Chapter Twenty-One

  A Hunter’s Last Night

  The city of Tycolme seemed empty when Cailean and Gwen arrived.

  “It’s quiet here, it’s mid-day, and there's not a tradesman or shopper out,” Gwen said, following close to Cailean.

  “Wait, I see something up there, down the road,” Cailean said, as he and Gwen looked up and saw a great fire burning at the edge of the city. They followed the fire and came to the city’s population, kneeling in respect in front of a bonfire with eight fresh graves surrounding it.

  “What’s going on?” Cailean asked a mother holding her son close and turned to him, “The Hunter’s guild was attacked, and we are left in the cold of winter without our protectors,” the mother held her son tighter.

  “What?” Cailean’s face went white and Gwen covered a gasp from her mouth, “Did monsters come? What happened here?” Cailean ripped her away from her boy.

  “No one knows, it was night, dark, it was winter and the men were drinking like they always do, a shadow came, ripped through the bar, the town, they say it invaded the hall, killed them all,” she ripped herself away from Cailean’s grasp and held tight to her son.

  “There's not a Winter Hunter here, and it’s so cold, the monsters will come for us soon, the monsters will kill us soon,” she closed her eyes and just held so tight to her boy, so scared more for his sake than hers.

  Cailean looked up to the graves. The Winter Hunters, his brothers. Cailean turned to Gwen, “Wait here,” he said as he slipped his arm from her hold and made his way through the mourning citizens.

  The voices murmured as Cailean approached the graves and fire.

  “It’s a Winter hunter…”

  “We’re saved…”

  “He’s a dead man…”

  “I knew they wouldn’t abandon us…”

  “No Hunter could survive a Winter like this…”

  Cailean came to the head of the service and turned to the crowd. As Gwen watched him, she thought he looked so mighty standing there in his great Ursaling Coat, a bronze sword hanging off his belt and another around his back. She watched him take a deep breath, “Forgive me, I know you are suffering a great loss, my name is Cailean, and I am a Winter Hunter,” he said. “It seems the Red Lady has seen fit to give my brothers a death in glorious battle,” Cailean looked down to the graves surrounding him. “May they see glory in the next life, and may each of them lay with the Red Lady and call her their woman,” He looked for the words to say, and decided that the proper eulogy for a Winter Hunter was all he could muster the will to repeat. “I have met several warriors in my one season as a Winter Hunter,” he said, admitting his status as a novice.

  “That’s all they could send us, a first season,” one of the men said under his breath, hissing just loudly enough for Cailean to hear and ignore.

  “You can’t fight this shadow, it ripped through the seasoned Hunters like they were nothing!” a woman cried out. The crowd, feeling the impending danger and magnifying each other's worry began to rumble.

  Cailean tried to calm them down, “Listen to me, I know I’m only a first season but I’ll do what I can,” he made his way back through the crowd, “I mourn my brothers just as you mourn, but if we’re going to survive the winter we must have faith, I am a Winter Hunter and I take my title seriously, I’m here to help you, please I know I can help you,” he pleaded.

  “The shadow came here for the Hunters, if another Hunter is here it could come again!”

  Cailean tried to think of what to say as he pushed his way through accusing and worried citizens. Then he thought of the last town he tried to help and thought of the innocent boy he murdered thinking he was doing the just and righteous work of a Winter Hunter. He made his way back to Gwen, “Let’s just get to the guild hall,” he said, pulling her away from the funeral.

  “They need you,” Gwen said, tugging at Cailean’s arm, “They may not realize it, but you could be the only man standing between them and the winter, and whatever shadow it was that killed the other hunters,” she said.

  “Let’s just go, if they want my help they’ll ask for it,” Cailean hissed through his teeth as he lead Gwen through the empty streets and to the back of the city where the Guildhall lay, the door still kicked open. Cailean brought Gwen inside and tried to fasten the door shut, the latch was broken, so he bolted it and hoped it would abate the supposed shadow if it decided to return and finish its work. “Find a bed upstairs,” Cailean said as he went behind the Guild keeper’s desk and began to shuffle around various requests and inventory records.

  “What are you looking for?” Gwen asked.

  “Supplies, stock reports, see what they have, what I can use,” Cailean said, reading from one of the inventory papers, “Says they just got a shipment of vigors, and there should be some poisons around, maybe some good whetstones for my blades. we can’t stay here long so I need to stock up, no more rest after this. We’re getting a night's sleep then heading straight to the mountains, I just have to get you to the Druids, and then-”

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “And then what?” Gwen asked.

  “And then we hope for Spring,” Cailean said.

  “Cailean,” Gwen looked down, “Somethings bothering you, isn’t it?”

  “Just find a bed and rest,” Cailean said, closing his eyes and trying to think of what chance he would have against a supposed shadow that effortlessly killed eight Winter Hunters.

  “Cailean, talk to me,” Gwen stomped her foot.

  Cailean slummed in the chair behind the desk, his buried his face in his hands as he made his confession, “I was never supposed to be a Winter Hunter,” he said.

  “What?”

  “I was never supposed to be a Winter Hunter,” he said, “I’m not built for this life, I can train all I want, but I’ll never be strong enough, I’ll never be good enough, never as good as he would be,” Cailean said.

  Gwen came around the desk, and rested a hand on his shoulder, “What are you talking about, Duncan wouldn’t have trained you if you weren’t a true Hunter. You’re as much a Hunter as any man who died for the spring. Who could you never be as good as? Who on this earth could you think you need to live up to?” she tried to turn him towards her but he kept his eyes away.

  “My brother, he was everything a Winter Hunter should be, he was brave, he was strong, he should be the one who brings the spring, not me,” Cailean took a deep breath, looked up to her, “I’m sorry you ended up with me. You would be in better hands with any other Hunter, better than with a pretender like me,” Cailean looked away from her, embarrassed, ashamed.

  “My Brother Coulidan, he had been training all his life for the Oath of the Winter Hunter, He was to take his oath this season. Had the Red Lady, the Goddesses themselves not been so cruel, for all I know you would be in safer hands, his hands, him protecting you.”

  “What happened?” Gwen asked, her hand trembling on Cailean’s shoulder.

  “We found ourselves in the woods after dark, the wrong woods, on the wrong night,” Cailean sighed, “We came across a Baobhan, she tempted me towards her. Coulidan knew what to do, shoved me behind him, and pulled out his training sword. It was made of iron, not good in a fight against a monster or a man. He convinced me to run, leaving her to an easier meal, but monsters are terrible creatures, they don’t stop with what’s easy, and they’ll always fight if it means more meal for them. The creature lunged at me and Coulidan shoved me to the ground as he rushed to try and fight it, it ripped him apart,”

  “It’s not your fault,” Gwen tried to plead before Cailean even finished his story.

  “I ran, I just ran, like a coward. I ran while a monster ripped my brother apart just so I could live my worthless life,” Cailean shook his head back and forth, and tears started to form in his eyes.

  “My brother died for me, if he wasn’t here to fight monsters anymore, someone would have to do it in his place. So I went to a Guildhall, submitted myself for training, and took the Oath in his stead. I’m sorry Gwen,” he looked up at her, resting his hand on hers, “I’m so sorry,” he said.

  “You didn’t do anything wrong,” she said, wanting to plead with him that there was no other man she would want in front of her when the monsters came.

  “You could have had a better man, a real man protecting you, but instead you ended up with me,” he stood, “Gwen, I would do anything to keep you safe, I have to do anything I can to keep you safe, but the fact is that I’m just-”

  “You’re just what?” Gwen asked, straightening her back and standing up to Cailean, “You’re just a coward? You’re less than a man? You’re the man who swore to see me to the Severed Mountains, the man who swore to bring the spring back, you are no coward Cailean. You may not believe yourself but you have to believe me,” she grabbed Cailean’s other shoulder and forced him to look at her.

  “I’m not the Hunter you think I am, I’m a fake, I ran when there was danger, I’ve seen brothers die because of my cowardice,” he said.

  Gwen slapped him across the face, “Then be more, we both have roles we didn’t want, so we have to be more than we think we can be,” she bowed her head, “I’m sorry, Cailean, you are the only man I would ever want by my side, the only man I would ever believe could see me through this, I’m not asking you to be enough for yourself and your own guilt,” she looked up at him, eyes watering, “Just be enough for me. You have since we first met, you’ve always been enough for me,” she said.

  “Gwen,” Cailean rose and her hands slid from his shoulders as she clutched them to her chest, “I’ll try,” he said, reaching up and caressing her face, “I have to tell you something,” he took a deep breath, “Do you remember what I told you, about the Red Lady, all that time ago, in the spring together?”

  “The Red Lady, the Goddess, you said that she comes to men who-”

  “Yes,” Cailean nodded, “In my dreams, my meditations, I see the Red Lady, she’s chosen me, Gwen I’m going to die,” he said.

  “No you’re not, not yet you can’t,” Gwen shook her head.

  “Gwen, shh, shh,” he wrapped his arms around her, trying to calm her as much as he was trying to calm himself, he leaned down and gave her a light kiss on the forehead, “When the Red Lady chooses you your destiny is set, I’m to have a glorious death in a glorious battle, and from what she told me, I’m not going to see the Spring I’m fighting for,”

  Gwen looked up, putting her soft hand on his cheek, “Cailean,” she whispered.

  “I don’t know how much time I have, before the battle, but the battle is coming. When the Red Lady cleans your armor she takes you as her own, I don’t know how much time I have, but I know I have to spend it with you, nothing else I do matters, so I just have to get you to safety before the Red Lady sees fit to call me,” he said.

  “I’ll stay with you, please, for as long as we have just let me stay with you,” Gwen wrapped her arms around Cailean and held him tight, crying into his chest.

  “Gwen, I-”

  “Not until the spring is found,” she balled her hand into a fist and desperately pounded at Cailean’s chest, “You said that the Spring would be found, it’s in that damn oath you always say, you swore an oath, you have to see it through, you have to see us to the spring,” she cried.

  “I don’t know if-” Cailean put his arms around her, and held her close.

  “It doesn’t matter what you know or don’t, what matters is that I still have you with me, for as long as we have, I have you with me,” she looked up to him and stood up to press her lips to his. Cailean returned the kiss, holding her body tight.

  Damn the last night of winter and damn the first sunrise of Spring. Damn if Cailean ever would see either of those events again. He had this night, he was still alive and he would live, with Gwen. He promised her that whatever time they had left, they would spend together, even if it was just for this one perfect night.