by Jon F. Merz
Wolfric caught a glimpse of Mila at the entry to the kitchen and smiled. She smiled back at him and he felt his heart warm even though he stepped out into the cold of the night where a stiff breeze nearly knocked him sideways.
The effects of the ale diminished slightly with the bracing cold at his skin. Davo led them down the main thoroughfare and out of the village. Wolfric was forced to nearly jog to keep up with the big man’s strides. Davo covered the ground easily.
No wonder he didn’t think anything of this walk, thought Wolfric.
“Your father’s quite a man,” said Davo suddenly. “Does he often plunge you both into situations like this?”
Wolfric laughed. “I think it’s in his nature to seek to help people. He’s done it quite a number of times in the past, although this is the first time I’ve really been around with him.”
Davo grunted. “He’s taught you well. That I can see. I just hope that I’m not getting you two involved in something that you might regret.”
“If it means helping your village out, then I don’t see how I could ever regret doing so,” said Wolfric.
Davo led them off the main path onto a game trail that vanished deep into the trees. As they walked down the path, Wolfric could see a bit of light through the greenery. “Is that your house?”
“Aye, lad. That’s it. A cozy, comfy place that.” He stopped at the edge of the grounds and turned to Wolfric. “I can get inside from here, lad. No need to accompany me and the breeze is coming up hard now. Best if you get back to the inn and get some sleep. If these things are truly strigoi then you’re going to need all the rest you can get. Battling the likes of them is not going to be an easy challenge.”
Wolfric nodded. “Well, good night then.”
“Be seeing you.” Davo turned and marched toward his house.
Wolfric heard the jangle of keys and then the door opened and Davo entered, closing the door behind him, leaving Wolfric alone in the dark night.
Another breeze kicked up and whirled his cloak about him. Wolfric turned and walked back down the way they’d come. As he did, he loosened his sword in its scabbard. He let his hand rest on the hilt as he threaded his way through the pine trees searching for the main path back into the town.
It was as he came around a slight bend in the trail that he suddenly realized he was not alone.
Something was out in the darkness with him.
Chapter 27
Was it a strigoi?
Wolfric almost grinned. He was talking about a vampire as if it was something completely foreign to him. But he was one of them, so it was really like asking if he was lurking about in the darkness. And Wolfric knew that he had nothing to fear from another vampire. Not unless they were armed with a length of wood they intended to stake him with. And that would mean they knew he was a vampire as well.
Wolfric slowed his gait and allowed his senses to fully attune to the environment. The movement was off to his left and only shifted when Wolfric moved. When Wolfric changed his rhythm, so too did the movement. Whomever was shadowing him knew how to move quietly enough, but they weren’t nearly as good as Felix was at being undetected.
Or else Wolfric was finally beginning to absorb all of his teacher’s lessons and had simply gotten better at detecting people who were following him.
Either way, he had to figure out who it was. Were they friend or foe?
He wished Felix was with him, but then again, he knew the time would come when he was operating alone without any sort of assistance. Was this how it felt for Felix? Was this what it felt like to be alone with the possibility of facing death?
Wolfric grinned. Far from feeling fearful, he relished the surge of adrenaline in his system. His heart pounded in his chest and throbbed in his ears even as they made careful note of the sounds coming at them. Wolfric moved his pistol around a bit more to his front, ready to draw in case he need to bring it to bear quickly.
He had a choice to make. Should he continue on to the village and see if they followed? Or should he switch things up and do the unexpected? If this was an enemy, they would naturally assume Wolfric would make for the safety of the inn where it was warm and protected. Wolfric abruptly changing direction might cause them to reveal themselves without meaning to and he could take advantage of that to dispatch them if need be. At the very least he might discover their identity.
Wolfric wondered if Felix would get worried when he didn’t come back right away. Would he suspect something was wrong and come looking for him? What if there wasn’t just one person lurking out there, but more than one? Could Wolfric handle them all? He frowned as he remembered how he’d handled himself with the bandits. Surely, this couldn’t be much worse than that.
He spun on his heel abruptly without even thinking about it and charged of toward the sounds that he’d heard. It was foolish as hell, he realized, but he was convinced that his bold move would pay dividends. Sometimes, he reasoned, it was better to be bold and risk it all than be cautious.
Wolfric charged into the trees that lined the path and drew his sword at the same time.
Nothing moved around him except the branches as the wind flitted through them. Wolfric heard his breathing and willed himself to calm down. He let his eyes roam about the darkness but nothing presented itself. Was it possible he’d been mistaken? It could have been an animal he decided. Although he didn’t think it was.
And then he heard a twig break to his right - pivoted - and saw the rabbit hopping through the underbrush.
Wolfric sighed and resheathed his sword.
Turned back to the path and felt himself grabbed and thrown to the ground all in one motion. So fast he barely had a chance to register it as he crashed into the ground and then felt the steel blade pressed to his throat as someone swung astride his chest.“You’ll have to be a bit better than that, won’t you?”
Wolfric frowned. The voice didn’t sound like Felix, which is who he thought it was when the throw had initially happened. But the voice was muffled and he realized they were wearing a mask.
He reached up but his hand was batted away. Then the figure on top of him removed the blade and undid the mask.
Mila.
Wolfric grinned. She was dressed in black clothes from head-to-foot.
“Aren’t you a surprise?”
She cocked an eyebrow and then leaned over him, so close that her face was an inch away from his. “I surprised you easily enough, didn’t I?”
“You did indeed.”
“All for that poor bunny.” She leaned back, still straddling him. “You nearly caught me flatfooted when you turned and came at me the way you did. Barely had time to conceal myself before you got to where I was standing. Surprised you didn’t hear me breathing hard.”
“I heard my own breathing,” said Wolfric. “I was having trouble controlling it so I must have not heard yours.”
Mila toyed with the knife again and regarded Wolfric. “So you and your father are going to help Davo find the creature that’s ben stalking our village, is that it?”
“That seems to be the plan, yes,” said Wolfric. He noticed that Mila was very warm and that he quite enjoyed the sensation of having her atop him the way she was. “Why are you interested?”
“I’m interested in everything that goes on in this town,” said Mila. “I mean, if I can’t leave it, then I should at least be aware of all the occurrences, right? The boring and the unusual, that is.”
“I suppose so.” Wolfric glanced down. “Did you make this outfit yourself?”
“I did. Do you like it? Father would have a fit if he saw me like this. Imagine me wearing trousers.”
“It suits you, although I would urge you to change the color of it.”
“But black helps me blend into the night.”
Wolfric shook his head. “Actually, black stands out in the night. You want a mottled array of colors like dark blues and browns to better blend in and be less noticeable.”
Mila frowned.
“Seriously?”
“Very much,” said Wolfric. “I mean no offense to your outfit because it’s quite amazing. I just wanted you to know that black isn’t as invisible as many people think it is.”
“And how do you know this?”
Wolfric grinned. “My father, of course. He’s taught me everything there is to know about moving quietly at night without being observed. I have a long way to go before I’m as good as he is, but he can move like a ghost.”
Mila rocked back slightly. “I wish I could do that. I’m practicing, of course, when I can. But I have a ways to go yet myself.”
“I thought you did marvelously,” said Wolfric. “But aren’t you concerned about your safety out here all alone the way you are?”
Mila leaned forward again and Wolfric felt her hot breath on his neck. “But I’m not out here all alone right now, am I? Got you with me, haven’t I?”
“You certainly seem to have me at your disposal,” said Wolfric. He was trying hard to ignore the slight rhythm of Mila’s hips, but it was hard to concentrate on anything else.
She smiled. “And I’ve got my trusty blade. I’m quite good with it. I use it all of the time. Cutting and slashing. When father gets a big side of beef into the kitchen for the meals, I take my time and practice my cuts with it. I’d imagine I’d be with good with a sword if he’d ever let me have one.”
Wolfric cocked an eyebrow. “You want to be a swordsman?”
“Of course! Off on some derring do, who wouldn’t fancy that? I’d rather risk my life abroad than die bored here in this sleepy town.”
“But surely you have suitors.”
“If you can call them that,” said Mila. “They’re nice enough, I suppose. But not exactly the sort of thrilling companion I’ve always dreamed about. Not the kind of man that makes me feel light-headed and faint when I see him walk into the room. I’m afraid we’re a bit short on those around the town. Davo’s about as tough as they come but he’s also a bit too old for my liking. It’d be like marrying father and I won’t have that.”
“No, I don’t think you would,” said Wolfric. He glanced around. If anyone happened upon them right now, it might be bad for Wolfric and Felix. “As much as I am enjoying our conversation…and your position…I’m afraid I must get back to the inn and see my father. He’ll be worried if I’m not back. He sent me out here to walk Davo home.”
Mila kissed him then, her lips on his pressing hard. They parted and her tongue snaked into his mouth. Wolfric grabbed her around the waist and kissed her back with equal ferocity. For a moment, he was completely unaware of everything around them but for the pleasing pressure of her body upon his.
And then she was off of him and gone.
Wolfric got to his feet and looked around him. Mila had vanished effortlessly and without any sort of good-bye.
The Fixer apprentice took one final glance about the forest, smiled, and then started off back to the inn.
Chapter 28
The day dawned bright and sunny, but by the time Wolfric came down for breakfast only an hour later, the skies had grown increasingly gray and the wind blew the shutters against the side of the inn with resounding crashes. Felix sat at the table by the fire again, his back to the hearth. He looked up as Wolfric approached and nodded toward a chair.
“How did the walk back to Davo’s go last night?”
“No problems to speak of,” said Wolfric. “I think Davo could scare away most opponents.”
“No doubt those of human origins,” said Felix. “We are concerned with the others, though. They will go through him like he is not even there.”
“He gave you a problem, though,” said Wolfric.
Felix lowered his gaze. “Don’t tell me you actually fell for that ruse? That was to gain his confidence. As you saw me demonstrate right after that, I could have taken him with ease.”
“I was joking,” said Wolfric. “I saw it for what it was.”
“Good,” said Felix. “Then today we shall set off on our hunt at last. I think we are known enough now to allay any suspicion of our being here. But take note of what was required. We could not simply ride into the town and begin our assignment. That would have caused far too much friction with the locals and drawn too much attention to us. But by doing what we did last night, we have gained their trust already. By friending Davo as we did, we are now somewhat immune to drawing attention to ourselves. Most will simply assume whatever they see us doing is sanctioned by Davo and others.”
“So we’ll be free to move about as we please?”
“Within reason, of course,” said Felix. “I wouldn’t presume to say that we’re above the law, but we are, by virtue of the work we did last night, somewhat above suspicion. And that is important. We will do what we need to do here and then vanish as soon as we can. We leave no trace of ourselves. And after a time, we will be forgotten. Exactly as we should be.”
“Forgotten?” Wolfric cast a glance at the kitchen before he caught himself and looked back down at the table.
Felix grinned. “We’ve spoken on this before. You know that she cannot come with us. She cannot know us, either. No matter how many times you two happen to roll around in the forest at the midnight hour.”
Wolfric shot his head up. “You were there?”
Felix sniffed. “Of course, I was there. I was with you from the moment you left until you returned. I shadowed you and the giant all the way to his home and then while you and the kitchen girl got acquainted on the forest floor.” He held up a hand. “Don’t worry, had things progressed to the next stage, I would have turned my head. But I didn’t think you were going to shuck your clothes in the cold night air.”
“I can’t believe you were there.”
“I needed to see if you and Davo attracted the attention of anyone else. I thought by sending you out without me, you might draw the culprit to you.” He frowned. “Instead, the girl stalked you. Not bad for a human, mind you. But she was fairly noisy at the same time. You had no trouble picking her out, I assume?”
“Some,” admitted Wolfric. “I thought she was pretty skilled, actually.”
Felix shrugged. “Neither here nor there. We have our agenda for today once we eat. We will meet Davo and finally head up for the house. I want to see what lies inside that manor and perhaps it will give us some clues as to who we face in our quest to find the attackers.”
“Attackers?”
Felix smiled. “There’s a chance we may be facing more than one. Yes.”
“What makes you think that?”
“What we were told last night about the sickness that befell this place some time ago. It came down far too hard and suddenly to have been the work of a single one of us. I started wondering if perhaps there was a whole bunch of them working the countryside. They could conceivably descend upon a town, ravage it, and then be gone before anyone got the wiser. Or, in our case, I got dispatched by the Council to investigate.”
“How many?”
“That I do not know. But the fact that so many died from blood loss is a hallmark of a pack of attackers. Like wolves. They’ll stay only as long as the food source is available before moving on. Perhaps they have grown smarter and realize that killing is not the best way to ensure their own survival. So maybe now they only take a bit and move on. Either way, they risk exposing our people. They must be put down as soon as possible lest we become known by the humans.”
“Understood.”
“Good,” said Felix. “Now here comes our food. So look up, smile, and say good morning to your lady friend.”
Wolfric looked up already smiling as he turned to face Mila. She held two plates of food and smiled at Wolfric as she came closer.
“Did you sleep well?”
“I did,” said Wolfric. “The night air agreed with me apparently. And you?”
Felix began devouring his food and seemingly ignored them, but Wolfric knew his teacher heard everything.
Mila smiled anyway. “I slep
t well. Beautiful dreams of escaping from this town. They might only be dreams, but perhaps some day I will see more of the world.”
“And I think it would agree with you,” said Wolfric.
Felix grunted. “Eat your food, son. We must be away shortly.”
Mila frowned at him, but nodded at Wolfric. “I hope to see you later.”
She turned and walked back to the kitchen. Wolfric eyed Felix. “Did you need to be so rude?”
Felix shoved another strip of bacon into his mouth. “Lest you forget what we are here to do-“
“I’m not forgetting,” said Wolfric. “But neither am I solely focused on it.”
“Then you need to be,” said Felix. “You have not yet been blooded in battle.”
“What about the bandits?”
“They were humans,” said Felix. “And while you held your own, yes, you have not yet battled one of our kind. It is different. And it is a great deal more than what you expect. If you thought the fight you had in that pass was exhausting and terrifying, then that is good. But you should be prepared for the coming battle for it will no doubt test you in ways you have never been tested before.”
Wolfric sighed. “All right.” He took a forkful of food and then put it down. “Tell me something, though.”
“What is it?”
“Do you ever have fun?”
Felix set his fork down and looked at Wolfric. “So, you assume that because I am as focused and driven as I am that I am not a man who enjoys his leisure time?”
“Do you have time for it? You are but one in the service of our people. How could there be any time for you to enjoy yourself?”
Felix nodded. “As it is so often, I have been mistaken as a boring sort before. My drive and my intensity mark me as an abnormality to those accustomed to mediocrity. I am an affront to their way of living. A reminder of what they choose not to embrace, their lack of willpower to meet their true potential. And so they make assumptions about me to comfort their own lazy notions of why they have failed so much. Rather than turn into themselves and understand why they have not reached the heights of success at whatever dream they once had, they choose instead to level blame and suspicion on me because it is easier to do so.”