XIV - The Wager

Dark memories flooded Raymund’s mind, and a violent nausea overcame him so suddenly that he had to struggle not to collapse.

Memories of the last time the creature had stood before him.

And of how it had haunted him ever since that fateful bargain, driving his mind to the brink of madness.

He thought of Melusine, her resolve, her unwavering strength, so utterly at odds with her watery appearance.

Her words still lingered in his mind.

Do not let it take our son. I beg you.

“You… you shall not have him…”

The words came softly, little more than a whisper upon the wind.

But the creature heard them plainly enough.

And stopped.

“Soo… you would break our bargain, then? Hmm? Aye?”

It tilted its head in mild amusement.

“And yet you did agree so willingly, did you not? What of hacking, stabbing, slitting throats, bloodletting… MURDER MOST FOUL! Is that no longer thy trade, then?”

Raymund’s hands trembled.

“I…”

Only then did the sharp, rotten teeth flash into view, a grin spreading wider as it continued.

“Or… has the life of others suddenly become precious to you? Do you care now for more than thine own wretched hide? Hm? Weeell…”

It clapped its hands together, and the amusement vanished.

“…Too late.”

The words fell like a sentence passed in judgment. Final and merciless.

It stretched out its hands and took another step toward him.

“Give me my price.”

Raymund staggered backward, clutching the basket tight against his chest, as though the strength of his arms alone might shield the child from the creature.

“No…” he gasped.

The creature stopped once more. Then it began to giggle, softly at first.

“Hee… heehee... Nay?” it repeated slowly. “Ohhh… and why not? Hmm? Aye?”

Its long fingers twitched restlessly.

“A pact is a pact is a pact! Even when sealed with so pitiful a worm as you are!”

Raymund’s breath came in ragged bursts, while Renaud began to fuss softly again, sensing his father’s terror, the frantic pounding of his heart.

“Back then…” Raymund forced out, “at the time I did not know…”

“…What, exactly, did you not know, my dear?” the creature interrupted, its grin widening still further.

Raymund felt his stomach twist.

For suddenly, he understood.

“That there…” His voice nearly broke. “That there is something else… besides…”

The creature slowly spread its arms wide.

“PESTILENCE?!”

Its giggling rose into hysterical laughter.

“This you have long since welcomed into your own heart, little murderer. And for that there is no cure. No salvation. No mercy for you…”

The yellow eyes fixed greedily upon Renaud, and a long rotten tongue slithered across its wrinkled lips.

“…Nor for your delicious little roast.”

Raymund retreated another step.

His gaze darted desperately over the rocks behind them, the dark ravines.

His fingers tightened around the basket, and Renaud whimpered once more.

“We must flee… we must…” Raymund whispered frantically.

But then the long bony fingers snapped together.

And suddenly the basket in Raymund’s hands grew lighter.

When he looked down, it was empty.

“No…!”

He dropped it in shock, when he realized the whimpering of his son now came from somewhere else:

from the creature’s clutching arms.

“Oh, a splendid specimen indeed!” it burst out gleefully, saliva dripping from its open maw.

Raymund’s knees gave way beneath him, and he collapsed to the ground.

His thoughts spun around his son.

Around Melusine.

Around the few moments of harmony they had shared.

And how much those moments had meant to him, though he himself had never truly known it.

“No… wait… please…”

How can I break this bargain? How can I…

He stretched out a trembling hand.

“Take… take…”

The creature’s eyes narrowed as it listened, grinning.

“Hmmm? Take? Take? Take? What you wish to be taken, hm?”

“Take me instead of him!”

The words came in panic, yet loud and clear, as though torn from the deepest part of his soul.

“Ohhhh!” cried the creature in mock surprise. “So you would offer a trade, is that it? How unusual for you, who holds your precious skin so dear!”

For a moment it bounced up and down, almost dancing, while Renaud screamed and cried in its arms.

“Hmm… mhm… mhm… But this little morsel here is so plump and juicy, and I have been looking forward to him so very much!” Its twitching dance ceased, and its voice turned cold once more.

“Nay. Your stinking carcass is nothing I want. ’Twould only sour my stomach…”

Raymund’s thoughts raced wildly with panic.

“Then… then let us strike a new bargain!”

Only now did the creature seem to consider the matter seriously.

“A new bargain, hmm? Hee hee… it seems you truly desire this brat, aye?”

It rubbed the wrinkled flesh of its pointed chin and pondered for a moment.

“But… I have had enough of bargains! Too fair, too equal, too dull!”

“Then…” Raymund tried to answer, but the creature went on.

“A wager! What do you say to that, my dear? Hmm? Heehee… wagers are far less tedious.”

“A wager?” Raymund repeated in bewilderment.

“If you should win, you shall have your little roast returned to you, and I shall leave you in peace...”

The creature’s grin widened again.

“But if I win… then you shall serve me unto eternity! And first of all, you shall wipe my mouth clean after I have gnawed the last flesh from your son’s bones…”

The words dripped with such cruelty that Raymund felt the blood freeze in his veins.

“And… what manner of game do you propose?” he asked cautiously, his eyes never leaving his son in the creature’s arms.

“Oh, something very simple!” it exclaimed at once, as though it had long since prepared the game.

Slowly it lifted one of its long claws and rocked the screaming Renaud almost tenderly in its gaunt arms.

“You would like to keep your little roast, hmm? Aye? Very well… then you shall be granted a chance. Heeheehee…”

The yellow eyes glimmered in the darkness.

“Carry him.”

Raymund stared at it.

“…What?”

“Carry him until the first light of dawn,” the creature repeated slowly. “Hold him fast within your arms. Do not drop him. Do not let him go. Give him unto no one… and he shall remain yours.”

For one brief moment, Raymund dared to hope.

“But…” the creature crooned. “The instant you let him go... even for the span of a single heartbeat... you shall both belong to me.”

A cold shiver crept down Raymund’s spine.

“That is all?”

“All?” The creature began to giggle again. “Yesss… yes! That is all. Simple, is it not? Heeheehee…”

Raymund clenched his teeth, his heart hammering, his gaze fixed upon his son.

I have no choice...

“So be it. I... I agree...”

One last time the pointed teeth flashed in the dark, and the creature’s long cruel laughter echoed across the rocks.

“Hee hee hee hee…”

Suddenly, the creature vanished.

Renaud dropped to the ground, still weeping, though the panic had faded from his cries.

Raymund hurried to him, gathered him into his arms, wrapped him in the blanket from the basket, and pressed him softly against his chest.

And in that moment, he knew...

...the wager had begun.