Betty and The Beast Slayer (Book One: Deliverance)

Chapter Nine: Baptism

Marcus and I trailed through the woods, walking down a slightly worn path. It was a lovely day, despite the events that had already transpired. The sun broke through the treetops and a gentle breeze sifted through my hair, tempting me to feel at ease. It was tempting to believe that I had not been assaulted by the devil's army moments earlier, since it was a temperate and warm spring day.

"You have been this way before," I said.

"Lady Rebecca has a superstition about the blood of those creatures. If I get it on my clothing, she makes me jump in the local creek and wash off. I come back covered in mud and twigs, but she claims it is preferable."

"Rebecca is as though a mother to you, I suppose. Unless you and she..."

"Oh no," Marcus chuckled. "The only woman I have been with is Ida, a decision which I can only defend with the mention of my propensity to drink hard ciders. Rebecca and I are a family of sorts, so I would never look at her with lust."

"So, where would Samson run to? Has he ever left before?"

"Once," Marcus sighed. "But we have been through so much that I assume he would be steady. Those beasts were different, methodical. And that bloody whispering is purely terrifying."
"You heard the whispers, too."

"Towards the end, yes, I heard the whispers. Samson did not care for speaking beasts. If I had to guess, I would assume he will run to the water. The beasts don't often come there, since I presume the undead cannot swim."

"I hope he returns to you," I replied.

We carried on for a while, not speaking much. Despite the chaotic nature of the last few hours, a sense of excitement filled me. Marcus was stone-faced as he walked since he probably was still looking out for potential threats. Something about the woods and the sound of our footsteps kept my spirits up.

"Marcus, may I ask you some more about your life?" I asked.

"I suppose, but the creek is moments away."

"Have you ever been in love," I asked, the question surprised me as it left my lips.

"No," he said curtly. "Most of the women are dead, these days. Or entirely uninteresting."

"Oh," I said. "And what of God? What do you believe in?"

"Justice," he said, frankly. "And the fact that for the moment, I am still breathing."

"I see," I said. "So if you find your justice and we defeat Roan, then what will you seek?"
He turned to me, stopping on his path. I stumbled into him, his hands catching me as gravity pulled me down.

"Why so curious," Marcus asked. "What do you seek, Elizabeth?"

"I do not know," I said. "My father, a sense of redemption, but beyond that..."

"Yes," Marcus said. "If we lived in a different world, free of demons and monsters and lost loved ones, what would you seek?"

"I suppose I would have always answered that I would seek God," I said. "And it is still true."

"Pious and pure," Marcus whispered. "Things I have never aspired towards."

I swallowed a deep breath, our eyes met. Something about the forest and his eyes captivated me, and I lost my thoughts in that moment.

"If all else was resolved, I suppose I would want a family, a legacy," Marcus said. "Something to build and foster, a home, and a life. I doubt I will ever meet such a fate, however."