Black Blood

Chapter 45

The days passed to the sound of hooves in the grass, the rushing of the wind and conversations deep into the night.

We left the black forest behind us on the second day and continued our journey across long green plains without end. Here and there, you can see an absent-minded person walking, but otherwise, there is nobody to be seen. Our only company are the horses, Rave and here and there a herd of sheep. We have seen sun and rain, day and night have passed. They are long days that turn into short nights, day after day.

Little by little, I am getting to know the person Novak. Novak can talk for hours about his long journeys around the world. He has seen elves, lived with werewolves and learned a lot from witches. He knows a little about everything, every form of nature and magic. I can listen for hours with sincere interest, having learned a lot in the past few days.

I am slowly becoming more at ease, telling more and being less nervous. I told him about my childhood, Elien and my mother. I don't reveal much about Christiaan and my father. It is the subject I keep avoiding. Novak did ask a question about it once, but fortunately we didn't go into it too much.

I like travelling, despite the difficult moments. Still, it takes its toll on my body. Although the wounds had healed by the second day, I am very tired. We had planned to quickly stop by the half-moon pack to replenish food and drink. Meanwhile, Novak thought it would be a better idea to stay for a few days to get our rest, eat well and lie in a normal bed. Although it will take us time, it doesn't work this way anymore. The horses are walking slower and slower and we are less alert.

I am glad when our destination comes into sight. In the distance, a town is coming into view. It is the wolf pack that we have been heading for for days. From my point of view, the houses don't look bigger than a barn in the distance, but I know better. The closer we get, the bigger the houses become. The small huts turn into full-sized houses.

'The half-moon pack, the second largest in the world. It has thirty thousand inhabitants.' I look at Novak from my horse and nod slowly. We have been thinking the last few days about what we wanted to achieve here.

We know that I am not loved, that I am wanted and that there is a big price on my head. Rave must not be seen and no one must know who I really am. Maria is my name to others, Rave stays at a distance and my magic remains hidden. That is the beginning of our plan, the rules of the game. Novak knows the Alpha and Luna of this pack, is friends with their son.

Apparently he lived in this pack for six months as a peacemaker between wolves and vampires. It helped, the vampires and wolves have less fight with each other.

We ride closer and closer to the pack's border. Novak told me that there are four borders, all guarded by the warriors of the Alpha. On each side of the village is an entrance, like a cross running through the village. The rest is cordoned off with huge stone walls.

We gave Rave the command to hide himself until I whistle for him, just as Nora had done when she entered the castle.

The wooden houses now tower above my sight. The houses are made of two colours of wood, a light one and a dark one. The base seems to be made of the light wood. Slanting stripes of the dark wood run across the house, forming a kind of grid around it. The roofs are made of red-brown tiles that run up in a point. The windows are almost all oval and have shutters of the same dark wood as the stripes. Here and there, there is also a stone or half-stone house, but the wood predominates.

As soon as we are a few metres from the border, we slow our horses down. There are two warriors on either side of the path leading into the village. They take a step onto the path and hold out their hand to give us a stop sign. Both are wearing light blue and white suits.