Ill Met By Moonlight

Chapter 30: Detour

Lex rushed through the lonely streets of the village, wanting to get back to Donna quickly. So far, she hadn't run into any lycans. In fact, she hadn't heard so much as a grunt or howl. It was suspicious but as long as they weren't around to slow her down, it was good enough for her.

Her throat still hurt from when Mother Miranda had choked her and she could feel a bruise forming Thankfully, it seemed to be healing faster than it was bruising. If she was lucky, a bruise wouldn't form at all so she could return to Donna without any visible injuries. She wondered if Ethan had gotten any sleep, and if Donna was unharmed. If the man had laid a single finger on her, Lex would rip him apart with no hesitation.

Lex took in a deep breath through her nose to cool down her blood when she felt it starting to boiling. Her nose twitched and she stopped dead in her tracks. Her head snapped to her left, gazing further into the village. The scent her nose caught was one of death and blood. The stench was so potent that it caused Lex to vomited. Due to her empty stomach, acid had burned her throat and caused her to let out harsh coughs.

Quickly, she wiped her mouth and her breathing was heavy. Whatever was causing that smell, she didn't want to meet it. She was about to keep walking when she found a large pool of blood she didn't remember passing by earlier that day and a trail of crimson. That trail led to a ruined building with boarded up windows and a shelf covering the door.

With her curiosity getting the better of her this time, she went to the door and managed to push the shelf out of the way. She squeezed into the building and in the corner of the room lay the body of an old man in a pool of his own blood. His breathing was shallow and a piece of paper lay in his hand. Lex swallowed and slowly approached.

The man must have her heard since his head shifted in her general direction. His eyes were clouded over and his voice was raspy. Lex flinched when she recognized him. He was Lady Luiza's husband.

''Luiza? Is that you?...'' he croaked.

Lex swallowed hard and stepped towards him, kneeling down. She let out a breath and softened her voice. ''I'm here.''

''Luiza... I'm so cold... I'm so scared...'' tears began leaking down his face. Lex brushed them away with as much tender care as she could muster. ''I-I don't want to die... I'm so scared...''

''Shhh,'' Lex pressed her hand against the man's cheek. She wasn't going to lie to him, but she always wasn't going to tell him right out that he wasn't going to make it. There was nothing she could do for him. One of his legs had been torn to shreds, barely hanging on by his tendons.

Well... there was one thing Lex could do for him.

''You'll only be going to sleep.'' she cooed. The man's breath hitched a few times. There was no doubt in Lex's mind that this old man knew for a fact that he was dying. All she could do was try to sooth him. ''Deep breaths, it'll be alright. In and out, and soon, you'll been sleeping.'' she cooed.

The man, having nothing else to do at this point, followed Lex's instructions. He took in slow, shallow breaths. He stopped shaking and seemed to be calming down, or perhaps his body was just shutting down. Lex placed her free hand on the man's other cheek, gently caressing it as she hummed a gentle tune to sooth him. His breath hitched a few more times and his eye lids fell heavy until finally, he stopped breathing.

Lex didn't remove her hands as soon as he stopped breathing; she just continued to caress his cheeks. She knew it was doing nothing to his physical body, but she silently hoped it was comforting his soul as it left the mortal world. Lex had never been particularly religious, but she did believe that everyone had a soul that left them when they died and entered a new being as a blank slate.