Blood Moon (Blood Rain Book 2)

by Nancy Gray

  Pyron and Beryl were helping with the carcass. Rumor about Erebus and Mercy had already spread throughout the ship, and Mercy was sure it was mostly due to Garnet’s influence. Pyron didn’t seem to care. He regarded her with a friendly wave and she felt that he wasn’t as jealous or upset as she expected. He motioned for her to come over towards him.

  “You’re looking better. That’s good. We can use all the help we can get. Do you think you’re up for a little work this morning?”

  “Yes. Hopefully, I can make up a little for last night.”

  He nodded. “Good. Do you know anything about sewing? The most important problem right now is the condition of the sails. Most of them are torn.”

  Mercy said, “On it.”

  Those that weren’t dealing with the rotting whale carcass were trying to help recover from the storm the previous evening in any way that they could. Despite the smell of the dead whale, Mercy was feeling much better after sleeping in and even found that the nausea was more like a nuisance now than something that would affect her work. People were in the process of trying to untangle ropes, repairing boards which had somehow splintered the evening before, and as Pyron had pointed out, sewing up the damaged sails. Mirilee, Incenda, and Lavirin were already hard at work with the largest sail. She sat with them and grabbed an extra bone needle and got started.

  Lavirin nodded with approval. “You look much better today. See, isn’t it better that you waited the storm out?”

  “Yes. I would’ve just gotten in the way if I tried to help you. You were right. After last night, this is nothing.”

  Mirilee laughed. “Well, I think I agree with Incenda. The attention of an attractive man didn’t hurt your recovery.”

  Lavirin grinned in a knowing way that made Mercy blush and stare more intently at the damaged sail.

  Incenda asked, “Speaking of, where is he today? I haven’t seen him yet and he’s usually one of the first people out here.”

  Mercy frowned. It was true that Erebus should’ve been above decks by then. It suddenly made her a little worried. The smell of blood was thick in the air, almost as thick as it was the night of the blood rain. Even though his people could only sustain themselves on human blood, with the vast quantities of blood coming from the whale carcass, he probably was very, very thirsty. It made her wonder if that was why he was avoiding the upper deck. Maybe the smell was less daunting below.

  As Mercy though it over, she could feel her face contorting with worry.

  Mirilee seemed to pick up on it and suddenly nodded. “You’d better check up on him, Mercy.”

  Lavirin rolled his eyes. “Now, while I understand the other night, we don’t have time for her to be visiting her lover. We need an extra hand on these sails.”

  Mirilee quickly said, “It’s just that it really isn’t like him not to be up here right now. He might be sick, or I wouldn’t put it past Garnet to poison his food or something.”

  Incenda shrugged. “Well, it can’t hurt for her to at least check. We could use his help up here too.”

  Even though Mercy heard the words, she wasn’t even listening to them. She could feel that something was wrong. Ever since the blood pact, she felt a connection to Erebus, and she could tell that he was distressed. She felt sick with worry as she approached the men’s living quarters and saw that he wasn’t there. There was only one other place he could be, and that was in the hold, drinking from the barrel of blood.

  As she approached the cargo hold, Mercy felt sick to her stomach. She smelled the blood before she even got below deck. The blood from the whale carcass outside seemed muffled in comparison to strong scent that permeated the wooden boards beneath her. Erebus was standing with his back to her, but when she put a foot on the first step, he turned towards her and she gasped in surprise.

  His eyes were glowing with that strange shade of violet that they always did in his bestial form. Even though he hadn’t changed his body entirely, his ears were elongated and his fangs were pronounced. He had one of his hands in his mouth, and blood was pouring from it down his chin. She wasn’t sure if it was a trick of the dim light, but as he looked at her she thought that for an instant his skin color had changed. It looked pitch black instead of the usual pallid skin tone, and his hair appeared white instead of black. His eyes were red instead of violet, but, the illusion only lasted for a moment.

  The barrel of blood was shattered on the ground with a circle of salt around it. Salt was even poured over the largest puddles of blood. It didn’t take her long to guess who could have done it. Even though he had been quiet through most of the journey, the only sailor superstitious enough to worry over the unmarked barrel in the corner would be Tolbert. He already hated Erebus, and even though he didn’t know he was a Beast Man, he probably suspected once he saw the contents of that barrel. Of course, it also could be Garnet’s petty way of getting even with Erebus for rejecting her. Mercy didn’t have time to think about it as she realized that Erebus was staring at her with a wild and feral expression. There was no recognition on it.

  “Erebus, it’s me, Mercy. Snap out of it.”

  Erebus flinched at her expression as though he suddenly realized who she was. “Please, don’t look at me like this. I’m so thirsty. That whale carcass outside smelled so strong and I came down here for a drink only to find this.” He continued in a terrified whisper, “There’s no blood. We’re weeks away from a port, and there’s no blood left here.”

  “Don’t panic. We can provide blood for you. In the desert, Merilee and I gave you blood. And, even if you don’t like them much, I’m sure that Beryl, Pyron, and Kylas, would donate some blood for you too.”

  He began to pace like a caged animal.

  “But, if I don’t get some soon, I don’t know what’s going to happen. I feel like I’m losing control. There’s something unnatural about that carcass, Mercy. Someone did something to it. It smells like it’s bleeding human blood.”

  Mercy shivered. “Then you should take some blood from me. Since we’re still under the pact, you can’t take too much.”

  “But what if I do? I’ve never fed from you when I was this thirsty.”

  “I trust you.”

  Erebus looked horrified. “Don’t, not right now. There’s something I didn’t tell you. The thing that Kylas saw in my shadow, it’s like the alternate version of me. I feel like I’m fighting to control it right now. I’m afraid if I lose to it then I won’t be able to come back.”

  Mercy unbuttoned the top of her shirt and exposed most of her neck. “Then don’t. Take some blood from me.”

  Erebus made an agonized sound and buried his face in his hands. When he looked up again, his eyes were no longer violet. They were the strange red color she thought she saw when she walked in. The expression on his face was a cruel grin and it made her instinctively want to run screaming out of the room. He ran his tongue along his fangs, and when he spoke it sounded as though another voice was superimposed over his own.

  “Well, if you insist…”

  Mercy tried to run, but he moved so quickly that she barely even saw the motion at all. In an instant, he knocked her roughly to the floor and bit down hard on her neck. She had never felt so much of his venom. It made everything seem cloudy and surreal, like drinking too much blackberry wine at a celebration. The little light from the oil lamps lining the walls was misty. There were haloes surrounding the light like stars seen through tear-stained eyes. Mercy’s emotions were flowing in a spectrum of euphoria and terror as she felt him sucking up mouthful after mouthful of her blood. She tried to fight him off, but eventually she found herself not wanting him to stop.

  Questions flooded the logical part of her mind as she felt her body becoming weaker and weaker, “Is this really how I die? Killed by the person that I love most? What will he do when he realizes he’s killed me? What will the others do to him?”

  Mercy didn’t have to wait long to find out. She heard footsteps running down the hallway. She just barel
y had enough energy to tilt her head up. Pyron and Beryl were at the top of the stairs. Pyron’s face contorted from worry to fury and he rushed down towards them. Beryl just stood staring in horror. Erebus didn’t even seem to notice that they were there. His face was still buried in her neck. Despite the fact that Erebus wasn’t in control of himself she wanted to warn him. All that came from her throat was a choked sound somewhere between a groan and a scream.

  Pyron tried to pry Erebus away from her, but Erebus simply pushed him backwards with one hand, as though he was swatting a pesky fly away rather than a full grown man. Beryl tried as well, but Mercy saw a tendril of darkness morph around Beryl’s shadow, and he began to struggle as though something invisible was holding him back.

  Beryl shouted. “Pyron, look out for the shadow!”

  Before Erebus could even turn towards him, Pyron lifted his arms up into the air, holding his hands together and brought both of them down on Erebus’ head. It made a sickening cracking sound. Mercy groaned as she felt Erebus’ teeth snap together, nearly pulling her skin and muscle away from the wound. But then, his jaw became slack and he let go, like a dog releasing a favorite toy at the request of his master. He looked confused and when he saw Mercy, and she saw a pained look of recognition spread across his face. Erebus’ guilt and horror hit her with almost as much force as his bite as he realized what he had done.

  Erebus released an agonized wail, but Pyron didn’t seem to notice Erebus’ change in behavior. He brought his arms down again on the back of his head, this time knocking him unconscious. Everything seemed to be swimming before Mercy’s eyes. Blackness was creeping into her vision, but she fought desperately against it, afraid that if she closed her eyes then she wouldn’t be opening them again. Pyron was looking at Erebus in disgust. She saw that he was reaching for his gun.

  Mercy somehow managed to stammer, “Don’t. Please, don’t.”

  Pyron glared at Erebus, but his expression softened when he saw Mercy. Instead of pulling the gun, he knelt down, taking off his jacket and using it as a make-shift rag to put pressure on the wound on her neck.

  “Hang on, Mercy. You’ll be alright. Just stay with us.”

  Mercy groaned. Despite her efforts to keep her eyes open, her vision was fading fast.

  Beryl whispered, “Pyron, what should I do about Erebus?”

  “Clamp him in irons.”

  Mercy’s vision faded and everything became quiet. Her last conscious thought was that she felt very cold.

  13

  Mercy could smell blood all around her and it made her feel ill. She was in the forest after the blood rain. She wasn’t at her village, and when she remembered what became of it, she was glad. She was at the edge of small stream, but the water was red. She was thirsty, but not thirsty enough to drink the bloody water. Behind her, Erebus had his arms around her. He was in his human form, but he had a very somber and miserable expression on his face. He was wearing plain, comfortable clothing, as he always preferred on the ship, along with his necklace.

  Behind them, was a cave filled with darkness and shadow. Even though she couldn’t see him, Mercy knew that some form of Erebus was also inside the cave in beast form. As she shielded her eyes from the light, she could see his features. It was Erebus’ shadow, his demon, with pitch black skin, white hair, and red eyes. As though to illustrate the fact, the bat-like creature charged towards the exit of the cave. It was wearing a long, flowing robe of crimson and ebony. She saw the creature entirely for a moment, but then it fell backwards, chained to the back of the cave with heavy shackles.

  The human version of Erebus spoke, “That’s what I’ve been hiding from you. I hoped that you would never have to see it, but you saw it today.”

  The creature howled and snarled in rage. Hatred, a thirst for power, and a monstrous blood lust were all the emotions that she could sense from its mind. Mercy knew that if the trapped creature managed to break free, it wouldn’t hesitate to kill her and to use her blood to fuel its abilities, if nothing more than to just make it feel stronger for a few minutes. She felt its overpowering thirst, a never ending pit that it desired to somehow fill with blood.

  Erebus pulled her closer and sighed. “I’m so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you. That’s why I always pushed you away. I was afraid I would lose control, and I finally did.”

  “I’m not angry at you. You didn’t mean to do it.”

  “Whether I meant to do it or not doesn’t change the fact that I nearly killed you.”

  The voice from the cave was a strange and high-pitched like the sound of one of Erebus’ people using their own language. “But I meant to kill you, and I will one day. I didn’t succeed today, but rest assured that I will.”

  Erebus said in a bitter tone, “You will never harm her again. I’ll make sure of that.”

  The beastly voice began to keen psychotic laughter. It was an intense, horrible sound that made Mercy want to cover her ears. Something about the laugh was very cynical and bitter as well, as though it considered Erebus’ words somehow amusing. Mercy managed to keep her expression blank. She felt that acknowledging how nervous the laughter made her would be showing weakness to the creature, so she waited patiently for it to stop.

  The human version of Erebus shifted uncomfortably at the laughter, “Everyone has a side of themselves that they don’t want anyone to see. This is mine, but I have to tap into it every time that I use my abilities. At age twelve, Shadow Weavers are forced to confront the part of themselves that they fear. It’s a rite of passage. If we fail, it takes over.”

  “Kylas said that it was a demon, but if what you’re saying is true, it isn’t a demon at all. It’s just another side of you.”

  “Well, I guess you could say it’s a little of both. The ceremony gives it a life of its own. I don’t want to break away from it because if I do I lose my abilities, but to keep it at bay I need blood. It’s like it’s lending me power in exchange.”

  “What part of you is it?”

  “I’ve never told anyone that, but I’ll tell you. It’s the part of me that hates weakness, wants power, and frenzies when it tastes blood. Those are the three things I’m most afraid of – my human weaknesses, my ambition, and losing control of myself.”

  Mercy gently broke free of Erebus’ grip and stood up, confidently approaching the cave. Even though she could barely remember what happened when Erebus attacked her, she recalled blacking out and Pyron telling Beryl to shackle Erebus after the attack. Since that was her last conscious memory, she knew she had to be dreaming, but this was no ordinary dream. It was too vivid, and the conversation was too real. Erebus was somehow talking to her in her mind. She could see the dark version of Erebus watching her as she got closer. His red eyes glowed against the darkness of the cave. Something about him was more bestial than human.

  Erebus grabbed her. “What are you doing?”

  “This is a part of you. I’m not afraid of it.”

  The voice in the cave said, “You should be, Little Forest Doe. Your blood is too delicious for me to resist. Or are you coming to give me an offering?”

  “Something like that.”

  The human side of Erebus sounded panicked. “Mercy, you don’t know what you’re doing! Stay away from it, please!”

  “I think that I know exactly what I’m doing. Erebus, your fears are part of you. That’s why you have trouble controlling them. However, they aren’t mine. I’m going to have a word with the beast within you.”

  The voice within the cave laughed. “You know, maybe I was wrong to have tried to kill you. You’re stronger than that pathetic thing behind you.”

  “Come closer.”

  The version of Erebus within the cave stepped forward until it was straining against its chains. She realized that the robe it was wearing was the same robe that she had seen Erebus wearing when he rescued her from the other beast men in the cave. It was the ceremonial robe of a Shadow Weaver. He grinned at her, baring his fangs in an almost sickening ca
ricature of a smile, but Mercy smiled back just as fiercely.

  Mercy reached for her silver knives. They had not been there a moment ago, but appeared as if summoned by her will. She ran the sharp edge against her hand, making the creature within the cave drool with desire. He strained harder against the chains, almost in frenzy. She waited patiently for him to settle down, like a spider waiting for a struggling fly to wear out before descending the web for its meal. She felt Erebus grabbing her by the shoulders, trying to pull her away and begging her to stop; but Mercy knew this place was in her mind, and she was the one in control.

  “I’m blood bound to Erebus until we find the source of the rain. I know that you were involved in that as well. You’re a part of him and you aren’t bound to me, at least not yet.”

  The creature cackled its high-pitched laughter again. “You want to make a bargain with me, Little Girl?”

  “Yes. First, I want you to swear that you won’t hurt or kill me or any of my friends, since that was the first thing that you tried to do the moment that you gained control.”

  Erebus moaned and gripped her shoulders tighter. “Mercy, this is not a good idea!”

  “Second, you’re to lay dormant again after Erebus gets enough blood to satiate his thirst – not your thirst, but his.”

  Erebus’ demon just regarded her with a silent smile.

  “And third, you owe me a favor to repay me for the blood I’ve lost to you. This pact will last until I claim my favor.”

  It laughed. “You are a clever one. I’ll give you that, but now for my terms of the agreement. First, you will not harm me or my host, should he lose control again.”

  “Very well.”

  “Second, you’ll drink a few drops of my blood before you leave here.”

  Erebus shouted, “NO! You won’t feed Mercy any of your tainted blood!”

  It acted as though Erebus hadn’t spoken. “And finally, when the time comes for your favor it can’t be anything that requires me to dissipate, merge with Erebus, or any nonsense like that.”