Chapter 13 Face Beneath the Mask
ARC III THE BLOOD WRAITH
The mountains did not forget. For two days after the troll attack, the feeling remained. The sensation of unseen eyes following them through the wilderness. Watching. Waiting. Judging.
The masked warrior never appeared again. Yet his presence lingered. Toivo found himself thinking about him constantly. The impossible speed. The strange swordsmanship. The way Moon had reacted. Most of all the way the stranger had looked at him.
Not like an enemy. Not like a friend. Almost like someone looking at a memory. That bothered him.
They traveled deeper into the mountains. Narrow paths wound between towering cliffs. Snow appeared more frequently. The air grew colder. By daylight Moon remained in his smaller child form. Long black hair trailing almost to the ground. Jet black eyes that changes into Silver eyes hidden behind strands of dark silk-like hair.
Toivo noticed Moon growing quieter.
Even Gret noticed.
"He's worried."
Kev, currently lounging atop the palanquin in cat form, opened one eye.
"Very observant."
"You knew?"
"I've known him for centuries."
The cat closed his eye again.
"When Moon worries, everyone should worry."
That answer helped nobody.
Three nights later they made camp within an abandoned stone fortress. Ancient ruins from some forgotten kingdom. Only half the walls still stood. Snow drifted through broken archways. The roof had long ago collapsed. Yet it provided shelter. Moon's fairies illuminated the darkness. Tiny lights drifting among ancient stones. Toivo sat beside the fire sharpening Frostfang.
Gret prepared supper. Kev slept nearby. Everything seemed peaceful.
Then every fairy extinguished itself simultaneously. Darkness swallowed the ruins. The fire went out. The air froze. Everyone stood instantly. Moon was already looking toward the broken gate. Something had arrived. Footsteps echoed through the darkness.
Slow. Steady. Deliberate.
Then a figure appeared. Black cloak. Black armor. Silver eyes. The masked warrior. The stranger stood motionless beneath the ruined archway. Snow drifted around him.
Toivo immediately grabbed Frostfang.
Gret lifted his greataxe. Kev transformed.
Black cat became pale demon. Short red hair. Crimson eyes. Shadow claws.
The stranger ignored them all. His gaze rested solely upon Moon. For several long moments nobody spoke.
Then Moon broke the silence.
"Why are you here?"
The warrior answered. His voice was deep. Quiet. Unexpectedly gentle.
"To see if it was truly you."
Toivo blinked.
Nobody spoke to Moon like that. Not even Gret. Not even Kev.
The stranger took another step forward.
"After all this time."
Moon's expression hardened.
"Leave."
The warrior flinched. Just slightly. As though the word had wounded him.
Then laughter echoed through the mountains.
Everyone froze.
The sound was unmistakable.
Matias. The Laughing Reaper.
"Hahahahaha!"
The mountains answered. Dozens of corpse puppets emerged from the darkness. Dead soldiers. Dead beasts. Dead trolls. An ambush.
The ruins exploded into battle.
Toivo charged first. Frostfang split apart the nearest corpse.
Gret smashed another into fragments. Kev vanished into shadows. Screams followed.
The masked warrior moved. And everything changed.
His sword flashed. Silver moonlight cut through darkness. Corpse puppets fell apart by the dozens. The speed was unreal.
Even Gret stared.
"What in the world..."
The warrior fought like flowing water. Like wind. Like Moon's silk techniques transformed into swordsmanship. Toivo suddenly realized something.
His movements felt familiar. Too familiar.
Then Matias appeared atop a ruined wall. White smiling mask. Massive scythe. The Reaper laughed.
"There you are."
The masked warrior turned.
For the first time anger appeared.Real anger.
Matias laughed harder.
"Still hiding behind that mask?"
Silence.
"How embarrassing."
The Reaper pointed his scythe.
"Show them."
The warrior ignored him.
Matias sighed dramatically.
Then disappeared. And reappeared directly behind him.
The scythe struck.
CLANG.
The masked warrior blocked. The impact shattered stone.
The mask cracked. A single fracture spread across its surface.
Everyone froze. The warrior stepped backward.
The broken mask slid from his face. And hit the ground.
Silence. Absolute silence.
Toivo stared. His mind stopped working.
Gret stared. Kev stared.
Even Matias stopped laughing.
Because beneath the mask stood someone who looked almost exactly like Toivo. Blond hair. Blue eyes. The same facial structure. The same jawline. The same features. Only older. Taller. Stronger. More mature. As though someone had taken Toivo and added ten years.
Toivo felt his heart stop.
"What..."
The stranger looked at him. Sadness filled his eyes. An emotion so deep it hurt to witness.
"No."
His voice was barely a whisper.
"You look more like him than I expected."
Moon's expression had become completely unreadable. The dark-eyed god stared at the revealed face. Not shocked. Not surprised. Only tired. Very tired.
The stranger slowly looked toward Moon. For a brief moment centuries seemed to pass between them. Then he smiled. A small smile. A painful smile.
"I finally found you."
Moon looked away. As though unable to bear the sight.
The stranger's smile faded. Matias watched everything with amusement.
"Oh, this is becoming interesting."
The Reaper spun his scythe.
"Very interesting."
The masked warrior now unmasked turned toward him.
His blue eyes became ice. Pure killing intent filled the ruins. For the first time all night Matias stopped smiling.The two ancient beings stared at one another. Something terrible was about to happen.
And Toivo suddenly realized the journey north had become far more dangerous than he had ever imagined. Because the mysterious warrior was not merely connected to Moon.
He was part of a past Moon desperately wanted buried. And that past had finally caught up with them.
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