“So, what’s there? She said something about getting power?” Angel said, dismissing the ‘dangerous’ part.
“That’s exactly what’s there. Power. Power that we have to steal from them.”
The sounds of footsteps sounded, and Tren, Zyas, and Marian made their way up the spiraled walk way after listening in on the conversation that Montago and Angel were having.
“We heard everything already,” Tren said, “so, when do we go?”
“Tomorrow,” Montago answered, “we meet down there,” he pointed towards the ground, “as soon as the sun rises.”
Angel nodded, and Montago went back inside.
“Someone has to stay and watch over Tasa,” Marian said, “especially if Darrengiy is after her.”
“Alcia will,” Zyas said.
Angel nodded, “that’s a good idea. Make sure you let her know.”
“I will right now,” Zyas said as he turned for the bridge.
“Hey, Zyas,” Tren called before Zyas walked off.
“Hmm?” Zyas turned his head to face Tren.
“Why don’t you find out what’s going on with her when you see her? Maybe then she’d stop glaring at you.”
Zyas took a deep breath and nodded, then he turned around and walked up the bridge towards the platform that Alcia was sitting on. He shook his head, wondering why he was so nervous to go and talk to her. It had to be because of their current relationship at the moment. Ever since they arrived at Mooralshia, it seemed like Alcia was pulling away from him, and he couldn’t understand why.
Since Zyas and Alcia met in the sector they had grown close to each other, and he developed strong feelings for her, but now he was confused if she felt the same way? Maybe he could get her to tell him when they talked....
Zyas froze at the top of the bridge when he saw Alcia with her lips on Jermya’s. A million things started running through his head as the sadness and anger emerged, and he didn’t know how to react. He wanted to push Jermya off of the platform, but then again he just wanted to walk away and be alone.
Zyas’s heart beat picked up faster and faster with each beat, and he actually considered pulling off his sharp bow and cutting Jermya’s throat.
When Alcia saw Zyas with a pained look on his face, she immediately felt regret for what she had just done, “Z-Zyas...”
Without thinking, Zyas started walking towards the two of them. Jermya had turned around with a smile on his face and got to his feet, “aw, no hard feelings righ-”
Zyas balled his fist and threw a hard punch to Jermya’s cheek. Jermya stumbled over to the tree, where the floaters were leaning up against, and held his hand over his cheek.
“Zyas, stop!” Alcia yelled.
Zyas didn’t hear her though. He pursued Jermya once again, but stopped when he saw the devilish look in his eyes. Jermya smiled and took a floater, and before Zyas could grab him, he jumped off of the platform.
“Zyas, wait!” Alcia yelled again, but he still paid her no mind.
Zyas snatched a floater off of the tree and jumped off right behind Jermya.
The two boys shot downwards through the village and rounded multiple trees and bridges. Zyas chased Jermya as if he were hunting for a meal back in Varenwhile, and wasn’t going to stop until he caught his prey.
Jermya dropped under a bridge and shot further down towards the ground, and when he looked back at Zyas, he smiled. Zyas took that smile as a challenge and pulled off his bow. If he had to, he would slice open a piece of that pretty boy just to warn him to never touch Alcia again.
Zyas followed Jermya out of the village and passed multiple layers of leaves and branches. He lost Jermya after the first few layers, but catching him dropped from his mind after the floater suddenly stopped floating, and he started falling. He landed on a large branch that knocked all of the air out of his chest. Luckily, he wasn’t that high up, so when he slipped off and smacked the ground, none of his bones were broken.
Zyas laid there for a moment, and waited for the pain to fade, then he slowly got back to his feet and brushed himself off. When he looked around, he saw that Jermya was nowhere to be found, and shook his head. Chasing after that boy was a bad idea, but he just couldn’t help it. How could a stranger manage to kiss Alcia, but he couldn’t even get close enough for a hug?
Zyas sighed and looked up, wondering how he was going to get to the rope above the layer of leaves. He picked up his floater and let it go, but instead of floating, it just dropped to the ground, “great,” now he was really regretting going after Jermya.
Zyas looked up again in hope that maybe Alcia would come down to help him, but no one came. He shook his head, feeling stupid that he expected her to help him.
There was a faint laughing that sounded from his left, and he turned to see Jermya standing in the moonlight.
“Looks like there’s no way up,” Jermya laughed.
Zyas frowned over at the boy, who no longer looked as innocent as he did when they first met. He got in a fighting stance with his bow held out in front of him, causing Jermya to laugh even harder.
Zyas was confused, but then the confusion faded and blurred when his vision went out, and he suddenly fell unconscious.
Jermya looked up at the two Moorenofs standing over Zyas’s limp body, “kill him.” The Moorenof’s didn’t respond. They just took Zyas by his arms and pulled him into the darkness.
***
Jermya ran up the bridge that led to Tasa’s home, and then slammed open the bark door. Once he was inside he noticed that everyone, but Zyas, were sitting in the cramped space. He was pleased.
He spotted Alcia sitting under the jar that lit up the room, with her head rested against the wooden wall, and though back to their kiss.
“What’s wrong?” Angel asked as he got to his feet, feeling a sense of urgency.
Jermya was panting, “Zyas...”
Alcia snapped out of her daze and sat up, “is he alright?”
“No! They took him. The Moorenof’s took him. They’re probably taking him to the devils town. I-I tried to save him, but they were too strong,” Jeremy explained.
“What?” Alcia started to panic inside.
“I’m sorry, Alcia,” he said it as apologetic as possible in hope that it sounded real.
Angel looked Jermya up and down, “and you saw all of this happen?”
“Yes, he was upset with me, because of me and Alc-” he made eye contact with her for a second, then turned back to the skeptical leader, “he followed me into the woods where I hid. I saw the Moorenof’s hit him over the head with something, and then I tried to save him, but they got away.”
“I don’t see any scars on you,” Angel squinted his eyes in disbelief, “you said that they were strong. Surly, you would have some kind of cut or bruise.”
Jermya clenched his teeth, “I did the best that I could,” he stared into Angel’s bright green eyes, but realized that his act was failing and tried to calm himself.
“You said they might have taken him to the Devils Town?” Montago asked.
Jermya nodded.
Angel looked back at Montago, getting the okay to relax a little, “ok, well thanks Jermya. We’ll take care of it.”
Jermya frowned, “take care of it how?”
“Just know that we will,” Montago started, “thank you, again.”
Jermya sighed and nodded, then he turned around and angrily left the room.
“I don’t trust him,” Tren said.
“Me neither,” Angel said.
“So, I’m taking it that we’ll be getting Zyas back tomorrow, when we go to the Devil’s Town?” Marian asked while rubbing his eyes.
“We need to go look for him now,” Alcia snapped.
“It’s too dangerous to leave out tonight,” Montago said.
“You all might die out there at this time of night,” Tasa said in a raspy voice, “you’ll get him tomorrow. That’s when he should be going up on the market.”
“Ma
rket?” Alcia questioned.
“Yeah, that’s what the Devil’s Town is. A market for selling goods that would only benefit monsters like the Moorenofs.”
“And people like Darrengiy...” Angel thought out loud.
“But Angel! Zyas is...” she realized that trying to argue wouldn’t work. He had already made up his mind.
“Don’t worry Alcia, we’ll get him back. We need to rest now, I’m assuming we have a very long day tomorrow,” Angel sat down next to Marian and leaned back against the wall.
“The Devil’s town isn’t so far, but yes, we will need our rest,” Montago said.
Alcia shook her head, wishing that she could go with them to save Zyas, but they ordered her to look after Tasa in case some of Darrengiy’s followers make their move. All she could do was hope that Zyas returned back to her safely so that she could apologize for hurting him. She didn’t mean to kiss Jermya, but she was caught up in the moment with someone that completely sucked her in with his good looks and pure kindness. It couldn’t be helped.
Alcia sighed and closed her eyes, knowing that when she opened them, the boys would be gone on their rescue mission. Hopefully, they would bring Zyas back alive.
***
Morning came quick for the four boys, and without a word, they went straight for the ground. Once everyone was steady on the dry grass, Montago handed each of them brown cloaks, similar to what the Moorenofs wore.
“Put them on quickly, we don’t want anyone spotting us,” Montago said.
Angel slipped the long cloak over his body and realized that his sword was being covered. In case anything happened, it would be difficult to pull it out, and he would be in serious trouble.
Angel looked at the others who were still in the process of slipping on their cloaks, then turned back to the sun that was just peeking over the trees. It was a beautiful sight on such a life risking day, and he hoped that he’d be able to see it again after all of this was over.
Watching the sunrise reminded him of his home and his family. Then he remembered how he used to sit with Shalina on a lovely morning and watch the sun lift over the mountains. He took note to remember to show Shalina all of the things that she had forgotten.
“Angel...” Montago snapped him back into the present, “let’s go.”
Angel, Marian, and Tren followed Montago away from under the village, and deep into the forest. Angel had forgotten that they were headed to the Devil’s Town because of how beautiful the day was becoming. The multi-colored birds sang carelessly, the warm wind blew through his hair, and the sun lit up the forest with its burning yellow light. It wasn’t your usual, fight a Demon, kind of day.
“So, what exactly will we be looking for when we get there?” Marian asked.
Montago walked a little more before answering, “Stones. The demons in the Devil’s Town sell these different colored stones that burn into your skin and fill you with whatever power in holds.”
“That actually sounds pretty cool,” Tren said.
Montago shook his head, “they’re dangerous. The demons are addicted to those stones, which is why they are sold the most in the market. Some stones are more powerful than others, and could kill you.”
“Oh, like an overd-” Marian tripped, “-ose,” he looked at the others to make sure that they didn’t notice.
“What about humans? How do they sell?” Tren asked.
“Well,” Montago shrugged, “we are their source of energy, so humans are right up there with the stones as far as sales go.”
“They eat us?” Marian asked.
Montago nodded, “but I’m sure Zyas hasn’t been sold yet. It takes a long while for the demons to awaken, and most of them don’t even move along the day, so the market shouldn’t be overcrowded.”
“Good,” Marian nodded, “less work for us.”
They were silent for a moment as they continued to follow Montago.
“Montago, how much further is D-Town?” Tren asked.
“Not too far ahead. They are actually pretty close to the village, but have no way of getting up there, and the trees are too strong for a Bift to knock down. Well, at least that was the case before,” Montago sighed, “with Darrengiy lending them a hand, I really have no clue on how strong they are now.”
Angel looked up and noticed how the sky was starting to look a little gray, then turned to the others in front of him, who were merging into a single file line as the trail became narrower.
Angel was the very last to walk onto the narrow path that continued to close in tighter as they moved forward. The thorn bushes on each side of him grew thicker and thicker, and soon all he saw were hundreds of sharp black thorns pointing at him.
“Looks like we’re almost there,” Marian said, watching his breath blow out into the cold air.
“Keep your heads down,” Montago ordered.
A few minutes later, the four emerged from the tight path, and were now at the place called the Devil’s Town. It looked no different from a regular market, besides the various demons searching for a new product to buy, with humans chained up and being pulled around by them.
“So, what do we do?” Marian whispered to Montago.
“Take as many stones that you can gather and put them into the pockets on the side of your cloaks, and don’t hold them for long or you’ll be burned,” Montago said.
“And what about Zyas,” Angel asked, hoping that his friend was okay.
“He should be around here somewhere. If you see him, go straight for him. We don’t want our friend to be devoured,” Montago took a deep breath, “be careful, and blend in. If we get caught, we’ll be fighting for our lives here. Remember, they are stronger.”
The three boys nodded and then followed Montago’s lead. When Angel looked back to memorize where the exit was, he was surprised to find that there wasn’t one. The thorn bushes had closed, and there was now no way out. Hopefully, Montago had an escape plan, or they were going to be screwed if anything went south.
The cloaked boys finally made it into the more crowded part of the market, where every other demon bumped their shoulders with their dinner being pulled behind them. Angel frowned under his hood and wanted to save those people from becoming dinner, but he couldn’t cause a scene. Not yet.
Marian watched as Montago made his way up to a booth that had many different colored stones just waiting for the taking. The fat green demon behind the booth was busy selling his products to another green blob of a demon, and was too distracted to notice Montago snatch a yellow and red stone, and slip it into his pocket. Montago looked back at the boys and gave them a nod, then he went ahead to the next booth.
Marian took a deep breath and decided to make his move, so he made his way to another booth that sold sparkly black and gray stones. He kept his head down and looked back to see Tren at the booth behind from him successfully snatch a few stones, then he turned back around and checked to see if the pale demon behind the booth was paying him any attention.
To Marian’s surprise, the demon was busy with a customer, just like the first one. As a child he was taught that stealing was wrong, and that consequences came with it, so in his mind, what he was doing at this very moment, wasn’t right, and he hesitated to grab a stone. Once he finally got his hands on a gray one, the palm of his hand burned as if he just sat it down on the stove, “ah-” Marian dropped the stone back on the booth and looked down at his hand. His palm was bleeding with what looked like gray paint seeping into his cut.
“What are you doing!?” The pale merchant yelled at Marian.
Marian quickly put his head down and started to walk away when he was knocked over by a tall beast, about seven feet tall, with a fat belly that stuck out at him.
Marian’s hood fell off as he looked up into the human-like demons black eyes.
The merchant behind the booth looked down at Marian, “a human?” he said in a high pitched voice that almost sounded like a scream.
Once the word ‘human’ got out
, the customers and sellers stopped what they were doing and turned to the now revealed Marian.
Marian shook his head, “Mama told me that stealing was wrong,” he said. He then used his flames to push himself off of the ground and put him back on his feet.
As soon as Tren saw what was going on, he ran over to his friend to back him up, along with Angel and Montago. They were now surrounded by Mooralshian demons that wanted nothing more than to eat them.
“Good going, Marian,” Tren said, “We should have brought Alcia instead.”
The four had their backs to each other so that they could watch every angle, just in case one of the demons made a move.
“Food,” the seven foot demon said. He drooled as he took a large monstrous step towards the boys, “I’m claiming that one,” right when he reached down to grab Angel, a familiar boy, about seventeen years old with dark brown hair, a deep bronze tan, and large gold and black wings landed in front of him, crushing the ground beneath his feet.
The unexpected rescuer looked back at Angel, “need a little help?”
Angel nodded, then reached under his cloak and ripped out his sword.
Chapter 13: Mooralshia- Part 4
“Who are you?” Angel asked as he stepped towards Verenda with his sword.
Verenda flapped his wings twice causing dirt to fly in the air and making Angel take a step back, “we can talk later,” he held out his hand and a golden staff flashed into his grip, “I helped your friend, he’s safe.”
Angel’s watched as Verenda’s wings broke into little golden embers that floated down to the ground. He frowned, wondering who this guy was, and why was he helping them?
“You said you have Z-”
“Food!” the oversized beast swept its hand at Verenda, but missed when Verenda had jumped back and out of the way.
Angel snapped into action when the other demons, of all sorts, started to attack. They weren’t as hard to fight as he thought that they would be, but he figured that because they weren’t Moorenof’s, Darrengiy felt no need to help them.
Demon after Demon, Angel plunged his sword into them with swift thrusts, and didn’t need to use any of its power to take the weak monsters down.
Angel's Blade: Power (Angel Series Book 1) Page 15