Blood Moon

NITA

BILE COATS MY TONGUE AS I RUSH FROM THE FIRESTORM.

I sprint, knocking the wind out of my lungs, leaving me gasping for air. When I approach the village, perched on the edge of Mount Tarcne, dread fills my body. 

How could I tell them?

They would kill me, then burn me at the stake. And about Nira...about Nira...they would surely hang me, burn me at the stake and scatter my ashes over Mount Tarcne. 

I run into the house and run to my room, choking back sobs and blinking my tears away. How could I cry when my life isn't in danger? Only purebloods are affected by blood monsters. Not half-bloods.

Knock!

"Who is it?" I rasp, my throat dry from choking back sobs. 

"Jacob," Jacob replies. I smooth my hair and get up from my bed, opening the door, letting him come in, then slamming it.

Hard.

An aching feeling in my chest makes me clutch it. I bite my lip, afraid that if I open my mouth, everything will come rushing out. 

Jacob wouldn't understand what the big deal is - he's a no-blood, a monster of some sorts. 

He looks at me as if he is trying to guess my thoughts, his eyebrows scrunched up together in worry. I intertwine my hands together tightly. Jacob just sits there, scrutinizing every detail of me. 

Finally, he speaks, asking me the question I dread the most.

"What's happened?" he asks. I open my mouth. 

I would be better off keeping it shut.

"Blood monsters," my voice is softer than a whisper. I hope he doesn't hear me, but he does - if his eyes shooting to the top of his head is anything to go by.

"Did you..." his voice trails off, but I know what he is going to say. Stiffly, I nod my head. I look anywhere but his eyes. I cannot stand to see that look of disappointment, the look of shame in his eyes.

"This is...we need to tell the elders!" he shouts. I snap up, glaring at him with full intensity. The elders cannot know.

"They can't - we can't tell them! They cannot know!" I shout. 

"Why not?" he replies, managing to keep his voice steady, but the slight waver in his voice says that we are charging into uncharted waters. He has a feeling of what I am about to say. I cannot bring myself to say it - he is a no-blood and considered a monster throughout the country.

"Because, they'll blame you!" I say in place of my actual reasons. He looks at me again, his eyes deep.

"No, they will not. You-you know me too well to have that happen," he tells me, "so again, I ask you, why not?" I gulp.

"I-I'll be burnt at the stake!" I stutter. He shakes his head again, and this time I can only say the truth.

"They'll kill you because you are a monster," I whisper. He nods his head again, not meeting my eyes.

"But when they see the blood monsters...it's just better to tell them, Nita," Jacob tells me. I just shake my head. The taste of bile covers my whole tongue, just thinking about how the elders would react. No, I cannot tell them - despite it being selfish.

"Fine, if you won't listen to me, at least grant me this. What body did you use to wake the blood monsters?" his voice goes lower, barely a whisper. I tremble slightly, but I know I will have to tell him - he is covering for me after all.

"Nira," I choke out, barely able to say it because of the lump in my throat blocking any sound coming out my mouth. Jacob gasps, and I hang my head low. Nira...my best friend...gone. He leaves soon after.

My heart aches. When I look out the window to clear my head, I gasp. Because barrelling toward the village is a blood monster.

But not just one. Thousands.