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“Right, well, strange things have been happening. Servants who go wherever without asking, mysterious men in wolf pelt cloaks, and ladies who are comfortable wielding weapons. The most alarming is the reports of missing stable boys.” I swallowed, my fingers playing with the fraying edge of my sleeve. “My cousin was attacked, and I witnessed several Bruralian guards... burying his body.”
“You witnessed this?” His voice was sharp, and I nodded, fighting a quiver. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
I bit my lip, fighting the urge to correct him. Will being alive was a miracle, but the same fact could put him in danger.
“Thank you.”
“Did anyone see or know that you witnessed this?” he asked.
“I dragged his body back to the castle. I yelled for the guards and Captain Marcus. They took us straight to your grandmother,” I answered, confident that no one knew what I’d witnessed except Captain Marcus, Will, Epione, myself and the mystery man. Hell, I didn’t think anyone even knew yet that Will had survived.
“I see,” he murmured, then lifted his tankard and took a sip. “It’s fortunate that no one knows you witnessed it, but you should act as if they do. These people aren’t people like you and me. They are more beast than human.”
Alarmed by his words, I just stared at him, because they were exactly how my father described the enemy in his letters.
“You… you were a soldier,” I guessed, but that shadow I saw in his eyes was answer enough. “You fought them.”
“Fought them. Killed them. Spied on them. You name it, I did it,” he confirmed, then took another long drink. “I was best at the spying bit. I have keen ears, you see. I grew up hunting, waiting patiently for my prey, so my hearing became keener because of that. While I’m good at it, the best some would say, the Bruralians are better.
“Too many times they seemed to know our movements before we did. At every turn, they were there, waiting for us. We took to calling them mind readers because it was the only explanation. Until I used my skills to draw close enough to a camp to overhear their plans. They spoke strangely, about scenting the enemy, smelling their fear, and hearing our hearts beating. I may have keen ears but even I can’t hear a heart beating in someone else’s chest. It made sense though. They were spying on us just like we were trying to do to them.”
John paused for another drink.
“I had the commander humor me and try written correspondence, only for a time, to test if what I’d learned was true. It was. Somehow, the lot of them could hear our plans as we were making them. It would have been our undoing if we hadn’t switched to writing out orders.”
“That’s incredible.” And it truly was. My hearing was better than most, but I wouldn’t describe it as a skill in itself, more like a part of it.
“Yes, stroke of luck really,” he said, then burped loudly.
“Your grandmother sent me to you because she felt you could help me.” It was hard, but I did my best not to comment on his behavior.
“Not sure what sort of help I can give you.” He shrugged, then motioned for a refill.
“The Bruralians are up to something, and somehow, my cousin is part of it. Do you know why stable boys would suddenly go missing? Everything started once they arrived.” I was also intrigued by their culture.
“They most certainly are, but finding out what is the hard part,” he mused, and I understood why. “Tell me, did your cousin have any big marks to him? Something like this?” Reaching up, John pulled his shirt away from his shoulder, revealing a grotesque scar. It looked like something had bitten him, but it didn’t stop there. It appeared like a chunk of skin, tissue, and muscle had been removed.
“No, his injuries weren’t that extensive.” I swallowed; his wound looked life threatening. It was amazing he was still alive.
“I was sent back here, and my grandmother fixed me right up,” John confessed, yet there was an undercurrent to his tone that I couldn’t read.
“I’m glad you’re alright. I can’t imagine the pain. If my cousin had sustained a wound like that, he surely would have died.” Thank the mother goddess for sparing him such a gruesome injury.
“Wait, your cousin is still alive?” John asked, startled, and I could have kicked myself. I hadn’t meant to reveal that.
“Yes, he’s with Epione now and doing better,” I answered.
“Maiden’s tit, that’s not good,” he mumbled, and I doubted I’d heard him right. Why would it not be good that he was alive?
“Pardon?” I needed clarification.
“If your cousin is alive, there’s no bite wound, and there’s a possibility they know he’s alive and that you witnessed him being buried… Damnit, it’s not good at all.”
“Why? I don’t understand.”
“One thing I learned while fighting in this war, is that Bruralians don’t leave survivors, and if they do, it’s because they’ve been marked,” he explained, pointing to his scarred shoulder.
“What are you saying?”
