"This one goes nowhere. He's mine. May you introduce yourself?"
Reis said firmly. Show's growl resounded inside Keith's head while. The kid hoped for the sun to vanish, letting out mister Show.
'I'm not sure which one we'll kill first.'
Reis crossed his arms and came closer to the counter, leaving Keith less space to breath. He couldn't think properly each time Ned's voice resounded. He noticed how hoarse it was because he was solely focused on it.
"So, you are the father? What a mouth-watering progeny you have. Sell it to me. I promise to pay well, I am the best ranger of the whole region after all."
He poked his chest with his thumb, and played with his pouch with the other hand, jingling coins inside.
Ned was a head taller than Reis, his muscles couldn't be hidden by a thick fur. The man he had in front of him shown a discussing behaviour, and the kid hidden had an alarming reaction.
Reis wanted to protect Keith. He couldn't imagine his daughter in the same situation, so he acted as the best as he could, even if he had to act as his father without knowing the whole situation.
"I am about to call the guards, they patrol the market the whole day to ensure our security, they might be useful to me for the first time."
He searched around but only found two faces he knew by heart. His family coming toward him. They did not see any tension between the two man and approached.
To Ned, that's not the woman he saw. That's not the one walking in front of him, while he was telling stories to Keith when the three of them walked downhill.
A spark lit his mind the same instant. He could mess with this man's family if he called the guards over him. Before the two girl were close enough, he lowered his voice and he lowered his head to Reis' level.
"Having two child of two different woman may cause you harm, you shouldn't yelp. It can only be to your detriment. I am give you a day. See you soon."
Ned put down four coins on the table, then grabbed a rope and tied his fish together. He addressed a last smile to Reis before spitting on the table. When he finally vanished in the crowd, Reis could breath anew. What to do?
Keith could hear Show in his head.
'Those two have a thing in common with me. They took a liking to you.'
Reis' face emerged from the top of the counter, the man crouched down and looked at the kid with worry.
"He's gone, you can go out. But you and me have to talk now, you can't avoid it now that it concerns me as well Keith."
Both boys swiped the sweat they had on their forehead.
"In private only."
Keith said. But he needed to make up a story by the time they confront. He couldn't possibly tell the truth. Truth was his newest 'no'. He asked his best helper what he could do, but he had only silence as an answer. That stressed him.
The sole explanation he could come up with was the next. When the two were in Reis' room.
"I came here to learn how to fish, of course. But last time I was in Seoni, this man, Ned the hunter, he followed me and my mother home. He did us great harm. He used his pee tube to-"
Keith was interrupted by Reis' index on his mouth.
"Alright. We skip this part. I understand. Where is your mother?"
"Ned finished her back then."
Reis' eyes were watery. He was emotionally moved, by Keith's story and facial expression. It was not too long ago, yet the kid had travelled through the forest by himself this soon. Was he looking for a new family? That's impossible. He must know people in his own village. So he asked.
"Where are you heading?"
"To Varanasi. I can go tonight, or tomorrow morning, it doesn't matter. I don't want your family involved with this monster."
Keith said, pointing a finger behind his back. He did not mention which monster. He had two following him.
His mouth agape, Reis couldn't believe his ears. Hoping to convince the kid, he hit the table with his closed fist and roared.
"That's impossible! You can't do that alone! You'd have to walk for a whole moon to get here. It's out of question for you to go by yourself. Listen, I admit coming all the way here by yourself is impressive to me, but this much effort would be suicide for you."
Reis heaved a sigh.
"You'll just stay at home for the next few days, I'll tell him I sold you. I know it's awful to hear, I apologize."
Words weren't a big injury to Keith. Reis pointed next door with his hand.
"I'll explain the situation to my wife. Don't worry we'll be out of this soon."
But the moment he exited the room, Show talked.
'Boy, we must go out tonight. I have a plan. Everything is ready.'
"How can you be so sure? Are you going to fight Ned?"
'Of course no!'
Two dark hands appeared. One held a wooden coin, the other had four barely visible hair, about a feet long.
"I'll teach you one of my favourite curses."
Keith was excited and happy. but he had other questions.
"Is it going to drive him violent like mother? How are we going to find him?"
'Well first, no, that's a different curse. You'll witness it yourself. He is going to be your dummy, wholly yours.'
Show said with wide gestures.
'Then! We are not, he followed us home, he know where we are. He was talking to us when he said 'See you soon' did you not catch that? You forgot to look behind you and here it is, the danger seeking you. We'll wait for night to fall and we shall operate.'
After the dinner, Keith waited quietly, sitting on his bed. Silence fell at Reis' house and so Mister Show appeared in front of the kid.
"Eat it."
He said while giving him the wooden coin. The wood was fragile and dry, but it wasn't hard to swallow.
"Open your mouth wide. I have to put the hair in between each of your teeth. Don't you dare breaking it. Don't use your tongue too much. I'll tell you the exact recipe this curse needs later."
He said with a low voice. Five arms operated in Keith's mouth. They were very delicate. Show tied two hair on the upper part, and two on the jaw. It felt as having an iron spider webbing to both side of his tongue.
"I'k is ha'de'r to ta'k."
"Then don't talk, think! You brat. You don't need your voice tonight. Let's head out. Toward the village's suburbs."
Keith lifted an eyebrow.
'Suburbs?'
"You go left and then head straight."
Show gave Keith a few flicking on the back of his head to accelerate his pace.
A tall person awaited for him indeed. He was at the same time surprised yet he expected him. Just a plan going smooth to Ned. Keith stood alone on the middle of the alley. Breathing heavily.
Show's voice resounded a last time before coldness left Keith's shirt.
'Look him straight in the eye, then break every strand with your tongue.'
A whisper entered Ned's hear. A voice he never heard before.
"Don't you know he's the son of a witch? Do you really think you are the hunter here?"
He turned around and saw no one. But the voice was real. It distorted time to time, flickering like a dying firefly. It was deeper than his and it nobly rolled his 'r'.
"Am I going crazy?"
The more Ned approached Keith, the more the kid saw the difference between their size. Fear surged from the bottom of his guts. He was terrified. He couldn't move even though he had to.
"Don't ever come after me."
He said, breaking all of the strands at once. But his courage lit up Ned's mood. The man smiled widely.
His smile turned into a mouthful of blood. He coughed as hard as he could, any liquid flowing in his throat was choked out. Soon Ned's teeth fell on the ground one after the other. Only the one at the bottom remained.
The difficulty the man had to breath made him kneel in despair. Keith approached and picked up his snack in a black puddle of rotten blood. He crunched Ned's teeth as loudly as possible while he kept looking in his eyes. Two black orbs where Ned couldn't find shine nor reflection.
After he spat one last time, the kid wasn't in front of him any more. Ned was completely lost and called for help as soon as he was sure to be alone.
A few hundred meters away, Keith jumped into the river. He wanted to eat something badly. Anyone, anything. He leaned in front of the water, looking for a silver lining.
A black arm pushed his head underwater. When he came back to the surface, his consciousness was too.