64 Chapter 64: Four makes a crowd (1/2)

Salem: A figure emerged from the shadows. Light in step, steady in speed. No fear, no hesitation. I figured Elina would be listening to the conversation. Maybe watching me with her glowing silver eyes. But I didn't think she'd join us.

Did she intend to kill Giorgio?

If she did, she probably wouldn't do it right away. Knowing her, she'd appear in her towns girl disguise. Say she was my wife. Or a lost girl. Either way would be entertaining. For her. Not for me.

I turned around.

I didn't see a girl.

The exact opposite: a boy. Maybe around ten or eleven years-old. A little on the chubby side. Disheveled black hair. Dressed in brown trousers, a long sleeves shirt and leather vest. Not a farmer's boy. But not rich either.

Giorgio stood. Walked over to the boy. Gave him a pat on the shoulder.

He said, ”Sam, you're back.”

The boy nodded. He had something in his hands. Clutched it tightly. He moved and the fire flashed across what he held. Three dead rabbits.

The boy looked at me. His big brown eyes devoid of emotion. Didn't see me was a threat. Didn't see me as a friend either. Looked at me like he didn't see me at all.

Giorgio introduced us. The boy was called Sam. His son. Didn't say what happened to the mother and I didn't ask. He said he and his son were hunting Elina together. It would be a good experience for the boy. It might be dangerous, but at least he'd get to see the world outside of the town.

I nodded and drank and agreed without saying much.

There wasn't much for me to say. I didn't have a son. Didn't have any children. Or a wife, dead or alive. So I didn't comment.

But this boy definitely wasn't Elina is disguise. That emotionless face couldn't be her. She also wouldn't keep quiet like this. And Giorgio would surely recognize his son.