The Moon's Fangs | 1
13 | altered

“Amelia, get back inside.” Danika urged me back into the pod. “Those guys would be the first to turn you in if they figure out you’re not a citizen.”

I raised my hands up in surrender, retreating back into the room. “Okay, okay. Nolan saw me. Do I need to worry about him turning me in?”

“No, of course not.” she relented, pinching her nose for a half second. She shook her hands in front of her chest, which started to turn red.

Either she didn’t handle stress well, or this was way more serious than I understood.

Nolan turned the corner, arms out wide. Danika parked him with a hard hand to the center of his chest, not letting him past the gauzy entrance. She peered around his shoulder at the group of soldiers he came in with. She switched to the orleizen dialect before speaking in hushed tones. “I don’t want those ass-kissers coming over here. If they see her, we both know what’ll happen.”

I went back towards the couch, feigning oblivion while listening to every single word they thought I couldn’t understand. Keeping Nox a secret came insanely handy.

“Duh. Already ahead of you,” Nolan replied, voice quiet. “I asked my buddy to keep the crew busy in pod two. Plus, they’ll have their hands full with the altered drinks they ordered for the table. They won’t bother us.”

Danika nodded, rubbing the back of her reddening neck. “If you say so. I told her about what happened at her house… it’s a sensitive subject, so don’t bring it up unless she does. Besides that, I haven’t learned anything from her yet. It doesn’t seem she knows how she ended up here in Asylum, or she’s too scared to say… I don’t know. Poor girl’s probably traumatized.” she sighed, glancing around again. “I need to go speak with the owner for a bit and see if I can ask her for a favor. Do you mind staying with Amelia until I sort things out? Svana doesn’t agree to anything without getting something in exchange, so it might take a while.”

I fiddled with the sash tied around my waist, pretending to be preoccupied.

What can you tell me about Danika? I asked Nox, figuring I could do some digging while they were under the assumption I couldn’t understand them.

~Hm, let’s see,~ Nox pondered, studying her from its perch on my shoulders. ~Danika Daario, daughter of one of the distinguished council members of The Circle, is said to be among the few selected candidates running for the open seat at the next Onyx Moon celebration. Her records show she is a real stickler for rules, yet there are a couple reports her mother waved off of her being caught sneaking into the underground districts - which coincidentally, she’s at right now. In recent months, Danika and the other candidates have taken on off-world missions in order to complete several political tasks given to them by The Circle, which will help them decide on who will be the victor.~

Oh, shoot.

I didn’t realize Nolan, Nikoe, and Danika were all big shots. Sons of an esteemed General and a daughter of an alien council. Did that make the brothers her bodyguards?

My mind boggled at the major info dump Nox dropped on me. If Danika was caught helping me by the authorities, it may force her to relinquish her chance at earning a seat among this council group. Helping me posed a big risk at her expense. Yet, her mother had already wiped misdemeanors from her records. Who’s to say the woman wouldn’t do it again, on her daughter’s behalf.

“Oh, one hundred percent.” Nolan smiled. “Take as much time as you need. I’ll keep her company.” he sidestepped around her to get inside the pod, then paused. “Oh, and if you think a little extra schmoozing would win Svana over, I heard she really wants to get her hands on the latest oculus… wink wink.”

I looked down at the drinks on the table. I hadn’t thought about why the three of them were on Earth in the first place. This so-called council must have sent them there for Danika to complete a task of some sort. Strange. What would they have wanted her to do?

“Amelia?” Danika whispered, switching back to English.

I faked taking a drink. “O-oh, are y’all done talking in secret now?”

“Sorry girl.” she smiled apologetically. “I’m going to figure something out real quick. Nolan will keep you company in the meantime.”

She disappeared around the corner as Nolan lifted the curtain and entered the private room. The drapes rustled back in place behind him.

He looked the same, but also different than the first time I met him — dryer. He still held a high level of uplifting confidence like before, but now an element of eminence hung in the balance. Something I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

“It’s really you.” He spread his arms out wide and swooped me into a big, unexpected bear hug. My feet dangled off the ground as he squeezed me against the warmth of his body. “Aw man… you have no idea how happy I am to see you. Wow, you smell pretty.”

He set me down, flashing a huge grin.

The big hug came as a bit of a surprise, but I guess we did go through a traumatic monster attack together. If there was an exception to the rule, that would definitely be it.

“Oh, um, thank you. I’m glad to see you too.” I blushed, taking a seat across from him.

Nolan winced slightly as he sat on the plush couch next to the cloak Danika left, squeezing one eye shut. He gripped his left leg until getting situated.

I grimaced, feeling a sympathetic ghost pain across my ribs. “How bad is it?”

He waved it off in a carefree manner. “Ah, this? Nothing compared to when it happened. One of those monsters loosed a crystalline arrow straight through my thigh! Those suckers are about as thick as a candle stick.” he shook his head, widening his autumn-hued eyes as if amazed by the event himself. “You should’ve seen my face a couple days ago. A doctor had to stitch my ear back—” Nolan caught the horrified look growing in my eyes and stopped.

He was right. Now that I looked, I could vaguely make out a pinkish scar where his ear and scalp connected. My stomach twisted from the thought of him barely dodging an attack in time for it to not have sliced more than it had.

He scratched the back of his head awkwardly and laughed. “Gah… my bad. Too much detail, huh? I guess I’m kind of rambling because I’m looking at you, and I’m totally stumped. How are you not in critical condition right now?” He gave me a bewildered look that indicated innocence, with a discreet underlay of suspicion.

Nolan’s suspicion was justified. He had been there. He saw how cut up I’d been. He witnessed the monster throw me like a rag doll against the wall before jamming a crystal-hard knee into my ribs.

I puffed my cheeks out, blowing out a deep breath to give myself an extra second to figure out how to turn the conversation in my favor. “I guess I’m not really sure how it happened. I remember being in a lot of pain, and was so scared, I couldn’t focus. Then I had a… run-in with a stranger who helped me. But I managed to get lost again before bumping into Danika.”

Short and sweet, and just enough of the vague truth. I’ll call that my card of misguidance within my mental deck.

Another question began to formulate across his face, so I quickly changed the subject to something I knew he’d be interested in, afraid he might ask for the details involving my recovery. “If you’re wondering where that ring is… I don’t have it anymore. Maybe it’s still back in…” I trailed off as crystals and flames blazed fresh in my memory. Another lie, but a well-placed one, I hoped.

“Hey, let’s not worry about that,” he said, leaning over and pressing his index finger on the center of the table. A small, circular projection the size of a standard wall clock materialized. Written in the orleizen language, it was a drink menu. This one looked much more extensive than the one down on the main floor.

Nolan stroked his chin as if he had an invisible beard. “Mmm… I’m in between the Chef’s Special or something to take off the edge.”

My brows knitted. “Like alcohol?”

Nolan shot me a surprised look. “Did Danika not— no…” he reached over and took a sip of my drink. He gaped offensively at the taste. “D brought you to the VIP section of Altered and had you drinking… plain ol’ orleizen water? The injustice!”

I leaned back into the lavish couch, waiting for him to explain. Obviously, I was missing out on something if he felt the need to react this way.

“Okay, okay,” he grinned, placing an order on the holographic menu. “I am totally one hundred percent going to be the hero who introduces this to you. We’ll start easy with something calming, then we’ll test out the chef’s special, which is always something safe the bartender knows’ll be fan favorite.”

“You still haven’t told me what they are.” I prompted.

He pressed his palm against his forehead, color reaching his cheeks. “Right, right. I got ahead of myself. How do I want to explain this…” he leaned forward, glancing to the side until the idea struck him. His finger snapped. “So! You know how on Earth people drink alcohol to get drunk? Think of that but instead of getting drunk and having all those side effects, you instead get temporarily altered with the emotions or feelings you want to feel. For example, if I’m really stupid angry over something but have somewhere important to be soon, I could order an altered drink that enhances positivity and levels me out.”

I head inclined, interested piqued. “So, what did you order for us to take the edge off?”

Right on cue, the inner circle of the table slid open, along with one directly under it on the floor. A new centerpiece rose from the floor into the newly opened space in the center of the table, carrying four new drinks and an encased vase of red flowers. Two clear, fizzy drinks and two with a classy golden tint similar to champagne. All four were close to half the size of a regular whiskey glass, spread evenly around the protected flowers.

The opening in the floor closed back in place before I could see how that worked. It must be connected or chipped to the bar, somehow. Now that I thought about it, the bar was stationed just under the VIP section.

“Just in case you don’t like either, I went with sampler sizes,” he explained, picking up the two clear fizzy drinks and handing me one. “This one is Altered-Calm. It’s subtle, but perfect for when you’re feeling nervous or stressed out - which I’m sure you’ve been feeling a lot of that.”

The small glass felt cool against my fingers. I hummed thoughtfully while inwardly asking Nox if this was really what Nolan said it was, or if it was a trick.

The Guide tilted its head down to get a better look at the liquid. My fingers tingled slightly when Nox confirmed it to be safe.

“How long does it last?” I asked.

“If you downed it? A couple hours. But if you just took one drink, probably only around fifteen minutes.”

Well, there didn’t seem to be any harm in giving it a try.

We tinked our glasses together and took a drink of the fizzy liquid. The balsamic flavor spilled across my tastebuds, leaving no aftertaste. An instant wave of calmness settled over my body.

Initially, I would have been alarmed by how quickly it influenced my body. But the altered-calm melted it away, washing it from my senses.

Suppressed tension in my shoulders, neck, and back eased all at once. My eyes closed while I sank back into the plush couch. The unbalanced pile of stress, fear, and overall concerns evaporated, leaving only a serene scape to stretch across my psyche. I sighed from the release, looking across the table to see Nolan experiencing the same level of calmness. Even Nox seemed to droop comfortably across my shoulders, head snug against the side of my neck.

He cracked a lazy smile, mirroring my posture. “Wha’dya think?”

I smiled back. “I think I’m going to need to bottle this up and give it to my dad when I finally get back.”

“You already want to go back, huh?”

I set the glass down, then pulled my legs up on the couch. “Danika says it’s going to take a while. Something about official papers and other issues.”

Nolan inclined his head, taking another drink before setting his glass down by mine. He set his elbows on his knees, rubbing his hands together conspiratorially. “What if I told you I could get you out of here under the radar, easy.”

I raised a composed brow. “I’m listening.”

He licked his lips, then grinned. “I’ve been sitting on a favor a couple buddies of mine owe me. I could sneak ya out when they’re both on guard duty during the night shift.”

I gave the proposal a thought. “Sounds like an option… but why can’t you get another one of those gate ring things and get me out that way?”

If it weren’t for the altered-calm affecting my system, the color would have drained from my face at that moment. Nolan didn’t know I now knew those rings were called gate rings. Luckily, he didn’t seem to notice my little slip up.

“I wish it was that simple,” he said, not missing a beat. “Gate rings are extremely rare. And I wasn’t even supposed to have the one that I did in the first place. There’s no way I could get my hands on another.”

“Then how do you plan on getting me back home?”

“Through a waypoint.” he explained. “Gate rings are like mini, more versatile versions of them, except waypoints are fused to the ground in select areas on the surface, and are bigger… like the size of a door.” He drew out his arms as wide as he could, widening his eyes to help with the exaggeration.

“So, you’re saying there isn’t one of those down here.” I surmised.

“Wouldn’t it be nice if there was?” he shook his head and grinned. “Asylum doesn’t have waypoints. No one can warp into the underground city for safety reasons.”

I pursed my lips. I didn’t know where Reks’ lab was located, but I couldn’t have snuck by the guards posted at the mouth of Asylum unnoticed while sleepwalking. Which meant his lab had to be located somewhere down here, and he used his gate ring to warp us into it from the desert. So that meant either Nolan was full of it, or Reks had an advantage that bypassed that problem.

From Nolan’s explanation, he made it sound like this underground city was a one-way road. Easy to get in, hard to get out.

“You know what,” Nolan lifted the two gold-tinted drinks, left his side of the couch, and sat by me. The warmth of his leg grazed mine. He smiled, offering me the new glass. “How about we try the Chef’s Special, then I’ll go tell my buddies to go switch shifts right now.” he checked behind his shoulder towards the closed drapes. “But we’ll need to be pretty quick. D will freak if she catches us, but this’ll only work if it’s the two of us.” A spark of excitement-filled rebellion flickered in his influential gaze. “What’dya say? Wanna down these and bounce?”

His eyes brimmed with color. Bright golden-brown with flecks of amber around his pupils splashed across a pool of pale green before transitioning into a darker shade of a deep forest that outlined his irises. Like autumn leaves given the gift of sight.

I looked down at the golden liquid, but Nox could only decipher it as Altered-Chef’s Special and nothing more. The Guide couldn’t identify the mixture. But Nolan did say that the drink was meant to be a surprise. And I wanted to trust him. After everything we’d been through, didn’t he deserve that much?

He tinked his glass against mine, and I noticed a small chink in his glass where it must have previously cracked. “Cheers to our health, our new friendship, and above all else... to Blaire.” he lifted his glass and took a deep swig, setting a hand on my thigh and offering a reassuring squeeze.

The instant pang from hearing my best friend’s name was quickly swallowed by the sense of calmness still swirling in my system. His autumn eyes steadily watched me as I raised my glass in silent agreement before lifting the drink up to my lips.

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