Silver Light Chapter 5 (Patreon)

The next morning when we set out to make visits to as many of our friend’s houses as we could, the city was changed. In some places it was glaringly obvious, in others it was less obvious. In the suburb where the bar had been you could still see the fires burning, a huge plume of smoke billowing up above the city like some titanic creature being born. Small fires added to the dark cloud of soot and smoke, their smaller fires raging just as unchecked as the larger ones. Every now and then little flakes of ash would fall on us as we walked through the thankfully safe area we’d stayed.

People stood outside their doors and spoke in hushed tones, as though the oppressive black cloud above us would take notice and lash out. It wasn’t just the cloud though, it was the silence. The empty void of sound where there should have been the hum of distant traffic made all the more poignant by the daylight. A quiet city in daylight hours was an eerie experience, one that scared me more even than the smoke creature above us. Fiona and I walked through the silence without a word.

That is, we walked in silence until someone interrupted us.

Hello Delphira! Did you sleep well? I would like to know because I do not sleep and the idea that humans voluntarily lose consciousness for around eight hours every day is slightly terrifying. How do you do it? It’s always fascinated me. Oh! I’ve been studying our connection and I think I’ve-

“Moon! Hi, please… one word at a time please it’s hard to understand you when you run them together like that,” I blurted, interrupting her. She’d surprised me and that had sent all my tact out the window.

Oh. I am sorry. Yes, I am just getting used to having my speed of thought matching that of you mortals and it’s very hard to get the hang of.

“Moon’s awake huh?” Fiona grinned.

“Yeah she is… well, apparently she doesn’t sleep but… anyway… Moon what did you figure out?” I asked.

I am able to imbue your skin with protection!

“What kind of protection…?”

Protection from physical harm! It’s a bit finicky, but I’m sure I can stop many blows before I will have to imbue you again. It’s quite fascinating to watch our distinctly different magical auras interacting you know. I’ve been watching it the entire time you were asleep!

I was genuinely happy to hear this news, and it showed in my voice, “That’s so cool! Can you do it now?”

Indeed I can, as I am still in the sky! I will be unable to imbue you when I am not in the sky however, so do be careful during those times. Wait… I may be able to shift my orbit, although it has been a very long time since I was any good at orbital mechanics.

“Yeah I’d rather you didn’t do that and end up deorbiting yourself Moon. One apocalypse at a time please,” I laughed. This was absolutely wild. I was asking the moon to please not end all life on earth by accident.

Ah you are correct. Shifting myself might have adverse effects on those of you running around on Earth. I will keep myself stationary. Now, on to the imbuement. Hold still!

“Wait, hold still? Is this going to be like last ti-” I protested, before I felt an almost violent tingling across my skin.

There wasn’t any overwhelming sensations of pleasure, which I was both thankful for and a little disappointed about. It wasn’t dissimilar to the way all the hairs on your body stand on end when something excites or surprises you.

“Whoa, what did the Moon just do to you?” Fiona asked sharply, her eyes flicking wildly across my body.

“Uh, I think it’s an energy shield, although she didn’t call it that,” I said, holding my up arm and pulling the sleeve to get a look.

The skin seemed normal at first, until I noticed the strange glow it had. It was as though little waves of silver light were shifting and swirling across my skin. Along with the waves was a strange aura of the same colour that made it look as though my skin was taking ambient light from an invisible bluish white light. The effect was subtle, but still definitely noticeable.

“Huh, I glow funny,” I said matter of factly.

“Your eyes are doing the same thing, but more intense. It’s actually really pretty,” Fiona told me, her eyes gazing into mine.

I blinked, again she’d called me pretty, and again it sent a little spark of happiness through me. Who knew I’d like being called pretty? It wasn’t the same as being called handsome. A sparse few girls had called me handsome, but even those few times had not elicited this same reaction from me. I liked being pretty more than handsome I guess. I was pretty!

Oh yes, you will glow a bit. Never fear, that’s the… shield, as you called it.

“Thanks Moon, I hope it doesn’t end up being necessary, but somehow that doesn’t seem realistic anymore,” I said, genuinely thankful for her help, “You’re totally my favourite moon now.”

Who was your favourite moon before?

“Uh… let’s not talk about that. It’s time to keep moving anyway!” I said, avoiding the subject. She’d probably tell me about how annoyed that other moon made her.

Ah, yes well… good luck on your walking then. With your legs and the like. I would like to have limbs one day. I wonder how that feels… to have limbs…

I ignored her idle musings and Fiona and I continued walking.

“I’m pretty jealous right now, not gonna lie. I want cool shimmering skin,” Fiona said with a smile.

I grinned back, “You do! It’s just back in your apartment. Should have suited up, then you’d be ten times cooler than me and my shimmery skin.”

“Really? You actually think my armor is cool?” she said, getting a little shy.

“Damn straight your armour is cool! You’re like an actual knight! That’s so so so cool!” I exclaimed, confused by her bashfulness on the subject.

She shrugged and looked away, “I guess. I haven’t really met anyone outside my group that thinks that. Even the others that we’re going to go find still made fun of me a bit for it.”

“Wow that’s like all kinds of rude! I’ll tell them to bugger off or I’ll… blast them with magic or something!” I said sincerely.

“Thanks,” she said, a lopsided grin appearing on her face as she turned back to look at me.

“No problem!”

****

The first place we called on was Harry’s house. He was also in a safer neighbourhood free of fires or looting… or so we thought. The house was a fairly standard looking inner suburban home with two storeys and a US flag out the front. Harry was lucky enough to have his parents live close to the city, and so he lived with them.

When we walked up to the door with the intention of knocking, Fiona stopped me and pointed to it. She’d seen what I hadn’t, that the door had been kicked in. The door was ever so slightly ajar, and as a breeze picked up it moved slightly.

“Fuck,” she whispered, “Why didn’t I bring my sword?”

“Should we go in?” I asked softly.

She seemed to be of split mind for a moment before she nodded, “I’ll go first, stay behind me okay?”

I started to protest, wanting to argue that because I had my shield she shouldn’t be the one going first, but she shushed me with a finger to her lips.

I felt a spike of fear for her as she pushed the door open, but nothing came out of the shadows to hurt her. The entrance hall was empty. I crept along as quietly as I could behind Fiona, but she was far more nimble on her feet that I was. The interior was the same as most other houses of this type, drywall painted eggshell with a few pictures hanging on the wall. Where things differed from the norm was the way the place had been torn apart. Where the paintings should have been on the wall as I’d described, instead they lay on the ground with their glass in shattered pieces.

I don’t know what it was about this place, but something felt off. It was like the air was excited or high strung. I felt a sense of creeping unease enter my heart, and I moved myself closer to my friend. She might be wildly better at fighting than I was, but I was damn well going to be a shield for her if something happened.

We followed the hallway to its end, where the combined living room and kitchen were. The door was open just a crack, and Fiona turned to me to again signal that I should stay quiet. I obliged, positioning myself so I wouldn’t be a hindrance if there was someone waiting on the other side. Carefully she edged the door open, and when no threat came she moved into the room.

It happened before I could process it, that’s how fast they were. A flash of dark clothing and deep red was all I saw before Fiona was leaping further into the room. She had dodged a knife thrust, the blade coming within a breath of catching her. I watched in shocked fear as the person or thing who had tried to kill her turned.

He was clad in a dark brown cloak and wore a bronze mask depicting a man with strong features and a grim smile. Beneath his cloak his body was wrapped in alternating dark brown and dark red ribbons. The loose ends shifted and moved about his body in a way that distracted the eye and made it much harder to judge what his next move would be.

His move was to make for Fiona again with his twin foot and a half long daggers. She twisted and turned with a grace that I had only seen hinted at before. The man however, was far more mechanical and deadly with his movements, each action coming as a sort of incredibly fast twitch of motion. Every slash and stab he attempted sent the trailing ends of the ribbons flashing, further adding to his terrible alien nature.

Fiona was going to get hurt, and there was shit all I could do to help her. Except get in the creepy guy’s way. I ran clumsily into the room with the intention of helping, only to trip on some random object that had been carelessly thrown from a drawer. I went down with a cry onto my knees, watching as I distracted Fiona from the deadly dance she was performing and earning her the spiked pommel of one blade to the arm.

She cried out in pain, shying away from the man as blood welled from the wound. He made no sound but the shifting of his clothing and the shuffle of his feet as he moved in for the kill.

“No!” I screamed, trying to get up and rush him again.

He turned his head to me and cocked it, as though confused by my actions, then made a dismissive motion with one of his daggers. As soon as his motion was made, I was restrained, the arm of another as yet unseen attacker reaching around behind me. The other arm held a similar sharp jagged dagger to the first guy, and it plunged with vicious speed towards my stomach.

The blade pierced my shirt, but then skittered off my skin like it was made of stone, causing it to flash brightly with silver light as my shield deflected the blow. Behind me, I finally heard a sound from one of our attackers, a grunt of surprise. He didn’t waste time though, immediately making another stab.

Fiona saw this happening and tried to make a lunge for me, but she was kicked to the ground by the first creep. He moved fast, aiming a jab at her chest with a motion that looked as though she were a sacrifice upon an altar. Both hands raised, the twin daggers plunged toward her.

“No!” I cried again, reaching out with my hand in a vain attempt to stop him.

Despite how fast he was, lightning is faster. The image of knots bloomed forth in my mind at my mental scream for my friend, and the crack of energy unleashed shook the room. Briefly the space between us became an homage to the glory of Luna, the single moon of Earth. The air tore apart as the heat of the bolt set it alight, and my foe was torn apart in a flash of brilliant argent light.

Burning chunks of his body sprayed the room in a grim shower that seemed almost to be applause in the face of the terrible display of power that had just occurred. The room was still as the quiet splatter of body parts faded, and I was left staring at my outstretched hand in utter shock.

The arm holding me vanished, and frantic footsteps could be heard dashing through the hallway. The other attacker had left. No sound or cry at his friends’ sudden grisly death, just an emotionless retreat.

“Holy fuck,” Fiona said, her voice coming out strangled and scared.

She sat up and looked at me where I sat unmoving, my hand wavering in the air where it was still pointing towards the remains of the man I had blown up. She stared at me for a long moment, then realised she had a few chunks of the man on her. She twitched and staggered to her feet, brushing them off and making gagging noises.

“That’s fucking disgusting!” she exclaimed, shuddering and grimacing.

I couldn’t think, I was sitting there with one thing in my mind. I’d just killed someone. Sure, he’d been a creepy guy with almost alien movements, but he was still a person and I’d ended him. It was a chilling feeling. I looked down at some unidentifiable chunk of him on the floor nearby and felt my gorge rise. Unlike Fiona, I wasn’t able to hold it down. The cold breakfast we’d eaten came up in a rush.

Fiona was at my side in a heartbeat, pulling my hair out of my face and rubbing my back soothingly.

Distantly I heard myself sob, “I killed him.”

“Hey… he was going to kill me you know. Those weren’t blunted blades or toys. That was the real fucking deal. So uh, thank you I guess. You just saved my life!” she soothed, like she wasn’t the one who’d almost died.

There wasn’t much to throw up, and my friend’s soothing helped me gather myself and try to make sense of what had just happened. I’d always hated the idea of killing someone. Sure in games it was fine, and I’d enjoyed that, but this was different. Killing a real living breathing person, with a history and a life of their own was plain disturbing. They were gone, never to be seen in the universe again. I couldn’t help but think of someone I cared about in their place, their body in pieces and their precious mind lost forever.

I turned and pulled myself against Fiona. I wasn’t crying, I was too shocked to cry, but I needed comfort and the feeling of another person holding me. She obliged without a word, wrapping her arms tightly around me and leaning her head against mine. I felt myself begin to shake in her embrace as the adrenaline of the fight wore off and I found myself wondering what kind of world we now found ourselves in.

Who were those people? They had been tearing this house apart like they were looking for something, and I hoped they hadn’t found it. Why had they been at my friend Harry’s house of all places. His family was so mind numbingly normal and middle class it was hard to think of any reason these strange masked people had been here.

“Elphie, we need to move okay? That lightning of yours wasn’t very quiet, and people are going to come and investigate,” Fiona said, giving me a gentle squeeze.

I nodded, but found my voice had gone on strike and only managed a hushed rasp for a reply.

She helped me to my feet and guided me out of the house with a hand to my back. I really needed to snap out of this. I couldn’t dwell on what had just happened, because as much as I hated it, I might have to do that again to someone else who meant us harm. This new world was going to be a cruel one.