Night Lords

Part III Chapter 3

Part III Chapter 3

Gabe, who seemed to be the leader of their little group, nodded and followed Tasha. On the way, we introduced ourselves to them, and likewise, they introduced themselves to us. Gabe, Tam, Felicity and Mel. After the introductions, we all went silent, so I spoke to Tasha in an old dialect to find out what her plans were while the others gossiped about people in their town, which was completely superfluous. 'We need to tell them what they are,' Tasha began, 'but you should do it. I don't like them.'

'I think it's important to find out how they came to be together, how old they actually are and where they are from.'

'Why does that matter?' She asked me.

'This continent is foreign to us,' I told her sadly, 'it would be best to hear how things have changed so we are better prepared emotionally.' She frowned but didn't ask what I meant. It was pretty obvious.

Sometime later, we came to Shadowswatch and were mesmerised by how much it had changed. It had grown into a large town, with a large manor house situated on top. Surrounding it were smaller houses; some were thatch, most were made of slate, and the roads were dotted with shops and a few public houses. One was open, and there didn't seem to be many inside.

We found a table in the middle, and Tasha went and took some menus and placed them in front of us. 'Why are you doing that?' Mel asked. She was the prettiest out of her and Felicity, with long raven-black hair and wide green eyes, but she did not appear to be the brightest. During our conversation, I overheard Mel asking why they never felt hungry but never ate anything and how she found it odd.

'It's a ruse,' Tasha told them. 'Always try and appear like a human when surrounded by them. It's how we blend in.'

Gabe folded his arms. 'And what exactly are we?'

Tasha sat back and nodded at me. 'You're up. I have no patience for this rubbish.'

Sighing, I leant across the sticky rectangular stained oak table and said softly, 'We are called Night Lords. Several things you need to know: One, we are immortal. Two, we are only active during the night. Three, we live off the beams of the moonlight. Four, we don't eat human food. Five, we have no stomachs to eat anyway. Six, we cannot procreate. Seven, we protect humans from elemental Deemons that humans cannot see.'

'Eight,' Tasha began, 'We do not tell humans who or what we are. They currently think we are something called, Vampires that suck human blood.'

All four of them stared at us in shock. 'We thought we were vampires!' Mel gasped. 'But I couldn't bare the thought of killing someone!'

'It's fantastic that we are immortal,' Tam smiled.

'You are only immortal if you don't get yourself killed,' Tasha snapped at him. 'Prolonged exposure to the sun and death by Deemons.'

Mel and Felicity shared a look. 'I think- I think I've seen a Deemon,' Felicity said. 'Little brown creature. It looked like a giant toad and a monkey but without a tail.'

'Sounds like an earth Deemon,' I said to her. 'We protect humans from them. They will attack humans, usually if they are ill or dying. But they have been known to attack young Night Lords and humans that Night Lords protect. It's imperative that you never contact a human and you leave your human family behind.'

Gabe shook his head, 'No, we will not be doing that. We are staying put. We love our families. I'm engaged to a human. We've been courting for five years. I want to start a family with her.'

Tasha's mouth fell open. 'You cannot be serious.'

'You cannot,' I told him. 'You will not be able to produce children. None of us can,' I glanced at the females. 'It's just how we were created.'

'And how did that happen, anyway?' Tam asked. 'How did we become what we are? All I know is that one day I'm all normal; the next, I have stomach pains, I can barely eat food, I'm up all night unable to sleep, and the sun hurts my very skin. It's been like this for six months. Is there a cure?'

'Oh,' I looked at the others, 'so, are you all fifteen, sixteen years old then?'

'I've just turned seventeen, same as Gabe,' Tam said. 'The girls are both sixteen. We found each other because all our parents are friends and they all said we have the same illness. But we are old enough to live our own lives.'

'You were all chosen to be Night Lords from birth because you are able to protect people; you have a strong will to protect humans from harm,' I told them with a smile. 'I would very much like you all to come with us back to Marthen in Persar, but I do not think you would.'

They all shook their heads. 'We can't; Felicity has her mother to look after,' Gabe explained, 'I'm engaged, and Tam and Mel have jobs to go to. We have lives here.'

I nodded, then said quietly, 'And what would you do when fifty years have passed, and you have not altered in your appearance, and those around you find you abnormal, and you have buried all your friends and family? Then what?' They didn't say anything. 'What happens in two-hundred years and everything that you knew had gone. You can maybe go away for a couple of decades and come back as your own son or daughter who looks remarkably like yourselves. But would you honestly still want to be around the area you grew up in, knowing that a stone's throw away were the graves of your loved ones? Holding onto a secret that only the four of you know can be difficult. It's very easy to tell someone you are over six-hundred years old- but it's not easy for them to understand how and why. The world is changing, it's becoming darker, and there are few of us, Night Lords, in it Deemons are fighting back, and they are killing us off one by one-'

'Why, though? Why kill humans? Why kill us?' Mel asked.

'Because we are a form of good,' Tasha finally spoke up. 'We help others; we save their lives. Humans cannot see Deemons. Only we can. It's our job, our legacy, to fulfil. It's what we were born to do.'

'I'm sorry that no one told you who you were or what you were, but now you know. Though you are young, you need training to protect yourselves. If you come across a Deemon, they will try and kill you. They want to take you out while you are young, impetuous, and new to your speed and strength. They will take full advantage of this. I remember being in a few scrapes myself when I was your age.'

'How old are you? What twenty-six?' Mel asked.

I smiled, 'Add about five-hundred and eight, and you've got the right number.' I nodded to Tasha. 'She's nearly four centuries older than me.'

Felicity put a tender hand on her stomach. 'That's why we can't have children, isn't it, because we live so long?'

'Yes,' Tasha sadly said. 'Look, Petra is right about what she said. If you want to come with us, meet others, and learn how to protect yourself, you can do that. We are safer and stronger in a group.' They all turned their attention to Gabe, who just shook his head. 'Then,' Tasha stood, 'this discussion is over.'

'No, wait,' Felicity, 'if those Deemons attack us, we cannot protect ourselves.'

Gabe shrugged, 'They won't. We are stronger together.' He nodded at me. 'Why are you here again? You didn't tell us.'

I sat back, waiting for Tasha to reply. 'We are here because an important excavation is happening at Stonehead Arrow.'

'Arrowhead,' Tam corrected her. 'Why, what's there?'

Tasha inhaled deeply, and I saw her digging her fingers into her skin. 'That is our business. Petra, let's go.'

'I'm sorry, I cannot tell you,' I told them, 'Besides, you wouldn't believe us if we did.' Following Tasha out of the pub, she turned right and headed back down the road towards the excavation site. The others didn't follow us.