Chapter 21: Enemy behind the mask
The shadows of the passing clouds danced slowly across the moon, giving a shifting light on the scene before my eyes. All eyes were on me, surprised by the sudden appearance of glistening arrows illuminated by green lights.
My chest was heaving rapidly, beads of sweat trickling down my temples, and the screeching sound of the tightening sling against the wooden bow felt overwhelming as my body trembled.
Hindi ko tinanggal ang mga mata ko at ang panang nakatutuok sa babaeng nasa unahan ng palasyo habang ramdam ko na ang atensyon ng lahat—maging si Eyah.
"Thank you," I whispered inside Tobias's mind when he saved the women from the wooden platform.
"Sinong pakialamera ang nangahas—" her brows creased when she couldn't recognize me.
She was about to give me her whole attention— probably an attack when I heard words and movement.
Two men stepped forward, one bent his knees and threw one of his fists on the ground which turned into ice, creating a crack and icy mist around us, while the other one had a sudden rose flower in his hand, twirling it on his chest.
"You can't lay a finger on her," said the man with a rose.
"Not a chance," sabi ng lalaking gumawa ng yelo.
Napahinga ako nang maluwag nang mawala na ang atensyon sa akin ng lahat. Hindi rin nagtagal ay dumating na rin sina Seth at Divina, napatingala na ako sa himpapawid dahil sa laki ng itim na pakpak ng bampirang iyon.
Hindi muna ako umalis sa puno at pinakiramdaman ko ang sitwasyon. Hindi lang ang unang dalawang lalaki ang humarap sa babaeng nasa harapan ng palasyo. Sumama na rin sa kanila si Seth, at ang lalaking kasama ni Eya.
Kumuyom ang kamay kong nakahawak sa pana nang makitang kausap na ni Claret si Eyah. Should I warn them? Should I just kill her with my arrows right now?
Napatingin ako sa ibaba para sana bumaba na ako ngunit mariin akong napapikit. Paano ako rito bababa, Tobias? I just had my iconic entrance, but I couldn't come down from this tree.
Akala ko ay tuluyan na akong hindi mapapansin sa puno at akma na akong may kakapain na panibagong tali sa bag ko nang sandaling tumigil sina Seth at ang lalaking kasama ni Eyah. They bowed at me, and when the two other men noticed how they paid their respect, they shifted their gaze at me, positioned themselves formally and gave me their princely bow in unison.
I gasped, my knees trembled, and a small smile crept on my lips. It was just a small gesture, but I felt a sudden warmth in my heart.
Hindi rin nagtagal ay tumabi na rin sa kanila si Tobias na nagawa nang ibaba ang dalawang babae.
Claret and Eyah were trying to heal the women. Lalong nag-init ang mga mata. Probably her trick to further deceive these creatures around her. She could be part of these enemies.
Dahil hindi ko nais lumapit muna roon kay Claret dahil baka hindi ko na mapigilan ang sarili kong umatake kay Eyah, mas pinili ko na lang tumulong sa mga lumalaban sa isa pang baliw na babae sa unahan.
"Tobias, I want to help. Hindi nga lang ako makababa."
"Huh? Paano ka nakaakyat diyan?"
"Just give me a little assistance, my love, please?"
He chuckled inside my mind. Hindi rin nagtagal ay may tubig na lumulutang na sa harapan ko. I jumped on it.
While the princes of the prophecy were busy fighting against the newly summoned creatures to protect the barrier of the old castle, Tobias's floating water assisted me in getting closer.
I kept hearing the non-stop whip-splashing of my wooden arrows against the wind as I targeted the barrier around the old castle.
"It's getting stuck!"
Hindi tumatagos ang mga pana ko!
Maging ang atake ng mga prinsipe ay nalulusaw habang walang tigil sa pagtawa iyong babaeng baliw sa unahan. Tingnan natin kung hanggang saan ang pagtawa mo.
This time I didn't just use my arrows, may isinabit na rin ako roon na ibinigay sa akin ng mga babaylan ng Deltora. Ilang beses akong nagpaulan muli ng aking mga pana sa iba't ibang parte ng harang at natitigil iyon sa gitna.
I grinned. Lumunod na ako at humawak sa tubig na lumulutang.
"We should run! It's going to explode!"
"What?!" sigaw nilang lahat.
Nauna nang lumipad ang tubig na sinasakyan ko at kasunod na niyon si Tobias. Nakangisi siya sa akin. "You are really impossible."
"What the hell is wrong with Tobias' mate?! Walang pasabi!" reklamo sa likuran.
"Go! Run! Cowards! You will never defeat us! Kahit magtulung-tulong pa kayo! Blair you bastard! You are nothing but our family's disgrace! Magsama-sama kayong mga inutil!"
Ano ba pinagsasabi ng baliw na iyon?
I looked over my shoulders. Nagpaiwan saglit ang mga itinakdang prinsipe at hinarap ang babae. I saw someone who threw a middle finger at her.
I grinned.
"We have to hurry up! It's going to be a huge explosion!" Sigaw ko.
Nawala na si Tobias sa pagtakbo sa tabi ko. He transformed himself into a water in a snake-like, paikot-ikot siya sa katawan ko. Muli akong sumulyap sa likuran ko at panay na rin sa pagtakbo ang lahat. Someone was protecting us with his power by weaving vines behind us.
"Ang handsome handsome talaga ni Prince Rosh, Papa."
"Huh? Not really."
"More!" sigaw ko dahil aabutan kami.
Mas binilisan na namin ang pagtakbo, at nang sulyapan ko muli ang lalaking may halaman ay bahagya na siyang naiiwanan.
"Tama na iyan, Rosh! Let's go!"
"Now."
Isang malakas na pagsabog ang sumunod sa amin dahilan kung bakit tumilapon ang mga katawan namin kahit gaano na kalayo ang nararating namin. Ngunit masyado nang mabilis ang apoy na nakasunod sa amin kaya hindi na ako nagulat nang may isang malaking bola ng tubig ang lumamon sa amin.
I expected a boiling water because of the fire tailing us, but all I could feel was his cold water embracing my whole body.
Gumulong kami sa loob ng malaking bola ng tubig na iyon hanggang sa makarating kami sa paanan ng kabundukan. Nang sandaling pumutok ang tubig na iyon, narinig ko ang sunod-sunod na daing at reklamo ng lahat.
Divina looked awfully delighted with our situation. Ako agad ang nilapitan niya at hinawakan niya ang mga kamay ko. I knew this was coming, huminga ako nang malalim at tumayo.
"Were you hurt?" Salubong sa akin ni Tobias.
Umiling ako sa kanya bago ko ibinalik ang mga mata ko kay Claret. I remember when I was still young. I was with my wounded hands from training with my bow and arrows, there was a woman who kneeled before me, she was so beautiful, and her eyes were glistening because of her tears. Her lips were trembling, and her hands were hesitant to touch me.
Huminga akong muli nang malalim at dahan-dahan akong naglakad patungo sa kanya.
God knows how much I anticipated seeing her again. I wanted to ask about her experiences and listen to her stories of how she survived her life because I knew that she had her fair share of experience just like me.
Gusto ko rin malaman ang babae sa likod ng unang salamin— why her? Why me? Why us?
Sa pagkakataong ito ay ako naman ang yumuko sa kanya dahil nananatili siyang nakasalampak sa lupa, inilahad ko ang aking kamay sa kanya. "It's good to see you again, Claret. I am here now."
Bago pa man niya tanggapin ang kamay ko ay naagaw ang atensyon naming lahat dahil sa muling pagsabog.
"It will only affect the barrier," sabi ni Tobias.
Inalalayan ko si Claret tumayo. Dati ay tumitingala pa ako sa kanya ngayon ay higit na akong matangkad sa kanya. Pero ganoon pa rin siya. Kahit anong klase ng hangin, mundo man ng mga tao at sa mundong ito, sobrang ganda.
"Should we attack again?" the man who can weave vines asked. Ngumiwi siya nang mapagmasdan si Tobias.
"It will have a series of explosions for an hour. We have to wait for a little bit."
Ngayon ay hindi lang si Claret ang nakatingin sa akin dahil nasa akin na naman ang kanilang atensyon. Napahawak na ako kay Tobias. "Are you thirsty?" mahinang sabi niya.
Napangiwi ako. Dapat ba ay iyon ang itanong niya sa akin sa gitna ng mga nilalang na ito?
Napansin ko na nagawa na pala akong tuyuin ni Tobias dahil pansin ko na basang-basa pa rin ang mga nilalang na nakapaligid sa amin. "Don't you think you need to—"
Natigil na ako sa sasabihin ko nang may nagsalita na para sa akin. "Would you like to dry us, brother?"
"Oh, brother. . ." gulat na sabi ni Tobias.
Couldn't he notice that everyone's staring? Parang hindi nila nagugustuhan ang sitwasyon namin ni Tobias.
Ngumiwi iyong kapatid niya. "Oh, brother . . ." he said irritatingly.
Tobias chuckled and lifted his hand. In a moment, he pulled the water from their clothes and shattered the dew drop of it in the air like crystal dust.
King Tobias chuckled before he lifted one of his hands and pulled the water from our clothes.
"Thank you, handsome handsome King Tobias!"
"Urgh. . ."
"What happened to your hair, Tobias?"
"Isn't he handsome?" Divina said.
"For a change," Tobias replied.
Hindi ko na magawang tumingin sa kanila. How could I possibly enter the conversation?
"It's the trending haircut in the human world! Most of the men on the tv have that haircut! Those men with red cars!" Sabi ni Divina.
"Huh?"
Sa kabila ng magaang usapang iyon ng mga bampirang nasa harapan ko, sinulyapan ko si Eyah, she wasn't looking at me, but when her gaze followed me, I lowered my head more. She should not recognize me. I should pretend that I couldn't recognize her. I should discover more about her game.
"Nadaplisan ba ng espada iyang kilay at tagiliran ng ulo mo, Tobias?"
"May umatake ba sa 'yo sa Deltora?"
"Go. You can talk to her, Love." Bulong sa akin ni Tobias sa aking isipan.
He gave me a gentle push toward Claret. "Thank you."
Mukhang nag-usap din sina Claret at ang kapareha niyang si Zen sa kanilang isipan. Tumango sila sa isa't isa bago humiwalay ang grupo nila sa amin. I got worried about Divina when she joined Eyah and those wounded women, which I learned were the goddess I heard from Seth's short introduction about Nemetio Spiran against Deesedayah.
Nang kami na lang ni Claret ang magkasama ay hindi ko na napigilan ang sarili ko.
"It is weird?"
"The haircut?"
I nodded. She shook her head. "Hindi lang siguro sila sanay. He's been keeping his long hair for years. And it's the unusual haircut in this world."
Natawa ako. "Hindi kasi ako naliligawan ng ganyang ka-guwapong lalaki sa mundo natin. Those with that kind haircut na may kotse sa university, anak mayaman at mala- are you lost, baby girl?"
She smiled. "You speak like Naha. I've been away from the human world kaya medyo hindi na rin ako pamilyar."
"Ah, to be specific, fuck boy haircut with sports car na anak ng CEO ng biggest water district bansa," hindi ko na napigilan ang pananalita ko.
When I read the manual, nakalagay roon ang pormal na pamamaraan ng mga bampira sa pananalita, kaya hindi na ako nagugulat minsan kapag hindi kami nagkakaintindihan ni Tobias.
Since Claret was an ex-human, I knew that she could easily understand me. "That's how he looks, boyfriend na mukhang red flag, but he's literally green."
"Actually, I never insisted on a haircut for him, but when I cut my hair too short when my hair suddenly grew, he told me that he's been thinking of having a haircut. Unlike yours with beautiful long and wavy hair, feeling ko nagmukha akong bruha sa mahabang buhok. Kaya pinutol ko. Kaya nagpagupit siya sa akin. You know, naggugupit din ako. I had a lot of jobs in the human world. Hampaslupa kasi ako."
As I continued to cheerfully talk with Claret, I realized that I was starting to be the usual Kezalli again— that sunshine girl I used to mask who couldn't even hide behind those emerald eyes.
When we heard another explosion from the castle, Tobias looked in our direction— or should I say, he was watching me. "Would you like to find a place to stay in the meantime?"
Dahil kailangan namin lumipat ay natigil ang usapan namin ni Claret, lumapit sa akin si Tobias at hinawakan niya ang kamay ko. The sudden shift of my emotion from that warm feeling with Claret, turned cold when I glanced at the familiar woman.
"Would you trust me, Tobias, if I tell you that she's an enemy? I want to kill her."
Tobias looked at Freya. "Her. I will. Right now."
I tightened my grip. "It should be my hands. Just my hands."
Tobias calmed down. He looked at me. He sighed. "Be careful."