there.”
Kendil took his brother’s hand. “We die together, as it should be. If kindness be a sin, I take its punishment gladly. Thank ya for finding that virtue in ma.”
“We meet our end with honor.”
But though it was an end for Kendil, there was no such escape for Rancor. Rancor had spent a week on the gallows, swinging next to his brother’s lifeless body, the memory of his brother choking to death echoing in his mind every hour of every day. When at last his kin came to release him, to bind him in shackles and take him to his father’s tent, he went without a fight.
As Ansgar paced inside the tent, his muscles tensed like rocks. “I cannoy understand the likes o’ ya. I trained ya ta be one o’ us. Why deny woy I ’ave taught?”
Outside, two armed guards barred the tent’s entrance. Throughout the village, Rancor’s clansmen waited for the sentencing of the first man to have survived the gallows.
“’Tis not me birthright. I was never one o’ you. Not in mind, not in spirit, not even in ancestry.”
“Did Kendil tell you we stole you from another clan?”
“’E did noy. ’e did noy ’ave ta.”
“You are Rancor o’ the Wulfsign, not Alsandair.” Ansgar spoke softer this time. “What I tell ya is truth. I stole ya from a village o’ demons.”
“Tell me of them.”
“T’was during our spring move. Da land we ’ad settled te previous autumn no longer provided food, so we sought fertile ground. We came upon a valley we could ’ave settled fa generations, but we ’ad first ta drive out a clan tat was already settled. The Alsandair ’as never been defeated in war, but we came close tat day. But dese were noy men we fought. Tese were demons thoy could turn to a wulf at will.”
Rancor rubbed the shackles that bound his wrists to his ankles. Thoughts about the week he had spent hanging were no more than a blur, and he wondered how his life could have changed so fast. “Demons? Thoy were ma kinsmen.”
“After te battle, I ’appened upon an infant. I stole ’im. Tat is, I stole ya, and raised ya as one o’ us.”
“Ta learn our weaknesses–ta exact revenge?”
“Ta bring ya power ta our blood-line. What I ’ad noy counted on was ya weakness.”
“Is kindness a weakness? Is mercy a weakness? Is virtue a weakness?”
“It is when ya Alsandair!”
“I was nothing more ta ya?”
“Less, since ya set our prisoners free.”
“I cannoy ’elp it! Dey ’ad done nothing!”
His loud outburst rang throughout the village, but was lost in his father’s ears. Unable to look at him any longer, Ansgar answered, “I amn’t going ta understand ya. Ya could change into te wulf, break ya bonds, kill us all, should ya despise us so. Why would de gods ’ave granted a man like ya such power?”
“Per’aps dey knew I wouldn’t use it. I ask again, what will ya do with me? A man who shall no longer live as you ’ave taught?”
“I shall banish ya. All ya are is a failed trial. Ya noy me son. Ya sword shall stay ’ere, given ta one o’ me flesh. I will give ya a sword crafted by ya kind, per’aps even by ya father. Ya shall be banished for ya mercy.”
“And this time I shall leave. Tis time I shall be free.”
Ansgar laughed. “Free? Ya shall be damned by our memory. Ya shall never know freedom!”
Rellik looked to the heavens, praising God for having it in His will to banish him from the Alsandair. And he begged for it to be in His will for him now to find a place that he could call home. He stared at his wedding band the same way he had stared at his brother over a millennium ago. He closed his eyes, wishing he could find a part of that identity still in him.
Wondering if he could complete his mission without it.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Beer. Loud music. Dark rooms. Obnoxious people. This was the part of high school life that Lara was going to miss. With beer in hand, she wove her way through the crowded room. Remind the jocks of what they’ll
Kendil took his brother’s hand. “We die together, as it should be. If kindness be a sin, I take its punishment gladly. Thank ya for finding that virtue in ma.”
“We meet our end with honor.”
But though it was an end for Kendil, there was no such escape for Rancor. Rancor had spent a week on the gallows, swinging next to his brother’s lifeless body, the memory of his brother choking to death echoing in his mind every hour of every day. When at last his kin came to release him, to bind him in shackles and take him to his father’s tent, he went without a fight.
As Ansgar paced inside the tent, his muscles tensed like rocks. “I cannoy understand the likes o’ ya. I trained ya ta be one o’ us. Why deny woy I ’ave taught?”
Outside, two armed guards barred the tent’s entrance. Throughout the village, Rancor’s clansmen waited for the sentencing of the first man to have survived the gallows.
“’Tis not me birthright. I was never one o’ you. Not in mind, not in spirit, not even in ancestry.”
“Did Kendil tell you we stole you from another clan?”
“’E did noy. ’e did noy ’ave ta.”
“You are Rancor o’ the Wulfsign, not Alsandair.” Ansgar spoke softer this time. “What I tell ya is truth. I stole ya from a village o’ demons.”
“Tell me of them.”
“T’was during our spring move. Da land we ’ad settled te previous autumn no longer provided food, so we sought fertile ground. We came upon a valley we could ’ave settled fa generations, but we ’ad first ta drive out a clan tat was already settled. The Alsandair ’as never been defeated in war, but we came close tat day. But dese were noy men we fought. Tese were demons thoy could turn to a wulf at will.”
Rancor rubbed the shackles that bound his wrists to his ankles. Thoughts about the week he had spent hanging were no more than a blur, and he wondered how his life could have changed so fast. “Demons? Thoy were ma kinsmen.”
“After te battle, I ’appened upon an infant. I stole ’im. Tat is, I stole ya, and raised ya as one o’ us.”
“Ta learn our weaknesses–ta exact revenge?”
“Ta bring ya power ta our blood-line. What I ’ad noy counted on was ya weakness.”
“Is kindness a weakness? Is mercy a weakness? Is virtue a weakness?”
“It is when ya Alsandair!”
“I was nothing more ta ya?”
“Less, since ya set our prisoners free.”
“I cannoy ’elp it! Dey ’ad done nothing!”
His loud outburst rang throughout the village, but was lost in his father’s ears. Unable to look at him any longer, Ansgar answered, “I amn’t going ta understand ya. Ya could change into te wulf, break ya bonds, kill us all, should ya despise us so. Why would de gods ’ave granted a man like ya such power?”
“Per’aps dey knew I wouldn’t use it. I ask again, what will ya do with me? A man who shall no longer live as you ’ave taught?”
“I shall banish ya. All ya are is a failed trial. Ya noy me son. Ya sword shall stay ’ere, given ta one o’ me flesh. I will give ya a sword crafted by ya kind, per’aps even by ya father. Ya shall be banished for ya mercy.”
“And this time I shall leave. Tis time I shall be free.”
Ansgar laughed. “Free? Ya shall be damned by our memory. Ya shall never know freedom!”
Rellik looked to the heavens, praising God for having it in His will to banish him from the Alsandair. And he begged for it to be in His will for him now to find a place that he could call home. He stared at his wedding band the same way he had stared at his brother over a millennium ago. He closed his eyes, wishing he could find a part of that identity still in him.
Wondering if he could complete his mission without it.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Beer. Loud music. Dark rooms. Obnoxious people. This was the part of high school life that Lara was going to miss. With beer in hand, she wove her way through the crowded room. Remind the jocks of what they’ll
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