Chapter Eleven

The meal spread on the table was nothing short of sumptuous: there was roasted pheasant and blackened mutton shank, a thick brown-broth stew that smelled spicy and was filled with potatoes, carrots and other tubers; there was bread so fresh that they could hear the crust crisping as it set on the board beside wedges of cheese, with bowls of pickled vegetables. Beside it all stood three bottles - two of wine, one of a whisky who's distiller was renowned in the region for serving up an unaged proof that could strip varnish. The elfish man gestured at all of this and smiled, dropping into the seat at the head of the table with a casual air.

"Now then, my dear, make yourself at home. You must be famished after the busy night you had and I want you to know how sorry I am for harming you. Please, join me." He picked up a knife and began to carve the pheasant.

The rush of delicious scents was too much, Dyl's mouth was watering and their stomach growled loudly as though assuring the man that despite their silence, they were famished. Shame-faced at the lack of control they could exert over their own hunger, they slunk forward and dropped into the nearest chair and clasped their hands in their lap and did not meet his eyes. He sighed dramatically and continued with the blade.

"Bird or beast, my dear?" His words were as effective as a slap, they stiffened and turned to look at him in anger.

"What do you want?" The words were accusation and the tone was not lost on their would-be host.

He stopped and set the knife down, and spoke in a scolding tone that made them flinch and their eyes dropped from his face, "I want to help my cousin, whom I just met in unfortunate circumstance. I want you to eat and regain your strength, and I want to show you that I am no threat to you."

They swallowed and started to form a response, but he cut them off and added a more kindly, "If I make myself too familiar with you, I apologize. I have not been graced with the company of my own kind in years."

"What do you want from me?" Dyl managed to keep their voice quiet, but stressed the words and chewed their lip as they tried to shake the desire to yield to this man again.

"Simply put, for now, a pleasant dinner with kin. If we cannot have a pleasant meal, at least one without antagonization. Please," they looked up at the word and noticed that he was still sitting with the half-cut pheasant before him, "shall we start again?"

When they nodded hesitantly, he smiled and spread his arms out before him, standing and giving them a half-bow that they weren't entirely convinced was in jest. "My name is Vindal of the southern forests, my blood was changed before you were born cousin, but I am very glad to meet you. Welcome to my table, please help yourself."

They glanced at the spread and slowly reached for their cup and one of the bottles, pulling the cork and sniffing it before pouring a generous portion of a dark red wine into their cup. "Dyl, of Blackmire."

"Blackmire? I had heard that the attack there was merciless, no survivors." Their hands began to shake at his words, their eyes burned as tears blurred their vision, and Dyl looked down quickly. "Oh, I'm sorry."

Vindal's voice was gentler than before and they heard his chair scrape on the floor as he rose; they didn't look up, not even when he laid a hand on their shoulder and some dark part of Dyl's mind hoped that he was going to end their anguish even as they considered options if it were to come to combat with the man. But he didn't attack, instead, he released them and began to serve up mutton and roast vegetables onto their plate and hummed to himself in a most genial manner. Dyl waited until he had sat again, then took a careful breath and spoke their mind.

"I cannot enjoy this meal with you," they glanced up and saw the annoyance on his face and pressed ahead recklessly. "Not with the girl suffering in the next room."

He stared at them and Dyl swallowed hard at the lump in their throat and sat up as tall as they could, met his eyes and sternly ignored their body's desire to look away, their mind's impulse to apologize; Vindal watched them and they wondered if he was aware of the inner turmoil they felt, but instead of anger, they watched a small smile slowly spread over his face again and his voice seemed to wheedle into their mind when he answered. They wanted to dig a finger into their ear and dig his words out of their skull, like an unwelcome grub.

"Oh, well I see. Very well, if you insist, then bring the welp to the table. Her manners are atrocious though." He waved a hand dismissively but Dyl was already out of their seat and moving towards the door.

She was curled up on the foot of the bed, the blankets pulled tight around her but Dyl could hear the quiet shuddery breathing that betrayed the girl's tears. They went to her and knelt by the bed, waiting until she looked at them and then gave her a small smile, feeling torn again at the duty they held and the instincts they felt.

"Hungry?" She nodded and they offered her a hand, "Come eat."

She hesitated, then nodded and shyly took the smaller human's hand, and let them lead her out of the room; as she unfolded from the bed, Hiruun's full height dwarfed her protector but she seemed somehow so much smaller than she should. They set her in their seat and took one beside her, between her and their captor, and nodded at her when she stared at the food on her plate. Hiruun hesitated a moment longer, then grabbed at the meal and began to devour it with her bare hands and they knew she had not eaten well in days at least.

"Not too quickly," Vindal chuckled, "and not too much. You don't want a full belly at moonrise."

She froze, mouth full of beets and bread and turned a frightened look to Dyl who took several seconds to compose themself - deep breaths and carefully un-balling their fists before they turned to look at Vindal and their expression was accusation and chastisement. And to their surprise, he looked moderately abashed by their reply to the girl.

"Don't make yourself sick, but you need your strength." They watched his face, challenging him to disagree but he looked taken aback by their dogged concern for the girl and he yielded to their judgment with a demure nod of assent. Hiruun watched the pair and when he showed no inclination to press the issue, resumed eating with desperation.

Dyl cut a piece of bread and some cheese, took a small piece of the pheasant, and then picked up the glass of wine and sniffed at it but it smelled like wine and so, deciding it would be more trouble than it was worth to wait for him to taste everything first, they took a small sip. For several minutes, the only sounds were the three eating then, setting their cup aside, Dyl turned to study the elf with an open and frank stare.

"Alright, you came for her. Why me?" They leaned back in their chair and watched him chew and wash the bite down with a swig from his own glass.

Vindal leaned forward and gestured towards the stew invitingly, "I told you, I had not seen my kind in too long. You weren't likely to have a calm conversation last night, and I didn't know what you were until… well," he chuckled, "until I got your scent. I couldn't just leave you bleeding in the snow."

"The chains?" They were not convinced and knew that their face would show it, they had never learned to hide their feelings, but he didn't seem to mind their doubts. He smiled and shrugged slightly and cut another bit of meat.

"You've hardly eaten, the welp has-"

"Hiruun." Dyl cut him off sharply. "Her name is Hiruun."

Vindal stared at them, annoyance flashed through his eyes then he took a long drink from his cup and stared at the girl with consideration; she cowered at Dyl's side, gripping a piece of bread so hard that it crumbled in her fingers. His voice was soft and amenable when he answered, "I stand corrected. Hiruun has had far more of your dinner than yourself."

"Good." Dyl's hunger was sated - if barely - and they were determined to take nothing further from this man. They would not be indebted to him in any fashion, but it bothered them that they still didn't know where their weapons were.

"You'd make a good pack leader," he chuckled unexpectedly, and Dyl blinked and looked from the girl to him quickly. He must have seen the question on their face because he waved a hand and leaned back, lazily reaching for his meal again. "You care about her, even though she's not even one of us."

"How long did you track her?" His eyebrows rose as he looked from one to the other, and he pursed his lips in thought.

"A bit more than a fortnight, why?" They met his eyes and straightened, giving him a look of brutal distrust.

"You could have taken her to the Lodge."

The man laughed at them and they blinked in surprise, then felt their face flush in anger; Vindal did not seem to notice and waved his hand dismissively again. "What? To have the 'curse' leached from her blood? Weakened like us? No, no, I wouldn't take this gift from her. She's young, imagine how strong she'll be."

Dyl's nails were digging into their palms again, they ground their teeth and glared at him with a hate so hot that it burned in their chest. They considered their options but a small table knife would not be enough and as they debated the odds, they saw him recognize their thoughts and he stood quickly.

"Enough! If you won't eat, then we're leaving. You!" He pointed at Hiruun who squeaked in fear and nearly dropped her cup. "Stop whining, we're leaving. Come here."

Dyl watched her cower and then rise, compelled to obey and they knew what she felt - a pull in her mind and body, like a hook that drew her towards his whims even as she trembled and tears filled her eyes again. She complied with his unspoken order and held out her hands, they watched him lift up a pair of shackles and flinched involuntarily as they realized the sheen of silver would be like fire on her skin but they kept silent and tried to catch her eye, to will her not to cry out but Hiruun was shaking with terror and gasped in pain as the metal was closed on her wrists.

The man did not pay any mind to her agony and shot Dyl a look that was full of deadly promise, "If I give you your weapons, you're going to turn them on me, aren't you?"

They wanted to say yes, they wanted to tell him that they'd cut his throat and bleed him dry; they wanted to pluck out his eyes and cut out his tongue and let him wander in the forest until fate took him. They wanted to kill him and bring his head and hands to the Hunt Master in his Lodge atop the stones, but as Dyl considered these things, Hiruun cowered back and away from Vindal's hands and they saw red; the words that left their lips were instinct and not decision. They found they didn't care as truth was given in payment to his cruelty.

"If I thought I could save her," they told him, wishing they could stab him with their voice and claw at him with their eyes, "but you'll kill her just to spite me."

They saw his lips quirk and knew they were right, and the heat in their chest froze fast and hard into ice. "How very astute, you hardly know our ways but you understand. I was right about you."

He tossed a key on the table and they snatched it up without looking at it, knowing one of the chests in the other room would yield to this token and without a word they went to find their weapons while Hiruun tried to stifle her terrified sobs. When they returned, they felt safer and stronger, but just as powerless but still they drew up the folds of their cowl and pulled their cloak's hood up before moving to stand beside the girl and they ignored their captor entirely as they spoke.

"Try to stay calm, whatever comes. I will help you, if I can." She looked down at them, her eyes were red from crying but she saw their determination and they were proud of her for the way she swallowed her questions and stood a little straighter, nodding and giving them an attempt at a brave smile.

They were glad the cowl hid how they couldn't return that smile, her words and the desperate plea with the little pen knife was fresh in their mind and as the sky began to darken, Dyl felt a cold prickle in their skin. Behind them, the man let out an almost lusty sigh, then stepped forward and grabbed the chain between Hiruun's wrists, she winced and moved quickly to follow and lessen the silver's press on her skin.

"The moon will rise soon, come cousin and bear witness - and then you can judge me as you see fit," Vindal was smiling widely as he pulled the girl from the room. Dyl lingered only long enough to wrap the rest of the pheasant in a rabbit skin and stuff it in their pack; if he noticed the delay, he did not acknowledge it.

Vindal knew his destination, but not the city, and Dyl was pleased to see it as he wandered down alleys that turned to dead ends or doubled back on themselves; but the impending moonrise left them with priorities wholly selfish as they grasped his elbow and snapped at him to follow. He looked at them with an expression they could not recognize at a glance but fell in behind them as they stalked quickly back to a street then turned and marched along until they came to a stable that was shuttered for the night. They saw him open his mouth - smirking - and drew a dagger from their belt and he remained silent, watching them as they quickly sunk the blade to the hilt between two stones then twisted it sharply. From somewhere down along the building's wall came a distinct popping sound and then Dyl was running into the shadows.

"Well?"

Vindal hadn't lost sight of them, but he was standing still with mouth agape as Hiruun pulled her wrists free of his hand and hurried after the fur clad hunter and threw herself into the dark passage they held open with their body. His surprise lasted only moments, then he threw himself after the pair but found that they were waiting just inside as the door swung shut behind him and Dyl began to rush down the earthen corridor, down and ahead into darkness without hesitation or fear. The others followed and the trio came up in what was left of a ramshackle stone outbuilding perhaps a quarter mile from the town's walls - well within the dead growth of the forest that society had encroached upon.

Vindal turned to look around and smiled, "Good, we're close."

A soft sound of metal scraping stole his grin as he wheeled, Dyl's hands were on the manacles and they were twisting a pair of picks with a sure hand. The chains fell to the ground at Hiruun's feet and they stared at Vindal; he stared back, neither speaking, while the girl crouched and plunged her hands into the snow with a whimper.

"Where are we going?" Dyl slipped the picks back into a small tube then corked it and returned it to a fold of the furs and his eyes narrowed in accusation.

"You could have told me you had those."

They stared at him wordlessly and after a minute, with a snarl, he turned on his heel and stomped into the gloom. "Fine, come on."

Hiruun looked up at Dyl helplessly and they knelt and looked her in the eye, "There's no more time, Hiruun."

She understood, they saw it in her eyes and the girl wilted, then nodded and straightened, still sitting in the snow. "Will it hurt?"

This question, asked with the frightened innocence of a child, shook Dyl and they choked on the words that they tried to speak then; doubt and revulsion filled them as they realized what they were preparing to do and they reached to take the hand that reached for them.

"Please, I don't want to be a monster, I want to be me." She didn't understand, her words cut through them and Dyl felt tears fill their eyes as their vision blurred. They squeezed her hand and stood, pulling the girl up with them.

Wordlessly, they turned to follow Vindal's path into the woods and their thoughts raced as they tried to find a solution - an impossible compromise they knew could not exist yet they prayed to the forest to show them any alternative to this girl laying dead at their feet, her blood hot on their hands as snow fell under a wretched, bright moon's glow. As though he shared the vision, Vindal suddenly loomed beside them and grappled Dyl, an arm wrapping about their chest and shoved them hard against the ground. With a shriek of surprise and rage, they writhed but the lithe man was stronger than he looked and he held them down in the snow as they thrashed helplessly.

"I am sorry cousin," he grunted, his other arm snaking around their throat. "I can't let you kill her, I need this pup."

Dyl's vision swam, their heart thundered in their ears, they gasped to breathe and screamed - with every ounce of their being and all the air they had, the hunter loosed a primal sound of rage and defiance. For long seconds, there was no answer, and then they felt it - the moon rose, a silver edge casting ghostly sheen upon the clearing, on them in the snow, on the man holding them down and choking the life from them. Upon the girl cowering and sobbing in the shadows, and all the world was torn away from the hunter's keen senses as the wild surged into the empty places between heartbeats.

There was a single note that answered their cry, a long screaming howl that cut through the distance of time and breath and a massive dark shadow fell over the tangled pair in the snow.