Page 80 of Oath of Revenge

“I’m not sure where to begin. Maybe it started thirty years ago when Growlers killed my mother at my grandmother’s cottage?”

Elva nodded, “Hm, I see. And what do you know of those events?”

Scarlet shook her head as an icy chill ran down her spine. “What do you mean? It was a simple attack of opportunity. Mother was at the cottage alone, unprotected, and slaughtered.”

Elva sighed and lumbered to her feet. “Actually, there’s more to it than that. Let me put on a pot of tea, as this may take a while.”

Scarlet’s heart raced for new reasons now. She took a shaky breath, trying to regulate her emotions. She was so tired and shaking from hunger, but at least she wasn’t cold anymore. At least they were safe… but some sixth sense told her she’d not like what the Elder had to say. Dread spread through her stomach, twisting it like a vise.

Chapter 25

Elva hummed as she poured the tea, then sat back on her cushion with a sigh. “Drink up, dear. You look bone tired and dead on your feet.”

Scarlet sniffed, the spices making her nose twitch. The first sip burned as it went down, smoother than any ale she’d ever drank.

When she opened her eyes, there was a green haze in the tent.

Green flared up and the smoke formed images. It was similar to Eirwyn’s magic with light, but softer. The image sharpened but was still like looking through water.

Scarlet blinked. “Grandma’s cottage,” she whispered.

Elva nodded, but Scarlet wasn’t paying her any attention. There was her dad on a horse. He was tense and reined in hard, his mouth opening on a shout.

She ached to hear his voice, but she couldn’t catch her own breath to ask the Elder if that were possible.

Her mother came rushing out the door, wiping her hands on an apron. Dad pointed behind him, and Ma shook her head then raced inside.

Dad swung down from the horse just as Ma came out with a tiny little redheaded girl sleeping in her arms. Dad took the girl and nodded for Ma to get on the horse. Ma shook her head and pushed him toward the horse.

She waved to the barn, where the door burst open. Another horse pranced nervously outside toward the cottage. She waved to the horse, frantic as she clearly told Dad to leave.

Both of them froze and turned to stare to the right. A shiver went up Scarlet’s spine, dread settling like a knot in her stomach.

Elva whispered, “They heard the howls of the Growlers.”

Ma turned and shot a white ball of energy at Dad and the horse. They flew through the woods as if blown by a gust of wind, somehow missing every single densely packed tree.

Scarlet’s hands shook as Ma turned to the howls just as Grandma stumbled into the clearing and collapsed.

Blood dripped down her face, and Ma raced to her, mouth open in anguish as she gathered Grandma into her arms. Frantic yet gentle movements, she practically carried Grandma to the cottage, each step shaking and weak.

The horse nuzzled Ma’s shoulder, and she glanced up. With a flurry of magic, she had Grandma draped over the back of the horse, then slapped its flank. In an instant, they were off, galloping into the woods with a trail of glowing magic left behind in their wake.

Ma turned in the clearing just as a dozen Growlers came through the trees. But they weren’t just any Growlers. they were larger, more muscular and formidable than any Scarlet had ever seen before—all except for Wulfric. Fear gripped Scarlet’s heart as she gazed on her mother’s killers.

They wore the colors of the Buspartan army. There were no weapons, but they were Growlers. No weapons were necessary.

The image hovered in the air as they closed in on Ma, and she turned and ran into the cottage. The door slammed, but they burst inside. Scarlet felt her throat close up with each step.

Elva whispered again. “Those are not our Growlers nor do we know where they came from. We can guess. When your grandmother came to our camp, she killed dozens of our warriors before I could calm her enough to listen. This is what I showed her, the truth of that day.”

The image dissipated, and Scarlet could finally take a breath.

“The truth?” The question was raw, and Scarlet sipped the tea with a shaking hand to dislodge the knot. But it wouldn’t leave.

“Aye, those were Buspartan men. Not ours. Your grandmother and I interrogated the other four Growler camps, but none of them could identify those men. We even sought the help of the goddess at the ruins.”

“And what did you find?” Scarlet asked harshly. Anger welled within her to mingle with the grief. Why had her grandma kept this from her all this time?

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