Eric and Black Star

---Indigo---

I listened quietly as Aaron continued to tell the story of his mum. "The dead bodies through the school showed that the killer had murdered at least ten adults to get to my mum's classroom. Of the people who came in, half hurriedly herded the children to safety while the other half, trained in martial arts, brandished their weapons and headed in, following the trails of blood and dead bodies. When they got there, they found my mum dead on the floor, her body scarred with wounds. Her sword was still clutched in her hand.

"Written on the white wall with her blood were the words Black Star's revenge. My dad arrived shortly, but it was already too late. They found that the cause of her death wasn't the numerous wounds on her body; those were inflicted after she was dead. The real cause of death was five black spots in the shape of a star on her chest, each a poisoned needle."

"The Lotus Needles," I breathed.

"Exactly. It was such an unusual dark practice that it was pretty much extinct in the world, even within the dark side. Whoever did this must really wanted to kill." Aaron took another deep breath. His shoulders were trembling. "There was blood leading from the room and out the window. The killer was also injured. But they never found who killed my mum, except that he was a dangerous assassin who rivaled the legendary Black Star and also skilled in the dark arts."

"I still don't get how this relates to Eric though," I said, puzzled. "Didn't Eric confess he killed your mom? If he's not the Black Star, why did he kill your mom?"

"On stage, when Eric first wounded me, he whispered something in my ear," Aaron said over his shoulder. "Do you remember?"

"Yes, I saw." I recalled. "What did he say?"

Aaron took a deep breath. "He said that Black Star…was his mentor and life-saver."

I sat in stunned silence for a few moments, the countryside whizzing by in a blur. Eric was Black Star's student? "I didn't know Black Star had a student. Nothing I read about Black Star said anything about that."

"That's what everyone assumed, because he never said anything or appeared in the same place as his student." Aaron explained. "But apparently, Black Star had saved Eric's life when Eric was younger and took him in as his disciple. Black Star trained Eric to avenge him because he could no longer fight. He taught Eric all he knew about the dark arts, especially the Lotus Needles. And to think, my mum fought against the dark arts all her life, even managing to come out of her battle with the Black Star unscathed, only to die at the hands of his student." Aaron sighed softly, caught in his memories.

I hugged him from behind, showing a gesture of comfort. I didn't know what to say. What could you say to someone whose mother was mysteriously murdered years and just found who the killer was yesterday?

"Did you want to kill Eric?" I murmured.

Aaron was silent for a few moments. "When he told me, I was so shocked my mind couldn't think of anything else. When he was about to deliver that death blow, it flashed through my mind that I couldn't avenge my mum. I felt so…useless. You don't know what it's like to see the murderer finally unmasked and standing right there in front of you, but you can't do anything about it. It's a horrible feeling."

"If given the chance, right now, would you kill him?"

"Yes," Aaron said immediately. "I want to make sure that my mum didn't die in vain. If even a cold-blooded assassin like Eric knows to extract revenge for his mentor, shouldn't a decent person like me avenge my mum?"

"Yeah. I would too." We lapsed into silence, each thinking our own thoughts. "Do you feel, I don't know, sort of cheated out of your chance? Eric died from the wounds that Katherine inflicted on him."

"Somewhat. But I'm glad that Katherine stabbed him through and that he died. At least I can rest easy knowing that Eric will no longer terrorize anyone with his dark arts." Aaron sounded a bit more comforted. "You fought and wounded him as well, so thank you for doing that for me."

"Oh, it was nothing. You should thank Katherine instead," I said. "I was totally defeated."

"Nah, Indigo. You were amazing," Aaron said earnestly. "Thanks for coming to my rescue."

"That's what friends are for," I said with a small blush. I leaned forward against Aaron's back, hiding the blush and being thankful that Aaron couldn't see my face.

"We'll be reaching Strongfair in about two days!" Katherine doubled back and shouted out the information to the rest of us. She let her horse trot alongside us. I hurriedly sat up in the saddle.

"Sounds great. Then where will we be headed?" I questioned.

"After Strongfair we'll head east and go past Dead Man's Chasm and the Desederium Forest," Katherine reported. "As soon as we come out of the Desederium Forest, we'll see Devil's Peak looming ahead. According to Rachel's calculations, we should arrive at Devil's Peak in a week if we keep up this pace."

"Good, good. Any news on Lord Victor?"

"Not that I've heard of. I haven't been shot at with another arrow," Katherine joked. Then her tone turned serious. "This could be it, you know. We will actually have to fight against Lord Victor. Do you think we have a chance, Indigo?"

"I…" I thought about it.

"Honestly, Indigo. You don't have to pretend or put up a brave façade to boost our confidence. Between you, me, and Aaron—Indigo, do you think we have a chance?" Katherine's gray eyes held my gaze.

"I don't know," I finally admitted. "I really don't know. I mean, we've each accomplished impressive deeds, but I honestly don't know how seven kids are going to fight against a powerful dark lord and an entire army of monsters. It's too early to say for sure, though. We might stand a chance if we manage to catch Lord Victor by surprise."

Katherine nodded, understanding. "Alright. Well, does anyone want to ride solo now? Or are you all comfortable in your pairs?" She winked at me, reading me girl to girl. I felt my face flush while Aaron seemed blissfully oblivious.

"Nah, we're good," Lucian called back. "I still need my protection."

"Shut up," Rachel swatted him on the back. "You're just too scared to ride alone."

A shriek of laughter came from Ashley and Jason, far ahead. I guess they don't mind staying in their pair either. Katherine shrugged. "It's much more comfortable alone, but if you all want to hug each other, I'm totally fine with that." With one last meaningful smile towards me, Katherine galloped off again.

"What was that all about?" Aaron asked me. "Why did she smile at you?"

"Nothing." I quickly answered. Were all boys this clueless?

We galloped down the road, laughter and talking floating by on the wind. For a moment, it seemed that all was well in the world: just seven kids taking a ride down a country road and having fun. Yet deep in our light, carefree hearts, we all knew that a larger battle was brewing and waiting for us.