The Devil's Daughter by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 16

The hunt began early in the morning with other men in the village volunteering to join. Together, there were enough that they could split into three groups and quickly mobilize into the forest. Among one of these groups, Nelu also hunted the creature and considered himself to have a greater stake in bringing it back. Like everyone else, he was beginning to suspect a connection between the thing that robbed Father James' grave and Alina but sought to prove himself, and the others, wrong.

As the afternoon wore on, Nelu's group traveled north, deep into the woods and up towards its border with the mountains. They would be gone for hours and it was expected they might continue into the night, knowing it was likely that what they sought struck beneath the cover of darkness. However, before leaving the village, others were organized to stand guard in the event it returned, insuring everyone's safety. But the night was quiet and under a full moon, the silent woods played tricks on the hunter's minds. The more experienced knew the illusions that night could bring and had developed their own way of coping with it. Yet, those who had volunteered had no such experience and as the nighttime shadows sprung to life, so too did the fear of what they hunted.

It was only the first day, and there were a few minor difficulties to be put to rest. Those lacking in hunting skills seemed to know nothing about how to stalk one's prey. Their feet trod heavily upon the ground, and on more than one occasion, scuffed across the loose soil. They seemed to often require correction, impeding a potentially successful hunt. But there was another problem, one that Nelu should have expected. Fear, it seems, can spread like a fever and is, itself, highly irrational. It can act to benefit one's survival or lead down the path of everything that defies sane thinking, and the hunt did not go without more than a touch of paranoia. Some in Nelu's group would, for only a few moments, turn and glance back at him from the corner of their eyes. As an experienced hunter, Nelu was easily able to perceive the slightest changes and details in his surroundings and quickly noticed their suspicious behavior. It only took this one time for him to react and stopping the group, confronted those who had scrutinized him so closely.

“What are you looking at?” he asked.

The men fell silent as the experienced hunters stepped in, ready to intervene.

“Well,” he continued. “If you have something to say, then say it.”

Although no one was willing to speak, Nelu was keenly aware of what they were thinking. “My daughter is not the cause of this!” One of the men, suddenly finding some courage, spoke what he believed to be a common opinion. “Most of the village would disagree.” Hearing this, Nelu flew into a rage and stepping towards the man, made his own opinion known. “How could she be?! She is only a child! I swear, if anyone in that village tries to harm her, I will kill them myself! I don't know what she is to any of you but she is my daughter and I will protect her with my life!”

One of the experienced hunters quickly stepped in and grabbing Nelu by his coat, pulled him back. “Nelu,” he began. “Not all of us share their opinion but we cannot track this thing if it hears us coming.” Nelu had been a hunter long enough to know that during a hunt stealth is critical to finding game, and if the creature had been nearby it may have been scared off by his sudden outburst. But they refused to turn back and would continue their search, circling the village. So far, their well-honed instincts turned up nothing. Even a set of tracks could not be discovered. However, with the safety of the village at risk, they would continue for as long as it took to bring back the head of whatever had invaded their quiet mountain village.