by J. M. Ivie
Even Duranne tried to reason with her—to keep her in the outskirts of the Woodlands. But, she brought up a solid point, and I raked my mind for any answer to trump her statement… but nothing came.
A splash of water to my face washed away the memory. I dried my face. Now that my body was clean, I slipped into fresh clothes. I searched for Zahra when I couldn’t find work. My passion to find her had intensified into something of an obsession. Laramie even asked if I was all right. I didn’t know how to answer her.
As I dried my hair, the gentle tap of knuckles against wood roused my attention.
“You’re home late again…” Laramie’s scratchy voice murmured.
“I lost track of time.” I made eye contact with her in the mirror.
“You always lose track of time. You need to get to bed sooner to balance those early hours,” Laramie chided, picking up the clothes I had mindlessly tossed aside. “You can have the bed tonight.”
“No, the sofa is fine.”
“Apollo—”
“Get to bed, Laramie.” I took the clothes back and patted her head.
“Well, then leave those in the sink. I will wash them in the morning…” Her eyes were red and somewhat swollen. It didn’t take an expert to know why.
“Goodnight, Laramie.” I placed the clothes in the sink, and when I tried to pass her, she grabbed my arm.
“Is this how you feel all the time?” she whispered. “Like… like you’re running from a ghost?”
I took in a sharp breath, unsure of how to reply.
“I feel so useless. Maybe if I had pressed harder for him to come with us on the hunt that day—or if I stayed. What if I didn’t go? You wouldn’t have gone. What if—”
“Laramie that does no good.” I pulled her into my arms, squeezing her tight. “We can’t change the past.”
“I wish I could…” Laramie buried her face in my chest, crying uncontrollably.
I stroked her back, doing my best to comfort her. My head pounded with thoughts. I too wondered what we could have done differently, to have prevented the disaster. But, no matter what I thought of, someone died. Someone always died.
F I F T Y - S E V E N
I WOKE UP BEFORE LARAMIE, downed a bowl of soaked oats, and went about the day just the same as all the others. Yet this time it was more silent. More reflections stared at me. More faces appeared in the cracks of the wall and in the shadows. It was just as Laramie said. Ghosts. Faces you can never forget. The memories of last night’s talk with Laramie bubbled to the surface. The day had swiftly come to a close; I collected my pension and walked back home.
The darkness weighed heavily on my weary body. “Sotiris… why is this happening?” I pleaded, looking up at the dark skies. My chest tightened, and I struggled to take an even breath. I wanted relief from this weight, yet, none came. I fell to my knees, hoping and praying that the King was listening; that somehow, some way, He would guide me. Yet, there was nothing but silence. Not even the wind howled in response to my cries and pleas for help. Just—silence.
“Are you not listening? Is there no relent to suffering? Where is the joy?”
Nothing.
I stood again after several moments and began my walk once more. I drug my muddy boots through the mire. As I continued down the dark path, I felt an odd presence. I looked behind me. Nothing there.
I shook my head and continued. Still, a chill ran up my spine. The presence of an invisible intruder—an unseen watcher. I turned again, seeing an ax along the ground. It wasn’t there before.
That’s unusual… I walked over to the ax, inspecting every inch as I drew closer.
Like a bolt of lightning the ax flew from the ground. Its angled strike aiming to chop off my head. I jumped back, narrowly evading the deadly strike.
I darted down the road, panicking as I ducked into a nearby farm. I scouted the area, seeing the floating ax coming at me with immense speed. Dread sank its teeth into my heart. I’m unarmed against a ghostly assailant. I breathed in, looking at the thing. As I looked around for a weapon, a tall, blond, bearded man threw himself across the yard, colliding with the thing that wielded the ax.
“Get it!” I heard the lightly accented voice of a man beyond the barn.
“I need t’ grab the ax!”
“Well, what the Lapp are ye waitin’ for?” A dark-haired, dark eyed Dahkhallian ran around the corner, aiding his companion in the wrestling of the invisible being. They both struggled, thrashing up the mire on the ground. The invisible being was now not so invisible covered in mud by the two men as they wrenched the ax free.
“I got it!” merrily shouted the dark-haired one.
“Well! Kill the t’ing!”
Horrifically, blood flew everywhere as the man brought the ax down on the being with all the might he could muster. It spurted across the muddy ground, vibrant red, showing up in stark contrast to the black earth.
“Oi, have a gander at this here, Flee!” the blond said upon seeing me.
“Did we save an innocent bystander?” The man addressed as Flee grinned, nudging the blond in the ribs. “For our valiantry we only require a wee price.”
“Aye!” The blond clapped his blood-stained hands. “Like… food.”
“Or ale.”
“No, definitely food. Maybe even a muffin? Muffins make everyt’ing better.”
“Muffins give you acidosis, and I ain’t prepared for a night of misery!”
The blond lowered his voice, raising a brow, “Stop using big words I don’t understand. Tain’t nice of ya!”
The brown-haired man growled, “Reid, it’s not t’aint, you sound like a bluggard, it’s ain’t ye looney!”
I smiled, shaking my head. “Thank you both for killing—”
“A Heman! An invisible assailant bent on killing people,” Flee muttered.
“Aye, though, tis said they only go after people who have shed innocent blood in their past.” Reid winked at me and my heart twisted.
“T’ough shoot a mirror at the bluggard and he stops dead in his tracks and reveals his nasty face.”
Reid laughed, raking his blood-stained, muddy palm through his hair. The blond of his locks now looked like a mad mixture of gore and mire. Even with all that I’d seen, it made me uncomfortable to look at. “Aye, they is all built like a nasty combination of death and a twig. Dunno how they don’t just shrivel and die at their own reflection!”
“I’m Flynn, and this is me brother Reid, we are the Flennagain brothers.” The dark-haired man extended his hand to me and I shook it.
“Aye. Ya know what, there is a tavern not too far from here, let’s go have a bit of a drink!” Reid grabbed hold of my arm, pulling me to join them.
“I can’t—”
“Don’t worry ‘bout us teasin’ ye. We ne’er get paid anyway.”
___
Flynn and Reid shoved me into Haggerty’s tavern, laughing all the way.
“Did ya see that mudscraper? His nose is a landing strip for an eagle!” Reid bellowed.
“Aye, did ye see how t’in his arms were?”
“What arms!”
Reid and Flynn cackled, raising their hands for the tavern-master. The pub was burrowed deep in the woods, so deep, in fact, I didn’t know if we could find our way back out. As the fiddler played away, a minstrel strummed at the strings of his instrument. A brawl of men cheered, and one stood up on a table with his glass held high as he belted out a song.
“Oh little Peregrine, flying have you been?
For fifteen years in Dahkhall I’ve seen—
They’re known from Blythe from the Basin of Creed
And everybody calls them by the name of Flynn and Reid.”
A roar of laughter echoed from the crowd till Flynn chimed in, his voice a wheezy baritone. “Of all the trades a goin’ sure the huntin’ is the best
For when a man is bored he can kill monsters and the rest
He has to beg for his dinner when he has nothing else
to do—”
Reid butted in, shouting, “But to slip around the corner to Haggerty’s tavern for a brew!”
The men clapped, cheering them on. Another stood, his eyes lit with a drunken fever.
“I slept in a cave one night in Tankertown,
A shocking wet night it was, but I slept ’til the dawn
There were holes in my shoes and the water a pourin’ through
I caught a cold for three weeks!”
The men laughed, shouting “That don’t even rhyme, Gunthard!”
I couldn’t contain my laughter. I smiled as I watched the group carry on, in what Reid called, ‘A grand craic!’ It was the relief—a small solace from the misery—I had prayed for.
“Ye look like yer finally enjoyin’ somet’in!”
I looked to my right where Flynn settled into a seat beside me.
“An ale?”
I shook my head.
“Ah, not a drinker I take it?” he said, then ordered two drinks: a cup of the purest Dahkhallian cider for me, and a flagon of ale for himself.
I smiled and nodded my head, taking a gulp of the drink. “It’s been awhile…”
“Since ye smiled?” Flynn pat me on the shoulder, “We’ve all been there. Seems like life just hits ye when yer already down.” He smiled and took a long swig. He was right. Life was punching me… clobbering me… beating me to a pulp. I was losing my mind.
“So, what happened to ye? What drove ya to Dahkhall?” Flynn asked, his earthen brown eyes sparking with curiosity.
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
Flynn leaned back in his chair, his shoulders slouching back as he relaxed. “Try me.”
I took a long swig of my cider, then told him everything. I didn’t understand why… just that I did. Perhaps there was something in the cider. Perhaps it was simply weighing me down. At the end of the hour he knew everything from my childhood, to my involvement with the Rangers, to how I got to Dahkhall.
“If I wasn’t who I am, I wouldn’t have believed that story for a blangin’ minute.” Flynn flicked his wrist, snapping his fingers. “I don’t blame ye for how ye feel.” He looked over toward Reid, his brows furrowing. “Me brother and I have been t’rough our own rough patches. I ruined his life, whether or not he will admit it, I did.”
I raised my brow, looking at him.
“We know the same pain, t’ough on different levels. Ye have yours, and I—” he paused, looking at his brother. “I drove an unbreakable wall between a man and his dream. He’s stuck.”
I wanted to ask what happened, beg for an answer to his cryptic words. But, before I could, Reid came over and cut our intimate conversation short.
“Oi, Apollo. Need us to take ya back to the cabin?” Reid asked, smiling. “And, perhaps, we could bunk in the barn or somet’ing?”
I laughed, and Flynn shook his head. “We can’t just insterpose ourselves on the man!”
“Ain’t it impose?” Reid raised his brow.
“Whatever,” Flynn muttered. “Point is, we can’t just ask the man if—”
I cut into their disagreement, “You can. I have little to offer, but I’d be happy to have you both as guests.”
F I F T Y - E I G H T
WE ARRIVED BACK AT THE hut well after dark. I had bought food for Laramie and myself while sending off the rest of the coinage to Duranne through a Mailcarrier. I hoped it would be enough to get them through the week. The door creaked open and Laramie’s face poked through the crack.
“Apollo?” she looked at Reid and Flynn with uncertainty.
“They’re good.” I nodded toward the two, “This is Flynn and Reid.”
“Pleasure to meet’cha!” Reid took off his hat and bowed. He almost seemed like a gentleman in that moment.
“Stop pretendin’ ye bluggard!” Flynn slapped the back of his brother’s head. “Pardon him, he’s a handful. He will not be disrespectful to the Princess of the Woodlands.” He raised his brow to his brother, whose jaw dropped.
“Are ya sayin’ we is standing in the actual presence of an actual Princess?” Reid blubbered. The look on his face gave away his shock.
“That we is. Respect the lady.” Flynn rolled his eyes and walked around the small living room.
“Apologies…” Reid bowed his head. “Pleasure to meet’cha, me lady. I’m Reid.”
“She already knows ye name.”
“Aye, but what if she t’ought yous was Reid, and I was Flynn?” he retorted. “I’d hate to be mistaken as a Flynn.”
“Oi, ye’s impossible.”
Reid snorted, poking his thumb up to his chin. “Yous the impossible one, Flee.”
I assumed the gesture to be an insult since Flynn took it as one. He scowled and expelled a long sigh. “See what form of cracker I has to deal wit’?”
Laramie and I burst out laughing. They were so sincere in their judgments of each other.
“Where did you meet these two?” Laramie smiled. It had been five months since I saw a smile on her face.
“Long story.” I hugged her and she returned the embrace.
“I’m glad you met them. I think they are a blessing from Sotiris,” Laramie murmured. “Already, they’ve brightened up the house.”
“I have to agree.” I pat her head, looking at the two who inspected the room.
“Well, I suppose you will want something to eat?” Laramie looked at me. Her nose scrunched slightly as she took a sniff of me, “Or do you want a bath?”
I laughed, knowing full well I stank. “I will soon… These two may want something to eat.” I felt Laramie’s eyes burning into me. She was quietly scolding me for skipping another meal. But, we couldn’t afford to feed everyone. I opted out to skip this meal. I’d eat in the morning, anyway.
“Aye! Flee and myself, w’is starved. Ain’t eaten since when?”
“Since… two days, me t’inks? I has a bit of a runnin’ tab wit’ the tavern master. Awful bit, but we pay up eventually.” Flynn snickered as he nudged his brother in the ribs.
We had taken a seat around the humble table. While Laramie was in the kitchen, Flynn and Reid talked. They talked about everything under the sun, or the lack of it. Laramie soon re-entered the room, smoothing out her apron as she sat beside me. “So, what are you two anyway? Soldiers?”
“Oi, no, we tain’t soldiers,” Reid muttered.
She continued to pry, moving closer, “Are you Mailcarriers then?”
Simultaneously the two brothers spat on the ground and shouted in voices which bled of hatred, “Mailcarriers!” It was far too clear what they thought of them. “We is Hunters, wee bunny,” Flynn whispered.
“What’s a Hunter, sir?” Laramie rested her arms on the table, looking at the brothers with questioning in her delicate blue eyes.
Flynn and Reid looked at each other. It was a solemn moment. “Hunters, me lady, are the people who keep young buns like you safe at night from the devils and monsters of the land.”
“Aye, ghosts and goblins alike!” Reid raised his brow as he added on to his brother’s words.
“We was but ye age, me Princess, when we began. Reid was fourteen, and I was but sixteen.”
“And how old are you now?” she asked.
“Reid here is twenty-five, almost twenty-six, and I is twenty-eight. I’m the older one.”
Reid shook his head. “So you say!”
“So, how did you both become Hunters?” I asked.
The two brothers exchanged a look before they shrugged.
“Well, it all started when I stole a few rubye from the family we was stayin’ wit’, and we was kicked out.” Flynn coughed. “So, I did what most ‘spectable older brother would do.”
“He became a regular mountebank!” Reid laughed, winking at me. “Conning all t’em people outta their hard earned money.”
“Oi, let me finish would ye?” Flynn clicked his tongue, looking back at me and Laramie.
I heard Reid grumble something about a
swindler and charlatan under his breath. I thought it best to hold my tongue and not stir the pot.
“Well, either way, I t’ought it would be a good idea to capitalize on the peoples’ superstitions.”
“Poor Flee here didn’t believe in the tales of creatures,” Reid mumbled.
“Aye, I didn’t. We had never saws one before! So, we ended up at ol’ Wickers home. She swore up and down dat she had a Vapordemon in her home, so, me and Reid decided to, ye know, help her.”
“He means lie. He was goin’ to pretend he caught the buggar and tell her she had not’in’ to be fearin’!” Reid burst out laughing. Flynn’s face revealed he wasn’t appreciating all the interruptions.
“If ye don’t cut ye mout’ I’ll be forced to do it for ye!” Flynn raised his brow, and instantly Reid’s rumbling laughter came to a halt.
“What’s a Vapordemon?” I asked, looking between them.
“I’ll be getting to that,” Flynn began again, satisfied with Reid’s quiet. “We stayed the night in her guest room. Reid and meself had to share a sliver of a bed since neither of us wanted to be sleepin’ on the floor. So, we laid there, back to back.”
Their tale came alive in my mind. I saw every word as a picture. The rugged old bedroom folded in front of me, and the fourteen-year-old Reid and sixteen-year-old Flynn curled up on the tiny mattress, doing their best to not touch each other.
“Oi! Reid, stop touchin’ me foot!” Flynn elbowed his brother opposite him.
“Flee! I amn’t touchin’ ya,” Reid grumbled. “Yous touchin’ me! Stop ticklin’ me foot.”
“I ain’t ticklin’ ye blangin’ foot!” Flynn shifted his position.
“T’en who is—” the sound of a child’s giggle cut Reid’s words. The two brothers sat up, looking around the room. A creature made up of mist and fog swirled into the room, taking on the form of an eyeless child. The two brothers screamed, jumping and backing up against the wall.
