***
"Fucking piece of shit!"
Tobias spun around and blasted the creature that had just stung him. It leapt away from the rock on which he had just sat, scurrying towards the shade of the tree. Tobias didn't chase it however. One look at the creature, and he recognised that it was a cherbel, nasty critters that loved to take a bite of human flesh. There was no need to waste his time chasing after it. By nightfall, a hungry wolf would probably come along and kill the pathetic thing.
Exhausted, he dropped to the ground once again, this time making sure that there weren't any camouflaged creatures around him. He had tied his horse to a low hanging branch, and even though his stomach was growling loudly, he wasn't ready to make anything just yet.
"Five minutes," he called when the horse neighed in protest. "Just give me five minutes."
The sound of the water trickling past calmed him. He leaned his head against the rock and sighed, enjoying the cool air and the slightly damp ground. Sitting there, he could hear everything in the forest, the hundreds of animals moving stealthily through the shadows, the creatures slithering across the ground and the sound of an eagle some twenty miles or so due east. His stomach growled once again at the thought of the bird roasting over a nice fire, but catching it would exert too much effort. About three miles north, he could hear a deer grazing across a field. That would serve perfectly as his lunch, and maybe even dinner.
Grimsby was far behind him now. He had been walking for at least six hours, and although he had been on the horse's back for most of it, he wasn't sure that he would be able to maintain this pace. Both man and beast were exhausted now, and they needed a chance to rest and recuperate.
Tobias found himself reaching for his pocket unconsciously, and he immediately stopped himself. He could feel the locket inside, and he knew that it would be a bad idea to pull it out. The past, as he liked to tell himself, should never be revisited. There was absolutely no reason for him to think about it; to think about her.
The horse snorted just then, as if to tell him that he shouldn't dwell on such thoughts. Tobias felt like he was slowly losing his mind just by imagining that the horse was communicating with him like that.
"You know what?" he sighed, banging his head gently against the rock. "Retirement sucks. You and I had a lot more fun when we were out slaying demons and horrible witches, didn't we?"
Another snort, and this time he interpreted it as a sign of agreement.
"Well, we had a good run, didn't we?" Tobias chuckled. "One thousand, seven hundred and forty eight witches, six thousand nine hundred and ninety nine demons, eighteen banshees, twelve Minotaurs, two Cyclopes, and nine vampires. Not a bad record, eh? Not to mention the tens of thousands of men who have fallen before me."
Another snort, and then the horse began to paw the ground. Tobias stared blankly at him before rolling his eyes.
"Oh, don't be like that," he said. "I'm not bragging. I'm just saying that it's a record I should be proud of. Do you know how long it's going to take any other witch-hunter to get even close to beating me? They'll have to stay at the top of their game for at least a hundred and fifty years. I did mine in a hundred and fifteen, if you must know."
He pulled his sword out and placed it across his lap, wiping the steel clean. Traces of blood remained from the fight in the morning, and Tobias found the sight sickening. He stared at the markings along the face of the sword, markings which he had memorised from staring at the sword his entire life. Durendal, it was named, or Lightbringer in the common tongue. Tobias had stood and watched it being forged in the fiery pits of Runia, some one hundred and twenty years ago. It was his closest companion, although he would never say that out loud for fear of offending the horse.
Still, the sword cried out for more blood. It was like a constant voice at the back of his head, always yearning for a battle. Perhaps its hunger would never be satiated, and he would be cursed to keep on fighting for the rest of eternity.
But he was tired. All the horror, death, calamity and destruction he had brought across the earth in all his years still haunted him, a constant shadow which he could never shed. It lingered over him everywhere he went, haunting his dreams —or nightmares rather— each day.
"How much longer?" he whispered, drawing his finger slowly across the blade. It was so sharp that it cut his skin immediately, but the wound healed almost as quickly as it appeared. "How many more souls are we going to claim?"
A rustling in the woods caught his attention, and he turned sharply in the direction of the sound. It was the sound of hurried footsteps, some few hundred metres away. He caught a scent in the air as well; female, definitely. And from the sound of her footsteps, she was certainly young. Probably no more than ten.
"Horse, stay here," he said as he stood up. "And don't make a sound."
The horse remained silent, and Tobias took that as a sign that his order was understood. He headed off in the direction of the sound, wondering what could bring a young girl through the woods with nightfall slowly approaching. He could hear her hurried breathing, and he deduced that someone or something was probably chasing her.
"HELP!"
The sound pierced through the forest and came straight towards him. Tobias immediately became alert, and he rushed forward while hacking down several branches that were in his path. He was about to slash another one when tiny arms suddenly wrapped around his torso.
"Please, sir, help me," the little girl said. "It's going to kill me."
Tobias went rigid at the physical contact. Humans rarely touched him. And when they did, it always left him feeling out of sorts. But this time, he had no time for feeling anything as he looked down at the girl. She had bright blue eyes with flaming red hair, and freckles across her nose. There was dirt on her cheek, and her dress was torn in several places. She looked like she had been dragged through the woods, and he almost felt sorry for her, seeing how desperate she was.
"What's going to kill you?" he asked, but then he heard the familiar beating sound, closing in on them.
A harpy.
"Get behind me," Tobias ordered, lifting his sword. He could hear the creature's shrill cries now, and the horrible sound of its wings as they slapped together. Its wail tore through the trees, but Tobias waited with his breath held and his sword raised.
The harpy suddenly burst from the trees, a horrifying creature with a woman's head and the lower half of an eagle. Its claws were outstretched, black beady eyes settling on the girl with a rapacious leer.
"Mine," it screeched.
Tobias didn't pause to think. He dived underneath the creature and slashed his sword across the underside of its belly. A guttural cry came from the creature's mouth as it tumbled to the ground, its acrid blood pouring over Tobias and drenching him completely.
"Son of a bitch!" he cursed aloud as he spun around and faced the creature, putting the girl behind him once again.
"Stings. Stings," the harpy cried, rolling across the ground and trying to cover its wound. Tobias lunged at it, plunging his sword right between its eyes and silencing it. As he withdrew the sword, a horrible squelching sound followed.
He grunted as he sat back down, leaning against a tree and examining the creature with distaste. The little girl was staring nervously at him, still trembling all over.
"It's dead," he said. "You can stop shaking like a leaf."
"Are you sure it's dead?" she asked.
"Unless it doesn't need its brains or blood to stay alive, I'm pretty sure it's dead," he said tersely. "Now, tell me why it was chasing you."
"I-I... I'm lost," she said, staring down at her feet.
"And where were you heading to?" he asked.
She shook her head, dropping to the ground as tears swam in her eyes. She placed her hands over her ears and began to cry, the sound making him feel like a piece of shit for making her cry.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have asked."
"My parents," she said in between sobs. "It killed them. And then it came after me."
He fell silent, watching her shaking as the tears wracked her entire body. Tobias knew grief when he saw it. He had experienced the same thing so many times that he couldn't even count.
"I'm sorry to hear that," he said. "Any idea where you were heading to before it attacked?"
"I don't know," she said, shaking her head.
"Alright," he said. "Wipe your tears. There's no need to cry."
"Why shouldn't I?" she snapped. "My parents are gone, and I'm all alone."
"Don't give me that attitude," he growled. "I'm trying to help."
"Well you're doing a bad job," she said, narrowing her eyes at him. Tobias would have laughed at how small and harmless she looked.
"Hey, I killed the harpy, remember?" he said. "I saved your life."
She fell silent then, and simply stared at him.
"Alright, you must have been traveling on horses or a carriage, perhaps," he said. "Where is it?"
"I don't know," she said. "I've been running since last night."
He grunted as he spun around and looked at the harpy's rapidly decaying corpse. The girl probably wouldn't even know where to look, and it would be a waste of time to try and find it. The best he could do was take her to the nearest town and drop her off with someone. A witch-hunter was not supposed to be travelling with a child.
"Come with me," he said. "Let's get you cleaned up."
She hesitated, and a tiny part of him was amused by that. She was wise to be afraid. But he really had no time for this, and he had to get to going before nightfall. He didn't fancy sleeping on the cold hard ground tonight.
"I'm not going to bite," he said. "And you can ignore the horns. That's what I do."
Slowly, she stood up. He didn't even wait to look at her before he turned around and headed off to find his horse. When he suddenly felt her slipping her hand into his, he froze. A weird emotion settled over him, and he found that her touch made his demons fade just a little bit.
"What's your name?" he asked.
She looked up at him, her eyes still pooling with tears, and she said, "Isabella."
***