Moon Child (Moon Child Series Book 1)

Chapter 24: The Fight of our Lives- part 3

Dead, three of my family members dead. Too many for today.

The sun started to set over the horizon as I set Jullian next to Alex in the grass, wrapping their hands together so they would always be with one another, even after death. With a small sigh, I wiped the tears the fell away with my filthy hand, and turned away from the pair.

I walked back to the beach, to see only Ashton, Rhea, Jonah, Julie, Ryan and Matthew sitting there in the sand. They surrounded a fire pit, a fire pit that was cremating all of the bodies from today's events. Except Caleb, who they made a special fire pit for, further away.

"Guys what's going on? Where is everyone?" I asked, sitting down next to Ryan.

Ashton smiled, "They retreated, with only about four left. The four took over a ship and left, leaving the rest here without a crew. We just let them go, there's no point in chasing them. The rest of our group is hiding out up on the cliff, but further back so they wont be seen or heard.

I nodded, smiling. My face turned to a frown though when I realized another detail. "What about Jacob?"

Rhea cringed, "He sent a message written in blood saying that he would be here at nightfall. Which it almost is." She turned to Julie, "You should go back into hiding."

She nodded, obviously a little upset about missing it, but left anyway, back to the cliff where she could see us.

I turned to Ryan, Jonah and Matthew, "You guys should go with her. I don't want any of you guys getting hurt either."

"But..." Jonah started, but Matthew quickly put his hand over his mouth, his eyes still unmoving.

"Let it be, it's for the best," he said, sounding twenty years older. Jonah sighed heavily, grumbling under his breath, but agreed. They retreated up the steep hill, Jonah stumbling and falling but Matthew going up with ease. He could sense every rock and dent so he had no trouble with where to place his foot. Being blind had it's advantages.

Ryan hugged me close, but I squirmed away looking up at him. "You need to go too, I don't want you getting hurt."

"Ya, why do you think I wouldn't let my soul mate come?" Ashton said with a small smile. She was missing him,  I could tell. I can't wait to meet him. Is he handsome? Tall? Is he good enough for Ashton?

But Ryan shook his head, looking at the ground with furrowed brows. "No, I'm not leaving you."

I smiled. That's so sweet! He just wanted to keep me safe! The only problem was, I was doing this to keep him safe. "Ryan, I'm doing this to keep you safe. I can't have you getting yourself killed. I promise I'll be fine."

He sighed, defeated and followed his friends reluctantly up the hill.

"You might not want to make those promises, Natalia," a voice mused, making the three of us spin around in shock. Jacob stood there, only in a t-shirt and jeans, checking his fingernails absentmindedly. It's almost like he wasn't giving us his full attention, like he was so confident he didn't even think of us as a threat.

"I'm pretty sure she can make those promises, Jacob," Rhea sneered, and added, "and she can keep them too."

Jacob's teeth gritted together in frustration, "You will address me as Lord Jacob, little girl." He looked Rhea up and down like she was a pile of dirt, like she wasn't worth his time. He was clearly biting his tongue, and was very close to losing control of his facade.

"We should address you as evil scumbag so you're lucky we even call you by your name," Rhea replied, a smug smirk tugging on her lips. I was attempted to applaud her, but decided against it when I saw the menacing look on his face.