Chapter 2
Time flows fast and seasons change. Winter is replaced by spring, spring by summer, and so on. Five summers have passed since Castiel's birth.
The last days of summer have arrived and people need to hurry with the harvest, gather crops and store them for winter. Traditionally this is the period when various people choose to go to the biggest village in the area – Wolf's Lair - to sell and trade the products of their harvest. The place is always noisy and crowded.
Aggi too is getting ready to go to Wolf's Lair. He has lots of cheese, ghee, and enormous catfishes to take to the market.
It's midday and the sun shines brightly in the sky, with no sign of clouds. It means they will have good weather, and he thanks the gods for that.
Aggi and Brita stand in front of their wooden house, looking at the dusty road expectantly. The man is waiting for his best friend, Gunar, to arrive.
"I think the trade will be good," Aggi says to his wife. "This year's cheese and ghee are of a better quality than usual. And the fish are twice as big as last year's."
Brita is about to respond when a loud wailing startles them. "It's Castiel," she exclaims with fear, and both parents run behind the house.
And there, beside a hawthorn bush, a little child with brown locks stands and wails at the top of his lungs.
"My child, why are you crying? What happened?" Brita squats in front of Castiel, who is holding something in his hands.
"It hurts," shrieks Castiel as he swallows more tears and snot.
"What are you holding? Let me see." Aggi carefully touches his son's wrist.
Castiel hiccups and slowly opens his palms. His parents see that the boy is holding a thorny ball – a hedgehog.
Aggi tries his best not to laugh, but a grin already dances on his lips and the man just gives in. He bends his head back and laughs heartily. Brita chuckles too. Castiel frowns; his azure blue eyes look hurt and he looks like he will break down crying again any minute.
"My son, it's a hedgehog." Aggi ruffles the child's hair.
"Why did you catch it? Did you not see that it has sharp thorns?" Brita sits her son in her lap and kisses his prickled fingers.
"It was alone near this bush and I pitied it. I wanted to pet it and it hurt my fingers." Castiel wipes the tears off and puts the hedgehog down.
"Hedgehogs have thorns to protect themselves from enemies. Perhaps it left its hole to get some food for its babies. Come here." Aggi picks his son up.
"Look who's here!" A deep voice says and a tall, bulky man appears from behind them. It's Gunar, the best friend of Aggi. The man cheerfully greets everyone and stands beside his friend. "So, what is happening here? Discussing family matters?" He waggles his eyebrows.
"No. There was a bloody meeting not so long ago," Aggi answers his friend very seriously.
"Really?" Gunar asks, puzzled, and looks around. "Where are all the dead or wounded then?" he scratches his beard.
Brita laughs softly at his confused expression. Her laughter is amicable, not mocking.
"I don't understand," Gunar says sincerely.
"Oh, I was just joking," Aggi snickers and taps his friend's shoulder. "Castiel caught a hedgehog and got his fingers pricked."
Gunar's thoughtful expression vanishes and his face lights up. His roaring laughter startles the birds sitting on nearby trees. The man snatches the boy out of his father's arms and throws him up in the air several times. Castiel forgets all about hedgehogs and bloody fingers, squealing happily.
"It's nothing," Gunar soothes the boy. "It will not leave scars. But even if it does, women like scars on men. Well, you will find out when you get married." Gunar puts the boy down.
"When I get married?" Castiel stares at the man with his wide, curious eyes.
"Yes, when you grow up we will find you a good woman." Gunar winks at Castiel.
Aggi looks at the road, fidgeting slightly. They should leave so that they get to town before it's too overcrowded and all the stalls are taken.
"We'd better go. We have a long road ahead."
Gunar looks at the sun. "Right you are, my friend."
The small company moves to the front of the house. Castiel walks beside his father. His small hand grabs the sheathed sword his father has strapped onto his belt.
"I want a sword like this, father," he says as he pulls at his father's sleeve.
"I promise you will have a better sword when you grow up." Aggi caresses his son's hair.
The men stop at the front of the carriage, heavy with goods for selling, and Aggi looks back to Brita and Castiel. He knows that he will be back in the evening, but leaving his wife and son behind still bothers him. He is not afraid for Dagni, for she is with her grandparents helping with the harvest, as her grandmother has fallen ill. And Aggi's father might be old, but he is still strong enough to slay an enemy without much effort.
"Take care of Castiel. And remember to care for the animals." Aggi hugs his wife and kisses her gently.
"Do not worry, my love, I will take a good care of them. Dagni will return tomorrow. I'm sure they have finished gathering the crops and your father will bring her back."
"We will be back late in the evening," Aggi tells her and the horses move from their place.
Brita and her son look at the road that is slowly disappearing in the whirlwind of dust. The woman feels sadness tugging at her heart, but she quickly brushes it off. He will be back in the evening. It's not like she has to wait for eternity. And judging by the amount of work she has to do, the time will flow fast.
"Come, dear. Let's get inside." She holds her son's hand and they walk inside the house.
Aggi and Gunar are very surprised when their goods sell with lightning speed. It's been only an hour since they arrived at Wolf's Lair and took their places and already half of their goods are sold.
"Can you believe our luck?" Gunar beams with happiness.
"The gods are on our side today," Aggi grins as he sells another catfish.
After three hours they have nothing left to sell and begin to buy some things for themselves. Gunar, being a single man, chooses just a new sharp axe for himself. Aggi thinks about gifts and he ends up with a pearl necklace and earrings for his wife, a coral bracelet and a mirror in a carved wooden frame for Dagni, and a small silver dagger with protecting runes engraved on the blade for Castiel.
Gunar frowns when he sees the dagger in his friend's hands. He knows about Tilda's prophecy and his heart aches for the boy. One of the main reasons he's single is that he has been unsure his children would not have had a cursed future.
"Prophecies do not always come true," Gunar tries to comfort his friend, but he does not believe himself in the first place.
"But Tilda's do." Aggi's smile is bitter and painful. "Let's go home."
Castiel sits on the grass eating freshly baked bread and throws some crumbs to a curious squirrel that hops nearby when he hears the neighing of horses.
"Father!" the boy shouts gleefully and runs to meet him, squealing and jumping with joy.
Aggi catches his boy, laughing and kissing his forehead. "Hey there, big boy. Where is your mother?"
His question is answered shortly when Brita walks out of the house and hurries towards her husband. Her hands are white and covered in flour. The man wraps his strong arms around her slender waist and spins her around. Brita gasps, not expecting this, but then laughs merrily, baring her pearly white teeth.
"Mm, I missed you, my love." Aggi attacks her lips hungrily.
"Aggi," the woman blushes and glances at their child.
"Oh, come on, we are not doing anything bad." The man puts a chaste kiss on her lips. "Alright, I have brought some gifts for you. Who wants to see them?" he asks mischievously.
"I do, I do!" Castiel jumps up and down.
"Fine, but let's eat first. I am hungry like a wolf." Aggi pulls his wife and son closer and they enter the house.
It's past midnight and the village is asleep when the dogs start to howl and bark. Their chains rattle in an attempt to break free. Then there is a distant but quickly approaching vibration. The earth starts to quake, the wooden walls and floor creak.
Aggi wakes up at the first shock and sits up in bed. The movement wakes Brita. Her fear grows when pots, plates, and other cutlery start to clink and bounce.
"What's happening?" she sounds terrified.
"Get dressed and wake Castiel!" Aggi is already dressed and taking his sword off the wall.
A few minutes pass and Brita holds her sleepy son in her arms, breathing heavily. Uncertainty is worse than fear.
"What are these sounds?" she whispers and suddenly the vibrations and all the noises stop abruptly.
Aggi holds his unsheathed sword, staring at the door. He will cut in half any bastard that will try to enter through it. As soon as the noises are gone, the man relaxes a little. He lowers the weapon and wants to say that it's over when a blood-curdling scream sounds from outside:
"They are here!"
Brita goes deathly pale and reels, but at the last second regains her composure. She tightens her arms around Castiel and looks at her husband.
"You need to go to the shelter. Now!" Aggi shouts and pushes the door open.
They are met with a hungry and hideous darkness that tries to swallow them, opening its jaws. But there are much worse and more fearful things existing than just darkness, and right in this moment they have come to the village.