The Black Wolf's Mark (3 page)

Chapter 6

The majority of the village men are returning from their jobs in the forest. The majority of them are going straight to the tavern with the intention of alleviating their stress from an arduous days work with a good dose of red wine.

As always, Norton sits down at a table with his friend Zidane.

“What happened to you?” Norton asks his friend as he perceives he is with his head down all the time.

“I am suspicious of something.”

“Tell me what!”

“Your female cousin says words that I can’t get out of my mind.”

“What did Amarilis say to you this time? Where did you meet her?”

“I approached her last night, she continually said −
Fire
!
Wolf
!”

Norton shakes his head and twirls his wine mug over the table and says, “Amarilis is not normal.”

Zidane raises his head and stares at the face of his friend and Norton continues talking. “Besides being blind she is a witch.”

“Witch?”
Zidane’s voice sounded surprised.

“Therefore she was born blind.”

“Wait a moment! Explain to me the entire story!”

Norton takes a gulp of wine and looks at his friend and begins to relate the story from the beginning.

“Amarilis was born blind, and all the people in the village believe she was born this way because she is a witch.”

“That is
absurd!” Zidane says shaking his head.

“But she is a witch because her mother was also a witch.”

“Then that’s why she has that strange behaviour,” Zidane concludes, looking at the table’s dark wood.

“The worst in all this, you don’t know yet.”

Zidane stares into his friend’s eyes hoping he will tell him the worst part of the story.

“Amarilis is condemned to die in the prime of her life.”

“How so ‘condemned to die’?” he crosses his arms in front of his chest.

“She’ll be burned as soon as she comes of age.”

Zidane’s gaze widens as he listens to the words of his friend that is weaving the story.

“Won’t you and your mother do anything to prevent this?”

“We cannot do anything; the people in this village are still generous to her because she is blind. If it was not for that, she would have been dead a long time ago.”

“She is a defenseless person. What harm would she do to anyone? The poor girl is blind!” his voice echoed with indignation and re
pulse.

“The people here don’t see her as a
poor blind girl
, but as a
witch
.”

“She doesn’t deserve to die this way − I feel she is a good person.”

“And she is, but her destiny is traced with fire and we cannot change that.”

Norton shows
himself to be realistic.

“Then, that’s the reason why she says the word ‘
fire’
all the time.”

“She does not know this yet, that she’ll be burned by fire. My mother and I feel it’s better to spare her from this suffering.”

“You need to spare her from this stupid death too. She does not deserve this sad end.”

Zidane drinks the rest of his wine and strongly thumps his mug over the table as if he is giving a final point on the death sentence of the poor blind woman.

“Nothing can be done − she’ll face her death like her mother did.”

Chapter 7

One afternoon, Zidane is walking by the village and some children are playing outside of their homes.

He observes the children for a time and after that he looks in front and sees Amarilis c
oming, walking slowly trying to feel the ground with her own feet. The children stop playing and they look at the witch that is approaching with some flowers that she brings from the prairie. Then a rain of stone falls over the young woman because the children throw all the objects that they see straight ahead against the blind girl.

“BLIND WITCH!”

Zidane runs up to the girl and protects her from the stones and wood pieces that the children throw towards her.

“Stop it!” he shouts annoyed. “Go into your homes!”

The children run desperate to enter their houses. And Amarilis glances at all sides, trying to calm herself from the fright she just received.

Zidane touches the afflicted face of the young woman and asks, “Are you okay?”

She holds his hand with all her strength and answers, “I think so, yes.”

“Come, I’ll escort you back to your home.” He holds the blind girl’s arm and she continues holding her flowers.

He leaves her in front of her door and she gazes in the direction of the boy. For an instant he thinks she can really see him with her white eyes. He feels sorry for the girl when his mind remembers about the stupid death sentence hanging over her head.

He looks at the ground and his throat makes a strange noise while his hands go into the pockets of his dark pants.

“I find you can confide in me now.”

The witch’s white eyes become anxious and at that moment her head seeks the direction of his voice before her. And she sees in her mind a great black wolf, with his pointed teeth, coming in her direction, trying to devour her.

“The beast
is coming!” She exclaims startled and enters into her house slamming the door shut.  Zidane squeezes his dark eyes at the same moment the door slams shut.  He turns his back and walks in the direction of the village’s main avenue.

Chapter 8

“I feel myself a monster every time I am in front of Amarilis.” Zidane says in loud voice while he walks by the forest near the village. His mind is a little hazy after the excessive wine doses he put into his body.

He sits down on a dry grass thicket and gazes at the nebulous sky and also at the first quarter of the moon.  Once again he feels a familiar sensation move through him a he looks at the moon.  His thoughts are divided between the moon and Amarilis.

“Why do I frighten her so much?”

His voice sounded loud again.

“I have never wounded
her − I just want to help her.”

After some time, he ends up falling asleep on the grass and next to him is his red wine mug.  He is very lucky because his mug is completely empty. If not he would have spotted his own clothes with red wine.

***

Zidane sq
ueezes his eyes two or three times after he is forced to awaken from his deep sleep as he lies on the grass thicket. Suddenly his body feels the delicate hands of a woman caressing him lightly from waist down.

“It is time to wake up,” she says with her gentle voice like the swing of a plume.

He stares at the face of the young woman with her black hair and white eyes and then he asks her very surprised, “You! What are you doing here?”

Amarilis’ hands pass lightly over his belly and go in the direction of his powerful chest, while he stares at her. He looks quite stunned seeing her seated at his side in her long black dress.

“This is the time for you to awaken this beast that exists within you.”

Zidane’s heart begins to speed up more and more as soon as he opens his dark eyes and faces the nebulous sky above. He raises his head, gazes in the direction of his feet and realises he is lying on the grass and Amarilis is not present in that place. It must have been a strange dream.

Perhaps he has dreamed of the young woman because he fell asleep thinking of the moon and also her fate.  He feels intrigued, however, at the last phrase that was uttered by the girl, ‘
It is time for you to awaken this beast that exists within you
.’

Chapter 9

Mrs. Lyra is startled by two knocks on her front door. She walks in the direction of the door and opens it. However, she is surprised at the unexpected presence of her son’s friend.

“Good evening
, Mrs. Lyra.”

“Good evening, my son is not here,” she says quickly.

“I didn’t come to talk to him.”

Lyra frowns at him asking herself – “why is he here then?”

“In fact, I came to talk to your niece.”

“Well, − Amarilis already is lying down.”

“Excuse me, I will come back tomorrow.”

“I will be here.”

A female voice comes from behind Lyra. Then she glances over her shoulder and sees her niece and says, “I thought you were sleeping.”

“I cannot
sleep,” the young woman says keeping her hands on the house walls.

Zidane enters the house after Lyra asks him to come inside and she walks to other room leaving the two youths alone to talk.

“I beg your pardon! I came here and disturbed your sleep−”

“You didn’t disturb my sleep because I was already awake.”

“Amarilis, I confess I am deeply impressed by things you have told me.”

The witch is seated by the side of the boy on an old straw chair.

“What more do you know about me?” He asks her, holding the girl’s right hand. She feels his despair through the touch of his hands.

“I see much fire!”

“Just fire?” he insists.

She gazes at the walls and continues saying.

“I see a black wolf.”

He frees the young woman’s hand and asks her then, “Black
wolf?”

Amarilis touches her fingers on the boy’s face and tries to warn him.

“You run, danger!”

“What danger
?”

“I don’t know
− but you are in danger.”

At this moment Norton enters the house and Amarilis takes her hand away from the boy’s face before her male cousin can see.

“Zidane!
You’re here!”

“I came to talk to your female cousin.”

Norton lifts up his eyebrows and walks in the direction of the two of them. Amarilis senses her male cousin approaching just by the sound of his accelerated footsteps over the floor. And her male cousin kisses on top of her head.

“I don’t want to disturb your conversation.”

“We already said everything we needed to say – I am going to my bed now.”

Amarilis says and rises slowly from the couch. Zidane tries to help her but she refuses his help, saying to him, “Don’t worry
about me − I know how to do this perfectly.”

The young woman rises and moves in the direction of her bedroom and leaves them in the living room. Zidane’s vigilant gaze follows the slow movements of the blind girl.

Norton perceives the careful gaze of his friend over his female cousin and he asks him,

“Zidane, are you interested by my female cousin?”

Zidane stares at his friend’s face and he shakes his head before he answers him.

“Absolutely
not.”

He looks at the ground and tries to explain to him.

“I just feel sorry for your female cousin.”

“It’s too bad, as you already know Amarilis has little time left. I wouldn’t enjoy seeing a friend mine suffering for love.”

“And what if your female cousin lives despite her impending fate?”

“Not even by a miracle can this be possible.”

Zidane remains silent and Norton remembers something.

“There is a feast in the tavern – let’s go there?”

***

Norton passes through the tavern’s main door side by side with his friend Zidane. Both of them see a crowd of people in that place. Men are raising their wine mugs beside some women with few clothes on and some of them have their breasts uncovered.

Norton and Zidane raise their eyebrows surprised at the stunning beauty of these women.

“This here today is a flower-garden!” Norton
jokes. Zidane agrees giving him a modest smile and they walk discreetly to a table, sit on two wooden chairs and ask for drinks.

The two boys gaze in the direction of two women that are on the other side leaning on a counter. They smile at the two boys and Norton makes a sign with his forefinger inviting them to his table.

After some time, Norton and Zidane ask for more wine and something for them to eat in the company of the two women both of them have long hair and they are dressed in odalisque clothes.

02:45 am, they leave the tavern and Norton and Zidane still accompanied by the two women, go to an empty barn where there is just dry grass and several wood pieces that are piled up in a corner.

However, Norton hugs a woman and they walk to the other side of the barn, while Zidane and the another woman remain where they are.

The woman begins to get rid of what few clothes she has as soon as she sees herself alone with the boy. Zidane approaches bit by bit, enchanted by the hallucinatory beauty of the female with long dark hair.

His hands touch the pair of voluptuous breasts of his female companion, while his lips pass lightly over her neck making her breathe heavily.

At last she feels the hands of her partner around her waist pulling her close and he devours her with a scorching kiss. Their undressed bodies completely meld together over the dry grass.

Hours and hours pass and they remain insatiable in their carnal desires, their unique witness is the full moon peering through an open window.

Towards the end of their sexual encounter, Zidane rests his body on his partner’s and she lightly passes her hands over his back and he receives some tender kisses along his neck and also his ear.

Suddenly the woman is surprised as her gaze falls on a mark on the boy’s back, a dark design over his left lung.

“What’s this on your back?”

“Nothing interesting, it is just a mark.”

“One mark? I want to see it!”

She makes the boy turn his back to her and she slides her fingers over the enigmatic design.

“What
does this signify?”

“I don’t know. I just know I’ve had it from the time I was a child.”

“I have never seen this symbol before.” She gazes more intently at the figure, “It seems that there are numbers.”

“277.” Zidane says immediately.

“That's it!”

“Perhaps I am the property of someone.” He turns to the woman and pulls her to him.
“Of some woman.”

“Umm, this is interesting!” she says bringing her lips to his.

“Who knows, maybe I marked you many years ago and I don’t remember it.”

She jokes and he shuts her up with another voracious kiss.