Two (Countdown Book 5)

Chapter 12

When I returned to the building at nine o'clock that evening, covered in mud and grass stains, with a grin plastered on my face, I was feeling pretty cheerful. Far more cheerful than I had in a long time, and far more cheerful than I probably had any right to, considering what Boston had told me that day. 

I stopped by the showers and had a long, hot shower to get off the mud caked to my body. I dropped my stained clothes into the washing bin on the way back to my room. We had won the game five-four, two of the goals mine, two Ethan's and one Jo's, who'd been surprisingly good at shooting. 

When I got back to my room, I waddled around the figures of Tony and Steve, and collapsed onto my bed. I didn't usually go to bed that early, but I was exhausted from the game and I had to be up and ready for six in the morning to go out with Mackenzie. As I settled into the covers, I feared I would have more horrible nightmares, and that I did. 

I was stood in the room from my previous room, the one with the round table, where the six kids had been. Now, the table was covered with five bodies covered in sheets. The youngest boy was stood to one side of the table, his eyes red and puffy. The man, who I now knew was Makinshien, was nowhere to be seen. 

The boy shivered, looking over at the bodies. He raised his hand, and light chased the shadows from the room. I couldn't tell where the light was coming from, but I now got a better look at the boy. His clothes were torn, his face scratched. He seemed a lot older than the boy in previous dream, but no more than a few days could've passed. 

The door opened behind him, but the boy did not turn. He already knew who was there, I could tell by the dread and anger that immediately shrouded his tired features. He took out his sword and knelt on the ground, pressing the tip of the blade into the floor. 

"I take it you have not come to honour the dead, father." the boy sounded so much older, so much more confident than before. I couldn't believe how he had changed in a few days. 

"You know why I have come, Aon." he said. I finally worked out the boy's name. Aon. It certainly didn't sound English. 

"Please, can't you even respect the dead?" Aon said angrily. "They were your children." 

"Stepchildren." Makinshien corrected. "They were not your siblings, Aon, you know that. They were a part of Ozina, not me." 

"They were still my brothers and sisters." Aon said sadly. "And you killed them." 

"You defied me." 

Aon frowned, as though suddenly remembering something. "Where is mother?" he asked. 

"She is dead, Aon, she died long ago." Makinshien said, taking a step forward.

"You killed her." Aon said, a lone tear trickling down his cheek. 

"She died of natural causes-" Makinshien began, before his son cut across him. 

"That is lies, and we both know it. You poisoned her and stole her throne." 

"If you already knew that, then why did you ask me, son?" Makinshien's sword made an almost silent hiss as it came out of his sheath. I wanted to warn Aon, to tell him that his father was about to stab him in the back, but I couldn't speak. 

"I am not your son!" Aon shouted, suddenly angry again. "I call you father because it is your title. But I do not wish to be of any relation to you! You killed my whole family, everyone I ever cared about. My brothers and sisters, my mother... Ozina." 

"That man was a disgrace!" Makinshien was angry now, too. "He was not your family, Aon." 

"He treated me better than you ever did." Aon still hadn't turned around, and Makinshien raised his sword, his teeth bared. "You are the disgrace, father."