Dead Moons Rising, first in the Honest Scrolls series

Chapter Nine

The women traveled east for three days, and had finally reached the edge of the Forest just as the sun began to set. Aydra insisted they set up camp near, but not too near, the Forest edge so that they would hear the noises of the Noctuans upon their waking.

It was the first night of the Dead Moons.

And Aydra knew their thirst and hunger would be plentiful. She also knew they would more likely not be so bold as to leave the Forest on this first night, so she felt comfortable being so close without fear of being eaten alive.

Lex had caught a rabbit in the clearing, and was preparing it as Aydra sat watching Nyssa struggle with her bow. Her raven squawked at Nyssa's golden eagle sitting beside her, and the pierce of the eagle's cry echoed around them. Aydra laughed at her bird's frustration.

"I'm still trying to work out how a golden eagle found you," Aydra said as she eyed the beast.

Nyssa didn't look away, instead gritting her teeth before suddenly letting loose an arrow towards the makeshift target they'd made. The thud of it landing off center made Nyssa's nostrils flare.

"I think your target is off," Nyssa argued.

Aydra's gaze traveled over her sister's defiant facade, and she felt a smirk slip onto her lips.

"Hey Lex—"

"Yes, my Queen," Lex replied.

Aydra took the day crown off her head and tossed it in the air towards her Second. "Hold my crown." Stepping up to the spot her sister was on, Aydra pulled her own arrow through and let it fly.

It landed with a thud in the middle of their target.

"I think you're giving excuses," Aydra said with a raised brow.

Nyssa glared at her. "Show off."

A huff of amusement left Aydra's lips. "Says the one with the eagle."

The sharp whiss of a blade cutting through the air and then tump of it shearing Aydra's arrowhead startled them. A knife had landed in the same spot as the arrow, and the noise of someone crunching on an apple averted the Promised daughters' attentions to behind them.

Lex chewed on her apple and gave Nyssa a wink. "Aim for the middle next time."

Aydra snorted and clapped her hand over her mouth quickly.

Nyssa's nostrils flared in Lex's direction, and she crossed her arms over her chest. "You two—"

"You'll learn nothing with those temper tantrums," Lex cut in as she took a seat on a fallen log. "Shut up and pull another arrow. You're a daughter of Promise. It should be instinct."

The eagle flapped its wings in protest, and Nyssa quickly shook her head at it. She spoke with it in a different dialect that Aydra didn't understand, but she heard the eagle telling Nyssa she could take one of Lex's eyes. The thought amused Aydra.

Wind swept past them so forcefully that they were almost knocked off their feet. The fire Lex had worked so hard on blew out in an instant, and the sun all but disappeared as though a shadow had swept over it. Purple engulfed the landscape.

Trees cracked and bent as the forceful wind pulsed through the heart of the Forest.

And then a lone howl pierced the quiet wood.

Aydra felt a swell rise in her chest, a smile on her lips, and she looked fondly towards the Forest of Darkness.

"There she is."

The Ulfram wolf's howl was joined by the rest of her pack. It echoed through the air, and Aydra closed her eyes as the wind circled them.

"Only you would look so happy at the noise of a deadly creature waking for the first time in seventy-two days," Lex said as she started trying to light the fire once more.

"No creature deserves to have to sit and wait for moon cycles to align before they can be released from their curse," Aydra argued. "Besides, her howl is beautiful."

Nyssa was staring at the darkening wood, her mouth slightly agape, as the Ulfram creatures continued to howl into the wind. Aydra wrapped an arm around her sister's shoulders and pulled her out of her daze.

"Come sit. We can hear their songs together," she told her.

A shriek so high-pitched that Aydra's eardrums pulsed, cut through the air. Nyssa jumped at her side.

"What was that?"

"Aviteth," Aydra answered. "Noctuan brother of the Aenean Orel. Looks much like your eagle except black, and also taller than you."

"They say that screech you just heard pierces the ears when you are near it and causes your eardrums to bleed. You are still alive when they begin to consume your flesh," Lex chimed in.

Aydra sat down around the now lit fire, expecting Nyssa to sit as well, but she simply stood, staring between them. "Okay, now I just feel like you two are making this up."

"I honestly wish we were," Lex assured her.

Nyssa's eyes widened, and her weight shifted uncomfortably. "I'm not sure I understand," she managed. "Why are we here?"

"Because learning these beasts might be the difference between life and death one day," Aydra argued. "The Noctuans are beautiful, powerful, creatures. They deserve the utmost respect for their way of life. Yes, they are different and born in darkness, but their ruthless blood thirst is not their fault. There are Noctuans who do not prey as well as those that do."

"Name one," Nyssa said incredulously.

"Noirdiem," Aydra said. "Berdijay. The Bygon. The Bullhorn. Wyverdraki—"

"You're telling me the great Wyverdraki dragons are not bloodthirsty?" Nyssa interjected.

"I am saying they would not eat you if you would just respect their realm and authority," Aydra said.

"They're not pets, Drae," Nyssa argued. "They're wild animals."

"Wild animals that you are going to get to know tomorrow night. Period."