The Night Children

Chapter 40

"Can I ask you something?" I asked quietly, leaning over in my seat to whisper in Aarons ear. He gave me a confused look before nodding. "Of course."

I glanced around the bus but barely anyone was left to fill the seats. Seats used to be filled to the brim on the morning bus, but now there was only a few of us left. I swallowed and turned back to Aaron.

"How do you know of the Forsaken?" I whispered.

He looked taken back by the question, his eyes bright in an expression of innocence.

"It took years for us to realise what creature took my sister." He said slowly, his eyes becoming distant. "We originally thought a murderer was taking children from around town, but just like what's happening here, there is more to it."

I rose my eyebrow in response but said nothing.

"My dad did a lot of investigating and worked with the police until they uncovered evidence that there was something supernatural. We did heaps of research and travelled across to Greece to research legends that link back to the Forsaken." He continued, his voice almost as soft as his gaze. "From there, we uncovered that the supernatural beings were the Forsaken. We learnt of their behaviours and weaknesses from Greek Mythology."

I nodded silently, trying to understand the way his lips pressed into a tight scowl. He then blinked, as if realising something.

"How do you know of the Forsaken?"

Taken back by the sudden question I stammered, my mind raking for some form of lie. "Oh, I heard some rumours going around town."

He narrowed his eyes against my lie, clearly trying to tell if I had been lying or not. I gave him a small smile in response and he blinked with thought.

"You said something about Greek mythology?" I quickly asked to avoid any more awkward silence. "What do you mean by that?"

He paused, thinking through his response. I envied the way his green eyes shone in the morning sun, giving his skin a golden undertone. "Greek mythology states a lot about the Forsaken. The Forsaken are called many different things throughout time, but the Forsaken is one of the most common terms." He watched me, curiosity embedded in his gaze. "The Forsaken were practically unbeatable when they first formed in Greek. Legend says that a group of humans, born with angelic powers formed an alliance to put a stop to the creatures. Those group of humans were called the Parade."

I swallowed, feeling my eyes widen at this. So he knew about the Parade as well. But why had he never said anything? Why keep that knowledge a secret?

"The Parade grew in numbers and thought they had gotten rid of all the Forsaken by the late century. Hundreds of years passed without a trace of the supernatural creatures until recently." He glanced around to make sure no one would hear them. After a few seconds, he seemed to think the other students were too far away to be within ear shot. "But the Forsaken made a move on my family a few years back, and the descendants of the Parade had to continue their heritage to completely wipe them out."

"I saw weapons craved with the Parades logo on it when we were in the forest." I said softly, gazing at him with a sense of intensity. We were finally getting answers.

He nodded at this, pressing his lips firmly together. "That's them at work. They'll be using them to kill off the Forsaken although it doesn't seem to be working very well. Children are still being slaughtered by the Forsaken and numbers are only going to increase."

"Why haven't you told any authorities of the Forsaken and the Parade?" I asked.

He narrowed his eyes at this, however they weren't steeled in anger. "The same reason why you haven't said anything to anybody."