The Stableboy's shadow (BL)

Chapter 5

The next morning Riley awoke to a suspicious and pleasant surprise. Percevin had risen earlier and had started reheating some food for breakfast with a new eagerness. He didn't say good morning, but he did nod in Riley's direction.

After they left camp, Percevin started asking some questions. Not personal questions, rather about creatures, the forest, and how to survive outside the safety of a town's walls. He was always watching everything around them as if he was discovering the world for the first time, asking pretty much everything he could see that he didn't know about. He questioned everything; for some Riley didn't know the answer to, but Percevin could quickly find a new target.

The boy always took extra time to assess the information before another question would surprise Riley. The sound of his voice so casually floating around them was still unsettling after almost a week of silence. Riley had tried a few times to ask back, to take the opportunity to get to know him better, would retreat into muteness for about an hour each time, refusing to answer, until curiosity inevitably dragged him back into conversation.

At nightfall, they set up camp in silence, the faint tension between them trailing like a second shadow. Percevin gathered kindling while Riley cleared a small circle of stones, each step wordless but not without weight. They moved around each other cautiously, their coordination still clumsy despite the days spent traveling side by side. Percevin's attempts to help were hesitant, often second-guessed, while Riley offered no guidance—just the occasional glance to make sure the boy didn't burn their gear. The fire took longer than it should have. When it finally caught, they sat on opposite sides, sharing its warmth but not its comfort. Percevin fiddled with the hem of his cloak for a while, brows knit, before finally breaking the silence.

"Last night... that creature. What did you say it was called?" Percevin asked.

"A Wraith-Dog."

"You mentioned something about it being created. What did you mean by that?"

Riley took a deep breath, thinking of a way to explain this concept that is specific to the God of Shadow, which a lot of people didn't know much about.

"Before, this beast was a blackdog. They're a bit like common wolves, but bigger, more intelligent and vicious, but they're loners. They are scarier too, them being creatures of the shadows. But a Wraith is created when a creature is killed without respect—out of pleasure, greed, or cruelty—and left to rot. That kind of death leaves traces, anger, need for vengeance. This resentment is what transforms a creature into a Wraith."

It took a second for the information to sink in. Riley was almost getting used to these pauses in conversation, as he really took time to think about it, linking the newly acquired facts to what he already knew and gathered on the subject. He probably didn't know a lot about this, as the pause, for once, was short-lived.

"Can any animal become a Wraith?"

"Every living thing, yes, even though some are more frequent than others. With animals, it's mostly predators, but sometimes, we can come across more passive creatures. And those are the most terrifying."

"How come?"

"They are given a particularly strong power. Maybe the God of Shadows takes pity on them. They are stronger than predator Wraiths."

Percevin thought about that for a moment.

"So, we cannot kill them."

"No one can kill a ghost; it can only be sealed away. Some species are more powerful than others, so, it affects the power needed to appease it. Prayers addressed to the God of Light are more effective than those made to other Gods. What I did back then was mostly to seal this dog for a few days."