Chapter 1

I concentrated on my breathing while I kept my gaze on the old buck that was feeding itself just within arrow range. Last spring it had still been the head of the herd, but a few months ago it had been challenged and replaced by a young rival. Now the old buck was eating the fresh grass, gathering its strength. Once more I had to concentrate on my breathing, and I cursed silently.

It must have been the last two nights, when I had woken several times. I had sensed something that had worried me. It had not been a normal nightmare, more like someone had first flashed a bright light and then screamed, inside my head. After the first scream, there had been something like silent moaning that had continued almost inaudible, somewhere back there. That had been going on the whole day, yesterday, until it came to end just before sunset last night. After the sun had set, there hadn’t been anything but silence. However, I could still remember how I saw/felt/sensed those flashes and I had a feeling about their source. It didn’t feel sensible at all: those flashes or feelings coming through a solid wall.

The release of the arrow happened without my conscious thought. As soon as it was released, I knew that it would meet its target. The shot had been longish, and the circling wind made the conditions a bit challenging. Yet both the timing and aim had been close to perfect. The wind had ceased for a moment and the buck was relaxed. That shot would have made my father proud. As soon as the thought came to me, my jaw tightened. It had been a bit more than a year ago when my father had that fatal accident, and my mother had followed him only a few months later. She had been perfectly healthy up until the moment my father died, but after his death, it was like she had aged several months or even years each day. She was not a young woman when she came to our village and married my dad, who was close to his forties at that time. They had told me the fact that I came along was a surprise to them since my father was over forty at that time, and my mother was of approximately same age. I didn’t know for sure, as she never revealed her real age, but just smiled. Even if my arrival had been a surprise to them, it had been a pleasant one.

I saw the buck take two steps before it collapsed to the ground. In a way, I felt bad for the buck; but I also knew that had it stayed alive until next spring, it would have tried to reclaim its position in the herd. Only this time the new leader would be a year older and more experienced, so most likely he would have tried in vain. But being a buck and a former leader he would have tried - and probably would have died trying.

I kept an eye on my surroundings when I approached the fallen buck but the only things I could see were some birds who seemed annoyed because of my sudden appearance. Not that our valley had been free of predators, but both wolves and bears mostly avoided us humans. Only inexperienced cubs or old ones were desperate enough to try their luck close to the village, usually with bad results. I was just about to examine my kill more closely, when I once again sensed that flash - or ping since you cannot really sense a flash, right? - like a sound that you could see inside your head. Unlike normal sounds, I could ‘see’ the direction from wence it was coming. As soon as it had flashed it was over - without leaving any echo.

Now when I thought about it, I could remember that something similar had taken place, before. There had been some occurrences while my mother had still been alive, but none to really mention since then. The most powerful experience had been when I could not have been more than four years old and it was like I had felt a light coming through a solid wall. When I explained my experience to my mother, she was first very curious about it; but afterwards, she made me swear that I’d never mention anything about it to anyone. Later, I remembered seeing something like that again. There had been a feeling that it had happened close to me, but never before had I faced equal intensity. Those flashes I had noticed a few days back had been very powerful, but they hadn’t been close. I forced those thoughts to the background and concentrated on the dead buck in front of me. Yes, I was curious, but curious people become hungry. Curious young men even more often than some others. Taking care of my prey took my thoughts away from other things.

“Oh, Stian!”

Feeling my fiancée Saga kissing me, reminded me quite nicely that there are some other newfound pleasantries in life, besides eating. The only problem was that as we were still only engaged, we shouldn’t know about those things at all.

“How come you always manage to catch some big game while the others have problems while chasing rabbits?”

“Maybe I’m more motivated than some others. Besides, I have two rabbits in my backpack, too.”

After saying that, I kissed her back while also being careful not to stain the dress she was wearing. I had washed myself and cleaned the deer but hunting was sort of a messy business, and I wanted to avoid doing anything that might put me in a bad light with her parents. For an orphan, I was quite a well off in our village, but I didn’t really have any influence on people - and Saga’s parents were influential people in our village, partly by heritage and partly by profession.

“Careful, Saga, I don’t want your mother to get angry at me for ruining your dress.”

She pulled back a bit and cocked her head while looking at me. Then I could see a smile forming on those delicious lips just before she leaned back close to my left ear.

“Luckily for you, she doesn’t know you have already ruined her daughter. Oh well, you have really ruined her.”

Hearing her teasing whisper and feeling her warm breath on my ear was almost enough to make me fully hard.

Luckily, I was able to hear that there were some other people approaching us. According to what I could hear, there would be Saga’s father Hemming Berg and Torvald Horn, a merchant and self-selected leader of our village. But there were some other voices, voices I couldn’t recognize and also the sounds of boots on the gravel. Before I could ask anything, Saga pulled back and spoke like she had read my thoughts. Well, sometimes I was sure that she WAS able to read my thoughts, especially when those thoughts were related to her. On the other hand, my thoughts regarding her were quite simple ones as Saga was an attractive girl...

“Guardians are visiting our village. Isn’t that exiting?!”

She continued telling how a group of the Guardians had suddenly appeared in our village early in the morning, and they had wanted to meet the leaders of our village. The Guardians! At some point in their youth all young boys dream about becoming a Guardian. There are a numerous stories about brave men who patrolled around and protected the common people from all kinds of monsters and threats. Grown-up people often denied the whole existence of those monsters but I wasn’t that certain. Having spent half my life getting dirty in the forests - at least that was what my mother had claimed - I had seen some things that made me wonder if some bit of truth was behind those stories. Then there were those episodes during which I had seen and heard things the others hadn’t. Sometimes I had even seen the Guardians in our valley but usually from a distance.

“ ... and one them is a woman. A woman! Have you ever heard about a female Guardian?!”

I had to smile to Saga’s enthusiasm. So the Guardians were visiting our village and they had already seen some of the most important people of our community, even if self-proclaimed. However, I couldn’t help wondering if this sudden appearance of the Guardians had something to do with my recent experiences.

“I have told you, Saga, girls can do anything they really want to do!”

Saga stopped and smiled while looking at me, and then she licked her lips while squeezing my finger. Watching her to do that didn’t help at all with the pressure I started to feel in my groin, since I remembered quite well what Saga was able to do with her tongue and lips. I groaned while rolling my eyes, and Saga let out a small giggle before slowing down.

“They’ll be here soon. I heard that the Guardians are quite tired and hungry, since they haven’t had time to hunt while they were chasing something.”

Suddenly things clicked inside my head. Spring had been late this year, and by my birthday at the Northward Equinox there had still been a lot of snow on the ground. Now the spring was fast catching up but for many families the stores were running thin. There would be no famine, but besides heavily salted meat and the most common vegetables, there weren’t many options. To add to the issue, the other hunters seemed to have had serious problems finding good game during their missions lately - and spring was certainly no time to start butchering any domestic animals. I could not help sighing a bit, and Saga looked at me compassionately.

“I know, Stian, it sucks. But think of it as one more favor to my dad. After all those things you have done to help us, and all that meat and fish you have given to them during the winter, he cannot really speak against our engagement - and marriage.”

That comment and her enthusiasm brought a little smile to my face, since it was very true. Even if the house I had inherited from my parents was one of the nicest ones in the village, it wasn’t enough to make me the most tempting bachelor around. Okay, I knew that I looked quite okay, even if a bit different than most of the villagers with my blond hair and lean frame. It had been only lately that I started adding some visible muscle on the top of my bones. Meanwhile, Saga was the eldest child of the most successful breeder around. Not only that, she was a smart and pretty girl with auburn hair, a cute smile, and dimples. Not to forget those delicious lips and a very wicked tongue. From there my thoughts started to travel even more south and the smile on my face widened. My thoughts were interrupted with a punch to my ribs.

“Ouch! What did I do NOW, Saga?”

“You thought about IT, didn’t you? If my father sees you, he’ll immediately guess what we have been doing the last few months.”

I would have liked to respond to her with a good jab, but two things stopped me. First, she had been absolutely right - and more importantly, the approaching people just came into line of sight from behind the evergreen bushes. Saga must have guessed it as the look on my face turned more serious. That didn’t stop her making faces at me. I managed to keep my face straight, but just barely. I whispered to Saga between my lips.

“You’ll pay for that, little girl. You’ll pay for that.”

“Ooh, promises, promises.”

However, after whispering back to me, she also turned to face the people walking towards us.

“Look, Daddy, I told you that Stian would be able to catch something. Besides that buck, he also has two rabbits!”

I almost winced after Saga’s happy announcement, since my fears were confirmed when I noticed how the looks changed on the faces of the approaching people. I was already sure that I’d need to give away the buck ‘for the common good,’ but I had hoped that I could keep the rabbits and make some stew for myself. Okay, I was not going to starve, since I had plenty of salted or dried meat and fish left for one - or even two persons - but I had hoped that I’d be able to have some fresh meat for a change. I could have then traded or even given some of my stored stuff to some families who weren’t so lucky. I made sure not to let my feelings show when I looked at the approaching people. Four men and one woman; Saga’s father Hemming and Torvald - the village merchant I knew and I showed my compliments by nodding to them even if my real attention was on the Guardians.

Immediately I could tell that these three people were not normal Guardians. These were no rank and file men or Corporals like the men I had sometimes seen patrolling somewhere in our area. I sometimes met and talked with some of them and at some point I had questioned my father about the bars in their Guardian suits. No, none of those three Guardians were normal rank and file! The eldest of them was a man with a tanned skin, and some gray on his temples. Thanks to the teachings of my father, I could tell that he was a Sergeant and probably quite an experienced one. The youngest of the group had some bars belonging to a Lieutenant. From the way he looked, I guessed that he quite likely was the leader of the group; or at least, he believed himself to be. I avoided directly looking at the last of the Guardians. Not because she was a woman - and quite a good looking woman, probably in her thirties - but because I could feel her eyes on me. I could almost feel her eyes examining me: my body, my looks and my light hair.

It was Saga’s father who opened the discussion after noticing the buck I was still carrying on my shoulders.

“Holy earth, Saga, you were right. Even if almost everybody else comes back empty-handed, this young man manages to catch something.”

That brought some more looks in my direction from the other people. Well, almost all of them, since the young Lieutenant really did seem clueless - or distracted. The looks from the Guardian woman with some strange bars on her suit and the one from the Sergeant showed some curiosity while the look from Torvald was almost hostile. In a way I could understand that. My prey didn’t directly help his business. I nodded to all of them.

“Thank you, Sir. My dad was the best possible teacher. Madam, Sirs - what is so important that it brings an expert, a Lieutenant, a Sergeant and several patrolmen to our little village?”

Okay, I was laying it on a bit thick here. On the other hand, I was a young man with quite a limited amount of chances to shine, and I was not going let this opportunity pass. Especially if they would be eating MY venison, later today. To tell the truth, I didn’t really know her position, but I DID know that sometimes the Guardians had some specialized people, experts, with them on their trips. The surprised looks on their faces were enough to tell me that I had it right.

“Stian, go and drop that deer to the Berg house - and the rabbits, too. Our guests are hungry. I’m sure you can easily catch something more for yourself.”

“But of course, Mr. Horn, My mother would never have allowed OUR guests to remain hungry. Should I also pick up some potatoes and carrots too from MY cellar?”

I could see Torvald’s face redden from anger but after commanding me like that there was no way that I’d be calling him ‘sir.’ I was sure that he was ready to take all possible credit regarding this visit, without spending any of his own resources. Shit, I would also bring some vegetables since I knew that even if the Bergs were well off, their cellar wasn’t as well stocked as mine was at this time of the year. Saga had two younger siblings and especially as her brother was now growing rapidly - and it was a common joke that he ate more than three adults. Besides, I really, really wanted to stay on the good side of Saga’s parents.

I was about to excuse our guests and start walking towards Saga’s home when one of our Guardian guests stopped me by touching my hand. I was a bit surprised to see that it was their expert, the woman in her thirties.

“I think it would be very rude just to accept a nice meal and leave out the person who provided it. Besides, I’m sure that my companions would like to know how a hunter in a village in a far-off valley could recognize our ranks.”

“Thank you, Madam. I’d be delighted, but only if Mr. Berg also agrees. Sir?”

Then I turned to look Saga’s father but I could see that this lady Guardian could not fully hide her amusement. Internally I sighed, since I knew that it wouldn’t do me any good to anger Torvald. I’d need his services and merchandise in the future, and he’d make sure that I’d need to pay for embarrassing him. Literally pay - and dearly.

“Stian, of course you are welcome to our house. I’m sure that Saga would make sure that my morning porridge would either be too salty or fully tasteless if I’d prevent you from coming.”

Whooa! That was a whole lot more support than I usually got from him.

“Thank you, sir.”

“Stian, we both know that you have made sure that we have had fresh meat or fish through the winter. Saga could do a lot worse.”

There were some chuckles and smiles when Saga kissed her father on the cheek, and me on the mouth, probably for the first time in public. It suddenly occurred to me that she also wanted to show the lady Guardian that I was hers. Well, I didn’t mind.

Once we agreed about the meal, I turned to Saga.

“Saga, dear, would you please take some potatoes and carrots from my cellar. Otherwise your kid brother may stop growing!”

Our late lunch - or early dinner - could have been better if there had been more time to prepare the meat, but none of our Guardian guests seemed to mind. I was equally sure that those rabbits in the stew weren’t all soft but after looking how hungry our guests were, I was quite sure that the men didn’t mind either. I complemented Saga’s mother about the way she had used the herbs, and our guests seconded me almost immediately afterwards.

It was a bit crowded and Saga and her siblings, together with her mother, were forced to eat in one of the bedrooms since two other important villagers had joined us at their dinner table. Out of them, our miller was an older, silent man; while the owner of the largest farm was clearly one of Mr. Horn’s lackeys, plain and simple. Strong ale was being served throughout the meal and I could see how it had its effect on all who enjoyed it. Well, that was everybody except that female Guardian and me.

Before the meal, I had helped a bit with the deer and the rabbits but after that there was not much for me to do. Saga’s father had gone to take care of their animals and he had taken Saga’s kid brother with him. I had considered spending some time with the leading Guardians, but Mr. Horn monopolized them and had made it clear that I wasn’t welcome there. After that I had tried for a moment to socialize with the common Guardians, but while they were polite to the hunter who had provided rabbits to their stew, it also was clear that they were told not to reveal anything about their mission.

As I didn’t want to anger them or look like a whining child, I left those three men by themselves stirring their stew and enjoying their ale. Instead I decided to do something useful - which in this case was taking care of and playing with Saga’s kid sister. She would soon be facing her sixth summer. Maybe it was because I hadn’t had any siblings of my own I had no problems in playing Saga’s younger siblings. Of course, it didn’t bother me at all that my actions had rewarded me with a quick kiss on the cheek from Saga and a smile from her mother. At that moment I really felt accepted by Saga’s parents.

At some point, the ale was replaced by something the farmer had distilled, and all the other men had had enough of the strong ale not to care about the pungent taste of the spirit. That stingy farmer had probably picked the most awful-tasting bottle from his storage, but nobody complained since the good metallic pipes and other tools needed in distilling process were so expensive that hardly anybody else could afford such equipment. I didn’t care for the spirit too much, but nobody seemed to notice that the level of that liquid hardly changed in my cup.

“Tell us, Stian - wasn’t it Stian? How come you are able catch something since our little party couldn’t see any animals on our way here?”

Up until that moment I had mostly stayed away from all the discussions that had taken place at the table. However, I had been listening. I already knew that this little party of Guardians was after something they didn’t want to speak about, and they had also lost at least one important member of their group during that chase. It was referred to as an accident but their eyes told me something different. As they were a bit short of supplies and shaken by this accident, they had decided to visit our village. Besides, all the towns and villages were required to give support to the Guardians in exchange for protection they were given.

All those thoughts rushed through my mind while I tried to figure out what to answer. What could I tell? That I just somehow knew or rather sensed where the animals were? No, not even my father had known that.

“My father was the best tracker and hunter I’ve ever known. I followed him closely for some years. I think that I learned from the best.”

“But our men are quite good hunters and they couldn’t catch - or even see - anything.”

It was clear that she was not happy with my answer; but I just smiled to her just the way I had smiled at my mother when I wanted to get away with something I had done. It had usually failed back then and I didn’t really expect to be successful now - but I was sure that it would piss her off. I really didn’t like being pushed around.

“Maybe I’m just a bit better. Besides, I live here and they don’t.”

Suddenly, I wondered if I had made a mistake since instead of looking pissed she just smiled a knowing smile back to me. That kind of smile that told me that she knew that I was bullshitting all of them and she fully accepted it. I was quite sure that all the other people at that table were too befuddled to understand what had just transpired between that female Guardian and me. Even though I kept on smiling, I started to wonder if I had just done something really stupid. From the corner of my eye I could see that Saga was following the discussion by the door while she also made sure that all the men had something alcoholic to drink. Our gazes met briefly and the smile she gave to me was enough to give a warm feeling to my chest.