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  It looked like someone had punched the man in a gut as she spoke of cauterizing the wound, making her smirk wider. Even monsters gained sympathy when it came to imagined pain. “Well, thank you for your assistance and I’ll take note of your suggestion, but it’s for a jury of his peers to decide his fate. Be reassured, he’ll pay for what he’s done, but something tells me he already wishes he was dead and that any further punishment will be seen as a mercy.”

  Her eyes sparkled as she nodded her head, watching the man almost stumble out of his bench and exit the tavern with a few quick strides. She reached down and stroked Tuskar’s back, her fingers sliding through the fur and the love she felt flowing through their connection and into the dozing wolf’s mind. Curious, he looked up at her briefly, returning the affection shared, then settled back down.

  She should feel disturbed by what she’d done, but she couldn’t find it within herself to feel sorry for the man. He could live without his manhood; he deserved far worse for the atrocities he’d committed. Besides being a punishment she deemed appropriate for his crimes, it also served as a warning to anyone that heard of what she’d done; they now knew exactly what would happen should such a monster cross her path again.

  With a smile, she motioned for a barmaid and settled back in the booth to await service, letting the job go without further consideration. She ordered a plate of tartelettes, a jug of ale, and an additional bowl of ribs for her companion. She had acclimated to different dishes over the years, and though meat could be a bit pricey, she deserved a good meal after the week she had.

  The young barmaid left with a cautious glance at the wolf lying beside her, but Tuskar didn’t bother to acknowledge her presence. She had been here a few times and slowly people were growing accustomed to seeing them together. The initial resistance had been challenging, but she had been doing this long enough to know how to navigate the waters without creating a stir. He had not once provoked any unwanted attention and had eventually been dismissed from the populace’s minds as a threat.

  Having tuned out the bustle of the tavern around her, she hadn’t noticed that one of the bar’s numerous customers had taken the liberty to approach her until he came to a stop and hovered over her table. She had purposely situated herself in a secluded corner of the room, and most of the humans were happy, and smart enough, to let her have her privacy undisturbed.

  Guess the rumor of the pedophile’s fate hasn’t spread this far yet.

  She glanced through him like he wasn’t even there, pulling her knife and setting it on the table in case it was needed. It was her passive way of showing she wasn’t up for further company, but the man apparently thought he was special and couldn’t take a hint.

  “May I join you?” he asked politely; throwing her off. The common folk of the area were known to be brusque with her kind; determined to be short and to the point. Elves were tolerated but not always welcomed in these parts.

  He was young, clean shaven, with short brown hair and moustache. His stance and frame of body suggested he did a good deal of physical training, as his muscles seemed well-toned and quite firm. Had she had any interest in such things, she might have found that attractive, but after the day she was having she was simply not in the mood.

  He was wearing a brown jerkin, pants, and was adorned in a matching cloak. He looked like he was accustomed to wearing armor and she wondered why there wasn’t a sword belted to his side. He was either a guest at the inn or a local that lived close by. No one went anywhere without a weapon; not in times like these.

  She shot him a glare, then looked away dismissively, “no.”

  “You are Kylee though, right?” he asked, fidgeting. He seemed a little nervous and she shook her head in exasperation.

  “What gave it away? Was it the hair or the wolf?” she snarked back, her ponytail whipping about as she jerked her head his way. She was starting to get irritated, her fingers flexing over the hilt of her dagger, doing their best not to take it up and use it. She wanted some time to process and put things behind her, not get involved in anything else so quickly.

  She had earned a reprieve.

  He looked at her uneasily but was still determined to have his say. Tuskar growled at her side and she knew that he was sensing her irritation as well. The man was unfazed by the wolf’s attention, surprisingly enough. Maybe it wasn’t her that was making him nervous after all.

  Curious.

  “What?” she blurted suddenly, temporarily losing her cool. He made as if to sit and she let out a burst of unconcealed anger. “Fine, sit, but if you don’t make it quick, I’ll eat the ribs and let my companion gnaw on you instead.”

  Another figure came up behind the young man and when a hand landed on his shoulder, the youth jumped. Despite her anger, she couldn’t help but giggle; the man looked like he nearly pissed his pants.

  I’ve had enough of that particular smell as well.

  The newcomer was of average height, though it was hard to tell for sure because most of his figure was obscured by a dark brown cloak. A cowl hid the man’s facial features and very little was revealed other than the gloved right hand patting the youth’s shoulder. “The brother you seek has already returned home, young man. He has been hiding from your neighbor, who found him with his daughter a fortnight past. Best to get back to him and prepare yourselves for the farmer’s wrath, his anger will not be so easily subdued as my young companion’s here,” the man told the boy, whose eyes had grown so wide by the end of the man’s speech that they could have been popped out of his head if hit on the back hard enough.

  The stricken youth bowed quickly and with a wary glance at the newcomer, fled from the tavern and out of sight.

  She thought the gentleman would turn and walk away now that his message had been passed along, but he stood there patiently waiting for a response instead. She shook her head with frustration. “You have my thanks, stranger. That is definitely not something I would have wanted to get mixed up in, but if it’s all the same to you I would prefer to eat my dinner in peace.”

  The barmaid had arrived, her long flowing red hair glimmered in the torchlight as she set the pork and dumplings down, the aroma of hot food making her stomach wrench in hunger. The mug of ale was placed beside it and she handed over a couple of gold coins, winking to let her know that no change was needed. The woman smiled, setting the plate of ribs in front of the bristling wolf, then slowly backed away and was gone.

  She turned to her food and completely ignored the man hovering nearby.

  “Tuskar,” she murmured under her breath. Her companion sat up and growled at the stranger in warning. Surprisingly, not only did the man refuse to flinch, he actually extended his hand and held it out to the snarling wolf. She watched in wonder as Tuskar’s snarl began to slip and after a few seconds, his tongue unexpectedly slipped out and licked the stranger’s hand.

  “Okay, what the hell?” she stammered, her hand reaching for her dagger.

  “There is no need for that, Ranger. I am not here to fight. I have a proposal, one that you will find most intriguing. I promise you, if you hear me out, if you come with me, you will find the man who butchered your mother and brother by the time our quest is done. Isn’t that why you are here? Isn’t that what drives you?” the newcomer asked, sliding his hand away from the wolf to the table and seating himself across from her.

  Her eyes had widened and for a moment, she sympathized with the youth lighting out of there like his ass was on fire. How could this man possibly know—?

  Wizard, her mind whispered in warning.

  “I’ve been watching you for some time, Kylee of the forest, my little Bow of Vengeance,” he answered, as if plucking the question straight from her thoughts. “Oh, but that is exactly what I did. Now, why not put a spoon of those dumplings in your mouth and hear me out? It’d be more satisfying than sitting there with your mouth open like a loon staring at the moon for the first time.”

  Her mouth snapped shut. She felt a tremor
in her hand as it unwillingly reached for a spoon and dipped it in her steaming bowl of food. Her eyes didn’t leave the shadows of the cowl, searching for some sign of the devil sent to torment her. Who else would know that which she had never spoken to any other the whole of her life? The only person who knew what had happened was the same man she had hunted for the last fifteen years. Any explanation she could come up with was cut short with logic, and she was too dumbfounded to do anything but listen to what the man had to say.

  The barmaid had returned, curious to see who was brave enough to join the ranger in her corner of the room. Not many had been known to do so, and most were locals, so the woman’s level of curiosity instantly told her that this man was not from around these parts.

  “I’ll take some ale and a plate of those ribs,” the man said before the barmaid could ask. He had gestured to the wolf beside the table, who had completely devoured the meat and was busy gnawing at one of the larger bones. “He seems to like it well enough, so that works for me.”

  “I don’t understand, who are you?” she asked in confusion, as the barmaid slipped dismissively into the background. Some locals were fighting across the room, their booming voices drowning out the rest of the tavern with their drunken ramblings, but it was all distant in her mind; her sole focus the figure before her.

  The cowl shifted to the side, as if listening to some distant voice only he could hear, then turned back to face her straight on. She could feel the weight of invisible eyes interrogating her soul and had never felt so frightened in her life. She shivered, goosebumps rising on her arms, and a sliver of fear slithered through her, begging her to flee.

  Leaning forward, the newcomer spoke, “I am curious, what was the point of emasculating a man that is sure to be hung with the rising sun? Was the added pain and humiliation really necessary?”

  Was there no limit to what this man knew? Had he been following her on her last excursion? Or for a time longer than that? He said that he had been keeping an eye on her, but for how long and why? Surely, she would have noticed, or Tuskar would have. It was a rare thing that any ever got the drop on them, and it made her uneasy to even consider the possibility. But then, Tuskar was acting oddly, almost friendly to the man. He had never licked anyone other than her as far as she knew. And if Tuskar trusted him, shouldn’t she? Or was there magic at work that fooled her companion and threatened to encapsulate her as well?

  “Focus, Kylee,” the soft voice commanded, and her mind simmered down instantly.

  She cleared her throat and used a napkin to wipe lingering sauce from the corners of her mouth. “Are you aware of the crimes he committed? The pain that he caused? Whatever he suffered by my hands is nothing compared to what his victims will go through for the rest of their lives. Besides, I couldn’t take a chance that he might be freed and allowed to harm another child again. If it’s not attached, he can no longer use it.”

  “So, you didn’t trust that justice would be served?” the man countered in a dry voice. “You took it upon yourself to be judge and executioner?”

  “Justice? What justice? There is no such thing for monsters like that! They crawl out of their caves or out from under their bridges like the trolls they are and do what they will with no remorse or conscience, only their sadistic urges controlling their actions and the fates of their victims. Nothing can ever make up for the harm they cause, not by my hand, and not at the hands of the mob,” she thundered back, slapping the table and turning a few heads with her biting words. “I’ve seen far worse allowed to continue living and felt it my duty to at least extract the slightest bit of vengeance for those who cannot do it themselves.”

  “Not to mention you liked it,” the robed figure responded, and she could sense a smile upon the cloaked features of her inquisitor.

  “Liked it? How could I like doing something like that? I’ll never be able to cleanse my hands of the filth they touched, nor forever wipe the blood free of my dagger! How dare you suggest I get enjoyment out of such a vile act!” she threw back, food forgotten, her eyes shining with hate.

  The more she denied the man’s words, the more it whispered in the back of her mind that he was right. On some deeper level, she had liked it—liked cutting his flesh, of judging the man and executing a far worse sentence than what a brief fall and tug would do.

  The man nodded in understanding and held his hands up, “peace Ranger, I only wanted to test your resolve. To see if you indeed have the fortitude for what lies ahead. As I said, what I offer is not only for my benefit but yours as well. Though, I don’t know exactly who it is you seek, I have been given to know that if you come with me, you will find him.”

  She shook her head, trying to clear the rage that had overwhelmed her and focus on what the man was saying. “Given to know by who?”

  Hands suddenly rose and drew back his cowl, revealing the hardened face of a middle-aged man with dark features, a moustache and goatee, and pale green eyes that swallowed her soul whole. “My name is Merlin, perhaps you have heard of me?”

  He had stated it like it was a fact, that she should indeed know him the instant his name was muttered, but the more she studied him, the more she searched her mind for some recognition of who the man was, the more frustrated she became. It was a useless endeavor. Throughout all her travels, she had no recollection of ever hearing the name before; there was no point in pretending otherwise. She smirked and shrugged her shoulders.

  The look of disappointment was clear in the other’s face and she almost cracked up laughing. The only thing that stopped her was the fresh grief that had been drudged up from the back recesses of her heart by the mention of her fallen mother and brother, her anger rippling just beneath the surface, fighting to get free.

  “Well, this is going to be more difficult than I thought,” the man said, playing with his fingers and watching her intently. The barmaid had returned, and he lifted the mug of ale, downing half its contents in a few short gulps. “Damn. I miss Guinness.”

  She ignored the comment, she didn’t know and didn’t care. “Let’s get back to how you know about my past, of who I might be looking for?”

  Merlin sat back and looked at her, as if considering what to say, and her patience was growing thinner by the second. He obviously had thought he’d already said enough to convince her and seemed perturbed that it would take more than a name to put her questions to bed.

  What he hadn’t counted on was her solitary nature or lack of education as a child, which if he’d been watching her closely as he said, he should’ve already known better. Overall, the world of an outsider wasn’t something that bothered her much, as she had no aspirations for civilized life outside the forests she roamed and the bounties she collected. He was the one who had chosen to interrupt her meal, so she could give two shits how difficult the explanation had to be. The only thing she could be sure of—she was going to get one before the night was out or more flesh would be cut before the dawn.

  “It’s hard to know where to begin, and we don’t have the time to get into it all right now. I have visions of what might come to pass, of future events that have yet to arrive. It was a gift I was born with and it helps me navigate through life, by giving a better understanding of the consequences of every choice I make. I come to a fork in the road, do I go left, or right? If I went right, I might run into a troupe of renegades that think me easy prey to rob. Whereas, if I went left there would be nothing but empty roads, but it might take me in the opposite direction then I was intending to go. What if I got off the road at the right moment and let that troupe past? What happens if I fight them? All of it, laid out before me so that I can make an informed decision on what I do next,” he finished, taking another drink from his mug.

  His other hand reached out and fingered a rib. “Now, it’s not a perfect system, because while I may make the right decision, it doesn’t change them from making another to counter my actions. Maybe one of them decides to take a leak while I’m hiding in the brush, or a
bird suddenly changes course and alerts them to my location. Any number of things may happen without a moment’s notice. My point is, the future is not set. Time is fluid, open to be changed by those with the knowledge enough to influence future events and can alter its path entirely with just a singular decision to go left instead of right.”

  “Sounds like a bunch of crap to me,” she muttered, watching as he tore into one of his ribs. “I’d be stupid not to believe in magic, I’m an elf after all, but fortune tellers belong in those roving groups of bandits, along with the palm readers and belly dancers.”

  “Gypsies,” Merlin corrected, continuing to eat and talking around his mouth full of meat.

  She dismissed his comment with a flick of her hand, “whatever. So, you did a little research, maybe traced me back to my Uncle’s farm. Heard what had happened and decided to seek out the poor little white-haired elf in order to fulfill some nasty desire for cruelty. The question I ask myself is, do I carve you like I did the monster I just locked up, or let Tuskar do it for me?”

  “I don’t fear your companion. He recognizes what I am, even if you don’t,” Merlin replied with a sly grin. “Or haven’t you noticed, he’s passed out and no longer paying any attention to our conversation? Looks like he less concerned with me than you are.”

  She heard the steady breath of the wolf at her side and rolled her eyes. Of course he fell asleep. Great defender you’re was turning out to be.

  “Don’t fault him for it, he’s had a long couple of days. Didn’t take you long to find your prey, you’re better than I hoped you’d be,” he cut in and for some reason, that pissed her off even more.

  My mind is my sanctuary old man, stay the fuck out of it. Instead of feeling calmer by his words, she was only growing more irritated by the second, and his intrusions into her thoughts weren’t helping one bit. “Enough of your games. Just spit it out so that I can tell you to go to hell and get back to what I was doing,” she snarled.