— The Emperor’s Imperial Record, Entry No. 17 —

  Yao Po raised the pestle up into the air and brought it slamming down into the pot.

  She was grinding all the ingredients for the Oakre’s blood together, and the closer it got to finishing, the worse it smelled.

  I moved to open the windows, “Keep them closed,” she shouted. “You’ll let out the potion’s strength.”

  When I heard that, I stopped and went back to stand by her. “How long till it’s done?”

  She motioned for a towel, and I wiped the sweat off her head and arms. “I’ll be finished making it in a few minutes, then we have to give it about two hours to cool down and for the ingredients to infuse into each other.”

  Next to her was a bottle of something I didn’t know, but it smelled worse than the Oakre’s blood. I resisted the urge to cover my nose.

  “Go now, rest. When it’s done, I’ll call for you.”

  ***

  Outside of the apothecary, I planned to ignore Yao Po’s advice. I only had one step left in my plan. To prepare the wooden stakes.

  Every time I thought about the spirit beast, a sick feeling of dread washed over me like an infinite, thick cloak. Sweat soaked through my skin and armpits in seconds. I had stopped going to the fields to hunt, relying only on broken traps I had set at the edge of the forest to get me by.

  If I slept, I would see it haunting me in my dreams. Whenever that happened, I would wake up from the mat as if I had just been dropped into a deep, endless pool of water, and I could do nothing to save myself.

  The last time I had gone to clear the traps, I had let two rabbits and a fox go. My hands had slipped because I thought I had heard the spirit beast. I tried my best to force all the fear I felt into anger. It wouldn’t do to be shaking as I hunted the beast.

  ‘If not for that spirit beast, I would only need another week to finish hunting the beavers.’ Even with the extra demands on my catches from the field overseer, I was still able to deliver beavers by sheer effort. I had sacrificed my sleep, quality food, and even stopped taking as many baths.

  I turned the fear into more rage at the thought of that.

  But I didn’t punch anything. I remembered my promise not to do that again. I would save all that for the spirit beast. When I was ready.

  I made sure not to tell Huo Qianlei and his family. There’d be no point in having them know only for them to try and stop me. Today, I would get a few rations from the bakery and leave at dusk.

  It was either I kill the beast, or have it kill me.

  For that, I needed weapons. I could make the wooden stakes myself, but they’d be crude and unreliable. Or I could go to Big Randy. My choice was to go to Big Randy.

  So, that was my second stop.

  Big Randy was in the forge, while a few apprentices surrounded him. I waited a few hours until they finished. I felt bad about asking, but I was going to go get that beast no matter what, and I wanted every advantage I could get.

  The last ringing of the hammer on steel faded into nothing, and within minutes, Big Randy walked out drenched in sweat, his singed eyebrows giving him a sort of permanently surprised look.

  “Ahhh, Khan, what are you doing here? ” he used a cloth to wipe the grime from his face. “Are you here for the last installment?”

  ‘Aaah,’ I’d forgotten. Previously, I had made a deal with Randy—monthly silver installments, on top of the 100 I’d already paid. This last installment was 20 silver. That’d mean I had a 2/3 stake in our enterprise.

  “No. Not today, I wanted to get some wooden stakes, something I could stick in the ground firmly.”

  He raised an eyebrow, “Are you still hunting beavers?” Then he looked me over, noticing the scars that hadn’t been there before. “I know they are hard to catch, but I’m sure they aren’t that hard.”

  Nodding my head, I responded, “I had some problems catching them… another predator. “

  “Ahhh, I see, you think you can handle it?”

  He sat down, patting the chair next to me so I would sit down as well. He sighed, “When blood is hot, wisdom must hide itself in a large coat. Kid,” he put his arm on my shoulder, using it as an arm rest as he took in more deep breaths, “If, you can’t keep going, say something. There is no point,” then he looked at me, “or glory in dying for such a thing as a beaver, hmm?”

  I stared at him, wide-eyed, and he leaned back further into his chair, looking up towards the ceiling as his chest deflated with a loud exhale, “Youth is wasted on the young. Men like you always think you have more in you. Like The Skies blessed you with twice the energy of normal men, and more whenever you spend it."

  I’ve known plenty of those types of folks throughout my life.” He turned to face me instead of the ceiling, “We’ve made a deal, and if you cannot fulfill it, then you can just negotiate new terms. Nothing is worth losing your life over.”

  If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  I was taken aback. Why was he being so nice? “It’s not a problem, I’ve dealt with predators before.”

  He looked into my eyes. “You know, you remind me of a man I used to be friends with—Ji Lan,” Big Randy rubbed his hand over the bald part of his head and then raked it through the rest of his hair as it fell, “ he had that same gaze you have now.”

  He paused.

  “That was right before he told us to escape. It’s not a look for a boy like you to have.”

  “I’m just trying to get my quota up. It’s not anything serious”

  This was starting to bother me. Was everyone here decent? Or had I just stumbled on the only nice folks in this place? Was this some sort of unknown good luck? ‘Hah! If I had good luck, then the skies had a twisted sense of humor.’

  My hunts weren’t his business. I’d given my word, and when I got scared, I had tried to flee like a coward. I wasn’t raised like that.

  Every vice had friends, each one more ruinous than the last. When cowardice came, it would breed weakness, and then weakness would invite death. I’d seen it enough times back home.

  Hesitation today meant a knife in the back tomorrow. No, I’d made my choice, and I’d see it through, no matter the cost.

  He patted my shoulder. “Fine, but if you can’t get the beavers, just say so. You’re young, no one expects you to get it right the first few times.

  I nodded my head. “Will you be able to make the stakes, though?

  He rubbed his knee in frustration, “I have a few in the back. If you want more than that, I’ll have to get my apprentices to make them. Can you wait?

  ‘If there are enough stakes, there’s no use in waiting.’ “Can you show me then?” By the Skies, there were enough stakes. I was glad, it meant I didn’t have to wait.

  It was time to hunt.

  That’s why I went back to Healer Po’s place, and the Oakre’s blood was ready. Now, all I would have to do was prepare the traps.

  I set up 3 traps, all close to each other, and one on the other side of the river.

  What I wanted first was to find the spirit beast’s children. I would wait until I was certain it had gone hunting. There was no way I would risk meeting it when it was hungry and next to its kids. Not after all the preparation I had done.

  For the next three days, I hunted beavers as usual, the fear more controllable, now that I had a plan. I noted every time the spirit beast came around me, stealing my hunts, leaving specific body parts.

  I’d check the time of day, and how everything got quiet as it came nearer, the sick feeling of helplessness, the nerves clawing at me every time that thing came close.

  ‘Would it kill me this time?’ My hands trembled, gripping my knife tighter every time it got near, the blade wobbling against my palm, I could hear it making a weird sound—— “Oruuk, oruuk, oruuk,” I was sure it was laughing at me!

  It was now or never, I wouldn’t get much more information by just letting the beast stalk me.

  It was a full day before I was sure the spirit beast had left to go hunt. As someone who had been stalked by it, I was starting to become fairly sure of its habits.

  I made sure not to waste any time. I knew that the beast kept its cubs next to the water. I dropped all my hunting equipment except for my dagger next to a tree and went to get the cubs.

  Too much equipment would weigh me down. The first spot I checked was the place where I had first met it all those days ago.

  Nothing.

  But the second place was the jackpot.

  It was a litter of five. All yipping and bleeping, expecting food, I could see the rotting pieces of flesh and fish scales glinting in the muck, surrounding the den, flesh buzzing with flies. It smelled disgusting.

  I sucked in a deep breath hastily, but I retched and coughed, spitting up globs of saliva. The air smelled disgusting. I quickly quieted myself. I was still on a hunt. This was a beginner’s mistake.

  The nerves were getting to me. Thankfully, I had brought a rag, but sadly, it wouldn’t be going over my face, I’d be using it to hold the baby spirit beasts.

  Hurriedly, I wrapped the rag around my hand to scoop up the cubs. Did they count as spirit beasts as well? They didn’t feel like their mother.

  I shoved the thoughts away as I leaned down. They yipped louder, squirming in my grasp as they realised I wasn’t their mother, their tiny bodies warm against my palms. I rarely killed the young—there wasn’t enough meat to make it worthwhile.

  It was better to wait until they matured. But leaving them behind wasn’t an option. I exhaled slowly, tightening my grip.

  Even if I managed to kill their mother, if I let them live, would they come back for revenge one day? Would they learn, grow stronger, and then hunt me as I had hunted their kind? I had seen it happen before. Many beasts were vindictive, especially if they saw you as a weaker form of predator. ‘I might have to kill these ones.’

  I ran back to the traps where I’d left my hunting gear, making sure to drop pieces of fur I tore off the unwilling beasts along the way, and little nicks of blood from the young things.

  It wasn’t my proudest moment, but it was kill or be killed now, and I wasn’t in the mood to die, at least not without making the price on my head very expensive.

  Not too long after, I was at the trap site, chest heaving, I huffed, sparing only a few seconds to catch my breath. I forced myself to move fast, carefully placing each one in a trap, keeping one with me, strapped to my body.

  A small relief settled over me—I was glad I hadn’t killed them yet —until a sudden yip.

  Something behind me let out a loud sound, and my stomach clenched. ‘No!’

  I forced my legs to move faster. I had been walking for too long, and the cubs were heavy. Every step I took forced pain throughout the muscles of my legs. It was as if I had been trying to hold up a boulder.

  This wasn’t good.

  My hunting equipment was just ahead… ‘Only a few more steps.’

  Behind me, the beast’s footsteps slammed into the dirt.

  Closer.

  My heart trembled. I tried to move faster.

  Another step.

  Closer.

  My breath rasped in my chest. Then I heard it— a wet, slithering sound. The beast had flared its gills, and it sent a shiver up my spine. My legs burned. I wasn’t going to make it in time.

  *DEEINNN!*

  A sudden shrill cry sent my body reeling. It had fallen into the first trap. Good, then I would have time to—

  Then my head shook. My heart slammed against my ribs. I could only hear a high-pitched ringing in my ears

  TRASSSSS……! I looked back to see mist hissing off the beast.

  I didn’t see the wounds. Only steam.

  ‘What is that?’

  The trap hadn’t worked.

  I was still metres from my gear.

  It lunged forward.