I pulled back in shock. Aust threw a look back over his shoulder as if to make sure no one was eavesdropping on us. When he turned back to me, his mouth was pressed into a thin line and a grim look in his eyes. “The last thing I want to do around here is cause a panic.”

Instinctively, I shrunk down. Then I stopped, shook it off, and squared my shoulders. Aust wasn’t any more intimidating than anyone else in the inner circle. “Must be very dangerous,” I said as I folded my arms over my chest. “Any idea what it is?”

Aust tilted his head as he looked at me, eyes narrowed and brow furrowed. Again, I fought to keep myself from fidgeting.

“No…” Aust finally answered my question with a slow, drawn out word. “Mayor Terrin had very few details and those he had were very vague.”

“Father told me that the beast has tracks twice the size of a bear!”

“He did? When did he tell you this?”

I shrugged, “Last night. Haven’t seen them myself actually. Father just told me about them. Erickson, our neighbor, found some of them at the outskirts of his property not to long ago.”

“It’s been seen on the edges of farms too?”

“Well maybe seen isn’t the right term for it since all Erickson found were tracks but yeah… I guess that would mean it’s been coming close to the farmsteads.”

Aust looked past me and at the mayoral manse. He almost looked like he was clenching his jaw or something. I glanced back at the manse too, unsure of what he was looking at. It wasn’t like there was anyone actually there. Aust mumbled something under his breath in an airy and flowing kind of language I didn’t understand. Elvish possibly?

Awkwardly, I cleared my throat and continued. “Erickson’s farm borders the forest on the Eastern side. He tends cows. Maybe the beast was hunting them? Easy targets since they’re penned in.”

“Maybe so…” Aust said as he finally looked back at me. His shoulders and back were rigid with tension.

“I take it you haven’t had a chance to investigate the tracks yourself yet?”

“No, not yet.” He rubbed his chin and continued to speak, but more to himself than me really. “I was going to settle into my lodgings before going out but perhaps it would be wise to…”

His voice trailed off naturally.

“I could take you to Erickson’s farm! I could even help you look for them!”

“I need to get on it’s trail before it goes cold and I lose it,” mumbled Aust. I wasn’t entirely sure if he had even heard my offer or not.

“The Ericksons have about six meters between their grazing field and the first line of trees. It’s usually pretty muddy because of all the rain we get here. It wouldn’t be hard to find the tracks especially if they were only discovered a day ago. There’s also this little deer path that—“

“Do you know if anyone has seen the beast personally?” Aust interrupted me.

No. I don’t think he’d been listening to me. I crossed my arms over my chest. “Can’t say that I know anyone myself. There’s lots of hunters that frequent the forest though. Maybe one of them…”

“Interesting,” nodded Aust. He looked at me. “No strange sounds from the forest late at night?”

“I don’t think so. Father told me to stay away from the woods especially after sunset.”

“A wise sentiment that you’d do well to listen to. Have you heard any other news about the beast from others on the outskirts of town?”

I shook my head. “Sorry.”

“Don’t trouble yourself over it. I thank you for you help.” Aust waved his hand through the air dismissively. “Thank you for your help.”

Aust gave me another nod before lifting himself up into Dílis’s saddle. The pair of them started walking down the street, away from me.

“Maybe I could help! I’m fairly comfortable in the forest.”

Well, no one could say that I wasn’t determined. I wasn’t ready for the conversation to be over.

Without fully intending to, I jumped forward to keep pace with the stag. Aust glanced down at me briefly before jolting and staring down at me. His eyes even went wide for a moment before returning to a more neutral expression.

I flashed a smile. “I’ve lived on the edges of the forest my entire life! I used to climb trees all the time to chase squirrels. And I’ve walked nearly all the forest trails at one point or another. I could show you around them. Point you in the direction of where you’re most likely to find animal tracks.”

Dílis slowed to a halt. Aust blinked down at me, incredulously.

“I do believe you’re supposed to breath in between sentences,” he told me. “Your offer is very kind little one but I am more than capable of finding my own way.”

“But wouldn’t it be easier if you had someone to help you?” I insisted.

“As… eager as you are to lend assistance, I cannot in good faith accept it. My work is dangerous and not for those who are…” he paused for a moment before adding carefully, “not for those who are limited in their experience.”

“Who says my experience is limited?” I shot back. “No one’s said that. I can guarantee it.”

“It doesn’t always need to be said.” He gave a sigh and said something in Elvish under his breath. When he looked at me again there was a hard look in his eyes. He tipped his head at me. “Do you hunt?”

“No, though I’m pretty confident that I could draw a bow.” Father didn’t even keep a hunting bow at home. However, I had some pretty strong shoulders and back muscles from working with farm equipment and animals in the field. That and it couldn’t be that hard to learn to use a longbow.

“Have you tracked animals before?”

“Not really but I can sort of identify the common ones that I find in the field. Rabbits. Foxes. Deer, of course.” I ticked them off on my finger as I listed them off. However, it was definitely easier when the mud was particularly deep.

“Laid traps?”

“Um… no. Not really.” My smile faltered a bit before I managed to pull myself back together.

Aust gave another sigh. Longer and heavier this time. His hand twitched like he was fighting the urge to rub his temples the way Father did when I tested his patience. I kicked my feet in the dirt a little.

“Lena, you said your name was. Correct?”

I nodded enthusiastically. “Lena Rivers. Daughter of Merrik Rivers. We have one of the largest, best producing farms in Woodhearst.”

“Lena whatever is lurking in your forest is not something you should concern yourself with. It isn’t your business.”

Not my business? I lived here! Me. Not him.

“I think I have more reason for concern than you do.” I shot back. “With all due respect, Woodhearst is my home. Not yours. This monster in the forest, it doesn’t really affect you beyond getting paid to get rid of it. My home is on the outskirts of the forest. My father felt enough concern to tell me to stay away from it. It’s been stalking close to my neighbor’s farmstead. Who’s to say that this beast isn’t going to come in the night and destroy our livelihoods.”

Aust remained quiet, staring at me. Almost like he was appraising me or something along the lines. “Forgive me. I meant no offense Lena. You are entirely right. Woodhearst is not my home. My livelihood does not depend upon this mystery beast being destroyed. It is you and the other people who live here that have to contend with it’s threats.”

“Wh…what?” My mouth hung open. I’d expected him to say a few different things. Call me foolish. Tell me that I was only a little farm girl. Rudely remind me that he was the adult and I was the child. Dismiss me and order me home. That’s what others usually told me. I definitely hadn’t expected Aust to concede that I was right. There wasn’t a whole lot of time to dwell on it because he was still speaking.

“However, with that being said— let me rephrase myself.” Aust leveled an unwavering look at me as if to stare straight through my soul. “Mayor Terrin has hired and entrusted me with this task so that none of his citizens need to risk their lives hunting down a dangerous creature with which they have no familiarity with. You have supplied me with invaluable information and I greatly appreciate that. Please don’t doubt that.”

“I have a feeling there is a ‘but’ attached to this statement,” I grumbled under my breath.

Apparently he heard me because a smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. “But…” he continued with the exact phrase I’d predicted would come out of his mouth, “even your knowledge is limited. As would the assistance you’re offering to me.”

“How are you so sure?”

“Because I’ve been doing this a long time.” He paused to consider his next words. “My work is dangerous and not for those who are inexperienced. I have very little information to go off of. I have no idea what I’m truly facing. I shall take care of the beast without putting anyone but myself and Dílis in danger.”

Aust spun Dílis around to face me. I sensed that whether I wanted it or not, the end of the conversation was coming.

“Again, I thank you for your help and I’m sure we will see each other around the town sooner or later. Until then Lena, slán leat. Fair well.”

With that, Aust touched his heels lightly to Dílis’s sides and they set off down the road. I had enough sense to not try and catch up this time. Instead, I watched Aust go until he turned down a road and out of sight.

“That could’ve gone better,” I mumbled under my breath.

But it also could’ve gone worse, another voice in the back of my head whispered. And it was true.

Aust could’ve told me to mind my own business. He could’ve brushed me off and told me not get into matters of importance. Hells, he could’ve even told me that I was putting on airs and pretending to be something I was not. Pretending to be “better” or more “important” as some others so put it. More than enough people had done that in the past. Maybe I just hadn’t pushed myself into Aust’s business enough yet.

Somewhere in the distance, the temple bells rang. I jolted and listened to resounding chimes that told the hour. The color drained out of my face. I’d been gone for nearly three hours!

The ledger weighed my bag down. I’d spent too much time in town. Father would probably be cross. Or disappointed. Or both.

Most likely both.

I spun on my heels and charged through the inner circle, heading for the road to home. My mind still wandered over questions though and it seemed the longer I walked, the more questions surfaced in my mind.

What kind of beast made Mayor Terrin worry enough to bring a King’s Ranger into town? And What kind of animal left tracks twice the size of a bear’s? Aust had told me to keep my voice down to avoid a panic. Was the mayor trying to hide something? How much more did the mayor know?

Too bad Aust had told me it wasn’t my concern. Told me to leave it to him. However, I kind of wanted to see the answers to those questions myself. As soon as the first trees of the forest became visible on the Eastern horizon, I paused.

How close was the beast that lurked in the woods?

The question intrigued me. More than it should have…

Another thought prickled at the back of my mind, bringing a twinge of excitement that turned my stomach in a pleasant away.

If you helped to kill that beast… no one in town would be able to tell you they were better than you ever again.