted. Evan froze, fear enveloping him. He waited for several tense moments, not even breathing. Thankfully, the nephilim slept on, the movement had been merely a twitch.

  One
of the first’s nephilim’s legs stuck out at an angle, so the four of them had to zigzag between the two titans as they crept. Evan was in-between both Nephilim when the one in front began to sniff. He didn’t know if Nephilim ate humans, but it felt like the brute could smell them. It took immense effort not to run into the temple’s entrance, but they managed to it, creeping silently.

  The humidity was even stronger inside the temple than in the jungle, almost like a steam room. The black stone walls were also laced with gold, but these patterns were in arabesques weaved into the surface. Beyond the entrance, were gargantuan stone steps. The four of them climbed the steps quickly, lest the giants wake up.

  The steps were seemingly endless. Evan ignored the stitch nagging at his side. Though Venators were incredibly fit from all their physical training in the Fortress, the amount of steps was exhausting.

  Finally, the steps levelled off, leading into an empty hall. Huge red tiles covered the hall’s floor, apart from a single blue tile in the very centre.

  “So…” said Sintian. “Where are all the damn cultists? You don’t think Brisnik tricked us, do you?”

  “No, this is the place,” Bane said hollowly. He stood by the far wall, where a message in red had been scrawled across the stone. There were only two lines:

  The Knights of the New Doom Shall Rise

  The Knights of the New Doom Shall Rule

  Evan went to take a closer look, stepping on the large blue stone in the centre of the hall. As soon as he did the stone vanished. Before Evan could cry out, he was falling into darkness.

  Chapter 34-Titchy Tim and the Werewolf Fight Club

  “Arantay don’t do this,” Brooke urged.

  Arantay didn’t look at her, but continued to stare out of the church window, waiting for night to fall. “You do not understand.”

  After they had finished speaking to Hallia, it was nearly sunrise and the London coven had descended to the church’s under croft to sleep in their coffins until night came again. Cazantian had offered to make a bed for Brooke to sleep in their crypt also, but she’d declined. Arantay had declined also, but she could tell he was just as weary as she was. She told him she’d be fine here, and that he should get his head down too. Eventually, he’d relented, and joined the others.

  Brooke knew Tay didn’t need to sleep in a coffin. The full vampires needed a lid on their beds though, to protect from any sunlight from an errant window that might shine upon them whilst they slept.

  Her unease over being in the vampire’s lair had been devoured by her exhaustion. She hadn’t slept since she and Tay left to track down Andon a final time. It wasn’t long before she dozed off on one of the Victorian sofas in the main hall. She didn’t wake until early evening, and saw Arantay had risen before her and taken a vigil by the window.

  The dying sunlight illuminated the black veins that scarred Arantay’s usual flawless alabaster skin.

  “I want you to stay here tonight,” Arantay said. “It will be too dangerous for you to enter the pack’s domain.”

  “Well, too bad,” she replied. “I’m coming with you, whether you like it or not. We were given this mission together, Arantay.”

  “And if we were able to contact Veneseron, they’d have pulled you out by now, and sent a group of Arch-Realmers in your place. This mission was low to medium-risk when we were given it. It’s now high-risk.”

  “But Veneseron can’t contact us right now,” Brooke replied. “Not after Rakarn destroyed our Holophones.”

  “They will,” Arantay said. “It’s protocol, if the Monitors don’t hear from Venators on a mission for an extended period of time, they send out a rescue party. I’m sorry, Brooke, but you are not yet prepared for what our job has turned into.”

  “No, I’m sorry,” she said. She got up and grabbed hold of him, forcing him to look at her. His eyes burned with an anguished and desperate fire.

  Brooke nearly faltered under his gaze, but she refused to back down. “The rescue party aren’t here, are they? And I’m not letting you go meet a pack of werewolves on your own. You’ll have to knock me out to stop me from coming with you.”

  Arantay glared at her, his powerful chest heaving with emotion.

  “It’s not just the wolf pack now,” he said. “We have to deal with the Dark-Venators too. What if they show up again? The Rakarn almost killed us last time. And…” Arantay took a deep break, trying to control himself. “Falawn. You heard Hallia, my brother is somewhere in this city. Falawn killed my family, his own family! I have to find him, destroy him.”

  “You’re right,” she said slowly. “The Rakarn are a huge threat, but we survived their attack because we fought together. We’ll need to be together if they ambush us again, you’ll need my sorcery to combat their own. No matter how inhuman you are, you aren’t immune to magic, Arantay.”

  “Fine,” Tay relented. “I just… If one of us dies on this mission, I’d rather it be me than you. I couldn’t save you last time.”

  “You’re not my bodyguard, Arantay. Besides, we’re Venators. Our lives are always in danger on missions. Let’s just try to stop this war before London has an outbreak of vampirism and lycanthropy.”

  They stood face to face, breathing hard. But the anger on Tay’s face had softened and he nodded reluctantly. Now that the matter was settled, she became incredibly aware of how close his face was to hers, how their mouths were only inches apart.

  A soft cough interrupted them. They turned to see a vampire boy who’d entered the room through Hallia’s tower.

  He looked to be around her age, or at least had been roughly sixteen when he’d been turned into a vampire. The boy was likely a few centuries old now.

  “Good evening.” He inclined his head politely. “I’m Jack, pleased to meet you. I’ve come to inform you that Hallia has contacted the ghost who witnessed the Rakarn attacking Andon. The spirit said he’ll meet you at the Boundary state in the Old Nichol. It’s a short while away from the pack’s domain.”

  “I know the place,” Tay nodded graciously.

  “Thank you,” she replied.

  “My pleasure.” Jack smiled kindly. “Would either of you like any food or drink before you depart? We don’t have any, uh… human food in the church. But I don’t mind running out to get you some.”

  “Um, maybe later,” she said. In fact, Brooke hadn’t eaten in ages, but she’d felt sick ever since she learned they were going into the heart of the wolves lair.

  “No problem,” Jack said. “I’ll head out anyway and get food for when you return.”

  “Thank you,” Brooke said sincerely. She appreciated the young vampire’s kindness. The rest of the coven had treated her with superior disinterest or else rudely, like Cazantian and Nalia. Malian, and now Jack, appeared more ‘human’ than their peers.

  “Let’s go then,” said Arantay, turning to her, “both of us.”

  *

  It was early evening when they set off through London, still light enough for Brooke to admire the city’s surroundings. As they travelled through the city, Brooke noticed the huge amount of restaurants, takeaway shops and coffee shops. The night was full of mist and a drizzle of rain. The air always seemed to be damp, as if a layer of gloom permeated London. But Brooke enjoyed the views of so many glowing lights, from the advertisements in shop windows, to the glowing windows of skyscrapers or the lights garnishing the many bridges. Something about the city reminded her of Christmas, even though December was still a few months away. Black cabs and giant red buses clogged the roads, which Brooke found fascinating. She was also amused by the snatches of colourful conversations from the many pedestrians who passed them by.

  It was a melting pot of multiple races and cultures, similar to Veneseron city in that respect. Brooke looked out for any supernatural races amongst the crowds, but she only spotted a single troll, wearing a human disguise. She only saw his true form because of the second sight Venators had, allowing them to see past glamours that normal humans cou
ldn’t.

  “How did you get that scar?” Tay said suddenly, gesturing to the faint white mark by her bottom lip.

  “My brother Adam gave it to me,” she mumbled. “It’s ugly I know.”

  “Quite the opposite actually,” Arantay said. “Scars make us more beautiful, unique. No one in all the realms has a scar quite like you.”

  “Huh,” she’d never thought about it that way. And now she wasn’t sure if he was flirting with her, or just speaking to fill the silence.

  “I guess,” Brooke said. “It’s just something I ignore, gives me bad memories.”

  “Because your brother, he was troubled?”

  “You could say that,” Brooke said. “After he got taken to a psychiatric hospital, I never saw him again. But I don’t need to tell you about troubled brothers.”

  “Indeed,” Arantay nodded seriously.

  The skies had nowhere near the traffic of Veneseron city, but as they walked, she spotted a trio of witches riding broomsticks through the clouds. They looked human, except when moonlight hit their faces, their skin glimmered green. Minutes later, she spotted wizards, driving a Victorian carriage through the air instead of the ground. The normal civilians in the streets had no idea of the fantastical happenings above them.

  She saw one man stop by a parking meter, but instead of placing money in it, he pressed a green card against the front. The man looked normal, but when Brooke spotted the silver wand partially hidden beneath his coat she knew he was a Warlock.

  Tay noticed her looking. “Ah, a Taxine. We should get one actually; we’ll reach the ghost faster.”

  “Taxine?”

  “It’s one of the ways magical beings travel,” said Arantay. “I need to check if Urkzal gave us a travel card.”

  As Arantay searched through their equipment bag he kept at his belt, a vehicle pulled up by the parking meter. It resembled a bright blue limousine, with a triangle roof in its centre. The warlock promptly got in and the Taxine sped off.