Moonrise ✔ [Complete]

32 Faith (Part 1)

"Is it true? Do her eyes really turn black?"

"Yes, I saw it myself."

Reo encountered two female celestials in the hall on his way to the barracks. Their heads were drawn together to whisper, and he stopped when he heard their conversation. When they saw him, they straightened immediately. Eyes shining, they tilted their heads at a sensual angle and waved.

"Hi, Reo," one of them piped. "You look really good in gold, by the way."

The second girl twirled a lock of dark hair around her finger and bit her bottom lip. Her eyes scanned his body from head to toe.

"Thanks," he replied, grinning. He started toward them, gaining their undivided attention.

When he reached them, he slid his hands into his pockets and leaned a shoulder against the wall to elongate his body. And with a dashing smile, he said, "I'm looking for the moon warrior. Have you seen her?"

Their flirtatious smiles vanished, and their postures slumped in disappointment.

Albeit reluctant, the first celestial was obliged to answer. "We saw her arguing with Commander Lin," she answered, shrugging a shoulder. "She did her scary demon thing and everything. I think they're in the lab."

Scary demon thing? Reo thought to himself. Arguing with the Suolani commander?

He had never expected that.

Mind distracted, he mumbled a thanks before he continued toward the science laboratory.

"Catch you later, Reo!" called the girls after him. He hardly heard them, his thoughts churning.

It was not long until he felt the air grow cold. As he entered the hall leading to the lab, an eerie chill prickled up his spine. An ominous presence ebbed in soft waves from the lab.

He rushed forward immediately, tearing through the swinging doors. The lab, he realized, had not yet been repaired. Its domed roof still bore its gaping hole. But the sunlight that poured in appeared like celestial beams, casting light on the dark young woman standing at the center of the room. She was not in that frightening, black armor. However, her tainted aura caressed her skin in swirls of silver and ebony.

Five scientists cowered in front of her on their knees, hands clutching at their heads. Blood trickled from their noses.

Reo felt a shiver rock his core. "Maeyune, stop!" he yelled.

His eyes finally acknowledged the individual pressed flat against the lab wall. It was Deiyu, held spread-eagle against the concrete by Maeyune's dark energy.

Reo lunged to stand between Maeyune and the scientists. Her eyes, he saw to his dismay, were black.

He held out his hands. "Don't do this, Maeyune."

"They must answer for their crimes!" she snapped, her voice the sound of a hundred storms.

He reached a hand toward her to stop her advance, but she slapped it aside. When Reo tried again, a surgical knife flew from a nearby table and into her hand. She pressed its blade against his throat. There was no hesitation in her grip.

Slowly, he pushed his hands up in surrender. If she had wanted to kill him, she would have already done so.

"Maeyune-"

Her nostrils flared in anger. "They have been experimenting on celestials!"

Reo's heart stilled.

The dark, veiny lines on Maeyune's face deepened, and her aura whipped in the air with rage. But rather than the terror he should have felt in that moment, Reo welcomed calm.

He inhaled slowly, settling his thoughts before he answered, "I know."

Her black eyes grew wide, and her jaw slackened.

It came in a violent gush. Her energy struck him with the brunt of a tidal wave, causing him to flinch and leaving him gasping for air. She forced her mind against his, searching furiously for an entrance.

Grimacing, he let her in.

As she channeled herself into his head, he became a spectator to his own memories. He saw what she found: a dark room with raised beds, each bearing an unconscious body with countless tubes running into the skin. Maeyune saw an auburn-eyed boy and his horrified discovery of the secret lab.

She followed him deeper into the lab, passing steel tables that bore vials of shimmering blood. At the end of the row of tables, she saw a glass window that peered into a dimly-lit room. Inside was a bearded man, chained to a chair like an animal.

Through the boy's eyes, Maeyune watched helplessly as black smoke oozed up through floor vents. It kissed the man's skin, and he turned to ash.

And thereafter, she felt the onslaught of malevolent rage and the fire that was unleashed. She witnessed an explosion that sent shards of metal into the one girl the boy had loved. With the girl lifeless in his arms, his energy burned the lab and everything inside it to the ground.

Maeyune hurtled herself back, breaking the telepathic link. Reo squeezed his eyes shut as a migraine assailed his head. When he opened his eyes again, he saw that Maeyune's eyes had returned to their soft brown. He watched a tear slide down her cheek, and his chest tightened.

The surgical knife fell from his throat and clattered against the floor. Maeyune held her hands against her mouth, fighting the sobs that sought escape. Then, she turned to run.

With her gone from the lab, her sinister power withdrew. Freed from her hold, all five scientists yielded muffled groans. They attempted to wipe away the blood that dripped down to their chins, but only managed to smear it across their cheeks. They massaged their temples with careful fingers, their heads still disarranged from Maeyune's mental assault.

Deiyu fell forward from the wall, hand flying to throat.

Reo finally took note of the folders that lay scattered across the floor. Their white pages blanketed the concrete. He crouched and reached for a page that showed a picture of a young celestial, her eyes closed to sleep, or death.

He recognized her face. He had known her.

Deiyu released a hoarse cough. Reo was about to ask the commander how Maeyune had uncovered the experiments, when he saw the black object lying next to Deiyu's feet.

It lay in pieces, but it was enough to spark Reo's memory. It was Tin's creation, the mind-control device with its neck clamps. There was a faint trace of silver energy that leaked from the metal.

Rising to stand, Reo gave Deiyu a steady glare.

He should have known: Maeyune had never been involved.

(Continue in Part 2)