Keepers of the Moon

Chapter 13. The King (5)

Blood rushed through my ears, my face was wet from tears and I was covered in white dust. Everything around me was chaos and destruction. I looked at the two men, who had covered their faces. The only thing I could see were their cold, blue eyes. There was no honour in them, no remorse. My blood turned cold, fear nearly took over. I’d seen eyes like this before. For a moment I was blinded by the vision of Mere laying lifeless on the ground while sharp bursts of a gun pierced my ears.

And my skin.

The one closest to me looked at me for a moment and then pointed his weapon at me. He mentioned for me to stand up, he didn’t shoot. Not yet.

I obeyed and stood up, very slowly. I rubbed my painful knuckles and took a shaky breath. The fighting was still going on, I could hear more gunshots coming from the castle. I wondered if Ben was still there and if the King was safe. For a moment I dared to look backward and saw the bus with Abi on it disappear behind the trees. At least Abi was safe. That was all that mattered. She needed to have a future, that was the only thing that mattered right now.

‘Idigo?’ He had a heavy accent and I barely understood what he was saying. I looked at him incuriously.

‘You Idigo?’ He pointed again at me. His friend was still holding the weapon which was aimed at my face. Now that the question was repeated it started to dawn on me that he was asking if I was Indigo. They were looking for me. I stared at him in disbelief, while my mind started racing.

What if I told him yes? Would they take me? Would they kill me? Was Hlér looking for me? Or was it his father?

What if I told him no? Would they just take me out and be done with it?

Both options seemed equally dangerous. I didn’t want to fall into the hands of Nordlys again. I had been on the receiving end of their violence before, that happening again was my worst nightmare. Unable to answer I stood there, frozen on the spot.

The other stepped closer to me and started yelling. He shot of a bullet into the ground next to my feet. The spray of rocks ricocheted against my shins and I jumped backward. I held up my arms in defence while I could barely control my panic. He aimed again, this time at my chest. He wasn’t going to wait for an answer, he had already decided. I could see it in his eyes. There was nothing I could do.

Then two things happened at once.

A short burst of gunshots made both men turn and then they just collapsed. It was almost like someone had pulled the plug. I was looking at the two bodies in disbelief when another grabbed me from behind and started pulling me toward the castle. Filled with panic I started hitting the arm, only to realise that it was someone in a green uniform. She was carrying a weapon, which she held awkwardly in her other hand. I stopped fighting when I saw her fearful face, but determined eyes. She looked at me and nodded curtly, no words came out. It was a silent understanding.

She had saved my life.

Once I stopped fighting she let go of me and pushed the weapon into my hands. She went on to grab one from the dead guys in front of me. With able fingers she armed it and then nudged me to follow her. There were still bullets flying everywhere. We ducked behind a low wall while they continued to bombard us. The wall kept us safe, but not for long. I’d seen the power of these tiny flying killing machines, I was rubbing the skin underneath my jumper, feeling the still painful scar. It was a just a random movement, which I had caught myself doing whenever I felt threatened.

Burst were coming from the castle and our assault was temporarily halted as our opponents were distracted. The girl saw this as an opening and she peeked over the wall. She aimed without any hesitation and started shooting more or less blindly. I looked at her in blind admiration and fear. Because I knew that I had to do the same if we wanted to get out of here alive.

I needed to get out of here alive.

For Abi.

I had a promise to keep.

After a few seconds of deep, conscientious doubt, I too looked over the wall and started emptying the magazine onto the enemy. All my hate and resentment were gathered in that simple motion. Something inside me shattered, while fire replaced it. I couldn’t stop, I had to finish this. This was all that mattered, it was all that remained.

Revenge.

Justice.

Hatred.

They’d killed Mere.

They hunted us down like animals.

They tried to kill Abi.

They tried to kill me.

But I was done being hunted. I was coming for them, I would end them. I would end Einar. Even if it was the last thing I'd do. He needed to die for what he did to me.

The gun slammed against my shoulder with each taken shot, I didn’t even feel the pain.My body was just numb, taking in each blast like it was nothing. Little puffs of dust came off me when I took a shot. I couldn’t see if I hit anything. But the repeated fire into the enemy’s direction kept them occupied enough for the people shooting from the castle to finish them of. I saw their bodies crumple to the ground, saw them hiding behind whatever they could find. I could see the blood pouring from their skin as justice prevailed. My skin was burning, my head was spinning with emotions I couldn’t place. I was screaming, but my voice was drowned out by the loud thunderous sounds of the guns blaring in the rain.

The garden had changed into a warzone with bodies from either side laying everywhere. Rain was falling relentlessly and the castle was shrouded in thick black smoke plumes and dust. The western tower was gone and the entrance hall was laying scattered onto the greenhouses next to it. The glass had shattered, all the lights were out. The plants had been crushed by the debris and I knew that Fergus would be devastated if he knew that they destroyed his garden. I looked at all the destruction and felt something I’d never experienced before. It was as if someone had violated my home, it felt like I lost a friend, someone I loved. Even within such a short time I had become attached to this place. These people took me in, Caledonia took care of me in a way that Nova never did. Nova was not my home, it had never been. But the country that had been taken from me was still inside my heart. I truly felt like I belonged here. And not just in Caledonia, but also at Gaeilaí castle. These people were my home.

And now Einar wanted to take that from me too.

‘We have to go! Second wave is coming!’ The girl pointed at the far side of the garden, where I could just see more trucks pulling in. Before they’d even come to a complete stop men were already jumping out and running toward the castle. Weapons in hand, bullets flying.

The girl, who I just realised looked a little like Mere, pulled me back on my feet and we bolted to the pile of rubble that was once the main entrance. Rocks, trees and concrete was exploding around us where bullets unleashed their anger onto the world. We just kept running, adrenaline coursing through our bodies, toward the false safety of the castle.