Moonlight Throne (Gazellian Series #6)

Chapter 9

"The light drained you..."

Hindi ko man gustong magpabuhat kay ama, wala na akong nagawa nang isampa niya ako sa kanyang likuran.

"And my eldest son, my future king is still King Thaddeus' little boy..." he laughed as he slowly walked in the middle of the forest.

"You will embarrass me, father. You should put me down once that we reached the edge of the forest."

"Why? You are still my young boy. Tulad nga ng sabi ni Zen kaunti lang ang agwat tangkad mo sa kanya."

Humigpit ang yakap ko sa leeg ni ama at mas inihilig ko ang sarili ko sa balikat niya.

"You're such a bully."

"I love you too, son." Marahang lumingon sa akin si ama at hinalikan niya ang buhok ko.

I hid my smile on his shoulders, and I happily closed my eyes. "Good night, Dastan."

"I am sorry for your new haircut, father." I whispered

"And that ruined our father and son scene! Your mother will kill me for this! Help me to apologize, Dastan." I laughed with him. Gusto ko pang makipagbiruan kay ama pero unti-unti na akong hinihila ng antok.

**

Sinabi sa akin ni ama na mas makabubuti na itago ko muna ang abilidad kong humawak ng liwanag. That ability was rare for vampires. At hindi nais ni ama na sa murang edad ko'y bigyan na ako ng interes ng nakararami dahil sa kakayahan ko.

"You will use it at the right time, son."

"Yes, father."

My hard training didn't end when my real power got revealed. It was just the beginning. Buong akala ko ay mas madalas akong magkakaroon ng ensayo kasama si ama na mag-isa, ngunit nang nagsisimula na rin higit na magka-isip si Zen kaming dalawa ay sabay na.

Our father taught us how to combine our powers easily and use it as a powerful attack. Ilang beses na akong iritadong lumilingon kay Zen sa tuwing basta na lang siya umaatake, paulan siya nang paulan ng matutulis na yelo kay ama hanggang sa maubos na ang lakas niya.

"Zen! Wait! I said listen to me!"

Hindi siya nakikinig. Nakatuwid iyong mga braso niya habang hinahabol niya ang galaw ni ama na pinaglalaruan na lang siya.

Gigil na gigil na siya kay ama, and our father is enjoying it!

"Zen, you idiot!"

I gave him a slap on his hands with my blood whip. Hindi naman iyon masyadong malakas. Enough to remove him nonsense attention.

Umawang ang bibig niya at humarap siya sa akin. "We're allies, Dastan, remember? Bakit ako ang inatake mo?" He asked innocently.

I mentally slapped my forehead. "Sinadya ko."

Our father chuckled from a distance. "Alright. Talk about your strategy. I'll wait here. I might hear your plans..." nang-aasar pa na sabi ni ama.

He walked towards a big tree, he leaned on it while watching us happily.

Lumapit ako kay Zen. "Zen, what our father wants is coordination. Wala tayo no'n..."

I couldn't agree with what our father had said before. Malaki pa rin ang agwat ng taas namin ni Zen. Bahagya pa akong lumuhod para magtama ang mga mata namin.

"Listen to me..."

I briefed Zen quickly about out next attack. Nakikita ko naman siyang ilang beses tumatango sa sinasabi ko, hindi lang ako sigurado kung matatandaan niya nga iyon lahat.

"Clear? Ask me anything..."

"What if I killed father? I think I am already powerful." Tanong ni Zen. He looked so serious.

Biglang tumawa si ama sa malayo. He's listening!

Nagsimula na muli siyang maglakad papalapit sa amin ni Zen. Sabay dumiin ang mga mata namin ni Zen kay ama. "Yes. We might kill him, so let's be easy with our father, Zen."

Kapwa kami tumango sa sinabi ko. Muling natawa si ama sa aming magkapatid.

"You are really my sons..."

"Let's go, Zen."

Bigla kaming tumakbo ni Zen sa magkaibang direksyon, ngunit may iisa ang dulong pinupunto ng takbo namin.

I planned to trap father with our connected power. Pinag-isa na namin iyon ni Zen bago kami naghiwalay at tumakbo para gumawa ng maliit na bilog kung saan hindi makakawala si ama.

Once that he's inside our power, he's weaker than us, maybe? Or we have the advantage. I am not really sure, but we can always try.

Ilang beses lumingon sa amin si ama habang mabilis kaming tumatakbo ni Zen sa paligid niya. Hindi niya maintindihan kung kanino niya isusunod ang kanyang mga mata.

I planned to attack him one by one at first. Iyon ang ginawa namin ni Zen, pagkakatapos kong ihampas ang latigo kay ama at nagagawa niyang ilagan, sumusunod agad ang mga yelo ni Zen.

Tulad ng inaasahan nagagawa ni amang makagalaw na parang hindi siya nakakulong sa aming dalawa. Our next attack was our combine power, pero halos matulala kami ni Zen nang makitang hindi man lang nahihirapan si ama samantalang kami ay nauubusan na agad na kapangyarihan.

"Wow! Father is cheating, I think..." humahanga at naiinis na sabi ni Zen dahil hindi na naman siya makatama.

But that wasn't the end of my plan. Hinayaan kong akalain ni ama na tanging mga kapanyarihan lang namin ang hahayaan naming umatake sa kanya, but when I went inside the circle and caught his attention, father pulled his sword and faced me.

Wrong move.

Susugod pa rin sana ako pero may pwersang nagtulak sa akin palabas sa bilog na ginawa namin ni Zen. Kaya naiwan sila ni ama sa loob ng bilog na kapangyarihan.

Tumilapon ang katawan ko, pero kitang-kita ko na makakatamad na si Zen dahil sa sobrang daming yelong lumilipad ngayon sa ere na nakatuon kay ama.

My little brother is too desperate!

Bumagsak ang katawan ko sa lupa, halos hindi agada ko makagalaw. That was too powerful, father. But what made me surprise was the sudden roar behind me. And when I glanced back, I cursed under my breath.

"Shit!"

Alam kong hindi ako aabot kahit mag-angat ako ng kamay. The beast of the forest will snap my body into half.

"K-Kuya!"

It was a loud and clear shout from my little brother's voice, and suddenly the beast that was about to lure me was no longer breathing, it became a beasticle with lots of sharp ice on its body.

When I glanced back at Zen, his arms were extended and he's heaving heavily. Wala na siyang pakialam kay ama na siyang totoong kalaban namin.

And that was when I first realize that I have a powerful knight or my own general behind my back, my little brother, Zen.

My father was smiling with great satisfaction on his face.