The red siren went off and chaos set in at the luau. The crowd ran screaming into the Village, running over whoever was in front of them. I watched that horror movie scene like I wasn't there, fear paralyzed me. I saw that it was real when an adrenaline rush invaded my stomach as Zyba and Dakota pushed me along with the crowd on their way to the Village.
“RUN, LOLA !!!!”
I did as they said. I hurried back to the village in the middle of shouts and cries of despair. I tried to look for Nefarious, but he had stayed behind, helping people come out of there. In the rush, I ended up getting lost from Dakota and Zyba, there wasn’t much light because all the fireflies fled. I was in the middle of Amethyst Avenue, heart pounding, looking everywhere, searching for Zyba, Dakota, or anyone who could help me. I should have paid more attention to this part of the lesson about the moon.
That's when I looked up and saw the red moon darkening the Village. Now it was even darker, the stars went out, the sky was black. The smell of blood overflowing from the moon was everywhere. As a sea of people passed by, I saw on the horizon, near the forest, shapes of men in smoke, opaquer than the night, with red eyes, flying toward the crowd. I heard even more horrendous and chilling laughter and screams coming from them. I can't say in words what that sound made me feel, it was like a chill in my soul. One of these figures managed to catch a man trying to reach the village walls. He was paralyzed and enveloped in that smoke. His screams of agony terrified the crowd around me even more. I watched that, petrified by dread. Someone found me in that mess, took my hand and I was pulled in a jolt.
“You can't stand here. We have to run!”
Viggo had found me in that chaos, we ran hand in hand to wherever he was going. At this point I could only think of running.
That bunch of man-shaped smoke was getting closer and closer. Few people still ran, everyone had gone to their homes. Distressed, he turned down the first street on the left.
“We don't have time to get home, get in here.”
Between one stone house and another was a narrow deep space where two people could hardly fit. We got in there. I leaned against the wall, he was in front of me four fingers from my nose, facing me. Our gasping breath mingled in that small dark space.
“Be quiet, look at me. The jackals are here.”
Of course, how could I forget? They were the death jackals. These horrible beings take prisms to hell.
The red siren stopped. The Village plunged into anguished silence. All were locked up in their homes without any faint noise. There were only ominous shouts, laughter, and rumbling from the group of jackals who roamed the streets of the Kingdom looking for prisms. All the doors had a protective potion, so jackals sought what they could on the outside because they couldn't get into any home. Being outside was to chill the eyebrow of fear.
We heard something approach, Viggo made a shield of himself and covered me against the wall. I couldn't resist, I hugged him. He hugged me back. I could hear his heart racing in that silence. I was scared, but in that hug, I could face anything. I closed my eyes. A jackal was scanning the street where we were and as he approached, I heard something. It was not with my ears. Inside me, I heard a hum that made my hand freeze. The necklace lit on my chest, the purple amethyst was alive again, but it was covered by Viggo's body.
When I felt the jackal a few feet from us, I opened my eyes on impulse. From the small gap, I saw the figure slowly passing in the street. It was a polluted, condensed smoke, shaped like a person, where the eyes looked like two red headlights. I felt a twinge in my chest. It was as if something had struck me and in a reflex a grunt came out of my mouth, muffled in my savior's shoulder. The figure stopped where it was, I think it heard me. We held our breath. I could feel my heart beating in my jugular. We stood motionless, embracing, waiting for what could be our end. I closed my eyes tightly. I couldn't think of anything, my mind was empty. When a noise of cans being turned over by its partners on another street caught the attention of the jackal, it turned and disappeared into the darkness of the street.
I smelled Viggo's sweat, he smelled mine. Now it was just the sound of our gasping breaths. A burst of adrenaline came through my body as he met my eyes. His stare came down to my mouth. I felt his hand go up my spine, into my hair. I could not breathe anymore. It was uncontrollable. Like two attracted magnets, he pinned me to the wall and wrapped me in a thirsty kiss. I grabbed his vest and glued his body to mine. Desire burned hotter than any bonfire in us, it was a few seconds that would last forever.
We were interrupted by the sound of the green siren from the top of the tower. We looked at each other. It was like a shower of reality.
“I need to find Gyda.”
That sentence hit me like a punch in the face. He was still worried about his girlfriend, not me. Viggo turned away and disappeared toward the street. It hurt more than being eaten by a jackal. It took me a moment to process that scene, when someone calling for me got me out of my trance.
I needed to find Nefarious. This was not expected for a luau night, it turned a celebration into a count of damage. I emerged from the dark space, finding Zyba in the Amethyst Avenue. Dakota immediately appeared.
“You are alright! Where did you get in?” asked Zyba.
“I am fine. Where is Nefarious?” I got away from the subject.
“He must have returned to the training field, come on!”
The moon turned yellow again, reflecting back on the stone streets of the Village. I heard doors opening and people coming out to the streets. The fireflies came back distressed, illuminating where people were. The cry of a wife desperate in not finding her husband reminded me that the damage could be far worse.
We ran out of the Village and found a scenario of destruction. The jackals ended with the structure set up for the party. The smell of blood was still strong there. A hardened lava approached Aratama. Nefarious and the Kingdom keepers were looking for the missing ones. A man cried desperately on his knees, his son of five eclipses was gone.
“Lola! Are you alright? I didn't find you in the mess.”
“Professor Nefarious, how many were taken?” Zyba asked breathlessly.
“Four, by my count. Two Keepers, Mrs. Karlberg, and Ulf, son of the farmer Jeremiah. He is desolate.”
“I can't believe it,” Dakota lamented, she knew the boy.
“There is nothing more to do for today, the Keepers will guard and search the place. We better go home, tomorrow we'll clean up all this damage.”
The four of us returned, Zyba and Dakota to their homes, Nefarious and I to the castle.
“How could I allow this? My fault! Mine! We should have kept the luau behind the castle. Now, four of ours.” Nefarious’s voice was shaking, he covered his face with his hands.
“Professor, don't blame yourself, please! How would you know?” I didn't know what to say to comfort him.
“I am responsible for the Kingdom. I left few Keepers on duty. I should have prepared some spells. I was careless, I was a fool! The last attack was when they took Steen, our Keeper, so many eclipses ago.”
“There are things we cannot predict, Professor, do not blame yourself. That was the scariest thing I ever saw in my life.”
“That was the red moon, Lola, as I explained to you in Kingdom Basic Principles class.”
(That's the part that I didn't pay attention to, dammit!).