Keepers of the Moon

Chapter 9. We meet again (2)

‘Indigo? What are the odds of that?’

When I looked up I was drowning in Hlér’s pale blue eyes. He was standing right in front of me, pint in one hand a minced pie in the other. He was wearing a dark blue rain coat and a bright yellow knitted hat that covered his nearly white hair. Out here on the streets without his fancy suit he looked just like any other boy. Except for his beautiful eyes and high cheekbones. I would be able to recognise him even from afar. My heart was pounding in my chest, though I wasn’t sure whether it was because of Hlér or because of the black eyes that had stared at me.

‘Depends, are you following me?’ I smiled as innocently as I could and Hlér’s eyes went up to examine Abi who was still on my shoulders. She however barely seemed to notice the boy nor the rest of the world. All she had eyes for was her pink glitter balloon.

‘Not intentionally, which to be fair I should do. You ran off in such a hurry yesterday!’ He looked at me with pain in his eyes and there was even a hint of worry. As if he was scared that it had something to do with him.

‘Please don’t that’s creepy.’ I laughed out loud, to make him feel more comfortable and to give myself some time to come up with a splendid reason as of why I got the hell out of there. But somehow it wouldn’t come, my head was still spinning and fear was still at the forefront of my memory. I looked around to find the one who had been staring at me and to my utter bewilderment I didn’t have to look far. He was standing right behind Hlér, a bemused smile playing around his lips. I was about to pull Hlér out of the way, so that he couldn’t hurt him, when Hlér turned around and caught what I was looking at.

‘Oh, yeah. Indigo this is Tane. Tane… Indigo. He’s my personal babysitter.’ That last came out annoyed, probably more than he had intended to because he bit his lip. The man with the black eyes nodded curtly but didn’t extend his hand, he kept them safely in his pockets. Now that I knew he belonged to Hlér some of the tension seemed to seep away, though I was still very uncomfortable. Somehow this feeling reminded me of the first meeting with Mo Bhean, though she felt kinder. If that made sense?

Tane was a rather short young man, with a coffee coloured skin and shiny black hair. His eyes were not black as I initially thought, but a very dark shade of brown. They were cold, calculating and questioning. There was no light in them. He looked like he was in his early twenties and walked around with a confidence that didn’t fit his physique.

And something was very wrong with him.

I could feel it, as I could feel the sun on my skin. He was dangerous.

I gave him a curt nod back and this seemed to satisfy Hlér because he turned back to me, no longer concerned about his companion. He didn’t feel the same thing I felt. He was completely at ease with the stranger standing behind him, unaware of the danger. Unaware of the dark power radiating from him.

‘I thought you were going back home today?’ My mouth was dry and I had to tear my eyes from Tane. My nerves calmed down when I focussed on Hlér instead.

‘No, apparently my father wanted to stay a little while longer. Something about political ties, I don’t know, he doesn’t invite me to his meetings.’ This too came out salty, he clearly wanted more. I couldn’t blame him, he was heir to the throne of Nordlys, he should learn how to rule. Yet there was also something noble in the way that Einar was protecting his son from the threat of war. If you could call it that.

‘I take it you are here undercover?’ I nodded at his informal attire, he blushed and tried to strengthen his hat.

‘I wanted to get out of the hotel for a while, got sick of all the angry stares I got from people. Even at the party yesterday people were less than happy to talk to me.’

I could imagine that. This was exactly how things went in Nova. Everybody always knew. Like people had a sixth sense telling them I slept on the street that night. No matter how clean I was or what I wore, they just always knew. And the stares were less than kind. Somehow I wanted to hurt all the people who looked at him like he was the bad-guy. Couldn’t they see the light in his heart? Or the innocence in his eyes? It was unfair and I wanted to comfort him in letting him know I knew exactly how he felt.

I swallowed hard and buried those thoughts deep inside my mind.

‘Well, you’ve come to the right place. The party is right here.’ I grinned at him and felt the need to grab his arm.

‘Come I’ll show you!’ And with Abi on my shoulders, Hlér’s arm in my hand and Tane at our heels we dived deeper into the partying crowd, only slightly forgetting that he was Einar’s son.