The Demon Wolf (Book 1 of The Devil and the Huntsman)

Chapter 16

Both Julius and Lucy tried to calm down and relax, but it was difficult trying to make sense of everything. There were many things Julius wanted to tell his wife, and it seemed as if he could not get the dark images out of his head.

"Lucy. Let's be honest. I know it must've been a rough morning and a bad evening, but let's all just take a moment and calm ourselves," Julius said.

"What's there to be calm about?" Lucy asked.

"Lots of things, dear. I've learned to take it the right way and make sure that I did it right," he said.

"And what's that got to do with anything?"

"Simple. I was a greedy little boy, once. I liked certain things, I hated certain things. But then, I learned to get over it and move on with my life. Sure, it took lots of time for me to do that, and it took a little to walk it off. After that, it was a brand-new day, and everything went back to normal."

Then, Lucy looked down at herself and felt a little better than before; the idea of him developing himself by maturing and growing up was something that she has also done. But in the meantime, it took her much longer to get situated and make her forget about last night. Today was a new day for everyone and a very special day for the sons of King Lancelot. Obviously, all of them had to calm themselves for tonight's celebration and be thankful that they made it through a new day.

"So... we square?" Julius asked.

"Sort of," Lucy answered.

"Well, good. Now, the feast is tonight, and it might be a different feast than what most people are used to," he said.

"You are still just the same as all the other times."

"Yeah. Well, I'm just going to leave you alone until the evening comes."

And so, Julius gets up from the bed and leaves the room as Lucy slowly tries to calm herself. He understood the pain she felt, but he did not have the strength or the will to help her out. He knew that she would eventually get over it, but it would not be as quick as he thought it would be. Julius was trying to rethink everything that he is seeing inside his head. During the morning, the visions of darkness continued to haunt him and remain inside his mind.

It would take him ages to figure out who Helvegen really is because he is more than just some powerful demon. Julius was feeling this dark, raging power be inside his veins; the demon warned him of those who lust for power and received the strength of high-class demons. Whatever it was, he refused to tell his wife and his daughter because it would feel like he was betraying his own kin. Then, Lagertha leaves her room and walks to her father to see if she can make him relax. Julius was feeling his head and saw that his daughter was standing in front of him wanting to be talked to.

"May I speak with you, father?" Lagertha asked.

"Of course, Lagertha," Julius answered.

"I have a question," she said.

"Go on."

Then, she decided what to ask him and it had to do something about the feast taking place at Loftain. It was the only topic out of anything that she wanted to ask because nobody else would do it.

"When we attend the feast, what should we expect when we get there?" Lagertha asked.

"What?" Julius asked.

"You know. The type of things that people will use: barbs, lighting up candles, and eating whatever is on the plate. Any of that rings a bell?" She asked.

"Well, I believe I told you yesterday that this feast is not like any other banquets we are used to having. But there will be barbs playing their lutes, food to be eaten, and drinks to be tasted. Don't worry, you won't be bored."

"Of course, I won't. I'm sure it will be a blast. There isn't a time of my life where I get bored very easily."

"Don't worry. You will be taken care of. That is something I can guarantee. If you're ready and well-rested, then we'll go tonight."

Then, Lagertha walked away from her father and returned to her room as the morning continued. She left him because she wanted him to have as much rest as he could get. The time will eventually come when Julius is never tired of anything that he does and always stays awake. Lagertha closes the door behind her and looks out the window; she could see the forest and many plains that were a few yards away from her. One day, she would have to encounter many of these woods, plains, and especially the high mountains.

So much about the earth needed to be known and understood, and Lagertha wished to understand all of it. She always thought about being an artist and a poet when she got older; it was only a few out of many things she will have to endure in life. Sometimes, life itself can get in the way and there would be nothing anyone would do to end it. Then, she walks over to her book of sketches and looks at her sword drawing, and glances upon all the edges and the handle. The handle of the sword was this lovely texture of silver and bronze as it collided with the blade.

"My father must really love his sword skills. I wonder if he ever drew a sword before," she said. Then, she turns to the next page and thinks of a poem to write behind the page of her sword.

She looks up and imagines a sword lying in a field and a wolf standing before it. The wolf would walk around the sword and see if there was any sorcery inside of it. The carnivore would then transform into a human and allow its hand to grasp onto the handle. The handle would immediately react and allow the entire blade to catch on fire. The fire was purple, and the flames were spreading from the top of the blade before it could touch the handle.

Lagertha was thinking of the perfect way to write a poem as the morning was still upon her. She has learned a bunch of poetry by sneaking into her father's basement and seeing what she can learn from those books. They were hidden away because there was no room for any more books to be stacked in Julius's library. She had the audacity to turn a lot of pages and learn so much in one whole day; that would not be possible for someone who wanted to immediately get into poetry. Poetry was always the type of literature that always pleased and impressed the most commoners and quite a several aristocrats.

"Let's see if I can recognize what I've learned from that enormous book. Perhaps that might do the trick," Lagertha said. Then, she closed her eyes and imagined the same thing that appeared to her a few minutes ago.

She witnessed the exact image before her eyes of the wolf becoming a man, picking up the enormous sword, and watching it become infused with flames. Fire blades were always the special swords and were rarely used in battle as they fought against the demons. The fire was usually a weakness to some demons who were very vulnerable and could not withstand heat. They have always worked on frost demons, also those who have no stamina or power to back them up. Then, Lagertha picks up her feather pen, adds some ink into it, and begins writing about the imagery she is seeing:

It was in the cold hours of the lukewarm morning.

A wolf awakes from his untimely murder.

The breeze warms his soft, bellowed skin.

Only to be cast away from the curse

That drove him away from his remorse.

A blade infused by the flames of Hell,

Is picked up with the sounds of a ringing bell.

The wolf, now a man, stands in victory

To deliver his message to grow his chivalry.

Then, she read the poem to herself and concluded on how interesting it sounded. At first glance, it sounds like one of those poems that people find in tragedies and from playwrights. Then, she turns back to the page where she finished her drawing of Bloodbringer. It would be a sword that might be forged by someone lucky enough to do it. Tonight was a very special kind of night that she would be a part of for the first time.