by J. C.
She resembled the man in coloring, but where his short hair was dull and lank, hers hung in a wheat-gold wave to the small of her back. Her eyes, round and large above a tiny nose, were nearly gold in the crystal's light. Her dress was the color of a sunflower, less drab and dingy than that of the other townsfolk.
"We're passing through on a barge, " Magiere said, "and hoped to sleep indoors tonight, if you have an inn. "
The man didn't answer at first, gaze dropping to her sword sheath peeking from beneath her cloak. "I am Geza, captain of my lord's guard, " he said. "This is my daughter, Elena. The inn closed up a while ago, but there's the old common house. "
He pointed to the well-lit building Leesil was steering them toward.
"The inn closed?" Leesil asked. "On a main route to the capital?"
"The proprietor passed away with no one left to take over, " Geza answered.
Elena took a step closer, staring at Magiere's sword, as well as her bone amulet. She smiled at Wynn and Leesil.
"You are welcome, " she said. "Father and I live near the manor, though I often come down with him on his rounds. I will help you settle in the common house, if you like. It's seldom used but for our own gatherings. Bring your dog, and I'll find supper for you. "
"We can pay, " Magiere answered.
"Of course, " Elena replied.
She led them onward, and Geza followed behind, surveying all they passed along the way. There were fewer folk about and far more homes with scant light slipping through shutter cracks. Chap paused once along the way, head up and ears perked.
Beside a wide lumber cottage with a split shake roof was a small pen, its fencing made of scavenged branches bound by grass twine. The three thin goats within the enclosure made no sound, not even shuffling nervously at Chap's presence. Leesil noticed that the tall wolfhound was still following behind Chap at Geza's side.
"This is Shade, " the captain said, and passed by to open the common house door. "She's a good dog, a fine hunter. "
Leesil patted Shade's head, and the wolfhound wandered into the common house ahead of everyone. Wynn followed with Chap, but Leesil turned around. The road back through town was empty. The bargeman had called this place dull. A severe statement coming from one who lived in this land.
"I hate this country, " Leesil muttered. "Oppressive and depressing, no matter where you turn. "
"Figured that out, did you?" Magiere retorted. "And what was your first clue?"
Leesil ignored her teasing. Things here didn't fit together well. He'd seen no young people about except for Elena. Nothing but thin old goats, thin old dogs, and thin old people trudging about.
"Come inside, " Magiere said. "We'll be on our way in the morning. "
Leesil joined her, but the man with the burlap sack and half-hidden face lingered in his thoughts. There had been something wrong with that face. Like Geza's, it hadn't been quite old enough for the person who wore it.
* * * *
Late in the night, Chap lay with his muzzle on his paws and his eyes on the common-house door. The place was little more than a large room with a simple kitchen out back and a few benches and tables. The dying fire still crackled in the wide stone hearth.
Magiere and Leesil had layered their bedrolls together and slept near the far wall. Magiere's leg was wrapped around both of Leesil's. Her head rested upon his shoulder, and her blanket of black hair spread across his chest. Wynn lay just behind Chap, curled under her own blanket, and Shade nestled against Chap's side.
Chap had never spent close time with another animal. Shade's eyes occasionally opened, and he licked her head, lulling her back to sleep with her own memories of warm hearths, wide fields, and mutton stew. But he would not close his eyes.
From the moment he had stepped across the town's threshold, a familiar discomfort nagged at him. His skin tingled, and he was on edge. It was not quite the hole he felt in the life of the world when he fixed his awareness upon an undead. Yet it was close. Then there was Shade, not as old as she appeared, who suffered the waning of essence that came only in late life.
Chap longed to hunt, to find what lingered in hiding here, but there had been no tangible scent or sense of what plagued this place.
So he lay with his eyes on the door.
Long past midnight, it creaked open.
Chap raised his head barely above his paws, scooting his back feet under himself, ready to lunge.
Shade's wiry head lifted. Instead of apprehension, Chap felt a weak glee from the wolfhound as she struggled up. Her tail switched slowly, and she stepped in front of him. Chap did not expect this and tried to maneuver around her. A wink of yellow in the dark caught his eye, and Elena slipped through the doorway in her sunflower dress.
He sensed only sorrow in the girl.
Shade went to Elena, haunches wagging as much as her tail. The girl dropped to her knees, and the hound licked her face. Chap stepped closer, looking directly into Elena's eyes.
"Help us, " she whispered.
She thought he was a mere dog—yet she begged for his aid.
Chap trotted over to awaken Magiere.
* * * *
Something wet pressed against Magiere's face.
She raised her hand to push it away. One eye opening, she stared right at Chap's nose. He grunted and dragged his tongue over her cheek again.
"Stop it, " Magiere mumbled, wiping her sleeve across her face.
As she turned her back to the dog, her senses sharpened.
Chap would never wake her without a reason.
"Leesil, up" she whispered.
Next to Chap stood the tall wolfhound, Shade, and kneeling nearby was Elena. Her yellow dress was soiled from dust on the floor and her calm, friendly manner was replaced with urgency.
Leesil sat up beside Magiere. The soft sound of voices had roused Wynn, as well, and she rolled out her blanket, rubbing her eyes.
"You're the hunter, " Elena whispered. "The one who kills the dead?"
Magiere felt heat drain from her flesh. No one they'd met on this journey had mentioned such things or connected her to the old backwoods rumors. She wanted nothing more of peasant superstitions.
"Help us, " Elena said. "Please. "
"Why do you think you need my help?" Magiere snapped at the girl.
Elena shrank back. "My lord sent me... to bring you to the manor to speak with him. Please help him. He'll pay whatever you ask. "
"We're taking the barge to Keonsk tomorrow, " Magiere said. "We don't have time. "
Two tears slipped down Elena's face. "Just talk to him. That's all I ask. "
"Now?" Leesil asked.
"He's waiting. He wants this kept a secret, so as not to give our people false hope. "
Chap barked once. He trotted to the door and glared back at all of them with a low rumble.
"Oh, he actually wants to do something, " Leesil grumbled. "He's been dragging his tail since we left Bela, and now he wants us to go with this girl. "
"He thinks there's something to hunt, " Magiere whispered.
She looked at Leesil, and though he was wide awake, he appeared haggard and exhausted. They'd shared a bed for nearly a moon, and only a few times had she awoken in the night to hear him mumbling in his sleep or feel him clench and twitch under an old nightmare. She would gently shake him and pull him close until he settled again into quiet slumber. But not this night, yet he looked as if he hadn't slept at all. Wynn swayed as she stood up.
"Are you all right?" Magiere asked.
Wynn rubbed her eyes again. "I am... just tired. "
Magiere grabbed her boots and sword lying at the head of the bedroll. "Elena, what is going on here?"
The girl shook her head. "I don't understand it all. You must speak with my lord. "
Magiere wished she'd listened to the bargemen and stayed out of this town.
"All right, " Leesil said. "Give us a moment. "
He pulled on his own boots and strapped on his punching blades. As
he fastened his cloak, Magiere saw him pull out the topaz amulet she'd given him so it hung in plain sight.
"Wynn, bring the talking hide for Chap, " he said.
Moments later, they hurried out into the night. Magiere took the lead, falchion unsheathed, and Chap trotted beside her. Elena and Wynn followed, with the wolfhound between them. Leesil fell back to the rear.
"How far is this lord's manor?" Magiere asked.
"Only a little ways, " Elena answered. "It's not too far to walk. "
When they reached the town's midway with the tripod lamps, Elena directed them inland. The dock path extended past its meeting with the main road and widened a bit as it headed through the trees and away from the river. Magiere glanced back every so often to see Leesil watching the side ways between the buildings. Once beyond the town, he looked through the trees to either side, all the while fingering the topaz amulet.
The land rolled slightly, but it wasn't as sharply hilled as around Magiere's home village. They came to a wooden bridge with railings that spanned a stream running over a rocky bed. The bridge was sturdy and wide enough for two horses to cross abreast. At the far side, a branch hung low in the way. Magiere pushed it aside to pass, and the limb snapped off. A cascade of pale needles fell loose to litter the bridge flooring.
The branch seemed dead, but it had withered and rotted so quickly that its needles had no time to wilt off.
"Something's out there, " Leesil whispered.
Magiere looked back to see him watching the forest upstream.
"Wait here, " he added.
As he slipped over the bridge's side, Magiere tightened her grip on the falchion. She glimpsed Leesil's cloak in the dark before he vanished from sight around a tree. When he didn't reappear on its other side, she stepped closer to the railing, trying to spot him again.
Leesil reappeared upslope from the stream and nearer the road beyond the bridge. As he stepped out into the open path, he waved them forward. Magiere urged Wynn and Elena on, and Chap ran ahead. When they caught up, Leesil gestured for Magiere to follow him.
"Chap, stay and keep watch over Wynn and Elena, " he said.
Magiere followed Leesil into the forest. Any undergrowth was all but gone here, with patches of bare muddy earth all around. They headed downslope through the thinning trees, until Leesil stopped and pointed.
"Close to the water, this side of that large embedded rock, " he said.
At first Magiere wasn't certain what to look for. Then she spotted a scattered handful of cattle by the water. They were so still.
"Didn't even jump when I came out of the trees, " Leesil said. "Not surprising, from the look of them. "
Magiere let her night sight open up.
The cattle were thin. Even from this distance, their ribs stood out against sagging skin. Their large eyes were half-closed, nether asleep or fully awake. What were they doing wandering loose in the woods, as if no one cared what happened to them?
"These are the worst, " Leesil said. "The goats in the town were similar, and so are the people. "
"I don't understand. " Magiere sighed, and Leesil shook his head in agreement, but his handsome face looked tired, like everything and everyone else here. She reached out and touched his cheek, letting her finger run down to his chin. "And I'm worried about you. I don't like this. "
"Me neither, but we should find out what's going on. "
She led the way back to the others, and they headed inland once more. Their destination appeared after only two more curves in the road.
While it wasn't a proper keep, the square building was two stories of fortified stone. Perhaps this deep into the country, away from the borderlands, there was no need for more. Other wooden buildings were set off to its sides, one tall enough to be a barn but with a peaked shake roof. A low stone wall encircled the grounds, and the road curved by a side path up to its large iron gate. Geza was waiting there.
"You came, " was all he said, and he waved them through. The captain led them on to the doors of the large stone manor. Once they passed inside its entryway, there was a change.
Magiere felt jarred, as if in one step she'd crossed a distance to another place far away, separated from the world right outside. The interior was suitable for a fief noble or vassal lord, but it wasn't the luxury of their surroundings that brought this strange sensation. Something else had just happened, and she peered suspiciously back as Geza shut the doors.
"This is much better, " Wynn commented, rolling her shoulders.
Braziers hung from the walls at the entryway's sides, and there were lanterns down the hallway ahead. Geza had them kick off their muddy boots in a small side room before he led them down the hallway. Over the stone floor was a dark blue carpet with fringed ends and patterned borders of maple leaves.
"It feels different here. " Leesil sighed in relief. "Less oppressive. "
Geza gave them a quick side glance but didn't comment. "This way. "
Magiere noted her companions' reactions. Both Leesil and Wynn looked more awake. Not fully rested, but alert. The captain ushered them through an open archway and into a large chamber.
Tapestries of hunting scenes were illuminated by old-fashioned iron braziers mounted in the stone walls. A walnut table with stiff high-backed chairs ran end to end across the room. On its other side was a large, arched fireplace. Piled logs crackled therein, sending a wall of heat across the chamber to its entrance. There were no servants, and Magiere had seen no other guards on the grounds besides Geza.
One chair was pulled near the blaze. In it sat a tall man in his early thirties staring blankly at the flames. He wore simple breeches and soft clean boots. His shirt, what Magiere could see of it, was dull white and in need of a wash, and he clung to a blanket wrapped around his shoulders and covering his arms.
Magiere couldn't imagine anyone feeling a chill in this sweltering room, and she stripped off her cloak to drop it over a chair.
The man's hair was sandy, like Geza's, but longer and ill-kept. Thick stubble on his jaw didn't suggest a beard so much as many mornings of forgotten grooming. Elena hurried over to him, putting her hands protectively on the back of his chair.
"They're here, my lord, " she said, but when he didn't respond, she added, "Stefan... the hunter is here. "
Magiere winced at the word hunter. She watched Elena's hand settle on the lord's shoulder and gently slide up to his neck into the back of his hair. Leesil tapped Magiere's arm and raised his white-blond eyebrows.
Was Elena serving as mistress of this house?
"You asked for us?" Leesil said.
The man blinked and turned his head to look at them. The lost expression in his eyes faded, but he didn't stand up. Instead, Elena motioned to wooden benches placed near the fire.
"It's so warm in here, " Wynn said, and the lord sat up straight at her words.
"You may call me Stefan. " He spoke in Belaskian. "We lost the need for decorum a while ago, as prisoners do not have titles. "
Stefan's gaze wandered to Magiere's sword and to Leesil's blades as he tossed his cloak on top of Magiere's before circling to the hearth. Magiere followed, ushering Wynn and Chap before her. Stefan's eyes rested a moment on Chap, and his mouth formed the beginning of a smile.
"I see my Shade has found a friend. All the dogs but mine were the first to go. "
He slipped his right hand out from under the blanket, the other still tucked away, and Shade walked stiffly over to lick his fingers.
Magiere remained standing, while Leesil straddled a bench, loosening his shirt collar. Wynn sat down with Chap beside her.
"What about the other dogs?" Leesil asked.
Stefan didn't answer, but his faint smile remained as he studied Wynn more closely. The hide of Elvish symbols was half-unrolled beside her upon the bench.
"Who are you?" he asked. "It's difficult to imagine such a bookish girl involved with these other two. "
"I help as I can, " Wynn answered.
Magiere
folded her arms. A few moments in this lord's languid presence was enough to stir her dislike of the man. He was likely useless and found himself far too tragic.
"Why don't you get to the point... why you called for us, " she said.
"It's a rather long tale, but if you can help, I will pay anything you ask. "
"Just tell us what plagues these people. "
"My replacement, " he said.
And he began his story.
* * * *
Lord Stefan Korbori's wife, Byanka, wasn't beautiful, accomplished, or overly rich. He was a soldier, son of a second-generation noble who'd died in military service to Prince Rodek's father. Distinguished by only a minor title, he possessed both the ambition and the ability to lead, but he considered himself most fortunate to have won Byanka's hand. She was blood kin of the Antes house, favored second cousin of Ivanova, half sister to Prince Rodek. And Rodek was reining Grand Prince of Droevinka.
In Byanka's company, Stefan surfaced from the ranks of lesser nobles to the attention of Baron Cezar Buscan, Prince Rodek's chief counsel and Protector of the City in the capital, Keonsk. After quelling a peasant uprising over grain tax, at the age of twenty-eight, Stefan was rewarded with the Pudurlatsat manor and its coveted fief, only two days' travel down the Vudrask River from Keonsk.
He took his new responsibility seriously, and Byanka served well as his lady without complaint at being taken from court. She shared his ambitions and knew the fiefdom was a stepping stone toward favor with the Grand Prince himself. After two years in the fief, Stefan celebrated the birth of a son. In that hour, he felt affection for his wife that had nothing to do with her royal blood.
Crops flourished, his son learned to walk, taxes were collected on time, and the fief's commerce grew. After excelling in arms of war, Stefan showed his worth in orderly governing. Life was good as he returned home on a quiet night from a neighboring village. Byanka sat in the main hall by the huge hearth, teaching their son to pet Shade more softly and not pull on the dog's fur.