Under a Broken Moon Read online

  Under A Broken Moon

  By Ben Marble

  As Always, to my lovely wife and my family who put up with all my insanity.

  Copyright © 2019 Ben Marble

  This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means (electronic or machine-driven, 3D Photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without prior written permission from the author.

  The First Body

  Six months had passed since the cold certainty the demon had awoken gripped Elias’ heart. The first thing he had done was travel halfway across the country to find out if he was just having the same nightmares which had plagued him since the demon’s imprisonment. Sure enough, the giant black oak which had held the monster captive for over one hundred years had been destroyed.

  Blackened chunks of wood decorated what had once been an immaculate yard. The house of whomever had been living out here, away from civilization, had been smashed to pieces. What was left of the tree was burnt an even darker black than it had been while it was alive. Of the owner there was no sign, but when he had asked around town speculation had grown wild. The man’s gardener had simply shown up to find everything destroyed. The running theory was the owner had been making bombs and one had gone off.

  Looking at the wreckage, Elias knew better. Something had happened to free the demon who had cursed him with his abilities. He had stepped carefully over the remains of what had once been a window, more to try and keep the area undisturbed than risk cutting himself, and surveyed the damage more closely.

  This was his fault. He had grown complacent over the last few years, and now someone had paid the price. When he first trapped the demon, he had checked on the tree every few months. Over time those months had grown to years, and a couple of decades had passed since the last time he had been this way.

  Now here he was, out in the mountains of the sestern states in some town called Cider Falls in Utah. The demon was weak enough Elias could sense the beast’s general location, if not his exact direction, and that had led him here. This ability would fade as the demon gained power so he had a limited window in which he could figure out how to either destroy it or trap it again.

  Now he sat watching the street at six in the morning pondering his next move. Edgar, his assistant was upstairs reading some obscure text. He was never sure what his traveling companion was up to half of the time, the rest of the time his nose was in a book. Like Elias, Edgar did not sleep. They both had twenty-four hours worth of time to fill in the day.

  He watched as a young girl jogged past and raised an eyebrow. Most teenagers avoided being out this early, when it was still dark and school had at least two hours to the attendance bell. With the demon being close by, he decided to follow her. It was the least he could do.

  ✽✽✽

  Pacing her steps, Jill ran with her eyes half shut. She let the memory of the path guide her as much as any of her senses. She felt the wind tease through her hair, catching a couple of golden strands loosened from her ponytail by her movement. The rhythm of her tennis shoes slapping sent pleasant vibrations through her system; she just enjoyed the feeling of motion.

  Jill was always running. Even when she had turned sixteen and gotten her driver’s license last year her favorite method of getting around her small town was on foot. Every morning at this time without fail she was on this path, waking up and stretching her muscles. Even in the winter when it snowed heavy and deep, as it often did this close to the Idaho border, she was outside in the early morning air.

  She was enjoying the cool November air and the smell of frost rising in the air. She wore a simple t-shirt and shorts letting the exercise keep her warm. She moved to cut across the field behind the high school. Jill hoped they had finally tended to the grass, she hated making the final lap home with socks which were soaked through and partially frozen. Jill winced as the long threads whipped against her legs.

  Half way across, something tickled her nose which caused her to stop and look around. It smelled like something was burning nearby. She sniffed again and got a definite whiff of char. It seemed to be coming from the football field, so Jill decided to alter her path and run across it today. It would not add more than a couple of minutes to her morning run.

  In the dark, she was almost halfway across the field when she saw a dark figure stand up, look at her, and sprint away. On instinct she almost gave chase, but stopped when she saw the figure had been standing over a still form. She went to investigate.

  It took Jill a few seconds to realize what she was looking at. Not because she didn’t recognize the body lying on the ground before her. It was Mrs. Hamblin, who was often first to the school to open up. A woman she had often stopped to chat with on her runs, as the older woman walked to school as often as she drove.

  The fact Mrs. Hamblin’s body had smoke curling out of her mouth and her eyes had been removed made her brain fight against accepting reality.

  Gasping, Jill fell to her knees and tried to find her cell phone. She went through her pockets panicking as she could not find the device at first. Then she remembered that it was on an arm strap she had bought the strap to keep it from bouncing in her pocket so she could listen to music without the jack coming unplugged. She would have left the phone at home completely except her parents insisted she keep it on her in case she tripped and sprained an ankle or had another type of emergency. This was absolutely an emergency.

  She had not even started to dial nine-one-one when Jill realized a stranger was standing across from her looking down at the body. Yelping she jumped back and dropped her phone. The person looked up at her, and every cell in her body stiffened with a sense of danger. He motioned to her phone.

  “You had better make that call, the police will want to be here while the body is as fresh as possible.” He kneeled down and his grey eyes almost seemed to glow in the dark. His hair hung loose down past his shoulders, and a neatly trimmed beard framed angular features. He was tall and lean, almost as if he was underfed. Something about him felt wrong, and she did not dare run.

  “Please, call the police. And then your pack, I would like to speak with them.” The man was examining the body closely without touching it.

  “My pack….” Jill picked up her phone and started dialing. “What are you talking about?” There was a click and someone picked up.

  Jill proceeded to describe finding the body to an operator who seemed calm and cold as she typed in the information Jill gave to her. Every now and then, the operator asked a question, and she would answer. The whole time, she was aware of the stranger watching her closely, as if taking a measuring her reactions.

  When she was informed the police were on their way, the operator terminated the call. It was after she hung up, She realized that in all the description she had given, she had not mentioned this stranger who had shown up out of the blue.

  “Miss… what may I call you?” The stranger went back to kneeling by the body. His clothing seemed strange to her, he wore a long navy jacket with silver buttons. Almost like something she had seen a navy captain wearing once in an old black and white photo.

  “I’m Jill,” As soon as she answered she debated on whether or not she should have given this man her name.

  “Elias Crydubh,” he bowed his head a bit respectfully. “I must ask, have you shifted yet Jill?”

  “Have I done what?” This Elias seemed to have the slight underpinnings of a southern accent in his voice. “Why do you keep ask
ing me about packs and shifting?”

  Elias stood up straight and seemed to taste the air. “Don’t worry about it, I must have been wrong.” His voice still said he didn’t think so. “Why are you out this early?”

  “I always run…” Jill stopped. “Does it matter? Why are you out this early?” She crossed her arms.

  “My apologies, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” Elias straightened his jacket. “I saw you running past, and seeing a young lady out in the dark I was worried for your safety. I followed at a distance to make sure you were alright, and then I saw you stop suddenly.” He motioned at the body. “I then came to investigate.”

  “Do you often stalk women in the dark?”

  “That was not my intention, I assure you.” He shifted uncomfortably and Jill almost smiled. Served him right to squirm a little. “Where I come from, it’s dangerous for women to be out in the dark. I should have announced myself to you.”

  “Where you come from? Where do you come from? I haven’t seen you before.”

  “I am from Arkansas originally. You wouldn’t have heard of the town I was raised in.” She felt like he was leaving something out.

  “And in Arkansas it’s dangerous for women to be out at night? Or early in the morning? I thought it was all back woods and rednecks.”

  “And now you are judging me by what a bunch of television shows have taught you? Tsk tsk.” White teeth were revealed as Elias grinned.

  With a shiver, Jill realized she was cold as the sweat she had worked up was freezing to her skin. Noticing her shiver, Elias quickly slipped his Jacket off and wrapped it around her. Looking down she suddenly felt guilty. She was starting to enjoy this talk, but the whole time they had been standing about Mrs. Hamblin’s body as if it was not lying there. “Won’t you be cold?”

  “I haven’t been cold in years.” Elias looked across the field and squinted as if he was seeing or hearing something. A police car came around and entered from the side of the field. A bright searchlight illuminated the area, and two police officers were running in their direction.

  “Are either of you hurt?” One, a balding man, asked as he approached.

  “No, we are fine,” Jill looked down and saw Mrs. Hamblin lying there again. She felt tears coming to her eyes and then lost control for a few moments. While she cried, Elias told the police his side of the story, and the balding officer asked questions while his partner, a fat man in his mid-twenties, took notes.

  “You stepped out of your house to follow a girl you didn’t know?” The officer was asking. There was an accusing tone to his voice.

  “Yes sir, I thought it best if she were not alone out in the dark.”

  “And your parents wouldn’t be upset about you running off into the dark in the middle of the morning?” The officer pressed.

  “My guardian is Edgar Woll. If you would like, we can walk over and he can answer that question himself. I should probably call him because we are minors and there are no parents present.”

  This stopped conversation cold. The police looked uncomfortable and Jill tried to put an age to Elias at the statement. She had thought him older, but examining his face under the light, he could be about her age. He just did not seem her age.

  “Of course, you gentlemen are just taking our statements so there should be no need unless you need to start questioning us?” Elias kept his voice low and innocent, but managed to make his point clearly.

  “No, we aren’t questioning you at this time.” The officer said.

  “It would be understandable if you were, I just want to make sure you do not get in trouble later.” Another bow of respect and Elias made sure he made a show of reading the policeman’s badge. “Officer Browder.”

  “So, if you don’t mind me asking, why were you up this early Elias?” Officer Browder was trying to be polite, but he half gritted his teeth as he spoke.

  “I was getting ready for my first day of school. We just moved in and I finally got all my paperwork approved. Just excited and couldn’t sleep at the thought of being in a new place.”

  “You’re going to school with me?” Jill asked and was embarrassed as all eyes turned to her. “You just seem kind of old for school.”

  “I assure you, I am physically seventeen years old.”

  “But are you actually seventeen years old?” The question left her lips before she could stop it. He had just stated his answer so strangely.

  Elias opened his mouth to talk but Officer Browder interrupted. “Do you mind if we finish with your statements so we can all get out of the cold?”

  “Of course sir,” Elias gave a respectful nod.

  By the time the police were done taking their statements, Jill’s parents had arrived. When she had not made it home by seven, they had driven out to find her. Seeing the police car at the football field, they had suspected the worst and were mildly relieved to find her well, but shaken. She did notice they kept eyeing Elias suspiciously, but they kept their opinions to themselves.

  “I think this is all we need from you two.” Officer Browder looked over his partner’s notes. “We will wait here with the body until the coroner gets here and get the area taped off. Please don’t go talking to your teenage buddies about this. Give the dead some respect.”

  “We won’t,” Jill immediately answered. “I can keep quiet until you know what happened to Mrs. Hamblin.”

  “And you Mr. Crydubh?”

  “I can be silent.” Elias was eyeing the body speculatively and Jill could see by Officer Browder’s reaction that he didn’t trust the other teenager at all.

  “Fine then, we may contact you for questioning if the need arises, but for now get out of the cold.”

  As they started to leave, Jill started to remove Elias’ jacket. He held his hand up and shook his head.

  “Hold onto it until you get home. I can get it from you at school later today. I just live across the street so I don’t have far to go.” Not waiting for an argument, he gave another small nod which bordered on a bow, turned, and left quickly.

  “What a strange boy,” Her mother muttered. “You may want to avoid his type. Something is just not right about him.”

  Jill wanted to argue, but she couldn’t disagree. She pulled the Jacket tight around herself and got into her parent’s car. Trying to get comfortable she played events over in her mind, and one thing about Elias suddenly occurred to her. She was not sure if she should mention it or tell the police. She had been in enough shock it had not registered until this moment.

  Elias had not seemed surprised to find the body.

  First Day of School

  The school was nothing like he expected. Elias had not had any formal education since some time in the nineteen sixties. Every now and then in order to blend in he did his best to appear to be a student and Edgar always pretended to be his father or guardian, depending on what identification he could get forged by the fey. They had a way of changing records so he could keep his name, but his birthday, social security number and the rest of the information would be updated. As always when dealing with the people from Faerie, you did your best not to ask questions.

  The building was a simple, one story affair. “Uniform” was probably the word for the place. It was dull red brick with darkened windows evenly spaced all around. The entrance had a large slab of concrete and brick jutting out and covering the walkway up to the entrance, framed by even more red brick pillars.

  The inside was not much better. The walls were a lighter tan brick, and the carpet was red. All the lockers were blue. He supposed it was because this arrangement matched the crimson and aqua of Cider Falls Rapids’ colors. Because a school mascot had to be something exciting. He was not sure how a dangerous river was representative of the school. The only water nearby was a little creek which could easily be waded across. Some things he might just never understand.

  The moment he walked into the school he was drawing glances. He had picked a simple t-shirt and some jeans to wea
r. Nothing fancy or out of the ordinary. Enough teenagers grew out their hair and beards, should they have them, he should not stand out due to either feature. This morning he had his hair tied back into a tail and he had carefully trimmed his beard before he left. He wanted to have as positive an impression as possible.

  This prospective impression was shattered as he walked into his homeroom class and Officer Browder was talking to the teacher in the front of the class. The last thing he needed right now was to have the police watching him. He had a demon to hunt and did not need the extra distraction. Instead of following his first instinct and walking back out the door Elias walked up to the officer and gave him a friendly smile.

  “Officer Browder, is there something I can help you with?”

  “Cut the crap. Your guardian should be meeting us in the office.” He leaned on the table and looked Elias in the eye. “I think you should prepare yourself for a long talk.”

  “Yes sir.” Elias tried to keep his face calm and untroubled. “I will be happy to assist you in any way I can. Do you want me to head down and meet you in the office? Or will you be walking with me?”

  “I think we should walk together. You just got to town, and I would hate for you to get lost on the way.” The sarcasm was thick. “No one would want that.”

  “As soon as you are ready then,” Elias motioned to the door. “And please, let me know if you want more than a statement. If you are viewing me as a suspect, I would be happy to call my lawyer down here.” The fey owed him enough he could get Lem to come down and play the role if needed. But he really did not want to call in a favor if this was simple questioning.

  “No lawyers are going to be needed, we are just having a little chat. I wanted to make sure your parent…”

  “My guardian.”

  “Well your guardian then, was present so they are aware of this discussion as well.” The officer stated. “There will be no overt questioning, or anything which might place you as a person of interest in this morning’s happenings.” Elias shifted uncomfortably as he was not sure why Officer Browder would be discussing this so loudly in front of the class.