Chương 28: XXVIII. To Kill

Rhyvesta's light shone down on the edges of the woodlot, slipping between the rustling leaves. Cool wind weaved between the strands of grass, carrying the protesting chirps of waking insects. It was still dusk, and Amaril's Gaze painted the blackening heavens in pale orange… which made it the perfect time to hunt. I never hunted with Pa. Nor Ma. Ma didn't have the stomach for it, nor the interest in properly measuring out game.

Pa never had time, though realistically, it was more likely that as a [Farmer], and a [Master Farmer] at that, he had never learned how to use a bow. The crossbow Nathaniel had sold me might have changed it, but that was 2 gold that could have gone back to keeping our home. The woodline beckoned me, and the growing dirge that came from within was the lure.

By all accounts, the woodlot was barely a zone worth worrying about; the strongest creature in there was likely a black bear that moved between the farmer's lots. The most prolific, of course, was Old Scar, but being well known wasn't the same as being dangerous. Lord Oakhelm was the vanguard between the meadows and the forest, so dubbed by Adrian. Its trunk still held our message – 'Beware, there be monsters here'. The bark was growing well, but the leaves were discoloured and filled with holes.

Another family had taken its place on the great guard, and his sap and skin were both food and shelter. That meant the forest was thriving, and the game would be abundant. Leaves were shifted away, and foliage had bent and cracked inwards. It was the Great Game, Master Skye said. Does your knowledge supersede a creature's desire to live? The tracks here belonged to rabbits, though, that is more of my understanding of animals than anything Master Skye had ever taught me.

They were small and soft with no hard pads, which made any grass bend, but rarely, if ever, snapped a twig. However, because they constantly ate, they also left droppings wherever they went. The fresher it was, the closer they were – and they were still warm. Master Skye had Adrian kill his first rabbit with a knife. We had set up a snare together, and baited it with seeds. He watched as he smoked his pipe, composite bow perched on his back. There was a ribbon tied to the top end, with exactly 38 knots.

When I was younger, I didn't know it was how a [Knight] kept tally. This rabbit was unremarkable. It was brown and patchy and the meat was lean. Its [Anima] was a pittance, but it was its [Anima], and therefore, not mine. The meat would be good too, but my clients had expected a certain quality for their crops… and I really couldn't afford manure. The [Bone Dagger] hovered beside me, silent in the air. The green hue of my Symphony was ephemeral, and often, I wondered if others could even see it.

I couldn't see Adrian's Symphony, just felt it when he was close. And that bitch – Agent Marigold, as Jazzy called her – was allegedly the same, but Adrian's was much stronger. But there was no glow of flame when she used her quill, and there was no holy light as Adrian moved. But there were tears. I wiped his eyes that first time. We were both ten, and Cornelius never really liked me. Addy told me not to be sad about that, his father didn't really like peasants. I had only met him, I think, three times.

And it was on the second I degloved the rabbit with my fingers. The [Bone Dagger] flew past my head with a whistle, striking against the rabbit's skull. Unneeded suffering was cruel, and most hunters would recommend you slit the throat. That however made the [Anima] spill, and I wasn't here for the meat. Rabbit fur is exceedingly soft, even when soaked in blood. You can make a small cut against the forehead and dip your fingers in. Then you peel it back slowly and it scrapes against the flesh.

A degloved rabbit looks like a pulsating sack of pink and red and blue; veins and arteries that still exist as its black, beady eyes look up at you. Adrian puked, and Cornelius called him weak. I peeled the hide away, and he had dropped a lemon hard-candy atop my bloody hands. It was oddly sour, and then became sweet. The metallic, copper taste barely registered. The rabbit collapsed instantly, and the humming dirge coming from it was a coda; a life complete, and something taken. Something given.

The insects chirped and there was still rustling in the forest; life would continue on, it always did. One death was meaningless, and two were hardly of concern in the grand scheme of things. RABBIT A burrowing, sociable creature that eats plants. They are known for their long, floppy ears and contempt for carrots. TYPE: BEAST (CORPSE) CAN BE: SKINNED (HUNTSWOMAN 1), BUTCHERED (HUNTSWOMAN 1/BUTCHERY 1), BURIED 🔮 ANIMA ANALYSIS'How long is Forever?' Alice asked'Sometimes, just one second' The March Hare Replied.

ANIMA: 100% (20 mL) COMPOST: 20% SOUL QUALITY: UNUSABLE The [Bone Dagger] acted as a stopper, and while a small amount of [Anima] pooled from the wound, it wasn't going to bleed until I released the pressure. I wasn't going to do that, and dropped it into my backpack. Ma made rabbit stew that day, and Cornelius even joined us. It was a good haul, and Master Skye let me keep the game. He had preferred Venison, but that was too difficult for children – especially one that would cry from harvesting a hare.

Stolen novel; please report. Ma thought he was cruel. Pa didn't, and neither did I. It was a simple fact of life that city-dwellers forgot. There was always something taken for them to be given. They were far too removed from the slaughterhouses where the cows were raised, the pigs were fattened, the chickens were cooped… and the slaves worked. Of course, the Phoenix Queen banned slavery. Ma insisted. Master Skye said that her life was worth 1 silver a day, or 50 gold if she were to be killed.

He placed 10 minted platinum pieces on the table. Rabbits were like an infestation; their entire survival strategy was just to outbreed the problem. As long as one survived, the lineage would continue. As a whole, it was very effective. It wasn't very effective for the second, third, or fourth one I found. Were they of the same family? I don't know. I don't think I care to know. No one would ever mourn them. They weren't Mirchie Jr. He gave five to Pa, and five to Ma.

'Any friend of my boy is a friend of mine. You'll have to excuse a soldier's humour. But, we're all the same under the banner, Mrs. Hart. The Phoenix Queen priced a human head at 50 gold. An elvish head is death.'

'You've been to the Darklands then?' Pa asked. I had twelve rabbits in my backpack, which meant I only had one dagger left. It hovered beside me as I continued to track. A singular deer would be better than a thirteenth rabbit. Though, I didn't want to see Old Scar again. I didn't want to see Her again. Twigs cracked behind me, and the air smelled like honey and blood. The insects stopped chirping, and the night-birds stopped their song. It growled, and it turned to a roar.

The forest shook, the branches broke – behind me, a massive brown bear charged. A Grizzly… here?

'Several times,' Cornelius said. He dipped his spoon into the stew Ma made, and Ma turned to Adrian and I. Her brown eyes were wide, and she bit her lip – and told us to go play outside. It was dark out. Adrian's eyes were sullen and downcast, and I knew I would do everything in my power to comfort him. I still remember that urge. I still remember feeling his hands against mine. The warm tears against my shoulders. How warm he was. How neither of us could say anything, as we looked at the stars.

The stars tonight were fairly similar, but that was likely since I never bothered to learn [Astronomy]. That was an 'us' thing… but that sh— no, I promised I'd be nicer to her. My body also hurt, but that was secondary. I couldn't feel my chest, and I couldn't – wouldn't – move my head down to find out what that warm substance was. Drool poured out of my mouth, and the disgusting scent of bear fur flooded my nostrils. My bones cracked, and… I got up.

I forced myself to look down at the mauling, and the gash was deep. I didn't need to study medicine to know this wasn't normal – but studying medicine made me know I was looking at my own ribcage; the claw having torn through skin and muscle. And it hurt… but it didn't. The bones were cracked yes, but they were also mending, and the flesh rejuvenating. The bear lunged at me. It was exactly 107 centimetres away which it would cover in 1. 6 seconds. My brain hurt, and my eyes were getting tired.

The [Bone Dagger] shimmered, awaiting a stray thought. That I could give, as it flew forward to the charging beast.

'Father said he lost his entire battalion. All thirty-nine of them. He's been on stress leave,' Addy said.

'His pension is good, and Mother is doing well as a [Barrister]."

'Okay?' I said, and rubbed his back. My fingers slid against his shoulders and towards his neck. He eased into my touch, and I eased into his. It was a confusing time, but one I desperately wanted back.

'Well, we're gonna be runnin' this farm, Addy.'

'We?' he said. The bear's eyes burst as the dagger pierced it. It snarled in rage, but as Marcellus would say, 'Inertia is a bitch'. I forced my leg to move, and the bear's tumbling body grazed my already broken leg as it smashed into the tree. The tree groaned, the roots spilling backwards and it tilted over. I landed atop of a rather sharp rock, and more blood shot out of my mouth. Rhyvesta stared down at me. His lips were soft. And he was mine. Mine. mine.

Addy wasn't a killer; he had no interest in the Darklands for whatever war. He was fine here. Everyone was fine here. I was back. I'd prove I was back. That the Hart girl was wort– The Rhyvestaflower bloomed in front of me, its pentagonal shape glowing a harsh, white light. The petioles were yellow and shaped like a star, and they too glowed. They were toxic, and the vines that wrapped around the fallen log shimmered. Rhyvesta was death. Her flowers were death. The bear growled, turning around in rage and fury.

My broken arm lurched forward and grasped one. A rhyvestaflower was sweet and creamy smelling, though utterly poisonous. An Amarilflower's seed could be consumed… and it tracked Amaril around the horizon. But I wasn't chosen by Amaril. Nor by Nyla. I placed the flower in my mouth. Cornelius coughed from behind us, and we quickly broke apart. Pa and Ma were there too, and none of them said anything. He collected Addy, and then… Master Skye asked for my name. Said I might make a good Skye.

Funny, Pa said Skye would make a good Hart. Addy was going to become Adrian Hart. The Mortis Agrariae fluttered in front of me, a green hue shimmering around the grimoire. The pages fluttered, and came towards the end. The Rhey'an was readable. Ashley casts [Drain Life]! Rhyvesta's gift is the cycle. The wheel turns, and one life belongs to another. My hand opened up and sparks of green light flew from my finger tips. The Symphony exploded, my snowstorm becoming a void that devoured.

The Bear's notes were plain and feral, like every other creature that Danu had created. Yet it was music, it was life, and it was the gift that The Grand Deceiver had given. And it was mine. It was mine. The strands of green plucked in like parasites claiming a new host. They pierced into the skin, into the shoulders, into the burst eye and nostrils. The bear howled in pain but its muscles spasmed and it was locked in place. And the fluid flooded over me, bathing me in the chill of winter.

The pain faded and my thoughts were steadying. The gash in my ribcage knitted itself together in a sensation I can only describe as flesh being pulled and bones being extracted. It was not pleasant, but I would not die. The bear collapsed, its corpse desiccated and drained. I still had far too much [Anima] in my hands… but also something new. A green, floating thing was in my hands. A… Soul. The bears soul. What did you even do with a soul? With its… [Animus]?