Chapter Twenty-Six: Broken Moon
782 Words
I stopped ten feet away from the three strangers. The woman in the center watched me with sharp, calculating eyes. The two men beside her kept their hands near hidden weapons.
“You’re from the Broken Moon Clan,” I said. My voice carried more weight than before. The ancient power made it deeper, almost resonant.
The woman smiled thinly. “Smart. I’m Selene. We serve the old ways — the true ways. The guardian told us you were coming.”
She took a slow step forward. “The safe haven you’re looking for? It’s real. But only those who prove worthy are allowed inside. The anomaly must be tested.”
Zara’s voice suddenly rang out from above. “Arian, don’t!”
I glanced up. She and Max were standing at the cave entrance, watching intently. I raised a hand to tell them to stay back.
“What kind of test?” I asked Selene.
She gestured toward a metal case one of the men was carrying. “Simple. We need a sample of your blood. Just a little. The guardian wants to confirm the old blood truly flows in you. Once we verify, we’ll escort all three of you safely north.”
The orb in my pocket grew hot again. The ancient voice whispered:
"They lie. Blood is never just blood.”
I stared at Selene. “And if I refuse?”
The two men tensed. Selene’s smile never wavered. “Then we take it by force. And your friends up there… they might not survive the attempt.”
Anger flared inside me. The glowing patterns on my arms brightened.
Max’s voice boomed down the mountain. “Try it and die.”
Selene laughed softly. “The Anomaly has loyal pets. How sweet.” She opened the case herself. Inside was a syringe made entirely of silver and a small glass vial. “One drop, Arian. That’s all we need.”
I could feel the trap closing. If they got my blood, they could track me anywhere. Study me. Weaponize whatever was inside me.
But if I fought now, more of the Order might come. We were still too close to the Dead Zone.
I made my choice.
“Fine,” I said. “One drop.”
I stepped closer and held out my arm. Selene’s eyes gleamed with hunger as she picked up the silver syringe. The moment the needle touched my skin, pain shot through me like fire. The ancient power reacted violently. The glowing patterns flared so bright that Selene flinched.
Something was wrong.
The syringe began to melt in her hand. Black veins spread up her arm from where she was holding it.
“What did you do?!” she screamed.
“I didn’t do anything,” I replied calmly. “The old blood did.”
The two men drew their weapons — silver blades etched with runes.
Zara and Max were already racing down the mountain path.
Chaos erupted.
I grabbed Selene by the throat before she could react and lifted her off the ground. “You came for my blood? Tell your clan the Anomaly is not a tool.”
I threw her backward. She crashed into one of the men.
Max arrived like a storm, tackling the other man to the ground. Zara moved in fast, disarming Selene with a vicious s***h across her hand.
The fight was short but brutal.
When it ended, all three members of the Broken Moon Clan lay unconscious on the ground. We took their weapons, maps, and the melted syringe.
Zara looked shaken. “They were never going to help us, were they?”
“No,” I said. “They wanted to use me. Just like the Order.”
Max examined one of the maps. “This shows a route north. But it warns about something called ‘The Veil’ near the safe haven. Whatever that is.”
I stared at the unconscious woman. The ancient power inside me felt colder now. More demanding.
The voice returned, clearer than ever:
"The first sacrifice has been offered. More will be required. The closer you get to the haven, the more you will lose.”
I looked at Zara and Max — the only two people I had left in this world.
“I won’t lose you,” I said quietly. “No matter what the old blood wants.”
Zara took my hand. “Then we face it together.”
We left the Broken Moon Clan members alive but stripped of weapons and continued north along the hidden path.
The mountains grew steeper.
And with every step, I felt the ancient power demanding more.
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To be continued…
- Writer
