Part 8 (2/2)
”'I am Alec. I have come to kill you,' he said to the monster that was waiting for him there.
”The shapeless thing opened its maw. 'I eat men. I will eat you too,' it said.
”Alec didn't think so.
”He had thought long and hard about his immortality. If it was to be the kind that lasted, no first challenger could stop him. Alec would kill the beast, and so gain his fame.
”'I have three tests, and you are merely the first,' he said. 'They are guaranteed me.'
”'Yes, they are,' said the beast, acknowledging Alec's logic.
”'Therefore, it has already been decided that I shall kill you. Otherwise, how would I ever get to the other two tests?'
”'If that is so,' said the beast, 'I should be able to kill you. For, if you are immortal, and have other places to be, I can do anything I want to you, even kill you, and you will not die. For you are Alec. Immortal.'
”Alec thought about this. It was a way of cheating death, of cheating the G.o.ds, who said he could be one or the othereither immortal or renownedbut not both.
”'How do we do this?' he said, with his eyes on achieving the unprecedented.
”'You jump into my mouth.'
”'Then?'
”'I eat you. Just have faith,' said the beast. It was almost exactly the same thing the crow had said.
”Alec was in a hurry to disprove the crow's slight, to prove that he could have faith, and be famous, and be immortal. All three. He ran and leapt into the giant mouth of the beast, whose jaw snapped shut, and Alec was met by the crow.
”'You killed me,' said the Crow. 'I was your friend and you took my life.'
”'Silence, Crow.' Alec waited for whatever was going to happen to him. Any second now.
”'I see you have learned faith,' said the Crow. 'You really believe what that animal said will happen. That you will somehow come back?'
”Alec smiled. It would just be a second. He imagined what he would do, when he got back, when the villagers all met him, and he told them the good news, that he had defeated the beasthe would take its pelt back to them, to show them.
”The crow cawed; it sounded an awful lot as though Crow were laughing at Alec.
”Alec became impatient. 'Why isn't it happening?' he said.
”'Because you are dead. And there is no coming back from death.'
”'No fair,' Alec said. 'That beast tricked me.'
”Crow cawed.
”'I want another turn.'
”'I do know someone who can help you. She was eaten by the beast, too. I think you know her,' said the Crow.
”Alec looked and the old crone whom he had chased out of the village with his Dance of Mockery had appeared.
”'Crone, my life was taken from me. Give me it back.'
”'Very well,' said the old crone. 'But I will teach you a lesson. Your name means Protector of Men,' she said, 'but all you ever did was glorify yourself. I will send you back as the werewolf itself. Maybe then it will stop killing people.'
”But Alec said, 'I can't be a beast. I'm a man. If I go back to the village, they will kill me.'
”Old crone laughed. 'You will be shunned as I was shunned, when you did your Dance of Mockery. Therefore, you will wander far and wide. A vagrant. And if any man meets you, he will try and kill you as you did Old Crow.'
”'Caw!' said the Crow.
”Alec said, 'My three tests...'
”'You already had them,' said Crone. 'A legacy of cruelty to me, of faithlessness to old Crow, and stupidity, walking into that beast's mouth. But I will give you another shot, this time at redemption. If you perchance can find a home and do good, I will allow you to transform back into a man. But you will always have the other half. Maybe you can earn your name.
”'However, you must never again kill the beast of the field. For you and it are family, you see, and as you come back, so will it.'”
Gaven stopped speaking, but the others thought about that.
”But what happened to Alec? Are you saying he was turned by witchcraft?”
Gaven looked for who had spoken; a young warrior not much older than we were.
”Alec left his gift to us,” he said. ”We choose what we make of it. Protect Rome. Protect Lia and Halsey, and yourselves. But above all, keep the faith. It's almost morning. Tomorrow we meet the Beast.”
Chapter 8 Nightmares.
That night I had a terrible dream. The beast was after me again. It's mouth gleamed with razor-sharp teeth. I turned to face it. But instead of trying to eat me, it spoke.
”You belong with us,” it said.
I felt themlike there was more than one, and I was to join their rank. A hand reached out to me.
I twisted out of it, and fell onto the floor.
My eyes popped open. Suddenly, it all came flooding back; that I was still myself, and they couldn't get to me, at least not yet, anyway. I longed for Lennox's return.
I needed the calming serenity of his strong voice. What had Infester said? That we had a Power... a Power of Sight? I wondered what he meant by that. Maybe I could see Lennox? Maybe we could communicate with each other?
How?
I suddenly had an overwhelming urge to speak to someone about Magic, but as my eyes adjusted to the light filtering into my bedroom, I realized that that was not possible, that I was all alone, that there was no one else I could confide in, there was no one who could guide me, or help me out. I had never missed my parents more than in this moment.
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