Moonless Nights

Hana stepped back a few paces. She didn't know how to respond to that callous confession. Although large and intimidating, she didn't think Nimhr the type to harm people.

… But maybe she was a worse judge of character than she thought.

"Murdered?" she bȧrėly squeaked out the word.

"Da." Nimhr sounded as worn-out as usual. "I grabbed his neck with both hand, and squeezed until no more move." He spoke like he was commenting on the weather. "Strangle human is very hard, actually. After he died, maid walked in on me, so didn't get away with it."

Hana had an idea what he was hinting at, and she hated that at the moment she was alone with him. She started reciting the mantra under her breath, preparing to teleport the second he tried anything funny.

Nimhr shook his head and whacked the staff out of her hand. "Try harder," he said. He set a heavy foot on it so Hana couldn't grab it back, and continued recounting his horrible tale. "They brought me to gallows to hang until dead. But I did not die. They tried to hang me three, five times. Maybe seven. Cut off head. Came back, so they sealed me in wall. I liked wall execution. Took nice nap. Village idiots finally figured out I am God, decided I was punished enough, and ran me out of town. The end. Konets."

"Why would you kill him if he was your friend?" Hana frowned in disbelief.

Nimhr just shrugged. "Why not?" He narrowed his already beady eyes. "Why I tell you this, devochka, is because you are precious to Sasha. I have nothing against you, but I cannot let opportunity slip by. I get rid of you, godling loses will to live, no one gets in way of False One, world ends, and finally I die."

Wait… what? That was his motivation all along?

"You're going to let the rest of humanity perish so you can die?" Hana snapped. Anger flared up inside her, and if she could reach that high, she'd slap the living daylights out of him. "You can go and die if you want, but don't bring everyone else with you!"

"Live thirty thousand year, you try everything you can to die, too," replied Nimhr. "What can one person do with so much life? You think I not tried myself? Doesn't work. Tried having other people kill me, doesn't work. Is because body of Nimhr is not real, only soul. And only False One has power to destroy everything."

"You're telling me you murdered your friend because you WANTED the death penalty?" Hana couldn't believe her ears. "And you're bold enough to come visit his grave every year?"

"Every week," Nimhr corrected her.

She was speechless. Zagiha had some huge gaps in his logic due to his self-loathing and Isaana was a classic sociopath, but of all the Gods, Nimhr was the most staggeringly selfish person she'd ever met. Yes. Somehow he was even more problematic than Isaana.

"You're full of it," she told him.

"So what?" Nimhr answered. "I will have my way."

Then Hana's brain started working again as she processed the second half of his statement. Everything he said was so absurd and foreign to her, her mind metaphorically bluescreened after he declared his intentions. What… he didn't mean…?

"Hold on… What do you mean 'get rid of' me?"

Nimhr sighed. "Forgive me."

He summoned his Divine Weapon in his hands, a glaive, and with no warning, struck at her with lightning fast speed. Hana bȧrėly reacted in time, jumping back and grabbing her throat. A few strands of hair fluttered to the ground.

Nimhr scowled. "Hold still!" he barked. "I don't want you to suffer!" .

Nope. She was out of here. Hana didn't care about the staff. It was time to run. Hana made a break for it, narrowly dodging another stab from the spear. Her heart pounded in her throat, and she pushed her little legs to their limits as the cemetary's entrance ebbed into view.

But Nimhr was toying with her like a cat with a mouse. He was much faster than her, and after giving her a bit of a running start, caught up with her in no time and slammed her into the dirt.

"H-Hey!" Hana crab-walked into a corner, putting her hands out in a pathetic attempt to defend herself. "You don't want to do this." She rubbed away a tear, trying to sound calm and placating. "Please don't kill me. You can do whatever you want to me, but p-please let me go home." Her voice cracked and she started to sob.

Nimhr just stared down at her with a bemused look, and reaching into his pocket, took out a handkerchief. He threw it at her.

What the hell was wrong with this guy?

"Dry your tears, devochka," he said coldly. "I do not do that to women, especially not little girl. I cut jugular and all is over in instant. Be brave. You do not want to die like coward, do you?"

"I don't want to die at all!" she hollered. "Let me go! What did I do to you?"

"Nothing." Nimhr glowered down at her. Hana dabbed at her eyes in an effort to placate him. "You are just in wrong place at wrong time. If you were not friend of Sasha's, I would've let you be, but small human like you is easier to take out than God. I even have place to bury your body. Khorosho! You know how I hate work too hard."

His explanation made no sense to her. Did Zagiha annoy him enough earlier that he was willing to flat-out kill her to get his revenge? He was insane! But Hana needed to talk her way out of this if she expected any hope of survival. "Come on. I'm sorry Zagiha woke you up earlier. I'll tell him to give up on defeating the False One so he won't bother you again. Just let me go. Please… just let me go…"

"Weak." Nimhr practically spat out the word, and slashed downwards. Hana grabbed a fistful of dirt and thrust it in his eyes, rolling out of the way. He grunted and staggered back, rubbing at them furiously.

"Good job holding out this long, Hana. I'll take it from here." A beam of light fell from the sky and carved a ditch between Nimhr and Hana. Zagiha descended from a portal and summoned his giant hammer. "Sorry I didn't realize what was going on sooner. Nimhr, you've gone way too far this time!"

She knew when Zagiha was testy; right now, he sounded downright furious.

"She's just a kid, Nim. I kind of figured I'd have to strike you down, but I didn't think I'd need to blow you to bits right now!" He summoned another ball of light in his hand.

"Zagiha, wait!" Hana shouted. "Don't break the gravestones!"

He furrowed his brow. "What? Who cares about those? I'll just pay for new ones."

"Zagiha, please don't break the gravestones." Maybe he sensed the urgency in her voice, but he understood and dematerialized both the laser and his hammer.

"All right," he said. "Then I'll beat his ȧss the old fashioned way! Run and find Rebane! Don't even think of turning back!"

"Will you be okay?"

"I'll be… fine. Just go. Go and get help!"

Hana knew he was lying, but she had no choice. Mica might not be able to stop Nimhr, but his dogs would probably make him think twice. She got back up and turned tail.

"You can't leave yet."

Translucent, ethereal rose petals drifted down around them. Where did they come from? She looked at Zagiha, who was suddenly still, his gaze fixed blankly ahead. Then she looked at Nimhr. His hands were clasped together in great concentration. Hana felt unnaturally drawn toward the petals, and she reached out for one. It melted into her flesh like a snowflake, and she blinked.

And when she opened her eyes, she was no longer in the graveyard. Her uncle was restraining her on a snowy December's eve, and not far away, Silvio and Jan were bleeding out. No… Jan was already dead. There was Isaana, fletching her golden arrow and aiming it at Silvio…

Hana broke out in a cold sweat. She was here, why was she here, why was she here why was she here why was she why…

No, no, no!

Was she here all along? Was she still just twelve, and everything she went through at that point just an illusion? Was that her brain's way of blocking out the trauma? She closed her eyes, and opened them again.

This wasn't a dream. She was still here in this awful place. Hana sobbed as she tried to break free from Crowe's grasp.

"Don't even try," Crowe whispered to her. "You're too weak. You can't help anyone."

"I'll help Silvio!" she cried.

Crowe shook his head. "You're deluding yourself. How do you expect to do that? You're too small, and you can't even fight with magic. You quit school, so you only have yourself to blame for not getting stronger. Don't close your eyes. Watch every moment. Sear it into your mind, because this is what you deserve. This is what becomes of weaklings who can't do anything themselves."

His voice lowered still. "Silvio doesn't deserve this fate. He's brilliant, and empathetic, and stands up for what he believes in. What have you done? Do you think looking for him is really what he needs?"

"What… do I do?" Snot mingled with tears. "I can't do anything!"

"There is one thing even weaklings can do." He leaned down and stared at her intently. "Take Silvio's place. Bear his punishment and die. He deserves to live more than you do."

"R-Right." She clutched her fist to her ċhėst. "I d-deserve to die instead of Silvio. But… Uncle Crowe, can I ask you one last thing?"

"What is it?"

"What was the gift I gave you before school started, again?"

Crowe's grip loosened a bit. "Oh… right. The gift. Of course. You got me some chocolates, remember?"

"Yeah." Hana took the opportunity and pushed him off of her. "You're not Uncle Crowe. He freaking hates chocolate, Nimhr!"

With that, the illusion shattered and she was brought back to the present. Hana staggered Nimhr with her foot as he slashed at her again, pulling herself to her feet.

"You snapped out of it," he said. "That's new."

"Hana… run…" Zagiha crawled up to them, battered and bloody. He coughed up blood, trembling as he tried to speak. "He's way stronger than Isaana… I can't land a hit on him… I…" He pushed himself to his knees. "Nimhr's ability is to probe your mind and make you relive the worst moments of your life over and over again until you do what he wants. He's a monster. Please… run… get out of… Tyressa… and hide." Tears fell down his cheeks. "Please, Hana. I can't resist the spell much longer either. Leave."

"Ah, nyet." Nimhr grabbed Hana by the collar and hoisted her up like a kitten. "I hate using power, but you've forced hand of Nimhr. Sasha, you and Isaana are biggest obstacles to dream." An ethereal garden bloomed around Zagiha, and his eyes glazed over a bit. "To make you support choice of Outer One, I must make you hate world. You need to be broken. Sasha is easier to break than Isaana, da? You care about girl, da? But you are stubborn. Your spirit burns brightly and your resolve is strong. So I must plunge you into despair no matter what. I WAS going to simply kill girl. But I can do better than that. So, Sasha… kill Hana."

He chucked his glaive at him.

"I can't… no, no, not again! How many times does this have to happen?"

"Nimhr, stop!" Hana shrieked. "Zagiha, don't!"

"I… I…" He picked up the weapon.

"Zagiha!"

He propped it against a tree—and slammed his wrists against the blade, severing through them. He screamed in pain and his hands splattered to the ground, a geyser of blood erupting from the stubs.

Zagiha fell forward and forced a smile through his bloody and tearstained cheeks. "Haha… I can't kill you… if I don't have hands, right?"

Both Nimhr and Hana gaped at him in shock.

"Torture me all you want, Nimhr, but I promised to protect Hana… so even if I lose control, I can't do anything now."

Nimhr turned his nose up and thrust Hana on top of him. "Your love is commendable," he said. "I detest you. You always find way to mess up plans somehow. Fine. Out of respect for bravery of Sasha, I do dirty work. And… I end Sasha's suffering, too."

He raised his glaive once more to deal the killing blow…

… Only to get whacked in the head with a giant stuffed fish.

Two arms wrapped themselves around Nimhr's waist. "In Eskana, the white rose represents promise. I promised to return, so here I am." Mica span Nimhr around and pressed the flower to his throat. "Oh dear, oh dear. You know, I like my dates rough in the sack, not rough with my friends. Needless to say, we won't be seeing each other again, Pyotr… or should I say, Nimhr?"

"M-Misha?" Nimhr's demeanor changed completely.

Mica sneered and boldly stepped forward, pinning him against a tree.

"You lost cutesy nicknamin' privileges. Call me Micaiah. I'll forgive you for lyin' to me. I ȧssume you have compelling reasons to hide your identity. But I can't forgive you hurtin' my friends. Well, at least Hana is. I have mixed feelings on Zagiha."

Nimhr rubbed his forehead and scowled. "Beautiful Misha, why did you have to come here? I have to get rid of witness. But I cannot bring myself to stain my hands with your blood." His gaze sharpened. "So kill yourself."

A delicate, ghostly garden bloomed around him. Mica caught a petal in his hands. And smirked and tossed it aside.

Nimhr gasped and added more flowers. And more and more… but Mica just stood there unperturbed, a serene grin gracing his feminine features.

"That it?" he asked.

"You…!" Nimhr's eyes widened and he grabbed Mica, sending a pulse of blue energy into his heart. He let him go and staggered back a bit. "What… are… you?" he murmured.

Mica approached him and gestured for him to lean down. "Nimhr-sa, Nimhr-sa, lend me your ear," he said. "I have something to tell you." Nimhr obeyed, and Mica whispered in his ear.

The God didn't respond. He just nodded and broke away, an unreadable expression on his face.

"… I decided to let you live. Don't bother me again," he said, and he slashed open a portal with his glaive, disappearing from the gory scene.

Hana took a second to catch her breath, and ran to Zagiha, pulling him into a hug. She didn't care about getting his blood on her clothes.

"Idiot!" she scolded, tears running down her face. "Why did you do that?"

"Are you okay, Hana?" he asked, wincing in pain.

"Oi, oi, that was very dramatic of you, y'know." Mica crouched down beside him and opened up his rucksack, pulling out a small box. "Lucky I thought to bring the first aid kit. Let me see those stumps." Mica tied two tourniquets around the nubs where Zagiha's hands used to be. He let out a yelp as he tied them tight.

"I'm sorry. Because of me, you…" Hana hiccupped. Zagiha's two hands crumbled into dust, being blown away by the wind.

"Hey, hey, don't worry about it," he said. "They'll have regenerated by tomorrow. If you could just untie these once I'm ready…" Zagiha shook his head. "I'm so sorry, Hana. In all my years of knowing him, Nimhr has never been violent once. If I had known he'd do that, I wouldn't have let you be alone with him." He sighed and looked down at the ground. "He didn't injure you, did he?"

"Nothing more than a few scrapes… don't try to distract me while I'm scolding you! Don't ever harm yourself like that ever again!"

"Sorry you had to see that." He grimaced. "… Hold on, it hurts too much to talk." The lights in his eyes suddenly flickered off, and he collapsed.

"Zagiha!"

A second later, he sat back up. "… That's better," he said. "I turned my pain receptors off. Us Gods can tweak our bodies, as we like, you see. But let me know if I get hurt somewhere else. Don't want to lose my physical form."

Hana sighed with relief. She still didn't know how Gods worked, exactly, but she was glad it wasn't anything worse.

"I'm really sorry you had to see that," said Zagiha. "But it was the only way I could think to protect you. Nimhr's power far eclipses my own. I was about to fall under his spell. If I had done anything to hurt you, why, I… I would never forgive myself."

"Okay." She patted him on the head. "But just… if it gets bad again in the future, just get out before this sort of thing happens. I don't want to see you hurt, either!"

"Yeah, but… I'm immortal. You're not. You have only one life."

"Zagiha!"

"Fine, fine, I get it!"

Mica moved on to treating Hana, cleaning her scraped knee with a poultice.

"Why does every God I meet try to kill me? Nimhr, Isaana… you."

"To be fair, I wasn't actually going to hurt you."

"I know, but…!" She started crying again.

"Geez, oh, geez, come here." He hugged her back. "You don't have to put on a brave face around me. It was scary, wasn't it?"

"I couldn't do anything!" she sobbed.

"Don't blame yourself. I couldn't, either. Hana… let's give up on Nimhr."

"We can't! If we do, the False One… and Silvio's so close…"

"Hana, please!" He sounded sterner. "It was a crime of opportunity. Nimhr tried to kill you to hurt me."

"Why?"

"It's as he said. Isaana and I are the ones directly challenging the False One, and he'll stop at nothing to die. He knows if he takes me out, I'll keep popping back up, but if he kills a mortal I'm attached to, that would break me. Make me give up. And then he'll have his cake, and eat it, too. He wanted to break my mind even further by making me do it when I showed up."

"I wouldn't call most depressed people selfish," said Mica, finishing his treatment. "I'd say they're just sick. But Nimhr… Nimhr is fundamentally selfish to the core. Ugh, I'm goin' back to girls!"

"By the way, Rebane," said Zagiha. "What did you say to him to make him lay off?"

Mica chuckled. "Aha, I just told him I had a sausage and not a bun, and he went off to do a l'il soul-searching."

Zagiha rolled his eyes. "No, seriously, what did you say?"

"Trade secret," he answered.

"And why didn't his power work on you?"

"It's probably because Mica's amnesiac," said Hana. "Can't have a worst memory if you don't remember it."

Zagiha scrunched up his face and gave Mica a look, but the redhead said nothing to confirm or deny. Then he sighed once more.

"We have to find Nimhr," said Hana. "I forgive him, so…"

"But I don't!" Zagiha snapped. His expression softened as Hana flinched. "I can't forgive what he did. Let's get back to Caershira. As long as we're on Nimhr's turf, none of us Gods can hold him accountable for what he did, and he's bound to come back and try again."

"But Silvio…!"

"Hana!" he screamed. "It's not worth it! If you died, I… I'd… And think of your parents! Do you want them to lose both their kids?"

Hana paused and looked down, ashamed of her outburst.

"I don't have a family. I have nothing to lose. But you have people who love and care about you."

"… Okay." Hana sniffled. "I'm scared. I'm way in over my head. I just wanna go home." She started crying again.

"Let's get you home, then."

"Hana, tell me what you learned about Silvio, an' I promise I'll keep up the search for him," said Mica.

"Aren't you scared Nimhr will get you?"

He shook his head. "Nimhr will not harm a single hair on my head. Don't underestimate me. Do you trust me enough to pass on the torch to me?"

Hana nodded. "… Okay. But how will I get home?"

"We'll take the train," said Zagiha. "We're not in a hurry anymore, so… and with a lot of people around, he probably won't strike."

"But the False One…"

"I'll work on an alternative way to get the Constitution. But for now, you're my first priority." He scooped her up, holding her princess-style. "I may not have hands, but I can do this much."

"Eh… eh?"

"I'm not letting you go until we're out of this crazy place. Let's get back into town. Rebane, I leave everything to you."

Mica bowed his head and remained in the graveyard, watching Hana and Zagiha off until they were nothing more than dots in the horizon. Turning around, he walked back to Yevgeniy Belyakov's grave and crossed his arms, reading the inscription.

After all, he was the only one here who could read Cyrillic.

--

Hana's neighborhood was as flat and perfectly manicured as the countryside around her. In the suburbs of Caershira, nothing ever happened. It was calm and milquetoast and familiar, surrounded by a large fence to keep out anything or anyone who didn't conform to the status quo.

The houses looked much the same, far too large and bȧrėly any space between them. The mailboxes were the same color, the windows were the same size, and the lawns were the same height. This neighborhood was infamous for its hellish HOA, their arbitrary wrath descending on anybody who painted their property anything other than a shade of off-white.

The Sabatka house was the same as everyone else's, and Zagiha would've walked straight past it if Hana hadn't pointed it out. With his hands newly regrown, he adjusted his tie and rang the doorbell.

There was a chance her parents weren't home. Last she'd heard, Eliza was sheltering with a friend, and Téo was mired in work at the police station, but fortune smiled upon them as Téo answered the door.

"Baby girl!" he cried, pulling Hana into a hug. "Mommy and I missed you so much!"

"I'm sorry, Dad," said Hana. "I should've come home when you asked me to."

"It's okay. You're safe now."

"You're Chief Sabatka of the Caershira PD?" asked Zagiha.

Téo let go of his daughter and looked up, gasping when he saw Zagiha. "Y-Your Holiness!" he said, bowing before him. "For what do I owe this occasion?"

"A handshake's enough, man," he said. "As you know, Hana's been working under me. But the situation has gotten too dangerous. I can't put her in harm's way any further. Look, I owe you and your wife an apology for how I talked to you the first time we met."

"Nonsense, nonsense," said Téo. "You brought my daughter home safely. That is more than enough. Hana, Mommy came home recently, too. Why don't you go get her? Zagiha-sa, please come in and join us for coffee."

"Sure, why not? And… I need to talk to you."

"Whatever you need. Please, make yourself at home."

Hana entered the house and ran upstairs to her parents' bedroom.

"Hana?"

She span around, coming face-to-face with Crowe.

"Uncle Crowe?" she asked. "What are you doing here?"

"You Mom took me in while I recovered from my concussion. Hey, Eliza!" he yelled. "Hana's home!"

"Huh?" Eliza emerged from her room, gasping and running up to Hana. "Älskling!" she said. "I'm so glad you're home. What happened to you? You're all scratched up. Why don't you change out of those scuffed-up clothes and take a bath? I'll make your favorite soup for dinner."

Holding back tears, Hana nodded and started toward her own room. She passed Silvio's room. She never got used to the drop in her stomach whenever she went by. The door was closed, but she knew it remained untouched, gathering dust like a time capsule.

"Eliza!" Téo yelled from downstairs. "We have an important guest! Do we have any of those biscuits left?"

"Coming!" Eliza hollered.

"I'll put on the coffee!" said Crowe.

Hana entered her room and locked the door behind her, collapsing on her bed. It was a typical teen girl's bedroom, filled with stuffed animals and cute accessories—a far cry from her apartment in Modrica, which, apart from her clothes, lacked in any sort of notable decoration. She peeled off her sweaty, bloody clothes and threw them in the hamper.

She stared down at her body. Despite healing magic, Nimhr battered her up quite a bit. Her stomach was bruised black and blue, and there were several cuts across her thɨġhs where he slashed her with his glaive.

Better not let Mom and Dad see that, she thought, and she sprawled across the mattress, weak and morose. This was the first time she didn't know what to do. Hana was at a complete loss of what to do next in her life, but she knew she was outclassed. She was scared of Nimhr. She didn't want to die. And she didn't want to hurt Zagiha, either.

Hana slipped on a robe and made her way downstairs to the shower, pausing at the drawing room where she caught snippets of the ȧduŀts' conversation.

"… And that's what's going on," said Zagiha.

"That damned Nimhr!" Téo bellowed. "I'll have his hide for what he did to my little girl!"

"Please, Chief Sabatka, don't seek him out," said Zagiha. "Focus on protecting Hana. As for that other thing we discussed…"

"It can probably be arranged. I'm regularly in contact with Somnambashna PD and their mayor. But getting the Constitution shipped here might tip off Kaatsche-sa."

"It's a risk I'm willing to take. I'm really sorry for this. Gods shouldn't be getting humans involved in Gods' business."

"It's no problem, Zagiha-sa. You are my direct superior, and there's no way I could pay you back enough for saving Hana. And… I swore to protect this country, False One or not."

"Thank you so much. I owe you big-time." He paused. "I can't believe I'm about to do this. Hana's very attached to me. I don't know how to break it to her."

"Don't worry about it," said Eliza. "Mean old Mom will take the blame."

What? Take the blame for what? Hana pressed her ear against the door.

"You've raised a very fine young lady. I'll have the rest of her stuff shipped back, but after that, keep an eye on her. Make sure she can't ever get in contact with me again."

He was abandoning her? After all they went through together, he was just going to drop her off and peace out? Hana balled her fists in rage, ready to burst in and give Zagiha a piece of her mind.

"It's the only way I can think of to keep her safe."

"She'll come around eventually."

Uh, no she won't.

Hana fought back tears and stomped to the shower, enraged. How dare he! He promised he'd always stay by her side. He promised to support her no matter what. Screw getting rejected by your first love! Getting ghosted by them was much worse!

She never felt more betrayed in her life. Fine! She didn't need him. She'd never talk to him again if that were what he wanted! He could get the tar beaten out of him again for all she cared! And she'd do what she wanted without minding what he thought!

"… Hana?" Crowe emerged from the bathroom, looking down at her. "Are you okay?"

She shook her head.

"What's wrong?"

"Uncle Crowe, do you want to make up for what you did to me?" she asked.

He blinked, confused. "Of course. If there's anything I can do for you, just say the word."

"When Mom and Dad are in bed tonight, can you do me a favor… and teleport me to the mountains near Somnambashna?"