by S L Gassick
“Maybe. Or maybe it’s because I’m used to the cold.”
“No-one is used to the cold. We’re not designed that way.” Rose smiled gently.
“I guess not. But then we have to adapt.”
Rose didn’t really know what Hemero was trying to say. She just smiled back and continued walking.
“What is it like,” Hemero’s voice broke slightly, “having a Mum and Dad? I mean, do you have any brothers or sisters?”
“It’s wonderful. I love them both very much. I have an older sister but she doesn’t live with us anymore, she’s gone to train with the Akuya.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s in entertainment my mum says. I don’t really know. I do have another sister but… she ran away. It was when I was little so I didn’t really know her and no-one ever talks about her, so I don’t ask.” Rose played with the edge of her dress, lost in its pattern.
“Hmm, ok.”
“I also have a grandfather,” Rose suddenly perked up and dropped the hem of her dress, “he fought in lots and lots of wars. Once, he even found the heart of a dragon in an underground temple. He married my grandmother who is deceased now, but she was one of the top assassins that had ever lived.”
“Hold on,” Hemero scratched his head, “the heart of a dragon? No way. What underground temple?”
“I don’t know Hemero. It’s just what he would say.” Rose spoke quietly. “He doesn’t talk much anymore anyway – and what he does say doesn’t make sense anyway.”
“Why? I don’t understand.”
“Well don’t worry. Not many do. Come on then! We’re here.”
Hemero looked up and thought it was the most charming little building he had ever encountered. Hemero had hardly ever been so far away from the Valhalla and so little cottages like this one were a rarity to him. It had a small thatched roof and was painted a bright white that made all the colours of the different plants surrounding it seem like they were paint upon a canvas, brushing up against the walls in bold strokes with fine detail. Around him he could hear many birds singing away in a beautiful unguided harmony and there was a smell of freshly cooked bread coming from a nearby open window.
“Mum!” Rose shouted as she entered, “I made a new friend. This is Hemero. Hemero this is Mum.”
“Hi… Mum.” Hemero shook a soft female hand and looked up to see a warm, smiling face glowing at him. Hemero had never seen such a beautiful lady before and with it such long golden hair that shone like the sun. Hemero was surprised she did not turn away or make a strange face when she looked into his eyes, instead he noticed that her cheeks were suddenly flushed and that her eyes were so blue it looked as if he was staring into the centre of the ocean. She was wearing a bright yellow apron covered in flour and a red and white polka dot handkerchief holding her hair back.
“Hello Hemero, would you like something to eat?” She asked.
“No thank you.” He replied as he studied the inside of the room. It was cluttered to say the least, pots and pans hung from all around him, there were flowers and vegetables growing in any space they could find and there seemed to be endless paintings and drawings of mountains, people, food, but it was a sketch of a man sharpening his sword that really caught his eye.
A bearded warrior in tatty clothes and a sword that looked as tired and beaten as the man who brandished it. Around him was desolation, nothing but rocks and sand. Hemero thought he looked so alone and trapped with nothing but this instrument of war to keep him company. The only thing he could trust in.
“Do you like it?” Rose’s mum asked.
“Yes, very much.”
“It’s my father. Someone gave it to him a long time ago.”
“He looks lonely.”
“Yes. But it can’t be that lonely if someone was there drawing him.”
“I guess not.”
Suddenly Rose cried out, she held up her finger and a small drop of blood ran down it. She made a pouty face. “I’m so clumsy”, she then grabbed it with her other hand, a soft glow quickly emanated and dissipated, and suddenly the bleeding had stopped.
“What just happened?” Hemero asked.
“Hm? Oh, it’s my kyu. It heals. It’s not very powerful to attack people or anything, but it heals cuts up nicely.”
“That is incredible. I’ve never seen anything like it!”
“Mum has it too, don’t you Mum?”
“Hm?” her mum turned around, “are you sure you don’t want to eat Hemero? It’s no bother.”
“No, I’d really better be going back.”
“Oh I see. That’s fine. I don’t want to upset your Mum.” She walked to the sink and started running the water to clean her hands.
“I don’t have a Mother.” Hemero picked up a small wooden carving of an owl of a dressing table and slowly placed it back. Rose’s mother turned off the tap and the room suddenly went very quiet. She bent down to face him, smiled and planted a kiss on his forehead.
“I’m so sorry little one. I didn’t mean to upset you. You are quite welcome to come and spend as much time here as you wish.”
“Thank you but I said I’d meet my friend Phin tonight. Boys stuff.”
“Oh ok,” she stood up and messed up his hair. “Boys stuff ey? Well then go enjoy yourself.”
Rose ran up and gave Hemero a kiss on the cheek and a long hug. Something he had never remembered ever having and he suddenly found himself outside the house in complete shock. He felt like an angel had come up and blessed him right where he stood. The air felt fresher, the sun brighter and he felt nothing could stand in his way. Every step of the way back to his house was like flying. He was so happy and was excited already at seeing Rose again tomorrow that he almost walked straight past his friend Phin who was calling his name from across the field. Had he really been walking back for so long?
Phin ran up in his usual plodding way, waving his arms about like a lunatic. Hemero wondered for a second if he had been waving at someone else or warning him of something – there was no way he could miss him. Yet here he was mere metres away, still waving his arms about.
“Glad I caught you!” Phin said beneath his blonde bob. “My brother has just been sent on a top mission. He should be coming back in a couple of days so I thought you might want to stay with me until then?”
Phin was often mistaken for a girl with his golden hair and fair looks but he was a lot more violent than most boys and was notorious for getting in fights - and losing them. His attire was made of a ripped red shirt covered with two leather straps that held tiny needles that he fought with and which also ran down either side of his black trouser legs. The needles were given to him by his uncle who in turn had been given to him by someone apparently famous. Hemero couldn’t remember who and he didn’t think Phin would be able to either.
“Your brother’s on another mission already? What is it this time?” asked Hemero.
“I don’t know. Something about this missing thing from the Valhalla. Come on, it’s gotta be better than that big lonely room of yours on the hill.”
Hemero thought it might be wise to find out as much as he could about the missing artefact that he was also, in a way, entrusted to help find and so decided to walk back to Phin’s house. They discussed what Phin’s brother had told him already and thought that if Milius, Phin’s brother, didn’t get it back then surely no-one could.
They both idolised Milius. Not only was he well known for his skills on the battlefield but his popularity with girls was often discussed within local gossiping circles. He was blessed with both beauty and brains and yet was completely dedicated to his work as a Knight of Valhalla. It meant having to be one of the elite soldiers that would defend the land and it was told some are even sent out as spies to live amongst the Dark Clans. Being a Knight was the ultimate privilege and Milius was one of the best. Phin was proud of his brother and rightly so.
Even though Milius was a distinguished soldier, his family lived in near poverty. S
oldiers are not paid huge amounts and both their parents are often away travelling across the lands making deliveries just to make ends meet, often not returning for months on end leaving Phin to spend most of his time looking after himself. Hemero liked that about him. No matter how much stick he got at school, no matter how stupid people might think he is, Phin can fend for himself. He’s a survivor at heart and no matter what happens, Hemero knew he could depend on him. He was also quite dependable for cooking up an amazing meal.
It’s a wonder what Phin could do in a real kitchen, but unfortunately their house was dilapidated to say the least. There were cobwebs and spiders everywhere, damp had settled into most of the foundation and it looked like a small gust of wind might blow over the entire building. Inside there wasn’t much – very plain furniture with plain and practical utensils. Nothing here was new and a lot of it looked self-made. To others it might be a depressing sight but to Hemero this was the closest thing he had to a home.
Hemero knew that his real home was back on top of the little hill beside the Valhalla, but he didn’t have anything in it except for his bed, books and clothes. What else could he put there? He ate at the Valhalla, he had no money to his name and anything he received was given to him by others. He had no history, no identity, just stories told to him about this little village where he was born, about being a half-Titan and not really understanding what that meant. So he had somewhere to live but a home? He couldn’t call it that.
It had been Phin’s family that had first accepted him all those years ago for who he was, without ever judging him by how he looked. Phin had said it was because his family were so poor that they were treated as outcasts just as much as he was. Neither of them were still quite sure why everybody in Norheath shunned Hemero, none of the other kids seemed to know either, but Phin had said that they were all told to keep away from him. Apparently it had nothing to do with him being a Half-Titan, which is rare at the best of times, but it was something else. No matter how hard they would try to get answers, they’d always get the same response – ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ It was an infuriating set of circumstances, but was something Hemero had come to accept. Maybe he was just simply detestable, nothing but a horrid Half-Titan that nobody wanted, a freak, a curse, or even worse – a nobody.
Phin cooked them a lamb stew that was beyond delicious and as the blood rushed to their stomachs, they decided to head to bed early, and read in preparation for the upcoming test.
Hemero crawled into a made-up bed on Phin’s floor from Milius’s bedsheets. It was a cold night so they didn’t bother getting changed, and as they read their books in bed all they could hear was the ticking of the clock in the hallway. Phin’s room was very simple; it was made entirely of wood. It had a wardrobe, a bed and a painting of his whole family on the wall and that was it. Even though there wasn’t much, it was more than Hemero had.
After a good ten minutes of reading about The Biology of Kyu Stability, Hemero threw his book on the floor. “I just can’t get my head round it. How can I physically control something that I’m supposed to be feeling?”
“I don’t understand any of it either. I only just barely passed the last exam.” Phin huffed.
“Hey, tell me that story again about Old Mrs. Huffel.”
“Again?”
“Please? It’s my favourite.”
“I’m not doing the whole thing, I’m tired.”
“Okay, okay, please?”
Phin got up and blew out the lights leaving a single candle glowing like a lost firefly. He retreated back to his bed and placed his face just above the candle throwing shadows against the wall trying to claw their way out of the ceiling.
“Mrs. Tooley loved her husband more than anything in the world. More than her house, more than her riches and more than even herself. She was devoted to him but there was one rule, they were never to have children.”
“I know all this, I thought you weren’t going to do the whole thing? Get to the good bit.”
“OK, so when she finds out her husband has been with another woman, she kills herself.”
“How?”
“Who cares how?”
“I care.”
“You know already.”
“Yeah but…”
“Okay, hanging. She hangs herself. Happy?”
“Um, I wouldn’t say that.”
“So one night her husband gets a message: ‘Hurry home’, signed by none other than Mrs. Tooley.”
“She signed her name Mrs. Tooley? Even to her husband?”
“Hemero, I swear, if you utter one more word I’m going to…”
Phin was cut short by a cry piercing the sky out of the night; like a clap of thunder it ended before they even knew what it was.
They both fell completely silent.
They stared at each other; Hemero opened his mouth to say something but another cry soon kept him quiet, this time closer. Whatever was happening, it wasn’t far away.
“Phin, this isn’t a trick or something is it?”
“Are you seriously asking that? No it’s not a trick. Not one I’m aware of anyway.”
“Could it be your parents?”
“My parents? I don’t even think that sound is human. They’re not meant to be back for months anyway.”
Another horrible scream bellowed from outside, the loudest so far. It made their blood curdle.
“It’s a Titan,” Phin decided, “it’s a crazy lost Titan that’s trying to get home or something.”
“That doesn’t make me feel any better.” Hemero muttered. He slowly walked up to the window to see if he could see anything in the blackness that had drowned the sky. As he peered closer, a sudden deafening crash came from the lounge and then a cry of pain.
“Phin! Phin! Are you here?! Quick help me!”
They raced into the lounge to see Milius pushing a cabinet up against the front door before he collapsed, his eyes rolling back into his head. He looked exhausted and his long white hair had been stained with some dark substance, in fact it covered his entire body. He was wearing his black field op outfit – at least what was left of it. Half of his top had been ripped away and what looked like scratch marks ran up his stomach like those made by a lion or wild beast. Whatever had happened, it had taken its toll on Milius and it looked like he was lucky to have survived.
Hemero peered back out of the window and saw nothing but darkness. But he could feel something, he knew somewhere out there someone was watching him.
“Hemero.”
Hemero turned around to see Phin crouched beside Milius, his hands covered in blood, his eyes beginning to water and his bottom lip quivering. Milius had clearly been injured worse than they thought.
“Is he dead?” Phin asked.
“I … I don’t know.”
Phin started to get upset and grabbed his brother, shaking him violently. “Wake up! Please!”
Suddenly, Milius’s eyes opened slightly and when he saw Phin, he grabbed him and stared right at him.
“You have to get out of here,” he said, struggling to breathe. “It’s the artefact. The Kalad. We found the thief. But there were others. Lots of them. They came from nowhere – not human nor Titan. They were… something else. Jack was killed, there were too many, I ran.” Milius started to cry, “Jack, he wasn’t dead. I mean, he was dead but he was moving. With … half a face. Phin, I don’t know what this is. This Kalad isn’t of this world. It’s evil.”
Another scream pierced the night sky. Hemero realised it wasn’t a cry of pain, it was calling others. Soon there were many of them, it was hard to distinguish where they were but soon all the separate screams started to mesh together until they became one horrible noise. Milius clawed at his brother’s shirt, saliva dribbling out through gritted teeth like a frenzy had come upon him.
“The dead are coming Phin. They will kill you. They’ll kill all of us.” Milius let go of Phin and started to grow weary again, “I had to warn the others,
warn Theus, but they must have followed me. I’ve put everyone in danger.” Milius banged his fist into the ground. “There’s no time. We have to get out of here.”
Milius went to stand up but then collapsed back down in pain, he was practically unconscious now and Phin was in floods of tears trying to find where the blood was coming from. Hemero crouched down and grabbed them both.
“Then let’s get out of here.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Hemero took another look out the window but it was useless. Across the long dark valleys he saw nothing but a bottomless black void. He looked harder and caught a glimpse of something, then something else to the right of it - it was a group of moving figures bearing down on them. They must have been no more than five minutes away at most, but their movements were slow and cumbersome, like a gentle jog, and they could possibly outrun them if they tried. He tried to peer further into the abyss of the night sky but he couldn’t quite make out what they were. Two arms and two legs at least it seemed. He gave a sigh and rolled up his sleeves. He knelt down and pulled Milius up to his feet.
“Can you see them Hemy?” Phin asked.
“Just take his legs, let’s get him out the back.”
They dragged the barely conscious Milius outside through the back door. The poor Knight was still bleeding heavily and looked ghostly pale; his heavy weight meant that there was no way they could get far with him like this. Hemero didn’t want to suggest this just yet, but they might have to leave Milius if they wanted to get away. He knew Phin would never leave his brother, even if it meant his own death, but he wasn’t prepared to die just yet.
Once outside in the darkness, Phin grabbed an old, rusty wheelbarrow. “Let’s put him in this.”
“Good idea.”
Hemero realised he was shaking in fear, the noises had grown louder and it was difficult to move Milius let alone get him into a wheelbarrow. They quickly tried to hoist him inside but instead he landed with a thud and hit his head on the side of the wheelbarrow. Milius screamed out into the night sky in pain as fresh blood started pouring from the wound. His scream was returned from across the way with a bone-chilling abnormality. The people chasing them now knew exactly where they were.
