Tomas Thornwood's Arc

Chapter 2 of 12

Dawn came slow over the lake. The hound was gone from the water's edge, but its blood still marked the grass. Inside the cabin, Luca had not slept. The fox spirit sat in the corner, knees drawn up, tail wrapped tight around his small feet. When Tomas moved near him, Luca flinched. He would not speak. He would not eat. Tomas needed to know what else the fox had seen the night his brother died. But fear had sealed the boy shut. Tomas knelt at a careful distance. He kept his voice low. "You saw more than you told me. I need it. But I won't force you." Luca's yellow eyes filled. He shook his head and turned to the wall. Tomas felt the wolf watching him from the hearth. Pushing harder would break the boy. So he stood, took his coat, and made a different choice. He carried Luca along the shore to a cave set in the hillside. Drying herbs hung across its mouth. Bottles of oil crowded rough shelves. A cauldron steamed over stones ringed with fire. This was where the healer lived, the woman his own kind had banished, the one who helped every outcast the forest cast out. A black raven perched by the fire and fixed Tomas with a wary eye. Auria came out wiping her hands, red hair loose, silver eyes steady. She looked at the shaking fox in Tomas's arms and asked no questions. "Bring him to the fire," she said. She took a bundle of herbs tied with cord and crushed the leaves into warm water. She pressed the cup into Luca's small hands. "Drink. Nobody here will touch you." Luca drank. The trembling eased. Auria sat beside him, close but not crowding, and let the silence hold. The raven hopped down and settled near the fox without fear. Slowly, Luca leaned into the warmth. Tomas stayed back and let the healer do what he could not. He had spent months chasing blood and finding no answers. Kindness, not force, opened the door. When the fire burned low, Luca finally spoke. His voice was thin. "The night it took my brother, the hound came from the old stones past the grove. There's a ring of them. The blood there is black and never dries." He looked at Tomas. "That's where it sleeps. That's where the curse starts." Tomas went still. For the first time he had a place, not just a trail. He looked at Auria. "You know these stones." It was not a question. Her face tightened. "I know them," she said. "And I know what waits there is worse than the hound." The trust was won. The witness had spoken. Now Tomas knew where to go, and knew the true danger had only shown its edge.