The Old Family

(19)The Old Night

The Old Night

It was nearly dawn.

We sat around the campfire, huddled up close for warmth. The makeshift tent Vikard and his men had made was barely enough to keep the cold at bay, but luckily it was a quiet early morning and the wind had died down. It was still very dark and the stars were bright in the sky. The moon was nowhere to be seen.

My eyes scanned the nearby tent. Moros and Vikard were discussing our next move and examining the Gorgon sister's bodies. Vikard's men were stationed a few feet away from the camp; on look out for anything suspicious.

Shadow was somewhere in the woods, almost certainly hunting for fun and food. He enjoyed the night air and would probably come cuddle up to Nemesis as soon as the sun came out. Dawn was routinely his nap time.

I sat against a long log with Apate's still unconscious body wrapped in blankets. Her head rested on my lap. I felt my eyes close every now and then as the fatigue snuck up on me. Dolos sat beside me, whittling with his smallest dagger.

In the beginning it looked like he was carving a horse. Now, I had no idea what it was. Maybe a horse with six legs? I don't know.

Nemesis sat across from me; her eyes trained on the map in her lap, but every now and then I could feel her eyes lift up to stare at me and Apate. I knew what she was thinking- what all of them were thinking.

They were wondering if I was okay. They knew I was a good fighter; they knew I was powerful, but they'd never seen me act like that before.

It was because it'd never shown them that side of me. Not like that- not during the hunt. My sisters and my brothers knew that being death was a prestigious position; sure, it had its perks, but I don't think they realised just the extent of the horrid things I had to do every day.

It wasn't pretty. It wasn't fair sometimes and it certainly wasn't designed for someone with a weak stomach.

But I did understand their concern- was it the past few weeks of stress, exhaustion and having to deal with everyone all the bloody time that maybe made me go a little... crazy?

Possibly. Or was it just the way I was designed?

Either way, it didn't bother me too much. My body felt numb, like a bolt of pure adrenaline had engulfed it and now, it was gone and I was left with that euphoric shimmering glow.

"Thana?" Nemesis' soft voice woke me as I dozen off a bit. I jolted awake. "Yeah?" My voice sounded caked with overtiredness and my sister's face fell a little with guilt from waking me up.

She glanced to the side to Dolos, but he was pretending not to listen. "Are you alright?"

I smiled thinly and with much effort; "Of course."

"Are you sure? You-" She started saying, but stopped. Nemesis wasn't the best with her tongue. She was always the last one to find the perfect words to say, but in my mind, her words were never lacking in warmth. Maybe slightly ineloquent, but kind nonetheless.

"Nema, I'm fine. Just tired." I nodded my head and gave her a brotherly look. She smiled and pursed her lips as she looked down at the map again, but her worries weren't eased. I could tell Dolos wasn't convinced either.

Sudden movement made us all forget about me.

Apate's eyes flickered and I felt her head sway from side to side. My hand, which was resting on her hair, moved down to her neck to help her sit-up. She moaned as her eyes opened and her back straightened. Dolos and Nemesis leaned in to ogle down at her with concerned expressions.