The Madman of the Woods | ONC 2024 Shortlist | Vampire Romantasy | Supernatural

8 The Judge and the Jury

It was just Josie's luck that she had found herself stuck with a vampire environmentalist. Just when she thought he couldn't surprise her any more, Lailoken showed his true colors, and they were... green. No amount of training could prepare a hunter for that.

Guilt settled upon her when she lied to him about planning to help him save his forest. No, instead she would hand him over for sentencing. And he believed her. In his childlike naiveté, he trusted her. If it was the right thing to do, why did it feel so wrong?

She squashed those feelings to the back of her mind. She was born to be a hunter, not a judge, and she couldn't second-guess her every decision. Who knew? Maybe he would charm the council, and they'd acquit him of killing those men. In any other circumstance, "The trees made me do it" defense wouldn't stand a chance, but Lailoken kept surprising her over and over again. Perhaps he would surprise her once more and get himself out of that problem.

Though he flatly refused before, he humored her by trying on the flip-flops. He was clearly uncomfortable and grumbled about them under his breath, but then he took a few test steps and laughed. "I see why they're called flip-flops. They flip and they flop. Do you hear that?" He started pacing through the small room and imitating the sound his feet were making. "Flip. Flop. Flip. Flop. Flip. Flop."

His sudden mood change was concerning. Just like that, he could snap between being a murderous extremist to a whimsical man-child. Wild was certainly an accurate description of him. She needed to get him to the Guild as soon as possible before she took pity on him and let him go.

While he entertained himself with flip-flops, she gauged how likely his fancy robes would stand out on the streets. He looked like he was cosplaying a weird crossover of a Jedi and a wood elf. At least his silver hair was well hidden under a large beanie. Overall, he could pass for a strangely dressed normal young man. No one would be able to tell he was neither, as long as he didn't show off his fangs, glow, or mistake a light switch for magic again. Oh, dear.

"Come here," she said, having gotten everything else ready. "I'll cover your eyes."

First, she put a sleep eye mask as a blindfold over his eyes, then the dark wraparound sunglasses on top of that. He threw his coat over his head for an added measure.

"It's not your first time daywalking, is it?" she asked skeptically.

"It isn't, but it doesn't mean I enjoy being so blind I have to be led by a human."

"You can trust me. Come on; it's a short walk."

He held his coat low over his face with one hand and held her hand with the other as she led him out the door and to the car. He did not complain, but stuck close to her, staying quiet.

She had rented a van for the occasion, one that had no windows in the back. She hung a blanket to divide the front from the back and protect him from the sunlight. "See? I told you. Easy peasy." She closed the makeshift curtain and drove off.

"I can't believe how well that worked," he said from the back. "Thank you. Can I keep these spectacles?"

"Sunglasses," she corrected him. "And before you say it, no, they're not magical."

He chuckled in response. "You know me already."

Yeah, and it was a problem. The better she knew him, the harder it would be to give him up. She had to hurry.

They didn't even make it two minutes before he said from the back, "I'm bored."

She chuckled. It was such a typical Lai. She felt like a babysitter who needed to provide a child with entertainment so he wouldn't throw a tantrum. "What type of music do you like?" She turned on the radio and explored different stations.