Blood Moon

10. The Half-breeds

The tip of her blade was prickling the exposed skin on his back, making him shiver. He was inly wearing his light clothes as he stared at the raven haired girl in front of him. "H-hey, I saved your life." He said sheepishly.

Her eyes flared more and he tensed. "What are you doing here!?" She spat.

"I left the troop!" He said nervously, beads of sweat forming near his brows. "I wandered down while you were fighting the beast and found this cottage and I needed as shelter."

"That's not all you did." Luna said, her eyes raking over the now half-empty jar of salted meat. "I'm sorry, I was hungry and the smell was irresistible." He replied guiltily.

Luna drew her blade back but kept it pointed on the man. "Why did you leave your troop?"

"I had to." A determined look appeared on his face and he sat upright, ignoring the blade pointed at him. "You can't make me go back."

Luna twirled the blade on her hand and her eyes glinted, "Are you sure, Sir?" She whispered ominously. Rigel, who was sitting by the foot of the bed, growled too. The determination on his face faltered for a moment's but he hardened himself. "You can try, but I will not go down without a fight. The only way you can make me go home is if you dragged me there by yourself, and if you get within five hundred meters from the palace, the witches will able to sense your power."

Luna was taken aback. She was certain that she made sure not to show her power to this boy. She stepped forward, placing her blade to his chin. "How did you know?"

Although shaking, he lifted her palm and bared it to her, whispering a prayer. Bright white light came out of his palm and burned Luna's skin, making her jump away from him. There was no mistake, Luna knew where that power came from. 

"I was raised by the Church, I know something about creatures like you." 

"Creatures like me?" The words left a bitter taste in her mouth, her eyes darkening. The man lowered his head, suddenly feeling guilty.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

"No matter how you see me as, I identify as a human. Now, who are you and why are you here?" The man's face lit up and he rose from the bed, bowing slightly with his hand on his chest. "I am Sir Augustus from the House of Rayne, I'm sorry for not introducing myself sooner." 

Even when his blonde hair was disheveled and his clothes crumpled, the man was overflowing with decency. Luna c****d her head to the side. "So you are the one Sir William was looking for?"

He flinched after hearing his Uncle's name. "Yes."

Luna took the chair closest to her and settled herself down, sighing. "Why did you run away? Do you have a death wish?"

"No," He raised his head, his eyes meeting hers intently. "On the contrary, I left the troop to be able to survive."

He took a step forward and suddenly knelt in front of her, making Luna flinch and tense up. "What are you doing?"

"I have a favour to ask you." He said, conjuring a spell on one hand. 

"A child of the Church wants a favour from a half-breed?" Luna's eyes bored into his and she saw his sincerity.

"Yes."

"What is it?" She asked.

"Help me bring down the King and the Palace." His answer was straight and Luna was stunned. For a moment she stayed still, disbelief evident her eyes. "You want me to help you take apart your homeland?"

"I mean every word I say." His fingers were drawing marks on the air, a flash of white light moving along his finger. Luna leaned forward, looking to him eye to eye. "And what do I get in return?"

His green eyes flared and his lips made a small smile, as if he was already expecting that question. "I'll tell you all the secrets of the Palace," His hand stopped moving and the mark materialised. Luna stared at it "And I'll help you train your warlock." 

Luna then realized that what he was casting wasn't a spell, it was a blood oath.

"How did you-" Luna was about to ask how he knew but she stopped. He even realized she was a half-breed, how easier would it be for him to recognize a warlock? Especially one with such strong aura?

"The Blood Moon is edging closer, make your choice, Miss." He pushed the blood oath forward, offering it to her. Luna stared at it, her gaze calculating. After hesitating for a moment, she gave in. She raised her hand and placed it on his, palm to palm. The white light the glowed in between their hands burned bright red, burning their skin until it sizzled, smoke that smelled of blood rising into the air.

Luna leaned back and gave him a hard gaze. "You better not turn back on your words, you know what will happen to you."

"I know, my blood will burn and my insides will be cooked." He stood up and sat in the bed once more.

"When did you notice I was different?" Luna asked curiously.

"When I took you away from the behemoth, I sensed it on you but it disappeared when we hid so I thought it was only a mistake. But when you left me trembling on that tree, I gathered up my courage and followed you. As I was following your trail, I sensed your power again. That time I was certain. You left behind a trail of black smoke."

"What am I?" Luna asked, but she had a hunch.

"You are a half-breed. An offspring of both demon and human." He did not blink as he said those words.

"How do you know of it?" 

"You are not the first half-breed I met in my life, Luna. But make no mistake, you are no doubt a rarity." He said, casting a glance on her.

"What do you mean?"

"Most half-breeds, although with human blood running on their veins, are monstrous creatures. They may be humanoid, but with beast like attributes, they are horrendous to see. You are the first one of your kind to look like human and think like a human." This revelation shocked her. All this time, she had thought she was the only offspring with human and demon parents.

"I was raised by a human, could it have something to do with that?" 

"Not possibly. Half-breeds are born with an intense need foe destruction and s*******r. They are untamable beasts. There was one who was sane enough to speak but not sane enough to rein his instincts. We brought him into the church to study him bit he ended up lashing out so we had to kill him. Also, you are the first one that I met that didn't reek of rotten flesh." He waved his hand towards her, his eyes squinting in curiosity.

"Have you ever killed a human before?" He asked.

"No." 

"Have you ever thought about it?" 

"Yes." 

"Normally, when your kind get an impulse to kill, they do so without restraining themselves. The mere fact that you thought about it and decided to go against it just says a lot about how different you are."

"Are all half-breeds the same?" Luna was being immersed in the conversation so much that she didn't notice Rigel munching down the leftover meat on the jar.

"In terms of behaviour yes, but their skills? No. Some of you have immense strength, some can fly, some can transform, possess, and some are sorcerers like you."

"Sorcerers?"

"Yes, sorcerers. You cast spells don't you? But unlike priests and witches, you don't have to chant it, you only have to think it. Although intelligent enough to make coherent thoughts and cast curses, most half-breed sorcerers can't make proper attacks and only rely on offensive tactics like a beast, which is the reason why we are able to bring them down with ease."

"Why are there so many half-breeds? Demon that can reproduce are uncommon." Her brows were creasing, not even noticing that it was noon already. 

"Yes. Demons that can reproduce are rare and ver powerful. We only know few of those that can do it. The demon king and his seven sentinels. But although little in numbers, the sentinels are like stallions, so it's no question why."

Luna tensed. It was her first time hearing about the demon king. "A demon king?"

"You can't possibly think that these creatures don't have a leader, don't you?" He raised his brows at her. "You kill them so you know there has been changes in their behaviour. But this didn't happen overnight. This has been happening for centuries. With every defeat their race tastes, they make adjustments. Most of the demon's race are not intelligent enough to know what to do and if left to their own devices, they won't change their ways and they will all perish. That's how we came to know that there was someone tugging all the strings."

"According to our studies of demonology, demons are classified into four." He confidently picked up the pencil by Luna's small bookshelf and ripped a piece of old parchment and started to write a vertical line which was divided by three small horizontal lines. At the bottom, he wrote 'Belua', in the second line 'planus', the third 'venenarius', and the fourth 'septem vigil' and on the top of the line he placed the word demon king.

"The Beluas are the beast-like demons who takes the form of a severely disfigured animal, these are the most common kind of demons." He tapped the pencil on the word, making sure that Luna was still listening. "These are the type of demons that I'm sure you have faced many times. They're not as threatening as the others but they are savages, normal humans won't be able to fend them off."

"Planus, now these are demons that are fully able to morph themselves into any animal they like, the shape-shifters. Strength-wise they are not much but their ability to conceal themselves and hide in plain sight enables them to snatch themselves easy preys such as children and infants." His hand moved upwards, the pencil resting on the line above.

"The venenarius are demons who can use sorcery. An example of these of demons are-"

"The deceiver, am I right?" Luna interrupted.

"How did you know that?" He asked curiously.

"Do you know a witch named Vaga?" 

"No," Luna studied his face and he seemed to be telling the truth. "There are many witches in the palace but I haven't heard her name."

"Well she was from the palace, she escaped years ago. She was able to steal a book with her, that's how I knew." She replied.

"That explains it. The King makes sure to hide stories of successful escape attempts to make sure that everyone believes that there's no escape from his walls." He then proceeded to the next one.

"Then the next one is the septem vigil, the seven sentinels. They are the demon king's closest confidants. They powerful and their bloodlust is unfathomable. Not one warlock was able to survive a fight with these creatures. All of them has the power to shape-shift and are powerful sorcerers. They are the only ones who can procreate aside from the demon king himself. But the demon king is yet to rise from his slumber, so there's a large chance that you are born from one of those seven evil beings."

"The Demon King is the ruler of these four classifications of demons, they heed his call. There are many writings that tell of the m******e he had done before his slumber and it is very severe. He has all the abilities that demon possess and he is very cunning, able to read minds and manipulate people into losing their guards before slaughtering them. But there isn't much known about his weakness because he has never shown any."

He studied her for a moment, clearly wanting to say something. Luna urged him. "What do you want to say?"

 "Something really confuses me about your case. The only thing who can grant life is God himself, so creatures born from evil roots are bound to live a miserable and hellish life, unintelligent and horrifying to the eyes. You however, you can think, and you look like a normal human girl. Not even once had we been able to encounter the likes of you." His eyes were burning with curiosity as he gazed at her intensely.

"You know more about my kind than I do, there's nothing I can tell you that you don't already know." She breathed in deep, trying to process everything she had learned.

"If you already knew so much about demons, why did you keep it yourselves instead of helping commoners?"

"From what I heard, the palace court is afraid that if commoners were to know about it, they would spread the information around like wildfire and alert the seven sentinels. If they find out that we know their weaknesses, they'll change ways and we'll be back to square one. But that's an unacceptable reason." Augustus admitted.

"Yes, it is." Luna agreed. She felt her sore body and she fought the urge to groan. "If you'll excuse me, I have to rest. Don't do anything suspicious while I sleep or I'll let Rigel devour you."

Augustus nodded his head and went to the pile of books that Luna had taken from Vaga's home. Luna tossed her hood aside unceremoniously and laid down on her bed and fell asleep.

When Luna woke up, the moon was already high in the sky. Ghere was a scrumptious smell in the air and she heard the crackling of fire by the fireplace where Augustus was sitting with a book on his hand and the other patting Rigel's head which was placed on his thigh. On top of the fire hung a pot which must be where the smell was coming from. "Sorry, I slept too long. Have you eaten yet?" She said groggily.

"Yes, I apologize if I touched your utensils without permission but you seemed very tired so I took it upon myself to do the cooking especially when I'm taking advantage of your generosity." He stood up from his seat and grabbed a bow and spoon. He went by the fireplace and scooped an ample amout of soup onto it and handed it over to Luna. Luna's mouth watered and she accepted the bowl eagerly. "What's this dish? I never tasted anything like this before."

"The priests made that. The amount of gold allocated to the Church from the King and the offerings of the people weren't allowed to be used for charity work so they made a cheap yet scrumptious meal to offer. You have a lot of salted meat however, it made it taste better." He stoked the fire and continued to flip over the pages. 

"Why would a noble be taught how to cook?" Luna asked, although she wasn't complaining. The taste was very odd yet appetising at the same time.

"I learned by watching. I always make my own meals."

"Don't you have lots of servants for that?" Luna moved to have another fill but he swiftly too it away and filled it himself. 

"I have seven brothers, four of which are vying for the title of Duke. Two of the most promising candidates were killed, one poisoned to death and the other was killed in a carefully planned ambush disguised as a demon attack. Being the only one who has connections with the Church, it is likely that I will be next." He said it so casually but his eyes held a glimmer of sadness. 

"You spent years building walls around you to protect yourselves from demons when you act like savages in pursuit of power. The people of your land are quite an entertainment." She scoffed as she threw a piece of meat which Rigel caught.

"We all are savages, just in different ways." He replied. They lapsed into silence before Luna asked the question which had been bugging her.

"What precisely made you leave the safe walls of the palace?" The tone of her voice wasn't threatening but it encouraged him to speak of the truth only.

"Safe walls?" He laughed humourlessly. "Not anymore, Luna. Haven't you heard? The walls are falling apart."

Before the sun rose the next day, Luna and Augustus were already on their way to Legosi's home. They stopped in front of his yard and Augustus' face twisted in confusion. "Are you sure he lives here? These place looks abandoned."

"Yes, this is it."

There were weeds the same height as him and the shrubs were prickly as they made their way towards the wooden house. As they approached the porch, he noticed that the weeds stopped growing just at the bottom of the last step, as if it was intended to be that way. "He's doing it to lure demons in, after all, they use abandoned settlements as hideout before going on rampage." Luna whispered. She walked over to the door and knocked twice. Silence.

Seconds later, they heard the sound of hurried footsteps and they heard the sound of the door latch coming undone. "I apologize, I was changing-" Then Legosi's eyes darted to the man standing behind her and before she could warn him, Legosi's sword was unsheathed and in one fast movement, he pointed it Augustus.

"Who are you?" His silver eyes met his, unwavering. Augustus stayed silent. 

"Lower your weapon down, Legosi. Look at him properly, don't you sense it?"

Legosi stayed silent and tried to read his aura and then his eyes lit up. "What is a warlock doing here?" He took his sword back into place and his demeanor changed.

"I'm from Sir William's troops. I stayed behind." He spoke gently.

"You abandoned them." Legosi replied. "Why did you bring him here?" He asked Luna.

"My knowledge about you is limited, I'm not a warlock. I can't help you become as strong as you should be, I can only take you so far. He can can help you, he knows the secrets of the palace." She said gently.

"Why would a warlock from the palace betray his King?" Legosi's eyes were raking over him suspiciously.

"He has his reasons. If you trust me and my judgement, then cooperate with him. He can help you become stronger." She coaxed him.

Legosi halted for a moment before breathing a sigh of surrender. "Alright, what are you teaching today?"

Augustus stepped down from the porch, making a distance in between them. "I'm teaching you how to fight from a distance using your sword." He uttered a short chant as he ran his two fingers down his sword, leaving the blade burning bright yellow. Before they could move out of the way, a flash of light darted out from the tip of the sword and the wood wall behind Legosi, leaving a burning mark on its wake.