The Blade and The Bird

Chapter 7

"This went on for several months. Even when I didn't have anything to sell, I'd still show up and walk her home. Then, one night, my Uncle took a turn for the worse. I had to stay by his bedside, watching his breathing, making sure he was drinking water, and I didn't go to the shop that day.
   
The next morning they found her. She was laying in an alleyway, her eyes blank and her smile gone. Her throat was slit, and her body was..." Baron trailed off.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Sidra said. She was no stranger to death and didn't want to pry.

"Oh, it's fine. Happened a while ago now, I guess."

"So did people think it was your fault?" Sidra guessed.

"Pretty much. My uncle wasn't lucid enough to count as a witness. There was a farm boy, though, that said he saw me taking care of my uncle when he left. I met the witch at her funeral, it was her mother, who knew I walked her home but had never met me. As soon as I walked through the door, she knew I wasn't human. She instantly blamed me."

"So she buried you? She was a Mythic too, though."

"That didn't matter to her. She was the only witch I'd met that could sense what I actually am. Most can tell somethings off, but few truly know, unfortunately, she did. I didn't find out until after the funeral, when I woke up in her carriage, trapped inside the coffin. I'm certain something was in the tea she gave me, some form of poison to make me sleep. I never really found out, because next thing I know, you're yelling at me in the woods." He said that last bit with a sad chuckle. "Now we have this blood bond. Suppose, that's pretty ironic that I now have to protect a witch."

"I'm sorry," Sidra whispered. "I didn't know."

"It's okay," he said, "how could you? Anyway, it's in the past now. We have more current things we need to take care of. I can't let anyone else die, so, we'll find Selene."

"Thank you," Sidra said. She felt a lump in her throat, perhaps from guilt, she didn't know. She liked that someone else experienced similar things to her, but she hated that at the same time.

"Hey, so, you said the mother knew what you were. What are--"

"Wait," Baron cut her off as he held up his hand. Sidra stopped walking for a moment and looked around. A low growl sounded through the forest.

"Did you hear that?" He asked her. She nodded.

The low growl got louder, and Sidra pulled out her knife as she tried to look around in the darkness. It didn't sound like a man, it was animalistic, and Sidra tried to remember if the forest between Moros and Yarkiy were known for having wolves.

She didn't have to think much longer, as a large wolf stepped out onto the path. It didn't look right, Sidra thought to herself. It was much too large, its body twisted at unnatural angles, shoulders too wide, and arms too long to be a true wolf. Another growl left the mouth of the creature, glowing eyes stared at the two of them. Oh god, Sidra thought, this was the end. She was never going to find her sister, she was going to be mauled by a wolf.

It took a few steps forward, its teeth flashed and Sidra could see each one was the size of her finger, it let out another low, threatening growl.

"Baron, what do we do?" She asked and pointed her knife out in front of her, knowing it wouldn't do much good if the creature did attack.

"Just wait." He raised both his hands up, "And drop your knife."

"Drop my knife? Are you crazy?" She asked him. However, his usual nonchalant expression was gone and his face was dark and unreadable. She dropped her knife without further question.