Moonlight War- Act II (The Realmers Book 3)

by William Collins

Eskal flipped through the air, landing adeptly on his feet, crouching and snarling like a deranged beast.

  “Elfpire!” The lunatic smiled like a clown. “You hopeless fool. I could’ve saved your girl, made her an Immortal. Made it possible for you two to be with each other, how sweet.”

  Arantay growled thunderously.

  Suddenly a ball of fire shot from overhead, smashing into Eskal’s chest and sending him to the ground.

  With a curse he rolled and threw the flaming jacket from his body.

  Brooke turned to see Lok jumping the stone wall behind her, another fireball in his hand.

  “C’mon you psycho.” Lok’s angelic face was cold and hard.

  Arantay edged forwards, his body shaking with fury.

  Eskal gazed at the three of them in turn. “Three against one? You ruined my game.”

  “Game over,” Lok hurled his second fireball.

  Crazed laughter burst from Eskal’s bloody lips as he danced backwards, and then he was gone, less than shadow in the night.

  Lok froze in the act of running after him. “What? Not even vampires can move that fast?”

  “He’s the fastest I’ve seen,” Arantay’s husky voice was a low rumble.

  “He’s ancient,” Brooke rasped, rubbing her neck where he’d grabbed her. “He’s probably more powerful than most of Hallia’s coven, except Hallia herself.”

  “Lucky I was just coming out to check on you, then,” said Lok.

  “Lucky I heard the vampire and his threats,” Arantay contradicted him.

  The two Arch-Realmers locked eyes. “All right, ease up, it’s not a competition,” Lok smiled, but it looked forced. “Or are you just hoping to get more points on the mission than the rest of us?”

  Brooke traced her neck with her fingers, anxiously checking it hadn’t been marked; Eskal’s fangs had come so close to piercing her flesh.

  “Can’t you take anything seriously?” Arantay snapped. “Life isn’t always a joke.”

  “Maybe it is,” Lok replied. “You’re just not in on it.”

  “Or perhaps I’ve lived so much longer than you, and I know

  “Hey man,” Lok held his hands up. “I’m not the enemy here, remember.”

  Arantay just scowled.

  “C’mon, we’d best go inside,” Lok moved to lead her forward, but Arantay stepped in front of him, his own arm encircling her.

  Brooke was oblivious to it all. She was still reeling from how close she’d come to being turned into a vampire.

  Chapter 47- Guilty

  Taija scrabbled away from Jacko's remains. The pile of flesh and splintered bones made her want to throw up.

  How could this have happened? How can this be real? I did this. I’m a murderer!

  She looked at Priya who still lay where Jacko had shoved her, frozen in terror.

  “Please, please don't do that to me,” she begged.

  Taija opened her mouth to reply but no sound came out.

  She wouldn't, she didn't…

  “I-I didn't mean to-to do that,” she managed to say.

  “Please, let me go,” Priya said. “I won't tell anyone. I'll tell them Venators killed Jacko and took you to Veneseron. They’ll stop looking for you then.”

  She looked at Priya in confusion. “What're you talking about?”

  “Velkarath. They sent Mikhail to capture you when they sensed your magic. Then they sent me and Jacko when Mikhail didn't return. We weren't supposed to hurt you, just bring you to Velkarath so they could turn you into a Rakarn, like us.”

  “Are they all like him at this Velkarath place?” Taija asked quietly.

  She saw Priya's eyes flick momentarily towards Jacko’s remains, before she cringed away.

  “Some…some are like him. A few are trapped there, like me.” Priya paused, “and some are worse. The Dark-Venators who link themselves to their demonic pets are the worst. Bonding with a demon chips away at their souls, changing them irrevocably. Once the act is done, the Rakarn are infected with the demonic. They’re often filled with violent urges and act uncontrollably. There can be no redemption for them.”

  Taija vaguely wondered how far Jacko’s pet had got, scurrying through the sewers. But she didn’t care as long as the horrible creature stayed away from her.

  “But others,” Priya said. “Other Rakarn make Jacko look like a spoiled child.

  He was a child. Taija’s mind whispered. He'd been horrible and sadistic, but he was still a child, no older than fourteen.

  And she had killed him.

  How can I live like that, knowing I ripped someone else's life away from them?

  “Are you going to kill me too?” Priya asked. The terror was gone from her voice and she was deadly calm now.

  Taija felt a lot calmer than she thought she would after murdering someone, they both had to be in severe shock.

  “No!”

  Taija got to her feet, the invisible ropes at her wrists had fallen apart the moment Jacko's soul had been sucked out.

  “I didn't mean to do it.”

  She looked down at Priya, the other girl hadn’t acted like Jacko at all, she’d even tried to stop Jacko hurting her.

  “Why?” Taija asked. “Why did you try and take me to that horrible place if you didn't want to?"

  “Because they'd kill me if I didn't,” Priya murmured. “After they took turns torturing me.” She stared off into space now, anything but to look at the pieces of Jacko on the ground.

  “Run then. Why don’t you escape?” Taija said urgently. “You can do it now, you never have to go back there.”

  Priya shook her head, smiling sadly. “They'd find me, they always find those who try to escape. The Dark-Venators wouldn’t stop hunting me until they did. My friend Shawn tried to escape; he saw his chance on a mission and took it. A month later I saw Shawn dragged back to Velkarath, kicking and screaming. The Rakarn stuffed him in a cage and left him hanging inside that tiny space on the castle walls. For days he sat in that cage, without food or water. Just when they thought Shawn was about to die from thirst and starvation, they took him down, only to burn him at the stake.” Priya’s eyes were like hollow pits by the time she finished talking.

  Taija didn’t want to believe her, she wanted desperately to call her a liar, but after what she’d seen, she knew she couldn’t.

  “I’ve sometimes thought about taking my own life, quick and clean,” Priya continued. “At least I wouldn’t suffer like Shawn and so many others before him had. But I lack the courage. I keep hoping that one day Velkarath will fall, that one of its many enemies will destroy it. That hope is all I have.”

  Taija wasn’t sure of how to reply. Part of her wanted to feel sorry for Priya, she was obviously trapped in a horrible life where she has to do cruel things she doesn't want to do. But then again, Priya still did those cruel things.

  “I’m sorry my masters ever sensed your sorcery,” said Priya. “But if I tell them you’re with Veneseron it will stop. You can avoid the life I have. Just get out of here whilst you can. Leave this world, try and track down Veneseron’s Realmers if you can.”

  “Wait, what?” Taija struggled with all the unusual words Priya used. “What do you mean leave this world, there are others?”

  “Many,” Priya nodded, she pulled out an unusual implement from her belt.

  She stepped back, thinking Priya was going to attack her.

  “No, it’s okay,” Priya said. “I can open a portal for you with this. It will be a gateway to another world, where Dark-Venators shouldn’t be able to track you.”

  “I can leave Sarume… forever?”

  She’d wanted nothing more ever since she could remember. To leave slavery and cruelty behind. To leave the world where so many were hunting her. It seemed too good to be true.

  Taija was sorely tempted, but then it occurred to her, she was being stupid again.

  “This is another trap, isn’t it?” she snarled. “This portal leads to your Velkarath place. You�
�re just pretending to be nice because Jacko nearly beating me to death didn’t work. I can’t trust you. I won’t fall for your nice guy routine like I did Jacko’s.”

  Taija wasn’t sure what to do next. It seemed foolish to let Priya go, she’d tell other Dark-Venators about her, who would hunt her down again. But she couldn’t bring herself to kill Priya too. Jacko was a mistake. I’m not like that.

  “No, you don’t understand,” Priya began.

  “Just go,” Taija screamed. “You go through that portal, leave me alone!”

  Priya’s face was tormented, almost as if she truly wanted to help her. But Taija wouldn’t let herself be fooled again.

  “But-”

  “Now!” Taija roared.

  “Sorry I…just sorry.” Priya’s words echoed in the air as she scrambled to her feet and jumped through the portal.

  The swirling vortex collapsed in on itself moments afterwards, and Taija sagged against the wall, overcome with everything that had happened. As she staggered back, her foot slipped on something. She looked down to see she’d trampled in Jacko’s remains. His eyeball had somehow fallen out of his head and rolled across the ground. Her boot had nudged it and now Jacko’s eyeball stared back at her, accusing her. She ran back down the sewers, running away from everything that her life had become as fast as she could.

  *

  The pieces of Jacko’s carcass haunted her. So much so that Taija would rather return above ground, even if the chance of being spotted by Sarume’s guards was higher. She couldn’t stay in the sewers any longer. It was to close to his remains. It was early evening by the time she found a ladder back to the surface. The clouds had turned a dark orange, like rusted metal. Fortunately for her, the streets were just as busy as they had been earlier, so she wouldn’t stick out as a slave without an owner. Slaves weren’t allowed out in public on their own.

  Taija longed to claw the distinguishing tattoo off her face, no matter how much it hurt. I should try it, she thought desperately. She’d need to find a weapon of some kind to fight off the bizarre Dark-Venators that were after her, she might as well use the weapon to cut the tattoo off as well. You’re thinking crazy again. A rational part of her mind argued. Even if you managed to cut a tattoo off your face without causing infection, there’d be a scar, people would still know you’re a runaway.

  It was easy to get lost in the large crowds as she travelled through the streets. Most people in Sarume didn’t finish work until midnight and the market and shops would be open until then, too.

  Taija needed food and water again, and she’d be better off stealing as much as possible and ration it over the next few days whilst she went into hiding. She had no idea where she’d go to seek refuge though. She didn’t want to return to the sewers. Maybe there was an abandoned house somewhere. What about the slave barracks you burned down. She went cold at the thought. Taija only half-remembered what she’d done to end up at the asylum, and that wasn’t because of their drugs. She thought the repressed memories might be trauma from Kachina’s death, or maybe trauma because of the owners she’d killed. So I’d lied to the Rakarn. Not only had she used magic once before, but she’d killed before too. I really am a monster.

  She ducked into the first supermarket she came across, mainly because of the bag of pastries she spotted right by the door.

  She didn’t want to look conspicuous, but she didn’t want to make a scene either. There was a young couple between her and the set of shelves full of pastries, so she had to wait until there was no witnesses.

  “Yes dear, I think the new president will be appalling,” the man said to his wife. “One of his policies is to give more human rights to slaves, after all. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of his ancestors was one.”

  The young couple moved on then, but just as Taija stepped forward a hand clamped down on her shoulder.

  She turned and came face to face with an elderly slaver, she knew at once by his long navy blue robes.

  “Oi! Where’s your owner or his guards?” The man snapped.

  She backed away from him at once. “I… I’m on an errand.” She thought fast. “I have my permission slip right here, sir.”

  She rummaged through her pocket whilst slowly moving backward. She knew she’d have to run now, but she needed to grab the food before she made her escape.

  “Well then, girl, where is it?”

  “Er…I must’ve dropped it. Oh, there it is,” she pointed to the floor behind him. As the slaver turned to look, she snatched up the pastry bag and sprinted out of the shop.

  “Runaway! We got a runaway!” The slaver hollered at the top of his lungs.

  Taija knew she’d be fine, there was no way he could catch up to her. Her hopes were obliterated, however, because she ran straight into the guards.

  There was two of them, and both were on horseback. The nearest horse reared back as Taija almost head-butted it.

  “Get down on the ground, now!” one guard roared.

  She didn’t reply, just carried on running.

  The two stallions galloped after her. Taija knew there was no way she could outrun them, so she desperately looked for somewhere to hide. She hurled civilians aside, ignoring their angry cries, before running out into the road when one burly man tried to restrain her himself. Maybe she could make it if enough people got in the way of the horses, slowing them down.

  Taija chanced a look behind her, only to be horrified. The guards had produced an electric net and carried it between them. Before she could even turn back they’d thrown the net over her mid-run.

  Electricity shot through every inch of her body and she collapsed to the floor, flailing frantically as the net trapped her inside.

  “Turn it off,” one of the guards shouted. “I know this one.”

  The electricity cut off suddenly, but she felt one of the guards pinning her down now instead.

  “There’s a warrant out for her,” the guard continued. “I’ve seen her picture all over headquarters just half an hour ago. She not only broke out of the asylum, but her and an accomplice killed several of the doctors. We’ll take her back to the asylum for now. I suspect the authorities will want to torture her for information on her accomplice. After that, she’ll be executed three days hence.”

  Taija should have felt shock or fear at his words. But instead she felt numb. It was all too much. She welcomed her fate; maybe death was better than rotting away in the asylum for the rest of her life.

  Chapter 48- Homecomings

  Evan walked through Veneseron Fortress, his mind reeling from discovery a demon Disciple was hunting him.

  He was still shaken up by the disciple, but he hoped to distract himself by reuniting with his friends. Fortunately, travelling through the Fortress was quite the diversion itself. Evan passed by two orcish statues, who duelled one another ferociously, to the delight of a large group of Novices. Then he had to sidestep a group of Apprentices who excitedly scribbled on the ground with their Krism sticks, summoning Enerlytes to battle against their friends.

  He couldn’t help but smile when one Apprentice acted like it was the end of the world when his Enerlyte was defeated. Evan headed up the stairs to another corridor as the Apprentice shouted about his friend cheating.

  Through the castle windows he saw a misty grey sky and a light spitting rain pattering against the glass. An imp and a gargoyle outside one window he passed were competing with each other as too who could get a mouthful of rain water first.

  Outside the window on the other side of the passage was a field of purple grass where two Droges chased one another, play fighting over a chew toy. He also noticed two Venators, Domnican and Iris, standing beneath one of the giant toadstools, engaged in deep conversation.

  He wondered if Brooke was back from her own mission yet, and what Jed and Elijah had been getting up to. Brooke may still be back on Earth, but he was sure Jed would be around here somewhere, likely trying, and failing, to flirt with someone.

  First Eva
n checked the Oval, their favourite rec room, but none of his friends were there. Half of the room were sitting or standing excitedly in front of the TV, watching a Jewelball match and cheering whenever one of the team’s scored, whilst the other half were involved in a large card game tournament Evan still didn’t know the rules too.

  Then Evan made his way to the Banquet chamber, partly to find his friends, but also because he was famished.

  The hall was full of noisy Venators, chatting about training or gossiping about their friends or rivals. Evan passed a table of girls laughing hysterically at something one of them said, before coming to another where a Venator he recognised as Billy Brog, threw a packet of Blubbergum at the head of another Realmer a few tables over.

  As he scoured the many tables, he loaded a plate with slices of toast spread liberally with orc orange jam. He also cut himself some cheese from the large block of minotaur cheese, eating their produce would be his way at getting back at them, he smiled to himself.

  He munched on the toast as he travelled through the Fortress before eventually venturing out into the courtyards.

  The rain thickened into more of a sleet now, matching the frost that had coated much of the castles walls and the flagged stones of the courtyards.

  Just as Evan finished his food he spotted his first familiar face, however.

  Nova was bidding goodbye to Iris, just after finishing a weaponry session with Urkzal.

  He plucked up the courage to go up to Nova as the class of Mid-Realmers filed out of the courtyard.

  Evan had planned to ask her if she’d seen Jed or Emi anywhere, or even Brooke if she was back yet, but instead he merely blinked as he came face to face to her. “Hiiey,” Evan managed at last. Damn it. He’d meant to say ‘Hi’ but his mouth had said ‘Hey’.

  “I mean… hello.”

  “Good morning,” Nova beamed. “And welcome back I hear? Everyone in the Fortress has been talking about your mission. Sintian and Bane have been given Uqari cuffs.”

  Evan remembered Vanderain saying the boys had been punished.