The Midnight Watch

Chapter 6

Plants completely forgotten, I ran up to the group and seized Alex by the shoulder. "You alright?"

He nodded, wincing as he did so. His nose was swollen and streaming blood, while Ben was pinching it at the bridge, trying to stop the bleeding. It looked like he had been punched. Nobody — and I mean nobody — punched my friend and lived to tell the tale.

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened?" Kai inquired.

Becky looked like she was about to go all Incredible Hulk. "Alex found some apples. Ethan decided he was hungry. Four of them ganged up on him and then kicked both of us out of the room."

"You missed out the bit where you kicked Ethan in his special place, Becky," Alex added with a slight grin. My foraging partner gave Ben a look, and the boy moved out of the way without hesitation. Kai took a long look at Alex.

"It's not broken. Pinch your nose, tilt your head forwards and breathe through your mouth. It'll stop in about ten minutes," Kai advised. I began to realise that this was a different boy to the one I was talking to in the woods. This was a prince, a leader. "You said it was four of them? We'll make it even. Ben, Corban and Matthias, with me."

"There's seven in there," Becky warned. She had surprisingly little allegiance to her house members. "What are we going to do?"

"Get justice, not revenge. So you aren't going to do anything — you're too involved," Kai replied with quiet authority.

Becky wasn't having any of it. "You're not in charge of me, you—"

Then Becky called Kai a very rude name.

I didn't want to say anything. I didn't want to get involved in their argument. But it seemed like they were all missing the obvious solution. My desire to stop the fighting was only partially selfish. I was a little worried that the Moon Guard might kick everyone out for starting a fistfight. "Guys. We shouldn't fight each other, and we don't need to fight them either. Let them eat the apples. We can get justice without resorting to brute force."

"What do you suggest?" Kai raised an eyebrow as all eyes turned to me, including Becky's furious ones.

"I suggest we banish them," I replied simply. "Ignore them. Pretend they don't exist. Let's see how soon they get bored of that."

"It won't matter to them," Becky snorted.

"The attention is all that matters to them. They want someone to wind up — that's what people like them do. Having no response takes all the fun out it. We'll even give them a way out. If they apologise to Alex, they will be forgiven."

"Ethan will never apologise," Kai pointed out.

I gave a conspirational smile. "True, but nobody will be able to say we didn't give them the option."

"They need more of a punishment than that," Olivia protested. "I want to see them suffer."

"You're not the only one. Becky, which of these plants are poisonous?" I gestured to the pile of discarded greens.

"I think murder is going a little far," Alex said.

"Not for murder, idiot," I grunted. "Just to give them diarrhoea."

"I like you," Becky said as she picked out a yellowy leaf. "This is oleander. They will suffer for a few hours, but their wolves will clear it out of their systems before it does any permanent damage. Not that I would be opposed to some permanent damage..."

"We're not killing them." Kai rolled his eyes. "Follow Sav's plan. I don't care what they say to you — nobody talks to them, understood?"

There was a general murmur of assent from the group. Becky slipped the leaf into her pocket. I wasn't quite sure how she would get them to eat it, but having known the girl all of a few hours, I already knew she would find a way. Kai opened the door calmly to reveal four of the Rochester boys glaring at us.