Book One – Chapter 8

Well, he was not entirely alone. The barthar had followed him from day one, and so did the two marrels. After emerging from the crater, Yves had directed a set of shards to cut the barthar free from his saddle and then removed the overall shard prison. He had not been in any condition to safely examine the witch’s travel sacks. Though he should have destroyed everything she had on her, he had left the saddle and sacks within the crater untouched. It would have taken too much time, of which he had already wasted more than had been good for him on her.

The marrels, confined in a cage on the sled, seemed harmless. However, you could never be sure with anything that had been touched by a witch, even small critters. Instead of directly opening the cage, Yves had placed and fixed it on the ground. He had gained distance with the sled, before using expanding shards to bend the struts from several metres away.

Ever since, the marrels, along with the barthar, had trailed him, the critters perched atop the sturdy beast. Yves had left all three animals unharmed. He had reservations against killing familiars, so as long as they maintained a safe distance, merely following without displaying hostile intent, he let them be. He had expected them to return to wherever they belonged, or to wherever they wanted to be instead. They could have run for the next best coven or for their freedom, depending on whether they sought out the company of witches voluntarily or had been spellbound into servitude. In the end, Yves did not know the circumstances under which the barthar came to be the witch’s familiar and why the merreks were captured. You never knew with witches’ familiars. For now, Yves assumed that they trailed him to remain within the Vicha’s radius, and thus shielded from potential predators.

Somehow, their presence made everything worse. There were simply no words and way too many reasons for the surges of anxiety he felt whenever something or someone stalked him. Their silent presence also became a haunting reminder of Midnight.