Selene is only 16 years old, and she's a monster hunter. Werewolves are her specialty... and her curse. In fact, she shares their keen sense of smell.
Four months ago, a pack of werewolves kidnapped Raoul, her best friend, her only love. Selene will...
The Devil's Bridge in Cividale had been constructed overnight by the devil himself. The townsfolk had made a pact with Beelzebub, promising him the first soul to cross the bridge in exchange. However, to trick the devil, once the bridge was completed, the inhabitants sent a cat across. And the devil, finding himself with only the soul of a feline, left in a fury, leaving the work incomplete and an imprint of a paw on the bridge's stones.
So the legend goes.
But the true story of that bridge seemed no less strange and cursed. The structure was built under three different master builders in the 15th century and completed after more than a hundred years of work. Its architect, Dugaro da Bissone, died five years later, stabbed in a tavern. The next master builder, Erardo da Villaco, disappeared, whether having fled with the money or fallen victim to the plague, no one knew. Finally, Bartolomeo delle Cisterne, who had already built the Loggia del Lionello in Udine and the cathedral's bell tower, was commissioned to finish the work. For all we know, Bartolomeo died in Trieste in 1480. But tales passed down by the elders say he went mad, dying of neglect, consumed by alcohol.
The stories and events surrounding the Cividale bridge weren't limited to just architects and builders. It was hard to keep track of all the dead, especially women and children, who had fallen from the bridge's precipice and were found floating in the Natisone river. Suicides? Accidents? Or had someone – "something" – pushed them off? Perhaps it was the hooded figures who blocked the road to anyone trying to cross the bridge on moonless nights. Perhaps it was the spectres calling innocent souls to them, bringing the deceased to the underworld. After all, if the devil had really built that bridge, it wasn't implausible that he had designed it to ford the Styx, leading you to the gates of hell.
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But Selene wasn't interested in these stories. She wasn't there to hunt ghosts, demons, or the devil. She was looking for werewolves. And her instincts told her they were on the right track.
The concrete staircase descended into the gorge for over twenty meters. Lucas and Selene advanced without torches or candles to avoid being noticed, but it wouldn't take much to slip on a wet step and break their necks.
Once they reached the Natisone riverbed, the current flowed vigorously, but the dry, walkable gravel banks were extensive enough to explore the area without risking falling into the water.
"What do you sense, Selene?"
Lucas had to ask because at that point the girl was hesitating. The humidity, mixed with the wind, broke up the trails of scents, blending them with the smells of rotten algae, wood, and moss. They were in the right place, she was sure of it, but she needed a direction.
"This way," she finally decided.
Under the central pillar, a dry strip of land divided the river in two. From that position, it was possible to observe all the walls of the gorge, where rock and shrubs opened into hidden crevices. It was impossible to see anything in the darkness surrounding them, but Selene was looking for a scent trail indicating a passage, a cave, a hideout that might escape any other hunter's eyes but not her nose.
One had to wonder, though, what a werewolf would be doing down there. For one thing, werewolves were terrible swimmers due to their curved backs and reverse-flexed ankles. The Natisone wasn't a particularly dangerous river, but its torrential nature could catch anyone in its bed off guard and suddenly sweep them away.
But more importantly, werewolves were "social" monsters. If they didn't live in packs, they at least sought a nest that gave them a sense of proximity. A wolf couldn't hide in a cave away from the world for long, or it would suffer; rogue werewolves living as hermits went insane, becoming even more aggressive than usual.
Was that what they were looking for? A rogue gone mad? Or should they assume there was a lair big enough to hide an entire pack of a dozen wolves?
Selene finally decided to share her thoughts with the pirate: "Hey, Lucas, what do you think we're looking for?"
The mentor didn't answer. Maybe he hadn't heard her over the river's gurgling. She turned to repeat herself but noticed that Lucas wasn't looking in her direction. He had his back to her... with his hands raised.
Selene followed his gesture, realizing too late that they were not alone.
A man, about forty, in a long black duster, was pointing a gun at them. Selene clenched her teeth in frustration: the bastard had come upwind, and she hadn't caught his scent. Now it seemed unmistakable.
She hated that smell, as much as she hated those yellow eyes gleaming demonically in the dark like two headlights. She hated them almost as much as she hated werewolves.
The man finally spoke.
"What are you doing down here?" he asked them, the scout.
***
Finally, we meet the infamous scouts. Are they human or fantastic creatures themselves? Why do they have yellow eyes that shine in the dark?If you want to find out in the next episode, add the novel to your library, and you'll receive notifications for new chapters.
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