Chapter 35

As a matter of fact, they had, so we quickly decided to go back to the farmhouse and arm up. However, we found Bryndísar waiting for us in the living room, sitting at the foot of his hide-a-bed.

“You all aren’t as quiet as you think you are,” he said. “What’s the emergency?”

Lilja raised her hand. “I’ll tell Pabbi. I don’t need to suit up.”

She must have spared some details for the sake of brevity, as the two of them were sitting in silence when we came back down in our uniforms. If Bryndísar knew what Heida and I had been up to, I doubt he’d look so calm.

“So, looking for a black creature in the dark of night?” He eyed Kowalski suspiciously. “Assuming the monster isn’t with us already, which it almost certainly is.”

“Finally, something we agree on,” said Heida.

“Pabbi, Buddy is part of Rafal, and Rafal’s so gentle!” Lilja had seized her father’s good hand, looking at him imploringly.

“The Horde’s got a lot of monsters to throw at us, but I’ve never seen anything that looks like Buddy. Skjor, did that monster really have black skin and empty white eyes?”

I hesitated. “Yes. It was rather similar, but with some significant differences. I don’t think there’s a match.”

“Well, I think you’re ignoring the obvious,” he replied. “You’re taking the word of a shadow-beast about its actions, and it’s one that’s almost as ornery as Viktor.”

“No, Buddy doesn’t lie,” said Kowalski dejectedly. “He’s proud of the tricks he pulls, especially if it gets a rise out of people; I don’t see him fibbing this time.”

“Wait, why the heck is Buddy still out?” Heida pointed up towards Kowalski’s room. “Kowalski sleeps with a disruptor, right? We should slap it right on his ankle and call it a night.”

“Rafal, you said he can slip out, right?” I asked. “I remember you mentioning that at the airport.”

“Yeah, if he’s careful,” said Kowalski. “And uh…” He glanced up the golem perched on the back one of the chairs, staring straight ahead like a gargoyle. “He’s kinda riled up. He probably would.”

“Then we should not, uh, ‘rile’ him up any more,” said Mariko. “Buddy is innocent, and we want him to help when we find the real creature.”

“Yes, we’re better off being able to keep an eye on him,” I said.

“Fine. Do we have any sleeping pills?” asked Heida. “We could knock him out, and you claimed Buddy can’t work while he’s asleep.”

“That leaves us vulnerable if I’m right and there is something else on the loose,” I countered. “We might need Rafal in a pinch.”

“Well, I’m not going on a hunt with that thing behind me,” said Heida. “Not when we know our quarry is sitting right there.”

“Then we’ll split up,” I said. “Some of us can stay and watch over Rafal, just in case Buddy does try something, and the rest of us can go after our quarry.”

Heida let out a relieved sigh. “Well, you insisted on chasing that wild goose, so you can go search outside.” She jerked a thumb at the blond man. “I agree with Pabbi, so I’ll be watching this guy like a hawk.”

“Works for me; I’m not in any shape to go tramping around in the night,” said Bryndísar. “I can still cast a spell…” He flexed the fingers of his weakened left hand. “More or less. I’ll stay here, too.”

“I can’t leave Rafal alone with two people who don’t trust him,” insisted Lilja.

“Just as well, since you aren’t exactly equipped for a monster hunt.” I nodded at Mariko. “What do you say, my dear? Shall we?”

Mariko smirked at Heida. “I suppose it is just the two of us.”

Heida looked confused for a moment, as though wondering how she’d so badly miscalculated. She wasn’t the least bit pleased that I was going off with Mariko, but she also couldn’t object to it.

Kowalski shook his head. “No, wait. You said whatever it was ate your spell like it was nothing.” He glanced at Mariko. “Sorry, but Mariko won’t be throwing any Magic Bolts to help out. You can’t fight it by yourself!”

“Not without the proper tools, at least,” I said, hefting Bryndísar’s enchanted cane. “I’ll be borrowing this.”

Bryndísar’s eyebrow raised. “What for? Wait… Those runes do mean something, don’t they?”

“It’s an attack spell,” I replied. “Bloody Lance, or Bahadur in High Demonic.”

“What, did they teach you that while you were shoveling Macrauchenia shit?” asked Bryndísar in a skeptical tone. “Did they have night school for slaves?”

Mariko piped up. “His Mimic helps him with that. It also lets him copy their magic.”

Giving me some cover in case I have to break out the big guns? Good girl. I did pick up on human runes fairly quickly; there might be some truth to that.

He shrugged. “Sure, go ahead and take my cane, if it helps. I’m not going anywhere, and if that shadow attacks, I’ll need both my hands free.”

Kowalski bit his lip before leaning over to whisper in my ear. “I still don’t like leaving you and Ms. Yamada alone. I can help you more out there!”

I eyed Bryndísar and his daughters. “Think of it was keeping them safe. Bryndísar isn’t at full capacity, Lilja’s a mundane, and Heida… Well, it’s good to have two combat wizards on duty.” I decided not to out her bad habit of freezing up. We were dating, after all. It would be bad form.

He didn’t look any happier, but he nodded. “Alright. I’m on it.”

“Good man,” I said. “Now, Bryndísar, I was told you still had some enchanted weapons on hand?”

“Just my sword, and an enchanted spear.” He gestured towards a large painting at the far side of the room. “The safe is hidden there, but it sounds like this thing flies. How are you going to get into range?”

“That’s why I’ll need one more favor,” I said. “Where is your least valuable sheep?”

***************

“Are you sure this is necessary?” asked Mariko as I led the stiff-legged sheep into the fenced paddock. It wasn’t as tall as the one meant to contain Viktor, so I sprang over it once the sacrificial lamb was loose. I wasn’t a moment too soon, as the freed creature charged after me, nipping at my heels. I see why the old man was willing to give you up, B37.

“We know it’s got a taste for fresh meat,” I said. “I’m sure this is what took out Brandur’s ram, too.”

“Yes, but this seems cruel,” she replied.

“Then we’ll try to be faster than it,” I said, smiling with all the confidence I didn’t feel. If the mystery creature was Buddy, I’d just sentenced a whole family to their fate. If I was right, though… “Remember what I said before? Whatever it is, no quarter. No mercy. Not when it can shrug off Magic Bolts and swoop down from any angle.”

Mariko nodded once. “Yes, I understand. It sounds like it is simply an animal.” She snapped her fingers. “You said it had wings, right? I wonder if that drunk farmer thought it was a pterodactyl?”

“I hadn’t considered that,” I said. “If it’s been moving from farm to farm, that would explain an awful lot.”

We had a quick discussion about how to proceed. We didn’t want to sit in plain view of our bait; the creature might not show up if it spotted us. Worse, it might go straight for us instead, and it could come in from any angle. Yet, we had to keep an eye on the sheep.

“Are we sure the creature will come back?” asked Mariko. “You scared it off before.”

“It seems to me that it might not have a choice,” I replied. “It completely stripped the meat off that ram’s bones, remember? It must have one Hell of an appetite. It might be desperate if it was willing to tackle a giant like Viktor.”

“Or it is sure it could win.” Mariko shuddered. “That was an awful gash.”

“Getting cold feet, my dear?”

She shook her head. “No, though… Never say this to Mr. Maki, but I almost wish I had learned some of the combat spells. I never considered fighting off animals before.”

“A tad late for that,” I said. “Though, I think we have a use for your unique talents.”

The barn was the furthest from the house, sitting at the base of the tallest hill on the property. It seemed the sheep hadn’t been left to graze it, since it was covered in scraggly brush and leafless trees.

My borrowed longsword was reinforced with runes, and a little magic let it fell the tallest tree with a single slash. Mariko vaporized a section of hillside to create a depression large enough for us to sit side by side. I relieved my tree of its branches, and I fashioned them together into a decent enough cover.

“I’d feel better if they still had their leaves, but it probably won’t be able to see our hidey-hole from above," I said as I settled in, shutting off my flashlight. “It’s not the best hunting blind I’ve ever used, but I’ve had far worse.”

She nodded and took a seat next to me. “Now what?”

“Now we wait,” I said. The only light came from the moon and a distant lantern that illuminated our bait.

It shouldn’t have surprised me when she rested her head on my shoulder. “Probably best not to get too close, Mariko.”

I could just see her round face in the reflected light, and she wasn’t pleased. “What do you mean?”

“If we get too comfortable, we’re liable to fall asleep.” I couldn’t quite stifle a yawn, and she followed shortly after. “Rather inconsiderate of that beast to attack in the night after we’d spent all day working!”

“I do not know,” she said in a reproachful tone. “It did not seem to stop you from sneaking off with Heida.”

“Don’t tell me that’s why you volunteered for this job,” I said.

“No, no,” she said, shaking her head. “You saw the way she went after Rafal, though. That was a new low for her.”

“I can’t entirely disagree,” I said. What would be safe to say? Anything I confided might come out of Mariko’s mouth later, after all. “I’m sure she has her reasons, and it is the simplest solution.”

“If you ignore everything we know about Buddy,” she countered. “And Rafal. Buddy is mischievous, but not actually evil.”

A vision crossed my mind of Buddy ripping the entire family to shreds as Kowalski begged him to stop. My eyes were fixed dead ahead on the doomed sheep. He had run out of energy, and stood completely still, peering out into the gloomy night. “We’ll see soon enough.”