Challenge by Montgomery Mahaffey

“A lesson of sorts. I
don’t understand why that would upset you.”
    “ Just what was your
grandfather trying to teach you, Wanderer?”
    He paused, taken aback by her sudden
insolence. The effect was both unsettling and offensive, making the
Wanderer reluctant to continue. Yet something in the way she looked
at him was mesmerizing. He had no choice but to heed its call.
    “ My grandfather cherished
love more than anything,” he said. “He always claimed that
everything in life that truly mattered always came back to
love.”
    “ I’m sure that’s very
nice,” the girl snapped. “But so what?”
    “ So he made up these
stories about a woman who destroyed men with too much pride by
stealing that which they never valued. Hence, he often finished his
stories with ‘follow your heart.’ So we’d grow up and live in a way
that honors love.”
    “ She stole their hearts?”
she asked. “This woman that your grandfather…imagined?”
    The Wanderer nodded, frowning slightly as
her expression shifted to incredulity. The girl covered her mouth,
but not before he saw the corners twitching. Then her shoulders
started to shake, a sign she was helpless against the fit of
laughter coming on. He watched the girl try to resist the pull of
mirth until she couldn’t hold back any longer. But the Wanderer was
still stunned when she collapsed, her entire body quaking as she
laughed.
    Minutes passed and she didn’t stop. Then his
confusion mounted to rage. For the first time in his life, the
Wanderer was tempted to hit a woman. He had never understood the
fighting instincts of brutal men. But as the girl howled and rolled
on the ground, it was all he could do to restrain himself. Staring
at the girl gripping her stomach, the Wanderer felt something burst
in his heart, an emotion he didn’t recognize. The sentiment was
violent but not impulsive; it had a lingering quality, an enduring
relentlessness. The girl stopped laughing as soon as she saw his
face. She even pulled up and moved away from him.
    “ Did you ask me about my
grandfather just to mock him?”
    “ Wanderer, I’m not mocking
your grandfather,” she replied. “I’m mocking you.”
    “ You’re going to have to
explain what you found so funny. Because I can’t see
it.”
    “ Look upon the obvious and
you might. You certainly didn’t learn your lessons
well.”
    “ What’s that supposed to
mean?” he snapped.
    “ If you’ve been taught all
your life to follow your heart,” she said. “Then this is the last
place you should be. Yet here you are. And you insist on
staying.”
    She chortled and shook her head.
    “ Really, you have a better
place to go. So what are you doing here?”
    “ I have my reasons,” he
retorted. “Why should you mind anyway? I don’t want anything from
you.”
    “ Don’t be such a
hypocrite, Wanderer. I know what you want.”
    A hard edge came into her voice. But the
glint of knowing in her eyes still made his heart beat faster, and
the air teased along his flesh just as it had the day he had first
seen her. A current shot the quiver delicious up his spine, making
him restless.
    “ You don’t seem especially
troubled by that,” he shot back.
    The girl chuckled. Her demeanor was
seductive, yet also terrifying. Her eyes glittered when gazed at
him, and her large teeth gleamed when she smiled.
    “ That’s because I want
something from you too, Wanderer.”
    Her voice grew soft, a rumbling whisper that
made the heat rise from the depths of his belly and the hairs
prickle on the back of his neck. The Wanderer wondered if the girl
could see inside his darkness, knowing the desires he dared not
think about. Then the vision of a hungry wolf stalking prey came to
his mind.
    “And the longer you stay,” she said. “The
more likely I’ll take it.”
    “Why don’t you tell me what it is? Maybe
I’ll give it to you.”
    “I’d really like to spare you, Wanderer. But
you’re exhausting my good intentions.”
    She