18. The Moon’s Shadow #2
Lila lunged forward and grabbed them both by the shirt, pulling them back.
“Lila, wha?—”
“Shut up,” she hissed. “It’s him.”
Flora looked out to where the densely wooded path opened to the meadow. There, sitting casually at the edge of the spring, was a figure she knew very well.
Noec drew his blade and stepped protectively in front of the others. As still as winter, the three of them watched as the young man scoffed and rose to his feet.
“Long time no see,” he called back to them, dusting the sand from his clothes—the same clothes he’d worn on the day he attacked her, only now they were riddled with holes and stains of dried blood.
He took a step forward, they took a step back.
Noec grumbled through clenched teeth in warning, but, unphased, the figure strolled closer, his thumbs hooked in his dirty pant pockets and his eyes low.
From his neck hung the swirling pendant that had sailed away in his empty box, water-dark and heavy as though it had been dredged from the current.
He stopped just short of them and smirked half-heartedly.
“What’s wrong?” he said as his eyes lifted to Noec. “Cat got your tongue?”
Perri’s eyes seemed to be his own, and the erratic shifting had lessened.
The shitty puns were on brand, too.
Quiet, Noec squeezed the dagger tighter in his hand.
Perri glanced from Noec to Lila, then sunk with a grim bitterness as his dark eyes found Flora. “I’m here to warn you, Noec,” he said, a twitch in the corner of his lip as he watched her over Noec’s shoulder. “I saw you in the Forest.”
“Flora,” Lila whispered. “If ever there was a time to shoot somebody.”
“Wait,” Noec said. “Let him speak.”
Perri finally broke his glare at Flora, meeting Noec’s eyes. “There are other monsters in those woods—things far more dangerous than you and I.” Gravely, he continued, “Monsters who will see you and know that you don’t belong.”
Noec paused, his curiosity curbed by apprehension.
“Have you heard the echo?” Perri inquired. Flora shared a confused look with Lila.
“Yes,” Noec responded tensely after a moment. “Yes, I have.”
Perri stretched his hand, and Noec again readied his stance. Perri paused in response, then folded his arms in front of him. “That’s him.”
“Him?” Noec inquired.
“The Shadowkeeper patrols Night Sky Forest,” Perri explained. “He is the harbinger of the curse of the Moon’s Shadow.” Again, his glare fell onto Flora, and the hair stood up on the back of her neck.
Noec waved his hand to bring Perri’s attention back to him. “Are you... you?” he asked.
“I’m what’s left of me, yes,” Perri replied. With a sigh, he added, “Unfortunately.” Letting his hands fall back to his pockets, he turned around. “I’m glad you survived me, Noec,” he said, his voice gravelly with exhaustion. Quietly, he added, “And you, Flora—you, too.”
“Wait,” Flora called after him. “We had your funeral, Perri. Why haven’t you come home?”
“Home?” Perri scoffed. “What home is there, where my sister is dead? Where her killer walks free, and where my closest friends would defend her, despite everything she’s done?” What remained of the atrophied muscles tightened as he clenched his fists.
“Perri…” Flora muttered. “It wasn’t me.”
“Of course it wasn’t,” Noec said. To Perri, he added, “They said whatever killed Sona was beyond human. What Rachel saw was a mimic—a scythe. Flora didn’t do a thing.”
Perri’s fist brushed across his cheek as he let out a sigh. “That’s... even worse.”
“What do you mean?” Flora asked.
“Either you murdered my sister, or I assaulted her precious Sleepwalker for nothing.” With a forlorn chuckle, he added, “Either way, I can’t go home.”
“Perri…” Flora begged, but all he offered in response was a fractured sigh.
“Noec, stay out of Night Sky from now on,” Perri cautioned over his shoulder, beginning to walk away. “And if you hear the echo, run as far as you can.”
Along the back of his neck, his skin began to crack—like porcelain in fire.
Moments later, Perri’s withered body caved in on itself, crumbling into burning ash.
The embers gathered, swirling into a dense cluster of dust that coalesced into the form of a polychrome-type scythe—dark brown with an ebony periphery.
Nothing of Perri’s body remained, only flickers of ash and the faint hiss of dying flame.
The storm stirred as the creature beat its wings, and with one sharp motion, it vanished into the trees.
“He’s been out there this whole time,” Noec said, a wave of relief washing over him as his posture finally relaxed.
Flora gripped his arm, and he looked back with a slow-building grin.
Flora smiled back softly, and just a spark of light returned to Noec’s eyes as they shared a thought with no words.
Perri, the boy with the toothy smile and the curly hair—he was still alive.
“Let’s…” Noec cleared his throat, his eyes still smiling. “Let’s get you ladies home,” he said.
“Noec,” Flora started cautiously after they walked for a moment. “What... is an echo?”
Noec returned his weapon to its home. “An echo,” he explained, “is exactly as it sounds. In the depths of the Forest, every so often, a word or a phrase will rumble through the trees. It spreads like a wave as each scythe that hears it echoes it aloud.” He glanced back at Flora.
“Seems to be how they share instructions.”
She raised a brow. “Instructions?”
Noec nodded. “There was an echo calling ‘east’, and next thing I knew, every scythe within miles was flocking toward the eastern village like a cloud of bats.”
“That sounds… terrifying,” Flora murmured. Now, she was certain he’d been downplaying just how precarious his safety in the Forest had been. Tentatively, Flora continued, “And… where does the echo start? With this ‘Shadowkeeper’, I suppose?”
Noec shrugged. “That’s what Perri seems to think.”
Flora gripped Lila’s hand, preparing to step into the water once they arrived at the spring. Lila looked stoic, in a way that Flora wasn’t used to.
“I’ll be waiting right here for you in the morning,” Noec said to Flora with an eager light in his eyes.
“Tell your dad I said ‘thank you’ and that we love his music. And Lila,” he continued with a polite nod, “I’m glad you’ve been coming.
” With a smirk, Noec added, “I’ve been hearing stories since I was a kid.
I’m glad to see the legends are true.” She scoffed, and Noec added, “You’ll always be welcome here. ”
Lila swallowed, and brushing a strand of short curly hair behind her ear, she nodded quietly back.
“Lila, staying for breakfast today?” Mrs. Fray asked as they came down the stairs.
“No, Mrs. Fray, but thank you.” She flung her bag over her shoulder and slipped her shoes on by the door.
“See you tonight?” Flora said, handing Lila her keys.
“No.” Lila paused. “No, I don’t think so.”
“Oh,” Flora said, a bit surprised. “Well I guess I’ll see you sometime soon, then.”
“Sure,” Lila replied with a nod as she stepped out onto the front porch stairs. Facing away, she hesitated.
“You’re... you’re his, aren’t you?”
Flora stopped. “What?—”
“No, he’s... he’s nice.” Lila looked at Flora over her shoulder and grinned her dangerous grin. “I should maybe quit skipping out on sleep, though. See you around, okay loser?”
“See you around, Lila,” Flora responded softly.