Under a Broken Moon Read online

  He looked past the policeman to the teacher, an older lady with spectacles who was watching the exchange with open curiosity. “Miss Walton, I apologize I won’t be able to properly introduce myself this morning. Would you mind holding any assignments for me to pick up when I’m done so I can get them finished for class tomorrow?”

  The teacher nodded and then turned away to address the class. He looked out across the other students, none of whom looked familiar to him. Elias took note that they were all watching him as well. His low profile was officially blown. Small town, small school. Everyone would know the new kid had been escorted to the office by the police. Elias sighed.

  “Let’s go then,” Officer Browder stomped out the door and Elias turned to follow him. The trip down the hall to the school’s office was quiet and no one was in the hall to take further notice. The office door was propped open, and the actual principal’s office was down a short hall to the side once you entered.

  When they entered the small office, not only was Edgar waiting inside but Jill’s parents were as well. Elias gave them a polite nod.

  “Good to see you Mr. and Mrs…. I apologize I didn’t catch your name.”

  “Silver,” Jill’s father huffed. Her mother just gave him an annoyed look. Elias had the sudden feeling this meeting did not have anything to do with the murder this morning. Instead of saying anything else he went and sat next to Edgar, who was busy eyeing the collection of novels the principal held in a small shelf by her desk.

  “Elias,” Officer Browder started, “And Edgar Woll is it? Ms. Silver’s parents have expressed a concern about your interest in their daughter. They are not comfortable with young men who follow a girl in the dark.”

  “So, your claiming my boy has some ill intentions in him do ya?” Edgar’s voice was deep and very raspy. Add his current British accent and everyone blinked and took a second to process what he had spoken. “I assure you, if anything Elias is a little to prissy and not rough enough around the edges. He has no interest in your daughter.”

  “I am to take your word? I don’t know you and I don’t know your boy.” Mrs. Silver was shaking with anger. “All I know is Elias decided to stalk her, and only let her know he was there after she stumbled upon that poor lady.”

  “So ma’am, let me get this straight,” Elias cut in. “You would have been fine if I had run up, and introduced myself to your daughter before she found the body. Keep in mind I would have had to catch up to her well before she got to it. Not very likely, as she was running.”

  “I don’t need that tone from you, young man.” Mrs. Silver sniffed.

  “My name is Elias and if you have the desire to accuse me of things I haven’t done, then you’d best remember my name.” He was not going to put up with this. “My concern was for your daughter’s well being, and I am sorry if you are so overprotective of your girl you can’t see that.” He took a deep breath and then stopped as he felt a surge of demonic energy building in him. Elias took another breath and then noticed something else. A lack of something actually.

  “You’re not her biological parents,” he blurted out, not thinking before he spoke. The next bit was a lie as he couldn’t very well tell her parents he could tell by scent. “Your facial features are all wrong, and your skin tones are too dark compared to hers.” In actuality their skin was a little darker, but not much. Both parents had dark hair and eyes, but that didn’t mean any more than the skin. Any of it could be recessive genes showing up down the line.

  But you very well could not tell parents, your daughter smells like a werewolf, and you do not. He was not sure they knew she was a werewolf, and to be fair Jill might not even know if she was separated from her pack. That would be highly unusual as most packs would find a way to keep and protect any young ones. Unless the pack was unaware, or worse, gone.

  “How dare you,” Mrs. Silver was yelling now, and her husband’s face turned red while he tried to stutter out words but failed. “She is our daughter. You don’t come in here telling us she doesn’t belong to us, or making such assertions.”

  “To be fair you made the first assertion,” Elias dropped his voice down to low and quiet to try and calm the situation. “I am guessing she doesn’t even know by your denial. I won’t tell her or anyone else as well, your secret is safe. I also never said she was not your daughter. You raised her, you love her and no words of mine or anyone else can change it. Now what can I do to allay the other suspicions you have?”

  “I think,” Officer Browder cut in, “Leaving their daughter alone would be a great start. And don’t let me catch you chasing any other young ladies in the dark, or doing anything else suspicious.”

  “I think you all are treating me boy like a criminal, and he has done nothing wrong.” Edgar said. He started tapping his fingers impatiently on his leg while he continued to speak. “I will not let you folks treat him so since all he did was show concern for… Jill was it? Tell me Mrs. Silver, would you rather she had found the body and been alone in the dark with no one around? What if the killer had hung around, do you think he might have been less likely to attack with me boy being there?” He was going to say more but Elias put a hand on his “foster parent’s” shoulder and calmed him down.

  “They have every right to be protective of their daughter.” Elias turned to Officer Browder. “I will not seek out Jill or do anything else which might be seen as questionable. I will not avoid her if she comes and talks to me.” He then turned to face Jill’s parents. “Is that acceptable to you?”

  “As long as it is acceptable that if anything happens to Jill, you will be the first one we have questioned.” Mrs. Silver stood up and crossed her arms.

  “As you will, now I need to talk to Edgar if you all don’t have any further need of me?” Elias waited until Officer Browder nodded his assent and he turned to leave. Edgar popped up and followed him out the door.

  He was almost out of range when he heard Mr. Silver ask someone, “Who is the adult in that family. I swear Edgar wasn’t the one who takes the lead in theirt relationship.”

  He would have to be more careful. If the relationship between him and Edgar seemed false or unbalanced, that was unacceptable.

  They stepped out the front door and Elias had to ask, “British? You have decided your British now?”

  Edgar, in a voice flat and lacking inflection answered, “I have never been British before. Or assertive. I thought it might be nice to try a personality like it out.”

  “Now you are going to have to maintain it until we move on.” Elias kicked a rock on the ground. “We are going to have to be careful though, you need to try and lead any conversations we have like you are actually my guardian.”

  “I will try.” Edgar did not sigh, or show emotion now that no one was around. He was a blank slate, which is what he excelled at being.

  When Elias had found Edgar, he had been abandoned by whatever fool created him. Scientific experimentation had brought him back to life. However it had been done it was beyond Elias’ understanding. Edgar had been pretty much wiped clean. He had returned with the mind of a toddler and it had taken a lot of patience to raise him. Instead of developing into a full person again, he had remained pretty much void of personality. Edgar could talk and communicate. He devoured books at a mad pace. His persona was always adopted from something he had seen or a character in a book.

  And whatever process had brought him back kept him from aging, which made him a perfect companion for someone like Elias. He had been seventeen for well over one hundred years. In today’s day and age when everyone was worried about unaccompanied minors, this allowed them both to travel without too much question.

  “I will see you tonight,” Elias hesitated then asked, “Tell me you aren’t going to be cooking British food with this personality change. You almost got us killed when you tried to be Scandinavian.”

  A weak smile lit Edgars lips and he ran his fingers through his short brown hair. “That was a little bit embarrass
ing wasn’t it.”

  He patted his “guardian” on the back and walked back into the school building. Elias managed to make it back to his English class just as the bell rang. Mrs. Walton was happy to hand him some homework, and handed him a card with an email address should he have any questions.

  Now he just had to get through the rest of the school day so he could start hunting.

  Lunchtime

  Jill was reluctant to go to school, but was even more reluctant to stay at home. All the way back from the football field her parents had ranted and raved about Elias, all but blaming him for her being in that situation. She tried to get a word in edgewise, but her parents just cut her off and talked over her.

  So off to school she went, rather than listen to their complaining. She had never seen them this angry, and it worried her. It was likely because they were worried over her experience finding Mrs. Hamblin’s body. To be fair, Jill did not know how to feel about it. The whole experience just did not seem real to her.

  Her first few classes flew by. She could not have said what the lessons were on, or if anything important had happened. She was vaguely aware of a few people making comments at her, asking about poor Mrs. Hamblin. All she did was murmur even more vague responses and disconnect from conversation quickly.

  When the lunch bell rang it came as a surprise. Jill mechanically stumbled her way to the cafeteria, once again avoiding conversation, making it her goal to get her food and find a small corner to hide in. Sure, students would notice. She normally was a social butterfly talking to everybody and discussing mindless things constantly. Today she just wanted to be alone.

  She made it to the cafeteria line, and thought she would make it all the way through by herself when a familiar voice spoke up behind her.

  “It sounds like you have had a morning.” It was Jaiden. The kid was strange to say the least. He was diagnosed as a partial albino and, as such, he normally wore clothing to shield himself from the sun. His hair was a washed-out blond, and his skin barely held any pigment so he always looked pale. Jaiden’s eyes were a crystal blue which seemed unnatural. He also was always popping up and trying to talk to her. No matter how often she tried to get him to leave her alone.

  “Not today Jaiden, please.” Telling him to go away would not work. It never worked. “I really don’t want to speak to anybody.”

  “I thought you might like some company. I can be quiet if you like.” Persistent as always. It was not that she did not like Jaiden, he was alright. He just could not take a hint when she needed space, or just wanted to study. If she did not have a four-point grade average she felt she was not doing school right.

  “I just kind of want to be by myself so I can process things.” She grabbed a plate with a piece of meatloaf on it and scooted down the line.

  “Well I can make sure people leave you alone.” Stated as a fact, not whiney at all despite his words.

  Another voice cut in. “I think she meant alone without anyone, half pint.” It was Elias.

  She looked over and took a note of how Elias, a good bit above six feet tall simply towered over Jaiden who was maybe pushing five foot six. She was taller than the pale kid, for heaven’s sake.

  “It’s fine, Elias,” she sighed. “I don’t need you stalking me at school as well.”

  “I have no intention of stalking you anywhere, I just want to get my jacket back so I can leave you alone. Per your parent’s request, might I add.” He looked down at Jaiden and raised an eyebrow. “I just didn’t expect to see one of his kind out during the day.”

  “That is not funny,” Jill snapped, though she noticed Jaiden seemed to go a shade paler, if it was possible. “He has a medical condition and you walk in and make fun of it?”

  “I’m not the one wearing a fedora after they went out of style half a century ago.” He nodded at Jaiden who not only had the hat, but a pair of dark sunglasses as well. Everyone knew sunlight made him disoriented if he was outside without them. “And sunglasses indoors. A medical condition, that is a toothy theory.”

  “I don’t have your jacket on me. I will bring it tomorrow or drop it by your house.” Her apathetic feelings which had dogged her all day were gone. Now what Jill had was the desire to smack the strange boy across the face. “Please leave me and Jaiden to our lunches.”

  “Your one to talk about an aversion to sunlight.” Jaiden cut in. “Now you should get the devil out of here before I get angry with you.”

  “Alright I’m going; you don’t need to bare your teeth at me.” Elias then leaned in and focused intently on Jaiden’s face in a manner which gave Jill the chills. “You and I may have to discuss some things later. Someone of your talents might be able to find a mutually beneficial arrangement with me.”

  “I don’t make deals, I am rather attached to my soul, thank you very much.” Jaiden snapped. “As Jill asked please leave.”

  “As you were, no need to get all batty.” Elias turned and walked to the end of the lunch line to give them some space.

  “What was all that about?” Jill eyed Elias as he stood there pointedly not paying attention to them.

  “I would avoid him if I were you.” Jaiden gave Elias an icy look and the temperature seemed to drop around him. “He is the one who found the body with you? That is not at all suspicious.”

  “While he shouldn’t have picked on you, you weren’t exactly innocent either.”

  “I’m sure I’m more innocent than him.” Jaiden grabbed a slice of cake and they both paid at the register and found a place to sit at the end of a table. Jill found herself picking at her food and occasionally a piece made it over her lips.

  Jill thought she might manage to get through the rest of the school day without incident when Jill heard yelling at the end of the lunch room. Instead of ignoring it like she should have, she looked over.

  The first thing she saw was Elias standing slowly, wiping food off his face and out of his hair. A group of football players stood around him, including Mitch O’Doyle. Mitch was the quarterback, and probably the biggest bully in the school. When he picked on other students the teachers tended to look the other way, rather than risk the school’s football record. With the linebackers who tended to follow him around, students generally just cleared out of his way.

  “I think you should calmly walk away,” Elias said as he flipped a chunk of meat at Mitch. “I don’t want to fight you, and that is probably the route you want to take.”

  This would not end well. Jill knew everyone in the lunch room was watching, a couple of teachers and staff included. They would not intervene unless they had to. The football player’s pride would be on the line here. Mitch would not let this go, not with everyone watching and Elias was outnumbered five to one.

  “I don’t think you heard me, you are sitting in our spot. Go shove off and crawl into a hole so we can have our lunch.” Mitch stepped further into Elias’ space. To his point, the table Elias was at was normally occupied by the football team during lunch. Being a new student there was no way Elias could have known.

  “I am going to sit down and eat what is left of my lunch. You and your team can go bug off and find somewhere else to sit.” As calmly as he had stood, Elias sat back down and started eating his slice of cake.

  Mitch stood there sputtering for a moment. He was not used to being ignored. Yelling he swung at Elias, and the tall lanky boy simply snapped his hand up and caught the punch. The lunch room went quiet.

  “Do you really want to fight me?” Elias was suddenly speaking very low and his eyes burned darkly. Jill watched as he stood up and went face to face with the quarterback. Elias released his hand giving him a chance to step away.

  “Do you think you can catch all my friend’s punches?” Mitch answered while rubbing his fist. “There are five of us? How do you think this is going to turn out for you?”

  Looking in their direction Elias looked at Jaiden. “I don’t suppose I can get an assist, fangs?” He asked. Jaiden raised an eyebrow
and leaned back while crossing his arms. “Well, it didn’t hurt to ask.” Then he exploded into motion.

  All the football players converged on Elias, and Jill watched as he suddenly seemed to disappear from the middle of the crowd. As Mitch’s friends tried to grab and hit him, Elias simply caught or dodged punches and redirected them. He was successful enough that one large linebacker ended up punching another in the face and dropping his friend. Elias stepped forward, tripped the baffled football player and pushed on his back so he hit the ground with an audible smack.

  Down to three adversaries, Elias backed up so they were all in front of him. “If you want to walk away, I will let you. No hard feelings.” Mitch answered by rushing him.

  The rest was over in a couple of breaths. Elias chopped down onto Mitch’s back and the quarterback hit the ground. He then moved forward and in a series of punches dropped one of the remaining two linebackers. The last football player saw the writing on the wall and ran before Elias could take him down as well.

  In the matter of less than a minute, Elias had taken down the biggest group of bullies in the school. And he looked as if he had not broken a sweat doing it.

  Jill shut her mouth and looked at Jaiden questioningly. Her friend was also watching with surprise written all over his face. “I might have to reconsider a few things.” Jaiden said to her and then tried to look calm and straight faced again. “Your friend is kind of a beast.”

  “He’s not my friend.” Jill watched as Elias stood there, not looking victorious but instead closing his eyes and breathing in and out. His fists were clenched and, for a moment, she thought a hit of sulfur was in the air. Keeping some distance from this new kid might be a great idea.

  “Excuse me, I am going to have to ask you to come down to the principal’s office.” A teacher was addressing Elias.