- XLI -

Concealed in the shadow of a column, Tanis waited outside the dining hall until some servants appeared, carrying plates and jugs. He sneaked inside the room behind them and hid again near a curtain, before any of the mortals could notice him. Soon the men and women began eating from the piles of roasted beef and the servants departed, leaving Tanis to be the only immortal in the hall. He pricked up his ears, ready to take, if not actual, then at least mental notes. But the mortals didn't talk much. Maybe they were afraid, too cautious to utter anything.

After some moments of silence, a boy, maybe ten or eleven years old, finally let out a few words.

"Why is there only beef? I don't like beef. Don't they have bread here?"

One of the women shushed him, but the other intervened. "No, Semira, your son is right. Don't you think it is rather strange that they serve us meat without any bread or vegetables, like they slaughtered a grown bull just for us. And despite that regalement, all we get to drink is water, no wine or beer."

A murmur could be heard from the men, before one of them rose to speak. "I agree with you, Lady Ilona. We all have noticed the odd appearance of those people, and now this weird meal... I tell you, they are not normal."

The murmuring began again, growing louder, and Tanis could make out words like witches or demons, spoken in both frightened and accusing tones.

When the atmosphere began to tense, a corpulent baldheaded man chimed in. "Please, my men, fear not!" he tried to appease them. "I am sure there is a reasonable explanation for all of this!"

"Ha!" one of the mortals exclaimed. "You told us a hundred reasonable explanations for the stories about werewolves, Lajos! And then ten of us got killed by horrible hellhounds!"

The murmur turned into an uproar, and soon everybody was shouting and ranting. Tanis listened for a little longer, but when the men couldn't seem to calm themselves again, the scholar decided to intervene. He straightened his posture and stepped out of the shadows to stand at the end of the table. It took the mortals a few moments to realise that they had a visitor, but as soon as they noticed him, complete silence fell over the dining hall, broken only by a few astonished gasps here and there. Tanis smirked impishly. He definitely liked getting so much attention.

"Honoured guests, good evening," he began in a solemn tone. "My name is Andreas Tanis, I am the historian of this noble house and I'm here by proxy of Lord Viktor. I hope you're enjoying your meal. Would you mind if I sit with you for a while?"

He threw the two women a charming glance, and since no-one seemed to protest, he sat down next to Ilona.

She tried not to stare too much at the man beside her. Tanis looked as pale as the soldiers and servants and his eyes shimmered in an unnatural yellowish green, but for some reason he didn't seem that dangerous to her. Maybe because he didn't carry a gruesome halberd and had greeted them courteously instead of stabbing and beheading someone right in front of them.

The historian didn't eat and drink with the group, but he seemed to be interested in their lives and background and so Ilona told him about her family. She and Lajos were half-siblings, for they had different mothers. By Ilona's description Tanis soon could tell that Lajos was a coward pretending to be a great leader. No-one really respected him.

When Lajos had been twenty-five he had married Semira, an ambitious and rather ruthless woman. Her plans had been thwarted all her life, but despite that the pair seemed to at least get along with each other. Their son, Adorjan, was their only child. After Semira had given birth to him she hadn't become pregnant anymore. Maybe that was the reason she treated him so strictly. She wanted him to be a worthy heir of their lands, to climb the social ladder.

But Adorjan was a rather timid and anxious child, he seemed to be even more poor-spirited than his father, always clinging to his aunt Ilona's skirts. Said aunt cared for her nephew much more than his parents did. Ilona tried to understand him and protect him whenever she could. She would surely be a good wife to the nobleman she was supposed to marry in a few days and a loving mother to her future children.

Tanis learned all this in less than an hour of easy conversation, and he observed the mortal's habits, his green eyes absorbing every detail. And all those details he would dutifully report to Viktor the same night.

After the meal, the historian took his leave and some maids showed the family to separate quarters while the men prepared to sleep on the floor of the dining hall.

Ilona couldn't sleep yet. She sat on the edge of the bed in her guest room for a while, reminiscing about the events of the day. She had never doubted the existence of supernatural beings the way her brother had. And she had been right. Those horrible beasts in the woods were werewolves and their hosts – warlocks, demons? They seemed to be quite well-disposed to the group until now, but the cruelty their lord had applied to that poor soldier in the courtyard betrayed their true nature.

Lord Viktor. He surely was the kind of man people kept following despite his harshness. He had radiated power in every movement, from every fibre of his regal appearance. But what had been most impressive were his piercing aquamarine eyes, both intimidating and prepossessing at the same time, truly demonic. Ilona didn't know the man she was betrothed to yet, but she prayed he wouldn't be like Viktor.

Ilona woke to the tickling sensation of Adorjan's hair against her nose. The boy seemed to have sneaked into her bed and curled up against her. She smiled and gently nudged him, but despite the anxiousness he had shown yesterday, he slept like a log.

Ilona threw a glance at the window. It was almost dark again. Had they really rested all day? She got up and just finished dressing when there was a knock on the door.

"Ilona, get over here!" Lajos's nervous voice could be heard from the small adjacent sitting room. "The lord of the castle demands our presence!"

She took a sharp breath and hurried to get dressed properly, for she didn't know which kind of atrocities awaited them if they let Viktor wait. Only just finishing the lacing of her bodice, she opened the door and expected her family to be ready to leave their quarters for a throne room or the like. What she didn't expect were two glowing aquamarine eyes seeming to stare directly into her heart.