For a moment nobody moved.
The fire crackled, throwing restless light across the clearing. Gavril lay on his side, one arm twisted beneath him, his chest rising and falling steadily.
"Get him up."
Samuel was already moving. He crossed the clearing and dropped beside him.
"Give him some room."
One of the merchant stood behind him, another came around from the opposite side.
Kaavi watched them. Something was wrong. Their voices carried concern but their faces did not.
The man kneeling beside Samuel looked toward Gavril's chest rather than his face. Another had stopped beside the wagon, his hand resting against the wooden frame.
Kaavi's eyes moved across the clearing. One of the men had positioned himself behind Viktor. Another stood close to Veyl. Neither appeared to be watching Gavril anymore.
They were watching them.
Kaavi's fingers tightened around the edge of his cloak. The pain behind his eyes returned. A dull pressure, he ignored it.
"Samuel."
The merchant looked over. "Yes?"
Kaavi's gaze remained fixed upon him.
"Help me move him."
Samuel smiled. It was the same friendly smile he had worn throughout the journey. But something in it had changed, perhaps it had always been there. Kaavi simply hadn't noticed.
Samuel for a brief moment looked at Kaavi then at Viktor and Veyl.
The smile disappeared, he threw the bowl in his hand, it struck Gavril across the face with a dull crack. Before Viktor could understand what had happened, someone seized him from behind.
"Grandpa!!"
His body was dragged backward, he kicked, his hand clawed at the arm around his chest.
Across, Veyl was thrown onto his back. Two men pinned him down; another caught his legs.
Kaavi tried to rise; A heavy wright crashed into his shoulder and drove him into the snow. His sword remained beneath his cloak, he tried to reach it, a boot came down on his wrist. Pain shot through his arm; Kaavi gritted his teeth.
The entire incident had taken only seconds.
The men who had laughed with them a moment ago were now holding them down. Samuel stood over Gavril; there was no anger or hatred in his eyes.
Only impatience.
"Take the big guy to the wagon."
Two men grabbed Gavril by the arms, dragging through the snow.
Viktor stared.
"Samuel..."
Samuel didn't look at him.
One of the men holding Veyl glanced toward the wagon.
"The large one went down easier than I expected."
"Doesn't matter."
Another tightened his grip on Veyl's wrist.
"Let's just take care of the rest now."
The words were spoken casually.
Kaavi's eyes narrowed.
The earlier conversation returned to him.
More goods. More profit.
His stomach turned. He understood but too late.
Veyl remained on the ground, his breath coming in short, desperate bursts as the men held him down.
Viktor struggled against the arms around him.
"Let him go!"
No one answered.
Kaavi tried to move.
The pressure against his wrist tightened.
His fingers had gone numb beneath the boot pressing them into the snow.
He looked toward Gavril.
Two men were dragging him toward the wagon.
His body remained limp.
"Leave him."
Kaavi's voice was quiet.
The men did not even look at him.
One of them glanced toward the leader instead.
"Where?"
"The wagon."
"Alive?"
The leader looked at Gavril for a moment.
"If he wakes, deal with him."
The answer was delivered without emotion.
Kaavi understood then.
These men had done this before. There was no hesitation in their movements. No uncertainty about what came next. They had a routine.
His eyes moved across the clearing.
Twelve. Perhaps thirteen.
He couldn't count them properly anymore. The pain behind his eyes had begun spreading into his skull. Every heartbeat sent another pulse through his head. He forced himself to breathe.
Slowly. Carefully.
But his thoughts were already becoming difficult to hold.
Veyl twisted beneath the men.
"Get off me!"
One of them forced his shoulder into the ground.
Another caught his wrist.
Veyl kicked hard enough to loosen one man's grip for a moment.
He almost rolled free.
A knee slammed into his stomach. The air left his lungs.
He gasped. His eyes watered.
One of the men reached toward his neck.
Veyl saw the movement. His entire body went cold.
"No..."
He struggled harder.
His heels dug trenches into the snow. His fingers searched desperately for the knives beneath his coat.
His eyes darted across the clearing.
Viktor was still fighting. Kaavi was trapped. Gavril was unconscious.
Samuel stood near the wagon.
Watching.
Veyl had never seen a face look so empty.
"Please..."
The word escaped him before he could stop it.
The man holding him did not react.
Veyl swallowed.
His chest heaved. He had spent so little time outside Whitehold. There had been roads, mountains, villages, strangers. He had never imagined it could become this small.
A patch of frozen ground.
A few faces.
Hands holding him down.
And nowhere to run.
"Veyl!"
The boy shouted his name.
Veyl turned his head.
Their eyes met.
For one terrible moment, Veyl saw the same fear in Viktor's face that he felt inside himself.
He didn't want Viktor to remember him like this. He tried to pull himself free again.
The man above him tightened his grip.
"Hold him."
Another hand reached for Veyl's throat.
Then…
A roar tore through the forest.
The trees shook.
Several birds burst from the branches.
The men looked up.
A massive shape exploded from the darkness.
Snow flew beneath its hooves as the moose charged into the clearing.
One of the men barely had time to turn before the animal struck him.
His body flew sideways. Another man was thrown off Veyl. The third stumbled backward as the enormous animal thundered past.
Veyl rolled away. For several seconds, he could only stare.
The moose swung its head violently, confused and terrified, shouting and sudden movement.
But for Veyl... that was enough.
His hand disappeared beneath his coat.
His fingers closed around the handle of one of his knives.
He pulled it free.
The nearest attacker was still trying to stand.
Veyl moved before he could think.
The knife struck his throat. The man collapsed.
Another grabbed Veyl from behind.
Veyl twisted and drove his second knife backward into his leg. The grip around him loosened.
He turned.
The man's face was inches from his.
Veyl stabs into the men's eye. The man fell into the snow.
A third rushed toward him.
Veyl stepped back.
The man's footing slipped where the moose had churned the snow.
Veyl drove his blade forward. The man dropped.
Veyl stood frozen.
His chest rose and fell violently. Three men lay around him. Blood stained his hands. He stared at the knives.
For a moment...
He didn't recognize them.
Then the moose bellowed again. Knocking everyone in his path.
Veyl looked up.
The animal had turned toward the other side of the clearing.
The leader stood directly in its path. The moose charged.
The man waited.
At the last instant, he stepped aside. The animal thundered past him. His sword flashed from its sheath.
One clean swing.
The blade struck the moose's neck.
The enormous animal stumbled.
Its front legs folded beneath it. The rest of its body followed. It crashed into the snow.
Silence returned.
The leader stood beside the fallen animal, sword in hand. For a moment, he simply looked at it. Then he turned. His eyes found Kaavi.
Kaavi was still on his knees.
His breathing had become uneven. His skull felt as though it were splitting apart. The edges of his vision had begun to darken.
The leader started walking toward him.
Then faster. Then he broke into a run.
Kaavi tried to rise.
His hand found the hilt of his sword. His fingers trembled. The pain screamed through his skull.
The leader closed the distance.
Steel came toward him.
Kaavi drew his sword.
CLANG!!
The impact rang through the clearing.
Kaavi staggered backward, boots cutting through the snow.
His arms shook violently.
The leader pressed forward.
Kaavi raised his eyes.
Blood-red vessels spread across them.
His grip tightened around the sword.
And for the first time that night...the two men stood face to face.