The Legend of Black Eyes 163 The Butcher of Sosalk – Final Par

He managed to steal three horses and got them to us.

"These are fine horses you got," I said after we managed to tie Nag onto a mare with a chestnut coat and strong legs. "Who did you steal them from?"

"The mayor," Osgar said with a proud voice.

"I guess he won't need them," I said as I heaved myself onto my mount.

"What happened here?" he asked as he got on his ride as well. The place was filled with decapitated monsters, blood, sinew and mashed meat. I couldn't believe I survived this.

"I made a mistake," I said. "Let's get out of here before the others join us."

We left the devastation behind and headed east. I led Nag's horse beside me as we went, urged our mares to run faster. They were obedient horses, or perhaps they sensed our need to make a swift escape. Either way, they ran as though their lives depended on it.

I found myself thinking about all the blunders I had commited. I almost got Nag killed. I let Zoey get slaughtered in front of my eye. I was reliving the same episode of my life over and over again. Didn't I learn from my previous mistakes? Did I even have the time to reflect upon my previous mistakes?

As I ruminated, my mood got darker and darker. I couldn't help but feel helpless. Hell, the only reason I decided to join in on the mythical Holi Wars was to get stronger. Maybe getting stronger didn't just mean strengthening my conduits. Maybe getting stronger meant sharpening my mind too.

I got myself into serious trouble by trusting the goodness of heart of a stranger. I got myself into serious trouble by not knowing anything about the coutry I found myself in. Since I escaped the Crucible, everything had been mapped out for me. Even if I felt I was the one calling the shots.

"Hey!" Osgar called out to me, snatching me out of my reveries.

We were riding in an open field then. We were completely exposed. The moon had risen. Its pale light barely reached us from behind the clouds. I realized it got chilly all of a sudden.

"What's this place?" I asked.

"Have you been sleeping while riding?" Osgar asked.

"Something like that, yeah. You didn't answer my question."

"These are called the red plains," Osgar said. "You might not be able to see it in the dark, but all the plants here are red."

"Why are we going through here?" I asked. Osgar was our guide through these foreign lands.

"After your bloody show in the village, all main roads will be blocked," he said.

"How's exposing ourselves going to help us leave unnoticed?" I asked. I started doubting my reasoning behind hiring Osgar in our team.

"The red plains are cursed," Osgar said, "or that's what most people believe. No one'll come looking for us here."

"If there's a chance they'll catch us, I don't see why they wouldn't risk it."

"An old war took place here," Osgar said, sounding overly confident. "People believe it's haunted. They're a supersititious bunch. They didn't like what you showed them back in Sosalk, but you can be sure that they'll talk about it for centuries. They believe you were sent by the devil, to punish them for their sins."

I burst out laughing. "The devil?!" I asked. "I've been sent by the devil… Since when did the devil punish people?" That whole statement was hilarious to me. For some reason I couldn't fathom, I couldn't stop laughing. Osgar glared at me while I howled like a madman for what felt like an eternity.

"How do you know that anyway?" I asked after the hysteria subsided.

"I heard them talk about a one eyed devil," Osgar replied. "After you didn't send that signal we agreed on, I decided to sneak into the village. I hid in the crowd, listened to what happened. I though they caught you, or killed you.

"That's when I heard about the devil's emissary with the demon army. I heard them say you went north. I decided to steal some horses and wait for things to die down."

"You bet big on me right there," I said. "How did you know I would live?"

"I don't know," Osgar said. "I just knew. You're not the type to give up that easily."

"Come on," I scoffed. "Somehow I don't believe you. You agreed to help us as long as we kept you out of the limelight. You could've just disappeared, let the guards catch us."

Osgar's lips pursed into a smile, but the creases around his eyes didn't stretch. "I saw the halo like everyone else. I knew some divine intervention had happened. Those things don't happen to help demons. I knew then, that you'll survive."

"You know what that halo was about?" I asked.

"I might have seen it once or twice," Osgar said.

"Seen it?" I echoed after him.

"Yeah," he said then urged his mare to move faster. "We gotta cross these plains if we're to disappear come morning." He yanked the reins and the horse entered into a gallop.

I led Nag's horse behind me and tried to catch up with the bounty hunter. I knew he was trying to avoid my questions, but that wasn't going to happen. I will no longer tolerate ignorance. I took too many blind leaps. Be it of good or bad faith, it didn't matter anymore to me. One thing was certain in my mind then, Osgar had a motive to run away. He also had another motive for bringing me along.

By dawn, we crossed the red plains. We reached some dry valleys. We were heading more towards the east, farther than I expected.

"Let's take a break here," I said.

"We can't. We still have ways to go before we get rid of the horses." Osgar had slowed down after he realized I wasn't going to ask any questions. We entered the long strip of interlocking valleys together.

"The sun's coming up soon," I said. "The horses are tired, and they'll get even more tired if we ride under the blazing sun. Besides, we need to get Nag on the floor, give him time to rest. We need to get some food into our bellies too."

"Fine," Osgar said. "But not until we get to a safe place."

"Lead the way," I said.

Something was off about Osgar. He was hiding something. I had to find out what it was before it was too late. Crossing the valleys to the other side would get us too far from Merinsk. I didn't like that prospect. I had to follow the bounty hunter until we got a break though, satisfy his paranoia.

Osgar led us through one gorge after the other. We escalated narrow roads, climbed our way toward the hills on top of the valley. By the time we came to a full stop, the sun had risen. We sat near a boulder on top of a small hill. We could see anyone coming our way.

"From here," Osgar said, "we can make a swift exit in case we see them tailing us."

"We haven't seen anyone since yesterday," I said. "Let's unsaddle the horses, let them rest too."

I put Nag down and extended my senses toward him. He was injured, but his conduits were intact. His energy flowed around, although faint, weak. I fetched a gourd of water from the horse's saddle bag and brought it to his mouth. The old freak drank greedily.

"You're awake," I said.

"Woke up an hour ago," he said. He showed me his teeth. I didn't know if he was smiling or snarling at me.

"You look terrible," I said then chuckled. He had bruises. His skin had turned from dark green to some dark shade of purple on different spots.

"I've been better," he said and chuckled too. "What happened back then?"

"I'll tell you all about it later," I said. "Can you walk?"

"Not yet," Nag said. "I'll need to rest for a while. Give me half a day."

"We don't have half a day," Osgar joined us. "Glad to see you're alive though, but we don't have half a day."

"Why are you acting so paranoid?" I asked. "No one's been after us."

"That's what scares me man," Osgar said. "It's too quiet. It's too good to be true."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"We angered the wrong people, Zedd," Osgar said. "I don't think they'll let us walk until they made sure we're all dead."

"Maybe we all died," I said. "Did you see the carnage we left back there? There's too much blood and minced meat. They'd think the demons ate me. They don't know you were involved."

"But Morrison does," Osgar said. "Morrison saw the whole thing. He saw us challenge Bodrick. He knows we're after him too. He's the only one you didn't cross off the list."

"Morrison is Bodrick," I said. "He ran when I murdered the fake Bodrick back then."

"What?" both Nag and Osgar asked at the same time.

"Morrison was manipulating everything from the shadows. Jenkins told me, the mayor confirmed it. Morrison doesn't know who the assassin after him was, but I don't think he'll trace it back to me anytime soon."

"The villagers saw you," Osgar said.

"The villagers saw me before I went into the forest. They'll think I died."  

"That's wishful thinking," Osgar said.

"They're already saying I was sent by the devil to punish them," I said. "Authorities will swarm the village soon. They'll investigate the mayor's murder and Bodrick's. The real Bodrick will be in hiding.

"He can't reveal his true identity while the world thinks he's dead. Do you know what people will tell them then? A bunch of ghost stories!" I got up and looked down at the bounty hunter. I made sure I gave him my most serious face. "What are you really afraid of Osgar?"

The bounty hunter didn't answer. He looked at me stubbornly, clenching his fists.

"He saw the merchant robber turn the village dark after you killed Bodrick," Nag said. "I saw it too. Are you afraid of that thing is following us?"

"More like curious," Osgar mumbled. He raised his head, looking at me intently, as though I'd hurt his feelings. "Why did she come to you?"

Chapter end