Page 87 of What Blooms in Barren Lands
There was nothing lewd in his manner whatsoever, but still, I froze in shock and cast a worried look in Einar’s direction.
“Who doesn’t?” he said light-heartedly enough, the brief flash of anger in his eyes likely imperceptible to anyone who didn’t know him well.
“I can think of a few people ...” I deadpanned, but with a relieved smile.
“I’m sure we would be lucky to join forces with you. But ... there may beun petitproblem. Let me show you.”
I got up from the bench with an awkward manoeuvre to avoid kicking Russ next to me. Raphael then led us to a cabin furthest from the buffet. Tell-tale growls, heard over the pinecones crunching under our feet, told us in advance just what to expect inside. Raphael unlocked the door. It was dark, and the one small, high window was not nearly sufficient to provide light. It was a shed that was likely used as a storage of some kind. Now there was a cannibal in chains. A young, blond boy of about twelve. He was severely emaciated and filthy. There werenot only dark blotches on his face, especially around his mouth, but also stains of a brown substance running down his legs. The stench of urine and faeces nearly knocked me backwards, and I promptly covered my face with my hands.
“Er, right. What’s the story here?” Einar asked, loud enough to be heard over the boy’s snarls.
The relaxed, friendly expression had evaporated from his face completely. His jaw was hard-set, the corners of his mouth tight, his brow lined with a frown, and an agitated vein pulsated at his temple.
“Oh, it’s trulytragique... Bastien is the son of Elodie. A couple of months ago, her husband Léon fought with a fury that got to our camp and smashed his head with an axe. He was a strong, brave man. But some blood must have gotten to his mouth or eyes ...”
“That’s the danger of close combat.” Einar nodded, not without compassion. “Sooner or later, it will happen.”
“Précisément. But he didn’t know and didn’t realise he was turning until days later, and in the meantime, he shared his water bottle and food with Bastien here ...”
“Are you telling me Bastien caught it from sharing food and water? No bite?” I raised my eyebrows at him.
“No bite. We checked.”
Einar’s frown deepened, and it was as if I could almost see the wheels of his mind turning furiously. Meanwhile, Raphael locked the cabin behind us as we set back in the direction of the buffet.
“For obvious reasons, Elodie insists on keeping the boy here, keeping him alive ... feeding him fresh, raw meat, the only thing he’ll touch ...”
“She didn’t turn?” Einar turned sharply to look at Raphael. “Is she immune then?”
“Ah, non. She and her husband had disagreements. When this happened, she no longer shared her cabin with him. They had no physical contact.”
“I see.” Einar nodded and sighed heavily.
The conflict that raged inside him was all too clear to me. His unequivocal rule was to kill any fury on sight. And any rule that Einar had may as well have been set in stone. Not only was there no way he would let this settlement join us for as long as they kept a cannibal alive in their midst. But loath as he was to incite hostility, he would not want to tolerate Bastien staying alive. I tensed, chills running through me.
“I won’t let you join us for as long as that boy lives,” he said firmly.
“I expected as much,Monsieur.”
Einar stopped walking, and Raphael and I followed suit. The buffet was barely visible uphill from us in between tree trunks, but laughter and snippets of conversation carried towards us on the wind. Suddenly, I felt cold, and I wrapped my arms around myself, not taking my eyes off Einar’s face, which had become hard as ice. My heart thrummed with panic, its beats resonating loudly in my ears.
“Would you let me talk to the mother? To try and convince her to do what’s best not only for your settlement but also for the child? It is cruel to keep him in this state.” Einar’s eyes and voice were pure steel, and Raphael recoiled from him.
He was a nimble man, and yet he held Einar’s challenging gaze unwaveringly.
“Non.” He shook his head. “Je suis désolé mais non. Elodie believes it is her duty as a mother to keep the boy alive until there is a cure. And that is her prerogative. One that I personally agree with. But even if I did not, I would never rob a mother of her choice as far as her child is concerned. It is a matter of principle,Monsieur. As I am sure you understand.”
Einar’s nostrils flared with grudging admiration. His frown deepened yet, his brows forming a straight line above his eyes. It was getting dark, the last rays of sunshine blocked by the voluptuous tree branches above our heads, casting long shadows on the ground. Their eyes still locked, Raphael and Einar continued staring each other down.
No longer able to bear the tension, I asked Raphael, “Will any of your people have told ours about Bastien?”
Raphael turned to me, finally breaking eye contact with Einar.
“Non, ma chérie. Of that I am certain.”
“Nobody knows then ...and nobody has to know.”
It was then my turn to look into Einar’s eyes with an unspoken plea in my own, and I did so without mercy until emotion tugged at the corners of his lips. He exhaled heavily, giving me a dirty look before turning his sight back to Raphael. I sighed with relief. He wouldn’t kill Bastien.