Chapter Nine.
A s I said, Mihal celebrated his fifteenth birthday. Inka and I had given him a beautiful gold bracelet that I had designed and made. It was a name bracelet decorated with tiny diamonds set into the engraving. Today, it would be worth a small fortune. Stefan had celebrated his nineteenth a few weeks beforehand, and Maryn was a stunning lady of twenty-five.
Maryn was eagerly awaiting the birth of her first baby, which turned out to be twins. She hadn’t been involved with anyone when her Phase had begun.
Determined to birth a child, Maryn had approached a friend of Taran’s, and he had agreed to donate sperm. I think Nes’c hoped that more would come of it, but Maryn was like a shy, distrustful doe. Maryn hadn’t been able to completely forget what had happened, and that was why she had gone to Nes’c.
Nes’c was a charming man of one hundred years. He was gentle and kind and wasn’t pushy in any way. Just the perfect lover for her. Nes’c had, on Diana’s advice, gone very easy with Maryn, as it was her first time with a man.
The Vam’pirs guessed that Nes’c wanted a more permanent relationship. Diana simply reminded Nes’c of all the years they had left in front of them. Nes’c had nodded his agreement, and with hope blazing in his eyes, began courting her.
Maryn, in turn, asked my father for advice and was told to follow her heart.
Maryn bravely did and accepted Nes’c’s gestures uncertainly at first but with more confidence as the pregnancy progressed.
Everyone hoped for a happy ending.
Cleo had turned into the image of her mother, but she had her father’s temperament, and she led Mihal a merry dance. It was clear from the outset that Cleo was Mihal’s and vice versa, but they teased each other so mercilessly that we wondered if they would ever grow up.
Cleo was a charming young lady, and I thought a great deal of her. Even though Mihal had come to me in tears numerous times when she flirted first with this boy and then the next. I was often approached by irate fathers whose sons had received a black eye from Mihal in an argument over her.
I agreed with their ranting and told Mihal to calm down and then explained the wiles of women, as I understood them. Mihal then showed an indifference towards Cleo, which led to him flirting with the opposite sex.
This, of course, led to Pari being approached by irate fathers of girls who Cleo had attacked for daring to flirt with her prospective lover.
Pari and I sighed over the whims of our children and settled down for a long and difficult courtship.
Emil and Inka had several fights, which they made up; after all, Mihal and Cleo were their babies.
Our life aligned harmoniously with the Morans. The existence we lived was extremely content, and we lapsed into a false sense of security. Our youth were being raised in the right environment and then tragedy struck.
None of us could have seen it coming or done anything to divert it. Maryn had been playing with the children on the beach at twilight when a Kraken had beached itself. She had sent the youngsters to get help, for even a beached Kraken was bloody dangerous. The creatures didn’t tend to die straight away.
Maryn had stayed clear from the creature until a young toddler ran out of the trees. We had just woken when we learned it had beached, and we offered to accompany the townspeople. They accepted our help with thanks. As we approached the beach, we heard a scream that made us race in the direction it had come from.
There, a picture so horrible confronted us that it still makes my blood chill.
A child had run straight towards the Kraken, and Maryn had raced to stop it.
The Kraken spotted the approaching infant and turned its massive head toward it.
Maryn reached the child first and threw it out of harm’s way just as the Kraken had opened its jaws and caught her. As we ran onto the beach, the Kraken was slinging Maryn about, trying to rip her in half.
Maryn was pale and lifeless in its jaws, and blood poured everywhere.
Horrified, we raced toward the beast whilst throwing spears and shooting our weapons when it heaved Maryn directly at us. Maryn fell in a crumpled heap at her mother’s feet.
Diana screamed and scooped her up, dragging her to safety. Nes’c raced towards his beloved, skidding in the sand. Diana began to yell that Maryn wasn’t breathing and become hysterical.
Maryn was badly wounded, and I rushed over to assess the situation. We hadn’t had our blood that night, and it was lucky because it was obvious that Maryn needed it more than us. I yelled for the supply to be brought at once, along with a healer. Another scream ripped through the air. The Kraken had someone else in its teeth, and with a horror, I realised it was Father.
“No!” I screamed.
Panicked, I picked up a spear and, running straight at the Kraken, threw it with an all-mighty heave. The end pierced the creature’s thin skull and entered its brain. The Kraken dropped its head, forcing its jaws down harder into my father. I reached Father’s side just as his last breath left his lungs. Father feebly raised his hand towards me, and then it fell as his eyes glazed over.
“No!” I screamed again and again.
Desperately, I tried to drag Father free of the Kraken’s jaw, but all I did was tear his body even more.
Pal dragged me off, and Kait and Raymone freed Father from the creature. Traumatised, I threw myself back at Father, pummelling him and begging him not to die. Not my father, was the singular thought running through my mind.
Gently, I lifted his head, cradling it on my lap as I sobbed in great anguish. Father was dead, and it was me that had killed him. Screams rebounded around the beach, and Taran and Ju were there, taking Father from me.
I walked away devastated. Pal followed as I slumped in the sand on my knees, sobbing and babbling incoherently. I knew not what to do, and I could hear further cries as Mother, Marrin, and Uralla arrived on the scene.
“There was nothing you could have done,” Pal said, soothing me as best as he could.
Mihal screamed for his grandfather, and Inka tried in vain to comfort him. He pushed her away and ran off into the bushes. Inka herself, was crying great tears of blood, that just rolled down her face.
“I killed Father. Pal, I threw the spear,” I sobbed, burying my head in my hands.
“No! No. Marcus was already dead. The Kraken had pierced an artery. Marcus was bleeding to death, Jacques. Your spear saved other people, it did not kill him,” Pal soothed, stroking my hair.
I threw myself into the sand, prostrate with grief.
Diana’s sobs reached a high as Maryn remained lifeless.
“I shouldn’t have left Father alone,” I cried through a mouth full of sand. This had been my fault.
“Ah, my poor friend, you didn’t even know Marcus was here,” Pal said softly.
“I should have known,” I exclaimed before tearing myself off to run away.
How far I ran, I wasn’t sure, but grief tormented me. I had killed Father. Over and over, I kept replaying the scene in my mind, trying to take back the throw, but I couldn’t, and it was done.
Now, I can examine the incident without any feelings of guilt or grief. There was nothing that I could have done to save Father. Pal was correct. Father was already dead, and I had just eased the death for him.
Father would have wanted to die protecting his people.
However, my sorrow was immeasurable at that time.
As daylight approached, I discovered a cave and hid in it. I took my blood by drinking from animals that crossed my path. For a full week, I stayed away until Julia found me. I was dirty and ragged and not in the mood to talk to anyone.
“Know how you feel,” Julia said in a voice hoarse from disuse. “I still feel the same about Kierran.”
“No, you don’t understand,” I whispered.
“Don’t I?” Julia asked, turning my head to face her.
“No, Julia. You have no idea. Because you never killed Kierran. Maurick and Claudias did that. You carry their guilt but have nothing to be guilty about,” I snapped. “Julia, you didn’t throw the spear that killed him.”
“And neither did you. Marcus was already dying, and the Kraken would have torn him apart. You saved Marcus a terrible, painful death.”
“Julia, you have no idea about what you’re saying. You carry a needless and blameless guilt around with you. I, on the other hand, contributed to killing my own father. Father had helped us so many times and loved us all in a different way.
“Father was the role model I tried so hard to be like. If Father had thrown that spear, he would never have killed anyone. Father’s blood is on my hands, literally,” I scoffed at Julia’s attempt to comfort.
Julia truly had no clue what she was talking about. She hadn’t killed Kierran.
“How can you be so selfish? Your mother thinks that she has lost her son as well as her husband. Your sisters and brother mourn for you, as do Inka and Mihal. They are devastated over Marcus’s death, and they all think that you have joined him. Everyone has searched for you, but nobody truly thought you were alive.”
“You must’ve,” I snapped.
“Only because I understand your grief. Both of us are reluctant to release the guilt. Jaq, you think that you have to punish yourself, and so you live doing just that. How often do I need to repeat myself? If you hadn’t thrown that spear, Marcus would have had a painful and lingering death. The autopsy has been done, and he was dead . No matter what you or anyone else did, Marcus was bleeding out. Sorry, Jacques, but your family needs you.”
“You know something,” I murmured. “This is the longest that I’ve heard you speak.”
Julia blushed. “Take your own advice.”
Julia shut up and sat silently, allowing me to wallow in my self-pity. Then, three hours before daybreak, she stood and stared.
“Maybe you’re right. I should take my advice. But I can’t do this alone. Jacques, I need help. Perhaps we can do this together.”
I shook my head in denial.
“No, I cannot. I couldn’t even aid my father.”
Julia looked sadly at me.
“Then you truly are dead, Jacques. The sun will be up soon. You should stay out in it, than carry on this wretched existence. Please, I’ll take your bracelet.”
“Bracelet?” I asked, puzzled.
What a strange thing to ask for.
“Yes. I will tell Inka and Mihal that I never found you, only this and that you must have killed yourself in guilt and remorse. No doubt we’ll have a hard time stopping Inka following your example. But we will either stop Inka or fail. Don’t worry yourself.”
The bitch held her hand out as my temper flared.
“Vam’pirs look after each other!”
“I believed that, Jacques, but obviously, you no longer care. Out of loyalty, I’ll try to ease your suicide to spare Inka and Mihal and the rest of your family. They have enough grief.”
Julia snatched the bracelet from my arm and marched off.
“You know the truly sad thing, other than your self-absorption? You haven’t once asked how Maryn is,” Julia threw over her shoulder.
I froze.
The reason we had attacked the creature was because it had Maryn and had badly injured her. Diana’s screams came back to haunt me, and I recalled the whole scene again.
Father had run at the Kraken because it was trying to kill the townspeople. His face had twisted with hate because it had hurt Maryn. Father had taken a risk because of Maryn, and had got too close. I had made myself forget that because of my self-pity.
Julia was right. I had failed to consider Maryn, her unborn children, or Diana. That was very selfish. I also realised that Julia had just had her first conversation with someone in fourteen years, and all I did was abuse her.
Julia had asked me for help and what would happen when she returned alone? Would Julia retreat back into her shell again? There was just one witness who could attest to the remarkable event: me.
I couldn’t let Julia fall into her previous state.
“Wait!” I yelled.
Julia stopped, not looking at me.
Buoyed, I jogged to Julia’s side and took her hand.
“We will do this together,” I said quietly.
Julia inclined her head in agreement, and I saw tears running down her face. She had left herself open to me, and I had thrown it back in her face.
“I’m so very sorry.”
“It’s okay, Jacques. At least you are coming home with me.”
“Maybe it is time for us both to heal and learn to live with our mistakes.”
“Yes, for me, it is overdue. Hopefully, it won’t take as long for you, Jacques. I think I would like to see my families, both of them,” Julia added softly.
I squeezed her hand.
“You are not alone. I’ll be by your side the whole time.”
Together, we made our way through the forest. When Julia reached a spot that she recognised, she clasped me in her arms and transported both of us directly into the town.
There were gasps and cries. “They’re back.”
Inka rushed into my arms, sobbing out her relief at seeing me alive and well. Then, my family surrounded me, and I allowed them a few minutes before I pushed them firmly away.
“I have to do something, but I will talk to you later and beg for your forgiveness,” I whispered to Inka.
Julia stood on the outskirts of the crowd, and I turned to face her. I extended my hand towards her and grasped hers again. Julia seemed reluctant but walked to me, her face unreadable. The crowd followed at a distance, feeling that something momentous was going to happen, and it did.
I led Julia to her family’s villa and gave Julia a gentle shove.
Her mother came to the entrance, curious as to all the commotion. Pausing, she paled upon seeing her daughter for the first time in years. A hand lifted slowly to her throat in that age-old gesture, and then she shrieked and ran down the steps to where Julia stood.
Julia’s father and twin sister, with her husband and children, came to see what had caused their family member to scream. Her father cried and rushed to join his wife, his other daughter, a hair’s breadth behind him.
Julia was openly crying, and I’d intruded enough, so backed away to melt into the embrace of my family.
I asked after Maryn and Taran’s face set.
“The situation’s bad,” Taran replied.
“How bad?” I questioned, fearful of the answer.
“The Kraken wounded Maryn severely and has injured the babies that she carried.”
“Carried?”
“We managed to resuscitate Maryn and get her the vital blood transfusion she needed. But where the Kraken had clamped its jaws around her stomach, it forced Maryn into premature labour. The twins were born, just barely alive.
“Jonas, the boy has a severely damaged spinal cord, and we don’t think it is likely that he’ll live. If he does, Jonas will never walk. We can’t fix the injury; it is simply too bad. A few Vam’pirs have sailed to Marel for a medical rejuvenator. The girl Mara, named for Father…” Taran broke off, unable to go on as tears clogged in his throat.
Father’s name had been Marcus. I put my hand on Taran’s shoulder and squeezed gently.
“Mara will be lucky to survive. Her injures are severe. She’s on a life-support machine, and we keep a vigil, but we can’t tell. Mara’s wounds are internal, and if she survives another week or two, then she’ll live, but we just don’t know ,” Ju finished.
“And Maryn?”
No one looked at me, and I braced myself for the worst.
“She’ll be in her grave within a week. Maryn struggles to breathe, and how she holds on, I’m not sure. Maryn’s determined to ensure her children are well.”
Taran’s words could not be truer. Mara’s condition stabilised, and her mother’s worsened. Three days later, Maryn died. Beautiful, shy Maryn gave up the fight and went silently into the night. By her side were Diana, Stefan, and Nes’c. The latter sobbed bitterly as he begged her to fight just that little bit longer, but Maryn’s poor body refused to take anymore. Maryn slipped into sleep after seeing her two babies for the last time. Death in the end had been painless for Maryn.
If it hadn’t been for Julia, I think I would have followed her. The deaths had crippled us all in ways that we never saw. The grief expressed by the human community was unprecedented for the Morans. Since establishing Mora, no deaths had occurred, making it unbearable to lose two of the most prominent individuals.
As for the Vam’pirs, not only had we lost one of our children, but my father, who had championed us so many times. The death of Father hit my family hard, as did the death of Maryn. Not only did we mourn for him, but we mourned for the loss of our adopted daughter or sister.
Maryn’s twins had survived, so at least we had them, but they, too, had lost a mother who would have doted on them. Jonas had been healed and would grow to be strong. The sad fact was that Maryn had been so young.
If something had happened to the infants, Nes’c would have joined her in the grave. As it was, he stayed for his children and refused to let them out of his sight. I couldn’t blame Nes’c for his emotions. Over time, we realised how much Nes’c had loved Maryn and her kind nature.
It took months for Mora to recover from the tragedy that had hit us. The atmosphere that surrounded the town was quiet anguish and pain. Every family felt they had lost someone; such was the tight-knit community we had become. At least Father and Maryn had survived long enough to see their dream come true of a wonderful and free place to live.
That was something that comforted us all. The parents of the toddler Maryn had died for, offered to move away, feeling their presence too much of a grim reminder.
We refused to let them go. They had to learn that a community that played together grieved together.
We made it clear they had no blame attached at all, and we went out of our way to include them in things. The Vam’pirs, in particular, made an effort to check on them or indulge the toddler with new toys.
It wasn’t their fault, it wasn’t anyone’s. I finally learned to accept that. As I said, I know now that my throw did not kill Father. Father had taken a terrible risk because, and through his anger, he hadn’t been able to think clearly and so paid with his life. An awful price to pay for protecting your community, but it had been paid.
◆◆◆
For the next ten years, nothing happened, and then one day, the Moran’s were faced with a dishevelled and untidy Marel. He looked terrible and refused to say or do anything until he had spoken to us. And boy, did Marel have a tale to tell.
Marel, as usual, scanned the night sky for anomalies and spotted a star in an unusual position. He had studied it for several months, bringing it to the attention of other stargazers. Then the truth came out. It wasn’t a star, but a comet. Excitement initially surrounded the uncharted comet, but fear quickly returned.
The comet, a rogue, was on a collision course with Earth, with no possible action to prevent it. Even worse, there was no chance that it would pass close to the planet. It had Earth in its bullseye. Disagreements arose regarding the course of action, with only eight individuals currently aware of it. The comet was going to hit the middle of the Icelands, causing great upheaval to the atmosphere and great planetary changes.
Nathan asked, “How does that concern us?”
“Mora will be the safest continent to be.”
“And you want us to accommodate the Kaltons? Go to hell,” Ami spat.
“Sorry, Marel. You, of course, are welcome. Kaltos and its people can go straight to hell for all we care,” Li’zel agreed.
“I just wondered…” Marel tried to speak again, only to be cut off by Nathan.
“No. We’ll not do it. Kaltos are not getting any aid from Mora—or its community. We were forced to leave Kaltos. Now, something threatens Kaltos and will wipe your people out, you want our aid. Where was Kaltos when we wanted, no needed, help?”
“Wait a minute.” I sighed as Eduardo spoke. “We can’t just let people die even if they have treated us badly.”
“Why not?” I interrupted.
“Yeah, why not?” Mera asked, her face bitter and twisted.
“Because that is not human kindness,” Eduardo reprimanded.
“And we are not human,” Li’zel none too gently reminded him.
“But the majority of individuals in Mora are human. We have to include them in this discussion,” Julius backed Eduardo up.
Bloody typical.
“Let Kaltons die. Isn’t that exactly what they told us? They didn’t give a damn, and now we are meant to save their sorry lives. Has everyone forgotten how we were driven out of Kaltos? Nah, fuck them all. I think this is the reckoning that they deserve,” Ami added spitefully—and that was how the Reckoning got its name.
“We can’t just leave them to die. That makes us no better than them, and we must consider the human population of Mora. Sorry, but Julius and Eduardo are right. This has to be done in an open discussion,” Seti interrupted.
“Damn you!” I exploded. “Nathan and Ami are correct. Let Kaltos fucking rot. Have you forgotten how they set me alight and would have burned all of us? Kaltons tried to kill our families for Creator’s sake, and now you want to welcome them. If they come, I leave and take my family with me. I’ll not live with murderers and bullies.”
Silence greeted that statement as everyone turned their heads to face me. I was right. If they came, then all our old fears would resurface. None of us had forgotten and we didn’t want to live like it again.
Angrily, I spat on the floor at Marel’s feet.
“How could you ask this? Have we not been exiled from our birth land? Now, you want us to take those bastards who drove us away? Worse, you want Vam’pirs to house them on our land. If it happens, Mora will be overwhelmed, and we will be a minority.”
“Jacques, when news about the comet is revealed, this place will be swarming with people. This’ll be the safest place on Earth. This continent will experience the least amount of damage. Although Mora is not totally safe, it is a hell of a lot safer than Kaltos will be over the next few months. Whether you like it or not, people will come here,” Marel explained, avoiding eye contact.
“Let them. We’ll defend the Morans and ourselves. If blood is to be spilled, I can guarantee it won’t be ours,” Li’zel added in heat. “Why should we inform our community? Morans think they are safe from those bastards they left behind. Let’s make this decision now. Protect what is ours.”
“Li’zel, you sound just like them,” Ana said in disagreement.
“How do I?” Li’zel demanded.
“Protect what is ours? Is that not what the Kaltons shouted as they drove us out? We have to help them. Perhaps we can move them to another side of the continent. Put them somewhere else.”
“Once the gratitude fades, they will attack Mora to rid themselves of us. I’m not going through that again. Let them rot,” Ami argued back.
“We can’t do that. We must tell the Moran’s and allow them to decide with us. If we make it ourselves, no matter how we might have acted out of goodwill, the community just might resent us.”
“Julius is right. Why should we destroy the goodwill of our friends and family just for the sake of those bastards?” Seti nodded in agreement.
Nathan and I stared at Seti with smouldering anger in our gaze, and Li’zel and Ami were no better.
The vote was taken, and we were forced to tell the Morans.
I hated myself as I saw fear resurface in Mihal and Cleo’s eyes. They may have only been babies when we fled from Kaltos, but they remembered minor details. Mihal hated fire to this day.
A vote was taken, and we lost.
People, in general, wanted to aid the Kaltons, hoping that the bad feelings might have died down and we were no longer feared.
Marel spoke his thanks in a generous way, praising us for our forgiving ways and willingness to help.
Bullshit.
I didn’t want the Kaltons here, but there was nothing I could do about it. What I did do, though, was put forward a motion that the Morans leave Mora and move elsewhere. When asked why, I explained my belief that the Kaltons remained the same.
Once more, I lost the vote, prompting me to start searching for a new place to live. I wasn’t alone in my quest, Li’zel, Ami, and Nathan all felt the same way, and so they helped. D’vid, Kait and Tobais joined me, too, as they, too, felt we would be in danger.
Inka and the rest all disagreed with me. They made it plain that they thought we were wasting our time and effort, but we refused to give up, thinking that we were right. We were proved so when the news hit Kaltos of the impending disaster. Most of the population refused to believe that Kaltos was in any danger and closed their ears to Marel’s rumour-mongering, as it was called.
Kaltons, arrogant to the end—so different from the race that had birthed me.
A quarter of a century had changed them into people I did not recognise. So fickle was their personalities.
The only thing I was able to get approved was a record of banned individuals at our refuge. Inka’s parents, D’vid’s family, and Claudias all topped that list. Kaltons might have us on a hit list. We had them on one, too.