Fire and Steel (GxG)

I

Her lifeless body laid before me. Her auburn hair was scattered in multiple places, stained with dried blood. Her emerald green eyes were wide open, her now pale face held the expression of fear and her irises held a sudden sadness. Her clothes, a lime green tunic and an old grey cloak, were bloody. The woman's body was slumped over, half-sitting, half-laying on the cold forest bed and the smell. It's a cold and heavy scent like rotting flesh and shit but by now it was something I had since gotten use to.

I knelt down beside the body and gently moved her hair to expose her ears, Elven. Her facial features were too round to be pure blooded though, perhaps she was born to a human mother. rare but possible, would easily paint a target on her back. The elves of Estlond did not take kindly to half breeds.

In the centre of her chest a large gaping hole was pooling blood where her heart had been torn out. The gashes along her arms and face were deep and still bled. The wounds were animistic, couldn't of been a natural beast, they wouldn't of left the body. A few meters away from the corpse laid a short sword. She must of put up a fight.

"Was it wolves or bandits this time?" I heard a masculine voice from behind me. I turned to face my brother, Luthan. He was tall and well built. His black hair was mid length and stubble grew on his chin. He wore studded leather armour over his travellers clothes, a steel gorget and a deep blue cloak hung off his back along side a quiver. He held his long bow in hand. "Neither." I replied "I haven't seen anything like this before, the wounds on the body are animistic" I lifted one of the arms revealing four puncture wounds. interesting. "Like a talon but the body is still intact, and the heart missing."

Luthan nodded before asking "how long since the death?"

The corpse still bleeds, Sunken eyes, Rigor mortis has just set in, Purpling of the skin " 4 hours." I stand as my brother beings to scan the area. His bright blue eyes dart across the forest taking in every possible scenario. It takes him only 5 minutes to come up with his conclusion. the creature kills, takes heart, and leaves by flight north of here, possibly towards the mountain."

"how can you be sure?" i question and he responds without hesitation "The creature must of been wounded, the branches of the pines are snapped they make a path and if you look closely you can see the trail of blood it has left behind, either from its own wounds or the heart it stole. you say the body was only killed 4 hours ago?"

"Yes, if we hurry we will be able to catch it before it strikes again."

"exactly."

"The body is going to attract ghouls, we will have to get rid of it first."

"without informing the family?"

"if the ghouls find themselves this close to the village there will be no family to inform, brother. We will take the ashes to her family come morning."

my brother smirked "See Cassandra you aren't always so cold."

I lit a torch and set the body ablaze, the forests were damp enough from the evenings rain that it would not spread. "I just don't want a wrath on our hands as well."

with that Luthan chuckled and we walked towards our horses. I caught a glimpse of my reflection in a shallow puddle ugh I hadn't bathed in days. my shoulder length black hair was dirty and tied back at the top, My face was covered in dirt and a small scar ran across the bridge of my nose 'fucking cockatrice' I thought as ran my fingers over it. My grey eyes looked tired. I wore a red short sleeved coat that reached my calves over my a breastplate and gamberson. I kept my armour on my legs light to not restrict my movement and wore simple travellers clothes. Around my shoulders I wore the pelt of a winter wolf and my skjoldehamn hood was pulled over my head. I kept my flamberge great sword sheathed on my back and and assortment of different pouches around my waist.