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It made no sense for a woman to be lurking in the ruins of Old Rahvin. The place was miserable and abandoned. There were far better places for a woman to lurk. Unless she was lurking there with the intention of hurting men, unless the unlikely story told to him by the travelers was true.
He stifled the urge to call out. She knew he was there, and he knew she had proven hostile. The plan was still to catch her. He just needed a different bait.
He had something else in his satchel, something sweet. An old ration he kept in case an orphan deserved a treat. Orphans and women were similar in many respects. Both responded positively to kaoko beans roasted, crushed with honey and milk, and set into a solid block which melted deliciously when put into the mouth.
Bryn placed the second offering nearer the door of the hut he had seen the flash of fabric, laying it out on top of the oiled parchment it had been wrapped inside.
“Are you setting the world’s smallest buffet?”
The voice was distorted, coming as it did from the distance and the shadows.
“Come out, lass, I’m not going to hurt you.”
“Bryn?”
The monster knew his name. And he knew her voice.
Hail stepped out of the hut. She looked precisely as she had the last day he had seen her. Except that she did not. She looked like a shadow version of herself. Her skin was more pale than it had been, closer to pallid. Her hair was a darker auburn. Her eyes were a murky green, the color of swamp. She was not more than a few days older than she had been, though years had passed.
She was wearing the tatters of what might have been a dress at some point, but had been ripped and torn, matted with mud and blood, much of it not hers. His first thought was that she needed a bath.
“Lass!” There was excitement in his voice, a genuine pleasure and thrill. He took a step forward, his arms open wide. She did not smile, and she took a hasty step back when he came forward.
“You’ve come to kill me. Haven’t you. To appease the rapists and the bandits who pass this way and call me monster.”
“No, lass. I’m not going to kill you. I’m going to take you home. You’ve been away for too long.”
Hail’s lower lip quivered. She shook her head swiftly.
“What about the others? The whelps?”
“Adopted. All of them. Or grown.”
“And you’ve not found any more strays? I hardly believe it, Bryn. You can’t help yourself. Anything young and vulnerable, you can’t help yourself. Until they get older, and more troublesome. Then you can’t wait to get rid of them.”
She was bitter. He understood why. Though years had passed in his realm, only a matter of days had elapsed in the Dark. For him, the entire matter had been forgiven, if not forgotten. For Hail, the fight was still fresh. She had not grown or matured in three years. She was still the young woman she had been, one who had no doubt been subjected to the most foul and carnal appendages of the Dark.
“I can’t help myself. But I hope I can help you, lass. Come on home.”
“There’s no going back home. You told me that. This is my home now.”
“And what a lovely hovel it is.” Bryn cracked a smile. “I have missed you, lass. More than I can say. Den’s not been the same without you.”
“That’s on you, Bryn. You sent me away, remember.”
“I’ll never forget, lass. I didn’t send you away, though. I asked you to stop performing rituals which would bring death to all. You refused. I came to save you, and you refused to be saved.”
Her eyes flared with that old offense she always took when she was wrong. “Is that what you came here to do? To tell me it was my fault?”
“I came here to handle a monster attacking casual…”
“Rapists.”
“Yes. I’ll never be angry at you for defending yourself, lass. You know that.”
“Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t talk to me like I’m still… yours.”
“You are still mine.”
“I’m not. I’m his. He left me here with abilities I never had when I was yours. I can take care of myself now. I can make men bleed if they try to touch me.”
“I’m glad of that.”
“Are you.”
“I’m glad to see you this side of the veil, girl.” Bryn’s voice cracked with relief. He was not just glad. He was overwhelmed with joy. The one he thought he had lost had returned against all odds, and she was intact.
“I’m not.”
“You’re not what.”
“I’m not this side of any veil. I can’t go past that bridge over there. I’ve been stuck here ever since the Dark cast me out. He’s punishing me. I annoyed him. I can’t go back. I can’t go on. I’m trapped. Here. You can’t take me home, Bryn.”
