The road swiftly disappeared under the horse's hoofs. They galloped forward without any reservations, hoping against hope to catch up to the beast before it found more people.
Soon though, the crimson tracks disappeared, and they had to slow down. The beast could leave the road at any time, so they had to keep close watch of the forest floor on the sides. Had it been disturbed or was it always like that?
Arawn clung to the cart's side, scanning the ground on the right. There didn't seem to be anything amiss, but his heart beat wildly in his throat. Were they still on the right track? Or had they missed where the beast had turned off the path already?
"Wait!" Val called out and jumped off his horse. He examined the grass on the side, pushing it away with his hand. After a moment though, he shook his head. "Let's keep going. Some large animal passed through here, but not the beast."
They stopped a couple more times when someone thought they saw something, but none of the leads turned up to be true. The forest was full of wildlife, and the animal tracks were everywhere. It didn't seem like the road was traveled often.
"You think we're still behind it?" Betty asked when they stopped once more for nothing. It was the first time she spoke after they had entered the village, and her face was still on the pale side.
"Doesn't matter," Val said while mounting back up. "If we don't see anything until we reach another settlement, we'll just have to backtrack. It couldn't have disappeared into thin air."
Arawn looked at him, surprised by his determination to pursue the beast to such ends. "You've got a grudge against it?"
"It's a beast. It has to be put down for its own good."
The familiar phrasing struck Arawn like an underhanded blow. He sat down in his cart and returned his eyes to the forest. They were standing tall and proud, uncaring of any trouble beneath their wide canopies.
Rain pulled on the reins, and they set off once more at a slow pace. Arawn's eyes were beginning to blur from all the green, but he focused them again and again. It was important for them to catch up with the beast, for no one else was after it.
A couple hours passed and they were ready to think about backtracking when Betty called out. They had left the forest and were passing through fields full of hills. Tall grass grew all around, and there was an obvious disturbance near the road. Something large had pushed through, crushing many stalks.
Val dismounted in a flash and rushed to the path in the grass. His hand touched the ground, pushing the remaining stalks away, then he was back on his feet and getting back on his horse. "That's it! The beast came through here!"
"You sure?" Rain asked, frowning. "It's much harder to walk through here than to enter a forest."
"I am," Val said, pulling on his reins to maneuver his horse into the trail. "There are hoof prints on the ground. I think someone lured the beast out of the village and has been trying to escape it since. They must have hoped that the grass would slow the beast more than their horse."
It explained why the beast had suddenly left, and Rain nodded. She turned her horse around, then looked at the other reins in her hands. There was no way a cart could be brought over the rough terrain of the hills and whatever stones and ditches hid under the tall grass.
"I'll walk," Arawn said and jumped out of the cart. It would exhaust him, but ether would come to him even if he couldn't lift his hand. There was no worry that he wouldn't be able to fight.
"Moment then."
Rain went down and relaxed the old horse's bridle as well as the harness. The animal could graze around freely now and would not starve to death in case they didn't return the same evening.
It was a nice gesture Arawn hadn't thought about, and he thanked Rain. She smiled at him and got back on her horse. The three riders went first, easily following the obvious trail while Arawn stayed behind them. It was both because he was slower on foot and because he didn't want to unnerve the animals.
The hill went up and down before going up again, but the path always remained arrow straight. They followed it at a quick canter while making sure that the horses didn't trip on anything.
"Gods below," Val swore.
The others fanned out around him, and Arawn saw their faces twist with helpless fury. When he crested the hill as well, he saw what had captured their attention.
A small stream ran below, and right in the middle of it, a horse lay with its rider. There was a deep gash on the animal's flank. Blood ran down the animal's skin and fell into the stream, dyeing it a soft pink.
The rider was an even sorrier sight. The beast had bit into his neck, tearing flesh and muscle. Once the man was dead, it threw him to the side, blocking the stream further up.
Val's hands went white from squeezing the reins, but he dismounted moments later and examined the scene of the crime. He went down the hill, circled the two bodies, then the other shore. The stream wasn't even a foot deep, so he had no trouble crossing back and forth.
"The man was crossing the stream when the beast pounced on him from midway down the hill. There are still marks where its claws pushed deep into the ground. It landed on the horse and just closed its jaws around the man's shoulder and neck as the horse buckled from its weight."
"Can you track where it went next?" Rain asked.
With a nod, Val pointed up the stream. "The grass is not disturbed anywhere else, so it could have only went down there."
Rain nodded and walked her horse to the stream. Once there, she called to the ether and sent it into the ground. The ground rose up, swallowing the man's remains until there was no sign of them left. Rain whispered a few words then, but Arawn didn't catch them; they were too quiet.
They left the scene then, their expressions even graver than before. Once again, the beast had killed for no other reason than to satisfy its bloodthirst. It had hunted its prey for hours only to leave the corpses behind.
This was not how animals acted. Humans were the only creatures that hunted for sport rather than necessity. For a moment, Arawn wondered if this was why everyone was so disturbed by the beasts. Death was death, but for another creature to be as vicious as humans?
Yet were the beasts not humans, just in different form? As far as anyone knew, they were normal people until one day they changed and went on a killing spree.
"It's close," Val whispered from the front. "The tracks here are fresh." He pointed to where the beast had stepped out of the stream and left deep footprints in the mud. Its one claw was the size of Arawn's three fingers.
"Should we leave the horses?" Rain suggested. "We can be quieter without them."
"No," Arawn said. Everyone turned to him in surprise. There was a question in all of their eyes. "It's as fast as a horse. You need to be mounted to not be run down."
Betty looked at him strangely. "I don't know if you noticed, but we need to be close to attack it. None of us are archers."
"I attack, you don't let it escape. None of your attacks are even going to break its skin."
"They're immune to ether, not swords," Val said, his eyes shifting between the trail and Arawn. He was clearly itching to face the beast as soon as possible.
Arawn didn't let him though. "Wrong. They're resistant to it, not immune. I can punch through its hide if I focus all my power. Your puny swords, however, are more or less useless unless you hit a weak point."
He didn't want to make them feel inferior, but it was the truth. He had seen over a dozen soldiers stab a beast and leave nothing more than flesh wounds. Not one attack of theirs had injured the beast in any significant way.
"Have you fought a beast before?" Rain suddenly asked. "You speak as if you have."
Arawn nodded. "Before coming to Mairya, I killed one with Corwal. A whole group of armed soldiers and earth mages could do nothing against it."
"And you didn't think to share it earlier?" Betty asked in a raised voice. Her eyes narrowed. "What are we even doing here then? If an army could not take care of it, we're just asking to be killed."
"You just need to immobilize it. The moment it's still, I can end its life."
"How sure are you of that?" Rain asked, suddenly all business. Her gaze grew as cold as a mountain stream.
Arawn didn't hesitate a second before saying, "I've killed one, and I've become better since then."
It was the truth, and he had no doubts that this time the beast would have no way to escape. The creature had caught him off guard back then, but now he knew what he would be facing. All of its tricks were known to him.
Slowly, they followed the fresh tracks. Val went first as he had decided that he was the best tracker while Rain and Betty were on his sides, barely a step behind. The three of them were almost bumping elbows.
The farther they went, the more nervous the horses became. They started whinnying and shaking their heads, refusing to advance. A few steps later, they stopped moving altogether.
No matter how the three people pulled on the reins, or in Val's case cursed them under their breath, they did not move. They were shivering all over, and the moment the people dismounted, the horses lay down on the ground with their heads lowered.
"What's happening?" Betty demanded, her eyes going straight to Arawn.
However, he had no idea. Near Ashta, the riders had been fine. He hadn't paid attention to the horses so he couldn't remember if they had been nervous, but they had been moving.
While the three discussed what to do with the animals, Arawn sneaked forward. He wanted to know how close they were to their target. Based on the horse's reaction, he guessed the beast was somewhere around the corner.
As he pushed through the tall grass while keeping himself near the ground, he found himself staring at a riverbed. It was full of stones, which gave him a clear view of the large creature lying by the water.
The beast was basking in the sunlight. Its lithe body was relaxed, long limbs stretched out. The black coat covering them glistened in the light like a precious jewel.
Before the creature's nose, a family of hares stood at attention. The little creatures where shivering like crazy, but they stood still and let the beast sniff them. When it nuzzled against one of the babies, their parents hopped around in distress, but did not run away.
The baby hare hid its head at first, but once nothing happened, it looked up with its big, doleful eyes. The beast nudged it again, and the baby hare retreated. Its ears were pressed close to the head when it looked around, noticing its parents' worry. Yet a spark of bravery seemed to have alighted in its heart, for the little baby suddenly hopped forward and headbutted the beast.
This should have resulted in the baby hare's swift demise, but the beast did not swallow it whole. Instead, it licked the baby and lowered its head next to it.
The image of the pony-sized beast being affectionate with a family of hares was so alien and fascinating, Arawn found himself not knowing what to think. Was that really a creature that lived only to kill humans? Why then was it so beautiful and caring?
"Is it here?" Val asked, dropping down beside Arawn.
Before he could nod, the beast snapped its head in their direction. Its dark eyes glowed with inner light, and it jumped to its feet, growling. The frightened hares hopped away, disappearing into the tall grass.
In a fraction of a second, there was nothing left of the idyllic picture. The beast's demeanor changed as if something had replaced it with another. Its gentle mien was gone, leaving behind only anger and fury.
Without giving them time to think, the beast bolted over toward the group of humans who had dared to intrude on its territory.