by Jon F. Merz
“If you must,” said Wolfric. “But I’d prefer it if you stayed.”
Mila smiled and sat in Felix’s chair. “Where are you from?”
“All over,” said Wolfric. “My father and I have traveled quite a bit and he wanted to show me the sights in Bucharest.”
Mila sighed. “I’ve never even been out of this town. Well, once. But I was a very little girl. Long ago.”
“How old are you now?”
“Nineteen.” She rested her chin on her hands and stared at him. “You’ve been all over Europe?”
“Pretty much, yes.”
“What’s it like? Is it glamorous? Is it exciting?”
Wolfric grinned. “It’s all that and more. But you know…you can find excitement anywhere.”
Mila shook her head. “Not here. This old place is boring. I’m nineteen and my father won’t allow me to travel. He says it’s his wish that I take over the business when he dies. Can you imagine? All I want to do is run away but I can’t. I wouldn’t know how. And the world is a dangerous place for a young woman like me.”
“I don’t know about that,” said Wolfric. “You look like you could take care of yourself.”
“Do I?” Mila smiled. “You’re just saying that.”
“Not at all. You’re a skilled cook. And I’ll bet that means you know your way around a knife. A skill like that could keep you in good stead.”
“I suppose you’re right,” she said. “But the odds are I’ll never know for sure. If I can’t find a way out of this town, then I’ll probably just end up dying here.”
Wolfric watched the play of emotions over her face. “And what does your mother think?”
“My mother is dead,” said Mila. “She died about five years ago. After a harsh winter. That winter took many of the villagers. It’s only these last few years that things have rebounded. At least until…” Her voice died off.
“Until what?”
She frowned. “It’s silly. Superstitious stuff.”
Wolfric leaned closer. “I happen to like superstitious stuff.”
Mila shook her head. “Not this. This is bad stuff.” She glanced around at the tavern and lowered her voice. “They wouldn’t like me talking about it. Not the sort of thing you discuss with outsiders like you, they said. But you’re nice. And you don’t seem like the typical travelers we get through these parts.”
“Thank you.”
“The likes of them, they come through and act like royalty. Always ordering us around. But their money is good so father puts up with it. It rankles me, though.”
Wolfric took her hand briefly. The touch of her flesh felt warm and he nearly blushed doing it. “What is this thing you were told not to speak of?”
Mila glanced around again. “There is something…hunting us.”
“Hunting you? How do you mean?”
“Several villagers have been…attacked…while they slept. This thing, whatever it is, came into their homes.”
“And did what? Killed them?”
Mila shook her head and pulled her hand away. Wolfric let it go. It had been too forward of him, he decided.
“No one has died yet, no.”
“Well, that’s good.”
“Only if you think that living with the knowledge that some sort of creature came into your house and drank your blood is good thing.”
“Drank their blood?” Wolfric frowned. “Are you sure?”
Mila gestured to her throat. “Whatever it is leaves behind two puncture marks near the base of their neck. It feeds on them while they sleep. When they awake, they are lethargic and woozy for days after the event. It has many of us terrified.”
Wolfric smiled. “Well, honestly, it doesn’t seem as though that many are scared. I mean, look at the fun everyone is having here tonight-“
But as he said that, a body came flying through the air and slammed into the nearest wall to them with a resounding crash.
Chapter 25
When Wolfric saw that it was Felix, he was beside himself with surprise. “Father!”
He stood to help Felix, but his teacher merely held up his hand. “I’m fine, I’m fine. Go on back to what you were doing. Just getting acquainted with the locals is all.” And then Felix rose to his feet, a bit uneasily and headed back toward the bar.
As Wolfric watched, Felix seemed intent on one particular man, a huge towering figure who had forearms like tree trunks. Wolfric heard Mila gasp and turned to her. “What’s the matter?”
“That man. That is Davo. He lives on the edge of the town closer to the forest. He’s a woodsman. He chops down trees and turns them into usable lumber for those who need it. He has no family, though. He lost them years ago when a sickness came to town and wiped out a lot of families.”
“What sort of sickness?”
“No one knows. It was before I was born. But as swiftly as it came through, it left just as fast. In its wake, though, were a lot of dead. The stories I hear all tell of the sickness affecting people by causing their skin to go almost entirely pale.”
Wolfric frowned. “Anemia?”
“I don’t know what that is,” said Mila.
“An iron deficiency in the blood,” said Wolfric. “Could it have been connected to what has happened here lately? Do you think?”
Mila shook her head. “I don’t know enough about medicine.” She smiled. “Are you a doctor?”
“No,” said Wolfric. “But I’ve read quite a bit. I wouldn’t presume to know much about those things, though.” He turned back to the bar and watched as Felix seemed to be having words with Davo again.
“If your father isn’t careful, Davo will put him through the wall this time.”
Wolfric suppressed the urge to grin. Davo was clearly an imposing specimen, but he had no doubt that Felix had allowed him to throw him in that way. Knowing Felix as he did, he knew there had to be a good reason for it. But instead of correcting Mila’s assessment, Wolfric merely watched. “Perhaps you are right.”
Davo let out a roar and then launched a huge punch aimed at Felix’s head. As Wolfric watched, Felix simply turned his body at the last moment and the punch sailed past his head. Felix moved inside the arc of it and brought his own fist up under Davo’s chin, snapping the man’s head back. The shot was solid, but not meant to disable or kill. Clearly, Wolfric thought, Felix was playing the man. But why?
Davo slumped to the floor and Felix let him stay there for a moment while the bar erupted into peals of laughter. Felix drained his tankard and then called for a fresh round for the villagers. While the innkeeper got to it, Felix bent down and helped Davo to his feet and into a chair by a table. The huge woodsman’s eyes rolled a bit but he soon came to his senses.
Wolfric half-expected the man to launch himself at Felix in a desire for vengeance, but instead, as he regained his faculties, he let out a huge laugh and then reached over to clap Felix on the shoulder. “My friend!”
Even Mila let out a laugh. “That was unexpected. Your father is something of a surprise, isn’t he?”
If only you knew, thought Wolfric. “Yes, he’s been known to have a few tricks up his sleeve from time to time.”
“Davo likes him,” said Mila. “That’s a good thing, indeed. You don’t want to be on his bad side. He can make life for you a living hell if he so chose.”
“Why?”
Mila shrugged. “Most people don’t have to courage to stand up to him the way your father did just now. Davo likes strong men and yet people around here would rather cower in fear than stand up to him and gain his respect. A bit silly, don’t you think?”
“I certainly wouldn’t want to get hit with one of those big paws of his,” said Wolfric.
“Nor I,” said Mila. “But your father seems to have weathered it well enough.”
“Indeed,” said Wolfric. “Shall we join them?”
“I need to get back to the kitchen. My father will be cross with me if I don’t get the dishes done.” She reached a
cross and squeezed his hand. “I enjoyed speaking with you.”
“As did I.” Wolfric stood as Mila rose from the chair and headed for the kitchen. He watched her go for a moment and then turned to where Felix sat with Davo. He wandered over with his tankard in hand.
As he approached, Felix looked up and wave him over. “And here, my friend, is the seed of my loin: my only son Wolfric. A fine lad if ever there was one.”
Davo put out his hand and Wolfric shook it hard. His own hand felt swallowed up by Davo’s massive paw, and even as Davo crushed his grip, Wolfric continued to exert his own pressure, determined not to show any signs of discomfort.
After several seconds, Davo grunted and then laughed. “So, you’ve taught him well, Felix. He stares into my eyes even while I crush his bones in my grip and yet he shows no signs of wishing me to release him.”
Felix smiled. “Still, the lad will need the use of his hand.”
Davo chuckled. “True enough. Tell me, is this boy as strong a man as you?”
Felix shrugged. “Perhaps not quite just yet. But he shows promise, as you yourself have seen, and I am optimistic that he will one day be better than me at this crazy thing we call life.”
“The most sincerest wish of any good father,” said Davo. He pushed a chair away from the table with his equally massive foot. “Sit and join us, boy. Your father and I have been talking and it would be good for you to hear what we speak of as well.”
Wolfric sat and waited as the innkeeper brought over fresh tankards for them. Wolfric could drink a lot, but even he was beginning to feel the effects of this strong apple ale. He decided to sip his new one slowly.
“These folks,” said Davo. “They’re good people. Weak, but good people. Most of them have hearts of gold. They’ve been through the hardships, they have. Years ago we had a sickness come through that devastated a lot of families. My own included.”
“What sickness?” asked Felix.
Davo shook his head. “No idea. But it left the corpses pale as the snow. No life left in them at all. It came down upon us fast. I remember going to bed one night and when I awoke the next day, my wife and son were dead. No warning.”
“I’m very sorry for your loss,” said Felix. “You had no clue what caused it?”
Davo took a moment to answer and Wolfric wondered if the big man was reliving some painful memories. After another minute, Davo wiped his beard with the back of his hand and let out a long sigh. “We never knew. It came at the same time of year as now. After the harvest but before the big snows. In a matter of days, it was done and over with. We lost twenty people back then, including my wonderful family. All we knew was, it was over because no one else died.”
“Was there anything else strange about this?” asked Felix. “Any other events happening nearby? Some form of contagion that might have entered the village unawares?”
Davo shook his head. “I can’t rightly recall. It was a bad time for us all. Like god had turned his back on us. Most people around these parts ply their trade with honesty and faith. But this was something else entirely. Like we’d never seen before. A few months later, word reached us of the same thing happening to another village some many miles away. Again, it came down fast and left just as quick. Twenty dead there as well.”
Felix frowned. “Odd thing that.”
“Lethal,” said Davo. “So you understand why we’re not the most trusting of outsiders when they come around these parts. Half this village thinks that the sickness was brought on us by someone not from these parts.”
“What makes them say that?”
Davo frowned but then he started nodding. “Oh yeah, I nearly forgot about that.”
“About what?”
“That right before the sickness came down on us, there was a group of visitors up at the manor house.”
“The home owned by the Apafi family?”
Davo nodded. “Yeah, that’s right.”
“Why would that be unusual?”
“It wouldn’t, ordinarily,” said Davo. “But a bunch of us got invited to the party as well and met with the folks not from around here.”
“Where were they from?” asked Wolfric.
“Down south, by Bucharest,” said Davo. “The same place your father tells me you two are headed.”
Chapter 26
“Bucharest is where we’re headed,” said Felix. “Eventually.” He took a sip from his tankard. “But Father Mirescu tells us that something plagues this village even now.”
Davo grunted and took a long drag on his drink before setting it down and eyeing Felix. “It’s our business, you understand that?”
Felix smiled. “Of course. I would never presume to tell you how to handle your own affairs. That said, sometimes it helps to have an outsider’s perspective on it. Perhaps one who is not afraid of a little fighting if such a thing becomes necessary.” He nodded at Wolfric. “The lad and I are never ones to shy away from a fight.”
“The priest talks too damned much,” said Davo. He sighed then. “Unfortunately, he’s right. We’ve had three villagers complain of some sort of creature entering their homes after dark, leaving them feeling lethargic for the next few days. And there are puncture marks on their necks.”
“Strigoi?” asked Felix.
Wolfric was surprised he even mentioned that word. But Davo’s frown deepened considerably and the woodsman tossed back the remainder of his drink before calling for another.
“I don’t know,” he said then. “But I suppose the symptoms are indicative of that.”
“And possibly the first time the sickness came to your village,” said Felix. “Although this time, it sounds different. This time they aren’t killing anyone.”
“Yet,” said Davo. “There have been three attacks so far in the village. Already people are growing fearful of their safety.”
“Has anyone tried to hunt the creature doing this?”
Davo nodded at the door where a huge axe leaned against the frame. “Me. With my axe. But as far as anyone else, it’s not likely to happen. These villagers are more scared than brave. And there are those who remember all too well the sickness from before. Some have even said they will move out of here and try their luck some place else. But this is our home. We shouldn’t allow ourselves to be driven from it like this. I will fight whatever it is that is seeking to destroy this place.”
“We will help,” said Felix. “In any way that we can.”
“How do you know the word ‘strigoi?’” asked Davo.
“When you travel as much as we have, you hear lots of things,” said Felix. “Whispers, rumors, legends…some of them simply talk, but some of them a lot more than idle gossip. I’ve seen plenty of nightmares come to life. Images that will haunt me until my dying day, I can assure you. It’s a wonder I am even here to tell you this.”
“You’ve fought against such creatures?”
“Not strigoi, no. But others. Witches. Demons. Even a man who lost his mind each time a full moon hung in the sky. He thought he was a wolf. Can you imagine such a thing?”
But Davo said nothing. He only looked at Felix in the eye again and sipped his ale. “Did he look like a wolf?”
“No,” said Felix. “He looked like a man who believed he was one. But that was nearly enough to convince him that he was. We are, after all, what we believe ourselves to be. If he could have forced his body to grow hair all over, I think he very much would have.”
“These lands,” said Davo. “They are home to magic. Sometimes foul workings of the demons themselves. I have no idea if strigoi are indeed behind these attacks, or if they were responsible for the sickness that claimed my family. But I will try my best to find out what is causing this strife. And then I will destroy it.”
“We will destroy it,” corrected Felix.
Davo grunted. “Very well, my new friends. It will be an honor to hunt with you.”
“When shall we get started?” asked Felix. “Tonight?”
Davo
shook his head. “Not likely. I’ve had too much drink and I’m feeling tired as it is. I should probably get back to my home.”
“How far from here is it?”
“Perhaps two miles.”
“Through the cold night?” Felix frowned. “Let me get you a room here so you can awaken refreshed tomorrow and the hunt shall begin then.”
Davo held up his hand. “Don’t be silly. I can walk the distance and clear my mind. The air is cold and will help me think about this.”
“My son will accompany you. He’s a stout lad.”
Wolfric was surprised by this. Felix wanted him to go with Davo and then return? Alone? Wolfric wasn’t necessarily scared about the possibility of being by himself out in the cold night, but he had to admit that all the talk of creatures and demons had gotten into his head some. The last thing he wanted to do was leave the comfort and warmth of the inn and walk by himself through the cold night. Especially in a place he didn’t know that well.
Davo looked at Wolfric and then back at Felix. “Are you certain?”
“It will do him some good. I need to get some sleep,” said Felix. “That knock you gave me earlier has gifted me with a bit of a headache and I think sleep will be the best medicine for it.”
Davo chuckled. “And the knock you gave me under the chin wasn’t anything to disregard. Rattled my teeth rightly, it did. I’ve never taken a shot like that before.” He leaned closer. “Even if you did pull the punch some.”
Felix’s eyes twinkled. “You’re a good man, Davo. I think that my son and I shall enjoy hunting together with you very much.”
“As will I,” said Davo rising. He looked at Wolfric. “Well, lad, shall we? The night grows long and I must get to bed so I can rest up for our activities tomorrow. Are you ready?”
Wolfric glanced at Felix who nodded ever so slightly. “I am.” He checked the placement of his sword and the pistol under his cloak. He wanted to know his weapons were still close by. Not that he didn’t trust Davo, but he wondered what else might be calling the night home.
He cast a final look toward the kitchen as Davo pulled on a thick woolen overcoat and then tugged the door open. He grabbed at the axe and then waved farewell to the people at the tavern.