by Randi Darren
No one said anything after that. Vince’s mood seemingly spread to them. They were hunting a hunter, which made them the alpha. Not prey.
Time sped along with them as they went, the early morning dissolving to afternoon in the blink of an eye.
They made one circuit to the north and were now wheeling around back west to move through another section.
Something glittered in the brush in front of them, causing everyone to drop low.
Ahead of them, a soft pulsing light moved from bush to bush, as if seeking something.
It’s a fairy.
Vince felt his lips pull into a smirk as he watched the tiny light.
The fairy bobbed upwards, the light fading as it was struck by sunlight.
It couldn’t have been more than a barely matured male of its kind.
Two flashing red eyes were the only warning he had before a dark object leapt out of a low tree nearby.
In the blink of an eye, the fairy was snatched out of the air and clasped in a clawed pale hand.
Standing in front of them was a pale skinned creature. The eyes were a glowing red, the hair on its head was long and brown. Peeking up from that wild bird’s nest of hair were two triangular ears.
The face was that of a woman, though the fingers of each hand ended in claws rather than nails.
From head to toe, she was practically nude, pale as a bleached bone, and lined with dark gray veins. She had only a ratty brown cloak.
To Vince, she reeked of death and foul magic. She didn’t have the health and vitality that one would expect.
Her eyes were haunted, feral, and empty.
Before he could think any further, she shoved the bottom end of the screaming fairy into her mouth and bit down.
Tearing away the lower half of the fairy she stared off into the middle distance at nothing. As blood splashed down her hand she tilted the wailing fairy upward, as if trying to keep the blood inside it.
Swallowing visibly, the monster lifted the fairy to her mouth again and tore off the torso and midsection in another bite, silencing the fairy.
Then, in a final flick of her fingers, she popped the remains into her mouth and began to lick her fingers.
Vince blinked twice. He’d long seen the worst of the Wastes, but he’d never seen a fairy eaten alive before his eyes.
She looked like a Beast tribe member. A more humanoid cat clan type, but her skin tone, eyes, and fingers didn’t match.
Truly, she had the appearance of death, or someone working under seriously bad black magic. The kind people didn’t invoke because it usually affected the caster worse than the victim.
Hunkering down low in a sudden fit of movement, the creature looked to the west. Vince noticed she had a tail as she swished it low against the ground once, then held it perfectly still.
He’d been hoping she was the reason for the missing Elves, but by herself he doubted she could do more than kill a lone Elf at best.
Whatever had put her on high alert, though, was more than likely his real quarry. They were probably attracted by the smell of blood and the screams of the fairy’s brutal end.
Vince held up one hand slowly, getting everyone’s attention. Closing his hand, he then held up two fingers and gestured to the left, indicating for two people to move out further to protect their flank.
Then he made a fist with the hand and waited.
This was an opportune chance to draw in their enemy, and ambush them.
Maybe he’d get lucky and they’d kill the monster and get wounded, and then he could clean up the rest neatly and call it quits.
Call it quits and call it a day, then retire to his bedroll.
And Eva.
Eva didn’t seem to mind the attention she was getting at night, though she’d been nervous the first time they’d coupled in her bedroll with everyone around them.
Vince’s dreams were dashed as monsters from myth and legend came swarming out of the trees straight for the pale skinned woman.
Wendigos? Really?
Tall, hunched over, long thin limbs, bits of clothing hanging from their frames, they fit the very description of a Wendigo.
Man eaters. Hunters of humanoid living flesh.
Apparently they’d gotten a taste for Elf flesh and watched the roads.
“Great,” Vince muttered, pulling his saber free of its sheath.
Not that he could blame them, he’d grown fond of Elf skin himself. Eva definitely had some of the softest he’d encountered so far.
Chapter 7
There were seven of the Wendigos, and they were rapidly fanning out to surrounding the foul cat woman.
“Resistant to magic,” Gert said quietly from beside him.
Makes sense then why the High Elves find this problem vexing. To solve it, they probably sent very strong magicians. That got turned into High Elf magician steaks in short order.
It’s not like their soldiers would be anymore strong or hearty than a human. Without their magic, they’re nothing out of the ordinary.
Being magical creatures themselves, that means to kill the Wendigos, we need to decapitate them. That or carve out their heart.
Wonderful.
Vince waited as the Wendigos moved. He’d be happy when this was all over. He enjoyed traveling. Immensely so.
He just hated being forced to take contracts from people he didn’t care for.
“No,” hissed the red eyed woman “You bad. No eat. Go away.”
He doubted anyone had been expecting her to be able to talk. Let alone judge the situation appropriately. Vince had been working under the assumption she was naught more than a beast.
“Go away,” she said again, waving one clawed hand at them.
It was at this moment that Vince realized he’d judged her poorly for her appearance, and hunting a fairy. Was she any different than a bear that took down a deer and ate it?
No. She’s not.
Slinking out of the brush, Vince kept his saber low and distant on his right side. With ghostly steps he closed in on the Wendigo he was nearest to.
Unbelievably, at least to himself, he wasn’t discovered until he put his saber through the back of one of them. He’d angled the blade to go straight through the heart of the monster.
The dying roar of the beast as it slumped forward shook the others from their hunt. Vince’s blade came free of its torso, the metal slick and dripping red.
Red eyes locked to his own for a split second, before the cat woman leapt free of the circle. Her clawed hand dug furrows across the face of one of the Wendigos as she went.
Vince wasted no time as they were now distracted by their would-be prey escaping.
Crossing one foot over the other as he stepped to the left, he brought his bloody blade upward in a diagonal swing towards another Wendigo.
Putting an arm out in front of itself, it deflected Vince’s sword stroke but lost everything below the forearm for it.
Thera stepped up beside him, her sword moving forward in a lightning fast lunge.
Her blade skewered it through the heart, its howl of pain at the loss of its arm cut short.
Turning to the right, Vince pressed his back against Thera’s and whipped his blade around at a Wendigo who’d been closing in fast.
Splitting the air at great speed, his sword clipped the top half of its head, sending it careening to the side.
Four Wendigos remained and they had quickly circled up around Vince and Thera.
An arrow blasted through one of their eyes, the back of its head exploding outward.
At the same time, Gert and Set landed on another one, sending it to the ground.
Gert went for its throat in wolf-like fashion as Set stabbed at its eyes with his Ratfolk spear.
That left two more behind him that Thera was facing.
Spinning to put himself on Thera’s left, he found that only one remained.
The Dark Elf warrior took several steps to her right. Realizing what she was doing, Vince
took a few to his left, putting them on either side of the last enemy.
Its head went side to side from Thera, to Vince, then back as it considered which way to face.
As it decided to face Vince and went into a low stance, another arrow crashed into its forehead.
Crumpling to its knees from the shot, it was no longer in the fight.
Moving forward quickly, Vince brought his saber across its chest in a wicked blow. The saber drove deep through its rib cage into what he hoped was its heart.
Collapsing on its side, it moved no more.
Getting down on his knees over the corpse, Vince called out loudly. “Pop the ribcage open and make sure the heart isn’t beating. If it is, pull it out and toss it. If it’s as magical as people make it out to be, it could probably survive wounds it shouldn’t.”
Cracking open a rib, Vince found what he was looking for. The trembling heart of a Wendigo, pulsing softly.
Reaching in, he hooked his fingers around it and yanked for all he was worth.
The spasming muscle came free with a disgusting squelch and blood spraying everywhere.
Grimacing at his bloody hand he held the heart aloft and then lobbed it to one side.
“We clear?” he called, looking over his shoulder at the rest of his group. “Any injuries? Bites, scratches, anything at all?”
Gert snorted and kicked aside a body. “All is well, Packmaster.”
Set stood atop a Wendigo, puffed up and looking around.
Thera stood up from the corpse she’d looked into the chest of. “No hearts beat, lord. All are sl—” Staring at something beyond him, Thera’s eyes widened.
Looking in the same direction, Vince found himself staring into the red eyes of the cat woman as she feasted on a bloody heart. Probably the very one he’d thrown.
In his haste to get rid of it, he’d probably thrown it at her.
Who had apparently caught it and was currently eating it.
She gave him a bloody toothed grin as she took a bite of the still quivering heart. “Thanks. Save me. Good meal,” she said, gesturing the heart at him. “Still alive. Feed for days.”
Vince felt his eyebrows rise up.
“Oh? That’s… good. I guess,” Vince said. Glancing back to his hands he realized they were blood drenched. “You uh… you enjoy your meal then. We’ll leave you to it.”
Backing away from the creature he kept his eyes on her. Predators were predators after all and he wanted to give her no reason to attack.
“Lets head back to camp, everyone. Slowly. Carefully. No movements that will attract attention.”
Red cat eyes tracked him above a blood smeared mouth chewing happily on a Wendigo’s still twitching heart.
My life is so strange, and yet this is almost normal.
Despite the irreverent thought, he somehow managed to maintain eye contact until a tree blocked them from seeing each other.
Turning quickly from the area, Vince headed out at a jog. Thera, Eva, Gert, and Set fell in beside him.
“You think that’s it, Master?” Eva asked.
“Other than the freaky cat lady, I do. High Elf versus a magical resistant Wendigo. It’d be like asking a fish to fight a bear. No wonder they never heard anything from their people. Let’s get back, and put our feet to the road. I’d like to be quit of this place and Verix,” Vince said determinedly.
In fact, the job wasn’t even half as hard as he’d thought it would be.
It was almost a let down.
Turning his thoughts from that, he focused on the slaves of Verix.
And how he was on his way to free them.
Some would be offered a new home in Yosemite, others their freedom and well wishes. That was all dependent on their attitude.
Yosemite City could always use more hands, and he’d be more than happy to take them in.
If they were the right people.
The trip back was quick. Almost hurried.
Vince drove them a bit hard but he couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched after he rejoined the rest of his party.
His first thought was the red eyed cat woman had chased after them, but after ranging out around them he found absolutely nothing. Not a trace of anything. Bootprint, claw marks, nothing. There wasn’t a single sign of something watching or following, but he still couldn’t shake that feeling.
His group stopped at the point they’d made camp last time and split in half.
Thera, Eva, and himself went into the city, while his scouts and Dryads remained at camp.
After announcing himself, and receiving renewed guest-rights, it took only an hour for him to be hustled into the same assembly hall he’d been in only days previous.
In fact, the High Elven council was already present.
“You’ve returned quickly. Was the task beyond your means?” grumped one of the Elves.
“No. The job is done. It was a pack of Wendigos. And I’ll be happy to swear on a life-oath for that. With that bit of business being done. I think it’s time we talked about my payment.”
Vince stared out at the assembly before him. He’d not let them move this conversation any further until he was satisfied on this point. He truly didn’t want to deal with anyone participating in the slave trade beyond what he’d already had to endure.
“All slaves have been released. They’re no longer slaves, and we’ll not be taking any further slaves. Per your request,” Caern said loudly.
Waiting to see if anyone keeled over, Vince said nothing. The life-oath would kick in as he’d claimed he’d fulfilled his end of the bargain. As no one fell over, most especially Caern, Vince was surprised.
They actually released them.
“Great. And the count?” Vince asked.
“Seven-hundred and some odd,” clarified a different Elf.
Vince couldn’t be sure if they were in fact all the same Elves as last time. Truth be told they shared too many traits for his taste and seemed to be uniform in features.
Almost like it was a family rather than an elected assembly.
“Okay. I’m willing to pay five standards per hea—”
“That isn’t necessary. We’ve employed all the slaves with work and they’ll be remaining here,” said yet a different Elf.
Something’s wrong here. That’s not part of the bargain.
“I see. I’d like to speak to them then. As they’re not slaves, they’re free to do as they please. I plan to offer them a home and work, but no pay. If what you’re saying is true, there’s no reason they’ll take me up on my offer.” Vince straightened his shoulders and locked his wrists behind his back.
At his words, Thera shifted her weight around, her left hand grabbing the mouth of her sheath.
Eva’s hands casually moved along the length of her bow, bringing it around to the front of herself.
Apparently they’d sensed the change in his emotional state, and could feel the tension bleeding off of him.
“Again, that isn’t really nec—”
“It is. Because that was part of the bargain. You’d free them and they could do as they like as they’d no longer be slaves. You’re saying you freed them, so they can do as they please, right?” Vince said, interrupting the speaker.
“Well, you see, Vince. They all owe a great to us for providing them with homes, food, and board. They’re bonded to repay us before they can depart. And before you ask, you couldn’t possibly repay their debt as that isn’t the honorable or sensible thing to do,” Caern said smoothly, his eyes flat as he stared at Vince.
So. They dropped the term slave from the contract, and obeyed the life-oath to the letter of the law. Then shackled them to slavery of another kind. Debt that they’d never be able to repay.
“I see. I think that concludes our business then.” Vince gave them all a cold smile and then turned on his heel, heading for the exit.
No one tried to stop him, and no one said a word.
They already planned out their approach and w
hat would happen for each situation. There was no surprise in them at his departure.
No, this was well within their expectations of possible scenarios.
Fuck them. Cheat me, will they? I’ll make an example of you. You’ll regret this terribly.
Oh yes.
All will fear welshing on a deal with Yosemite.
Unable to control his rage, his vision turning dark as the blood pounded in his temples.
Before it could completely overtake him of his reasoning, Vince lashed out.
His fist crashed into the frame of the entryway into the assembly hall.
The solid rock splintered, shattering under the force of the blow.
Cracks began to rapidly radiate out from the point of origin. Flakes of stone fell away, and an entire section fell inward. The cracks stopped after reaching outward six feet down the wall.
Snorting, Vince kept walking, Elves squawking indignantly behind him.
He saw nothing other than the trail of death he wanted desperately to leave here. With Thera and Eva at his side, he was sure he could kill every single fool in Verix.
Or so his anger promised him.
The rage wanted it. Needed it. Begged for it.
To drown the city in its own blood. To bathe in it and liberally cover the walls in a fresh coat of paint.
Taking in a shuddering breath, his body convulsing as he did so, Vince slowly began to master his anger.
Slowly.
Painfully.
They spent the next several days in camp. Letting the High Elven scouts pass by them. The enemy never realizing Vince was right there.
Camouflage was easier than breathing when you had as many Dryads on hand as Vince did. Doubly so when they were working together for one goal.
Gert and Set had been sent back to Yosemite to prepare the way. They were to get in touch with Elysia and inform her of the entire situation. They were also responsible for telling her of Vince’s plans.
Ris kept an eye out, watching and keeping track of the number of High Elf patrols sent out.
It wasn’t until the fourth day that the Elves had returned to a normal pattern.
On the fifth day, Vince felt reasonably assured that they had assumed he and his band had left for home.
