Wolves against the World

Chapter 7

Attila could see the light in his office rooms from far away and cursed himself for giving Holtz a key a few years ago. His feet hammered onto the stairs as he stormed into the office – and froze like hit by lightning.

"Pater Matei, finally!" The man wore the robe of a clergyman, but that wasn't what confused Attila. He was in his 20s, with long dark hair, traces of a beard and an oval face. Moreover, he spoke in an accent limited to a rather small region in today's Romania.

"My apologies for just appearing without a warning. My name is Pavel Georgescu, nice to meet you. Uhm, are you alright? You look a bit pale."

"I had a long day," Attila heard himself say. He couldn't stop staring at this boy and wondered if this was a dream – or nightmare. Was he in Antonelli's hands, trying to break him with his illusions and mind games?

I'm too old for this shit. I can't deal with it anymore.

He wiped out that thought immediately. Focus.

"Sorry, today was a little stressful. Welcome to our small world."

"Thank you, thank you. You see, I'm traveling the country to see all from the smallest parish to the largest town. My teacher always said it would help me empathize with everyone's struggles. You don't mind me staying here for a few days, do you?"

"I suppose not," Attila said automatically. Another stranger. Great. Just great.

"It's totally fine, Father! I'm happy about anything. You have to tell me everything about the village, I want to know its entire history, who lives here, and the mass, and, and, I want to meet everyone, your colleagues too! The mayor said you have a second-in-command, how does that work, will you introduce me to everyone? I've already looked into your notes, you will introduce me, right? Why is mass only on Sunday if we're so far out, can we do a second one in the middle of the week I think it will be awesome!"

Attila could hardly think while that kid kept rambling on.

"Pavel?" It felt weird saying that name. It wasn't rare, not at all, but when he looked at this boy that looked exactly like himself a few centuries ago, it felt surreal.

"Yes?"

"You haven't talked about yourself yet."

"Is that important? Can we take a tour around the village first? I want to learn so much!"

Attila sighed. "Fine. Let's... let's go for a walk and I'll show you around. Do you have a key?"

"Yup, I do! The mayor gave me his. He says he doesn't really need it as long as I'm here."

"Good." He wanted to kill Holtz. This wasn't the first time he'd been careless with Attila's things. There were few things Attila hated more than sloppiness.

They left the office and Attila locked the door before they walked down the street. Pavel asked one question after the other and Attila had trouble following his chaotic ramblings. It was like having to deal with three overcaffeinated Eikes at once.

Speaking of caffeine, Attila needed at least five cups of coffee.

It wasn't very late, but there was nobody out on the street and Attila was grateful for it.
If this babbling mess was to stay, he'd have to introduce him before rumors started going around. Sunday, perhaps? What day was it, anyway?

Only Tuesday? More than three weeks until the next full moon. Antonelli would hardly just wait that long, would he?

They passed by Lady Anderssons house. The white cat sat on the fence. It watched them intently but hissed when Pavel tried to pet her.