All the Wicked Things

Chapter 18

The village was quiet except for a few barking dogs in the distance. It was larger than I had envisioned, spreading out over a great area with the school being butted up against the woods on the east. That was the side I had used to make my entrance since it helped me bypass the front lines that were protected by the Ruffians and the trenches that lie beyond them.

Most of the houses were two stories built primarily of wood with thick thatched roofs and a single chimney at the gable-ends of the house. Smoke billowed from it and soft candlelight peered out of the windows from the houses that had not gone to sleep yet. I smirked to myself as I noticed that each house I passed had a Troll Cross hanging on the front door.

I had no idea where I was going, but I made my way through the mud-laden streets, weaving in and out of houses in the darkness. The shadows were my friend. I was stealthier than normal but I knew it was because my mission was critical. I had to confront Constant Thurgood. I would make him see the error of his ways, and so help me, if I had to kill him—if it was the only way I could ensure Elric's survival—I would do it. Even if that meant that I...and my family...would cease to exist.

As I passed a couple of the houses, I noticed that several of them were donned with a placard indicating the surname of the family who lived there, I presumed. Suddenly I was thankful that privacy was not as big of an issue as it was in my time. I turned a corner and stopped in my tracks momentarily before making a hasty retreat.

Standing in front of what could only be Constant Thurgood's home was his Gatekeeper—the large man from the meadow that wore the black eye patch. His wolf-like dog with those beady red eyes was sitting next to him, scanning and searching, waiting to attack.

I swallowed a hard lump down my throat. I hadn't realized how big they were, both of them. I mean I knew they were large having seen them next to Constant, but my sight had been hampered by that bush. Out here in the open they were massive—the man's head almost touching the eve of the porch's roof, and the hilt of the dog's head stretched up to just under the man's ribs. I had never seen a dog so large.

Panic quickly set in.

The man had snapped a unicorn's neck in two, for goodness sake. There's no telling what he could do to a person of my size. And then there was the dog to deal with. I watched him take a chunk out of that unicorn's hide so his sizeable fangs were sharp, and he seemed fiercely loyal to his owner too.

A plan, I needed a plan. And a good one at that. If I could only get into the home and speak with Constant, maybe this whole thing would be like a silly dream. I knew it was wishful thinking, but a girl could dream—couldn't I?

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to clear my head. When my eyelids lifted I saw that there was lattice on the right side of the porch that reached all the way to the roof above it. I quickly formulated a plan and made my way around the back of the home to the other side.

Sticking the journal down the back of my pants, I gathered two stones—a small one and a large one. With my best throw, I chucked the small stone over on the other side of the house to distract the Gatekeeper.

It worked!

He and the wolf-dog walked around to the left side of the house to investigate the noise. As soon as they were gone, I climbed the lattice with the large rock still in my hand and waited for them to return. After determining that there was no real threat, the man returned to his spot, facing away from the house. I scurried up onto my knees and lifting the rock over my head, I released it onto the man's skull. With nothing more than a low grunt, he passed out and fell to the ground.