Outcast Among the Reeds

Chapter Two

  "Pray, forgive my tardiness," Lord Harracine smiled politely as he strode into the room. His rich brown hair fell in disheveled waves around his clean-cut face and his crimson shirt ruffled at the wrong places. According to his wife, he had gone out on one of his hunting expeditions on the private grounds behind the estate. Though, judging by the frequency of these trips, he either had horrendous luck in finding prey, or he went out there for another reason.

   Jachime rose from his seat, hiding his suspicions behind a professional nod and offered his hand. Lord Harracine gripped it tightly in welcome then moved around the table to stand behind his wife, laying his hands on her shoulders. She stiffened under his touch; a slight shift a less experienced observer would likely have dismissed when she laid one hand over her husband's and smiled up at him.

   Marital troubles? He wondered, accepting the Lord's invitation to retake his seat. Well, so long as it does not affect my payment, it is none of my business, he told himself but he could not help but wonder at the cause.

   "I do hope my wife has not talked your ear off, friend," he gave her an affectionate squeeze then took the seat beside her.

   "Not in the least. We were merely discussing some of the incidents that have occurred on the edge of town," Jachime replied.

   "Ah, yes. Horrid affairs, that. What sort of creature would taunt family members with body parts of their missing loved ones?" Lord Harracine grimaced.

   "As I was telling Lady Riley, that kind of act is entirely typical of bugbears."

   "Bugbears?" He repeated, struggling to keep the disbelief out of his voice. "Are those creatures not simply stories made up to scare children into behaving?"

   "I fear not, my Lord. Bugbears are very real and incredibly dangerous. They feed on the fear of the living and will do their best to squeeze every ounce of terror out of you before they kill you," he stopped himself before he added, "And humans happen to be their favorite food."

   "I see," he murmured politely, though it was clear that  he did not believe the claim. "And what, in your opinion, should we do about this?"

   Foolish human, he sighed inwardly. Simply because you have not seen something with your own eyes you believe it could not possibly exist.

   Keeping his thoughts to himself, he replied to the Lord's query, "Depending on the kind, you will have to deal with it in different ways-"

   "There are different kinds of bugbears?" Any pretense of belief suddenly vanished. "Forgive me, elf, but I cannot simply sit here and listen to you speak so seriously of a childish nightmare. Have you any proof to show us perhaps?"

   "My Lord, what else could do this?" Lady Riley asked with a small quiver of fear in her voice. Perhaps she was one of those children who had been scared into obedience.

   "A psychotic human is quite capable of these heinous acts," he replied, raising his brow at Jachime as though daring him to contradict his statement.

   He could not dispute it, as the Lord well knew. Humans had done this type of thing before, a large reason why his own kind rarely dealt with them. However, he had gone to the homes of the afflicted, spoken with the families of the victims, and he knew beyond doubt no human orchestrated these crimes. However, to convince this lord, he would need more than claims.

   "It is true that humans are capabale of such cruelty," Jachime admitted. Lord Harracine's lip twitched in the beginnings of a victorious smile, but Jachime would not allow him that satisfaction just yet. "However, I still believe that this is the act of a bugbear who has settled in your area, likely having followed one of the merchant caravans."