Wraithsong

  Chapter 37

  Layla is the one who comes for me. My tracker had gone off, she tells me when she sees me. In a surprisingly unsympathetic voice, she tells me she saw Olaf’s corpse lying by the altar in the grove. She’s not distraught by his death at all, which I think is rather unusual. How callous is this Darkálfar? The absolute last thing I want to do right now is return to the site of the murder. I don’t want to see Olaf’s torn up body and I definitely don’t want to be reminded of the gruesome assault. I can still hear Olaf’s desperate screams in my head, and now that I know that Anthony is the beast, his death is all the more disturbing.

  Back in the grove, I avoid looking directly at Olaf’s lifeless body. Layla heads straight toward him and I stay a step or two behind her. I can’t prevent myself from seeing him from the corner of my eye. The hair on the back of my neck stands up, knowing his screams will stay with me for the rest of my life.

  “The beast I told you about did this.” I glance quickly at him and then squeeze my eyes shut.

  “Well, I think we both know at this point who the beast really is,” Layla says, shooting me a glance.

  “Who?” I sound so stunned that I would even have believed my own cover up if I didn’t know the truth. I’m not going to give Anthony away so easily.

  “Come on, Sonia. Don’t pretend you don’t know who the beast is,” Layla says.

  “Is it a morphed Darkálfar?” I ask innocently. I gasp and my hand hits my mouth.

  “Really? You don’t know who it is?” She gets a puzzled look on her face.

  “How would I know? All I know is that I’m terrified the beast is going to kill us all unless we do something about it. It chased me all the way down to the shore, and when it was about to charge, I think it heard you and then dove past me into the water. That’s when you came. Thank you for saving my life.”

  Layla appears moved by my gratitude, and that reminds me about what Anthony said about making a friend.

  “Well, Olaf had it coming. He was getting on Maureen’s nerves, so if the beast hadn’t gotten to him first, she would have done something to get rid of him.”

  “Really? Because when Olaf broke into my room the other night, he said he had been loyal for centuries, and that Maureen wouldn’t believe a word I said about him intruding on my space.”

  “Stupid Olaf. He was a fool—a fool who thought he could have everything and everyone,” Layla says.

  “He even said he had bedded you.” I know that comment will send Layla spinning, and I hope it will create common ground between us, and eventually a wedge between her and Maureen.

  “He tried a few times, that jerk. I’m actually glad he’s dead. Maureen gave him so many gifts and all he wanted was more, more and more. He was a pathetic excuse for a Huldu, and a greedy one at that!” Smiling, she kicks him and I think I’m going to vomit.

  I see another opportunity for bonding with Layla and manage to breathe through my nausea. “Hey, I’m sorry I didn’t believe you about all you told me, but now that I’ve actually seen this horrible monster kill one of—us, I’ll believe anything you say from now on.” Did that sound too amiable? I don’t think so. “Was the monster a Darkálfar?”

  Layla smiles and nods. “Indeed it was a Darkálfar. Finally coming to your senses then?”

  “I guess.” I want to know more about Layla, and sense that she might be open to it. “So how did you get to be with Maureen anyway?”

  Layla shoots me a not-so-friendly sideway glance.

  When she doesn’t respond, I say, “You’re a Lightálfar, right?”

  “I’m actually half Lightálfar, half Darkálfar,” Layla says.

  I can believe that. “Wow, what a mix! It’s like half evil, half good.”

  “Well, that’s the way most beings are anyway, aren’t they?” Layla looks up into the sky and breathes deeply, her red short hair moving with the wind. “Let’s find the horses. Don’t worry about Olaf. He’ll be fine.”

  “What? We can’t just leave him here in the open,” I say. “We should bury him or bring him back to the castle at least.”

  “Why would we waste our time giving that creep a burial,” Layla says. “He’ll probably come back from the dead anyway.” Layla rolls her eyes, and I get the distinct feeling that there’s something I don’t know.

  “It’s the right thing to do.” I think even ‘that creep’s’ remains deserve some type of burial.

  “If you want, I’ll give you time tomorrow so you can have your ceremony. Let’s go,” Layla says.

  “That’s okay. It’s probably best if you send someone else.” I sincerely hope she’ll do it.

  We locate both horses about a quarter of a mile away from the altar, drinking from a rustling brook Olaf and I passed on our way to the grove. We mount them and ride back to the castle. When we arrive, I go straight to my room and change out of my wet clothes. Meatloaf and potatoes wait on my desk. As I devour the meal, I realize Layla never really answered my question about how she came to be with Maureen, but I’m still set on finding out.