Daydreams And Nightshade (DaN #1)

Chapter 50: Unnecessary drama

Derek and Shyen exited the run down tavern just as the sun began to rise. They walked in silence for a while, Shyen rubbing his eye with one hand and holding Derek's hand in the other. He didn't swing their arms though as he usually did, and Derek frowned. He was most definitely troubled.

"Poor Luna," Shyen finally said, staring at the cobblestones in front of him as he walked. "I've seen her upset before but this was a new level."

Derek grimaced.

"She doesn't even know half of it, I imagine." He glanced back at the tavern. "People ending up there rarely get out of it unharmed."

"Is it that bad?" Shyen wouldn't look up from the ground. "Is that why you stopped her from going up there?"

"You're not mad about that, are you? It's not like I hurt her, I just held her back. If anything she hurt me by clawing at my arms."

Shyen's silence allowed Derek to continue.

"But yes, it's bad. She wouldn't be able to shake the images of what's going on up there out of her head. And since it's her brother... Well, you saw the state he was in. I don't imagine she'd want to know how he came to look like that."

"Lord Hargreaves said he's been acting differently and sort of fading away, and I know he's definitely looked... better. Could he be, you know, taking something?"

"Opium, probably." Derek pursed his lips. "Something to numb the pain of whatever he's being subjected to, and consequently something to cause those apparent changes."

"Do you think he can recover from it?" Shyen's voice was barely audible and Derek ran a hand through his hair. It really wasn't the state of mind he'd expected Shyen to be in after getting to socialize all night. Of course, he hadn't expected Luna's brother to be a part of it either.

"It would take some time and strong will from his side, and a lot of help from others. But seriously, Shy, you may be empathic but you barely know this person."

"But he's her brother." Shyen stopped walking, so Derek did as well.

"I know. But I don't think—"

Suddenly everything was dark. A familiar ringing sound went through Derek's head and he wanted to sigh, except he couldn't. Now? He had to die now? He hadn't even done anything. Voices around him and the increasingly present beat of his heart signaled that he was about to come back, but it was too late to feel any pain. The wound had already healed enough for him to be alive.

How disappointing.

Opening his eyes he tried to feel where he'd been hit. It had been a quick death, so he turned his focus to his head. There it was. A bolt landed on the ground as it was forcefully removed from Derek's temple, courtesy of a certain immortality.

He'd normally take a little time to play dead. Or at least heal some to give the murderer a head start, but he had to worry about Shyen, so he turned his head.

Shyen was talking to someone. He looked upset. Not too surprising given Derek had been on the ground with a bolt through his head up until now, but the conversation didn't even seem to be about that.

Why did people never talk about him?

A movement from the other person caught Derek's attention, and he rolled over to kick them off their feet before they could aim their hand crossbow at Shyen. He wouldn't give them a chance to move. He swiftly grabbed their arm and turned them over, locking both their hands down in the process.

Shyen awkwardly waved to a couple hurrying by, steering clear of the commotion. In fact it seemed as though most people had cleared out the street.

Two surprises struck Derek as he looked at the person's face. The first one was that he had no idea who the person was. Usually people who tried to kill him, which he dared say were many, at least had some kind of connection to him. Because why else would they want to kill him?