Before Moonrise

3. Spear

I raise my bow. I can't just break my promises. I did swear on my own life.

But no one is here to stop me from at least talking to him. I might find out some useful information. I have never felt like I truly belong in the Tribe. I'm... different. That is an understatement.

I wonder how I must look to him. I'm a strange looking girl. I have pale white skin, I'm quite tall, with dark blue eyes and messy black curls. And I still haven't dared to risk one breath.

"I'm sorry that I came," he mutters. Oddly, he doesn't seem in the slightest bit concerned that I'm holding a powerful weapon. I don't know why, but this really irritates me.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't shoot you now," I hiss. I have no idea how I'm speaking without breathing.

His face turns blank. "I don't have a reason. I won't fight back if you try. I have no life that's worth living," he says, his face utterly emotionless.  

This suprises me. It seems we have things in common, this human and me. 

I lower my bow. I won't harm him.

Well, not on purpose.

"Who are you?" I ask.

His expression changes. Now he looks embarrassed.

"Rowan," he mumbles, blushing. I'm puzzled though. Why is so embarrassed?

"I'm Storm," I tell him. "Err.. How come you aren't terrified of me? Don't you know the Legend?"

"You're not terrifying. And what Legend?" he says.

I stare at him incredulously.He's not scared? He must be lying. 

But I've always been able to tell.His face has no trace of lies. He doesn't know the Legend? That's why humans stay away in the first place.

I roll my eyes. I'm sick and tired of this old tale.  

"About four thousand years ago, Isle of Lycanthrope was a small island called Harris. Harris was joined onto another place called Lewis. Lewis was the flat north, Harris was the rocky south. In Harris, there was a mountain called The Goddess Mountain. It looked exactly like a women lying down. Then, in the late twenty first century, a change began. Within about three thousand years time, the mountain was completely different.

"It was now in the shape of a-"

A spear is flying through the air. I know who this belongs to. My sister, Sunset.

And within a matter of seconds, to my complete and utter horror, Sunset's spear is wedged in Rowan's stomach.

His eyes are wide with agony, his face contorted in pain. He drops to his knees, his hands pressed to his side, blood slipping through his fingers. 

I want to rush to his side, but something is holding me back. 

There's blood here. What if we die?

I won't lose control. Hopefully.

I rush to his side, wrenching the spear out of his stomach before I can change my mind. Thankfully the wound doesn't seem too deep, or I wouldn't have a hope in healing it. Everyone has had lessons in all of the Duties, so I know the basics. I just hope it's enough.

The only place I can hide him is Below. That is where our ancestors supposedly give us our full names. It is extremely dangerous. I have absolutely no idea what is down there.

We're not meant to go down there except for traditional things. It's against the Code of the Moon.

But, really, what alternative do I have? I've broken the code some many time in this small space of time, it won't make that much of a difference any more. Will it?

I quickly wrench his satchel from his grip. I open it and riffle through all his weird stuff, and I soon find some relatively clean looking cloth, and quickly bind it round the shallow hole in his side.

Knowing that I can't put it off any longer, I take a careful breath. I shut my eyes, hoping against hope that he won't smell too inviting.

I freeze. His scent really isn't all that different from ours.

It must be because he's been on our territory. Yes, of course.

I toss Rowan over my shoulder. He's unconscious. I cross the rocky uneven ground to the hole.

Without hesitation, I jump down into the pressing blackness.

And into the unknown.