I don't have much to say for this chapter. Just that I'm getting closer to revealing something super obvious. Also, I've decided that this story takes place a bit before the final two books. Enjoy!
CHAPTER 10
Moyra woke with a start, sitting up and panting. Her sleep had been disturbed by horrific nightmares, all of them showing her the beast of shadows. She looked down to make sure Kellach was still asleep beside her and was relieved to see that he was. In all of her nightmares Kellach and Driskoll had been taken away from her, and Moyra was determined not to let that happen in real life. She laid back down and gently wrapped her arms around Kellach, pulling him in close to her. She felt him stir in her arms, but she didn't let go.
She heard him sigh. "Good morning, Moyra," Kellach said in a quiet voice.
Some-what reluctantly, Moyra carefully unwrapped her arms and allowed him to roll over to look at her. She was relieved when she saw the spark of humor in his eyes.
Allowing herself a small smile, Moyra climbed out of bed and walked over to Driskoll, who was still fast asleep. She grabbed his arm and pulled him out of bed. "Wake up, already!" she told him.
Gasping awake, Driskoll clawed at the bed. Moyra gave him a great tug and he fell to the floor. She gave him an innocent smile as he glared up at her.
"What was that for?" he growled.
Moyra shrugged. "To wake you up," she replied simply. "Now get out. I need to change."
Giving her an annoyed look, Driskoll stood up and shuffled out the door with Kellach close behind him.
…
This was the day of one of the many parties that took place in the castle, and since Moyra actually remembered this, she decided to wear the nice dress that Kellach had bought for her. She tried to ignore the astonished looks Driskoll gave her.
"Where did you get that dress?" he wondered.
Moyra hid her face a little, trying not to blush. "Kellach bought it for me," she replied, looking over at Kellach, who was pretending not to notice.
"Well, you look really good in it," Driskoll muttered.
"One of the many celebration parties is today, so I thought I'd dress up a little," Moyra explained, "What are you boys wearing?"
Kellach and Driskoll looked down at the clothes they wore now, the same ones they almost always wore, then looked back up at Moyra to indicate that this was it. She sighed and rolled her eyes at them, then led the way out the door.
The castle was packed as usual. Nearly everyone from Curston was there, and Moyra could see her parents on the dance floor, sweeping around having a wonderful time. Looking around, she could also see Torin standing near the rear of the room,surveying the area and looking out for any trouble. Moyra briefly wondered if their parents would expect the three of them to be there.
A moment later, the song that had been playing ended, and Moyra's parents went to sit down at a nearby table. Moyra led the boys over to them. Royma looked up and saw them, then smiled and waved them over.
"There you guys are!" Royma greeted, "Breddo and I have been holding this table forever! You were taking so long that we had to go out and dance."
"You couldn't possibley know we were coming," Moyra muttered, "Or have been waiting that long. It's still morning."
"Anyway," Breddo said, completely ignoring his daughter's comments, "Are you three going to get out on the dance floor later?"
"Absolutely not," Driskoll replied immediately.
"It's pretty unlikely," Kellach added.
"No," Moyra said, simply.
Breddo frowned, but before he could say anything, Royma noticed for the first time what Moyra was wearing. "Why, Moyra!" she exclaimed, "You look so lovely! Where did you get that dress?"
Moyra felt herself blush a little. "Kellach bought it for me," she answered, lightly pressing against her friend. Kellach looked at the floor as Royma smiled at him.
The party got into full swing and Moyra's parents went out to dance several more times while Moyra, Kellach, and Driskoll mostly just sat at the table, talking. Several young men came over to the table offering to dance with Moyra, but she rejected all of them. She was pretty sure they only wanted to dance with her because of the dress, and besides that, there were only two boys she would ever agree to dance with anyway and she knew they both didn't like to dance. Eventually Driskoll got up and went over to the food table and came back with a plate piled high with all sorts of different foods. Moyra and Kellach stared at him.
"Geez, Driskoll, anyone might think that we never feed you," Kellach said, a touch of humor in his voice.
"Shut up," Driskoll muttered, starting to work on his massive food pile.
Moyra sighed and rolled her eyes. She looked out at the room, watching all the people, including her parents, dancing. The song was starting to come to a close, but she knew another one was going to play right afterwards. She turned and looked at Kellach who was just sort of absent-mindedly tracing patterns on the table with his finger. She gave him a hard nudge in the ribs.
"Come dance with me," Moyra requested.
"I don't want to," Kellach replied, still tracing patterns.
Frowning, Moyra seized his arm and dragged him out onto the dance floor with her. As the song began, she pulled Kellach close to her, so close that their bodies were nearly touching. She heard Kellach take a sharp breath, but she ignored it. Then, feeling the mood of the song, she wrapped an arm around him and pressed him against her. Moyra heard him gasp.
"Er, Moyra?" Kellach murmured.
"Shush," Moyra hissed at him quietly. She suddenly pressed him much closer, spotting something past him. Drawing in a sharp breath, she leaned in to whisper in Kellach's ear.
"Kellach! I see it!" she whispered desperately, "The beast of shadows! I see it!"
Moyra felt him tense up, but she refused to let him turn around and see it. She didn't want him to go into shock right in the middle of the dance floor. But they had to do something, as she could see the shadow slowly slink down the hallway opposite of them. Letting him go, she carefully made her way across the floor over to where she had seen it disappear. She felt Kellach close behind her and felt relieved that he was there.
Making sure no one was watching, Moyra and Kellach entered the hallway, keeping an eye out for the shadow. As they walked, Moyra felt a growing dread that they were being watched. She stopped and started to turn around, but a hand suddenly closed around her mouth. Kellach made a strangled gasp as another hand closed around his throat. Although she couldn't see who had captured them, Moyra knew it was the beast. She heard its hissing laugh.
"Aw, did you two think you could catch me off guard?" the beast chuckled evilly, "How pitiful. I was hoping that when I caught and killed you it would be more of a challenge. Oh well. Perhaps you two will be more amusing when you're dead."
With that, the beast grabbed Moyra around the neck and lifted her and Kellach off their feet. Moyra choked, trying to pry the creature's fingers off her throat, but it was no use. Looking over, she saw that Kellach had already given up and was trembling uncontrolably. Moyra wished she could comfort him and press against his side. The creature carried them far from the main room, and Moyra feared that they really would be killed.
Suddenly, the creature stopped in front of a strange metal door. It somehow opened all on its own and Moyra and Kellach were blasted by a powerful icy wind. Chuckling, the creature tossed them inside and shut the door behind them. Moyra immediately ran over and tried pounding on the door, but it was so covered in ice that it made no sound whatsoever. Shivering, she turned around and got a look at the room. They were in a very small plain room covered in ice. A magical wind seemed to be blowing from somewhere, keeping the room frozen. Kellach was sitting against the wall, arms wrapped around himself, and was trembling uncontrolabley. Moyra walked over and sat down next to him, pressing herself right up against him.
"What are we going to do?" Moyra asked her shivering friend, "Can you conjure a flame or something?"
Kellach slowly shook his head. "Any fire I could conjure up would immediately be blown out," he replied, "It's hopeless."
Moyra had never seen him look so despairing. She couldn't tell if he was shivering more from his encounter with the shadow beast or the cold. She moved closer, trying to keep herself and Kellach warm. But already she could feel the warmth draining away.
As Moyra tried to think of someway to escape, she suddenly felt Kellach poke her in the side. Annoyed, she turned to look at him and saw that his eyes were closed and he seemed to be whispering to himself. She blinked at him, trying to figure out what he was saying, but the howling wind was too loud.
"What are you doing?" she wondered.
"Right before he cancled my classes to research the beast, Zendric started teaching me a new spell," Kellach explained, keeping his eyes closed, "It's supposed to warm keep someone warm even in the coldest of temperatures. But I haven't mastered it yet, so I don't know if it will work right."
Moyra nodded and kept quiet while Kellach muttered his spell. She suddenly felt her body temperature rising from deep within her. It had worked! "Kellach you did it!" she exclaimed happily, "Now you can do it on yourself, right?"
Kellach opened his eyes, but didn't look at her. "I can't," he replied quietly.
"What do you mean you can't?" Moyra asked, "Your spell worked on me! Why can't you use it on yourself?"
"Because I haven't truly mastered it yet," Kellach explained, "Zendric told me that until I've mastered the spell, I can only keep one person warm at a time. If I try using on someone else, myself for instance, I would have to drain it all from you."
Moyra stared at him as he closed his eyes again and wrapped his arms tighter around himself. She moved closer to him, making sure their bodies were touching so hopefully she could help him stay warm as well.
"Kellach, I can't watch you suffer like this," she murmured to him, "Use the spell on yourself. You're the wizard, you should be the one to stay strong."
"I can't do that, Moyra," Kellach muttered in reply, "I'm not going to let you freeze to death just so I can save myself."
Seeing as his mind was made up, Moyra decided to try something else. She gently took his hands in her own and shivered slightly at how cold they already were. But the spell warmed their hands instantly and Moyra could see Kellach's shivering going down. She gently pulled him closer and wrapped her arms around him.
"Please don't think anything of this, Kellach," Moyra said quietly to him.
Kellach blinked in confusion at her. "Why would I-?" He was cut off when Moyra leaned over and pressed her lips to his. She willed as much warmth as she had into him, hoping it would be enough to keep him from freezing. Kellach's eyes widened but Moyra was not willing to let go yet. She fought to keep her excitement down and stop herself from pressing any harder. She felt Kellach's body warming which made Moyra relieved, but she waited a few more moments before pulling back.
"Better?" she asked.
Kellach nodded, blushing. "Thanks," he muttered.
They huddled together, hoping that maybe someone would find them soon. Moyra thought of Driskoll and wondered where he was right now. She pressed against Kellach, hoping that the beast hadn't found him as well.
Suddenly, Moyra thought she heard someone calling their names. She strained to hear over the wind, and then she heard Driskoll's voice calling for them.
"Kellach, do you hear that?" she asked excitedly, "It sounds like Driskoll!"
Not giving Kellach time to reply, Moyra ran over to the door. Kellach slowly got up and followed her. She pounded on the door, despite it making no sound.
"Driskoll!" she shouted, "We're in here! Please help us!"
She held her breath as she tried to listen. Suddenly there was the sound of rattling, and with a loud grating sound, the door swung open. Moyra and Kellach quickly rushed out into the corridor and barrled into Driskoll.
"Where were you guys?" he asked as Moyra wrapped her arms around him.
"We were stuck in this freezer!" Moyra scowled, pushing him away, "Where were you?" She folded her arms.
"Don't be so hard on him, Moyra," Kellach said quietly, "He did let us out. And it's not like people would know where this room is."
"I guess," Moyra sighed, relaxing her anger, "Thanks for freeing us, Driskoll."
"No problem," Driskoll replied, "How did you get stuck in there in the first place?"
"How else?" Kellach answered, "The beast of shadows caught us."
They started walking down the hall back towards the party. "You saw the beast?" Driskoll asked.
"Yeah," Moyra clarified, a little embarrassed, "It caught us off guard."
"We probably would have froze to death if you hadn't found us," Kellach told him, "Where were you, anyway?"
"It took a while to find that room," Driskoll said quickly, "It's not like that door was marked or anything."
Moyra wanted to ask him more, but at that moment they arrived back at the main room. The three of them quickly went back to their table, hoping that Royma and Breddo hadn't noticed they had been gone. Thankfully, the two were still out on the dance floor, and hadn't noticed anything.
No sooner had they sat down, when suddenly Alexandra made her way over. Kellach quietly greeted her while Moyra frowned.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"This is a party," Alexandra replied, snidely, "I am allowed to be here. Anyway, I was hoping to ask Kellach for a dance."
"I don't want to," Kellach muttered.
Apparently unable to take "no" for an answer, Alexandra grabbed Kellach's arm and dragged him out on to the dance floor. Moyra watched with anger, not even realizing she was madly bending a fork out shape. Driskoll stared at her in surprise.
"Uh, Moyra?" he said hesitantly, "Are you okay?"
Moyra sighed and dropped the fork. She was becoming more obvious. If she didn't tell someone soon she might ruin everything.
"Driskoll," she sighed, "I think... I think I need to tell you something."
There we go. Next chapter will be with Driskoll and we'll learn Moyra's, ahem, "secret." Sorry if this chapter took a while to get up. Also, sorry if there's more spelling mistakes than usual. I'm typing this on my laptap which has an inferior document program that doesn't have spell check. Oh well. Read and review, please!