Chapter 51: Old Man Moon
Suspicious men in dark coats came out from the greens one by one, blades drawn. Their faces were blank under the hoods.
Eli’s instincts kicked in before his mind could catch up. He slid his hand toward the hilt and stepped beside Juli.
The count climbed quickly. Five, then eight, then well over a dozen, with more still pushing through the bushes with menacing steps.
Soon enough, a ring closed around them at the mouth of the labyrinth.
’Shit. Fuck! Where the hell did these guys come from!? How the hell did they know we’re here!?’
Eli had been careful on his way to this place, checking every minute with his superior intuition. He realized intuition wasn’t a predator’s sense that could catch suspicious movement from a mile away. Only those who truly mastered the art of combat could develop something called sixth sense.
He swept the trees again just to be sure. Twelve in plain sight, and at least three or four more hiding in the distance, shifting behind the thick greens.
His mind raced as he calculated every possible escape, but there was none. They had completely surrounded them.
Eli knew who these guys were too, even if there was nothing to expose their identities. The smell of devil worshippers was unmistakable once they revealed their true nature, and it tainted the whole forest.
’The Red Moon...’
Juli still had not moved. Her eyes were fixed on the lone figure under the canopy, the one she had recognized.
She finally spoke, her voice low, almost a growl.
"...Monsieur?"
The figure stepped forward out of the canopy’s shadow, and the afternoon light caught his spectacles in a familiar gleam.
It was the same permanent frown, the same coarse bearing, and the same middle-aged man Eli and Juli had met as he scrutinized them behind a wooden desk.
Joanne’s secretary.
’WHAT THE FUCK!?’
Eli’s stomach dropped. Of every face he could have imagined standing there, this old man was nowhere on his list. He was so unassuming and... normal that he could have easily passed for an undercover double agent.
’FUCK!’
He strangled his hilt as the old man approached them. He stopped at a considerable distance from them and clasped his hands behind his back, wearing the same patient manner he carried at the desk.
"Miss Moreau. Miss Owens."
His voice was as coarse as Eli remembered.
"Forgive me for the sudden welcome."
The secretary’s eyes then veered to Eli.
"Miss Moreau. I believe you have something that belongs to me."
Of course Eli knew exactly what the secretary was talking about, but he still couldn’t believe it. A Red Moon member that close to the Headmistress? If Joanne, the Perennial Bloom, hadn’t noticed, then no one could.
The diary in his coat pocket felt twice as heavy now, almost burning against his ribs.
Eli considered playing dumb, but that would only insult the old man’s intelligence and shorten whatever conversation was about to happen. After all, he somehow found them in the middle of nowhere.
So Eli settled for the next best thing.
"I’m afraid you’ll have to be more specific. We picked up plenty of things down there."
The secretary’s mouth twitched into something close to amusement.
"The notebook, Miss Moreau."
"Ah."
Eli nodded slowly, his hands sweating.
"That one."
Juli shifted closer to him, her shoulder brushing his. Her eyes never left the old man for a second.
"Monsie—no. Colton," she said, her voice raw. "What are you doing here? What does any of this mean. Who are these men."
Colton turned his attention to Juli.
"Miss Owens. You have walked into something far above your station. Both of you."
"Above our station?" Juli retorted, her voice thick with anger. "We are envoys of House Lagranche, and you dare question our authority?"
A few of the hooded men shifted at her words, brandishing their swords.
Juli’s expression darkened.
"What is the meaning of this, Colton? Does the Headmistress have a problem with us?"
’Huh? No, Juli, that’s...’
Before bewilderment could set in, Eli realized Juli didn’t know much about the Red Moon, like most of the younger generation. A few lines in a textbook weren’t enough to prepare anyone for the real thing. Besides, Juli spent most of her time swinging a blade, not poring over cult histories.
To her, Colton the secretary was Joanne’s man through and through. Naturally, she read this as Joanne moving against them for reasons she couldn’t begin to grasp. The Moons appearing out of thin air before them sounded ridiculous, no matter how you framed it.
Eli leaned in.
"Juli," he whispered. "These guys are Moons. Red Moon."
Juli’s shoulder went rigid, and then her head turned lightning quick to him.
"...What. You’re joking."
"I wish I was," Eli bellowed. "But no, Colton is a disguised Moon."
Eli kept his eyes forward on Colton, whose polite smile had not faded.
"...You sure?"
"We’re about to die, that’s for sure."
A long moment of silence stretched between them. Colton even allowed them to talk, as though confident this would be their burial ground.
He broke the silence first.
"Hand the notebook over, Miss Moreau. We can discuss the rest after."
Eli scoffed.
"Stick your pleasantries up your ass, Colton. It’s sickening coming from a devil worshipper."
Colton only smiled, not rattled in the slightest by the derisive comment.
"How did you come to figure out our plans in just a day? That is quite extraordinary for a lowly maid."
—Boom!
All of a sudden, Juli’s ferocious aura exploded outward, sweeping the canopy away. All of the hooded men lost their balance and tumbled on their asses.
It was the aura of a Two-Song Knight.
"Shut your mouth, bastard!"
Yet, Colton didn’t move an inch, and neither did his smile.
’Shit... he’s at least a Seeker.’
Only a Moonseeker could withstand that aura without budging.
He walked forward a step.
"You amused me the first time you walked into my building. A maid of Lagranche asking for the Headmistress without an appointment. The wine on your second visit was a nice touch, I will admit."
His eyes drifted to Eli’s coat, where the diary was.
"Black Rose? I’m impressed you thought I wouldn’t discover it. Clearly, Owens, your surveillance detection needs some work."
