The Untold Forest by Elisa Menz (web ebook reader txt) 📗

Kniv. He’s teaching me how to use a dagger. Can you use a dagger, Hakken?” His eyes twinkled, failing to catch Hakken’s annoyance. “Want to practice with me?”

A groan left his lips. No matter what he did or say, the kid would follow him anywhere. He wanted to be alone and remember his mate. The happy days, when she was alive. They had planned on building a hut together before the war started.

“We can practice hand-to-hand combat!” Way too loud for his liking. “I’m old enough to start, and my dad...”

A pause. A blessed pause. Hakken knew what the pause meant; the boy remembered his family. He almost felt sorry for him, but his heart was too busy with self-pity. He hoped this time he’d leave. Running through the thicket, Hakken hoped to lose him, but the kid was persistent. Too bad.

“I’ve never hunted moose before! Have you hunted moose, Hakken?” He wanted to be left alone, not act like an older brother for the runt. Hakken had no family. He never needed a family! The kid would be fine on his own.

No one in the village would say he was the most patient man, nor the most caring. At seventeen, he had reached adulthood, and all the love he had in him vanished the moment his mate died. Hakken had no intention to care for anyone else, and the boy behind him was nothing but a pest. He stopped and turned to catch him mid-jump.

“Ah! Careful!” The boy squirmed. “You should have warned me before—” His complaints turned into a terrified scream when Hakken threw him off a rocky slope. The boy crouched in fear while falling, not noticing the deep pool of water beneath him. He plunged into the water, splashing and gasping like a dying fish, but out of harm’s way. Hakken didn’t stay behind to make sure he swam to the shore, but he suspected not even death would keep the boy away.

After the outrageous experience, the kid persisted, to Hakken’s displeasure. Nothing worked. He ignored him, yelled, threw every possible insult at him. He once tied him to a tree for an entire day. The boy smiled and joked about his predicament when Hakken returned to fetch him later. He pushed him into the river too many times to remember. The kid thanked him for the swimming practice.

Hakken’s heart didn’t budge. He couldn’t learn to care about the boy. Then one day, things were different. The kid no longer followed him everywhere. He no longer talked his brains out the entire day. He wouldn’t jump on his feet to greet him after a long season away from the village.

After a while, Regn no longer cared about him.

“What are you thinking?” Maeve’s sleepy voice pulled him back from his memories.

“Regn...”

“Who?”

He turned to fix a strand of hair behind her ear. His worries eased as soon as he gazed at her blue eyes. She shouldn’t worry about anything; he wouldn’t allow it.

“Regn,” he said once more, “stay away from him, Maeve.”

CHAPTER XVI

THE MIGHTY RIVER

Regn

It was almost noon when he woke up. The late hour of his arrival and the subsequent talk with Hakken left him angry and concerned.

There were other things to worry about right now. He had offered to tour the villages of their allies, to raise the alarm about the unknown danger lurking under the mountains. His warnings only caused mild concern.

How maddening! What part of ‘he tore the head of a wild bear with his bare hands’ didn’t sound alarming?

After washing in the spring, he visited the matriarch to give his report. “Welcome, dear boy. I hope you rested a little after all your wandering.”

“I lived as a nomad once. Walking long distances is in my nature, old mother.” He plopped in front of the woman.

She sat under the shade of her hut, grinding herbs with Mynte, who hummed while she worked. “Tell me, Regn, how did they receive the news?”

The aroma of ground herbs freshened the air and soothed his tired body. The rhythmical movement of the mortar relaxed him, and Regn blinked away sleepy tears. He rubbed his face while answering. “Fools! No one understands we are facing something new and dangerous. This is no medicine or magic we know about.

“I met with some elves during my travels. Not even lord Hevonen can tell what this red dust can be. It’s no ordinary magic.”

“I see.” The woman fell silent after hearing this, pondering. Regn’s mind tangled with worries.

“Will they come?” she asked.

“Hum... yes... I believe most villages will send emissaries within the month, so...” Since he completed his task, and he was back in the village, something else occupied his mind. Or rather, someone else. “Do you think it is wise to keep the human around?”

“Oh, they are all going to love Maeve! She is so funny and sweet.” Mynte couldn’t help but intervene. “You have to be blind or stupid to think otherwise.”

His jaw clenched before he composed himself. He should keep his intentions a secret, now more than ever. There seemed to be others beside Hakken caring for her, and her death might cause trouble if linked to him. “I’ll take my leave now, old mother. Please let me know if you need me to be of any service.”

The woman nodded with a smile, dismissing him.

Regn was outraged.

It took less than a month for a filthy human to gain the trust of almost everyone in the village, and the girl filled every conversation; ‘she is so cute,’ ‘her hair is beautiful,’ ‘she smiled at me!’

She was varmint! Why would they not see it?

He needed to cool off before doing something stupid. Now that he had some free time, he should start planning how to end her without raising suspicion.  Hakken and Kniv were on his tail.

Regn walked to the spot on the riverbank he loved to visit, to be alone with his thoughts when the memories became too painful to bear. An enormous boulder, washed by the rapid waters of the