Moonhunter

Chapter 19 .:Fallen:.

Chapter 19

Fallen

                “Aldric, cast Oblitero.”

                Aldric stared at his master in surprise. To use such a spell in a situation like this one was strange. Was she finally losing it after so many sleepless nights? She’s already been hallucinating, he thought. “Luna, that’s Kain’s neck you’re aiming at,” he told her.

                Luna’s eyebrow twitched in amusement at his apparently obliviousness. “Cast Oblitero,” she replied, her teeth grating against each other.

                Biting his lip in anticipation, he said the incantation and put his hand palm up. Using the spell came more naturally to him now, despite it being such a high level spell. The change was not immediately noticeable—at least, not to Aldric, who was looking at the ground.

                “Who are you?” Luna inquired coolly, not moving to put her weapon away.

                “Teaching such a spell to a child… quite the master, aren’t you?” The snide voice wasn’t Kain’s deep drawl, nor was it as kind. There was a mature pitch in it that made the owner of the voice much older as well. Aldric looked up and realized that Kain had been replaced by someone else—much, much older.

                “Who are you?” she repeated, moving Moondancer slightly so that it placed a very shallow cut on his neck. It was enough to draw a few droplets of blood, but no more than that. “Why are you pretending to be Kain?”

                The man laughed coldly. “Kain? The child who knows nothing, but pretends to know everything?” He gave her a harsh glare. “He is too grateful to the dratted Moonhunters. Grateful, when he should despise them.”

                A shiver when down Luna’s spine. Normally, she would have been affronted to such words. However, there was something else than just anger in his voice. She knew it, for she had heard it countless times in Sicham’s voice whenever he spoke of Bellatoria. She was afraid of the reason why. The storm in the man’s eyes was almost self-explanatory. There was more to his anger than just lineage. “Ald—“

                A blur of movement caught her gaze, causing her to look sideways. She frowned. If she wasn’t mistaken, the person who had blown by was none other than Quincy. Was there something amiss in the village? She wasn’t the only one who had noticed, though. She could tell that the villagers around her were whispering to each other in worry. The elder regained composure first and muttered angry words about Quincy. Amidst his curses, she caught the phrase “ungrateful orphan”.

                “That’s a bit harsh, isn’t it, elder?” Luna wondered. “After all, Quincy’s the one in charge of security here, isn’t she?”

                The elder glared at her with intense dislike. “What would you know? You’re an outsider.”

                “Is it because she’s a girl? Or because she doesn’t have a drop of R’mirr blood in her?”

                He looked startled at this. “How did you know that girl isn’t R’mirr—“

                “It’s quite obvious, isn’t it?” she shot back. “Of the Hybridus here, she’s one of the strongest, even though she’s so young. Yet… yet, you’re so contemptuous of her. More so than the others. She’s not R’mirr, but she’s easily one of the strongest here. Isn’t that it?”