Andrew Darklore: The Lunar Blade

Chapter 16 : You Remember Me?

"What about him? Do we leave him behind?" Oliver asked, pointing at the boy who laid on the ground.

"Uh mate, we are leaving...do you want to join us?" Andrew asked in an unsure tone. Matthew was standing at the door, looking out and tapping his feet in impatience. There was no reply from the still boy.

"Let's leave him here. We don't know when those Fey might show up," Matthew said hurriedly.

"We can't just leave him here," Andrew answered and walked over to the boy. Sitting on his haunches, he shook the boy's shoulders. Again, there was no response. Puzzled over the lack of response, Andrew pulled the boy's shoulders so that he could face the ceiling.

Andrew fell backwards out of shock as he looked at the boy's face. It was ashen white and his eyes were flung open with no signs of life in them. His veins were popping up on his neck. His lips were torn and dry with a green foam at the ends.

"What in the hell happened to him?!" Oliver cried out in surprise.

"It looks like poison," Matthew said, staring at the green foam. Andrew was too out of wits to speak anything. The Fey had done it just so they could get some answers out of the boy. He felt himself being pulled up by Matthew.

"Let's get out of here, Andrew," Matthew said, "We don't know when those Fey might show up."

Andrew pulled himself free from his hold and forced his eyes away from the dead boy. He followed Matthew outside with Oliver just behind him. Just as they got out, they saw an old man walking out of a nearby building and locking the door behind him. He seemed to be in a hurry and had a book under his arm. Dropping the key in his pocket, he rushed away without looking at the books. There was a sudden flash of light through the windows of the building. Then, in the distance, they saw two girls talking with each other.

"We have to hide," Matthew said, "Follow me."

The three hastened to the back of their cell where Matthew stopped. Andrew and Oliver looked at him, puzzled.

"Shouldn't we go into the woods?" Andrew asked, "This is no place to hide."

Matthew peeked from the corner to see if there was anyone. Returning, he said, "I heard those hooded men talking about a gem which prevents them from entering into the village. If we get it, they'll be able to get in."

"Then why would we do that?" Oliver asked, frowning.

"We will be rewarded for it, Oliver! We might not even need to return to being slaves. Our whole life will change," Matthew said, hurriedly, "The building that the old man was getting from - I think the gem is there. There were flashes of light coming from it."

"Are you out of your mind?" Andrew said, his face scrunched in disapproval, "If we do that, the Fey here would be harmed."

"They were planning on killing us, Andrew. You can't show pity here-"

"We will not be doing anything of such sorts. Let's get out of here unseen and not get into any more trouble," Andrew said with a tone that indicated finality. It looked as if Matthew wanted to argue but decided against it.

"Where will we go then, Andrew?" Oliver asked, worried. Andrew almost face palmed in frustration.

"Let's go over it after we get out of here, alright?" Andrew stated and then pointed at the forest. Looking at the sides once, the boys made for the forest. Their steps were quick but quiet, and just as they were about to reach the woods, Andrew's hand tightened on the borrowed sword as he sensed motion behind him.

***

It wasn't a particularly great afternoon. It was not even a great day. Not since she had seen him the previous day. She was too late to recognize him and by the time she did, he was on the ground. She had stared at the figure for long, restraining her emotions with effort. He looked different than when she had seen him the last time. The disoriented boy struggling on the horse was too unfamiliar for Eleanor.

"Chief," Layla drew her attention, "Would you mind me accompanying you to the cell?"

"You may do so, Layla," Eleanor said and then, noticing Layla's expressions, said, "Are you alright? You seem agitated."

Layla fidgeted with the spear in her hand and said, "Forgive me if I am stepping out over the line, but we should eliminate the prisoners."

"We will not be doing that," Eleanor replied curtly.

"But, chief, I sensed that boy's essence! It was too dark! It clearly means that he is part of the Hooded Cult. We should get rid of him and the others," Layla said, keeping up with Eleanor's quick pace.

"If he is a part of that Cult, we will be able to extract information from him. As far as I have judged, I don't believe he is related to them."

"But what if he is? You didn't talk to him. I did! He seemed way too calm for the situation. As if he intentionally wanted us to catch him so that he could get in and steal the gem. We must kill him before he poses a threat."

As she spoke, she became more anxious until all she was speaking was a frantic rush of words. This stopped Eleanor in her steps and she turned to look Layla in the eye.

"Get control of your emotions, Layla. Your feelings are falling all over the place," Eleanor said sternly, "I know you have been wronged by the Cult but that doesn't allow your judgment to be clouded. I will examine the boy and will decide what to do with him."

"Yes, chief," Layla replied tonelessly. Eleanor walked towards the cell with Layla in tow. Her eyes widened when she saw the wide open door of the cell. Making a run for it, she saw Callum lying inside the cell, groaning.

"Callum!" Eleanor called out anxiously, as she rushed to his side. She dropped on her knees beside him and grabbed his face.

"Are you alright?" She said, searching for injuries.

"Argh," Callum groaned in pain, his hands moving up to clutch the back of his head.

"Who did this to you? How did this happen?" Layla asked, sitting beside him.

"That bas****," Callum uttered. He pushed his hands against the floor and managed to sit up. Looking around the room, he put his face in his hands, "He ran away. He took my sword. I thought that the others were beating him - THAT BA**** TRICKED ME!"

He tried to stand up but fell down again as dizziness took over. Eleanor looked at him in concern and said, "You stay here, alright? I will take care of the situation."

"I am so sorry, Ella...I am such a fool," Callum said with guilt etched across his face.

"Lay down and stop talking," Eleanor said, pushing him to the ground. Her eyes fell on the dead body and she gasped, her hands flying up to cover her mouth.

"Who did this?" She forced out the words. The sight of the body was gruesome and she could tell that the boy didn't have a painless death. Swallowing, she turned away from him and said to Layla, call the physician to check on the body. I'll look for the boys. Send the guards to find them as well.

Eleanor walked out and gazed at the village, searching for clues. While her eyes roamed, her heart wished that Layla wasn't right about Andrew. Then, a soft sound hit her ears. Focusing on it, she found that it was coming from behind the cell. She plucked out a thin short silver rod that was holding her bun, thus letting her hair down. She twirled the rod in her hands once and saw it grow larger until it was a long silver rod of her length with three sharp prongs at the end - each of them with intricate etchings of symbols.

***

Andrew heard faint rustling of leaves behind him and the unmistaken sound of a stone scattering. Grabbing hard onto the sword, he spun around, raising his weapon to clash it against what looked like a silver trident. His eyes traveled upwards to find himself facing a girl with long black hair, a few short strands of which fell on her forehead.

She wore a long white flowing robe with a split skirt, allowing her ease of movement. There was a thin silver string around her waist. When his vision met her silver eyes, his eyes widened before turning into thin lines.

"You?" Andrew said accusingly.

"You remember me?" Eleanor asked, baffled, almost stumbling backwards by Andrew's strength.

A/N - Do you think Andrew remembers? Who even is she? And who poisoned the boy?