Free Company of Liars by Karen Maitland

and tall, and my mother began to fall in love with him, so that when the time came that he proposed to her, she did not hesitate to say yes.
    ‘I adored my stepfather. He was bold and brave and could run like the wind. And he was a good provider too, for once a month, when the moon was full enough for hunting, he would disappear into the forest before sunset and not return until dawn. When he did return he always had a good haul of birds and animals for the pot. Everyone remarked that he was an exceptionally skilled hunter, for he took with him neither dogs nor bow, but went out armed only with a knife. I wanted to become a hunter just like him and begged him to take me on his hunting trips, but he always refused, saying I was too young.
    ‘Then farmers round about began to complain that a wolf had taken up residence in the valley. Lambs went missing and pigs were found with their throats torn out. A lone wolf was heard in the night howling at the full moon. The farmers knew that if they didn't kill the wolf, they wouldn't have an animal left alive come spring, so they decided to form a hunting party to track the wolf down. They invited my stepfather to join them for he was by far the best hunter, but he refused. He told them that he had neither heard nor seen a wolf in the forest and, in that, he spoke the truth.
    ‘That night my stepfather set off alone as usual to hunt. Again I begged to go with him. He laughed, saying I wastoo slow to keep up with him. But I was determined to prove him wrong, so as the sun began to set, I slipped out of the cottage and followed my stepfather into the trees. I had to hurry to keep up with him. He didn't stop to lay traps or follow a trail, but kept bounding on with great loping strides, so that eventually I lost sight of him.
    ‘By now it was dark and the moon was rising over the trees, and I realized there was nothing for it but to turn for home. But I'd not taken more than a few steps when I heard a sound which made my blood run cold. It was the cry of a wolf, and not just a cry, but a howl of pain as if the creature was in agony. I stood rooted to the spot. As the silver light of the moon shone full upon the forest floor, I saw it, the great shaggy head and yellow eyes of a wolf, except that this wolf was not crouched on all fours like a beast, it was standing upright like a man.
    ‘I screamed in fear and the wolf turned. It bared its great white fangs and snarled. But as it sprang at me, there came the sounds of men crashing through the undergrowth and the barking of dogs. As it caught sight of the blazing torches, the wolf fled. The farmers and the dogs took off after it. The wolf easily outstripped them, but the dogs followed its trail and the farmers followed the dogs.
    ‘But I knew where the wolf was going. When a creature is hunted it makes for its home. I reached our cottage before the farmers and their dogs, but not before the wolf. My mother lay on the floor, covered in blood, her throat torn out. The wolf was crouching over her. But as it turned to spring at me, I managed to roll under the bed where its snapping jaws couldn't reach me. In a fury, the wolf pawed at me and its huge claws caught my face, ripping it open.
    ‘The farmers sent their dogs through the door to distract the wolf while they pulled me out through the tiny cottagewindow. But dogs are no match for a werewolf and no man would risk a bite from the creature, so they barricaded the werewolf in the cottage and burned it to the ground. The howls of the wolf rang through the forest and filled the valley, until at last it was consumed in the flames and howled no more.’
    There was silence as I finished the story. No one moved. Adela's eyes were wide and Jofre's mouth was open.
    Rodrigo suddenly gave a bellow of laughter, slapping me on the back. ‘A good tale, Camelot, but did I not hear you swear to that merchant at the fair you left your eye in the Holy Land?’
    ‘That my eye is lost is the truth,