Forsaken (The Night Children, Volume 1)

Chapter 7

                                                                     Chapter 7

                                                                       Astra

“Um, sit down down I guess,” Gaidrian instructed. The room was obviously an office, and was decorated just as elaborately as the rest of the house. The only difference was that instead of being meticulously clean, it was cluttered with papers. Maps and diagrams were hung on every wall, and files stuffed with documents covered every surface. Gaidrian pulled a seat out for me and I sat down carefully, not wanting to knock anything over.

It was then that I noticed that we were not alone. Someone, a man, occupied the large chair across from me. He was quite handsome, with pretty pale blue eyes and a strong jaw. That, paired with the silky black hair that feathered his forehead, made me certain that he was related to Gaidrian in some way. Their resemblance was uncanny. He was the kind of man that you would never know how old he was, because he was fit to the point that he didn’t show the tell-tale signs of aging. But his eyes were another story. This man had the eyes of someone who had seen things and done things that only age could bring.

“Astra,” Gaidrian began, sitting in the seat next to me. “This is Richard Grayson. My… my father.” The man’s eyes never left my face, and suddenly an emotion that almost looked like pain crossed his face.

“Nice to meet you sir,” I said uncomfortably, discreetly scooting my chair closer to Gaidrian. When I looked at him out of the corner of my eye, he made sure not to meet my gaze. “I’m sorry… but… please, I just want to know what’s going on.”

“Just wait a moment,” the man, Richard, replied hoarsely. “Just... just let me look at you. Please.”

Weird…

“Dad,” Gaidrian said suddenly. “Maybe now isn’t the time for this.”

“No,” the man said, shaking his head. “No, she has questions, and we have answers.” Then he looked at me and nodded encouragingly.

“Alright, well… where to begin?” I sighed, slouching back in the chair. “What were those… those things that attacked me? What did they do with Jacob? Who are you? How did you find me? Where are we now? When can I go back? Wh-“

“One at a time,” Gaidrian chuckled nervously. “First off, I need you to just listen. This is all going to sound strange and probably crazy to you, but I need you to cooperate for a moment.” I nodded. “Okay. Those things that attacked you? Those were Nightmares. They were hunting you, and one of them took the form of your friend so that it would be easier to lure you away; your friend should be okay. They prey on humans and use their fears to torment them to the point of death. It’s like eating and drinking for them.

“As for me… well, I’m not like other humans. We call ourselves Nightmare Slayers, among other things. We control the shadows in ways that you can only imagine, and we fight the Nightmares. Right now, we’re in Westchester.”

“Westchester! As in Westchester, New York?” I exclaimed, jumping out of my chair and totally forgetting about all the other weird stuff that he’d told me. Gaidrian nodded. “Ohhhh no. Nonononononono. You have to take me back! I have stuff to do! Ballet practice, and school…and… UGH! Just bring me back to L.A.“

“I can’t do that,” Gaidrian said apologetically. “It’s not safe for you there anymore.”

“Why? Because of those things?”

“Yes! Well, no… it’s mainly because of what you are,” He ran a hand through his floppy hair, obviously frustrated.

“What do you mean? What am I?” I demanded. Neither of them answered my question. “You can’t do that! You can’t just drag me from one coast to another and then tell me nothing! You can’t!” The two of them looked at each other sadly. “What? What is it now?”