Josith intertwined little white flowers into Jezebel's hair as the two lovers sat atop a hill on the outskirts of town, the sun nearing the horizon. The mountains in the distance made them feel safe, the memory of last night’s encounter already fading. Jezebel fidgeted.
“Be still.” Josith retied the knot that had slipped in his fingers.
She laughed. “I cannot believe you're putting flowers in my hair. Just wait until I tell the others about this.”
He tugged gently on her tresses until her head arched back far enough that she was forced to look into his eyes. “You tell anyone and I swear, I'll ignore you for a week.”
“Alright, you win.” She laughed. “But it better look good when you’re done.”
He smiled mischievously. “I promise it will be the most beautiful your hair has ever looked.” Stems and leaves poked out everywhere. He laughed quietly as he laced another one into her auburn strands.
After several minutes, she slumped her shoulders. “What are you doing back there?” She reached behind to feel, but he swatted her hand away.
“No touching yet!” he barked.
“I'm tired of sitting here.”
“I'm almost done,” he lied. She was probably going to kill him when she saw the mess he’d made, but playful sabotage was his intention.
“You said that twenty minutes ago.”
“Don't worry. I'll be done in a minute. These things take time.” As he reached for another flower, he realized he'd picked all the ones near him. Spotting a small patch off to the right, he leaned over to grab some.
Jezebel seized the opportunity to pat her hair. She gasped. “Josith, you liar!”
He pushed her hand away again but it was too late. “I told you not to touch it!”
“It's a big mess, I can feel it. There are flowers everywhere!”
He rolled with laughter.
She slapped him on the arm. “You sneaky rat! I’m going to get you back for that!” Jezebel launched herself at him, pushing him back onto the grass.
He grabbed her wrists and rolled her over until he was on top. Her blue-green eyes sparkled with playfulness. “I’m offended you don't like my work,” he said.
She snorted. “What work? It will take me forever to get these out.”
“That mess was my masterpiece.” He nuzzled her cheek then kissed her softly on the lips.
“Will you let me do your hair next, then? I think it's only right that you should be wearing your own masterpiece as well.”
Josith instinctively tucked an errant strand of his blonde hair behind his ears, knowing it was just long enough for her to put flowers in if she really wanted to. “Not a chance.” He leaned down and kissed her neck.
Giggling, she tried to push him away with her chin. “Stop kissing me. You do it on purpose to stop me from getting you back.”
“Perhaps that was my plan all along.” He breathed against her flesh, ready to press his lips to it again, but sat back on his knees, instead, and admired her. “You are so beautiful.” He studied her for a moment longer. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
He knew he’d said that more times than he could count, but as he stared down at her now, it was all he felt. She was all he wanted. “Jezebel, if I said I wanted to marry you, what would you say?”
Her face slackened, and her smile faded. “Are you asking me?”
“No....I mean....I,” He absently rubbed a hand back and forth on his leg, “I don't have a ring or anything else much....so I just wondered how you would, ah, feel if I were to ask you.”
Her smile returned brighter than before. “I would say yes.”
Josith let out the breath he held, and silently thanked his lucky stars that she hadn’t said no. “I want to give you something, then – something that says we promise to be together.”
He thought a moment then patted his pockets. Empty. But he noticed the silver cuff on his wrist with a bear’s head engraved into it. He took it off and reached for her wrist.
She pulled her hand back. “Josith, you can’t. You worked hard to win that in the strength and throwing competition.”
He reached for her hand again. “And that is exactly why I want you to have it; because it means more to me than anything else I own.”
She pulled her arm back once more. “I can’t take that from you. It’s not right.”
Josith gently squeezed her hand. “Jezebel, there is no one in the world I would let wear this but you. Please…” Her arm relaxed and Josith slipped the cuff onto her wrist, bending it until the metal fit snugly. “This is my promise to get you a ring, soon after your birthday.”
She caressed his shoulder and bit her bottom lip, the last always a sign of her feeling nervous. “I want you,” she finally managed, her expression soft, but frozen.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Jezebel had started living with Josith only a few months ago and her parents had been completely fine with the arrangement. They trusted Josith with Jezebel and loved him like he was there son. Josith often felt like in the eyes of her parents, they were already married. They’d practically shoved Jezebel out the door when Josith had brought up the subject of them living together.
He kissed her again, soft, slow, and gentle, almost afraid that anything more would frighten her. They had waited so long. His hands shook as he removed his shirt, more when he struggled with her dress. He didn't know whether to laugh or curse in frustration. She sat up and helped him, letting him pull it off her chest and down to her waist. He cradled her warm body in his arms as he grazed her neck with his lips, trailing soft, light kisses all the way to her mouth.
Lowering her back down into the soft grass, he pressed their bodies together then caressed the length of her arm. Pulling her hand towards his lips, he kissed her palm, kissed her shoulder, then nibbled on the lobe of her ear. She turned her head to the side and let out a sigh.
Moving downward, he pulled her dress down just enough to nibble on her hips, the dip in her side, and then kissed her stomach while cupping her breasts, squeezing them; they were soft and delicious and if he weren't careful, he would lose control, ruin the very thing for which he had waited for what seemed an eternity. She arched her back and tangled her hands in his hair.
Sitting up, he pulled off his pants and lifted the lower part of her dress up, bunching the garment near her waist. When he nestled between her thighs, his head resting just inside her, it was like waiting at the gates of a promised land. Sliding into her, hearing her whimper-moan, feeling her shudder as she wrapped her legs around him and forced him farther in was better than the millions of times he had imagined this.
__________
Jezebel lay in his arms, Josith at her back, well after the sun had set. She’d had a smile on her face for at least an hour and was glad he couldn’t see her grinning like a fool. His fingers caressed her arm in long, soft strokes.
A minute later, the wind carried the dim remains of a horrified scream, shattering their moment like broken glass.
They sat up and strained to see the details of the town through the darkness. A large group of people with torches moved toward one edge of the town. Josith and Jezebel dressed quickly and ran down the hill, through the grassy field. Hurrying through emptied streets, they followed the glow from the torches until they reached the crowd gathered at the far northern end. People spoke in hushed tones, their postures strained as they tried to peer above others in front of them. Jezebel noticed no small children about. The adults in the crowd were all peering toward the northern wood. Many carried knives, pitchforks, and hunting bows.
Jezebel let Josith lead her as he pushed his way through the crowd. He stopped in front of a row of men who’d formed a barricade between the crowd and a group of men nearer to the wood. Peering past them, Jezebel spotted the mayor several feet away, encircled by other leading town members. They spoke quietly. The mayor frowned, looking solemn as he nodded a bowed head while the man next to him spoke near the mayor’s ear.
“What’s going on?” Josith asked the man nearest to him.
The man looked at him, his face relaxing in recognition. “Josith, glad you’re here. The Mayor was asking for you.” He moved aside and let them through.
Josith had been a member of the town council since he was sixteen, helping make decisions that bettered the community and resolved disputes. For Josith, right and wrong were a black and white issue, morals came easily to him. That was one reason Jezebel loved him so. He’d always been a good man, considerate of others, and the mayor had looked upon Josith with a favorable eye, recognizing the blossoming leader in the young man.
Jezebel and Josith approached and stood quietly behind the Mayor and the group of men.
“It must have been an animal attack.” One of the men whispered to another.
“But his leg and arm were broken, and he wasn’t eaten. What animal would kill its prey and not eat it?” another one questioned.
“He’s been drained of his blood,” Mayor Hushnev added. A prolonged silence hung over the group as those words sunk in.
“It was done by something other than an animal. It was done on purpose,” another man added, rubbing his chin. “The broken bones immobilized him.” His eyes narrowed. “A murder?” he ventured.
The men began to murmur worriedly. There hadn’t been a murder in their town in ages. Jezebel’s mind flashed back to the stranger from last night. Could it have been him? In the peacefulness of their surroundings, it seemed hard to fathom that something so brutal had happened to one of their own. She glanced at the crowd behind her. They were growing restless, pressing against the barricade of men in front of them.
“What's happened?” Josith finally asked. Already there was command in his voice, Jezebel realized for the first time. It was only a matter of time before Josith would be chosen for a more prominant leadership position.
Mayor Hushnev turned to see who addressed him. “Oh, Josith, Jezebel. I have some bad news.” He paused, his face pained as if struggling to continue. “Your cousin Leo's body has been found.”
“No,” Josith breathed. "You can't be...when? What happened?”
Jezebel’s eyes widened. Josith had doted on Leo as far back as Jezebel could remember, always treating the boy more like the brother he’d had never had.
“Apparently he never came home last night...”
Leo's distraught father interrupted the mayor. “He usually goes on these overnight hunting trips. Who would do such a thing? My boy, my poor boy…”
The Mayor placed a gentle but firm hand on Samis’ trembling shoulder. “It's alright, Samis. We'll figure this out and find the bastard that did this, I promise.” He turned back to Josith. “A few minutes ago one of the girls from the town was walking over there,” He pointed to an area of grass that was being shielded from everyone by another group of men, “when she...stepped on him. Or what’s left of him,” he added in grave tones.
Jezebel paled. “What's left of him?”
“The stranger from last night,” he accused. “If Leo was murdered, there is no other it could have been.” Jezebel felt Josith tremble as he tightened his grip on her hand. She put her other hand on his bicep to comfort him.
Jezebel looked over to where the body lay and tried to see it, but the men had shielded it well from view. However, a couple patches of grass near the men’s feet appeared flattened. Leaning just a bit more, she caught sight of an empty shoe lying next to one pale foot. She looked away, not wanting to see the rest. Just that one glance had already sent a dark, painfully sad image into her mind.
Noticing Josith’s too-stiff posture, the mayor put up his hands. “We aren’t sure if it’s a murder, yet, Josith. He's been fed upon from the looks of it.”
Jezebel put a hand over her mouth.
The men tightened their grips around their makeshift weapons as they scanned the dark fields.
“An animal attack?” asked Josith.
The mayor shook his head. “We need more time to decide. The pieces don’t fit together as nicely as we’d like.”
“But a murder?” Josith and Jezebel exchanged a glance, having the same thoughts. Derren, the stranger who seemed to find pleasure going for the kill. The timing did overlap. “How can I be of assistance, mayor?”
The mayor opened his mouth to reply when one of the other men nudged him gently. “Mayor, we need you to make a decision.”
He nodded to the man then spoke once more to Josith. “You knew Leo well, Josith. I want to ask you some questions when I can.” Mayor Hushnev put an arm on both of their shoulders, bringing them in closer. “Just give me a minute to finish this first. If anything, it's probably just an animal attack. It's best you two wait a few more minutes and then I’ll....” He went wide-eyed as he stared straight past them.
Jezebel and Josith turned, following his gaze. Flames rose from a house, burning strong and bright, consuming the wooden structure quickly. The murmuring crowd fell silent as they heard the loud crackles then turned around one by one. Jezebel gasped as another house burst into flames just to the right of the first one. Half of the first house collapsed in on itself with a rumbling crash, sending flyaway sparks into the night. Far off, a man screamed. The heads in the crowd turned toward the scream. The crowd began to rustle like leaves disturbed by an autumn wind. A small child ran screaming out into the main street, and the crowd dispersed, rushing toward their families, toward children they’d left tucked into beds.
Jezebel thought of her parents. She hadn’t seen them in the crowd.
More screaming followed, screams of pure terror. Long, loud, and frantic.
“By the Gods,” Mayor Hushnev mouthed, just barely above a whisper. “What in Svarog’s name is going on here?”
The men rushed past them with their torches and pitchforks.
As the crowd ran through the streets trying to get back to their houses, Jezebel held tight to Josith’s hand. Jezebel looked from face to face – scanning the people for her parents and friends. “My family,” she said. “We have to find them.”
Josith pulled her through the crowd, dodging people running back and forth, bumping
into them as more houses burst into flames. Human-sized shadows streaked through the darkness, moving as fast as an arrow in flight.
“Did you see that?” Jezebel asked as Josith dragged her along.
He did not answer as he continued in the direction of her family’s house. Running along the street until they neared the end, Jezebel spied her parent’s house already in flames.
“Ma!” Through the windows, Jezebel saw only fire. A moment later, her father appeared at the window as he helped her mother stand. They held their arms over their faces to shield them from the heat. Jezebel screamed again. “Ma! Da!”
They met their daughter’s eyes.
Josith left her side and rushed toward the front door. He kicked it in and stepped through. An instant later, the entire home collapsed, and Josith scrambled back out, stomping his foot in the dirt to extinguish the flames.
“No!” Jezebel yelled as she watched her parents disappear inside the burning blaze. She stepped toward her home, but the flames burned hot and bright. They wouldn’t allow her any closer.
Shadows dashed about like apparitions, and one charged Jezebel. She dodged as the creature reached for her. Josith was there in an instant. He lunged and shoved the black-cloaked creature back. The shadowed fiend stumbled past them and turned to snear at Josith just before a man crashed into him, sending them both to the ground. The two struggled a moment then the black-cloaked creature lifted the man to his feet and leaned toward the man’s neck. The townsman screamed and pummeled the creature. Heedless, people ran by.
Jezabel couldn’t bare the sight. She let go of Josith's hand to grasp a broken pitchfork from the street. “Get off him!”
The creature dropped his victim and turned. Its amber glowing eyes stared right through her. Red-stained lips framed pointed teeth, like those of a beast. Its skin was so pale a white, it had undertones of a deathly gray that contrasted the dark red of its lips.The black-cloaked creature snarled then smiled wickedly. He held a dangerous, primal look in his eyes, like a hunter laying claim to its next prey.
Josith’s hand gripped her upper arm as he tried to pull her behind him.
Jezebel stood her ground, afraid but not wanting to be a coward. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, and her mouth went dry. The broken handle almost slipped from her hands as the uncertainty of challenging the creature began to rise. Just as the fiend moved for them, a group of men descended on the creature like a swarm of bees, hacking and slashing with their weapons.
“We need to get out of here,” Josith said.
Hand in hand, they burst into a run, weaving their way through the streets while dodging burning debris. The choking smoke began to fill her lungs, the high-pitched screams of children reached her ears, and the heat from the flames made her sweat. She saw Farmer Tomas dead on the ground, his neck torn open. A small chunk of bloody flesh lay near to where it had been ripped from him.
They went through the center of town, jumping over bodies of people she knew, then passed over the cobblestones of the town square and turned down a narrow path between a row of houses; both froze as they noticed another black-cloaked creature just a few feet away. The fiend’s back to them, he had his pointed fangs lodged in the neck of Mira, the curvy blonde with an eye for Jezebel’s man, her perfect curls now a disheveled mess.
Josith’s hand disappeared from her own as he grabbed a rake leaning against the house next to them and charged the monster.
Jezebel took a step toward him. She wanted to stop him. Images of him dying flashed through her mind, but he was out of reach before she could do anything.
Josith reached his target and swung downward, the teeth from the rake lodging into the fiend’s head.
Jezebel’s hands went to her mouth.
The creature twitched, retreating from his victim, then fell to his knees. He spasmed as he reached for the weapon lodged in his head then fell face down in the dirt.
“Mira!” Josith held a hand out for her as she stumbled backward inside the door of a house, falling on her buttocks. Flames rose inside, the house creaked and groaned and boards fell from the structure.
But the doorframe collapsed, the lumber consumed by fire. Josith shielded his face with his arm as flames lept outward, threatening to burn him. He ran to Jezebel’s side. They looked at each other but said nothing of Mira’s death as he took her hand again. They darted around other homes, watchful of what the shadows and dark corners might hide. Three figures collided into them, knocking all to the ground.
“Josith!” said a surprised, familiar voice.
Sulvi pushed himself off of Josith; Gramson and Alik straightened themselves up only a couple steps away. Each had a makeshift weapon in hand: a whittled, wooden knife in Sulvi’s hand, a broken fence post in Gramson’s, a rock in Alik’s.
“You're alive!” Sulvi grabbed his friend’s shoulder. “Thank the stars. We’ve been looking for you everywhere.” A shadowy figure swooped through the air overhead and everyone scrambled to the darkened corner of a nearby house.
“I need a weapon,” Josith shouted.
Jezebel spied a child crying in the middle of the street. Before she could reach her, a creature swooped down from above and snatched the child up. Jezebel’s heart thudded deeply. She wanted to scream at the thing, shoot it down with an arrow, save the child, run, get help, fight back, anything, but she could do nothing. The child had disappeared into the night sky. Looking at her friends, she realized she had been the only one who saw it.
“I don’t have any,” Sulvi answered, showing him the whittled knife. “This is all I could find.”
Alik trembled beside them. “I don't want to die,” he cried. “I'm too young to die!”
Jezebel reached for his shaking shoulders, trying to steady them with her own trembling hands.
Josith looked around, spotting an axe lodged in a tree stump. He made for the thing when a group of those creatures - six of them - gathered in front, blocking Josith’s access to the weapon. Josith’s friends appeared by his side, make-shift weapons held at the ready.
The creatures eyed Josith with interest, but did not charge. Jezebel knew all of her friends were likely to die against the other group if they tried to fight. She put a hand on Josith’s back. “No, Josith!”
Josith and the others seemed to understand. They took one more last look around. The scene was grim. Many people lay dead on the ground, and yet it appeared as if none of them were the bodies of those creatures. The fiends remained in full strength, still tearing to shreds those few who remained. More creatures, with no one else to kill, turned toward their little group.
Jezebel placed her hand on Josith’s back. “We need to run! It’s too late.”
Josith and his friends backed up as he scanned their surroundings. Most of the town was consumed by fire, but toward the eastern edge where his house lay, appeared isolated from the chaos, untouched by fire. “This way!”
Jezebel wasn’t even sure if they had a chance, but they had to try. She followed directly behind Josith as he guided the group away from the fight and into silent, emptied streets. Flames from behind turned the horizon orange. The smoke that had clouded so much of her view and filled her lungs began to clear, and she breathed fresh air once again.
Josith flung open the door of his house and ushered them inside. He tried to shut it once everyone was in, but it didn’t close. The wooden door flew back at him so abruptly, it hit Josith in the face and knocked him to the floor. Three creatures in black cloaks rushed in. Their eyes glowed. Their hands outstretched for him. They grabbed him and he tried to beat them off.
“Josith!” Jezebel lunged for him. She reached out to grab his hand as he reached back for hers. She got him. They held tightly onto each other’s wrists and she tried to pull him back, but the creatures yanked him away so easily. As he slipped from her grasp, his hand ripped the silver cuff from her wrist. It fell to the floor, clanging against the wooden boards as they tore him back outside and up into the night air.
“Jezebel!” he screamed her name as he disappeared.
“No!” she yelled, searching the darkness for him. It was empty of everything but stars, the occasional wisp of smoke, and that orange halo around her town. “Josith! No!”
This was a nightmare; it had to be. There was no way this could be happening. In a few moments he would be back, she just had to wait for him. It would all be over soon. She would wait forever if that's what it took. He was going to be fine, no one would hurt him. She stood in the doorframe, frozen in place as she continued to scan the sky for him.
“Josith!” she shouted again, the rest of the world drowned from her senses.
A hand grabbed her arm and pulled. She turned and saw Sulvi, then pushed against his chest. “No, let me go!”
He gripped her shoulders and held her firmly. “Stop, Jezebel. We need to run or we're all going to die!”
“But Josith…” She looked back through the open door toward the sky, searching once more.
“It’s too late. Run!” Sulvi repeated with urgency.
Sulvi dragged her with him until she followed willingly. They scrambled out the window at the back of the house, sprinted through the wheat fields and straight into the Lysvasky Woods. A few times, Jezebel dared to peer over her shoulder for fear of being followed, or hoping to see Josith. Only her town burned, only the screams of the dying echoed in her ears. She tried to shut it all out as they were swallowed by thickness of the woods.