BLOODS ( THE SILVER CABARET #1)

OF ORBS & QUAKES

Bells lance the air, the air choked with ashfall, thunder booms out as lightning slashes the sky like an avenging guardian angel. I stared out at the procession making their way past our house. Their horses stand a good four feet compared to ours, cars followed at the back. A royal entourage. The window closes in my face, and I turned to Appa's calm face, I don't know how he stays calm in the face of all this.

" We don't want to incur their wrath. Or their curiosity, stay out of sight, stay safe, keep the fire of survival burning in your heart."

"Yes Appa."

The bells change rhythm, and Appa hands me my cloak, I don it meeting Tanus disturbed look, I know what he wants, but Appa's against it, running away from here isn't an option anymore, not when we have spent half our childhood running away from something or someone. The truth is none should know what he is, Mama's last wish, why? I have no idea. To me he is like any in Orbswell. Silently the three of us trooped out and towards the townhall, my footfalls in sync with figures emerging from houses, slowly as neighbours reluctantly joins us, Eli sidles next to me, all charming smiles and sparkling blue eyes.

" Hey, Buggie! Are you nervous?"

"Hey, Eli!"

I give him a smile, not showing my nervousness, he slips his hand in mine, they were cold and clammy. The same as mine. Tanu bumps him from the left, earning a chuckle from him, Tanu flashes him one of his rare smiles. The air around us is shared with everyone in town, tonight seals the fates for some of us residing in here, yes we might have had known what we have signed up for, but it doesn't mean we will happily skip towards it. It's either one of the towns like Orbswell, or being rogue like some out there, and falling prey to more than just Akuras. This is my Harvest, if marked you'll be taken with them. None has been seen yet, in all the Harvest we've had, and the whispers didn't help much with that.

Eli pulls me into the hall, I gawked at the sheer size of it, built entirely of red-earth, unpainted and unadorned, the staircase leads down to where an orb in a clawed hand lay in its covetous grip, winking at everyone when the light falls on it. My gaze went to the cloaked figure covered in bluish-green marks not far from the orb, above him in a private seating the Akuras sat. piercing, sharp predatory gazes fixed on us. Something felt different this time, these Akuras are different from the ones that use to come, younger than the rest, but power like no other I have ever felt wafts off from them, enough to make me gasp for breath. I take a step back too quick and bumped into Eli, drawing eyes of red-orange orbs filled a galaxy of anger and sadness, they widened on me, and for a moment flashed a bright red, the girl beside him put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him from leaping off from his seat. Eli pulls me behind him in a flash, fist balled up, eyes burning blue fire, glaring at the group of five in pure hatred. The guards beside them snapped to attention ready to plunge down to where we stand, ready to end us in a heartbeat. But a sharp command in an unfamiliar tongue sizzles the air and they snapped back in their former postures. Waiting and ready to annihilate on command. I stared at the glossy-black mask covering their faces from the world, and wonder who they were? Were they human, or Akuras. Who were they before they were turned into killing machines?

Suddenly two of them burst into the hall dragging a struggling Lian and Ganeihda, her eyes met mine, shock and fear washes over. She looks resigned to her fate, a tear spill from her eyes when her gaze falls onto her sobbing Maa shielded in her Appas arms. The guards threw them at the cloaked figures feet. He pulls back his cloak and revealing an unlined face no younger than Ganeihda's.

"Pity, there's always one or two on a night such as this." A woman I didnt notice before steps out from the shadows, stilling breaths in everyone. She enraptures everyone with her splendid beauty, and for a moment the room forgets what nightmare stands before them. She bends down and touches both their faces, each stared at her like she's a goddess. They press into her touch, wanting more, There, there. "That's enough my pets," she draws away, and the two whined deep in their throats, demanding attention. The woman chuckles a wicked glint in her eyes.

"Please! We're sorry, it won't happen again, we just thought."

"That it's better outside Orbswell hmm, away from the monsters. If only you know that there's worse out there, worse than even Akuras." Her lips thinned "Kill them!"

The two guards stepped forward claws extended, the two cowered and backed away.

"Noo. Please stop, kill me instead". The sobbing woman had managed to disentangle from her husband and run to where her child is.

"Take her out of here."

The guards drag the sobbing woman out of there. The beautiful Akura turned her gaze on Ganeida, "Where were we? Get them out of my sight, I will deal with them later."

I watched as Lian and Ganeihda were escorted out of there, the room gave a collective sigh, at least they didn't have them get killed before our very eyes, I hope they get a merciful death, one they deserve. The woman gestures and we slowly made a loose long file down the staircase towards the orbs beckoning to have hands laid on it. Their way of choosing who gets to follow them back the capital, London the capital of monsters. Ziria stands before the orb, eyes frightened, with the knowledge that everything will change for her in a split second, she looks back at her family in the stands, waiting tears in their eyes as she slowly, hesitantly puts a hand on the orb. It glowed bright blue and dimmed down. She snatches her hand away fast and races to where her jubilant parents stand, I watch as they enfold her in their embrace, Appa and Tanu stands beside Ziria's family, both nods to me, I put my hands in the pockets of my cloak, a powdery wetness devours my hands, bringing a tingling sensation that courses and sizzles. I looked back at in shock at Appa, approval roves his eyes, this is why Tanu wasnt harvested. A cry of pain, and a quake shakes the hall, and I stared at Hyun from where he clutches his forearm staring at the raw mark of a blood-red moon etched into his skin, dejection wafts off him, his dark silky strands falls down to cover his face from view, I watch in dismay as the orb claims more and more, the closer I get to it, a pressure builds in my head, I glance back at Appa, and he shook his head, telling me not to run. The line shortens very fast as if the orb can't help but be in a frenzy to claim more souls. To claim my soul.

Soon it was Eli's turn, he gives me one disarming smile and lays a hand on the orb, an almighty quake fills the hall, dust rains down on us, it muted Eli's scream of pain and sadness as he gazed at a dark, malevolent dark moon gripped in a clawed hand, an air of excitement splashes over the Akuras , I could tell that something rare has happened, two guards clapped hands on Eli and dragged a fighting and cursing Eli out of there, his blue eyes the last thing I saw before the great doors slammed before him. Hesitantly I stepped forward. The Akura and the priest stiffens when I neared the orb, heads lifted tasting the air, I lay a hand on the orb, nothing happened, a smile curves my lips, and I lift my hand, a force slams back my hand on the orb, and a much bigger quake fills the room, a wall crashes on the far left making people jump high in fright covering their heads from the fall, but the priest has it fall away from them with a wave of his staff.

All eyes fell on me, as I rip my hand away from, the cursed object. The priest hurries to where I stand and bares my forearm. The shock gasp from both human and Akura was palpable, the woman hisses between her teeth.

" No!" she grabs my hand and put it on the orb to see what it would do, but it remained silent.

" Let her go Leonara, the hungry ones deem it so."

Leonara lets go of me abruptly and I stumble away and nearly ran to Appa's arms with their gazes in my back, stabbing me all the way up.

" You're okay, you'll not be taken from me." Appa whispers in my hair, Tanu locks eyes with me, relieve that I wasn't chosen. I smile back at him, a voice whispers in my head that this wont be last I see of them. They brought the apocalypse; they made all this possible. I look back and meet the reddish gaze of one of the Akura's, something in them tell me he has another ace up his sleeve, so does Leonara.