“He was bald, but mostly worn a hood. I seen him head towards Hallwart.” The man jerks his head towards the east.
“Hallwart?” Willem asks.
“Aye, it’s the ol’ fort in the forest. ‘S been abandoned fer years – some folks think it’s haunted,” he chuckles.
I turn my gaze on the tree line in the distance. The leaves quiver, whispering in the light breeze. An abandoned fortress that the locals are too frightened to approach – a Nephilim couldn’t ask for better refuge. “Where is this fort?” I ask.
He purses his lips and faces the forest. “I’d say ‘bout two miles east of ‘ere,” he guesses. “Follow the path in the forest and ye canna miss it.”
We leave the man to tame his garden. I can feel his curious eyes on us as we retreat to the main road. Willem stares at the forest as the sun beats down on us. "It's a good lead," he says.
I nod. “Agreed. We’ll go there now.”
“Now?” Aiden sighs, stretching his arms over his head. “Couldn’t we take a break? We’ve been canvassing all morning – and some of us didn’t get much sleep.”
I eye Willem and he glowers at me. “This fool came waltzing into the room at dawn, woke me up.”
At his words, Briar gasps softly before falling into a coughing fit. I stop and turn, looking at her with concern. Briar doubles over, her face flushed as she coughs into her sleeve. “Are you alright?” I ask, lifting a tentative hand towards her.
“She’s fine.” Aiden grins, slapping her on the back.
Briar quiets, but she doesn't brush Aiden off as I expected her to. I cock my head, interest piqued. Briar glances up, furtively meeting my gaze. My lips quirk up into a dangerous smile, and she drops her eyes to the ground, pretending to recover from the coughing fit. She's been avoiding me all morning and I wonder if it has something to do with last night. I sent her upstairs before she could witness the fight. Perhaps she worries we killed them all or maimed them. Perhaps she worries I could one day do the same to her.
“Things de-escalated after you went upstairs last night,” I say, hoping that will help. “There was no fight. No one was harmed.”
“Oh,” Briar says. She chews on her bottom lip, clearly lost in thought.
“All thanks to me,” Aiden boasts genially, winking.
Willem heads through the alley towards the forest, dirt crunching beneath his boots. I hang back and fall into step beside Briar. She seems to shrink a little, tucking her arms close to her side as if she doesn’t dare touch me. Aiden tucks his hands in his pockets, whistling. I flare my eyes at him, silently urging him to give us some privacy but Aiden merely winks. I roll my eyes at him, tempted to send a shadow his way to whip at his heels. Instead, I coax the darkness around his ears, muffling his hearing. I grin as Aiden’s head whips towards me, eyes sparked with anger. Huffing, he jogs towards Willem and joins the Reaper. When he’s out of earshot, I pull the shadows back, releasing the magic. Briar looks nervous, her eyes darting between the ground, me, and my brother.
“Something the matter?” I ask coldly. She lifts her chin towards me and shakes her head defiantly. Only in the light do I notice the purple bags beneath her eyes. “You didn’t sleep.”
Her face falls into shadow as we reach the tree line, leaving the village behind. “I had nightmares,” she says and I can hear the despair in her voice.
Leaves and branches snap under our footsteps as we walk the overgrown path. We're shoulder to shoulder, clustered by the narrow confines. Briar's scent mingles with the fresh pine of the woods, and I take a deep, long breath. "What was the subject of your nightmares?" I ask, holding a branch aside for her.
"My mother," she says as she ducks. Her tired eyes cut through me, and I can feel a sudden flash of her anger.
“I never did take you to her,” I say. She doesn’t react. “What was your mother doing in the dream?”
Briar's voice is hoarse when she answers as if she's in deep pain. "She was dying. Endlessly dying. Pained. Screaming. It was her last days alive, playing over and over in my mind."
I exhale softly, sensing what’s coming next. It’s always the same with mortals. They don’t understand the intricacies of death – don’t see how it can be such a mercy. All it is to them is pain and suffering. And they always ask why. Briar is no different, but I never expected her to be. Of course, she’s in pain. I wonder just how long a mortal needs before death doesn’t hurt so much anymore. “I’m sorry,” I say, interrupting the silence hanging between us.
“Why?” Briar asks suddenly, whirling on me. “Why didn’t you save her? My father called for you – I called for you, Kane. But you never came.”
I freeze, a sudden chill sweeping over me when her voice cracks with sorrow. My jaw is tight, eyes wide. I expected this question. But I didn’t expect her pain. The human element. My fingers twitch, but I resist the urge to pull her into my chest and comfort her. I doubt that’s what she wants from me right now, anyway. Briar looks at me coldly, expectantly. Her gray eyes, normally so clear, are rimmed with red as she holds back tears.
“Briar,” I murmur, speaking calmly. “I gave your mother an extra sixteen years with you. She was meant to die on the night
