"I said enough." The nymph was trembling with anger. "Leave her alone."
The Fairy kept squealing. Neran really wanted to crush her. "I'll release her when you answer my question. I don’t want anything else from you."
"For this you will die."
"I´ve heard that before."
Elana shook with rage, breathing deeply, hands clenched into fists. "Speak."
"I want to know where I can find the Tears of Étarlina."
The nymph suddenly burst into laughter. "Fool! You cannot get them!"
"So they really do exist ..."
My sister created them, but certainly not for someone like you to take them."
"Answer me!"
"Go to Breetia. The local Lady will give you the answer. The Tears of Étarlina are under the authority of my sister. I myself don’t know the way."
"And the Lady of Breetia knows it?"
"She's the only one who does."
"How come?"
"That's another question! You demanded only one answer! Now set my daughter free!"
Neran thought quickly. Once he released the Fairy, he was dead. If he killed her, he was dead too. He could fight the dryad, but it would not end well. She was a demigoddess. The only option was to escape.
At the instant he opened his hand, he began to run. A werewolf’s dash is imperceptible to the human eye as well as to any other. Neran ran like the wind and did not look back. He only heard the nymph’s furious roar disappear behind him. In the next instant he was under the green canopy of the deep forest.
Suddenly, a huge branch fell right in front of him. Neran barely managed to stop. A gale swept through the forest making a malicious screeching sound. Trees bent to the wind and stretched their long branches, like talons, after him. Neran kept running.
Another branch fell behind him. The tendrils of the vines assaulted his face and the thorny thickets pricked and scratched his legs and arms. Yet he kept on running until he broke out of the forest on the other side.
He stopped by the place where he had left his gift for Liana and caught his breath. The dagger was gone. He had apparently disrespected the forest and insulted the noble nymph. He looked back at the swaying trees. A piece of wood would certainly not bring him down.
He headed back to the village, now walking slowly. On the way, he examined his arms. The red scratches disappeared in a moment, not even leaving the smallest of scars.
Bad luck he thought. They should have grown silver thorns.
Chapter 4
Unwanted Suitor
The evening was drawing in as Neran approached Nilvana. A few men stood guard on the outskirts of the village with their picks and axes. Neran was in no mood for explanations or arguments, so he returned to the forest and walked around the village and came in from the other side. It was fortunate that Talem's house stood in a remote area surrounded by trees and in the bend of a road. The other houses lay beyond it.
Neran was feeling good. He was satisfied with the outcome of his trip. The nymph´s riddle vexed him. He had expected some superhuman task which he thought he could master. But a riddle? That was not for him. Anyway, he overcame the dryad with his cunning and faith in his own abilities. In real life, he had never been able to rely on anything other than himself. That was his strength and he was convinced about it.
He headed straight into the barn when he heard voices. Then he realized that it was someone´s muffled sobs and moans coming from somewhere inside. Neran felt strange emotions. He perceived them as clearly as if they rubbed on his skin: fear, helplessness, panic. As a werewolf he was able to tune into the emotions of his prey, so that he could better feel and enjoy the victim´s terror.
He headed towards the sounds. They were coming from behind a pile of hay in the far corner. Neran quietly walked around the pile and saw a skinny boy, kneeling on all fours. Kell was pinned beneath him, looking visibly scared.
The attacker had ripped her dress and was holding her so that she could not defend herself. He was using his knees to keep her legs apart, with one hand covering her mouth to muffle her cries. Kell was crying and struggling to throw him off.
"Hold it, bitch," the boy puffed. "I told you you'd be mine."
Neran was furious. He grabbed the attacker by the back of his shirt and lifted him into the air. The boy cried out in shock and kicked and lashed out in horror.
"You bastard," Neran shouted and threw him against the opposite wall. There was an awful cracking sound and the boy collapsed to the ground. The metallic smell of blood hit Neran’s nose.
He approached the abuser and knelt down by him. The boy lay there motionless on his stomach, face down in a puddle of blood. He had a fractured skull.
Neran lifted his head up by the hair, and dropped it again.
"Damn," he swore.
Kell sat up in the hay in her torn clothes, dazed, shaking, tears running down her cheeks.
"H-h-how is he?"
Neran stood up and cleaned his hands on his pants. "He's dead."
Kelly’s lower lip trembled. “De-de-dead?" she sobbed uncontrollably.
"Be quiet!" Neran snapped. "Damn, I really didn’t need this – a weeping girl and a dead body on my hands."
"You ... you saved me," Kell wailed.
Neran raised his eyebrows. "I guess you won’t be grieving his death then?"
"I kept telling him, over and over again, that I wasn´t interested in him, that he wasn´t good enough for me," she sniffed. "He wouldn´t listen. He kept stalking me ... and today ..." she broke off and began to cry again.
“Listen, Kell,” Neran sat down by her side. "You've got to promise me something again. Another secret. Can you handle it?"
Kell nodded. "You saved me. I’ll do anything for you!"
"All right. Now, I’ll get rid of the body, in the meantime you go and wash yourself and get some sleep. Nice and quietly, and unnoticed. Don’t tell anyone about what happened here tonight. Do you understand?"
“Not even Da-”
“Not even your Dad,” he interrupted.
Kell nodded. "All right. I promise."
"All right then," Neran patted her on back. "Go now."
Kell got up and ran home without looking back. Neran stood up too and looked at the boy with the fractured skull. He had not wanted to kill him, but he had thrown him too hard. What could he have done?Now he had to get rid of the body.
He would bury him somewhere in the forest where no one would ever find him. For all sense and purposes the kid would simply have disappeared. The villagers would look for him for a while, talk about it, but over time would forget about him, as would his parents. They would also learn to live with their loss, there was after all nothing they could do about it.
He threw the body over his shoulder with ease and looked down at the pool of blood. It took him some time to find a shovel before he could head out. It was almost dark. Neran looked to see if the coast was clear and then sneaked into the forest. When he looked back towards the cottage, he saw the dim light of candlelight glowing in one of the windows. Kell’s face flashed over it.
He carried the body deep into the forest. When he had found what he thought was a suitable place, he threw the corpse to the ground and began to dig. In the solitude his thoughts turned to the Lady of Breetia. He had heard many things about the country of which she was master. It was a land of eternal snow and ice. The Golden Unicorn, which brought spring every year, had been killed by Lord Karnelos, and ever since then winter had prevailed over Breetia. He reminded himself that the name of Karnelos was also synonymous with eternal battles and territorial disputes with the Northern Elves who inhabited the northern forests. Neran recalled that their land was called Neiwlur. Until today, he had never set foot in either of the two lands, for the simple fact that nothing had ever attracted him to go there.
He methodically shovelled the soil, not even breaking into a sweat. He wondered whether the nymph had lied to him. Maybe she had made the whole thing up to get rid
of him. But would she have risked the life of one of the fairies? Everything was possible. Neran didn´t have a clue, he simply had to risk it.
He straightened himself up and pulled his hair away from his forehead. The grave seemed sufficiently large and deep. Only bears or wolves might possibly be able to dig out the corpse.On the other hand, it would get rid of the evidence. After all, he thought, there wouldn´t be much left of the body.
He jumped out of the makeshift grave and unceremoniously shoved the boy into it. It suddenly occurred to him that the boy was really quite young, possibly not even nineteen. In these days, raping women was nothing surprising. Men often took what they wanted by force. The situation with Kell was closer to home. Kell was Talem’s daughter, and Talem was his friend. The brat deserved punishment, though perhaps not so severe.
"It was an accident," Neran mumbled to himself as he began to throw dirt on the body. How many guys just like this one had he killed in the past? He had never bothered to count them, but they were definitely not accidents. This one was an accident and he convinced himself that he would feel no remorse.
He suddenly froze to the spot. Someone or something was watching him. He looked around. The shadows looked like spectres, mocking him. He smelled nocturnal animals, but this scent did not belong here.
A small branch snapped. Neran put down his shovel and headed in the direction it had come from, but nobody was there. The scent had disappeared, as well as the feeling of not being alone. He went back to the grave. It must have been a dream, or at least he hoped so.
He patted down the soil until the ground was firm and covered the grave with branches and ferns. He evaluated his work with a nod of satisfaction for a job well done. It looked natural. Then he remembered that humans during every funeral prayed to the Gods of the Great Beyond.They did this to ensure that the deceased had a peaceful transition to the Realm of the Dead and to protect them on their journey there.
Neran did not believe in Gods.
He turned around and went back to the barn.
*
Someone kicked him in the leg. Neran grunted in his sleep and turned over onto his other side. He wanted to sleep. Just a little while longer.
Another kick.
Dammit! He cursed silently and slowly opened his eyes.
"Get up!"
"What’s going on?"
Neran rolled onto his back and saw Talem looming above him. He was pale and uneasy.
"Why the hell did you wake me up so early?"
"The whole village is up," Talem muttered nervously. "About an hour ago, Don from next door found a body in the forest."
Neran sat up and rubbed his eyes. "How did he find him?"
"Neran, did you hear what I'm telling you?"
"Yeah, I did."
"I said he found a body!"
"You mean a human body?"
"A corpse!" Talem panted. "And it just happens to be that of Ben, the son of Vana, the weaver!"
"Who?"
"The kid who bothered my Kell, Neran!"
"Oh," Neran scratched his head. "It's a shame ... poor kid. At least Kell will be left in peace, right? Let me sleep." Neran rolled back over onto his side, but Talem kicked him again.
"No way! Get up! The boy was killed and the whole village is looking for the killer!"
"I'm sure it was an accident," Neran mumbled.
"Sure, and you know nothing about it, right?"
Neran sat up again. "What do you mean by that?"
"I mean, that the day after you arrive in our village, there are corpses lying in the forest."
Neran looked offended. "Are you saying that it's my fault?"
Talem closed his lips. "Did you kill him?"
Neran thought hard. He should have known that Talem would find out. After all, he wasn´t stupid.
He put on an innocent smile. "I didn´t want to."
Talem wrung his hands. "Good heavens, Neran!"
"You should thank me," Neran protested. "That bastard assaulted your daughter!"
"What? Kell was there?"
"He wanted to get under her skirt, do you understand?"
Talem held his head in his hands. "So you just killed him?"
"No, I just slammed him a little bit ... against the wall."
Talem groaned. "Neran, you buried the body yesterday, didn’t you? Someone saw you."
Neran remembered the feeling that someone was watching him. He should have paid more attention to it. What could he have done? Killed the snoop, too?
"Who saw me?"
"One kid, Ben's friend, was looking for him. No one is allowed to wander outside after dark, yet he saw a tall man leaving my barn for the forest with a corpse over his shoulder. So he followed you."
"That doesn’t sound good."
"Dammit! It doesn’t! Do you understand what that means?"
"That I have to leave?"
"The kid saw a tall, broad-shouldered man coming out of my barn!"
Neran gave him a perplexed look.
"Everyone thinks that I've killed Ben!"
Cold sweat doused Neran. "What?"
"Everything fits. Ben stalked my daughter and when I caught him after he assaulted her, I killed him."
"No one has any proof."
"It doesn´t matter. Times are bad. Everybody wants to punish someone. The mayor will only be too glad to find a culprit and satisfy the people´s appetite for justice."
"They can´t just lock you up."
Talem shrugged helplessly. From outside came the voice of his wife. He looked at Neran once again and then left. Neran sat there dumbfounded. He had really blown it this time!
It seemed to him that every time he let anyone get a little bit close to him, they got into trouble or just died, and that every time Neran tried to do the smallest good deed, it ended up causing more trouble. Good simply didn´t exist. As he liked to say, all good things get justly punished. Not that the death of the kid was a good deed, but he had saved Talem’s daughter and had wanted to spare Talem’s family from getting into trouble.
He got up and jumped down from the loft. No, he was a werewolf and evil was in the blood. Any attempt to do good was useless, and all those who still believed in good, were fools.
He peered out of the open barn door to see a crowd gathered in front of Talem’s cottage. Everyone seemed upset and angry. Neran overheard them talking about Talem´s barn and him telling them that he would not let them inside.
Neran quickly glanced at the site of his crime. He had forgotten to remove the blood stain! He dashed over to the barrel, quickly scooped up a bucket of water and poured in on the stain. The blood had already dried and was not easy to get rid of it.He managed to finish the job just as the crowd of villagers surged towards the barn.
The door burst open and the people rushed in like a hurricane, as if expecting to find more corpses.
From his vantage point in the loft, Neran watched the scene unfold before him. He knew that it was no longer safe to stay there. It would be difficult for him to squeeze through the small window, but there was a narrow ladder that led to the roof. He took advantage of it.
He knew he should disappear and not worry about anything else other than himself. Neran did so with a heavy heart. Talem was one of the few friends he had had over the one hundred thirty-two years of his life. Unfortunately, his efforts to help his friend had always ended up in a mess. The best thing to do for Talem and his family was indeed for him to disappear.
He jumped down from the roof behind the barn. He heard people rushing out, even more irritated than before because they had found no evidence of any wrongdoing. He looked through the trees. The touch of the wind on his face was cool and inviting. Neran pulled his hood over his head and took his first steps along the path that led north to the icy landscapes of Breetia.
After walking barely twenty minutes, the tightness in his chest grew larger. Neran tried to ignore it, but a reproachful voice in his head repeatedly told him that he was making a mistake.
No, if I go back, I’ll be making a mistake.
Suddenly, he paused. Something, perhaps instinct, perhaps his inner voice, stabbed him straight through his heart. It was an evil premonition. The vision of what the murder of the boy would cause.
He stopped thinking, turned on his heels and ran back towards the village. When he barged into Talem’s house, he knew it was too late. Talem’s wife, Kalla, was sitting slumped in a chair, weeping.
She lifted her head towards Neran in dismay. "You…"
"Where is he?" Neran burst out. Kalla swallowed hard.
"They took him away. They say he's a killer," her eyes filling with tears again. "It was you, wasn´t it? You killed ...”
Neran dashed out. He ran through the village and did not stop until he reached the square. All the residents had gathered there, some out of desperation, others full of desire to finally punish someone for all the evil that was happening around them.
Hastily built gallows stood in the middle of the square. Talem stood there with his hands tied behind him and a noose around his neck. His lips were pursed together. Sweat from his forehead ran along the grooves of his wrinkles and tears streamed from his eyes. Two men guarded him, while one of the village elders spoke to the crowd: "We have a murderer among our own, he has ended the life of a young man too soon! This diabolical deed must be deservedly punished! A life for a life!"
There was only silence, no shouting, no chanting. The heavy silence hung around the gallows, but their faces were determined and affirmative.
The men forced Talem to stand on a block.
Neran dashed through the crowd like a storm. Nobody paid attention to him until he stood at the gallows. He pushed one of guards away, grabbed the other by his shirt and lifted him into the air. With the other hand, he broke the rope and pulled Talem down.
People screamed.
The old mayor immediately reached for the cross around his neck.
Neran’s eyes flashed. He shook the fellow in the air like a doll. "You want to know who killed that boy?" he yelled, exposing his huge fangs instead of teeth. He felt his bones and skull stretching whilst dark hair grew on his arms. "It was me! I killed him because I wanted to! And I’ll kill every one of you too if I have to look at your damn faces any longer!"
Son of hell: Blood of wolves Page 8
