Chapter 17

As the shock from the contents of the letter wore off, anger filled me at the audacity of the person sending these people after me. I did not know what I had done to warrant this level of aggression and I was not the only person that was affected by this, as he was toying with the lives of so many people. I had to stop him before any more people fell victim to his malicious intent and Ilane noticed the seething anger I was feeling.

“What is the matter, Davik?” Ilane asked, a confused look on her face. “You went from calm to extremely angry after reading the contents of that letter. What was on it, that could make you get so upset so quickly?”

“It was a letter I was given by one of the attackers, before the other attacker accidentally cleaved him in two. It was sent by someone named Blackheart, who I believe to be the man in the cloak who has been sending people after me. Based on the date on letter, this was sent to them before Liza was kidnapped and thus he gave them information that proved incorrect.

Ilane finished reading the letter and then passed it back to me. I gestured to Celka, in case she wished to read it, but she shook her head no.

“What has troubled me, is that he mentions he has a pawn waiting in Cartha. Other than Brant and his men, everyone we have had to deal with has been human. I worry his means it could be anyone in the town at this point and we would have no idea who they are. The next blood moon is a month away, but there is no guarantee that the pawn is even like Brant and his flunkies. One thing I do know for sure, this Blackheart is tied to the beast that killed my parents or is the bastard himself. The way he described how he would kill their families if they failed, his explanation was vicious and extremely violent and reminded me of what happened to my parents.”

Ilane had a blank stare on her face, as she looked on ahead of us, thinking of what I had just said. Liza reached out and handed me two sandwiches filled with cured meat, so I handed one to Ilane and we both quickly ate our food with no words exchanged. Everyone was quiet as we continued, rotating who was sleeping and driving the wagon. Once the horses slowed enough, I would pull us over, give them food and water and keep watch until morning. There was no attack that night and when sunrise came, I woke everyone up. We shared a quick meal and I went to rest, Celka and Liza taking point on guiding the horses. This was the routine that had been built as we made our way home, for the next few days. After the revelation of the contents of the note, a tension became present between everyone and with each kilometer we covered, it increased a little, bit. Celka or Ilane would check my shoulder wound and apply a poultice or bandage if it was needed. After a few days, the tension was thick enough to cut with a broadsword and if the tension was not dealt with soon, it would prove detrimental to everyone. Thankfully, it was Clive who finally broke the tension for everyone and it seemed like a good first step to fix things.

“Listen guys, I know that I got really ugly with all these scars,” he joked, with a dumb grin on his face. “but do not stop talking on my account. I was already pretty ugly to begin with, so these could not have done much to do worse”.

This got everyone laughing, even Clive, who was soon holding his sides from the pain the laughter had caused. The tension that had been building up, while not completely gone, had dissipated somewhat and I felt I needed to take the first step to help it dissipate further.

“Listen, I know everyone has been on edge since I told all of you what the letter said. It has made us paranoid, leading us to doubt our friends, both back home and here in this wagon. I know that you will always have my back, just as I will always be there for all of you, even you, Celka. I also do not believe that any of those I call friends, my new family, could be the one this monster has got serving him.”

There was little to say after that, and everyone shared the briefest of hugs, even Celka, and we made active efforts to talk and interact with one another. We were two days away from Cartha now and the anticipation to return home was building. We had not been followed or attacked after that incident and I did not see any sign of that wolf. My mind would wander to the animal and I could not shake the feeling it had protected me. That thought only filled my mind with more questions, ones that would need to be answered another time. Feeling confident that we would not be harassed any further, we decided to stop for our meals and give the horses a much-deserved rest from the pace of the last few days. Everyone agreed, as being cooped up together for as long as we had, began to take its toll. The lack of personal space and being free from others to think and calm your mind tends to lead to frayed nerves. The silence and tension was replaced with laughter and mirth. Clive was able to participate, and it was nice to see him up and about, instead of sedated and covered in bandages. He was still a bit banged up and would wince if he laughed too hard, but it did not seem to stop him. We were starting to run low on our reserves, but we had just enough to last us until we arrived at Cartha.

Soon, the rotation had Clive sitting with one of us as we drove the wagon, and the weather had been favorable. When it came to our turn, we were sitting in silence for about an hour, when he decided to speak up.

“Do you really think that the note was genuine? I mean it could have been written to throw you off and undermine your many friendships. I mean, how better to isolate you for the kill than to make you doubt everyone you know, on top of all the others you do not.”

He had a point, as I would be more vulnerable, if I did not trust all those who supported me. I could not shake the feeling that this was true, but I could not figure who it could be.

“I don’t know, Clive, the note was dated before we arrived, and mentioned the incident that befell you and Liza. It seems genuine, but the only one I could think to be the possible pawn is Lillian. She had an immediate dislike for me and wanted Violet for herself, not unlike the last person who tried to kill me.”

“Wow!” He said as he looked at me, wide eyed. “She must know that Violet loves you unconditionally, because everyone in town can see how she looks at you and reacts to your presence. You just have to be in the same room as her or be brought up in a conversation and her whole personality takes an emotional shift to a positive light.”

I shook my head, “I did not notice it, but they had a bit of a relationship prior to my return. In a way, I guess you could say, my showing up in Cartha stole Violet from her.”

“Still, Davik, she should also know that killing you would destroy Violet and she would never rest until she found the person responsible. I have seen her mad, my friend, and I hope to never be on the receiving end of her wrath.”

I laughed at that, “I know that all too well, she had one hell of a temper when we were kids and I would not be surprised if it has gotten worse with age.”

Clive joined me in laughing and I swear I could hear the women in the wagon snickering, as well, to what had been said.

“So, what will you do then? I mean the person will not just come forward and admit that this Blackheart person has them under his thumb.”

I shook my head and sighed, “I do not know, but if the last few days were any indication, he seems to be impatient. I would expect that it would only take a day or two before I would be confronted by the pawn.”

“If that is the case, your best bet would be to make sure you are not alone often. One man is easy to take on, but a few can even make a group think twice. I may not be in fighting from, but Trent is, and I am sure there are a few others who would help.”

Jerreth came to mind, and I reminded myself to find a way to thank and repay the man. We continued along, stopping for mid-day meal and the mood was getting more and lighter as the distance between us and Cartha lessened. Feeling rather emboldened, I grabbed the bow and quiver I had taken from the two men, and decided to test my ability, carefully. There were looks of worry and doubt on everyone’s faces as they saw me with them. I picked a tree and got into position, bringing the bow up to sight my target. Even with months of not being able to use one, the feeling was natural and comforting. I pulled back on the bowstring to test its tension and found it to be less than I was used to. Even Clive and Trent’s bows held more tension, but it did make my test even more important. If I could draw back a bow like this one without having an attack, I could be able to better defend myself and my friends. I then pulled the string as if I was taking a shot, feeling the tension grow as I pulled it farther back. I had it almost to firing position before I felt pressure on my shoulder that I remembered from the first attack.

Confident that I could manage it, I took an arrow from the quiver and nocked it. Bringing the arrow up to sight, adjusting for the wind and distance, I pulled the arrow back to firing position. The pressure was there, but it was not as bad as I had expected, and I felt pride begin to fill me. My pride was misplaced however, as just as I was about to release the arrow, my grip on it and the bow faltered. The arrow burst forth from the bow, but it missed the tree entirely and went deep into the nearby woods. I put the bow and quiver down near the fire and took my sword before heading into the forest to collect the arrow. Given the height it reached and how fast it left the bow, it could be five hundred meters into the forest at most. I began the arduous task of looking around and slowly expanding the width of my search area as I went. It took fifteen minutes of searching before I found the arrow. It had struck an oak tree, but it had not had enough velocity to embed itself into the tree. I picked up the arrow and turned to return to the camp when I found a black wolf in the path between me and the camp. Its piercing golden eyes looked upon me, with what almost seemed to be curiosity. I slowly brought my hand to the pommel of my sword and the wolf dropped into a defensive posture, a low growl emanating from it.

I moved my hand away, and the growling stopped, but its posture remained defensive and wary. I cursed not being able to use a bow and arrow, otherwise this thing would be dead already. It reminded me so much of the beast, but the size was all wrong and the features thinner and regal. It’s gaze never wavered, until the sounds of someone approaching broke the silence. The wolf bought its head up listening for who it was, with a last glance at me, the wolf darted into the woods and out of sight before the newcomer arrived. I had not felt fear when it had been here, but something still felt off about it. My gut was telling me that I was missing something, but I could not figure out what that something was. Soon, Ilane came into view, bow in hand and arrow nocked.