Something Wild (Child of the Winter Moon Book 1)

51: Kaer Morhen

Juray left the keep and used her Witcher senses to follow Scorpion's trail, knowing she wouldn't be able to track her fellow Witcher. She soon found the bay stallion, who nickered upon seeing her and Shadowmount.

"Nice to see you too, Scorpion." She looked around the area and saw small hoofprints leading away from the little camp. "Must have brought Lil Bleater with him to use as bait." She followed the goat's hoofprints until she lost him in the rocks. She caught Lil Bleater's scent so she was able to follow his scent until she found his tracks again. She found the goat tied to a stake. "Got the short end of this stick, didn't you?"

"Supposed to be forktail bait! Guess it works for Witchers as well!"

"'As for forktails, bait them thusly: pound a stake in the soil, bind a goat to it, then hide ye in nearto shrubbery posthaste.'"

"Brother Adelbert's bestiary, page eighty-two. Memory is sharp as ever, in spite of your years." He gave a smirk.

"I'm younger than you, idiot," Juray teased back. "The white hair doesn't mean anything."

"Good to see you, Juray."

"You too. How are things?"

"Same ol', same ol'. Another day, another drowner."

"That it?"

"I don't get exclusive Contracts like you. Also don't fight dragons, don't fraternize with kings, and don't sleep with sorceresses... Unlike some people around here."

Juray gave a laugh.

"Between me and you, at the moment, kinda glad this," he motioned to the ugly scar on his face. "Keeps the ladies at bay."

He'd received the scar from his only Child Surprise, a princess with the Curse of the Black Sun. Deidre had been defending herself from her brother and had accidentally hit Eskel in the face during the fight. The wound healed but he now had a deep and ugly scar running from close to his right eye to his lip, causing part of his lip to be raised slightly. Her friend was extremely self-conscious about it, but it never stopped him from smiling when he was around his fellow Witchers or Aiden. It probably didn't help Eskel's self-consciousness that her son was fascinated with both their scars.

"You know that's not true, Eskel. You're just the only one of the boys that doesn't fuck everything that moves."

Eskel laughed. "You might be right about that."

They heard a shriek.

"Shh! Hear that? Incoming!"

The two Witchers attacked the forktail and it quickly realized it was no match for two and took flight.

"Dammit! It's taking off! Hit the wings!"

Juray used Aard but it only staggered it in midair.

"Foul, overgrown reptiles," Eskel complained. "Hate it when they do that... Mighta saved us some trouble, let us kill it now."

"Then maybe gut itself, run a spit down its throat and out its ass?"

"Damn straight. Doubt the beast's that well-mannered, though... We gotta climb."

They gave chase and soon lost sight of it. Juray almost immediately picked up on a blood trail.

"Bleeding heavily," she said.

Eskel crouched next to her. "From an artery. Blood's light-colored. Can't fly much farther."