Luna

Chapter 4

"Amour...Amour, wake up." My body was being shook by Livia. Finally I managed to open my eyes to her looking frantic so I sat up.

"What's wrong Via?" She let out a whimper.

"There's something outside?" I let go a breath, for a moment I thought something was actually wrong.

"Via it's probably just your mind playing tricks on you." She shook her head rapidly as I tried to reassure her.

"Amour there's seriously.." Before she could finish there were rustling sounds in the distance. Our heads snapped in the direction it was coming from. Slowly I got up making sure not to wake my brothers. I stepped out of the hut and Livia followed. We were now standing in the direction to walk into the woods listening but we heard nothing. I shook my head and chuckled now my mind was messing with me. "See it's nothing." I told her but she still looked unconvinced. Before we could walk away a ever so faint voice came to my ear. Livia backed away as if she was prepared to run. The voice grew louder along with the sounds of breaking branches. My heart started to pick up speed and everything told me to run. But I couldn't bring myself to do it. Livia started to pull on my arm but the more I listened the more the voice became clear.

"Help!" Livia and I both froze. My ears had to be deceiving me.

"Help!!" The voice was clear as day

"Bastian?" I said above a whisper. There was no way it was him, but I was wrong. From the woods came him and a body that was slumped over. They both fell to the ground as three more figures emerged from the woods. People came from their huts to see what all the noise was about. People lit a couple of torches and what I saw next almost caused me to throw up everything I had ate earlier. Kota was laying on the ground with his right side practically torn off. Flesh hung from him as blood rushed out of his body. Staining the ground and Bastian.
I ran to his side and his eyes were rolling to the back of his head. Bastian and I tried to hold down pressure but the blood kept coming. People gathered around in shocked too stunned to actually do anything. The three boys looked absolutely terrified and wouldn't say a word then I realized that Bastian was the only mentor left.

"What seems to be the issue?" Rayo came into view and he didn't seem to have a care in the world that this poor boy was bleeding to death. Cthylla finally came from behind him

"Help, please." Bastian said as tears ran down his face.

"Take him to my hut and keep holding the pressure as much as possible." Zae and a couple others followed her orders. She went with them as we stayed behind. Rayo walked up to the boys. "What happened?" None of them spoke, they were traumatized.

"Speak!" He yelled at them

"We don't know we were attacked." Bastian answered for them.

"Who attacked you?"

"I don't know, we never made it to the ceremony. It all happened so fast we tried..." he held up hand and silenced him. "Whatever it was we will find it, gather up troops." This man was out of his mind.

"You want to send people back out there?" I spoke up.

"That is what I said isn't it? Before it becomes a bigger problem we must stop it."

"You're talking about putting people in danger. Our best choice is to just leave we already lost two of our own." My voice began to grow.

"Rayo whatever it was we weren't prepared for it please..."

"SILENCE!!" His voice roared, his glare made its way to me but I refused to back down. There's no way I was just going to sit back and let him put innocent people in harms way to satisfy his own ego. Without another word he walked through the crowd. I took a glance at the three boys being held by their parents. "Amour." Bastian called my name and I turned to him.

"There wasn't just one, I tried to.... it just...I." I finally dropped to his level and held on to him as he cried. Livia joined in and tried to help me calm him. My gaze went to the entrance of the woods. Never had this happen before and it scared me a little. But what scared me more was the thought of something watching us and we had no clue how to handle it.

        Kota's mom placed the last rock over his body, she tried to be strong but let out a pained cry. Her husband wrapped his arms around her trying to keep himself together. Everyone was gathered around trying to make sense of it all. Cthylla walked up to the pile of rocks with a large bowl of black paint. She drew that same spiral that was on his face on the rocks. Livia handed her another bowl and she drew the diagonal line going through it. The circumstances of it all sent a pain through my chest. She did everything she could to save him but with so much blood lost it was too late. I looked around trying to spot Bastian but he wasn't in sight, which wasn't a surprise.

"Last night we had to say goodbye to three beautiful young men. They didn't leave us for they still roaming with the great ones before them. Kota left as a boy but left this world as a man." The wind picked up speed and whipped through the crowd. People went to talk to Kotas parents and I went to find Bastian. He was sitting by the river looking straight ahead.

"Can I join you?" Instead of answering he just shrugged so I sat down. "Wanna talk about it?"

"Nothing to talk about I was supposed to make sure we got there and back safely and I didn't."

"You did bring them back."

"Three people died Amour one of them being Kota. Now tell me how am I supposed to live with that?" I didn't even have a answer for him.

"Bastian you can't blame yourself for this."

"Who else is there to blame! I'm still here and I couldn't go to the ceremony for them. Amour nothing you say can fix this." He got up and walked away. Sadly he was right, if there was a way to change this is I would do it in a heart beat. This was all too much to take in but all we could do was be there for each other.