Fool Moon

Under the full moon, the creatures danced.

S'aen watched them twirl in the pulsating rhythm of the flames. Foam sputtered around their lips and drops of their essence hissed in the fire. Their cries filled his ears and S'aen  closed his eyes. He didn't want to know if the salty drops whipping his face came from the water frothing up to his neck or from the hideous growls of devotion belched by the creatures dancing around him.

The fire waited for him and raised its flames in supplication to the shining disk enthroned in the sky. S'aen kept his eyes closed and reveled in the warmth of the water surrounding him.

There was little time left now, and he could give into the promising comfort of the water. The goddess shining up in the sky would not accept but a fully subdued offering.

S'aen let his head lull on the side. A profound feeling of safety engulfed him, troubled only by the nagging thought he forgot something. He strained to remember, and his body fought back, seeking to regain the comfort of stillness.

A growl shook his core and a thick curtain of salty drops whipped his face. S'aen flicked his eyes open, and  memories rushed in.

Dia glowered at him, the foam on her lips a witness of the origin of the slimy rivulets crawling down his cheeks. Another growl pierced his core and her face contorted under cries of appreciation.

Her skin glowed in the moonlight, and he remembered the feeling of it under his palms. With the memories came the pain. He felt the rope binding his wrists to the pole and the sting of the salty water where it chaffed.

She then run around the fire, and the flames followed in worship. He remembered the feel of the sand as he reached for Dia's embrace and a sharp pain shot from where his feet were bound.

He was still missing something important; however his body awakened and protested, sending spears of pain through muscles forced in the same position for too long.

He let out a silent groan of frustration, and his eyes opened wide.

Dia emerged from the fire wearing a crown of flames. She raised her fist to the globe struggling to glow through the thick curtain of flaming smoke.

S'aen chocked on the acrid smell the wind carried with the orange fog. His eyes stung, and he closed them only to flick them open again as a collective cry raised to the sky.

"Our queen sees through your ruse!"

Dia backed off and stopped at the edge of the pool. She kneeled and lowered her head. White smoke descended now over them, and S'aen couldn't tell if it came from the pyre or from the queen of the night sky herself.

He could smell the stench of the white smoke mingled what was left of the orange haze and through it all the moon glowered at him in anger.

The steady rhythm of the drum blended with the menacing chant as the throng started to move.

Under the foul moon,  the creatures danced.

"Our queen sees through your ruse!" they sang, and Dia fell to the ground. Her crown burned to cinders, and she raised her head once more. Only this time, her blue eyes twinkled, and changed to match the sea before them.

S'aen remembered the only other time he'd seen them take that color.

"It's a ruse, S'aen. You can beat it, let them think the queen won your heart. Let them put you on the pyre. Stay alert and the Sun would free you."

S'aen held her stare a moment longer before the blue changed. He drew a sharp breath. How could he forget? That was the day they planned the ruse, the day she gifted him with the blue of the sea, the day he held her life in his hands. The day he fell in love with her.

S'aen closed his eyes, and his head lulled again on the side. He schooled his features and clenched his fists under the water. He ignored the deafening roar of triumph and the salty drops whipping his face from every direction.

He kept his body limp as the throng pulled the stake from the pool. He wanted to cry in pain as the creatures pulled the ropes from his hands and feet. His muscled protested as they threw him around to the fire. He fought the stifling heat engulfing him on the dais. And yet not a muscle twitched.

Doubt crawled in his heart when two of them grabbed him by hands and feet to throw him into the fire. What game did Dia play? He mentally shook himself. He held Dia's life in his hands. One mention of the gift she'd given him and she'd join him in the pyre.

"What if?" he thought; however, he didn't move a muscle. He'd count to ten and then strike.

Another loud growl shook him, and the acrid smell filled his nostrils. Shame flooded him, and he jerked his hands and feet. The two holding him dropped him in surprise and S'aen jumped holding his arms high above his head as Dia taught him.

She wore the flaming crown again and advanced where he sat in front of the fire.

"The King of the Sky won this round and reclaimed this man's soul. I would see him myself to the other side."

A roar of frustration raised to the sky and the horde started to move slowly raising their fists to the coming dawn.

S'aen followed Dia as the first sun beams tried to pierce the dense fog. He knew she must come with him and yet her hand slipped from his. She pinned him with her sea blue eyes and whispered before slipping into the haze.

"When you trust me, S'aen, find me."

Far from the camp, he barely heard the mourning rhythm of drums.
Under the fool moon,  the creatures danced.