It was almost noon, when I finally reached a small clearing. Sun stained the space in between the leaves, turning it effectively into a cage. If it was just me, I wouldn't dare to set foot into the deadly circle. Fortunately, I was not alone.

  "C'mon, Juri! Keep up!" I called out for my hired help. Oh boy, was he not happy about that!

  "For the last time! It's Juraj for you, you damned excuse for a lady." As it turns out, even the gritty Slav can be quite talkative. If you hit the right strings, you could play 'im like a fiddle.

  "Yeah, yeah, potato-tomato. This is the place, right?" I asked, despite knowing the answer.

  The marks on both trees and ground told a story. One of fight, ruthless and desperate. A story I was eager to read. I clapped my hands together.

  "Juri! Get to it!" He frowned on my flawless expression of mock-entitledness. But he moved regardless, securing a giant canvas as high as he could, tying the corners to tree trunks, grunting like a bear from the strain. Once it was set, he simply nodded. Now, I could enter his "shelter", and avoid being pierced by the blazing spears of sunrays. ... That had time.

  I circled the clearing, making sure not to leave out any detail. My sight, sharp as a blade, pierced the soil, looking for any tracks that may have survived.

  Alas, a week is a long time, and I have discovered the same nothing as three times before. Shit. Gathering the courage, I slipped under the canvas. Juri greeted me with a nod.

  "Found anything?"

  "Not really. Hope I'll be luckier here." And lucky I was. As it turned out, some smells prevailed. First was well known, and made my throat clench with grief. Elias.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  "C'mon girl, you knew what you'd find here. Focus." Warm words didn't have the effect I was hoping for. Scent of the one who introduced me to eternity was still strong in my throat, and still damn painful. It took a good minute until the second smell kicked in. Faint, unknown stench of unspecified rot. Other than that, there really was nothing out of the ordinary. Interesting.

  "The body was here. Well... most of it was. The bigger part. ... Sorry." Right, I wasn't alone. The one-man audience helped me regain some composure.

  "It's fine. We need to move on. Don't want to stay here after sundown." My gaze snapped around. I needed something to work with. Something like... that!

  "Juri, let's move it towards those young oaks." Tall, thin trees. Some of them broken, few of them cut cleanly. This was it, I could smell it, feel it. He perished here. The tracks seemed almost fresh in the dirt. Too big to be smothered by wind or rain. Broad where he skid to a stop, deep from where he lunged. Traces of his claws on bark, few trees uprooted and tossed like spears. And one sharp, splintered trunk, at least eight feet tall. It was already dried and withered, with clear black stains. No wonder, from blood this potent. There were even bits of fabric from his usual black attire.

  "Bo?e dobry..." I heard a stunned whisper.

  "No "good God" here, Juri. Just us. So. What do you think?"

  "That your grandpa was a monster."

  "He was not my... nevermind."

  "No, I mean it. When I first saw this place, I thought a storm did this. Or a really huge bear. But now... Those claw marks... He jumped. A lot of jumps, evasive. It looks... desperate." Well, consider my interest piqued. For a human, that was solid observation.

  "What else?"

  "He made a mistake. See this dent in the bark? He pushed from this tree, but never landed."

  "Precisely. He jumped. And then... Something snatched him from mid-air." I could hear him suck in a breath. Couldn't blame him, honestly.

  "Something strong enough to hold him still, and tall enough to impale him on this stump." Few moments had passed, as we both stood in silence, for different reasons. Juraj was the one to break it, sounding interested.... invested.

  "We know when, we know where, and now we know how. So, who and why?"

  "More like what did it," I said, eyes following eight feet of splintered wood. Chill ran through my spine. When was the last time I felt like this? This powerless, this frustrated... scared?