209 Another Victim

Weeks passed by and they did not unearth any leads. Despite their best efforts to identify the skinwalker, no one they talked to had the perfectly circular scar they were searching for. Nuria even had the town doctor offer free physicals to the villagers. Not everyone went, but all the people who went did not posses the special mark.

Macha and her group walked back from a day in the fields. They were stressed because based on the timeline, another attack should happen in a matter of days. They all carried a pouch full of white ash and those who could carry their weapons without inciting fear did so.

In the distance, Macha spotted the lumberjack, Joseph, entering the village from the woods. Pinned to his shirt, she identified the pendant that all villagers wore that allowed them to travel freely in and out of the ward's barrier. She had not seen him for weeks and almost forgot about him.

She nudged Zian's arm, "Guys, have any of you inspected the lumberjack?"

The group exchanged glances, to see if the others did. "No," replied Minh. "He's always by himself in the woods. It would seem strange for us to seek him out."

A silence fell and everyone began to suspect the man.

Macha ran off, calling behind her, "I'll try. He's probably going to talk with Lily."

She jogged down the slightly gentle slope to Lily's residence. Sure enough, Joseph was just leaving the house.

Giving the man a friendly wave she greeted him, "Hey, long time no see. How have you been?"

"Good," he replied.

The woman was small, and he was unsure why she was talking to him. He eyed her warily. He was not into women that looked like children.

She stepped a little closer and touched his muscular arm. A pretty smile adorned her youthful face as she looked up at him.

"Chopping down trees all day must be dangerous. Do you have any scars?"

She hoped he would open up and become boastful about any wounds he had. Most men seemed to enjoy this sort of attention and she hoped he would relax his guard.

His eyes narrowed and stared at the small hand that lightly touched his arm. Without any hesitation, he pushed her hand off of him.

"I have to go," he replied flatly.

Without another word, he walked away.

From behind, she heard howling laughter.

Minh stood at the corner of Lily's house and hollered, "Ain't so lovely to the working class I guess!" Laughing some more, she added, "Oh man! That's great. Guess he ain't in ta kids."

She loved seeing someone snub Macha for once. It was annoying to see so many handsome men surround the woman she considered her rival.

Macha gave a sour face, "Ha, ha. Hilarious. Yes, I know I'm not amazing. I still had to try though."

He wounded her pride, but she was more disappointed that her plan failed.

****

An hour later they were patrolling the village when they heard a man scream from the outskirts. After rushing to the sound, they found a dead woman. Her body lay sprawled on the grass and her brown hair fanned out around her. Like the others, something had ripped her chest open and her heart was missing. She died recently and her blood still appeared wet.

Zian immediately surveyed the area. In the tracks, he read the story that unfolded.

"The woman wasn't running," he stated. "She was either surprised or trusted whoever it was." He pointed to some flat grass and a broken twig, "Here, the person went this way."

He ran off to follow the trail. It led to the Outer-Reaches, and he paused.

"Guys, you better get your gear. I'll wait here, hurry."

If they were going outside the wards, he did not want half of them to be empty handed. The skinwalker was not the only thing out there and it would be foolish to leave the safe zone without weapons.

As he waited for the others to return, he placed his hand on the pendant that he wore on his sage colored shirt. It felt cold and the heat of his body seeped into it.

His dark brown eyes looked at the dead woman. "Sorry," he whispered.

When everyone returned, they advanced into the thick woods. A splatter of blood could be seen from time to time, and the grass began to turn to dirt as the sunlight became weaker, blotted out from the trees. They rounded the village in a wide arc before heading deeper into the forest.

Eventually, they reached a clearing and a lone cabin built out of thick tree logs stood in the middle. The party fanned out and searched around. No sounds came from inside and they cautiously made their way to the front.

The door handle had a bloody handprint on it which further confirmed their suspicions. The door stood open, and the party moved silently up the stairs. Castel led the way while Zian and Aierim stayed in the back.

Suddenly a low growl came from further inside the house. Castel backed down the stairs, keeping his eyes on the door and his hammer raised. Once they were in the clearing, a black amarok stalked out of the doorway, its golden eyes watched the party. It was a massive beast with dark fur that almost filled the entrance.

"What is that?" whispered Zian.

He had never seen such a large wolf before and worried about what sort of battle this would be. It was always dangerous to fight things you knew nothing about.

While she was not positive, Macha remembered a story Tyr told her about a beast called an amarok. He mentioned that they were great wolves that hunted alone.

"I think that thing could be an amarok, but I'm not sure," she said in a soft voice. "If it is, they usually only hunt people who are alone..."

The party huddled closer together and faced the creature.

The beast stalked down the stairs slowly; the weight of its body caused the steps groan as it descended. It seemed to be deciding whether or not to attack.

After it reached the clearing, it circled the group in a wide arc. A wind rustled the leaves above and a heavy tension filled the air. The fine hairs on Macha's body stood on end, as if a current of electricity danced upon her skin.

The party kept their faces towards the predator. With each step that the amarok took, the group re-positioned as well. They were at a standstill, not wanting to fight unless they had to.

Eventually, the large black wolf made its way into the woods. It was not worth risking its life against a group, even if they were small creatures. It would be easier to find a lone target.

When the amarok disappeared, everyone sighed with relief.

After they felt it was safe, the group went into the house, they found that it was empty and there was no sign of a struggle. It seemed as if Joseph had changed his bloody clothes and left after washing up.

Holding up the bloodstained garments, Macha stated, "We have to tell Nuria."

The party left, making sure to put everything back the way they found them. It was important that the lumberjack did not realize he was now being hunted.

After they returned to the village, they found Nuria in the village hall, meeting with everyone. The people were upset and yelling at her about how the wards did nothing. They were scared and frightened for their lives.

This was the situation that Nuria had been trying to avoid. People started to cast blame on one another, giving baseless accusations. Everyone was shouting and their tempers were rising.

"Calm down," she yelled.

Her voice was louder than the villagers expected, which left them all in silence.

"As you all know, there have been attacks. They have not gone unnoticed. Right now, everyone is here. That means the killer is also here. So, let's lock the doors. We have a way to find the culprit right now!" she declared.

It had already gotten to this point and everyone was here. There would be no way for anyone to avoid the pressure of being inspected now.