I already had most of this chapter typed up, so I just have to finish it. Sometimes when I have an idea that comes later in a story, I write that scene first so I don't forget it. I've done it with the climax of this story.

Anyway, let's see what Moyra's up to.

CHAPTER 13

Moyra carefully crept through the hall, looking for the stairs that led to the basement. She knew they were around here somewhere. She distinctly remembered this hallway and exploring it with Kellach and Alexandra. She noticed a side door that seemed like someone had tried to make it blend in. As if hiding it. Moyra smiled to herself and opened it. Sure enough, there was a set of stairs leading down to the basement just beyond. She carefully entered, making sure there was no one around, and descended the stairs.

There was no sound except the sound of her footsteps as Moyra walked. It started getting darker the further she went, despite the ever-burning torches lining the walls. She wondered if Kellach had managed to find the other entrance yet.

When she finally reached the basement, Moyra took a cautious look around before entering. She slowly crossed the room, weary of any traps, or if the beast was around. But when she entered the next room, she knew why she hadn't seen it yet.

Moyra stared in horror as she saw the beast of shadows wrapped around Kellach. Her friend was trying to struggle out of the creature's grasp, but it was no use. When the beast saw her, it hissed with pleasure.

"Ah! There you are, Moyra! I was wondering when you would join us," the beast's tone was pleasant, but Moyra could hear the mocking undertone, "Kellach here was just dying of boredom! I had to restrain him, as he was getting too feisty!"

The beast let out a horrible laugh that caused Moyra to cringe. She heard a sound of deep hatred come from Kellach's throat, and she was sure he would be cursing the beast if it didn't have its hand over his mouth.

Moyra took a step forward. "Let him go!" she warned it.

The beast hissed at her. "Don't take another step!" it commanded, "If you move an inch, I'll break his neck!" Kellach flinched, and Moyra was forced to take a step back. She glared at the monster, never taking her eyes off it.

"That's better," the beast cooed, "Now, Moyra, you really want to free your friend? Then you have to do something for me. You understand."

Moyra didn't say anything, but continued to glare. The beast snickered.

"Don't worry, my dear, it's nothing bad," the beast promised, "It's not even anything dangerous. All I want you to do is tell young Kellach here how you really feel about him."

Moyra's breath caught in her throat, and she saw Kellach's eyes widen. The beast continued to sneer.

"Oh yes, I know all about that," it hissed, "It would be so easy for me to tell him myself. But where would the fun in that be? I would just be robbing you of the pleasure of telling him yourself."

As Moyra felt her body freeze up, she looked down at Kellach. He was staring at her with wide eyes, but instead of pleading to free him, he was shaking his head at her. Did he not want to be free? But then Moyra understood. If she revealed her secret, her true feelings, it would give the beast even more power.

"I won't do it," Moyra hissed at the beast, "I won't give you more power!"

The beast narrowed its eyes at her. "So, that's how it's going to be?" it said, "Fine then. You can watch silently as I end his life!"

"No!" Moyra cried out, starting to take a step forward.

The beast hissed, warning her to stay back. Moyra stopped, but kept her eyes on Kellach. The beast chuckled with laughter.

"In what way would you like to see your friend die?" it asked, "I could snap his neck. Or I could slit his throat. Or I could even rip his heart out." With each suggestion, Moyra cringed, a horrible image of the beast killing Kellach filling her head.

"Please, don't hurt him," Moyra begged, ignoring Kellach who was still gently shaking his head at her.

"You know what you have to do, my dear," the beast replied, a wide ugly grin spreading on its face.

Moyra took a deep breath. She knew she had to tell him, and she didn't like it. She had wanted to tell him on her own terms, but now she had no choice. I'm sorry, Kellach, she thought, But I can't just stand here and watch you die.

"Kellach," she began, "I l- "

She was cut off when the beast suddenly roared in pain. Moyra looked up in surprise and saw Driskoll standing behind the creature, his sword stuck in its back. The beast instantly released Kellach and fell away from him, while the young wizard quickly darted out of the way. The creature pulled away from Driskoll, the sword coming out of its back, and it quickly raced away before any of them could react.

Moyra looked over in amazement at Driskoll, wondering what he was doing here, and how he was even standing. He looked dead on his feet, as whatever sickness he had drained him of his energy. Kellach stood up and quickly went over to support his brother.

"Driskoll, what are you doing here?" he asked, "Not that I'm not thankful that you saved us, but how did you even know we were here? You're supposed to be asleep!"

"The beast came to taunt me in my sleep," Driskoll explained, as he leaned heavily on Kellach's shoulder, "It was saying it was going to kill both of you, and that there was nothing I could do about it because I was so ill. It even told me where you were, it was so overconfident." He paused to let out a small coughing fit. "So, I decided to prove it wrong."

Moyra came over and picked up his sword and handed it back to him. "That was very heroic of you, Driskoll," she praised, "But you should really get back to sleep. You look like you're going to collapse any second!"

"I feel like I'm going to," he admitted.

Together Moyra and Kellach helped Driskoll back to the house, as the sun slowly set on the town, turning the sky dark. When they got back, Moyra could hear her parents chatting in the kitchen and she overheard them say something about staying with a friend tonight.

Once Driskoll was curled up and warm in his bed, Moyra and Kellach got into the opposite bed. Kellach laid down next to Moyra, his back turned to her, and on the edge of the bed. Moyra lay staring at the wall, but she found that she could not fall asleep. She gently pressed against Kellach, and as the minutes went by, the moon started to rise, but she still could not sleep.

She found her mind drifting back to the confrontation with the beast, and how close she had come to telling him. She hated how the beast had almost used her feelings to not only gain power, but possibly kill Kellach right in front of her. She was glad that Driskoll had found them right at that moment and interrupted her. Maybe fate had brought him there at the most important moment?

As Moyra pondered these things, she suddenly heard a loud thud, and Kellach was no longer behind her. Blinking in surprise, Moyra rolled over and looked down at the floor where Kellach had fallen off the bed. Cringing, he glanced up at her.

"Geez, Moyra, if you wanted more space on the bed, you could've just asked," Kellach joked.

Normally Moyra would have come up with a snide comment of her own, but she stared down at Kellach with worry in her eyes. "Are you all right?" she wondered, not a speck of humor in her voice.

Kellach looked taken aback. "I'm fine," he replied, "My bed isn't that high off the floor."

Moyra sighed with relief. "Good," she said quietly. As Kellach started to get up, Moyra realized she couldn't keep this a secret any longer. If she tried, the beast might try to hurt her, or Kellach, even worse. She took a deep breath.

"Kellach, I need to tell you something important," she began, "And it can't wait until morning."

Staring in surprise, Kellach nodded slowly. "Um, all right," he said, "We can talk downstairs so we don't disturb Driskoll." Moyra silently agreed as Kellach quickly threw on his robes and led the way downstairs. She was glad her parents had decided to spend the night at a friend's house so they would be undisturbed.

When they got downstairs, Moyra sat down in the middle of the couch and watched as Kellach sat down next to her. She didn't say anything, but stared in silent anticipation as Kellach settled himself into the corner of the couch. She leaned forward a tiny bit, waiting for the perfect moment while Kellach made himself comfortable. He gently wrapped his arms around himself, then looked at Moyra. The moment Kellach opened his mouth to speak, Moyra quickly leaned forward and kissed him deeply.

Kellach's eyes widened as Moyra leaned over him, gently sliding her tongue into his mouth. This time she knew exactly what she was doing. She pressed closer, wanting to feel every inch of his body against her own. Unlike their first kiss, she wasn't going to hold back. Moyra wanted Kellach to know exactly how she felt about him.

She settled over him, pressing him against the couch. Moyra felt her heart speeding up, and she smiled slightly. In all their years of knowing each other, Moyra never could've imagined this. But here she was, kissing her best friend, and it felt wonderful! Her heart leapt with joy, and she carefully and gently explored Kellach's mouth with her tongue. She felt him tense up beneath her, but at the moment she couldn't care less. His breath, coming in heavy, short bursts, flowed into her and Moyra drank it in eagerly. She let her excitement pour through, and she moaned happily as she kissed her friend over and over, her heart full to bursting. Kellach was hers now, and they were alone, she didn't need or want anyone else now.

Moyra could've stopped, she should've stopped, but she didn't want to. She wasn't going to let Kellach stop her from kissing him until she was done. She wanted to explore his neck a little, but she was afraid if she did he would start talking. So Moyra continued to kiss Kellach's mouth while she slowly inched her hands up to his neck. She grew more and more excited and pressed even harder against Kellach, as hard as she possibly could. She kissed him deeper and deeper, wanting to taste him, and feel him against every curve of her own body. Even though she knew she would have to stop kissing him eventually to explain herself, Moyra decided that she would kiss her best friend all night if she felt like it.

Suddenly Moyra felt Kellach gently start to tremble beneath her, and she grew a little irritated. She didn't know what was making him shiver, but if it was the shadow beast it would just have to wait. She moved her mouth a little so she could taste Kellach's breath, and she quietly moaned with pleasure. Moyra felt so free, finally kissing her best friend after longing for him for five long years. She silently wished that she had done this sooner. All her doubts and worries, especially those coming from those stupid stories, were washed away. She gently placed her hands on his shoulders and worked her way down to kissing his neck. As Moyra gently kissed his throat, she heard Kellach let out a shuddering breath and then felt him tense up again. Smiling slightly, Moyra decided to explore him a little, using her lips to kiss along his neck and then to just under the base of his jaw. Kellach shuddered, but she ignored it.

Eventually Moyra made her way up to his mouth again and gave him one, long, deep kiss. Finally, she pulled back and looked at him. She was quite startled when she the last thing she expected to see in Kellach's eyes: fear. A great and unexplained fear directed at her. They stared at each other for a long moment.

"Moyra," Kellach began, "Why did you...?"

"I know, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense," Moyra replied slowly, "We've been friends our entire lives, why would I kiss you like that? But the truth is, Kellach, I haven't been entirely honest with you." She paused to take a breath. "My motivations behind all of my actions have been lies. I don't really need a lot of comfort or anything. I just need to be near you. Kellach, I just want to be with you."

Taking a deep breath and steeling her courage, Moyra leaned forward to whisper in Kellach's ear. She felt him tense up a little, but that didn't matter anymore. She had to do this. She spoke in a very quiet whisper.

"I love you, Kellach," she whispered very delicately. Kellach took a sharp breath and Moyra sighed slightly. "I love you so much, it hurts. All I want is to be by your side, and to feel you beside me. You're always so good to me, always looking out for me. You make me so happy." She pressed gently against her friend. She felt him shiver, but Moyra could tell he was starting to recover from his initial shock.

"How long have you been in love with me?" Kellach asked quietly.

"I think..." Moyra paused to swallow as her throat had gone dry, "I think I've always been in love with you. But I didn't realize it until about five years ago."

"Five years ago?" Kellach repeated, "Around the sundering of the seal? You've loved me for that long?"

Moyra nodded. "So, all this time, and through all of our adventures you've been..." Kellach said.

"Deeply in love with you," Moyra finished for him. "But Kellach, listen to me. I don't want you to think any differently of me, that's why I never told you. I still want you to be my friend, I don't want that to change."

There was a pause as Kellach stared at the floor. "When did you realize this?" he asked softly.

"Do you remember that time about a month after the sundering?" Moyra wondered, "When I led you into Broken Town because I wanted to show you something?"

Kellach nodded. "Of course," he replied, "I'll never forget that day."

Eight-year-old Moyra raced through the main square gripping the hand of nine-year-old Kellach. She had wanted to bring Driskoll as well, but he was bed ridden with the flu. Curston was still recovering after the sundering and it was dangerous to be out right before curfew, but Moyra wanted to show her friend a place she had found and had never seen before. Kellach had been acting a lot more depressed since the sundering and his mother's disappearance, and even though he tried not to show his emotions, Moyra could tell he was hurt. She was hoping she could cheer him up a little.

"Come on, Kellach!" Moyra exclaimed, letting go of his hand as she ran faster, "We're almost there!"

"Moyra! Slow down!" Kellach called as he fell further behind, "You know I can't run as fast as you!"

But Moyra kept running faster, racing into Broken Town, and not slowing down at all. She was running so fast, she didn't notice when she took a wrong turn and came to a dead end. She turned to go back and realized that Kellach was no longer behind her. Suddenly, three huge men stepped into the alley. They were all big and mean looking, and one of them carried a knife. They grinned evilly at Moyra.

"Well, look what we got here!" one of the men sneered, "A little kitten all by herself."

"You lost little girl?" the second man snickered, "We can keep you company. We play real nice." All three men chuckled.

"Leave me alone," Moyra told them, trying to hide her obvious terror, "I don't want any trouble!"

"We'll leave you alone," the third man promised, "For the right price..."

"But I don't have any money," Moyra replied, "I just live here in Broken Town."

"Oh, don't have any money, eh?" the first man grinned, "But you do have something else. Something else that we could take."

Before Moyra could ask what they meant, they slowly started to approach her. Moyra cowered in fear when suddenly a voice came from behind the men.

"Leave her alone!"

The three men whipped around. Standing at the entrance of the alley was Kellach, glaring at the men and standing a little taller than he was to try to look a little more intimidating. Moyra exclaimed with joy and tried to run over to him, but the men blocked her path.

"And what if we don't? Huh? You gonna rough us up, little man?" The three men chuckled.

"You don't want to mess with me!" Kellach told them in a brave sounding voice, "I'm the son of Torin, the captain of the watch! He could put you guys away for a long time!"

"Torin's son?" the first man asked in disbelief, "Well, well, well! I've been looking for the opportunity to get back at that no-good watcher slime! What do ya say, boys? Should we kill his kid and have the girl for ourselves?"

The other two men started to agree. Suddenly, Kellach looked panicked. "Wait!" he called, "I don't care what you do to me, but please don't hurt Moyra! She's my best friend!"

Moyra felt her breath catch in her throat as the three men looked at him. "And why should we do anything you say?" the third man asked.

"Please don't hurt her," Kellach repeated, "It wouldn't be worth it. I have plenty of money on me. Take it. And you can beat me up and mug me or whatever you want. Just please leave her alone."

"You really care about this girl, huh?" The first man asked, a hint of sentiment in his voice.

"I would give my life for her," Kellach replied quietly.

"Kellach," Moyra whispered, tears welling up in her eyes.

The three men looked at each other, then back at Kellach. "Fine," the second man answered, "We won't touch her. But in return, you are going to get the full front of our anger. We're going to kill you, kid."

Kellach closed his eyes and slowly nodded. Before Moyra could object to this, one of the men reeled back a fist and brought it slamming into Kellach's stomach. The boy went down in a heap and then all three men were on top of him, punching and kicking and clawing. Moyra could do nothing but stare in horror.

Then the man with the knife brought it up, intending to stab Kellach in the heart.

"KELLACH!" Moyra screamed with terror.

All of a sudden, there was the sound of bells and horns and the three men, startled, dropped everything and ran. Moyra quickly ran over to Kellach. He was lying very still on his side, his eyes closed, and was bleeding out of his many wounds. Moyra crouched down next to him and was relieved to see that he was still breathing. She gently nudged him.

"Kellach?" she asked.

Moyra's heart skipped a beat as Kellach's eyes fluttered. He slowly opened them and looked up at her. "Moyra?" His voice came in a harsh whisper. "Are you ok? Those men didn't hurt you, did they?"

Shaking her head, Moyra could feel tears welling up in her eyes. "No, Kellach, they didn't hurt me," she told him, "I'm fine."

"Good," Kellach whispered, "I'm so glad." He closed his eyes again.

"I'm so sorry, Kellach," Moyra said, her voice choking with grief, "This is all my fault. If I hadn't run ahead of you, or if I had been paying attention, I... I..."

"It's not your fault," Kellach told her, his eyes still closed, "You were just excited is all. Besides, I made my own choice. I just couldn't let them hurt you."

Tears ran down Moyra's cheeks. "Did you mean what you said back there?" she asked, "That you would give your life for me?"

Kellach slowly opened his eyes to look at her. "Of course," he replied, his eyes shining with an emotion that Moyra would be unable to understand until she was much older, "You're my very best friend. I would give up everything for you. And that goes for my brother too. You two make my life complete."

Then, exhausted, he closed his eyes again. Moyra quickly leaned forward and made sure he was still breathing. Something sparked in her heart, and Moyra found herself longing to lay next to him, to comfort him and keep him warm with her own body. With some difficulty, Moyra managed to haul Kellach to his feet and get him to wrap his arms around her neck as she half-carried, half-dragged him on her back.

"Don't worry, Kellach," she said softly to him, "I'm gonna get you back to my house and fix you up. You'll be good as new." She felt Kellach silently nod, and she carefully dragged him back to her house. It took a while, but they finally reached her house and Moyra carefully laid Kellach down on the couch. She cleaned his wounds as best she could.

"Thank you, Moyra," Kellach said quietly, "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"I don't know what I'd do without you," Moyra replied sincerely.

Kellach closed his eyes and fell into sleep. Moyra stared at him for a few moments before carefully crawling onto the couch and lying next to him. She pressed close to him, hoping to keep him warm. Then she leaned forward and gently whispered in his ear as he slept.

"I love you."

I think this is my longest chapter. Anyway, Moyra finally told Kellach how she feels, and next chapter is going to get a bit more tense as we see how Kellach feels about all of this. I've already typed up the first part of the next chapter as well. I'm telling you now, there will be feels.

Is it a coincidence that Moyra confessing her feelings fell on chapter 13?

Yes. Yes, it is.