Trevor sat alone by the table. He took a moment to look around, light-headed, with a hand occupied with a beer mug. He was not expecting that the tavern door opened and brought outsiders; however, so it did. The two newcomers dodged the other tables until he could greet them.
"Where's your drinking mate?" Alucard asked.
"Outside," Trevor pointed with his thumb to the back of the building, "He's doing what no one else can do for him. It's great that you came. Got some coins?"
Alucard searched his jacket pockets and counted some spare change. "You didn't bring yours?"
"No. Let me check how much you've got," Trevor held out a hand to gather the coins and counted them briefly, "It won't be enough. Sypha?"
She dug out a greater coin from her pocket. Trevor sighed in relief. From the corner of the eye, he saw a side door 'opening' for the entrance of his fellow drinker.
"Florin!" Trevor called him, "There's the man."
He approached, staggering and stumbling a bit, and sat on the opposite chair with another sigh of relief. "A pint lighter, thank God. Are you two the ones he mentioned?"
"Probably, sir," Alucard frowned.
"Quit the 'sir'. I'm not old, I'm just worn-out like a rag," Florin shook hands with Alucard, who stared at it with mistrust, "I'll be the age of Christ this month. What's your name?"
"I'm Adrian, nice to meet you. Are you staying longer here?"
"It's about time we leave," Trevor let himself fall to the back of the chair and did not find one, soon noticing his mistake, "My friend here has to go back to his camp and leave soon, isn't it?"
"I do," Florin burped, "I should be in bed, I mean, on a haystack, sleeping with the angels with the river as background noise."
"And I volunteered to take him there, safe and sound," Trevor pointed at himself, "So, let us all go. What do you think?"
Alucard and Sypha looked at one another and shrugged, agreeing. The two from the table got up and headed to the counter with the additional change, handing it to the tavern keeper with a big mustache and a stolid scowl.
Outside of the tavern, a cold breeze hit Trevor, who held Sypha with an arm. He argued with Florin which was the fastest game bird in all of Europe, without coming to a conclusion. None of the other two could untie the question, and they were answered with eyerolls from Trevor. They passed by the crops still questioning.
"What is the fastest mammal, then?" Florin asked, "Is it the hare?"
"That's a good try, but have you ever tried to chase a weasel?" Trevor pointed at him, "Because I did, when I was a boy."
"And they eat hares, don't they?" Florin turned his head to him.
"Oh, they do. But there's not much to roast in a weasel," Trevor laughed, "They'd be good pets if they just wouldn't rip its owner's fingers. And they're good hunters, if you ask me. They get rid of mice like cats, without half of the noise on the roof."
Trevor looked ahead of them and stretched. He noticed a bunch of smoke rising to the sky, with his eyes used to the dark of the night.
"Look there," he pointed, "It's more smoke than a campfire would make."
"My camp," Florin stopped walking, "My camp's there."
Holy shit. They all got a wiggle on. Almost on the riverside, in the rut before it, Alucard approached from Trevor's back and tapped on his shoulder to call him.
"I smell blood," he whispered, "Plenty of blood."
Trevor looked aside and nodded. As they finished climbing the ravine, they approached it carefully until they stopped meters before the camp on fire. Checking above a torn tent that burned, Trevor saw a lying leg with a slash and barred Floring with an arm. "Back off."
Florin bumped onto his arm and froze in place, and it was enough to feel him shuddering. Good Lord. People gathered from other camps, awaken at that time of the night, maybe due to the light and heat.
Trevor raised his voice. "Take him away. Back off, everyone. No one comes in," he looked at Sypha, and she had already pulled the merchant somewhere else. More people appeared like ants from an anthill. Trevor shouted, "Back off!"
No one else dared to take another step, and the murmur of the crowd went quiet. With a look over his shoulder, Trevor noticed that Sypha was on her way to the village with Florin, and that Alucard had stayed. Nodding at one another, they stepped in the camp.
Among the destroyed tents, there was more than a body, with fresh blood flowing on the grass, dead horses, and a bunch of fabric and wooden structures on the ground.
"A torch. Anyone?" Trevor requested. No one had it. He pointed at a young man, "You. Go fetch it."
The young man disappeared among the people. One of the tents lost its support and crumbled to the ground, making the fire spread on the grass. Alucard grabbed an empty pot near the campfire and descended to the riverside, looking for water to put it out. Trevor followed him with his eyes and saw him have a jumpscare when a hand emerged from the water and a person floated to the surface. Alucard held the man's hand and pulled him out. He coughed and was completely drenched.
"Thank you very much, sir. Thank you," he coughed some more and took off his soaked shirt. Alucard handed him his jacket, "You saved my life. But if I haven't jumped in the river…"
"Calm down," Alucard guided him to the fire, holding his shoulder.
The man crouched by the campfire, not looking around and shaking like a leaf. Alucard left him there to continue putting out the fire. Trevor stepped inside one of the big tents, spacious enough to have a stool for a table and a bunch of personal belongings. The young man was back with the torch, handed it to Trevor, and left the camp in a hurry. Trevor looked around and pulled up the fallen awning from that tent.
"What did you find?" Alucard asked, back from the campfire.
"Check it out," he extended the awning to show claw marks, "It means trouble.
They walked in the tent some more. Trevor pointed at the objects on the floor, among cups, bottles, and tools. "They were knocked from inside, I think."
"That's true," Alucard spoke just as quietly, "We have to get these people out of here."
"Right away," Trevor left the scombers, raising his voice again, "All of you, listen. It's not safe here. Head to the village. Do not split. Do not come back. Adults go on the edge of the circle, children and the elders in the middle. Got it?"
Silently, some people started moving. The man by the fire also got up to leave and Alucard headed to him. "Stay, please," he rested a hand on the man's shoulder, "You're safe with us. What's your name?"
The man nodded, still sitting. "I'm Constantin."
"I'm Adrian," he sighed, "What a place to start a conversation."
Trevor approached and helped Constantin on his feet, also handing him the fur cloak. They left the wreckage walking towards the village.
"Constantin. What happened in the camp?" Alucard asked, with a comforting tone.
Under the fur cloak, the man seemed even smaller. "A beast, sir. Bigger than all of us," he stuttered. Trevor and Alucard exchanged looks. Constantin went on, "It had black fur, claws, and the fire wouldn't scare it. Running was of no use. I jumped in the river and grabbed onto the plant's roots. I could do nothing. Alois tried to pierce it with a rake, and the demon split him and the wood in two like a twig."
"And where did the creature go?" Trevor inquired, frowning.
"It ran to the forest, I think, when I was already in the river. But I did see where it came from," Constantin looked back to the singed tents, "From inside the tent, sir."
Alucard knocked on the door of the stable and identified himself when he heard Sypha's "who's there". It was unlocked; being the third time they left, it would also be the third time they would bother the owner for the key. She and Trevor hugged, and Alucard felt his heart warming. The solace of a loser, second-hand happiness. He wanted to shake his head briefly, but held it back.
"What did you find?" Sypha asked.
"This fellow right here, and nothing else," Trevor sighed, "And that's the problem."
"Constantin? Constantin, is that you?" Florin's voice could be heard as he approached, showing up under the sparse moonlight, "Someone else? Please.
Constantin shook his head. "Alois didn't last. Neither did Luca."
"Dear God," Florin was on the edge of tears, "And the rest? Look for the rest."
"We need that one of you come with us," Alucard minded not scaring them even more, "We don't know your group."
"I'll go," Constantin raised his hand, "Stay, Florin." The other began to protest when Constantin interrupted, "You've got a family. I don't."
How old are you? Alucard stared at him under the little light there was. Constantin's dark hair had no grey in it, however. You're twenty or above, I'm sure.
Sypha stepped outside and said goodbye to Florin. "I'm going with them this time, sir. Please, stay. God bless you."
Florin did not reply and they closed the doors.
Leaving the stable, the village was full of people with torches, coming from the camps and leaving their houses at night. It even looks like it's day, with this movement. Trevor asked two or three people about the mayor's residence, and soon they pointed at a balding man in his nightgown, outside of an exquisite residence. Trevor called the man and he approached the group.
"There is a demon in the surroundings, sir," Trevor said to him, "Please, shelter the travelers here for some hours. We'll hunt it, and it might not look pretty."
"Do it," the mayor replied, with fear in his voice, "I'll order that the gates are closed."
"It might not be enough," Trevor tilted his head.
"What do you mean?" The mayor almost stepped back.
"As we still ain't sure of what it is, well, it might be able to climb the town's walls," Trevor shrugged.
The mayor gulped. "What to do, then?"
"Would the town mind some heat? Come with us, if it pleases you," Trevor made a hand motion.
The man accompanied them to the gates and Trevor told him to climb to the sentry-box, also advising him to tell the guards to close the gates when the four crossed them.
"Everyone in the sentry-box, step back," Trevor shouted, with his hands around his mouth, "Step back, there comes fire. Sypha?"
"Yes?" She asked.
"Can you light some fire around the village?"
With some hand movements, she created a tremendous incendiary ring around the walls of the village. The people who saw it started screaming in panic.
"You can calm down, everything's under control!" Trevor shouted his lungs out, "We'll be back soon!" He pulled Sypha in for a goodbye kiss, "I'll be back in a flash."
As they walked on the road, Constantin tapped on Trevor's shoulder. "Your cloak, sir," the man said.
"Keep it. I'm not feeling cold," Trevor denied it with a hand motion.
I actually think you do. Alucard smirked. The chilly wind would not cease. Past the crops and the grove, there was no further comment or any kind of banter. Alucard could sniff the suffocating scent of ashes from afar. They approached the camp with a soft step, but nothing in it seemed to awaken.
"There," Constantin pointed at a body split in half by the upper and lower body, "That one is Alois."
"How many were you?" Alucard whispered.
"Six. Me, Florin, Alois, Luca, Marius and Greta."
"Only a woman?" Trevor asked.
"Marius' wife," Constantin nodded, "I also saw Luca. He's farther from the campfire. He's dead."
Alucard glanced where Constantin pointed, a corpse with a claw slash on its chest. Without a doubt. From the corner of the eye, Alucard saw Trevor making a disgusted face.
"There are two missing," Trevor said.
"The couple. They stayed there," Constantin showed the spacious tent, the one that was supposedly torn from inside. They entered its remains.
"Where is the…" Trevor asked. He looked down, with his foot stuck on an arm on the ground, "I found it."
On the next found corpse, there was a missing leg, carelessly ripped from the body. "It's Marius," Constantin said, "His other leg is a wooden one."
Now, there's no leg at all. Alucard did not want to laugh at his own joke.
Trevor kneeled besides the corpse and grabbed an object. "This thing…" He held it out for them to see, "Do you know what it is?"
He had found a pendant of a crimson shade, one that was very bright under the little moonlight. Its leather necklace was snapped, but the stone was intact. Alucard frowned. What the hell?
"This was Greta's," Constantin replied, "She bought it in Targoviste some weeks ago."
"Is it precious?" Trevor questioned."
"She thought it to be, sir. But it gave her headaches and nightmares."
"And she wouldn't take it off?" Alucard looked to Trevor, who corresponded the stare.
"She threw it out sometimes, but it reappeared," Constantin shrugged, "So, she gave up."
"Who sold it to her?" Alucard tried.
"I didn't see it, sir."
There's no trace of… Greta, is it her name? Alucard felt a shiver down his spine. But all traces of trouble.
"And the creature ran away, you told us," Trevor raised a finger, "Where did it go, exactly?"
"That way, sir," Constantin pointed at the grove.
They all exchanged looks and headed to the indicated direction.
Their own steps on the foliage were the only thing they heard, despite the attention. Whatever is in these woods, either it's still far from us or it hasn't noticed us yet. Trevor was ahead with the torch, followed by Constantin, and Alucard in the rear end.
"It's hard to track in this time of the night," Trevor scratched his head.
"I can imagine it, sir," Constantin stuttered.
"Please, be quiet," Alucard requested, "Or we'll drive the thing away."
"Or attract it, which would make our life easier," Trevor shrugged without looking back, "This grove seems endless, and it isn't even that big. If I were a thing the size of what made that mess, how would I hide here?"
Alucard sighed. "Honestly? I'd rather ambush than to be ambushed."
"Said the master of strategy," Trevor snorted.
"It's not time for waggery. People died, Trevor."
"They're dead, therefore not caring."
Alucard rolled his eyes. If Sypha was here… Well, I'd be less cynic, too. He went quiet to be a role model and Trevor ended up copying him.
"Wait," Trevor pointed and approached what he indicated with the torch, "Is that a…?"
Alucard stretched his hand to grab the object, tangled to a root. "A shoe."
"There's a leg missing in the gentleman back there, so, it must be around here," Trevor moved the torch, "Oh, a… Paw print?"
He kneeled besides the footmark and the other two surrounded it the same way. It reminds me of a wolf paw. Alucard touched the mud with his fingers before he got up. I'll probably leave some today. Trevor stayed on track and found a trail of stomped leaves and broken branches, which took them to a big, round rock covered in moss. As they turned around it, they found a femur with a few remains of flesh. All color left Constantin's face, and he had to be held to stand up by both of them. Despite the support, the man threw up whatever he had in his stomach. Poor man. Without any spare time to warn any of the others, Alucard heard a rustle in the trees and the creature jumped onto him.
Trevor pushed back the most fragile element of the trio, but had a torch in hand and could not draw the whip. Alucard received the lupine creature with a ready, pointed sword that pierced the animal's chest. Standing on its back paws, it was taller than any human, with a completely black fur except for a red crystal on its throat.
The animal swung its enormous paws and Alucard kicked it afar. Not as far as I'd like to, but… The creature collided with a tree, and the little that Alucard could see in the night revealed that any would made by the sword was soon healed. Shit. Trevor gave Constantin the torch, telling him to take good care of it, and grabbed the Morning Star.
The creature charged again, catching an impulse, running a large distance; Trevor tried many whip blows, retreating with backward jumps, until a blow hit the thing's snout, producing a sinister, painful whimper. It's about time. Alucard released his sword in the air, levitating with it, and became a wolf in a pounce against the other one. He heard Trevor protesting about no warnings. Too late.
A series of paw slashes and bites followed, together with hollow sounds from the creature. They corraled each other and attacked when they were not grappled, growling and barking. Alucard's shape was a tad shorter than the other wolf, and he found himself to be much lighter when a blow from the creature threw him to a trunk. Payback huh? He felt all air escaping his lungs and fell to the ground, back to his usual form. He stood up, brought his sword back, and cleaned some blood on his lips. Before he had any chance to react, the creature jumped onto Constantin, crouched close to the rock.
Trevor noosed the demon by its neck with his whip to stop it and the monstrous two-legged wolf fell on the foliage. Trevor approached it as fast as he could and spiked his short sword on the crimson crystal. The creature shook its arms and legs, roaring until it got limp, strengthless, leaving behind only a lifeless body. Alucard staggered towards them and finished cutting its head off with more than a blow, making a thick, dark blood run on the ground.
Catching his breath, Trevor got the necklace with the red pendant in his pocket and held it against the rock. Alucard widened his eyes. It's the same color. As Trevor proceeded to try and break the stone with the handle of the short sword, Alucard raised a hand. "Wait," he said, "Let's take it. I'll carry the thing."
Trevor froze in place and gave him a long stare. "Are you sure? I'd better this is over."
"No, I'm not, but give me that," Alucard held out a hand. He grabbed the necklace and tucked it in his waistband. It goes right to the inner pocket when I get my jacket back.
Constantin, who still wore the borrowed piece, approached them trembling from head to toe. "Sir," he stuttered, holding onto the torch as if his life depended on it, "The monster… Was it Greta?"
"Probably," Trevor sighed and called the man back to reality with a pat on his back, his other hand occupied by the creature's head, "Come. Let's go."
Once again, poor man. They followed on their way back, all silent.
Sypha raised the flames from the ring of fire when she heard some movement coming from the grove. She only lowered them when she saw a bright spot, a torch in Constantin's hand. When Trevor appeared by the man's side, she stepped forward to hug him, then stepping back without doing so. No, thank you very much. He raised a horrible lupine head that still dripped blood from the cut neck, as if he showed her a hunting trophy, but without an ounce of joy from it.
"Do you want me to set that on fire, too?" Sypha pointed at the head.
"No, not yet," Trevor waved at her to follow them up to the sentry-box. From there, he shouted above, "Mayor, are you there? Hey, mayor?"
The fearful man poked his head out of the watchtower.
"The threat is killed totally dead," Trevor went on, "We're putting out the flames. It's great that they weren't needed, don't you think?"
The mayor answered in agreement with another shout and disappeared inside the sentry-box again.
"The question is, how do we put it out?" Trevor whispered to her.
Sypha showed the river in the end of the road. "There's a bunch of water there. Be right back." She prepared to fly with the wind.
"Can I take her, Trevor?" Alucard asked.
"I'm not the one you ask," Trevor frowned, shrugging.
They all exchanged looks and Alucard approached her. "May I? It'll take less than half of the time."
"Well, so be it," Sypha giggled.
He grabbed her in a bridal carry as he did to Trevor in the tavern to take him upstairs. Perhaps I weigh a lot less than him. She grabbed around Alucard's neck, fearing that her face was in all shades of red.
Alucard started skipping and propelling himself on the road, taking them both in a speed she could never reach. Before she could notice, the fifteen-minute walk was turned into seconds. As she was set on the ground, Sypha needed to hold onto him for a moment, feeling dizzy.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
"Almost," she held Alucard's arm. Sypha stepped forward to the river and tripped, almost falling; he kept her standing, embracing her by her shoulders. In an impulse, Sypha turned her head to Alucard's side, and they stared at each other for a second.
"I wasn't going to take long to get here," Sypha stood on her feet. I'm not dizzy anymore.
"I'm sorry, I didn't think it was an inappropriate offer."
"No, it's not. It's just…" The words seemed to escape her. I give up. "Thank you."
She stretched both hands to manipulate the water from the river, creating an enormous wave that flew above their heads and crashed on the villages. From afar, they saw the ring of fire disappearing and heard the faraway startled screams, in contrast with the silent night. They both laughed out the absurdity, and the silence was back. Sypha looked to the empty campings, seeing an arm of a corpse on the nearest one. She looked away from it. I can't stomach that now.
"I mourn their losses," she said as if she was alone, observing the river.
"They were six," Alucard looked the same way, "Three bodies to bury, two living ones to tell the tale."
"What about the sixth one?" She raised an eyebrow.
"The wolf."
Sypha felt a shiver down her spine. "How did that come to happen?"
"From the knowledge I have, a forgemaster from my father's army would be perfectly able to do such a thing, either with a corpse or with living matter," he began to stare at her, turning his head, "But the transformed victim was living with the others as if nothing was wrong… With the exception of carrying an uncommon sort of stone."
He pulled a cord from his waistband, and before Sypha had the chance to blush again, Alucard opened his hand to show a necklace with a red pendant, of such a brighter tone that it almost looked like it had its own light.
"A cursed stone," he closed his hand and made a sulky face, "One of a kind I believe I've seen before."