by M. J. Haag
“Here,” I said, handing it to him. “Wear this around your neck.”
“What is it?”
“I don’t know. I only know that when you open the cylinder, there is a crystal that shines so brightly it will blind you even with your eyes closed. Use it only if there is no other choice.”
He reached for my other hand and gently uncurled my fingers from around the small vial I still held.
“And this,” he said. “In case there is no other choice. I don’t want to come back and hurt those I might love.”
My throat grew tight looking at him, and I nodded. He took the vial, brushed a kiss on my forehead, and left.
Atwell’s vial wasn’t the last I gave out that night. With a breaking heart, I watched the sunrise and looked at the three vials remaining. Elspeth returned not long after to find me sitting by the fire, quiet tears running down my cheeks.
“How many?” she asked.
“Twenty-three,” I said. “Three remain.”
“Come. Help me make some more. We’ll need to give them out at the market too before the call goes out.”
I looked up at Elspeth and saw the dark circles under her eyes.
“Is there no other way but death?”
“Theirs or ours?”
“Both.”
“If there is, I do not know it. And neither do those who I’ve asked.” She came to me and set a hand on my head. “I would spare everyone if I could.”
“Atwell came last night. He took a vial in case he’s bitten while addressing some business his father left unfinished.”
Elspeth’s gaze filled with pity.
“He means much to you.”
“More than he probably should.”
She tugged me to my feet and hugged me. The embrace comforted some of the ache and dried my tears.
Together we made the potion. When I admitted I’d given the stone, Elspeth hadn’t been angry, only worried for Atwell, stating the power of the crystal was unpredictable.
“You were right to give it to him. The light might have saved him last night. We will collect it from him after the market.”
It didn’t take us long to make a new batch of vials. However, our steps were slow on the way to the market. I wasn’t sure if it was a night without sleep or the thought of handing out more vials that delayed us. Yet, even despite the late hour, the market wasn’t its usual hub of activity. While the number of people clogging the way seemed the same, the mood was far more subdued.
“Did you hear the baker’s son is missing?” the man who owned the stall next to Elspeth asked. “Disappeared overnight. He’s not the only one. Some disappear, and some don’t.”
“Some don’t?” I asked, prompting him to continue.
“A girl not far from my home was bitten after something jumped through her window. It was big enough to break away the stone holding the shutter. The bite was so deep, she didn’t live the night.”
He shook his head slowly. “I didn’t hear a thing.”
As Elspeth predicted, the booth was busy. People seemed to know that the bites were unnatural and to be feared. Those who stopped at the booth were quiet and secretive about their requests for help.
“My neighbor came to you with his wife last night,” one woman said after stating her husband was bitten on the arm. “I heard she died this morning.”
“I’ve never been a healer,” Elspeth said. “And I know my apprentice didn’t promise such a thing.” Elspeth offered the woman a vial. “This isn’t a cure. There is no cure. No one will heal from these bites. This is to help ease the suffering.”
I watched the sorrow, anger, then fear cloud her features before everything cleared. Woodenly, she accepted the vial.
“We’ve three children,” she said softly.
“You’re protecting them from the same fate,” Elspeth said.
I hurt for the woman and what she needed to do to keep her children safe. In that moment, I knew I too would do anything to keep any child I had safe from harm. I wouldn’t be my parents. Indifferent and self-serving just to follow social norms. No, I would love any child I had and enjoy watching them grow. I would protect them with my last breath, and I hoped my future husband would do the same. The image of Atwell rose to my mind, and I forced myself to focus on the present.
Across the way, I watched a lean man struggle under the weight of several parcels. Even as he struggled, he stopped at a stall to purchase grain and carrots.
“I’m going to help him,” I said to Elspeth, already rushing off. I needed to do something selflessly helpful. Something that didn’t result in someone’s death.
“Can I carry that for you, sir?” I asked just as the vendor was about to hand the new parcel over. “It looks like your hands are already full.”
A man with brown hair peeked around the packages.
“Thank you, miss. Your help is much welcome.”
I accepted the parcel for him and followed him along the way where he stopped twice more.
“I normally don’t make purchases like this,” he said. “I’m taking my wife north.” He lowered his voice. “It’s not safe here.”
No sooner had he said that than a child ran by shouting, “The king’s men are trying to bring down the pillars!” He repeated the message as he continued on his way.
“It will be safer once the pillars are down,” I said to the man.
“I’m not so certain. So many have already fallen ill.” We turned onto a street where I followed him to a wagon in which a woman, not much older than me, sat waiting with two young children.
“Allow me to introduce my wife, Nadelle,” the man said, “and my daughter’s Bryn and Blye.”
“Hello. My name’s Margaret.”
Nadelle smiled at me but did not get down from her perch on the seat to help us with the packages. She didn’t look well. Pale.
“Was she bitten?” I asked the man softly.
He jerked his head up from fitting his supplies in the back of the wagon and looked at me in surprise.
“Not at all. She’s with child. The babe is still new and letting her know it’s there through bouts of sickness.”
“Oh. I apologize.”
“Don’t,” Nadelle said with a weak smile. “Given the state of affairs here, I think it right that you ask. Bernard, darling, can you bring the water flask up front when you’re finished?”
“Are you sure that will settle well in your stomach just before we travel?”
“Of course not. However, rinsing my mouth after little Bernard is done making his presence known will help us be on our way sooner.”
Bernard gave me a sheepish smile before grabbing the flask.
“Thank you again for your help, Margaret.”
“Good luck on your journey north, sir.”
He offered his hand. “Bernard Hovtell, teacher. No need for sir.”
I waved them off and returned to Elspeth’s stall.
“Did you hear the boy before?” I asked her.
“Yes. The pillars,” she said, looking at me with concern. “They are close to bringing them down. Anything unnatural within the Dark Forest will no longer be able to attack Drisdall.”
“That’s good news, Elspeth. We’ll only need to worry about those bitten then.”
My mentor continued to look worried.
“Is that not true?” I asked.
“It is. With the passage closed, we are much safer.”
“Why the concern, then?”
“I also heard something else. A certain young man went into the Dark Forest well before dawn in search of his father’s abandoned wagon.”
It took a moment for me to understand what she was saying.
“Atwell? That was the business to which he needed to attend?” My gaze shifted to the rooftops to the west, the direction of the forest. “How long does he have until the pillars fall?”
“The pillars will not prevent his return,” she said, continuing to watch me expectantly.
&n
bsp; “But everything that’s trapped in there with him will,” I said, understanding the crux of the situation. Atwell had entered the passage when the creatures were in town. With dawn, the creatures had returned. With the fall of the pillars, the barrier that created the passage would fall, and all the creatures of the forest would be able to reach him.
My heart fractured with a pain so intense it numbed me.
“Why is life so cruel?” I asked. “Why did I meet him at all?”
Elspeth hugged me for a moment.
“Many ask that very question every day. The pain is part of life, imp. It’s as natural as our ability to heal from it.”
The way she spoke…it was as if he were already dead.
“Come, it’s time we return to the cottage. We both need sleep before the sun sets.”
I wiped my face and looked out over the Market. The crowds were thinning, likely due to hunger for a midday meal.
The walk back to the cottage was quiet. Elspeth made us a simple soup, and we ate in silence. I felt the ground rumble through the soles of my feet. It lasted only a moment. Not long after, I heard the calls in the streets that the pillars had fallen.
“I’m going to go lie down,” I said.
It barely felt like I’d slept when pounding on the door woke me.
“By the order of King Aftan, open this door.”
I sat up in bed, scarcely noting the dim light as I struggled to understand what was happening.
“Hush,” Elspeth said, looking at me when I leaned forward to see over the edge of the loft. She waved me back as she reached for the door.
I lay back down, listening over the nervous hammer of my heart.
“Are you Elspeth the Caster?” a man asked.
“I am.”
“The king summons you.”
“Very well. I need my cloak.”
“Where is the other caster?”
My heart started to race. I had no doubt he meant me. Why were we being summoned?
“There is no caster, sir.”
“An apprentice, then. Where is she?”
I could feel Elspeth’s defeat in the moment of silence that followed.
“Margaret, wake up. We must see the king.”
Chapter Seven
We walked between two sets of guards. There were no horses, but I didn’t mind. The night was too quiet for the noise their hooves would make. Instead, we walked by the light of candles mounted inside metal lanterns.
We’d barely made any progress toward the castle when a growl came from the dark between two homes.
“Do not leave the circle of light,” Elspeth warned.
The fore guards readied their spears while those behind us readied their bows.
“I see it,” one of the men behind us whispered a moment before an arrow flew past my head. The solid thump echoed as another arrow let loose. The beast howled then fell with a thud. The men with the lanterns moved forward.
Elspeth grabbed my hand to keep me in place. Despite my reservations about standing in the shadows, I stayed at her side while they shone the light on the fallen beast. Ears, shaped like a wolf’s, protruded from the sides of its head. Its snout was thicker like that of a bear. Fur covered its head.
It was part wolf and part bear as Mr. Cartwright said. However, it did not have an animal’s legs. It had the arms and legs of a man.
“Why is it wearing pants?” one of the guards asked softly.
“Because it was once a man.”
He glanced at Elspeth then motioned for his men to group around us again. Although that was our only delay in reaching the castle, it wasn’t the only disturbance. Twice more, a howl broke out in the night.
“Too many remained,” Elspeth said quietly. Whether to herself or me, I couldn’t be sure.
Instead of taking us around to the side gate, we approached the castle from the front. White pillars gleamed in the light of the long pole lanterns lining the approach. This time, I did see the people in their pretty clothes. They lined the lawns and stairs, speaking in quiet tones in small groups while casting angry glances our way as we passed. Inside the towering doors was much of the same. Our heels echoed on the polished stone floors, and I idly wondered what magic had been used to create such splendor, for the work-worn hands of man alone could not have accomplished such a feat.
I felt no thrill as we approached the open doors to the main court. I felt very little of anything but the pain of knowing that Atwell was likely dead.
People stood off to the sides, speaking in low tones as Elspeth and I walked down the center of the vast space toward the occupied thrones at the other end. Twin crowns adorned the heads of the man and woman there, letting me know precisely who they were as if the room and grandeur weren’t enough.
The queen looked like a queen, dressed in a gown appropriately ruffled and embroidered. The man beside her, the king of Drisdall, was younger than I’d pictured him. With brown hair yet untouched by white, he looked stern and watched us with an angry light in his eyes.
As soon as we stopped before the king and queen, a hush fell over the room.
“You are charged with the deaths of over two dozen of Drisdall’s people,” the king said, looking at Elspeth. “What do you say to these charges?”
“That I am guilty,” I said, stepping forward.
“Your Majesties, she knows not of which she speaks,” Elspeth said quickly. “Her heart is broken over the loss of her sweetheart. He went into the passages last evening and did not return before the pillars were destroyed.”
I understood very well of what I spoke just as I understood that the king and queen were looking to pacify their “good” people who were outraged. There was only one penalty for murder, and I’d already lost one person whom I cared about. I would not lose another.
“My grief does not change the fact I mixed together the potion and handed out the vials to those who were bitten.”
The queen sat forward slightly.
“Bitten?”
Elspeth, who’d stepped forward to stand beside me, pinched my arm in warning.
“Bitten by the beasts that came from the passage. Those bitten were doomed to become beasts as well.”
The king leaned forward.
“What proof do you have that such speculations would come to be? What proof do you have that any bitten person could not be healed?”
“Your guards killed a beast tonight. A creature with pointed ears, a muzzle filled with teeth, and a body covered with fur. Yet, the shape of its limbs resembled man more than wolf or bear, and it still wore pants. I have no proof that it cannot be cured, only proof of how quickly the sickness spreads. Anyone bitten will change within two nights. And those changed will bite more.”
The king called for the guards.
“What did you see?” he demanded.
“It is as she says. It was a beast who appeared to have once been a man.”
Murmurs broke out over the court, and the king called for silence.
“What was in the vials?” the queen asked.
“A simple herbal mixture to dull any pain and weaken the body, allowing the person to find peace before the corruption can take hold,” Elspeth said.
“And if your apprentice’s sweetheart returned bitten, would you administer a vial to him?”
“She wouldn’t need to, Your Majesty,” I said, my insides dying even more. “He understood what was happening and took a vial with him should he be bitten.”
“And you believe he would drink it? That he would bring about his own death?”
“To spare those he loves from turning into the same, he would.”
“And that is what these creatures do. They return to their family. To their friends,” Elspeth added. Gasps rang out behind us. “If left unchecked, there will be no people of Drisdall. Every man, woman, and child will become a beast.”
Murmurs rose in the room, creating a din. The king did nothing to quiet them. Instead, he studied Elspeth and me. After a f
ew moments, he lifted a hand, which silenced everyone.
“Are you saying that you murdered people for the safety of the kingdom?” the king asked Elspeth.
“I am saying that I did no more than the guards who escorted us here tonight.”
The king sat back in his throne, his expression giving nothing away.
“Clear the room.”
Elspeth took my hand, and together we waited for everyone to leave except the guards stationed by the king and queen. When the doors closed with finality, the king stood, and the guards flanked him, hands on their swords.
If Elspeth died with me, would there be anyone left to notice my absence?
The king looked at his guard.
“I expect it will not take long for word to spread. Make it known that all bitten who come forth will receive ten gold coins which the crown will gift to whomever the bitten names.”
The guard nodded and strode toward a side door.
“You have done a service to the kingdom at a great risk to yourself. Yet, I cannot let these killings, which were unsanctioned by the king, go unaddressed.”
The king looked at both of us as if expecting a response.
“Then, sanction them,” the queen said, standing. “As you said, these women have done the kingdom a service.”
The king continued to watch us as the queen approached and bowed her head to Elspeth then to me.
“Did you really give your young man a vial?” she asked me.
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Though I hadn’t. He’d taken it. Atwell was a better man than any I would ever know.
“Aftan, see her pain. The caster and her apprentice didn’t wish to harm anyone. It was their wish to keep people safe that prompted the need for immediate action.” She turned to the king and his inclined his head.
“It will be done,” he said.
“What will be done with those to come forward?” she asked.
“They will be given a choice. Walk into the Dark Forest while they still can, or take the caster’s potion.”
Elspeth’s fingers twitched on my hand.
“We have few vials, Your Majesty,” she said. “I can make some more, but it will take time.”
“We will hold those who choose death until you return. Go.”