Chapter 24: Wolves in the Bushes [2]

The sounds of craggy wheels crushing pebbles resounded as the carts carrying the villagers passed through another ragged road. The dimness of the night didn’t halt the villagers’ steps. They continued marching towards the Town of Gisvold.

The yapping of frogs and buzzing of the insects accompanied them the whole night. Though irritating, it kept many of the villagers awake. The villagers dared not sleep for even a moment, scared that they might fall behind, especially the youth. Just remembering the dread-inducing howls before they left the village pushed out the usually non-existent will in their lazy bones.

Death wolves. Just thinking of those beasts gave them the strength to pull up their eyelids wide-open. They followed the rhythm of horses’ steps, the neighing serving as their wake-up call.

The stories about the Death wolves as described by little Klive spread throughout the ears of each villager. The bloody tales kept the villagers trembling the entire night, keeping them away from the slumber spells.

The villagers had realized how lucky they were. The new noble lord cared so much for their lives, providing them with a platoon of horsemen for their safety. After all, they knew a lot of stories about beast attacks where the nobles ran away. Most of the time, after seeing the signs of monsters, instead of telling their people to run, these noble escaped ahead of them. The scumbags cared not for their people.

As for the villagers that were spoken in the story, their homes were now destroyed, and many of their families died. The villagers had heard the horrors directly from the passing refugees, while others had personal accounts. After all, some of the current villagers were part of those refugees who ended up starting again in the village.

Anyway, the knight’s protection made them feel grateful. Their opinion of their new lord peaked.

After hearing from that the knight would protect the village—their homes. Many even vowed to serve the knight with all of their hearts.

…

Little Klive along with her sister Ciera watched the panicky villagers.

Ciera narrowed her eyes, gazing at the wooden book lying in her little brother’s arms. She never thought that her little brother would bring such heavy baggage. Despite his little size, he still brought the heavy thing.

Ever since their caretaker went away, she discovered that her little brother developed a habit of carrying the wooden book. She couldn’t help but frown as she stared at the little lad. He seemed bewitched by the wooden book.

At first, she thought his younger brother was only missing their lovely nanny, and he planned to keep the book as a memento. But time passed, and she noticed the changes in his brother. Though Klive was still as innocent as before, his mind bared knowledge that only a few know. The boy claimed that it all came from the book. However, when their parents opened it, they only saw blank pages, debunking his claims.

“Klive?”

“Yes?”

“Why did you bring the book?”

…

“I-I can’t leave it.”

She, no, even her parents felt that there were more secrets within the odd book left by their caretaker. Mysterious things only Klive and their strange nanny shared. The wooden book contained obscurities. Hidden secrets that were only for the little lad. They allowed Klive to keep the book, but not before assuring that no curse or any dark magic hid within it. Still, her instincts told her that Klive was hiding something from them.

Aside from that, their caretaker might have left the book as protection for them. She knew how she cared for their family, especially for Klive.

“Sister, when will we arrive?”

“The question first is, will we arrive?”

“Hmnn.”

“Things are getting awry, I don’t know if mom and dad are still safe.”

Despite the young age of Ciera, she caught a whiff of the danger base on her intellect. The murmurs of the soldiers and the vassals of her father told it all. Worry slipped out from her face. She knew that Uncle Sept was hiding something from her.

Suddenly, the sounds of neighing echoed from outside the wagon. It was Liszt, riding a brown stallion as he served as an escort of the wagons.

“Don’t worry. Uncle Sept told that they would be safe.”

“Really, older brother?” Klive asked.

Ciera thought for a moment, putting her hands on her chin. “I understand brother Liszt.”

“Things will be fine as soon as we arrive at Uncle’s castle. We even brought Uncle Davin with us? Uncle will definitely welcome us.”

“Or… not.”

The trio remembered the bruised face of Davin and couldn’t help but doubt a little. Before Davin joined the knight’s army, he was a handsome youth. The ladies in Gisvold would even scream in delight when they saw him smile. A natural lady killer. But now… he looked like a killer. They could only describe him as a valiant warrior.

After a few years undergoing the Knight’s harsh training, he now looked like a lump of well-aged meat. Anyway, they didn’t even know how they would explain such a great transformation. Truthfully, Davin was one of the great mysteries within the knight’s regiment. Many even gossip about how the Esprite of Time loathed Davin.

Liszt and Ciera looked at each other, both frowning after realizing the problem. They asked themselves what would be the reaction of their uncle. Would their uncle still accept Davin once he discovers his son looks much older than him?

“How’s Sir Davin, anyway?” Ciera asked, tilting her head sideways.

Liszt remembered the ordeal that Esquire Davin suffered. He gave his sister a long stare. Scratching his cheeks, he moved his gaze away. “He’s fine… probably.”

“Oh.”

“Get into the carriage and sleep,” Liszt said. He then guided his horse to a short gallop. He would ask Uncle Sept what should they do about Davin. Perhaps he would have an answer.

Ciera let out a sigh and pulled the stargazing Klive inside the carriage. She then closed the covers of the carriage, looking at Klive with her brows lifted.

“Sleep!”

“B-but I’m not sleepy.”

The eyes of Ciera twitched for a moment. It’s already midnight. She then remembered that her sneaky brother loved to wake up at late noon as of past days. The odd book serving as his pillows most of the time.

“If you don’t sleep. I’m going to take the book.”

“I’ll sleep!”

“…”

Stunned for a moment, Ciera glared at her little brother with suspicion.

“Good. Go to bed now.”

She was also feeling the sleepy spell. After all, the silent night was the little lady’s lullaby. Yawning, she took out two of the blanket their mother gave them. One for her and one for Klive.

She made sure that the little boy would lay and sleep first in the makeshift bed before she sleeps.

As soon as she heard Klive’s light breaths, Ciera laid down on the deck and pulled her blanket and her favorite teddy bear. With the craggy sounds and the swaying of the carriage wheels acting as her lullaby, she immediately fell asleep. A faint smile slipped out of her lips as she slumbered.

The villagers marched in silence. They were changing shifts on who would sleep in the carriages and who would guard outside.

Unbeknownst to them, hungry emerald eyes were watching them from the shadows. The dark-furred beast hid behind the shade of the tall shrubs and trees. Soon enough, the scent of death slowly drifted into the air.

With their saliva dripping, the beasts laid in wait, prowling.