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The Chief cupped my hand warmly. "How are you doing? You look beautiful."
I leaned back on the dresser, slowly turning myself. The first thing I noticed was his stained fingers. Ink. "I'm okay. And...thank you."
Riv followed behind him entering the room, his glare unnecessarily staring into my soul. Eyeing my leg. At me standing. The small lining of his lips curved down ever so slightly. My energy hummed fuller at his nearness.
"You poor thing, Riv told me how you injured yourself on the way here. I'm sorry you had to go through that. Please, if it isn't too much, I was hoping to welcome you personally and have you for tea."
"Tea?" I asked.
"Yes. We have some time before the ceremony. I'll explain what will happen so you don't have to worry."
I limped slowly with him as he took my arm. But each step with the gem made the pain less agonizing. Still, it wasn't enough to get anywhere.
"Riv. Get her a wheelchair." Riv left the room immediately.
"Oh no, I'm fine you don't have to." I held my hand out.
A wheelchair means someone has to push me, I need to get places on my own.
The Chief chuckled. "Don't be silly. We'll sit here."
I scrunched my eyebrows.
I need to heal faster.
As a servant brought in the tea, the Chief and I sat across from each other at a little round table. He explained the ceremony protocols, how he'll introduce me and that all I had to do was stand and wait.
My mind rattled, studying the Chief from the small life I saw in Riv. This old man was goofy offset, always cracking jokes and making friends with every animal. Yet he was also quite ignorant to the games Riv played to obtain this power.
But more importantly...I knew this man would die tonight.
The air remained cool, the vent humming in the background as our glasses clinked.
"You know Raine," he poured sweet bitter liquid from a porcelain pot into my cup. "I've been Chief here for about twenty-two years." He picked up his cup to blow. "Every time we have the Blood Moon, something strange always happens. Every gift brought to us humbly, and yet we still have those Hunters out there picking at our home."
"People are not so kind," I said in a monotonous voice.
He scratched his beard chuckling. "That's true. This is why we endorse the animals. I can sense it in you too. You believe what we believe."
I gripped the tea in front of me, cupping the warmth between my hands.
I did want to stay here. But I don't believe anything.
"You come here, stumbling through the jungle's thick nature," he continued. "A wall supposed to protect us from them. But I fear it will never be enough."
Where is he going with this?
"Do you believe in spirits, my dear?"
"Spirits?" I tilted my head.
"The moon spirit. The spirit inside the gem."
What? It can't be a spirit...it's from the Dark Continent. It's an actual creature.
"I didn't know."
"When your ancestors took the eyes from us, I prayed and trusted that it happened for a reason. We celebrate the spirit every full moon, and for that, you know what happens?"
I shook my head and leaned forward, intrigued by his words.
"You have always come back on this day. The ones before you have always come back on this Blood Moon."
My eyes widened. "Every Blood Moon?"
Even though it isn't the necklace that's the missing piece?
He chuckled at my reaction. "Yes. The woman before you came back for her own reasons. In fact, she was in love with the Warden."
I gasped squeezing the cup. "What happened?"
He laughed harder, his feathered headpiece falling to the side. "You remind me of her. That woman. She greeted the animals with much love and respect. She held power unlike any other, impressing the Warden himself. However, when I got to know her, I realized it wasn't the treasure in her eyes that made her special. It was her personality. She believed in the goodness of everyone here and out."
I remembered the Warden's words describing our power. Her power. Maybe that's why he helped me. Maybe I'm not weak after all.
I pulled my cup in.
"Where did she go after that? Dad said she didn't come back..."
I glanced at the doorway, a presence catching my attention although the door remained closed.
"And that Raine is what I was getting to. The Blood Moon has always had its comebacks. Our last guard who turned into a wolf took on quite the invincibility. It came with the cost of his human form but he was able to protect us against the Hunters specifically. He wiped out hundreds of Hunters that killed our animals. But, recently I found out there might be two spirits. The gem under the Blood Moon...we believe it's a different spirit. And that the ancestor who accompanied its power, is of the other. Always returning to us. Connected if you will. I created my rules to avoid as much conflict as I could. That the members of this village stay devoted to not upset the Blood Moon spirit as we take gifts. But someone has upset the balance and we don't know who."
I stiffened. The last sentence...was a lie.
"Your grandma told me something. Her last words before she sacrificed herself."
"S-sacrificed?" I held my breath waiting for his answer.
"She said she spoke to the spirit. It was angry. She told me there was no more balance. At that moment, I thought the village was betraying each other, the customs. Harsher consequences were established. More rules are made for every action. My power creates conditions but because I had created so many, my conditions became too vague. People finding more ways to hurt animals, and each other."
I bet there's no rule of an animal hurting a human, which Riv took advantage of.
"I still don't understand why my grandmother had to sacrifice herself."
"There's no clear answer. We don't know specifically. All I know is that the Blood Moon had actually taken much more from the Guard. Maybe our village was going to be wiped out. Maybe the power was to break right then and there. But she selflessly gave herself up for the Guard. Or maybe to pass on her gift sooner."
She was just like me and must have had a plan. She looked at the overall picture that no one else would understand. But would I sacrifice myself for a stranger?
I laughed looking down, my throat in pain. My heart aching at her sacrifice. Her life disappearing, not returning to mother.
Of course, I would. I buried my head in my hand.
No, maybe she fell weak to her gift. Maybe that's why we were chosen to get this treasure, these Eyes. Because we would give it up in an instant. We're weak to the real power.
"Time is of the essence Raine." He extended his hand over the table. I met his gaze. "I mended a new rule for you. One of the many hundred we have which has a condition to punish those who go against it. But I leave you this one that I made, the moment I found out." He handed me a paper. "I offer an exception to you as a passing gift."
Found out what?
I took the paper from his hand and read it.
"Through His passing, the one who holds the 'Moon's gift' is to assume the value to that of the Chief, and is exempt to bend all other laws."
I stared at the words. Thoughts crossed my mind from every angle in every direction.
"I trust you. The moment I heard you were here. The moment I knew what would become of me. My laws will strengthen soon, to an unbreakable condition."
To bend every rule...through his passing. He knows he will die. And his Nen after death will be re-amplified.
Riv cannot harm me anymore...but his animals can.
I fiddled with the red silk wrapped around my waist. This changed things. I had an advantage.
When I glanced up to thank him, his eyes fell to the tea in front of me then to the paper. I dropped the paper into the tea, letting the sweet smell flow to my nose, as the white edges sunk within.
I didn't drink my tea for a reason. I saw it in Riv's life. He had poisoned it prior with his chameleon dragon.
The Chief chuckled again, then coughed into his elbow. "I am glad to have tea with you."
My gaze softened. "The feeling is mutual." My heart was pounding. I had a new purpose and more hope.
He stood up and bowed. I held up my hands. "You don't have to do that."
He smiled. "Of course I do. It's an honor." He straightened up then headed for the door. "Riv, escort her to the balcony. It's time."
Riv trudged into the room, his head ducking to get through the doorway, the Chief leaving. I searched around him.
"No wheelchair?" I asked gripping the sides of my chair.
"No. I'm carrying you." He scowled. His hair was pinned back, long, and combed to perfection.
"What?!" I stood up on both legs, hiding the searing pain. "I can go just fine."
"Don't push it."
I looked away.
The Chief's rule won't become official until he dies...I have to play it safe.
"Right," I frowned.
He picked me up, carrying me bridal style into the hall. My face was red as guards walked past. But to my surprise, they didn't sneak a glance. Their shoulders slightly pulled back, their spine straightening at Riv's presence. Every moment made my nose crinkle, my eyebrows cringe. His skin that pressed against me only made my stomach churn. Disgusting aura trickling all over me.
This man just crushed my leg, had killed the Chief and is now carrying me like a broken doll.
I turned my head to him. "You were listening. I could feel your little gecko on the door."
He stared ahead. "I'm impressed. No one's ever detected him."
I touched the gem on his chest. For a moment, both Riv's and my eyes simmered with energy. I quickly summoned it to my leg, attempting to enhance it more as I went. In an hour, I might be able to take more steps normally.
Wait a second...I could take the gem out of his chest right now. I could take it and run- oh yeah. I can't do much in this condition. I need my friends.
"I'm surprised you haven't tried to escape," he continued. We walked past a wide span of glossy stairs with red carpet draping down the middle, connecting to the floor below us. I took note of the floor I was possibly on. "I know you are capable of more from the looks of your leg. The main reason why I'm having you locate without a wheelchair."
"Why would I escape, when I came to see you." The bottom of my robe swung under his arms with each step. Only my left leg was bandaged, my bones still not healed. Without surgery or proper healing, I knew this was going to be troublesome. But I had a plan to get around. I just needed Ahmad. Maybe even Hisoka. For now, every small thump we encountered through the hall made my eyes water.
"Your friends have also come to see me." Then his pupils turned a hellish red, sending chills through my spine. Because the words that left his lips flashed in my eyes. My body went still. "And I'll kill them all by tonight." He leaned down to my ear. My heart was racing.
"One down, five to go."
I inhaled a sharp breath. My eyes widened, unblinking. My heart skipped a beat as my blood pulsed irregularly through my veins. Goosebumps slashed my skin. My jaw dropped slack.
He's not lying...
We entered the room behind the thrones. I didn't know who was in there, nor did I care as a sudden shade of gloom wafted through me. Emptiness encasing my body and mind.
M-my friends...
I balled my fist looking towards the floor as Riv set me down, hovering above me, indulging in my reaction. We stood there for a few moments as my mind ran through the possibility of losing one of my friends. Something that didn't seem possible until now. My brain rattled, my heart thumped wildly. The air snapped.
My vision spiked, Riv reached out to grab my shoulder, but I jerked my head up, my eyes pinning him with Blood Lust.
Riv choked on his breath, retracting his hand. But it was too late, my arm snatched his forearm in a gut-wrenching crack. I slowly stepped closer, returning only a glint of my intentions within my eyes. The gem that sat so near only electrified me, my muscles twitching to do more.
I bore my eyes into him, hushing everything around me, the background fading until not even my energy made a sound. Sweat dripped down his chin. I leaned in, my lips hovering by his ear, whispering words that rolled off my tongue so naturally.
"If I find out that you've killed just one of my friends...you'll be buried in your grave...right then and there."
I finally released him and our tension zoomed back into reality. Steam left my nose. I slowly adjusted to the room, curious by the other presence I felt. There were in fact a few guards. Two stationed on the side of each curtain, and one by the door entrance. Their faces were horrified, stricken as if they saw a ghost. Their bodies trembled slightly.
Riv retrieved a neutral face then quickly left the room, his broken forearm hanging to the side. He, no doubt, needed to cover it. I stood in place in disbelief, but I couldn't contemplate anything as the Chief walked in with open arms. It was time to start the ceremony.
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