WHAT DEATH CANNOT TOUCH
x. in the pines

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Dorka's screams had not only the family but the entire village awake, denying silence to replace it and swallow Lasow once again. However, no one dared to leave their hut but solely stared out into the night, whispering to Svet to protect them.

"What is going on?" Abram came running out of the house, weapon in hand. Right behind him, to Khaya's dismay, Ulyana and Ilya followed. Eyes wide, the girl clutching the little wooden rabbit to her chest, the boy holding on to a piece of wood like a sword—and way too close to the body of their dead sister.

While Majda didn't even seem to hear him, Khaya sprang to her feet and barred their way and sight. "Go back inside."

"What's going on?" her father repeated, ignoring the urgency in her voice and eyes.

"You're bleeding!" Ulya cried.

Khaya forced her numb lips to curve into a calm smile. "It's just a little scratch. You know how clumsy I can be."

"No. You are all outside at night, and you are bleeding, and mamochka is strange. She is crying." Ulya bore the burden of understanding full well, that nothing was alright without knowing or even being able to guess why.

Other than the children, her father could see right over Khaya's head and thus to this scene of horror that covered the white field in gore.

"Khaya, you better tell me this instant—" his voice was trembling.

She wouldn't have known how to answer his questions, but someone else redeemed her from her task, even before Abram finished speaking. "The wolf, gospodin."

Her head flung around to find Davor, who had approached them silently once more.

"It's dead." The soldier leaned down towards the siblings. "There's no need to be afraid anymore." And right before Ilya could answer that he wasn't, already opening his mouth, Kazminov added with a glance at the wood in his little fingers, "Or to fight."

"So, you fought the wolf?" Ilya asked.
"And Khaya helped you?" Ulya looked at him with starry eyes.

Or did he help her? If not for Kazminov, would she have been there in the snow torn apart like Daniil by cold claws through which no blood ran? Had he saved her...once more?

Davor hesitated, watching Khaya while she pressed her fingers against her wound, before turning back to the children. "Yes." Only for Abram to hear, whispering into his ears, the soldier revealed what really had haunted them this night, what had shaken his sister so.

"Now go back to bed and close the door to not let the nochnitsy in", Khaya said quickly and shoved the children back inside the warmth of the house. To her, the thought of the night demons, that haunted people in their sleep, seemed almost pleasant in comparison to that dreadful voice. At least, from them, her grandmother kept her safe with talismans. What protected her now?

She went back to Majda, who still knelt in the snow, in the same position Khaya had left her.

"You should go in, too," she said, placing her hand softly on her shoulder. "You will catch a co—"

"Why is this happening to us?"

Khaya stiffened.

"Why? What have we done to be punished like this? Don't we go to the temple every week? Don't we pray to Svet all mornings, afternoons, and evenings? Don't we leave our little offerings to the old ones? Don't we treat Karachun as our guest every midwinter?"

"We do," Khaya croaked.

"So why then? Was it me? Did I do something wrong last time?" Majda asked, for last winter solstice it had been her turn to offer her meal, coat, and life, and lighting the first fire at the cemetery, symbolically remembering brave Vasilisa. Khaya could still remember her face glowing with delight and nerviness from beneath her headpiece. Neither Lasow nor Karachun ever saw a more beautiful girl to bid the Death God's blessing.

"No. No! Of course not!" If anyone, it had been her.

I have to confess something. I hear voices...see shadows...they told me death would come, that the dead are hungry, the words burned her tongue with the urge to get out, but Majda blighted the attempt with a single look from tear-filled eyes.

"But why would he do this then? What have we done? What has Vanya done to have this happen to her?"

Khaya's lips parted. "I—" No, she could not tell her. "I don't know."

It was no lie. Choosing to hide her secret now, too, left her soul aching with guilt.

"I will do everything to find out. But not tonight. Come..." Khaya took Majda's hand, helped her to her feet, and led her to the house.

After listening Abram, seeing his niece, sister, and daughter come back covered in gore, had no energy left to ask how Dorka could have been so inconsiderate as to run out into the night to late Yovanka. No energy to claim them mad for endangering themselves like this.

"Abram Abramovich, can I take your nephew with me tomorrow?" Davor asked.

"My nephew... tomorrow..." he repeated slowly, suddenly seeming incredibly old. "Why?"

"No one finds an upir's grave like an innocent child."

As though he had not quite listened to him Abram nodded, murmuring absentmindedly, "Of course."

Khaya wanted to say something, but her voice failed her, and when she thought to have found the right words, the soldier and Abram were already gone to get the wood for the pyre. For a last time, Majda looked back at the woods as if she knew that Karachun was there.

"Master of winter and death, if I displeased you, please forgive me. Punish me as you will, but leave my family at peace," she demanded, and with every word, Khaya felt her hand tighten around her bleeding arm. Almost as if expecting something to happen, Majda held her breath for an instant.

But there was no answer—whether to her nor to Khaya.

Leaving out a shaky breath, Majda collected herself and entered the house, while to her discontent, she herself stayed outside, promising to join them in just an instant. With the door being closed, Khaya was all alone. She let the winter night embrace her until she could not feel her body anymore. Thus, it matched her empty heart.

Are you craving death that much, foolish little witch, that you search it out everywhere? a breeze brushed over her cheek.

Khaya froze as the night reached out to her as if to remind her of her secret, the guilt that gnawed at her guts. A witch, ready to feed your sons and daughters to the demon of winter, the master of rotten flesh, the priest had said. Was that her?

"If I have to face it to protect my family, I will. What do you want from us...from me?" Hopefully, no one inside could hear her and none of the men would come back now to find her in conversation with some invisible being.

Beware the one who has no voice of his own. Beware the one who has no eyes himself. Beware the one with half a soul. Now the voice was as soft as a breath, ignoring her question.

"Who are you?" Khaya whispered into the darkness. "Who are you?"

And it answered. The one you invited and now refuse to let in.

A shiver ran down her spine like the touch of undead fingers, an upir's deadly claws. For a second, she even thought to feel an invisible touch.

"I did not invite death. I did not invite you—I tell you to go. Leave Lasow."

Yet, you have called my name...

"You took my blood," Khaya smeared it in the snow, "Mladen's sleep, my aunt's sanity, Vanya's peace, and Daniil's life. Isn't that enough? What else do you want?"

Silence.

There was so much she wanted to say and so little she could. Despite her anger, she had to stay calm. It was not wise to disgruntle spirits and gods.

"Gosudar', I beg you to go." For one last time, Khaya stared into the dark forest and then closed the door behind her to finally shut out everything that lurked there.

Still, the wind blew the voice against the wood. Meet me in the pines...

Now that's a pretty short chapter, which means the next one will most probably be up sooner ;)

 this wasn't originally planned. But now that I don't have to care about a deadline and word count anymore I had the possibility to expand what would've been just a few paragraphs in the last and the upcoming chapter. That last conversation with the voice (Karachun? ;)) was already in and I wanted it to be woven in more tightly.

As always, please don't hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments, and, if you like the story, vote, share, and save to stay updated! ♥