Chapter 11

I awoke with a start, the last residual emotions of the dream leaching out of me. I felt disgusted with my body each time the dreams happened, but I knew more, now. I knew the monster’s voice, as well as a bit of what he looked like. Still, to see him help murder his father while I watched through his own eyes was unsettling. The feelings of superiority, glee and even arousal were disgusting, and I felt tainted by them. I looked over and saw that Lillian was still resting, so I went and got clothes, a towel, along with my soap and headed for the river. My mind kept drifting over all the horrible things I had seen over the past few days, as well as what I had learned. It had been almost two weeks since the night with Ruben, my change and leaving Cartha. In that short time, so much had happened, and I had not taken much time to process it. It seemed like something new was happening before I knew it.

I shed my clothes and stepped into the water. Though the weather was growing milder, it was still rather brisk, and my breath caught as I entered it. I made my way in, until I was waist deep, and began to focus on washing myself. As I washed, I felt the clutter of all the thoughts on my mind fall away. It seemed to help me focus on each individual thought better.

Ruben and my father were irrevocably tied to the old one, Brenson. He was a Voguel that escaped persecution in his home province and had been hiding out here. His shop, which was also his home, showed that he had been trying to do something to some of the villagers. I believe he was trying to turn them but did not have much success. The ones that would fail, he would devour during the blood moon after he had locked himself in the room that had housed the eaten body parts.

He took my father and Ruben to some place that was like his shop, perhaps larger. It was at least two to three weeks travel on foot from Cartha based on what I could surmise from the journal. It gave me a dwelling to locate that could have more clues, but that would be something to find later.

My father and Ruben injured him in their escape, which could be why he sounds so funny. A wound like the ones he suffered should have killed him, but Lillian had confirmed that even before she tried to cure herself, she healed faster than normal. She also said that she healed even faster while in wolf form. Since they escaped just before the blood moon, he could have survived it. Fergus had said that he had looked relatively young and strong, given he was a hunter, but the dream showed a withered and much older man.

Lillian was possibly a descendant of Brenson, given how many things matched up. However, thanks to an attempt at curing herself, she instead gave herself full control over the transformation. Along with it, she does not have the change forced on her by the blood moon. The tests that were created to identify Voguel result in her passing as human. If that is the case, if Brenson learns of his connection to her, her life could become in jeopardy.

I now felt real fear at the possibility that he could learn how to become like Lillian. We did not know if a bite from her wolf could turn a person and I did not think she would want to try and find out. If I could send her somewhere safe, to protect her from all this, I would. Still, I knew her loyalty to Violet and our friends would not allow her to stay out of it.

Brenson made her stake in this fight a personal one. There was also the strange pull I felt from her, it reminded me of my love for Violet, but this seemed more primal. I wondered if what had happened to me, the change I had gone through, might be part of the cause.

Still, I would have to be mindful of that and I knew that I would have to talk to Violet about all of it. She deserved to know, first and foremost, but it also was because they had been close before I had returned. I had a feeling that the books we had uncovered would shine further light on the Voguel and on Brenson. I only hoped that Celka would be able to read them, as the characters were close to the ones, she had in a few of her books, though there were slight variations.

I also hoped that Celka would stick around and help us deal with this bastard once and for all. Knowing her, she would still be trying to figure out what happened to me, as well as how the supposed cure worked. Given the continued revelations I was discovering, I knew that I would only be here a few more days. There was too much going on and too much at stake to try and hide away out here.

I had tried to use the many small, mundane tasks to help me learn control of my incredible strength. I had used hunting and traversing the woods to try and hone the other unique abilities that had been surfacing. While I wished I had more time, I would have to trust that I had learned enough for now, so as not to hurt the ones I loved. I hoped that Violet would not be too angry at me for being away, but knowing her, I would be getting an ear full.

As I pulled myself out of my thoughts, I realized that I had almost used up a lot of my soap, and there were parts of my body I had yet to clean. As I focused on finishing my bath, I heard the snap of a twig and turned to see Lillian watching me with a smirk on her face.

“I wondered how long it would be before you started washing the rest of you, I have never seen a person wash their abdomen for thirteen minutes, like that.”

“Why were you watching, Lillian?” I asked with a mild blush. “I thought we agreed we would refrain until we had both talked to Violet?”

“You were the one who made those terms,” she said as her smile widened. “However, I never agreed to the terms. Even if I had, which I will agree to, you said no contact. You never mentioned anything about looking, so I will look if I can. You are a rather fine specimen of a man, and I have not found a male anything other than repulsive for a very long time.”

I rinsed myself quickly and made a dash for my clothes, using my hands to hide my man parts. Lillian giggled at the display and watched as I turned away to dress. Once I was in my clean ones, I turned to find Lillian taking off her last item of clothing, her shirt. I watched as she pulled it over her head and her large breasts bounced as they dropped back into their resting position. Though I had seen them before I marveled at the brazen act she had performed, as I could tell it had been deliberate. My assumption was confirmed when she walked to me, naked as the day she was born, and gently took the soap from my hand. I then felt a slight amount of shame as I watched her walk into the river, my eyes glancing at her ample bottom. She squealed as she felt the cold water but then went out until it was just below her breasts.

I broke my gaze and collected my things before I returned to the camp. Her display had provided the effect I had hoped the bath would, clearing my mind of the many thoughts fighting for dominance.

I placed my dirty clothes in the pack and then took the last of the cured rabbit meat to cook for our morning meal. It was simply some of the meat, with a side of some apples I still had from before. Lillian returned just as I finished the meal, thankfully dressed, but she still had a mischievous look in her eye. We ate in relative silence, and I collected her plate when we were finished.

“So, Davik, what is the plan? Are we going to hide out here for a while? I do not mind the idea, but I know that both of us would be missed, if we are not already.”

I gave it some thought before replying. “We will spend a few more days out here, trying to understand your abilities and mine, before we head back. I need to know what you are capable of, not just to better fight Brenson, but also to know how to use your strengths to help in a fight. You will need to learn about what I can do, so you can better understand what may have happened to me and to learn how to use my help in a fight.”

“Ok, I can agree with that,” she said with a slight nod of the head. “Are you going to tell Violet? You know, about what I am and what I can do?”

I looked at Lillian and saw a pleading look on her face, along with genuine fear. She was afraid of how Violet would react, given what had happened since that night, years ago. She was right to fear. Though Lillian had gained my trust, both as a person and a wolf, she had not done the same with Violet.

“No Lillian, I will not be telling her,” I said with a reassuring smile. “That information is not for me to tell her, it is yours. It is your secret and divulging it would directly affect you in ways we are not even sure about, yet.”

I saw her visibly relax as I said this, and I knew I had done the right thing. I knew that we would have a lot of work ahead of us and that it would be a difficult journey ahead. But I was becoming more confident that we would prevail.

Since it did not look like there was much more to the journal, I asked Lillian if she minded me reading some more. She smiled and said she was going to go to the second cave and try to see if she was healed enough to change. If she was, she planned to go and hunt some pheasant for dinner. I nodded and collected the journal from my pack, sitting before the fire and going to the next entry.

First week of Herbismand fifteen forty-seven

It has been a week since we returned home, and it has been both a joyous and somber occasion. When we arrived at the village limits, we both felt some trepidation at our return. Would our parents scold us, would they welcome us, would they have missed us at all? We took a deep breath and walked into town, hoping that we would be recognized quickly. It was still early morning and there were only a handful of people moving about in the town. They were too preoccupied with their tasks, that they did not even give us a second look. Even the guards we passed did not seem to worry who we were, or what we were up to. We agreed to try my house first, and we made our way through the town, until we found ourselves outside my door. I took a couple of deep breaths and then knocked, on the door, my anxiety building. After a few minutes, we were surprised that no one came, so I knocked again, only harder. After a few minutes we tried to investigate one of the windows, but the inner shutter was closed, which was not uncommon in the winter months.

Resigned to the idea that my parents may just not be home we went to Stevan’s house, hoping his parents would be there. Like me he was worried about what would happen and took a deep breath before he knocked on their door. We heard movement inside, I was worried and hid around the side of the house and soon heard the latch opening to reveal Stevan’s father. He squinted at Stevan and asked who he was an what he wanted. Stevan asked if he recognized him, and I could hear the gasp his father recognized something in his voice. His father was overcome with emotion and grasped at his son as he wailed. His wife came running when he heard it and once her husband told her who it was, she joined him.

Once they had calmed a bit, Stevan asked why there was no answer at my house. I listened as they explained how my parents had spent the nearly every day since we left searching for me. However, a few weeks ago they had gotten ill and could not shake it. They were buried last week in the village cemetery. The whole village had attended, and they had spent a few days mourning the loss. I made my way out from behind the side of the house, and his parents noticed me. They asked who I was and if I had come back with them. Just as Stevan was about to talk, I answered calling myself Ruben, after my elder father. I then went on to say that Davik had unfortunately died from a wolf attack a before they had made it back. They felt bad about my death, but welcomed me with open arms, as a friend. I felt bad about lying, but my life as Davik had been one full of mischief and problems. I hoped that my new live as Ruben would give me the chance to do things better this time around.

I sat there in shock as I finished reading the latest journal entry, not sure what to make of it. While I was saddened to hear of his parents passing, learning that he not only faked his death but also that his birth name had been Davik, astonished me.

I guess I knew now where my father had come up with the name. It was still shocking to learn it. My father would never reveal where the name had come from, his face growing pained when I asked. Knowing the events of the journal made me understand both him and why he reacted that way.

I looked around and Lillian was nowhere to be seen. I checked the second cave and found her discarded clothes. She must have been successful in her change into her wolf form and gone out hunting. I went and found a quick snack and some Ice Berry wine before returning to the fire to continue reading the journal.

Second week of Brahmand fifteen fifty-one

It has been four years since our return, and my sixteenth birthday is fast approaching. Stevan has begun courting a lovely woman named Ivy, and they have become quite close. I do not know if he will tell her about our other nature, but maybe he will not need to. I of course hope that everything works out, as I have never seen him so happy. He has worked hard these past few years, learning to be a blacksmith like his father. Everyone has been impressed how fast he has learned how to be one and his father is being surprised every day. His father has mentioned a few times around the dinner table, how impressed he is with how Stevan has learned and improved all the techniques that have been passed to him. I have spent the last three years as an apprentice to the village carpenter, I have found a fondness for working with wood. Like Stevan I have developed better ways to create the same result, and even new things that have impressed my teacher. He is hopeful that I will one day take over the shop in his stead.