49

“Your brother.” You meant to make it a question, but even as you speak it hits you. Elia mentioned her father and brother having been in that carriage, yet you only found one body. Well, that’s that cleared up. You killed her last living family member, though corrupt he was.

“He wasn’t dead...” she murmurs.

“He wasn’t himself.” you say, firmly, “Alive or not he was gone. You mourned him already, this is only the beast that took him.”

“He should be buried.” She limps over to the corpse, stoops down and picks up the pendant. “Please, help me before you set out.”

There’s tears in her eyes, but they don’t move you. You’ve lingered long enough. Already a night has passed and you are yet out here, in the open, in a ruined farm slowly deserting itself. At the rate that the monsters are coming, there’s no sense hanging around. You shake your head.

“I’ll take the moth straight to your uncle’s.” you say, stepping forward to take the object from her outstretched hand, “But I’m not inviting more demons to bite at my throat by staying nearby. If you have any sense you’ll come with me, leg or no leg.”

Her eyes widen, and she steps forward to take back the jewel. You bounce out of her reach.

“I can’t leave.” she says, “I can’t. It isn’t for me to choose. I am the last of my line on this property. I can’t leave.”

You stare at her, waiting for further explanation, but it never comes. It sounds silly, that some peasant be in some way charged with staying in the valley no matter what, if that is what she means. In any case you’ll not let strange customs decide your doom.

“I swear, the minute I enter the city I will find your uncle and have him bring what might he commands to help you, but your brother is as dead, buried, as he’ll ever be without dragging us along. Come with me, or die with your precious beasts.”

With that you turn on your heel and walk out briskly. Elia’s cries behind you linger a long time, as she forces herself to limp after you. When it stops you don’t turn to see whether she turned back or merely collapsed chasing you. Had she just asked, you would have taken her along and she would certainly live.

Turn to 50.