Something Wild (Child of the Winter Moon Book 1)

45: A Clan's Dishonor

Cerys looked around at the mess. "Ever see anythin' like that?"

"Can't say that I have."

"Where'd the bears come from? We were all laughin', eatin', drinkin'... Then suddenly – a massacre. Torrents of blood on the walls."

"Since I was still outside when this started, did you see anything? I felt magic and monsters before hearing roars."

"Yo-young Lugos bet he could empty a barrel of beer in one go. He climbed on a table, grabbed a pony keg of Cintrian wheat and started chuggin'. Err, his throat bulged like a blowfish, face went red... but he kept drinkin'. Folk started bangin' their tankards on the table, shouting 'Lu-gos, Lu-gos!' Then, from the other side of the room, we heard this roar! We turned in unison as if a coxswain had called! They were there. They were already there! Folks closest to the bears didn't even manage to draw their weapons. They... they were ripped to shreds."

Juray could tell witnessing it had affected her.

"We'll avenge them. I promise." Juray looked over the blood-splattered walls and the bodies that now littered the hall. "Who was lost?"

"Drogodar, Draig Bon-Dhu, Blueboy Lugos, Halbjorn, Otrygg..." She sighed. "Take some time to mention them all."

Juray frowned. "But you could name the claimants to the throne who survived in one breath – you, Hjalmar, and Svanrige."

Cerys looked at her. "What're you sayin'?"

"Nothing. Just yet." She turned away. "I'm going to take a look around."

"I'll speak to the others. Maybe someone saw something more than I did."

Juray examined the corpses of the dead while Cerys went over to one of the servants and the warrior who was trying to calm her down.

"Pull yourself together, Sinna. How'd they get in?"

"Dunno..." Sinna said. "The gates were shut!"

"Looked away a moment..." the warrior said. "Turned back around, saw a bear standin' by the bench. Tis the gods' doin'. Maybe they're punishin' us."

Juray headed over toward one of the bears.

"For what?" Cerys asked. "You're talkin' rubbish."

"So the tales are true... Warriors in battle frenzy transformed into wild beasts."

Juray knelt next to the bear to examine it.

"Berserkers... But how'd they come to be here?"

If the warrior was correct then that would have explained the magic Juray had felt. She began to poke around the dead bear's head and mouth.

"Bear's head, but the tongue's short, like a human's." Juray took a sniff. "Mouth smells of honey liqueur, mead... and something... earthy. Bears like honey... before it's fermented. Strange." Juray noticed discoloration and moved the fur on the back of the neck away to reveal a tattoo of a bear paw. "I'm pretty sure bears don't get tattoos often." She noticed scaring on the arm. "Or have wound sutured." She stood. "Something had to have caused the transformation. Maybe something he ate..." Juray looked around, noticing the drinking horns scattered everywhere. "Or drank. Everyone was drinking mead... Mead with an earthy aroma. Need to check the horns, tankards, and bowls." Juray went about checking everything that held alcohol until she finally found the same scent from the bear's mouth. "Earthy scent from the bear's maw. Something towards... mushroom? Bowl's empty..." She set it down and sniffed the air. "But the scent's in the air." She stood and followed the scent to a horn by the door. She picked it up and sniffed it. "Mead spiked with some kind of mushroom... and... human blood? This has to be what triggered it." She stood. "Cerys! Come here."