“Never mind that, Sorcha,” Lukasz said. “If Barrow hasn’t instructed Lady Morrow to join him for meals, then she may sit where she wills.”
Sorcha shrugged and returned to her oats. Lukasz leaned back in his chair, regarding Ember.
“I’m told you fared quite well on the practice field.”
Ember lowered her gaze. “Lord Hess flatters me with his praise.”
The commander’s laugh resembled a bear’s growl. “Barrow is not known for his gracious manner! His fair assessment of your skill bodes well for us. You’ve been told of our mission today?”
“Only that I’m to join you,” she said, gaining some confidence after Lukasz’s pronouncement about her aptitude in combat.
“The others are used to encountering beasts of the dark,” he said, smiling at Sorcha, who shrugged. “Let me offer you some illumination.”
He turned his eyes back on Ember. “Our missions take us many places. Some near, some far. We respond to rumors of evil omens. Some of the missions lead us to baseless fears. Others pit us against those manifestations of evil we’ve sworn to defeat.”
“What’s happening in the Black Forest?” Ember imagined only a serious threat would compel the Guard to make the long journey from Scotland to the realm of the German princes.
“People are disappearing.”
Sorcha stopped eating to listen, watching the commander closely.
“It’s gone on for the past month,” Lukasz continued. “At first only a few villagers went missing. But when children vanished, the rumors began.”
“How many?” Sorcha asked.
“We’re not sure,” Lukasz said. “But enough to signal the presence of something unnatural in the forest and enough to create panic in the villages.”
Ember stirred her oats, though Lukasz’s story made the thought of another bite unappealing. “What could make people disappear?”
A sour expression crossed the commander’s face. “Creatures first identified in my homeland. We call them striga.”
“Night flyers?” Sorcha’s mouth twisted. “Disgusting.”
“Yes,” Lukasz said. “And very dangerous.”
“What are they?” Ember asked.
“Monsters,” Sorcha said. “Monsters who feed on human flesh . . . especially that of children.”
Lukasz nodded. “The stories of my homeland say that the striga were once barren women whose envy of other women’s children turned them into these flesh-eating creatures: witches and cannibals.”
“That’s horrible.” Ember’s skin felt cold.
“It is,” Lukasz told her. “In more ways than the obvious. The lore will eventually drive the forest people to search for a culprit.”
Sorcha was shaking her head. “That always ends poorly.”
“We need to hunt the striga and dispose of it,” Lukasz told them. “According to our sources, rumors have begun to fester throughout the villages of the forest. Once accusations begin to fly, they’ll surely find some poor woman, or more than one, to burn as a witch.”
“The missions of the Guard are as often about saving innocent people from such fates as they are about destroying the real monsters,” Sorcha said to Ember.
Ember’s mind reeled. “None of the stories are true? Of witches in league with the devil?”
“Everything we’ve learned in Conatus would negate the verity of witchcraft as it is commonly understood.” Lukasz stood up. “The evils we face are not of this world. Their true dwelling is elsewhere, a darker place still shrouded in mystery. We do all we can to learn of this spawning realm that plagues our world with its diseases, but our efforts have been for naught.”
“And lately things seem to be getting worse,” Sorcha muttered. She squinted at Lukasz. “What do you make of Eira and Cian’s report?”
Lukasz shook his head slowly. “I wouldn’t wager a guess as to what might have caused what they found. We’ll find out soon enough, though. The Circle will send out another patrol to the village as soon as we’ve completed this mission.”
“Something’s happened to another village?” Ember asked, noting the deep lines of concern etched on the commander’s face.
“A nearby settlement is gone,” Sorcha told her. “Dorusduain.”
“Gone?” Ember frowned.
“The structures remain,” Lukasz answered Ember. “Houses, tools, carts. But all living things that should have filled the village vanished, according to Cian and Eira.”
Watching Ember’s face twist in puzzlement, Sorcha said, “A messenger arrived yesterday with news that Dorusduain was gone. That was the only message he carried, and the source of that information remains unclear. Eira and Cian took it upon themselves to discover whether the message carried any truth, and since they’ve returned, the Circle has been questioning the messenger in the hopes that we might learn more about what happened to the people of Dorusduain.”
A thrill spiraled through Ember at the sisters’ courage. That two women would ride out alone, hunting a terror that could empty an entire village, bolstered her spirit. Ember hoped she could muster that same bravery in the Black Forest.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the commander rising from his chair.
Lukasz raised his voice so it filled the hall. “Those embarking on today’s mission should now assemble in the paddock. We’ll leave Tearmunn shortly.”
As the room filled with the sounds of knights finishing their morning meal and moving into the pattern of the day, Ember went to the table where Barrow, Kael, and Alistair were getting to their feet.
“There she is,” Kael greeted her warmly. “These two were claiming that it’s my conversation that kept you away this morning. Say it isn’t true, milady.”
Ember laughed. “Of course not. I wanted to speak with the commander.”
Barrow’s brow shot up and Ember quickly said, “He told me about the striga.”
“So it’s striga,” Alistair said, and Ember noticed he avoided making eye contact with her. “I thought that might be the case when I heard about the disappearances.”
“An unpleasant day is ahead of us,” Barrow said. “We’ll have to spend hours scouting and then wait for it to appear.”