The Moros Murders

Medea

“Cass!” With a frenzied gasp I ran to the edge of the docks, not caring about the searing pain in my palms. I watched as Katia joined in desperation, both of us desperately scouring the surface of the water for any sign of the boys. But its cruel calmness mocked me - the storm had subsided and all that remained was an eerily silent sea.

Suddenly we both heard a groan coming from the far side of the docks. We both turned to see a very battered Danny. We both ran towards Danny, my heart pounding harder with each passing second. The sight of his battered body filled me with dread, and I silently thanked the gods that he was still alive.

When we reached him, I saw that his chest was blackened with scorch marks but somehow the leather of his jacket was still intact. His neck had some light burns but other than that, he seemed to get away mostly unscathed.

“Danny!” Katia cried out as she kneeled down beside him, cradling his head in her lap. “Are you okay?” Her eyes were brimming with tears as she waited for a response.

He groaned in response and opened his eyes, blinking several times before finally making out our faces. “I-I think so,” he croaked out, wincing from the pain as he attempted to lift himself up from the ground.

We both helped him up and guided him towards a nearby crate where he sat for a few moments to rest and regain his composure. Danny’s breathing was still laboured and he clutched his chest tightly. He looked around at us, realising that someone was missing. “Where’s Cass?” he asked, a worry filled expression adorning his face.

We explained the events that had just taken place to Danny, who looked at us in disbelief. He shook his head in shock, trying to process the unimaginable. “Tarin was about to blow himself up,” I explained, “Cass tackled him into the ocean. He saved us.” I spoke solemnly.

Katia’s face was drenched with despair and it was heartbreaking to see her like this. She looked at me and said, “If he hadn’t done that, we’d both be dead.”

I nodded solemnly in agreement as my own sorrow began to set in. We were all quiet for a few moments before Danny finally spoke up again, his voice full of anger. “Cass isn’t dead!” he said simply. “He’s Cassius fucking Black for Estemeres sake. He’s too tough a bastard to kill, to die like this.”

Just as Danny finished talking, a geyser shot from the ocean. To my relief, it was a familiar jet black dragon.

He was alive.

He placed Tarin’s lifeless body on the ground before us before shifting back into his human form and collapsing on the burnt wooden planks. We all ran over to him, well I wouldn’t say that Danny ran, he speedily hobbled.

We all gathered around Cassius, looking for any signs of injury. Thankfully, it looked like he had made it out uninjured with the exception of a few scrapes, bruises and burns here and there. I sighed in relief as Katia let out a relieved sob.

Danny was still standing, his legs shaking beneath him from exhaustion and disbelief. He slowly hobbled towards us and kneeled beside Cassius, pressing two fingers against his neck to check for a heartbeat. Satisfied that he was still alive, Danny smiled and said, “I thought we lost you.”

Cassius stirred, slowly opening his eyes to meet ours. He mustered a weak smile before saying,” I love you guys.” Then he fell into a state of sleep, obviously too exhausted from the battle to stay awake any longer. I assumed that he must have hit his head or something because a confession of love is very out of character for him.

We all sat silently as we watched him sleep and took a moment to reflect on how close we had all come to death that day. Katia placed her hand in mine and gave me a reassuring squeeze before getting up to go tend to Tarin’s body which was still lying on the slats where Cassius had placed it after emerging from the sea.

Danny accompanied her while I stayed back with Cassius, keeping vigil over him until he awoke hours later when the sun had already set. He groggily opened his eyes and blinked several times before squinting up at me in confusion.

“What happened?” he asked as he tried to sit up but quickly winced in pain causing me to quickly place my hand on his shoulder indicating that he should rest. I explained everything that had transpired since they both left us earlier that day, leaving out no detail no matter how gruesome or terrifying it may have been.

Cassius listened intently until I finished recounting our story then shook his head in disbelief, unable to comprehend what we had all gone through together today. All three of us stayed by his side for the rest of the night after being treated by the Toran’s personal doctor.

After Katia had told her parents what had happened, they decided that it would be better if no one found Tarin’s body. After my wounds had been treated, we all ate a warm meal together before finally getting some much needed rest. When I awoke, the cover of night was once again upon us. Lord Toran and I quickly got to work on a plan to take Tarin’s body away from the house so that no one would ever find it. We decided on an area of forest that was relatively close by but rarely walked on and began our journey.

The trek was long and silent; neither Lord Toran nor I spoke a word throughout the entire journey as both of us were too deep in thought about what had happened today. After several hours of walking, we reached our destination; a deserted area of forest that looked as though it hadn’t seen life in years.

Lord Toran and I set out to start digging a deep pit. Once the pit had been dug, we lowered Tarin’s corpse into its depths before covering it back up with soil. We stood in silence for a few moments before turning away from the area and starting our journey back home.

When we arrived back at the house, Katia and her mother were already waiting outside with worried looks etched onto their faces. They gave us huge hugs when they saw we had made it back safely, especially when they noticed how exhausted we both looked, like we had just run a marathon. Lord Toran and I had decided not to tell them where we had buried Tarin, it was better for everyone if we took the secret to our graves.

We all retired to our separate rooms soon afterwards without saying another word - each one of us was too drained from all of today’s events to even think straight anymore let alone have a conversation.

Even though Danny had sworn that he wouldn’t tell anyone, Katia’s parents insisted on paying off the debt he had with Tech. They’d even offered him a room to stay in while he sorted things out with his father.

They were the kindest people I had ever met. They told Cass that for now they would protect him from his mother and try to sort out the unwanted marriage situation with the Byun’s as thanks for saving their daughter. What they did for me though, was the most shocking of all...

I was sitting on my bed in the servants quarters of Toran manor cleaning the blood off of my new knife, when Katia entered and handed me some papers.

“My parents were hoping that you’d sign these,” she said, looking at me in anticipation.

I read the papers in front of me, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. They were adoption papers. “What?” I said, confused.

“Your mum saved my dads life, and you’ve saved mine more times than I can count. You’d still be a Moros, you’d just be a Toran too, then we can be real sisters,” she said happily.

“I like my role Katia,” I said, not really wanting a drastic change in my life.

“I know, that’s why I insisted that you stay my bodyguard, if you want to, that is.” She tried to sell the idea to me. To be fair, it wouldn’t be a bad thing. All I really cared about was seeing Kat happy.

“Katia, will me signing these papers make you happy?” I asked already knowing full well what her answer would be.

“The happiest,” Katia responded, grinning.

“Okay then,” I agreed before striding over to the small desk in the corner of my room and signing the papers.