The Devil's Daughter by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 14

That evening, the elders met in Ileana's small home. She was not known for having guests and often felt she was better off without them. But as limited as her living quarters were, she welcomed them in out of a sense of urgency to deal with the crisis that seemed to be overtaking the village. In all, there were three, as it was believed that an odd number was needed to make sound decisions without the nuisance of deadlock and although Ileana was the only woman among them, she was not seen as a weakness but a strength, providing a perspective that could not be had by men.

Before leaving the church, they agreed to meet at night after everyone went home and had the chance to calm their frayed emotions. Under the quiet darkness of the night, they would put aside their own fears and suspicions for an objective discussion but they also knew that order had to be maintained, that if the village broke into a panic, everything that kept it alive could collapse, threatening the lives of everyone. If a convincing lie could be invented, the elders might be able to buy some time until a solution could be found. The other, more unlikely alternative was that the matter would simply disappear.

Sitting around Ileana's small table, they paused to gather their thoughts and out of that moment, Aizic was the first to speak.

“So,” he began. “What do we do?” Sabin, believing that Aizic was getting ahead of the issue, replied with a more basic idea.

“I don't think we should ask what we should do without first considering what we are dealing with.” Ileana nodded her understanding. “Yes,” she said. “I agree. We cannot jump to conclusions, or give in to fear without first knowing what we should be afraid of.”

Sabin and Aizic agreed that rational thought should prevail if anything was to be accomplished. “So,” she continued. “What do we know so far?”

“Well,” Aizic began. “Our hunters found her in the mountains unable to speak.”

“She took quite a while in recovering, I remember,” Sabin added. “But she seems healthy now.” Now, Ileana interrupted with a different view. “She's seen the doctor several times, hasn't she?”

“Yes,” Aizic replied. “He has seen no signs of illness. At least, any physical illness.”

“But a child found in the woods would be...troubled, at least,” Ileana began. “So I think it goes without saying that Alina is deeply disturbed.”

Aizic and Sabin agreed, and all three concluded that Alina posed no threat to the village. However, there was another issue, one that could cause the village to erupt into violence.

It was during the meeting in the church that a number of people expressed strong concerns regarding Alina and the violent exhumation of Father James' grave, speaking as if she had somehow been responsible. The elders, again, realized the need for calm, rational thinking, but the problem that lay in front of them was no longer about Alina, but how to manage the paranoia that seemed to be quickly overtaking the village as well as whatever had vandalized the priests' grave. This, the elders decided, was simply an ill-timed coincidence, and should be seen as such. However, the problem was in how to convince the people. After all, people have each other, not just for support but as a reflection for their fears and opinions. This could be addressed at the next meeting in the church, yet words can sometimes be of little use and most will not listen.

“It would be a shame if this child were to be kept locked away because of fear,” Sabin said. Ileana was quick to respond.

“We cannot allow that. She has done nothing and will not be treated as a criminal.”

“The people of this village will not be pleased,” Aizic said. “Yes,” Ileana replied. “But having already said this to them, I will say it again. One odd child is not cause for alarm. As for the creature that robbed the grave of our priest, we will organize the hunters and send them out.” Now, Sabin saw fit to raise one last question. “And what about what Nelu saw? He has a sharp eye and he's one of our best hunters.”

Ileana paused to consider the most reasonable answer. “The night can play tricks on anyone, and to be honest, the idea that one creature can turn into another seems very unlikely, as well as quite superstitious.” Everyone agreed that the circumstances of the village must be governed by rational thinking and that where Alina's life was concerned, all superstition must be avoided. Like religion, no one should die over superstitious ideas.

Having agreed on every point, the elders planned to present their decisions to the village the next day at the church. With any good luck the people would, at least, be willing to listen, and perhaps, enough would see the sense in their ideas. But the elders expected a typical human response. Resistance. Peoples' beliefs often walk hand-in-hand with a deep suspicion of anything that is not consistent with the reality they create and belief is the one thing about people that cannot be changed. Nonetheless, the elders came to the conclusion that the safety of everyone in Gura Haith was their priority and this included Alina.