The Grimoire

Chapter 33: Bloody Gift

The ship was sailing smoothly although hindi ako mapakali dahil hindi namin alam kung ano na ang nangyayari. Tumakbo ako sa unang bahagi ng ship nang mapansin ko ang malaking isla sa di kalayoan. Sigurado akong Liwet itong nakiktia ko, no doubt. Napahawak ako sa railings habang kinokontrol ang nararamdaman kong kaba.

"Haven't you noticed?" rinig ko mula sa likoran ko. Napatingin ako sa itaas ng ship at nakita ko si Evie na kausap si Leo habang nakaupo sa sails. "Cairo's aura have changed. Hindi ko matanto kung saang parte at kung ano man ang rason pero-" she paused.

"I know," Leo answered. "To be honest, Cairo's aura and Vermillion's aura are kind of different. Para bang naging konektado sila sa isa't isa. Hindi ko rin matiyak kung bakit ko nasabi iyon pero ramdam ko," he added.

"You mean like the connection between them has changed? I felt that too. It all started that rainy night, did you remember?" Evie asked at tumango naman kaagad si Leo.

"I wonder if it has something to do with those orbs na nabanggit ni Kel," Leo answered. "Do you rememeber those orbs na sinasabi nilang nagproprotekta sa bayan nila? Rinig ko nasa lake iyon dati at bigla nalang itong nawala nang araw na iyon. We brought them back together from the lake and that was that day it vanished. It's too complicated to be called as coincidence," Leo explained.

"Right at kanina pa, we even sa a soul of somebody beside Cairo. Do you really think that was Horus? You know, the owner of one of the orbs that Kel talked about," Evie asked.

"Well, it could be," Leo replied. "We're talking about Cairo here. Everything about him is impossible to surpass. Even his family doubt about his identity kasi masyado siyang malakas," he added.

"Well, Vermillion is another case. Something about her is special. She adapts to situations at fast pace. Yung tipong baguhan pa lang siya pero kinakaya niya na," Evie replied.

"That goes the same with Kel," Leo added at ngumiti silang dalawa.

The continued talking about us at parang hindi ata nila ako napansin na nakatingin sa kanila dahil nakatitig lang rin sila sa himpapawid. I'm just grateful enough that they like us in this team. 

I noticed that their smiles started to fade at tumayo sila habang inilipat nila ang kanilang tingin sa karagatan. Lumingon muli ako sa dagat at nanlaki ang mata ko. Napahigpit ang hawak ko sa railings nang makita ang kulay ng dagat. The once blue ocean turned red. Nanginig ako habang papalapit kami ng papalapit sa Liwet lalo na't itong ang sumalubong sa amin.

I was surprised when Cairo suddenly stood beside me. He went out directly from the captain's cabin and he stared at the bloody ocean. Napahawak siya sa railings na hinahawakan ko and he took a deep breath as his brows furrowed. He gritted his teeth at agad akong napabitaw sa hinahawakan kong railings kasi bigla itong nagiba after he gripped it hard.

"These fucking bastards," he said. Leo and Evie jumped towards us, and they landed beside him. I heard Kel's footsteps na papunta sa amin at tumabi siya sakin. He was still catching his breath while staring at the ocean. He looked really surprised and afraid at the same time, and I cannot blame him. "They really have a death wish," he continued.

Everyone else was silent as we began to approach Liwet. The silence was broken when a loud bang from Liwet was heard. It sounded like a powerful attack kaya mas kinabahan ako. Parang naiiyak na ako habang nag-aalala dahil nandoon si tatay at ang iba pa naming kapitbahay.

"Kel, V," Cairo called at napatingin kaming dalawa sa kaniya. "Stay here," he ordered at tumingin siya sa amin. "Cover us," he added. Cover them? From what?