I chucked the head towards the horde. It disappeared behind the wall of wheat.
The creatures plunged into their own dark cloud to feast. Wet gnashing sounds came through the strange opaque fog.
As I quickly cleared the next three stakes, I considered how Vivian had done the meal prep for the hungry locals. No need to suck the life force out of something already dead. Straight to eating. A mutually beneficial solution for disposing of the remains.
The rolling mist grew. Either more creatures had joined the fray, or the horde was becoming frenzied. With a huff, I threw the discarded bodies into the feasting concealed by feathery wheat and dark fog.
“That’ll do,” I muttered, wiping my hands on my pants.
I didn’t want to risk Vivian waking up to this noise alone. The sounds were horrific, even to me. I’d start on my inside chores while the beasts did what beasts do. Eat.
The floorboards weren’t as bad as the cabin wall; it was nothing a little elbow grease on my hands and knees couldn’t fix. I took periodic breaks from scrubbing to check the frenzy outside. The grove beasts rose to their two feet, their skulls tilted to watch the other creatures finishing up. Feeding had mostly stilled. The ravenous noises quieted. The mist thinned. They reallyhadjust wanted the dead inside of Vivian’s field.
“Better?” I asked, watching as their heads raised to stare at me, several cocking to the side curiously. “Protect this field, and I’ll feed you whenever I have the means.”
And “means” we would have. There was no way Gable would give up anytime soon. More were coming.
Maybe I was imagining things, but I thought the beasts understood me. Had an antlered skull nodded? It was over in a moment. They turned as a group and drifted slowly towards what must be the direction of their respective territories. The rest of the creatures cleared shortly after. And then everything was silent.Peaceful. A well-fed forest.
I stepped into the border of wheat and examined the area. Not a single bone of the assholes who’d attacked my mate remained.
We were about to have a lot of very strange—very grotesque—pets if I had anything to say about it. Guard beasts would solve one problem, and be a partial solution to another. Dispose of the bodies. Make it harder to get to us.
I never liked the idea of these predators being anywhere near Vivian…
But the devourer of my enemy is my friend.
Vivian
I didn’t understand my own feelings. I wavered between complete numbness and all-consuming overwhelm. A switch would flip, and suddenly I wasfuriousandmiserableandterrifiedanddesperateall at once. I tried to be still through it.Don’t scream—I didn’t want to concern Theo or Nurghle.Don’t have a full-blown panic attack—they fucking sucked. I couldn’t plain old cry if I tried, those wells had run dry.
As for being desperate… I didn’t even know what I wasdesperatefor. The feeling was vague, but intense. A yearning deeply rooted in my core, strangling my heart and lungs. Painful. Did I want to be held? Coddled? Comforted? I was getting plenty of that. When everything became too much to bear, the switch flipped back, and I was plunged into empty neutrality. I felt like a shell of my former self.
Sleep was nightmare-ridden. I kept jolting awake, feeling like I was suffocating. Food was tasteless. I was exhausted with no motivation to bathe or leave the bed. I finally had Theo back and I couldn’t pull myself together enough to even make eye contact with him half the time. Part of me still wanted to yell at him. Part of me wanted to melt into him. Mostly, I felt really fucking guilty as he waited on me hand and foot.
Shame was an ice cube running down my spine when I remembered he’d experiencedsomuch worse. Injured worse. In more danger. Killed more people. He’d intentionally left all that violence behind in his former life,surelythis should all be more traumatic for him than me.
Nope. He was sofunctionaleven when faced with the inevitability that more death would knock on our door soon. Not only functional, but willing to step right back into his role as a killer.
The front door creaked opened and I sucked in a panicked breath. My vision blurred, the immediate dose of adrenaline was paralyzing. My body couldn’t shake the memories of intruders letting themselves into my safe space.
Theo rounded the corner. “Did I scare you?”
“Everything does,” I shrugged.
“What about a secret knock so you know it’s me?” he asked, approaching the bedside.
I nodded and rapped the classic earthly knock on the cabin wall. “Will that work?”
“You may have to refresh my memory a few times, but I think I can handle it,” he replied, repeating the pattern near-correctly.
“What have you been up to?” Even speaking was exhausting as my undue panic subsided and I plunged back into numbness, but I owed him at least that much. He was tryingsohard.
“Mostly gardening. I set up a picnic for you outside.”
I swallowed hard. “Outside? I can’t eat it in here?”
“You haven’t left the cabin for five days… it’s not good for you to be sitting in the dark all the time.” This wasn’t the first time Theo said as much.
