The Night Children

Chapter 53

"Did you ever wonder who truly slaughtered Amber?" Aaron asked, twirling his hand around to examine one of his fingers. He looked devilish with the shadows illuminating and speckling his face, casting his green and gold gaze into darkness. I only stared at him, fury fusing my mouth shut.

"She was a weak member of the pack anyway," He said casually, moving his head to glance in the direction of the Alpha. "And a pack cannot have a tunid loving wolf." He pointedly turned to flash Isaac a look.

"But how?" I said loudly, ignoring Miss Andersons impatient gesture towards her Parade members. "You never showed any signs of what you were."
"But didn't I?" Chuckled Aaron, motioning towards the rest of the wolves. "Carrying a Parade weapon, shooting Isaac, always running into you in the woods, leaving for three months." He looked at me, a smirk upturning his lips. "Ensuring my secret was protected, even if it meant lying to you over and over."

"Where were you for three months then?" I hissed back, moving to take a step closer to Isaac but he had remained as silent as ever, his eyes unwavering from Aaron's.

Aaron squinted, as if pretending he was deep in thought. "Oh you know," He said airily, waving his hands around. "Just killing and turning children while the rest of the tunids scrabbled for stupid clues."

My lungs creaked with the effort to hold oxygen, and it took a few seconds for me to regain my composure.

"I thought you were with your dad?" I said, my voice sounding shaky against the wind.

Aaron only rose an eyebrow in response. "I slaughtered my father when I was fourteen. He was worthless to me as soon as I was bitten."
"I called your father when you never came back to school." I retorted, dragging my mind away from the fact that Aaron had taken the life of his very own parent.

"Oh you must be mistaken," He replied, his eyes flickering to Miss Anderson's. "See our communication is linked to the pack. "My friend Gabriel here would've answered that call." He motioned towards a stocky grey wolf near him however the wolf was focused on me, as were all the others. They were looking at me as if I disgusted them, as if the very sight of me repulsed them.

"Enough with the sappy stories," Miss Anderson snapped, clenching her sword in her bony fingers. "The end of the story is no more children are being turned. This ends here and now."

But Aaron only sniggered, shaking his head as if this statement was amusing. He looked over at the rows of the Parade, his eyes narrowing. "You think you can outbeat us?"

Miss Anderson held herself upright, her armour flashing in the moonlight. "I know I can. You are nothing in comparison to the Parade."

"But yet we have gone mostly unscathed for several months." Aaron beamed, his eyes wide with a form of playfulness beneath his gaze. "What makes you think you can defeat all of us now?"

Miss Anderson didn't flinch from his gaze, but instead a small smile began to creep upon her face, stretching it so wrinkles formed at the crevices. "Because I have what you want."
In one swift second The Parade had formed a circle around me, bodies blocking me nearly entirely from the view of the wolves. All of them pointed weapons at my chest, snagging my clothes but not breaking my skin.

Isaac launched forwards but Miss Anderson held up the hilt of her sword. Isaac stilled immediately, fear passing across his face.

"I think you know what the Parazonium is capable of." She warned, titling the hilt of the jewelled sword towards Isaac.

"Deminisher of the devil," Isaac breathed, his voice was sharp as a dagger. "I know what the sacred Parade weapon can do to us."

Miss Anderson cocked her head, watching him with hilarity. "And yet you still reach to protect the girl." She didn't give him enough time to speak before she looked towards the wolves, her jaw setting. "Bow down before me, plead your submission to the Parade and the girl can leave unharmed."