The Beast of the Hullack

[Beast of the Hullack]

Primal screams of pain filled the small home. A young girl with corn-silk hair lay prostrate and sweat matted on a table, her legs splayed. At her side a handsome youth, body tanned and muscular from a life of working the land pressed a moistened linen to her head, his eyes shining with concern. A second woman, face creased by age, stood between the young girl’s heels and cooed reassurances, undertones of panic in her voice. The baby was in breach, its head still within the womb, its exposed body an unhealthy red, the midwife fearfully urged the young mother to push. The girl pushed with the last of her strength, passing the babies shoulders. The midwife pulled the child free quickly. The concern on the elderly woman’s’ face melting to confusion, then revulsion, her eyes going wide. The young man shocked ran to the foot of the table, uttering an incomprehensible yelp at the daughter born to his young bride.

“What is it?!?” Came the young girl’s fearful cry… “what’s wrong with the baby!?!”

[Beast of the Hullack]

The young couple stood before a raised oak-hewn table, across from them sat the village counsel comprised of the small village’s most influential farmers, faith leaders, and elders. At their backs the majority of the village sat exchanging hushed conversations.

“I am not unmoved by your pleas, Tallany. I spent hours seeking Helm’s guidance. Through him, I looked upon this… thing. I sense only evil in its heart.” The elderly priest at the table spoke.

A well dressed man at his side added, “We don’t need the gods to tell us that! Any of us with eyes to see can tell that creature is an abomination. Whatever attachment you feel towards it, Tallany, is a trick, can’t you see that?”

“No!” The young girl cried out pleadingly, her other words lost in the hot tears now falling down her face. She turned to her husband for support, choking out a cry for aid. “Abrahm, please…”

The tanned youth frowned, holding back his own tears, turning away from his young wife. “I’m sorry Tal.” His head sunk. “That thing is not my daughter.”

His words stuck the girl like fist. She crumpled to the floor sobbing.

“I’m afraid there’s only one decision. That creature cannot be allowed to live.”

[Beast of the Hullack]

She pressed through the open fields, tearing though rows of planted crops. Heading across the banks of the Thunderflow, the young girl saw in the moonlight the waiting edge of the Hullack Forest. She clutched the infant protectively to her breast feeling the unnatural heat of its small body. In the distance she heard the baying of dogs. She pushed through the undergrowth at the forest’s edge. Spiny branches tore at her shredding her clothes, adrenaline muting the painful sting of the thorns. Her slim body carried her north through mud and brush until exhaustion set in with the first rays of the coming dawn. She looked around, now utterly lost within the unknown recesses of the wood. Settling into the confines of a hollowed tree she collapsed sheltering the child in her arms.

[Beast of the Hullack]

The sharp bite of the morning air reminded the young girl that winter would soon be approaching. She wondered, not for the first time, how she and her child would survive the harsh months. Pressing such thoughts into the back of her mind, she left the shelter of the hollowed tree to look for what food she could find. Her time in the wood had not been easy. She had grown visibly lean as had her child. She rolled a large log to block the entrance as she left, the infant was now able to move about on its own, and she feared leaving it alone.

Moving along clearings, she stopped at the mouth of a steep ravine to inspect the plants growing along its edges. As she gathered the season’s last berries she jerked suddenly as the ground below her fell away. She slid quickly into the gorge. Her legs exploded in pain as she crashed into the rocky floor. The canopy above her spun as the world faded to black.

When she awoke the sun had set, and pain in her legs throbbed upward into her chest. Her eyes traveled up the side of the ravine hopelessly. She froze seeing three sets of close-set eyes shining down upon her from the forest above.

Her last thoughts were for her child as the wolves descended calmly upon her.

[Beast of the Hullack]

The baby stirred, an unfamiliar sound waking it from its sleep -- the sound of claws raking against the old log blocking the entrance. Sunlight filled the hollowed tree a large muzzle pressed close to the infant taking in its scent before withdrawing.

“So there was a child.” said a gruff voice outside. Rough hands pulled the infant from the make-shift shelter.

The old druid looked upon the baby: its rose-hued skin, the strange runes marking its face, the tiny curved horns sprouting from its head. The bear growled, alerted at the strange smell of the baby. The druid laid a hand upon the large bear standing at his hip reassuringly.

He had found the corpse of a young girl not far off. After driving away several feeding wolves, a brief inspection showed signs that girl had been nursing a young child.
His face grew dark looking at the creature in his hands. “I see now why she was out here, alone.” Exchanging a look with the bear they left, heading deeper into the Hullack.

[Beast of the Hullack]

“It has no place here. That thing is not of this world… you should have left it to a natural death.”

“I am in agreement. Let the wild decide its fate. We are keepers of the balance, not nursemaids to demons.”

“I share your concerns, but it’s only a baby… could you really have left it to be food for wolves? Or worse?”

“If that is Silvanus’ will. A baby demon will only grow to be one thing… do not fool yourself.”

“Enough! Whatever its natural fate would have been, we have disrupted though our interference… we no longer can stand back and do nothing."

A grudging sigh. “Very well speaker, what is your decision.”

“We will care for it until it grows strong enough that it may survive on its own. Our duty to it will then be fulfilled. We shall be wary of it, for it carries the blood of something not of this world, let us never forget that fact.”

“Your wisdom, our will.” Replied the remaining voices in uncertain unison.

[Beast of the Hullack]

She prowled silent and unseen through the Hullack wood, far from the judgmental eyes and palpable scorn that she felt within the druid circle. Only here in the solitude of the wild did she feel at ease. The slightest of movements caught her attention. Her pale-gold almond eyes focused, drinking in the scant light of the moonless night. The object of her attention, a dark-furred deer froze, its ears alert for any sign of danger.

The creature’s fear brought a surge of joy within her. The demonic blood she possessed coming alive in her veins, filling her mind with dark impulses. Her muscles moved with an inherited grace. She crept through the dense forest as an unseen shadow inching ever closer.

As she drew within arm’s length of the deer, she knew could take it that moment painlessly. The animal would not even see its death coming. She frowned at the thought. She reached a hand over her head deliberately snapping several small overhanging twigs.

The deer reacted instantly, and darted off with impressive speed.

The scent of its fear was intoxicating. She lept after it, and fell into a lithe sprint. Her lungs burned, the taunt muscles in her legs burned, and her demonic blood burned as well. The chase brought an almost unknown elation to her. Her lips pulled back exposing sharpened teeth. She overtook the fleeing animal lunging savagely for its rear legs. Her clawed hand swiped at the tendons in the deer’s leg, tripping it and sending it tumbling head-over-rear from the force of its own momentum. She pounced cat-like onto its side sinking her teeth into the back of its neck.

She smiled in reverence at the deer bleated its last cries. Coated in the wet blood of her kill she stood slowly, and swayed from the strong emotions within her – glinting with a deadly beauty in the still night.

[Beast of the Hullack]

The fight had been savage, the dire boar had not given its life easily. She panted, her racing heartbeat calming as her blood mixed with that of the fallen creature. Her hunts had become more frequent. She now returned to the circle only long enough to make her presence known. The uncaring wilderness felt more her home than anything she had ever known. As she exhaled in joyful exhaustion she felt the skin on the back of her neck crawl. An uneasy feeling taking hold in her gut she soon realized that she was being watched. Whirling in the darkness she scanned the trees pressing her back against the large carcass of the fallen boar.

A massive lupine form padded from the darkness, its eyes trained upon her. She tensed defensively, her mind fixed on the terrible splendor that approached.

The wolf halted and dipped its head to the earth as its shoulders popped from their sockets. The black fur covering it receding. The creature pushed itself to its hind legs as it knees cracked and reversed. As the last of its canine form melted away, she now saw before her the attractive visage of a raven-haired man.

Trembling from the painful transformation the man looked upon her and spoke.

“I have been watching you for some time.”

[Beast of the Hullack]

She woke before the sun had risen, and reached out for Aedon, raising her head startled at his absence. She glanced about the shallow earthen cave. Mahja, Aedon’s constant companion, lay curled in an alcove -- the panther’s rib cage rising and falling in the cadence of sleep. She cast aside the furs covering her, the chill of the night unnoticed to her exposed skin. Leaving the cave she saw him standing naked in the moonlight, the locks of his dark hair melting into the darkness. His head snapped towards the sounds of her approach. His features softened into a smile as she laid her head against his side.

“They are like rabbits…” He turned pressing his lips to the top of her head and whispered. “… and you are a wolf. You will always be feared by them…” he paused turning his cheek to her. “… but you have found your way. Never accept their lies, their frail morality… you are stronger, and they will hate you for it.” He chuckled softly. “It is natural for the rabbit to hate the wolf. These are truths that not even the druids will accept. They exiled me for such beliefs.”

In the time since she had first met him, he had become at first a cautious ally, then a refuge of understanding and acceptance, and finally a mentor and lover. She closed her eyes taking in his scent, and slowly sunk her pointed teeth into the meat of his shoulder.

Aedon smiled at the pain masochistically. Taking her by the hand, he lead her back the cave, and spoke softly in her ear.

“Tomorrow night I want you to come with me, there is something we must do.”