A fabled wall, marking the territory of the werewolves and adorned with the severed skull of a once great alpha, stands between Natalya and her prey.
When she finds the body of Anesa, her beloved mentor, she is determined to hunt down the vampire r...
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She did not have long to find out. The very next day, they buried Anesa. Nearly every citizen turned up for the event, held right outside of the weathered church. Flowers blossomed in every field and adorned the mahogany coffins while the sun shone overhead. Natalya could not help but feel thankful that Anesa's passing would be marked by such a beautiful ceremony.
She approached the casket to give her own last farewells before her mentors body would be forever enfolded into pitiless earth. She stood stock still against the prodigious hole, and it was as if every other person had disappeared. For the moment Natalya was lost in her grief, as if she had been turned to a marble figure that could not be moved from her vigil.
She looked down at Anesa and was shocked at how peaceful the woman now looked. Her body had been cleaned of the blood that had blemished her, and it was as if it had only been age that had taken her. Her worn hand still clasped the red rose to her breast, and a smile still lingered on her lips.
The lips that would never again guide her with Anesa's soothing voice. Who will watch over Valwood now that you are gone? Natalya wanted to scream, but with so many watching she did not dare give voice to what she truly wanted to say. Instead, she contented herself with mentally thanking the woman for everything she had taught her.
"Good bye," she finally murmured as the men began to pour dirt into the grave. They slowly closed the lid until the woman disappeared from view and dust showered over the casket.
As Anesa's body was lowered into the ground, Natalya finally saw the sorrow she had been harboring reflected in her neighbor's faces. She saw their confusion as well, for it was clear that no one knew for sure how Anesa had died. Natalya knew that whispers and murmurings of her absence had traveled through the city like wildfire, flecked with fear and peppered with rumors until no one but Natalya was quite sure what was fact and what had been made up. Only one thing was clear, there was not one among them that would be unaffected by her passing.
The elders were giving their last good byes to Anesa when Natalya came out of her preoccupation. They stood over the grave with their heads bowed, murmuring amongst themselves.
Natalya took a seat towards the back next to Kaima and waited for the elder at the podium to speak. She could see he wanted to announce something, and she raised her head in interest. At her side, Kaima squeezed her hand reassuringly. Her father, Elder Greg Vrushko, approached the podium, and Natalya could only listen incredulously to the speech he now delivered.
"Citizens of Valwood!" Natalya's father cried from the podium, overlooking the crowd. "Anesa was a revered fortune teller and respected by all who knew her. Her wisdom guided Valwood through times of turmoil and peace. And now we assemble as one under Zulae, benign Wolf Goddess of the Moon, to pray that she take her gently in her arms. May she find peace in the afterlife as she did not find peace in this life."
Her people nodded and bowed their heads in grace for the woman's soul. But Elder Greg's next words had once again commanded their rapt attention.
"It is now time you have all learned the truth about what has really befallen our beloved Fortune Teller! I tell you now that it was the werewolves who have killed her and it is them that will pay!"
