Keepers of the Moon

Chapter 11. Water (2)

‘Are you okay?’ Hlér words came from far away, my ears were ringing and I could hear my blood rushing to my brain. I shouldn’t be here.

I opened my mouth to say something to Hlér, but I couldn’t find the words to say. I realised I looked so lost and there was nothing Hlér could do to help me.

‘Indigo?’

I was turning around, unable to deal with the guilt and hatred. I needed to go. Hlér grabbed my arm, just before I was out of his reach. His strong fingers closed around my wrist and tried to pull me back.

‘Where are you going?’ There was panic in his voice. It was such an odd sensation that I turned around to look at him. The pain in his eyes was putting more strain on my already whirling emotions.

Still no words would form, yet now I started shaking with the anticipation that I needed to hurt Hlér in more ways than one to get away from him.

‘Are you bailing on my son, my love?’ The heavy, booming voice came from behind me. I froze on the spot. I had never heard his voice before and it was unlike anything I could’ve imagined. I would’ve thought that his voice sounded raspy and evil, that his violent nature would radiate from it. However his voice was deep and pleasant, soothing even. It was still enough to turn my insides into a whirling liquid, but I couldn’t help but lose some of the tension that had been building up.

‘No… I-I didn’t mean to…’

He smiled a genuine smile at me and his eyes were the same as Hlér’s. Bright blue and piercing. Though that was also where the resemblance between father and son ended. Because where Hlér was blond and had soft facial features, his father’s hair was mostly white and had a heavy set jaw and a larger nose. His beard was neatly kempt and was almost red, though streaks of white hair betrayed that the King was getting older. Hlér looked very short next to his father and he was build nothing like him. Only now I realised that Hlér took after his mother, which was why I could be around him and forget where he came from. I scolded myself for letting it come this far, yet there was a little voice inside my head that was happy that I could see Hlér for who he was and not for where he came from.

‘I am sure that you have heard a lot about me at Gaeilaí castle, though I can assure you only half of it is true.’ He bellowed and put his hand on my shoulder. I tensed up and shallowed away the tears that wanted to come out. I wanted to kill him. I really did and I would enjoy it. I swerved away from him, so that his hand fell of my shoulder. His fingers still burned on my skin and I bit my lip even harder. I could feel his eyes staring at me, but I avoided them. Afraid that he would know who I was, when he looked me in the eye.

‘Come, the sailing contest is about as much fun as the royal gala. Though this is much more exciting.’ Unable to move he led me onto the ship, his hand back on my shoulder. It burned and even after he released me, I could still feel him. With a clenched jaw I let Hlér take me to the bow, away from King Einar who was steering the ship. And all of my hopes of getting of this ship evaporated when the mooring lines were tossed and we left for the bay. The sun was no longer welcome and it was beating at me with its unrelenting light, Hlér looked as lost as I felt. No matter what he did or said, my tension didn’t go away.

‘Are you okay? This is the second time you’ve been acting weird around my father.’

‘Yeah, I’m fine.’ My voice was strained with effort and even I could hear the fear in it.

‘You keep telling me this, but you’re not!’ He was hinging on anger now, because he couldn’t get through to me. Yet he knew that ‘my friend’ was in the hospital because of what his father had done, or at least he suspected it. Why be so upset that I didn’t really fancy seeing him here? It was unfair of Hlér to think that I would be comfortable around his father, even though he didn’t know my history.

‘I am worried about my friend and the people at the castle are suspecting your father had something to do with it,’ I said through gritted teeth, unable to keep my own anger at bay. I knew it was dumb to be saying this on the very ship where Einar was at the helm. But I didn’t really care, I was done being scared. Yet fear still coursed through my body like a poisonous snake. 

Hlér looked at me in silence, incredulous yet guilty. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again and tried to focus on the gathering boats in the bay. He eyes however lingered, unfocussed, in the distance.

‘Do you believe that?’ He said after a while. The boats, sloops and yachts were now floating mindlessly in the swell. A set of coloured sails could be seen in the distance, near a large red buoy. A large array of yellow buoys were floating in the bay, where I knew the sailboats had to manoeuvre around before eventually returning to the red buoy. The first to complete the lap would be the winner of the contest. It was a very large lap which would encompass almost the entire bay. One of the yellow buoys was floating happily in front of us, we would have the best seats in the house for this part of the race. There were several parts in the lap that had significantly higher waves than the other parts, I wondered if this had something to do with some hidden shallows and if the keels of the boats would be able to pass them without stranding. The sun was still relentless and shimmered all the way down the bay over the waves. The Cuillin above Gaeilaí castle were greener than I’d ever seen them before and all the snow that had accumulated on the tops was gone. From here I could see the light reflecting from a thin, but high waterfall. The town looked quiet, yet colourful. On the other side of the bay high mountains rose from the water, with large rugged cliffs and dangerous crashing waves. The black stone looked menacing even in when bathed in sunlight. A cold feeling of dread clenched my heart, when I recognised the cliff from my dream.

‘You didn’t answer my question.’

I sighed and forced myself to look at Hlér. ‘Because you wouldn’t like the answer.’

He looked hurt and it hurt me to see him like this. It wasn’t his fault that his father was evil. He had no say in the matter at all. But I wasn’t so sure anymore whether Hlér was as innocent as he looked. What if he was in on it? What if he knew what had hurt Mo Bhean? What if his father had filled him with lies about Caledonia? Would he see me then as the enemy? Would he be able to fight in this war against us? Yesterday I saw the first clear image that war was upon us and that there was no stopping it anymore. As far as I was concerned, Nordlys had already attacked.

‘How can you be so sure?’ There was something more to this question, an accusation. Like it was my fault I was doubting them. But this time I wouldn’t give him a straight answer. It somehow felt better to remain silent about the drawing of Tane on Mo Bhean’s desk. It was better if they didn’t know about the connection we made. Better to keep them guessing.

‘I just know.’ I tore my eyes off of him and focussed on the boats again. Through large speakers on a giant yacht close to the start sounded a beaming voice. Though the heavy accent and the wind made it impossible to hear what he was saying. Cheers from various directions indicated that he was naming the contestants and King Einar cheered with everybody else. This dangerous, evil man was enjoying himself during a feast of union, while preaching war. Another wave of hatred surged through me and I had to steady myself on the rail. Water splashed up as a wave hit the bow, I tasted the salt on my lips and felt the cool water on my skin. It was soothing and calming.