Embrace of the Lycan - Chapter 11

Chapter 11
‘How do I do this? How do I condemn you to death?’ He asked.

‘Lucian – come the dawn, Tibor and his men will come to the village, and they will expect me to be leaving with them. I cannot live as a prisoner; you of all people should understand that.’

She saw him tense, and immediately regretted her harsh tone, but could not stop her petition now.

‘If we left here together - what kind of future would you and I have? You are an immortal.’ She held his hand and continued softly, ‘You will not risk the chance of a quick death, but are happier to spend the years watching me slowly fade, grow old and die in front of you, while you remain as beautiful to me as you are today?

He realised that she had a point, but refused to acknowledge it. He had not fully thought through the implications of a future between the two of them as human and immortal. ‘You ask too much of me Krisztina,’ he said finally. ‘I will deal with Tibor, my way, when he arrives.’

‘No!’ she argued. ‘If I am still human in the morning, I will go with him. You will not raise a finger… or claw for that matter, against him.’

Lucian was desperately unhappy. ‘Why would you prevent me from defending you?’

‘It is because you have a responsibility now to your men. Any actions against Tibor will bring the wrath of the Duke upon yours and their heads – any future you had planned would be impossible.’

She took a deep breath for a second, and calmly said, ‘Not every problem can be solved with violence. Don’t think that I don’t know about your horde of weapons up in that cave.’

He slipped his arm around her waist, ‘But what about my responsibility to you?’

‘Reconsider my request,’ she said flatly.

‘I cannot.’

‘Then you have no responsibility.’ She pushed him away from her. ‘I am no burden of yours. Please leave me – I need to gather my things.’ Her face was cold, and implacable.

Lucian clenched his jaws in anger. Stupid stubborn girl! He grabbed his vest and stormed from her room, slamming every door on the way out.

Once again, Krisztina was wracked with grief. She knew that Lucian was angry with her, but why could he not see that she was doing this for him. She knew that he had spent a long life in captivity, and how desperately he wanted to live a ‘normal’ life. The conflict between him and Tibor needed to be defused as soon as possible, and this was the only way she could see to do it. Unfortunately, that meant he had to remain angry at her instead.

As the room darkened, she lit a candle, and opened the chest that contained her possessions. There was very little in it, only a couple of pieces of her grandmother’s jewellery left, and one fine dress. She had always hoped that she would marry in this dress, and of late, had hoped that that may be Lucian. She went downstairs to the pantry and grabbed sprigs of some of the herbs drying there. She took enough for two portions – when she went to hell – she was taking Tibor with her.

All packed, there was nothing more to do than await the dawn. With some effort, she dragged the chest down the stairs, and left it in the bar area. There were no customers tonight. None of the usual crowd had shown up – they must have realised that it was not a good time. She was relieved, as she was not in the mood for small talk.

She did want to say goodbye to György, and when she saw that the square was quiet, she made her way over to his home, giving the forge a wide berth.

She entered György’s home, and found him asleep. He was getting old, and needed his rest, so she did not disturb him. She pulled the meagre blanket up around his shoulders, and stroked his white hair.

She left as silently as she came, unnoticed by anyone. Or so she thought. Lucian had excellent night vision, and had seen her walk across to György’s house. He was ashamed to admit, that he followed her, and watched her cover the old man, and was even slightly jealous. It reminded Lucian that she was the kind of woman that even in her lowest moments, always thought of others before herself. He realised now that was why she was so strict with him this afternoon. She was willing to sacrifice her freedom, her life, for his dream of a normal future.

He struggled with the thoughts of turning her into a Lycan. What he had said was wholly true – the majority of people died from the bite of a Lycan, it was even rarer that a woman would survive. It was why he was so unique. If more women had survived the bite of William’s first generation werewolves, there would probably have been more births like his.

An hour or so after sunrise, Tibor and his men arrived. One of the men was riding a small horse and cart, while Tibor and two others sat upon their horses.

Lucian walked out into the square, and balefully stared at Tibor. For a second, Tibor looked visibly shaken by Lucian’s demeanour, but recovered quickly. When Krisztina opened her door, the guard on the cart jumped down and lifted her chest onto the cart. She climbed on after it. Tibor never took his eyes off Lucian or his hand of his sword. He half wanted this upstart to make a move, then he would have every right to cut him down.

Lucian strode over to Krisztina, watching Tibor the whole time. One or two of the other Lycans had gathered and were waiting to take their cue from Lucian. He approached Krisztina and said, ‘Don’t.’

She replied, ‘I have to. You left me no choice.’

This comment hurt him more than all the torture that Tibor had subjected him to. ‘Then you will want this back,’ and placed the pendant back into her hands.

Krisztina failed to be unmoved by this gesture, and the threat of more tears caused her to look away. She knew how much the pendant meant to Lucian. Was he giving it to her as a reminder of him, or because he felt it belonged to her? She looked back at him and saw the raw emotions on his face - love, anger, frustration. Before she could say anything, Tibor pushed his horse in front of her view of Lucian and instructed the guard to move on.

Lucian did not move, and stood frozen to the spot, as he watched her being driven away.