Elina

Did she intend to kill Giorgio?

If she did, she probably wouldn't do it right away. Knowing her, she'd appear in her towns girl disguise. Say she was my wife. Or a lost girl. Either way would be entertaining. For her. Not for me.

I turned around.

I didn't see a girl.

The exact opposite: a boy. Maybe around ten or eleven years-old. A little on the chubby side. Disheveled black hair. Dressed in brown trousers, a long sleeves shirt and leather vest. Not a farmer's boy. But not rich either.

Giorgio stood. Walked over to the boy. Gave him a pat on the shoulder.

He said, "Sam, you're back."

The boy nodded. He had something in his hands. Clutched it tightly. He moved and the fire flashed across what he held. Three dead rabbits.

The boy looked at me. His big brown eyes devoid of emotion. Didn't see me was a threat. Didn't see me as a friend either. Looked at me like he didn't see me at all.

Giorgio introduced us. The boy was called Sam. His son. Didn't say what happened to the mother and I didn't ask. He said he and his son were hunting Elina together. It would be a good experience for the boy. It might be dangerous, but at least he'd get to see the world outside of the town.

I nodded and drank and agreed without saying much.

There wasn't much for me to say. I didn't have a son. Didn't have any children. Or a wife, dead or alive. So I didn't comment.

But this boy definitely wasn't Elina is disguise. That emotionless face couldn't be her. She also wouldn't keep quiet like this. And Giorgio would surely recognize his son.

Giorgio took the rabbits, gutted them and roasted them over the fire. His movements were swift and precise. Like he had done this a thousand times before. And he probably has.

We waited for the rabbits to roast.

I looked at the fire. It shouldn't exist. Not here. Not in these were conditions. I glanced at both of them. My gut feeling told me something was wrong. Something was missing. But I lacked the information to make sense of it all.

The rabbits were done and Giorgio offered me the first one. After telling him that he should have it and him insisting that I should eat first, I accepted it out of politeness.

We ate quickly while talking about the respective witches he had to hunt.

I told them about the black haired witch. Made up some more stories. Told them about a bereaved village elder who approached me. Told them about this witch who went around terrorizing villages and because the Church of Deliverance paid her no mind, the village elder had to take matters into his own hands.

The boy said nothing. Kept chewing on his rabbit.

Giorgio spoke. "I'm so sorry...Sam's always been a quiet boy. I haven't taught him the manners."

I smiled and nodded. "I didn't learn my manners until I was older and had to start working."

Giorgio filled the silence. Talked a whole lot, but didn't say anything he didn't already tell me. No clue who his sources were. No hint as to when and where his sources saw Elina traveling with me.

And then a fourth voice joined us. A woman's voice. From somewhere behind me.