TELVIN

We headed east. The husks were needed in the vampire city by next week. We were told that when we reached Cerith, we would set up camp to the north of the walls. The client we were working for had very detailed instructions on where the husks would be taken and how they would be let loose.They even provided an in depth map of the city and the sewer systems that ran beneath the streets. Our routes were highlighted in red ink. There was no room for error with the diagrams that were given. They wanted to send fear through the city with the monsters we had. The client was looking to weaken the people’s trust that the walls kept them safe. The thought sent a shiver down my spine. This would certainly do it.

I never met the client. No one besides Hark knew who they were. They were very secretive. It sounded like they had been planning this event for quite some time. Their attention to detail was impressive, almost scary. It made me thankful I wasn’t meeting with them. Hark would come back, looking tired and worn down. It was as if the conversations with our mysterious partner took a toll on him.

After meeting with the client, he would call all the guild leaders together to relay the information to them. Charlotte was of course part of the meetings. I didn’t understand why she dragged me along to them either. I felt out of place among the other people. They were clearly strong. Each person had a capable head on their shoulders. Everyone except me. I never spoke during the meetings. What could I even add? I never understood Charlotte. What did she see in me? I was beginning to think I’d never know. Sometimes it felt like she couldn’t stand my guts, but others it was so obvious she wanted me around. I tried not to think too much of it either. It was better to assume she hated me so I wouldn’t get too close.

We were still a few day’s time away from the city. We were stopping for the night, but it wouldn’t be a very long rest. Everyone was told not to set up any tents. We had to move fast the next few days if we were to get to Cerith on time. Moving in such a large group was slower than I realized. If people could, they would sleep in carts, or on the ground on bed rolls. I had started my own small fire and laid out a deer skin when someone called to me. It was one of the younger girls who traveled with us. I assumed she was the daughter of other guild members, no more than fifteen years old. She went by Yula. Her skin was dark and her wavy hair was a chestnut color. She always had a slip of fabric tied around her hairline to keep the long strands out of her face.

“Mr. Telvin, have you got anyone to share your fire with yet?” she asked me.

“I suppose not,” I told her as I sat on my pelt. “Do you not have anyone to set up with?”

She shook her head and sat next to me. She dug through the pockets on her worn apron and pulled out a wad of cloth. “I have brought snacks though,” she replied. Yula untied the cloth to expose salt cured meat. She held a piece out for me.

I took it gratefully. “Thank you.” I brought the piece to my mouth and took a bite. It was tough and hard to chew, but it was food. I would never complain about receiving free food.

“I have never asked you,” the young girl said, looking up at me. “What is your blessing?” Her eyes shone with curiosity.

“Uh, fire resistance,” I said lamely. “I’m a blacksmith. My Pa is a blacksmith. Was,” I corrected. I frowned and looked away from her. I felt the dark feelings start to come forward. They always came back no matter how much I wished they’d go away.

“Was?” Yula asked as she picked another piece of meat up. She brought it to her mouth, her eyes never leaving mine.

“You ask too many questions, Yula,” a scolding voice came from behind. Charlotte walked around us and sat across the fire.

The girl laughed. “Maybe you don’t ask enough questions,” she replied quickly.

Charlotte shook her head and clicked her tongue at the young girl. “What’s your blessing anyway?”

Yula only took another bite of her food.

“Not going to tell us?” I nudged her side with my elbow.

Charlotte let her hood fall and leaned back on her arms. The warm light from the fire glinted off the daggers she still had on her hips. “She won’t ever tell,” Charlotte sighed.

“Well, who are her parents? We can guess pretty easily if you know them,” I said to the dwarf.

Yula giggled. “You think my parents are guild members?”

“Why else would you be traveling with the guild?” I asked. I looked back at the girl. What kind of things could have led such a joyous young lady to travel in such a manner other than by birth?

Yula only laughed again in response. She didn’t add anymore either. With that, she got up and left us without even a goodbye.

Charlotte snorted. “Guess she'll bother someone else now.”

“She wasn’t bothering me,” I defended. “Do you know why she’s traveling with us then?”

She shrugged. “Plenty of people come and go. She only showed up a few weeks before we stopped in your village.”

I scratched my head and finished the food she had given me. “Well, how far are we away from the city?” My mind brought me to Iara once again. It would be the closest I’ve been to her since she left. I know I had been left like a piece of rubbish but I couldn’t help my heart beat quickening at the thought of seeing her. I missed her more than I cared to admit. The thought of her comforting me brought me peace despite what happened.

“We are about a three day journey away,” she said.

“Do you really think letting the husks out during a festival is okay?” The question made my face get hot. I had been worried about it ever since Hark told us what we were doing with them. I didn’t know what the vendetta against the immortal patronages was about. It sounded blindly hateful to me.

She wrinkled her nose at the question. “Of course it isn’t okay. But our client is obviously working to bring down the royal family. The Bloodtide family has been in power far too long. Besides, vampires are monsters, just like those husks.”

I wondered if Yula was here if she would ask why Charlotte hated vampires. I knew she didn’t like the immortal patronages, but I didn’t know if that was the only reason she hated them. Has a vampire done something to her before? I wanted to ask, but I was too nervous. I knew she would react harshly at the prying.

She spoke again, pulling me from my rambling thoughts. “Have you ever met a vampire?”

“Me? No,” I said. “I met an elf before but she wasn’t too nice,” I added.

Charlotte leaned forward. “Elves are at least immortal by means other than taking from the living.”

“What do you mean?” I knew vampires drank blood to stop aging, but I never considered what elves did to stop aging.

“Elves stop aging when they eat the fruit of a sun tree. The fruit of their god, Uriel. Once an elf reaches the age of eighteen, they make the pilgrimage to one of Uriel’s waypoints. They commune with their god, eat from his fruit, and they don’t age anymore. But vampires have to drink the blood from another living animal to stop aging. They take the vitality of another being and use it as their own.”

My face twisted into disgust. The idea of something drinking my blood filled me with horror. It sickened me even more knowing Iara had left me for such a being. Was she being drained as we spoke? I shook my head, willing that string of thoughts to end. It was too much to process. I was shocked at how straight faced Charlotte remained while explaining this to me as well. A stoic voice that was like she was reading from a book. “You know an elf?” I asked, hoping to get my mind off vampires and Iara.

She looked at me with a furrowed brow. “No. Why?”

“How did you know about their pilgrimage?”

Her face darkened and she looked into the fire. Without answering she stood and walked away. I sighed. “What the fuck?” I muttered under my breath. At least Yula had laughed. Her sudden departure felt more like a joke than a spit in the face. Charlotte left me feeling awful for existing. If she hated me so much, why did she always insist on hanging around me? I laid back on my pelt and forced my eyes shut. We had a long road ahead. I wouldn’t waste more time than I needed to think about that mean dwarf.

When the chattering became too loud, it woke me up. I sat up, rubbing sleep out of my eyes. The sun had just begun to peak up behind the horizon. People were already walking every which way to start moving again. We were in a time crunch and needed to move as fast as possible. I rolled up my hide and secured my sword on my back. Then I hurried to start helping others load up what little supplies they had pulled out for the night. Once Hark ordered us to start moving, I fell into line with a cart. It had a few older people in it who couldn’t walk as far as the rest of us. They had asked for a safe passage to the town over. And as Hark said, they paid us enough coins to be treated with respect.

Charlotte found me after a while and her short legs fell into step with mine. “Tonight we should talk. I can run you through a more detailed plan, let you know what exactly we need to do coming up.”

“Why?” I snapped at her. “Why do you need me to do the job with you?”

“What do you mean? Do you not want to do it?” she snapped back just as mean.

“It’s not that, but you act as though you can’t stand me,” I scowled. “If I’m so unpleasant then leave me alone.”

Her brows knit together. “You think I hate you?”

“What else would I think?”

She made a disgusted noise in the back of her throat. “You must be more stupid than I thought you were.”

I felt my teeth grind together and my hands clench into fists. “You should leave me alone.”

Charlotte walked next to me in silence for a while. Just like that night by the river, she didn’t leave. Even if we remained silent she kept walking at my pace. After a while though she reached over and tugged on my sleeve. I looked down at her. Her hood covered her face as she spoke. “I guess I never told you. I think you are admirable. I like spending my time with you.”

I felt my face heat up and I almost tripped on a particularly raised piece of cobble. “You d-don’t hate me?” I stammered.

“Why would I spend so much time with you if I did?” Her normal harsh tone was back. She let her hood fall and she set her sharp eyes on me. “Are you that dense?”

Maybe I was. That whole day I felt my cheeks warm when I thought of her words. It was the nicest thing she said to me since we met. That made it all the more important to me. Was I really that admirable? I didn’t even know how I was. I only followed orders that were barked at me. I didn’t feel autonomous at all in my current state. I only kept moving forward. I figured I would find my own place one day. Maybe that way was with the guild. Maybe that way would eventually lead me down another path. All I knew right now is I felt like Charlotte and I might be friends. Maybe it wasn’t so bad to get close with her after all.