FSE

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Part III

"I like fighting," said the Wart. "It is knightly."

"Because you're a baby."--T.H. White,The Once and Future King

Graadig sat eating cottage pie with his fingers as he watched the third man's body being tossed into the nearest fire. Now approaching his seventies, Graadig didn't have the patience for this sort of thing. The third man had been defiant. Stupid. Perhaps the fourth would be more likely to see reason.

His men shoved the newest farmer---they were all farmers, he assumed---to his knees and held him there by his shoulders. He was younger than the last one, perhaps he would be more rational as well.

Graadig spoke kindly. In truth, he always spoke kindly. Men had insinuated he had a very grandfatherly tone. He was approaching that age after all. The lines on his face had gone from present to noticeable to prominent. His hair had turned gray, white around the temples, and had receded a good bit. His joints ached in the morning, especially after a long day's ride.

In truth, he couldn't remember the last time he hadn't had a long day's ride. Even when the men needed a day's rest, he had pressed them on over land and sea. The prize was worth a few aches in the morning. And certainly worth more than the young man in front of him.

"Hello there, friend." Graadig wiped his fingers on his shirt before extending his hand in greeting. The man stared at the gesture as if he were being handed a viper. Glancing up at the two men holding him he slowly took Graadig's hand in his own, trembling as he held his arm aloft. "I'm sure you overheard me talking to the others, but I'll repeat myself." He chucked apologetically. "It's hard to be heard over the commotion." Here he nodded towards the crying women and children standing near a burning hovel.

"We're looking for something. Once we find it, we'll be on our way. It's not even a necessity really, but it's important to be thorough wherever possible. After that, we'll be on our way and you can put this whole little inconvenience behind you.

"There is a man who once lived here. His name was Darden Veloren. He and I were good friends once before he became a bit too chummy with our previous employer and I had to murder him. All we need to know is where he lived, who here may have been related to him, that sort of thing. Now is that some information you would be willing to impart?"

He nodded quickly. "The-The-The shack ... outside of town. He lived there. He had a wife and daughter. The wife died a few months back. The daughter ran off after she cursed our cattle."

Graadig leaned back in his chair, smiling and glancing in sarcastic wonder towards his men. "Cursed your cattle? She was a witch then? Nasty sort, but this little exchange may work in your favor after all. I've killed witches before, you know. Nasty women, just the worst. We ran into one in Sarrinthia, and let me tell you, that was quite an afternoon." He chuckled again. "I apologize, let's stay on topic so I don't have to waste any more of your time. Where is she now then, hmm? Or did you burn her at the stake perhaps?" He grinned like a jackal at his men. "Lot of that going around, isn't there boys?"

His men laughed. They always laughed at his jokes, even if they weren't very funny. Graadig didn't mind. It showed his men were loyal to him and afraid of him. Two qualities he demanded in his employees.

The man shook his head. "She left. After she cursed our animals. Ran off, we don't know where."

Graadig sighed. "Now we come to the part I hate the most out of any of these little exchanges. You see, I don't know if you're telling the truth or if you're lying in order to protect her."

The man shook his head more urgently now. "No lie, I speak the truth. Ask any of the others."

"Yes, let's ask the others." He looked up at one of the men. "Our friend here, did he have a family? Was he standing near to any dear bride or lovely offspring?"

The nearest man pointed toward a rather gaunt looking woman with a young girl clutching at her legs. Both were crying just a bit louder than the others as they watched the man on his knees intently.

"Ah, there we go. Could you bring them here please? These old bones don't like to stand once they've found a comfy chair."

His men ushered the woman and daughter forward. Graadig's conversational partner suddenly became annoyingly brave. "Leave them alone! It's me you're talking to, leave them out of this, you bastard!"

Graadig looked overtly appalled. "Now now, friend. That's not nice language, especially not in front of the children. What kind of a world would this be if everyone spoke like that? I shudder to think what kind of environment you may be raising the young lass in. Also, to speak ill of my parentage? I'm offended! My mother was a lady fair and loved my father very much, in holy matrimony of course." Here he looked towards the girl. She was ten, eleven? He could never tell. "What's your name, dearie?"

She spoke so softly he could barely understand. "Lamyra."

"Lamyra! That's a very pretty name. Emeerish in origin, I believe. Tell me, does daddy speak that way in front of you?"

She made no motion at all.

"Now look what you've done. The poor girl is aghast at this sort of behavior. Most unbecoming of a father, most unfortunate." He sighed as he casually drew his dagger, tested its edge with his greasy thumb, and slit the man's throat, leaning back quickly in order to keep the blood from spraying on his clothes. The woman screamed, the girl cried. He hoped his point had been made.

He gave the women a few moments to get it all out of their system before he slowly rose to his feet, groaning at the pain in his knees. He walked toward them and leaned over the girl.

"Now Lamyra, I'm very sorry you had to see that, but daddy was being naughty. Are you naughty?"

Again, no movement.

"I don't think you are, I think you're a very good girl, and you just want this all to be over with so you and your family ..." He looked over his shoulder at the man's body, even now being carried towards the pyre. "What's left of your family can get back to your wonderful little lives. Darden's daughter, then. Do you know where she is? Where her house is?"

Lamyra stared. Still no response.

Graadig sighed again, then leaned closer. "Do you know what the word 'rape' means, little one? It's not a very nice word, is it?"

Finally the girl cried. Some show of emotion was a good sign. He wasn't sure if she actually knew what the word meant or was just reacting to the harsh sound of it, but it didn't really matter at this point.

"You need to tell me where she lives. Otherwise, my lads are going to rape mummy. You don't want that, do you? Raping mummy? Where does she live, eh?"

The girl pointed towards a path leading out of the village proper.

"A recluse then! Doesn't surprise me. Let's go see!" He spoke to her like a grandfather bringing his favorite grandchild to see something new and wonderful. He took her hand gently, and slowly walked with her in the direction she had indicated.

He had a good feeling about this one. Children had an honesty that gradually left them as they became older. His men dragged the mother along with them while the rest of his entourage began to encircle what was left of the villagers---probably to engage in the activity that Lamyra had found so disagreeable.

When they arrived at the place he knew that his young friend had spoken true. Ornate but simple wind chimes hung from the trees, a little piece of blue glass was nailed to the exterior. Darden had always been a bit of a spiritualist, something that had always annoyed Graadig. The Traitor had valued his opinions more than Graadig's own, and that had never led anything worthwhile.

Other than these adornments, the place was exactly how the last man had described. It was a shack in every sense of the word. More of a box or a horse stall if truth be told. Graadig motioned for one of the men to kick in the door. Once he had done so he stepped inside, making sure there was no one hiding inside, waiting to spring in ambush. It took only a moment to confirm the small structure was empty. The man stepped back outside, nodding to indicate the place seemed safe. He had a sour expression on his face.

"Smells like a brothel mixed crossed with a barn, sir."

Graadig did detect a rather musky scent as he stepped inside. The shack was even less impressive in its interior. Two beds, a small table near the larger one, a few clay pots on another table in the corner. Darden had never been a man for extravagant effects, but this level of sparsity was beyond what Graadig would have expected.

"Hmm. Perhaps she did leave town, after all." He patted Lamyra's hand affectionately. "Very sorry about that, my love. Daddy was being honest, but still naughty all the same. Anything?"

Here his men turned over the tables and the bed, seeming rather disappointed there wasn't more furniture to abuse. One lifted a small box that had sat underneath the larger bed, rummaging through it and pulling letters from it. Graadig examined them over his shoulder.

"Darden's handwriting, for certain." He leafed through a few letters. "'To my love', blah blah blah, 'Dear heart,' blah blah blah." He sighed at the tedious addresses before noticing another letter already laying on the floor separate from the others. The smell was strongest here, lingering over the parchment like perfume from a maiden's love letter. Graadig lifted it and scanned it, his smile growing gradually as he read.

"We come to it at last. 'Soil from every corner of the world. Lay the soil in a circle. Blood of an old woman. A knife to open a tear in the world.' Always so poetic, our Darden. 'Bring forth part of the Blind Ones in the form of a shadow. Use this shade to close the tear.' Yes, Darden dear, we already knew all of this." Graadig sighed. "This rather tedious venture ends anticlimactically after all. It seems we needn't have bothered with our little visit. Still, he might have known something the Traitor didn't share with me, and it's best to be thorough wherever possible." He noticed the Traitor's name was covered in black ink, rendering it illegible. He had always thought it curious indeed that he never could remember his old master's name. Apparently the world had forgotten it as well. It wouldn't matter in the end. Soon enough, Graadig's own name would be spoken of in worship by every man, woman, and child left on this dead world.

Still, the absence of the daughter was a loose thread that could prove annoying further down the road. What had she done here? Did she try to call it? Did she summon the shadow? Surely she couldn't have done something that insane. Darden wouldn't raise his daughter to be a fool. But perhaps she did. Was the smell a leftover of the ritual? He didn't remember it from the last time the ceremony was held. No, it smelled like a mare in heat. Like ...

"Ah." His expression lacked any enthusiasm. This had the potential to complicate matters. "The bitch, it seems, is a bitch."

"Sir?"

"Werewolf. Darden's darling daughter is a dog." A dog who summoned the thing with the glowing white eyes. Some sort of arrangement between the two? None of this boded well.

Graadig suddenly became aware he was still holding his young friend's hand. He slowly sat down on the bed, taking both of her hands in his.

"I had hoped to begin my little ascension to godhood tonight, but if your friend is one of those drooling little doggies it may complicate matters if she were to return home and find us here. It might be better to put a little distance between us and them, hm? There's always more than one of them, they're like mice in a cellar. My dear, I think that maybe you were friends with the Veloren family, yes? Perhaps you'd like to come with us for a while, maybe take in the sights? With all these burning buildings and smoldering bodies, it's not a proper environment for a young lady."

Lamyra finally spoke. "L-Lura's ... a werewolf?"

Graadig smiled, strangely happy to learn the bitch's name.

* * *

Lura knew with absolute certainty that there was never a moment in her life where she felt happier than she did at this very moment. So when Eloren returned with news from outside their little paradise it came as even more of a shock. Her old life, her old purpose, had crept upon her like a thief in the night.

"How bad do you think it is?" asked Enadyse, slowly sinking to the bench. There were times when Lura felt Enadyse acted her age. She seemed less vibrant now, more like a tired old woman.

"Bad," said Eloren. "I don't expect there's any survivors. It was a small war party, all heading in the direction of the village." Here he turned and bowed his head towards Lura. "I'm sorry, little sister. This man is a monster. If I had known this was going to happen so close to our doorstep I would've advocated finishing him off long ago."

"We cannot become involved in their lives." Enadyse was addressing the group but was looking straight at Lura. "We're not their protectors, and they'd visit the same harm on us if they had the opportunity."

Lura felt her anger rise before realizing her alpha was probably right. She felt Kyrun's hand on her bare shoulder. Since that night, she had joined her friends in wearing no clothing except when it was cold at night. She had joked with Kyrun, saying she was finally prepared to "wear the uniform." She reached up and gave his hand a squeeze.

"I don't like this." Tam had a strange look on her face. Lura realized this was the first time she had ever seen her friend not smiling. "Why show up here? Now? The village poses no threat to someone like him. It has no militia, no resources to speak of. Lura said it doesn't even have a name."

"Lura." Eloren cleared his throat and spoke with the same sternness he had shown on that first day. "I'm sorry to even have to ask, but ... does this have anything to do with you? Or the demon you spoke of?"

Lura shook her head. "I don't see how. My father knew just as much about the ceremony that summoned it as the Butcher did."

"That's even more of a reason this can't have been a coincidence. He has no reason to take your home. Your village." It was good to hear Eloren correct himself in this way. This was her home now. "But he did. Why?"

Was that a slight, or a mistake? This was her home, and her family---her true family---had come to accept that. And it was true. Lura had no ties to the place of her birth and no desire to return. Her only desire was to work with her family, perhaps to lead them to others like them as Enadyse had suggested.

"I don't know," she finally answered. "I just don't know. It doesn't make any sense. Why attack now? But if he's back here it must mean he's finished with his travels." Lura felt the blood leave her face at the same time the rest of the pack realized what she was saying. "It means he's going to try it again. He's going to repeat what the Traitor tried to do."

Kyrun turned away. "It means there could be another Tear."

Enadyse placed her head in her hands. "Mother help us." She suddenly rose to her feet. "We ... We will survive this the way we did the other. We stay out of the affairs of madmen."

"You were here when it happened. I wasn't." It was rare that Kyrun became upset, and rarer still that his anger was directed at his alpha. "I remember what it was like out there. Some of us died on the spot. Some of us went mad. And not right away. Days went by before we realized something was wrong with them. A pup not twelve years old tried to tear my throat out, and he wasn't even transformed. You want that happening again?"

"That happened here as well, Kyrun." Eloren took his mate's hand as Tam turned to look at a certain spot near the campfire. The look on her face made Lura wonder what had happened there.

"And it will happen again. What if it's you this time? What if you try to hurt one of us? What if you try to hurt Tam? Or she tries to hurt you?"

Fury appeared in Eloren's eyes.

"What if we can do something to stop it from happening? Last time we didn't know, we couldn't have known. But now we know exactly what happened, to us and to the world. Do you think the Mother will survive if it happens again?"

"We are the Mother's children." Enadyse spoke slowly, seeking to calm Kyrun or perhaps to reassure herself of what she was saying. "She will protect us. Keep us safe from whatever horrors the Butcher thinks he can visit upon her. She was torn once, she won't allow herself to be torn again.

Lura couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"I think she's right, Lura." Tam took a step towards her. "Getting involved in this would be a mistake."

Eloren didn't even nod. It was obvious what his opinion was.

"Not getting involved could be a mistake. One that could cost us all our lives and the death of our world." Kyrun's grip on her shoulder become stronger. "We are going to stand by and watch it happen all over again."

Enadyse finally looked up. "Lura?"

Lura waited several moments before answering. "I don't know if he even can recreate the Tear. The Shade said he could, but it's hard to believe anything it said."

"Lura, you can't--"

She interrupted him. "But I know that I want to help the village. It's not my home. It never was. But there are good people there, even if they weren't good to me. I had a friend, the only real one I knew before I met you all. Her name is Lamyra. She's nine, probably closer to ten now. I don't want to imagine what the Butcher's men would do to her. The Butcher could die like his master if he tries the ritual. I certainly hope he does. But Lamyra needs help now. I want to go."

Enadyse looked at Kyrun. He gave only a single nod.

The alpha sighed. She looked defeated. "Then we go."

Lura didn't even have time to react before Eloren spoke up. "We have plenty of food for the journey. Getting there quickly will be the problem."

"What about if we go on all fours? We can cover a lot more ground that way."

"Risky, love. Even then it would be nearly a week before we would arrive. That much time as Gahreer ... Sometimes it's hard to come back from."

"We have no other option," countered the alpha. "It may in fact work to our advantage. When we catch up to them there is going to be fighting. A more feral frame of mind could give us an advantage they can't anticipate."

"That is true." Eloren grinned. "The bastards won't know what hit them."

Tam punched him on the shoulder. "This isn't something we're supposed to look forward to, we're going to help Lamyra." Tam spoke the girl's name as if she had known her for years.

"What ... is happening?" Lura whispered. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. A moment ago they were willing to let the world die to keep from getting involved. Now they were planning on a journey they might not come back from. For a moment, she felt Shade might be influencing them.

Kyrun whispered in her ear. "You want to go. So we go."

Lura looked at her friend as if he had gone mad. "But, they didn't--"

"They still don't. But you do. That's enough."

"I ... I don't understand."

"If your sister needs help, would you help her? Your mother? Your father?"

"Yes, but--"

"You're family now. Your problems are our problems. We could no more refuse to help you than you could refuse to pull your hand from a fire."

Lura hugged her friend, more to give herself something to hold onto than out of gratitude. He returned the embrace for a moment, then turned to go. "I should help them get ready. We should--"

"Get going." Lura said the words along with him. "There's the mantra you live by."

He smiled and turned to help Eloren and Tam gather supplies. Lura was left alone with Enadyse.

"He is right. Your family will always help you in whatever you need, even a task as grave as this."

"I don't know what to say. Thank you. And I promise I meant what I said. This isn't about revenge, I just want to help my friend."

"I know. And if she's your friend, she's ours as well."

"I'm ... I'm so lucky. To be here, to have met you all."

"Luckier still in having the love of a wise and caring man."

Lura felt herself blushing. Kyrun and she had not mated since the night she was adopted into the pack. They hadn't even really spoken about it. She knew there was affection between them, but was this what love was supposed to feel like?

"I guess so." Lura answered her own question aloud. "I don't know."

"I do. Come. The sooner we're off, the better. Lamyra is waiting."

* * *

They gathered at the edge of the wood. Without a word, Enadyse broke into a light job, Eloren a few steps behind her. Tam gave a grin of encouragement to Lura before she followed her mate. Kyrun lingered just behind Lura, hesitating to put his hand on her shoulder. He's still so unsure of himself after all this time, she thought.

"Just like we've always done. Nothing new. One foot in front of the other, and just let the change happen. Don't concentrate on it, it will figure out what it needs to do."

Lura sighed. It was just the same, and it wasn't. "You mentioned before that staying in wolf form for so long isn't such a smart thing to do."

"It's not dangerous," he sighed. "Just that sometimes the wolf doesn't want to let go. It's harder to change back. But we're already a week behind and this is the fastest way to get to where we need to go."

Lura didn't like this. She didn't like the thought of losing control again like she had the first night. But that was the exception, not the rule. The only other time she had come close was the night she had lain with Kyrun, and that was altogether different. Primal, bestial, but focused on one goal. She smirked as she glanced at her onetime lover. Focused on a very specific goal.

It wouldn't happen again. She wouldn't let it. She could come back when she needed to. She had to, for Lamyra.

Picturing her friend's face, she took her first step back into the wastes as her toenails scratched into the hellish red sand. Lura broke into a sprint, feeling the hot air blow through her tangled mess of hair. She swayed her arms, using her natural momentum to carry her forward. Soon she felt the wind blowing through the hair growing on her arms as well.

"That's it. Just let go."

Lura glanced behind at Kyrun. He was only half as step behind her. Mischievously she glanced between his legs, watching as his sheathe enveloped him. She supposed running with one of those between your legs would be uncomfortable, and the Mother must have agreed as it was the first part of him to change.

Lura glanced down at her chest, watching as dark brown hairs started poking through her upper chest, sprouting in a circle around her nipples, trailing down to connect to the hair climbing in an upward line from her mound. Her legs were already changing shape, stretching and snapping backwards into the hind legs of a wolf even as her back hunched over. Soon she would be able to run on all fours. _It will figure out what it needs to do._Her body understood the need for haste and adjusted itself accordingly.

She savored a grin. She couldn't allow herself to forget about the direness of her situation, the horror Lamyra must be going through even now. But even still, it felt wonderful to run. It always had, but now she was doing it in defiance of the hellscape that had almost taken her life. When last she had come this way she was on the verge of death, savoring every drop of water she could scavenge, praying that if the end came it would come quickly. Now she was grinning, almost laughing, unafraid to show the world that it hadn't beaten her. It hadn't won. She was here, she was happier than she had ever been in her life, and she was completely without fear.

A string of drool fell from her mouth as she took a few experimental lunges forward, letting the palms of her hands touch the hot dirt. Understanding what she needed, her hands stretched along with her forearm, her fingers moving further away from her thumb. Now satisfied she was able to run on all fours safely she increased her speed, stifling a short laugh.

"Easy," Kyrun called from behind her. "Don't start off too fast. It'll happen when it happens, don't push it."

Lura looked over her hairy shoulder and flashed Kyrun a feral smile. "You're just afraid I'll leave you behind and you'll miss the view." She tried to give a playful little sway of her rear in Kyrun's direction, and almost toppled over in the process.

"Just take it easy."

Lura looked forward, concentrating on cresting the small hill she was sprinting towards. The muscles in her legs and back were stinging at the exertion, but were even now swelling larger, her heart pumping blood faster. As she reached the crest she felt a small nub growing from her tailbone.

Reaching the top of the hill, Lura paused in her tracks and gasped. It was not for lack of air, rather it was due to the sight that awaited her below. She had never seen her entire pack transformed. The more experienced members had shifted fully and seemed to be intentionally slowing down to give her a chance to catch up.

Tam was the closest to her. She seemed almost as carefree as Lura felt as she gave playful little snaps at her mate. Her tongue hung from her jowls, and for a moment Lura was reminded of the few times she had seen a dog playing in her village. Her fur was the color of spun gold, glimmering in the darkness. It moved across her flanks in waves, shimmering as it flowed above the sea of sand and dust. Her breasts had grown larger, if that was possible, and the ones trailing down her chest were certainly bigger than the ones that adorned Lura's own frame. Tam didn't seem to be made for fighting.

Next to her strode a behemoth. Eloren covered nearly half the length of his mate's body with every stride. He was the largest creature Lura had ever seen, making her father's large horse seem like a squirrel in comparison. His feet were the size of a tree stump, his tail a trailing banneret, his fur a great black cloak, his footfalls thundering even against the sand. He glanced impatiently in Lura's direction. Lura's heart skipped a beat when she saw the look in his eyes. It was like staring into the heart of a fire. His jaws snapped in annoyance, and Lura felt like he could probably swallow a man in two quick bites.

Enadyse stood facing towards Lura at her place in the front of the pack. Lura had never before realized what being an alpha meant until this moment. She stood still in contrast to Tam's prancing and Eloren's lumbering. Even the wind seemed afraid to blow against her stark white fur. There was a great distance separating Lura from her alpha, but Enadyse's predatory gaze was focused entirely on her newest charge. Looking into those eyes felt like Lura was staring into a flash of lightning. There was something ancient there. Not just primal like the other members of her pack. Something old when the world was young. Something to be feared, but respected. Less of a beast and more of a work of nature. Staring into those eyes was like willingly walking into the heart of a tornado.

Kyrun, now nearly fully transformed, stepped next to her. "The eyes. Remember? Don't look her in the eyes."

Lura felt like a mouse before a wildcat. "It's ... hard not to."

"I know. Just keep going. You're doing fine."

Lura tore her eyes from her alpha's and turned to face Kyrun. The same look was present in his eyes as well, a spark that could even now be on the verge of spreading into a wildfire. "You would make a good one, too."

"What?"

Lura shook her head. "Nothing. I'm ready. Let's go."

* * *

For a week they ran. Seven days. Seven nights. Eight, Lura realized as the faint moon could be seen behind the miasma that filled the heavens. No water. No food. No stopping. No rest. Only running. Hunting. Tracking prey. Eager to feel the blood between their teeth. Lura needed to kill something. She needed to kill something even more than she needed cold water or a night's sleep.

Kind, ditzy little Tam had the same look in her eyes. Eloren was gone. Lura doubted he could understand a single word spoken to him. Even Kyrun seemed on the verge of crossing over from his reserved demeanor into full blown savagery. Enadyse herself seemed less of a creature of flesh and blood and more like a blur of light streaking across the sands, reminding Lura for one terrifying moment of the glow of Shade's eyes.

Finally they reached the tree line marking the border of the village. A week after the attack, and columns of smoke still drifted into the sky like a drowning man reaching for the hand of a friend. From this distance, Lura could smell the dead and the dying. Each individual death had its own smell. "Fire" said one body. "Sword" said another. "Tight hands around my neck." "A rope around mine." When Lura was last here she was afraid the residents of this once peaceful hamlet would surely starve after their cattle had mysteriously died.

They died because of me, she thought. Whether they starved or were slaughtered at the Butcher's hands, they all died because of me.

Lura was losing it. There wasn't much left to lose, but the last string connecting her human mind and the bestial body she now inhabited was coming undone. Soon it would snap, and Lura would snap with it.

"We need to handle this carefully." Lura wasn't sure if Kyrun was addressing her or their alpha. "There are still a lot of people in there, people we don't want getting hurt. If we rush in and blood starts flying, his men are going to panic and they aren't going to be too particular about in which direction they swing their swords."

How was he still coherent at this point? Everyone, even Tam, was a hair's breadth from charging forward towards fire and death.

"No." Enadyse's tone scared Lura more than the shadow in the corner ever could. "We can't help that. We attack fast before they know what's happening. Answer blood with blood. Death with death. If any of the Butcher's men are left alive come morning, you will all answer to me."

"Alpha ..."

Enadyse lashed out at Kyrun so fast Lura didn't even see her move. One moment her friend was standing next to her, the next he was laying prone with his belly facing towards the white wolf. Enadyse lunged forward much slower, her maw open, her fangs dripping as she leaned towards Kyrun. For one dark instant, Lura was afraid she was going to tear out his throat. Then the moment passed and some of the fury left Enadyse's eyes for a moment, although it returned in force as she looked back towards the burnt homes.

She spoke but a single word. It was all that was needed. "Eloren."

The monstrous black wolf took one step forward, extending his arms towards something nearby.

* * *

Vark sat laughing as his friend pushed a filthy peasant to her knees. He never got tired of this. He and his brother Jarl had signed up with Graadig nearly a year ago. Both young men felt it was a great chance to see the world, experience life to the fullest, and take whatever gold and women they wanted. When his brother had started a fight in a bar in Ronae, Vark had been far too drunk on wine and women to prevent a whore's son from driving a knife into Jarl's throat. But he wasn't too drunk to kill the bastard, or to make sure the bitch watched as he did it.

He was afraid this little altercation would get him in trouble with the boss, but Graadig had laughed and said it was fitting for one whore's son to kill another. Vark wasn't sure if this was intended to be a joke or not, but he laughed louder than anyone in the room to assure his boss no offense was taken. Vark was not a smart man, but he was smart enough to laugh at the boss's jokes, especially when his boss was the Butcher.

Vark loved nothing better than being drunk. Wine, beer, even this horse's piss they called ale in this shitty little town. He loved it better than fucking, he loved it better than gambling, and he loved it better than showing how much better he was than these plow-pushers.

Still, perhaps the year he had spent with the boss and the experience of losing Jarl had made him a bit wiser, a bit more aware of his surroundings. So it was that he was the first to notice the large shape falling from the sky. However, his first reaction was to laugh at the absurdity of it. It looked like a cart, but he was reasonably certain carts didn't come from the sky. Like there was a cart dealer from a floating city peddling his fabulous wares. The strange thought only made Vark laugh harder in his drunken stupor.

Vark didn't have time to point out the heavenly object or the funny idea he had just had before it crashed on top of him and two of his friends. Vark died instantly. The last thing that passed through his head wasn't Jarl, or his poor mother, or the red headed bitch he had been eyeing him in disgust for the past hour. The last thing that passed through his was a wooden wheel.

* * *

Immediately after the cart had crashed into the ground, Enadyse was among the bastards. Three died in the time it took Lura to take her first step forward. One moment they were whole, the next they were hurtling backwards like a leaf pushed by a wave, the blood and body parts of one man mixing with that of another as they were lifted from the ground to trail in the air behind the white wolf's wake.

Tam was on her heels, slower but no less deadly. She took little swipes left and right to the throats of the invaders, as precise as a surgeon's scalpel. Lura remembered thinking Tam wasn't made for fighting, and she knew it was still true. Fighting belittled what Tam was capable of. A little snip of the neck here, a tug on a shoulder there, and there were two rapists laying dead on the ground, one with no neck, one short an arm. This couldn't be called fighting. It was precise, targeted assassination.

Eloren was not so finessed. A small woodhouse stood between him and several of the Butcher's men grouped together. He simply crashed through it as though it were a spiderweb. The men had one instant before they were trampled. Lura suffused a grin as the bitter smell of urine surrounded more than a few of them just before they died. A young girl scrambled out of the way of the carnage and for half a heartbeat Lura feared it was Lamyra before she realized she was one of her neighbor's daughters, one that always relished in tormenting Lura as she was growing up. Even though she was always so horrible to Lura, she still didn't deserve to be crushed under Eloren's paws. But just before she was crushed, Eloren calmly scooped her up and sat her on top of the roof of a nearby home. He had gone out of his way to make sure she wasn't going to be injured. I catch him all the time flipping beetles back over when he finds them lying on their backs. He's a puppy.

Kyrun's role was a bit more specific. He seemed to be everywhere at once. If a soldier had enough time to knock an arrow, Kyrun would hurl him through a window or dash his brains against a fencepost. A flash of a blade from its sheathe would bring Kyrun out of the shadows as he slammed the blade into its own wielder's chest. Kyrun's role was ever the outsider, and the way he fought reflected on that. He was more preoccupied with ending any sudden threats to his friends than his own safety; Lura was made aware of this when her dear friend took an arrow through his shoulder. Kyrun reacted as if he were swatting at an gnat, his body pushing the arrow free from the wound and healing before he had taken a few steps.

For her part, Lura was able to hold her own, although she felt ashamed she was not nearly as fast or proficient as the others. The first man she cornered gave her pause. She had never killed anyone before. The man---boy, really---held his sword trembling at arm's length with a look of pale white terror on his face. Lura was reminded of the rabbits she had hesitated to kill weeks ago. For several seconds she considered letting him go. Then she smelled the dried semen on his pants and saw the dead girl laying in the corner, something to be discarded when he had no further use for her. She lashed out, tearing the man's armor apart and taking several ribs and squishy bits along with it. She knew he would be dead in another few moments, but she lashed out again and again, wanting him gone from her sight, wanting him removed from a wounded world that didn't deserve to be infected with men like this.

She spun on her paws and caught another rapist as he struggled to mount his horse and escape. She tore him from the saddle, slammed him into the ground, and before she realized what she was doing her teeth had sunk into his neck and she was swallowing his hot blood and bits of his throat. He screamed for a moment until the blood erupting from his throat started to fill his lungs, and then he could only make wet gasping noises as he struggle to breathe. Lura swallowed more of his life's blood as the light left his eyes.

Lura finally realized what she was doing. She was eating a human being. She got back to her feet and stared at the blood dripping from her forepaws. Was this what she was now? Was this what she had become? Nearby a woman screamed as she cradled the cold still body of a newborn. She was terrified of the beast before her, of the werewolf, of the monster. Lura took a few steps backwards, shaking her head.

She felt the hatchet sailing through the air towards the back of her head. She knew it was about to connect, but wasn't worried for a moment. Without knowing why, she was absolutely certain it would not hit its mark. As if on cue, the flash of white against the darkness marked Enadyse's arrival. She didn't slow down for an instant, only reached forward and tipped the handle of the axe so that its momentum changed and it would fall harmlessly to the ground. As she passed by her newest charge, Enadyse cast a quick glance in her direction and spoke only the word "Later" before disappearing once again into the darkness.

Enadyse had known Lura was in trouble and how to react. Lura had known Enadyse had known, and didn't worry for an instant. Was this the Call? She reached out and could feel Tam springing off of Eloren's shoulders towards another soldier that Kyrun had just now pushed into her path. They were linked together so elegantly that they were fighting almost like a single entity. If one needed help, another knew and could respond in the most efficient way to end the threat. What's more, Lura could sense how many innocents her packmates had slain. None. As savage as they were, as much as the humans may fear them, there was never a moment where any of them were in any danger whatsoever. Lura realized there was only a single one of the intruders left standing. She knew this because her pack knew this.

Lura glanced to her left and saw the last man left standing. She gave a short prayer to the gods of her father that it would be Graadig. Instead it was another nameless murderer, another man who was not happy unless he was deconstructing something beautiful that he didn't have the capacity to build. He made no move to flee or to attack. His eyes were blank and uncaring. He knew his time was at an end and apparently saw no reason to delay the inevitable.

Enadyse appeared in a flash, but slowed just before tearing the man apart. She looked at Lura and nodded in encouragement. She had the look on her face of a loving parent encouraging their child to take its first step, or a hen teaching her chicks how to paw at the ground for food.

With a swipe of Lura's claws, the man's head sailed through the air and landed in a tub of spoiled milk, turning it from yellow-white to a sickening pink. All around her a chorus of howls rose up into the sky as the earth drank deep of their sanguine tribute.

Lura couldn't help but think to herself that she now belonged to a very strange family.

* * *

It had taken longer to search what remained of the village than it had to reclaim it. Lamyra was nowhere to be found; neither was Graadig. The former discovery was a mercy, the latter one a catalyst for Lura's rage. He was gone, and he had taken her friend with her.

"This is a trap. Of course this is a trap." Kyrun looked at his brother and sisters expectantly, hoping somebody besides him would admit to possessing a shred of reason. "This is a trap and we're not going to rush headlong into it, because it's a trap and you don't rush headlong into traps. That's commonly agreed upon as being a bad idea. Right?"

For the first time in a week, Enadyse seemed herself again. "Lura ... He's right. He wants us to follow him. The Mother only knows why but it can't be good for us, and the second he sees us about to attack he's going to kill your friend. She'd be dead on the spot. She may even be dead now."

Lura's flashed momentarily flashed defiant hatred as she looked into her alpha's eyes before she realized what a mistake she was about to make. "I'm going. I don't care what he plans to do, I'm not leaving her behind. Not in the hands of the Butcher."

Lura felt Tam's paw touch her shoulder, slowly and with more than a little trepidation. "If you're going, we're going. But Kyrun's right, we need to take this more carefully. We tore through these bastards easily, but they weren't expecting us. The Butcher is, and he has your friend as a hostage."

"So how do we do this?" Eloren's voice actually startled Lura. His voice had always been booming. Now it seemed like it was as if an avalanche were speaking.

Enadyse sighed. "It will need to be clever, but it will need to be quick. We can't delay any more than necessary. Kyrun? Suggestions?"

Kyrun pointed towards the side of a barn. "Well, we should probably factor that into any strategy."

"Oh gods, no." Tam fell to her knees and began to sob. Eloren went over to her, a mountain seeking to comfort a mouse. Enadyse said something in a language Lura did not understand. She had the feeling that in this particular case she didn't want to.

Lura finally turned to look. The word "Hello!" was written on the side of a barn in yellow paint. Underneath it was a note, which Kyrun gently extracted from where it hung from a single nail. Underneath that was the sight that had Tam sobbing.

There were six of them. All children, all girls, all around Lamyra's age. That must have been deliberate. Message sent, message received. Lura supposed the number itself wasn't significant. If there had been any other children that matched these criteria, they would be laying here too. All of them had dark rings round their neck. For a brief moment Lura wondered if the tree from which they had been hanged was one she had climbed when she was their age. Streaks of black earth covered their mouths, and their cheeks were bulging. Lura prayed that part had come after they were already gone.

Finally, Kyrun passed her the note.

Hello!

I'm sure this has been a merry little adventure for the lot of you, but I'd like to ask for a moment of your consideration. Yes, I knew you'd be here. Yes, I knew you'd see this. Yes, it is a bit grandiose, but we all have our little indulgences. And yes, I knew this would provoke a certain reaction from you. I've done this all so many times over the years that I'm rather tired of the cat and mouse play, so let's just cut to the quick, shall we? You are all angry little beasties and I have no chance of evading you, not at my age. Now then! We're all on the same page here---and this little marvel notwithstanding I'm so tired of theatrics. It's all rather dull and I have a hard time coming up a reason to try anything new these days, but I have a feeling this panorama did its job. You will do me the honor of hosting your company at the ruined fort due west from this tranquil hamlet. Upon reaching it, I will exchange the company of my dear Lamyra---such a pretty name!--for Lura, the only daughter of my old friend Darden. This exchange of guests complete, we will bid each other a fond farewell and retire for the night. I do so hope you will accept this invitation, and I do know that Lamyra wishes that as well.

Gratefully yours,

G

P.S. - Again, I apologize for this display, but I feel that I have a harder time getting my point across these days.

P.P.S. - That may be due to how much harder people are to impress now, what with the world ending and all.

P.P.P.S. - Or maybe I'm just getting worse at these things in my old age. It was certainly easier when I was a young man.

Lura let the letter fall to the ground. She turned to look at Enadyse. "I'm going," she said, no hint of emotion in her words. "I'm going now."

Enadyse nodded, and turned with a sad look in her eyes to lead the way into the west, pushing through a hedge of brambles as she went.

* * *

Lura had never expected to find a ruin like this so close to her own village. She briefly wondered if this had been an outpost of an ancient kingdom, or a garrison that had been around as recently as the Tear. Either way, it was an decrepit old structure, eroded by the winds and rising from the dirt like a headstone of the once-living world.

There were guards posted on the side of the road approaching the ruined keep. Graadig had no fear---or no regard---for his men. Lura got the impression that Graadig wanted them to feel that they were being welcomed as guests to an evening soiree.

Still, their valets did not seem entirely welcoming of the part they were asked to play. They took several steps back, giving the four Gahreer a wide berth as they approached. Hands tightened around pikes or went instinctively to the pommels of swords. Lura wanted to kill every one of them, and knew that Tam's hand on his shoulder was the only thing preventing Eloren from doing just that.

As they came nearer to the front entrance several men---surely the bravest among them---stepped forward to bar the way. Both parties realized it was a purely symbolic gesture and would serve about as much of a deterrent as trying to keep the ocean waves from assault the shore.

From above them, a man cleared his throat and shuffled forward onto a balcony above them, pulling with him a young girl bound at the wrists. It took Lura a moment to realize this was the man she had spent her entire life hating. She had always pictured someone standing seven feet tall, with long flowing black hair clad all in some mail forged in the darkest depths of some unknown hell. Instead, Graadig was of average height, skinny, with gray balding hair and the kindest eyes she had ever seen. Lura had never known either of her grandfathers, but had the feeling they would have probably looked very much like the man before her.

Lamyra appeared just as she had the last time Lura had seen her fleeing from her doorstep. Her eyes were red from what must have been over a week of crying, or perhaps they were just tired and ready to get the next stage of this nightmare over with. She had a few bruises, particularly around her wrists from where she must have tried to slip them from the ropes that bound them together. Perhaps the worst change to have come over the young girl was the frightened look in her eyes as she watched the five monsters approach, realizing as she must that one of them was her "big sister." She looked from beast to beast until Lura finally spoke up.

"It's okay, pup."

Upon hearing the nickname, Lamyra began to weep and buried her face against Graadig's leg, seeking comfort from the man they called the Butcher rather than face what her best friend had become.

Graadig smiled at this exchange, but continued on with the farce he must have practiced countless times since leaving the village. "Yes, that's quite a sight, isn't it, little one? Darden's dearest has certainly taken up a rather unusual ... occupation? My condolences to your mother, Lura love. No child should be without her loving mother, right Lamyra?" Here he chuckled. "Although I suppose it wouldn't have made much of a difference when she passed on, what with the ghastly little business at the village."

"The village that you destroyed?" answered Enadyse. "The village that you murdered?"

"That is the one I was referring to, yes."

Lura stepped forward in front of her alpha. "I'm here. Let her go. Now."

Graadig frowned. "Making demands on a host? Rather bad manners I must say, though I'm not too surprised. Darden was always off on adventures with Traitors and Butchers instead of at home instructing his daughter in the ways of good manners." Here he sighed. "Okay, enough of this. I had this whole bit planned. 'I'm the humble host, you're the slavering beasts I'm gracious enough to have over for dinner.' It was good, don't get me wrong, I'm just a bit tired of going through something so ... droll. I was even going to have a ..." He paused, chuckling. "Anyott, remember the tablecloth? How we were going to-- We were going to have a tablecloth spread out, like this was a picnic or something. But the only thing we had was a tent, and it's yellow and dirty and I didn't think you'd get the impression I was hoping for. So, yes, that's what we were going for anyway. But I guess I'm the only one who would've be amused and I'm just not feeling it today. I'm too tired and too old."

Enadyse's voice cut through the old man's ramblings. "If you're prepared to speak plainly, kindly do so. We have no more wish to prolong this than you do. Kindly deliver the girl so we can make the exchange, before I grow tired of this and tear more of your men apart."

"Ah, a lady alpha?" Graadig seemed genuinely surprised. "How very progressive in these dark times! I do hope the boys back at the village weren't too much of a bother."

"Not at all. We disposed of them easily."

"Ah, well then! They did their jobs perfectly after all! Were you the alpha Darden spoke of? He never mentioned you were a woman."

"I was not alpha when he visited us, but I now have that honor."

"A promotion due to recently vacant management. You'd do well in the army, m'lady, that you would. Ah me, getting off on a tangent again. Sorry. I had planned on speaking with Lura alone, but perhaps you'd like to accompany us as well. What do you think, Lamyra honey?"

Enadyse glanced in Lura's direction. Through the Call she could feel her alpha realizing Graadig may now be giving them the opportunity they were looking for. "I will come 'picnic' with you, Butcher. But first release the child."

"No, I'm afraid I'm not so stupid as that, m'lady. The two of you first, then I'll entrust Lamyra's care into the hands---paws?---of your strange little family. And perhaps you'd like to slip into something more comfortable for our repast? Say, a form not covered in hair and pointy extremities?"

Enadyse nodded towards Lura and together they walked into the keep, changing as they went. They bodies shrunk, their fur retreated. By the time they reached to top of the stairs leading to the balcony, Enadyse had shifted fully into her human form. Lura, unable to completely abandon her fear and anger, could only shift partway. She was still covered in hair, her muscles more pronounced, her fangs and claws tapering to deadly points.

"We're here, Butcher."

"I meant what I said about slipping into something more comfortable." Graadig motioned towards two simple garments held aloft by two of his men. My men have not seen women as lovely as the pair of you in a very long time, and I'd imagine you'd like to be offered some modicum of modesty."

Lura took the offered garment with some uncertainty, fearing it may be laced with poison or perhaps contain some venomous asp. Instead it was a plain white tunic, only slightly dirtied by the blowing sand. Enadyse only glanced at the clothing offered to her. "I have no use for modesty in my old age, and should one of your servants be so inclined to act on their impulses you will have one fewer at your disposal." She sat at the table without being asked to.

Graadig smiled. "My lady, meeting you makes me long for the days when I was young and in my prime. Those happy days before I had a wall covered in the pelts of your brothers and sisters."

At this, Lura took a step forward bearing her fangs, her claws beginning to grow just a bit longer.

"Now now, you're quite right, Lura. I must remember my manners. Now, alpha dear, would you be so kind as to instruct the rest of your 'pack' to return to the village? Anyott here and some of my men will accompany you, along with my dear friend Lamyra. At a reasonable distance, of course. Should your two friends wish to engage with Lamyra's escort in any way, they may find that my men have been ordered to open her throat at the slightest provocation. Do you understand?"

Enadyse nodded. She rose to her feet and walked to the edge of the balcony, nodding towards Tam and Eloren below. "Go. They will follow. Once you are at the village and the girl is safe, find us again." She looked over to Graadig. "As long as that is in keeping with our hosts wishes?"

"Quite so!"

Tam and Eloren reluctantly turned and went. Lura had the feeling she would never see either of them again.

Enadyse took her seat again, and Graadig walked to Lamyra and the man Lura assumed was Anyott. Graadig went to crouch, winced at the pain in his knees, and decided to take a seat instead. He motioned Lamyra forward, patting at his leg as if he expected the girl to sit in his lap. Lura gripped her fists so tightly she felt blood run from her palms. Anyott shoved her towards his master.

"Now my dear, it's time for us to say goodbye. All good things must come to an end, but perhaps we'll meet again in the new world I will soon be fashioning. In fact, when I'm a god maybe I'll let you by the queen of this pitiful little continent. Would you like that? Queen of dead cows and burned homes, hm? Give us a kiss."

Here the old man embraced Lamyra and planted a kiss upon her forehead. It was a strangely genuine scene. For one sad moment, Lura realized that in his own way Graadig was showing affecting in the only way his warped mind knew how. Lamyra, now released from the embrace, was ushered towards the stairs by her captor. She stopped just before passing Lura.

"It's ... It's really you in there, isn't it?"

Lura could only nod.

"You look weird, and you smell weirder. I hope maybe someday you can tell me what happened. With the cows, and with this." She motioned towards Lura's clawed hands.

"I will. One day, we'll talk about all of this, pup. We'll talk about all of this and I'll take you someplace where you don't have to be around monsters like him. Or me."

Tears welled in the young girl's eyes. "You're not a monster. You're a shit." Lamyra hugged her much bigger big sister. Anyott allowed the two friends a moment before he pulled on the back of Lamyra's collar, ushering her down the stairs. Lamyra called back to Lura as she was carried down the stairs. "You promised to come back! You promised!"

"I promised, pup!" Lura called out "I will come back."

Enadyse placed her hands on Lura's shoulders. "We'll find her. As soon as she's safe, the others will come back for us." Lura knew what Enadyse meant by the word "others." She meant Tam and Eloren, true. But Kyrun had silently slipped away from the group before they had reached the fort. He would stay behind, and the instant an opportunity arose, he would free them. "They have no idea what they're doing. Nothing they do can keep us restrained for long."

As if on cue, Lura's hands were enveloped in cold flame as two men stepped forward and slapped sliver shackles on the wrists of both Gahreer. The pain was bad, but not so intense as to keep Enadyse from letting out a single word. "Whoops."

* * *

Lura and Enadyse were forced into the back of a wagon. At least, Lura assumed it was a wagon. Her captors had slipped black sacks over their faces the moment after the silver manacles were clasped around their wrists. The shackles were not enough to cause intense pain as long as they didn't try to transform, only a lingering ache that annoyed more than it hurt. Enadyse would often try to say something encouraging, only for one of Graadig's men to hit her on the back of the head with something. Eventually the two rode in silence, the Call between them enough to reassure and share whatever opportunity to escape would eventually arise.

After what Lura figured was a day of riding, the hoods were finally removed and the two were allowed to stumble out of the cart. Lura realized they were standing in the middle of a forest, though one much more like the forests of her youth than the paradise that had become her new home. In another bit of familiar irony, they were ushered towards a run down shack very much like the one in which Lura had grown up.

Upon crossing the meager threshold, Lura and Enadyse were shoved roughly onto the floor. The pain in her wrists intensified as she hit the ground hard. She looked up into the kindly face of the monster Lura had spent her life wanting to kill.

"Good to have you here, ladies. Harak, Beshu, you can close the door behind you."

Graadig paused as his men shuffled outside, eager to be away from their master.

"I believe you'll be happy to learn that our time together is almost at an end. I regret not having the opportunity to get to know Darden's daughter and ... associate." Here he nodded towards Enadyse. "But time is of the essence, and I'm eager to become a god, so I'll cut right to the point of our little gathering. It's been a long, long road for me and I'm eager to get started, but during this most critical sequence I believe it is all the more important to be a thorough as possible.

"Did you know that's why the Master always favored me, above all his other loyal soldiers? Thoroughness. The job is not done until it is done. My father used to say that. I doubt he ever thought the saying would apply to his son achieving divinity, but it's a lesson I have tried to employ all the days of my long life." He paced behind a small table in the middle of the shack. "The Traitor---or whatever his name really was---sent me to lead his armies to every corner of the world, all for this." Here he lifted four small sacks, allowing each one to slam heavily back into the tabletop.

"Dirt. Not exactly the most regal of endeavors, but it's what he wanted and so it's what he got. Soil from every corner of the world."

Oh gods, Lura thought. He's ready to do it. He's ready to do it right now. Tonight. He's going to cause another Tear.

"When I saw dear daddy Darden was getting a bit too close to the master, I felt it might be a good a time as any to ... divest him from our benefactor. I crammed the earth's rich bounty down his throat after beating him half to death with a stovepipe."

Lura didn't flinch. The disappointment was plainly visible on Graadig's features.

"Ah. I see you knew about that then. The 'how', but maybe not the 'why'? Why did I kill daddy, Lura?"

"Because you're a sadist who was afraid your master was valuing my father's input over your own."

"That's ... not entirely inaccurate, my dear, on both accounts. Your father felt that we could reach out to the Blind Ones, take their hands and usher a part of them into the world. Give a will to those without a will of their own, use that power to shape the world for the better. The man was a fool. You really should be thanking me for putting in the ground, my dear, you're very much better off without him. 'Will' is something the Blind Ones don't understand. You might as well ask a tiger what it thinks about economics ... or a werewolf how it feels about proper dining etiquette."

He sighed, disappointed again at being unable to get the ire of either of them.

"No. The Blind Ones truly know one thing only. Power. They have no will, they have no thought ... but they do have power. Power to tear the world apart as easily as you would tear a page from a book. Power to reshape the world. To mold it into the way things are supposed to be, the only way it _can_be. One man, one voice, one vision. Without order, without thoroughness, you get what we have here today: a world devoid of meaning or ambition. Even as it takes its last dying breath, it still doesn't know what it wants, how it wants to live, who it wants to follow. It's drowning and it doesn't even see the hand being offered to pull it to salvation."

Enadyse spoke up for the first time since entering the shack. "You are completely, irrevocably, unquestionably insane."

"Yes, so they tell me. Darden said the same about me, even as I said the same about him."

"And that's why you killed him? A conflict of interest? Men like you can't see reason, can't come to amiable terms over disagreements. Men like you--humans like you---only care about getting your own way, no matter the costs. The Tear did many horrible things, but more and more each day I realize that ridding the Mother of most of your race may have been one of the best things to happen to this world."

Graadig laughed as he looked at Lura and motioned towards her alpha. "And people say I'm a bad guy?"

"You are," Lura answered. "You are a monster and you killed my father because he threatened to sway your master in a direction you couldn't stand. Paradise with the rule of the living gods to direct it? You wouldn't know what to do in a world without misery. So you killed the only good man in the Traitor's army at the expense of the entire world."

Graadig turned in revulsion and spit on the ground. "Good man? My dear, Darden was many things in his life. A prick, first and foremost. A father so devoted to his wife and daughter that he left them to die in squalor. A know-it-all who didn't know his place, even when it would cost him his life. But a good man? My love, Darden was not a good man. I should know! I've killed lots and lots of good men. You get a tingly feeling at the back of your mind when you do. Conscience? Satisfaction? I never could tell the difference, really."

"Shut your mouth, bastard!"

Graadig fought off a laughing fit. "I mean, do you think that's how he got to be the Traitor's own right hand? Handing out daisies to children and giving up his seat to old women? The things I saw him do, dear girl, would keep you awake at night. Nine hells, the man gave me the inspiration for some of my best work. Remember the barn? I've seen your father kill more men in a day than I have hairs left on my head. Women. Children. It didn't matter to him in the slightest, just as long as he could user in this glorious new world. 'Any price is worth paying,' he said. 'They would thank us if they knew what we were doing for them.' He'd say the same boring thing over and over, even as he was dragging a knife through a man's throat. Part of me believes the master sent me on raids so often because he knew I'd leave more men alive than dear-old-dad. For the gods' sake, people think I'm a monster? Your father killed anyone who might stand in the way of creating the master's paradise. He was the real monster. I just want to rule the world. At least I'm honest."

"Every word you spit out is a lie!" It has to be, Lura thought. It has to be.

Graadig shook his head. He looked at Lura incredulously, as if he had suddenly discovered he was talking to a deluded child. "For the daughter of such a smart man, you truly are quite dense. The apple fell a good bit far from the tree this time, eh?" He walked towards the two women, pulling something from his belt and concealing it in his cloak.

"So. Time to be thorough. I know about the soil, I know about the blood of an old woman, I know the silly little words I have to recite. I even hired a scholar to make sure I had the right vernacular. Have to make sure to pronounce the word 'power' so that they can understand. They're blind, not deaf, after all. But just to be extra thorough ..."

He held forward a device Lura felt couldn't have been made on this world. It resembled a dagger with a pronged blade and a ring of several other blades encircling the center. He gave an eager little flick at the handle, and the blades started spinning, the prongs in one direction, the ring of knives in another.

"This obscure little wonder took quite a deal of work to find, but I always knew I'd find a use for it one day. It was made to torture mean little doggies such as yourselves. Werewolf hunts aren't a new thing, my dear, they were around long before the Tear. Quite a novel device, this one. The ring on the outside keeps spinning as long as you keep feeding it blood. Werewolf blood. And there is always so much of it. Your lot always heal so quickly it's hard to chop something off before it grows back again. And so some bright lad invented this. It spins and cuts. You bleed and heal. One feeds on the other and around and around we go. I'm told it can take days for it to kill one of you. Fortunately if pressed into the heart or skull it speeds the process up a good bit. Hard for a heart to grow back together when it's being torn to pieces over and over again.

"And so that's what we're going to have here. I brought the blood of an old woman, of course, but what would fit the bill more than the blood of an ancient alpha female. I stab this into her and it'll get the Blind Ones attention more than anything I could have hoped for."

"Lura ..." Enadyse seemed more concerned with making sure her daughter was okay than the threat of her own death.

"Except ... Well, as is usual when dealing with anything relating to Darden, I have a feeling I'm about to be disappointed. I was all set to torture your new mommy here until you told me anything I might not know about the ritual. Anything your father may have left aside from that little note of his. But speaking with you has made it quite apparent that there's nothing you know that I don't, correct? I've spent an awful lot of time torturing the ignorant in hopes that they might be able to reveal something unexpected. It's boring work, and usually fruitless in the end. And I've gotten very good at it over the years, good enough to realize when I'd be wasting my time and yours. So I'll ask plainly, and I'll know if you're lying. If you are, I'll kill her first, then you shortly after. If you speak the truth, well ... this doesn't have to be an entirely one-way exchange, you know. A god needs followers, otherwise what would be the point? I'm sure I'll still need people to manage logistics, enforce laws, dispense justice. You two could do very well for yourselves, my lovelies. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. I will ask a series of questions. You will answer truthfully."

Lura gave no response until Graadig spun the handle of the device and held it above Enadyse.

"Yes! Yes, whatever you want to know."

"There's a good girl. Is there anything you know about the ritual outside of the note daddy left you?"

"No!"

"Good. Do you have any reason to believe your mother knew anything about it?"

"No! She knew nothing about it. I read every one of my father's letters. The one you saw was the only one that mentioned the ritual at all."

"You are an absolute joy to interrogate. Final question: Do you have any knowledge of anyone else who may have any further insight into the ritual. Anyone at all, now. We must remember to be thorough. Anyone?"

"Of course not!"

Graadig pressed his thumb against the handle and the blade stopped spinning. "Never before have I been so delighted and so disappointed in equal measure. My dear, I thank you from the deepest reaches of my heart, both for your knowledge---or lack thereof---and for allowing me the pleasure of your company. I thank you for your honesty and know that in the next life your mother will come to appreciate what you've done here today, though I'm sure she very much doesn't agree just this moment."

"My mother is dead, you son of a bitch."

"Well one is, yes. I was talking about this one. But who am I to disagree?"

The Butcher raised the device over his head. He flicked the handle, causing it to spin violently before plunging it down directly into Enadyse's heart.

Lura screamed. Enadyse screamed. Graadig continued his relentless rambling, but no one in the room could hear. Blood sprayed from Enadyse's chest. It covered the ground, the ceiling, the walls. It covered Lura and the now-laughing madman. Lura felt her body begin to change, only to be feel the icy sting of the silver press into her growing wrists. In her agony, Enadyse looked at her youngest daughter and tried to speak but her words died in her throat. Lura heard the door open and felt herself being lifted to her knees by rough hands as the bag was forced over her head again. The last thing she saw was Enadyse's face, a smile on her lips despite the agony as the life slowly left her eyes. Lura felt a sharp pain on the back of her head, and she knew no more.