Free Take the body and give me the rest by Julius Schenk Page B

Josephine had vanished to be replaced with the
ripped and bloody shells the creature had made of them. Seth felt
the compulsion driving him, and couldn’t help himself; the hunger
inside was too great. His knees buckled beneath him, bringing him
facedown towards the bodies. With blunt human teeth, he bit into
the warm flesh still clinging to what was left of Josephine’s small
ribcage. He felt the blood and meat in his mouth, as he ate more
and more, grabbing the bones in his hands, licking them, chewing
the meat off hungrily. His face was covered in blood but the
terrible wracking hunger started to abate.
    Memories began
to wash through him: them as children, looks across the table, love
shared in crime. Good times they had. He saw a flash of blonde hair
and caught a view of the cute blonde-haired girl playing fiddle at
the Red Minstrel. He felt a flush of mother’s pride as he watched
her play through Josephine’s eyes.
    Seth woke to
the morning light finding its way into his room, feeling incredibly
well rested in spite of the horrible dream and his realisation that
he had indeed killed the mother of the minstrel girl in taking
Josephine. He put his Northern nature to work on the guilt and
started grinding away at it with wisdom of his volk. The only good
enemy was a dead one; she had the same in store for you. You’re a
soldier. Life is a battle. And, finally: fuck them both. Who cares
anyway?
    The sun shone
down on the deck and Lady Elizebetha—or Elizebetha, to her
face—intended to spend most of her time on it talking with her
attendant while Seth wandered up and down the deck. It was nice to
be a man of leisure and watch the common sailors handling the tasks
that were normally set aside for men like him. Somehow, he’d jumped
from a world where his only value was brute force and the strength
of his back to one where he had skills, training and knowledge.
Him, Seth, being called ‘Young Master.’ Even the ship’s Officers
gave him nods of respect as he passed.
    That night,
instead of retiring early and unsuccessfully trying to open doors,
he walked the deck and soon found himself near the figurehead. He’d
never actually spent the time to look at it. He had avoided the
sparring area in the daylight hours just in case. Now it was vacant
and lit with lamps. He shrugged off his cloak, which was much too
warm anyway, and stepped onto the empty space of the deck.
    Drawing his
rapier and dagger, Seth went through forms. They came from nowhere,
unbidden. Forms and sets of actions, attacks and blocks, faints and
side-steps. Seth was getting a feeling of someone but not the
General. Feeling something, Seth tried a move in which he stamped
down with his foot to the imagined foes instep then spun fully
around with a backhand slash of the dagger. It was a deadly move
but risky, one that he knew the General would never perform. But
where had it come from?
    ‘You must have
trained in Pelloss,’ a female voice said from the shadows.
    Seth lowered his weapons as the Pellosina tutor of the
Captain’s son appeared in the lamplight. In the soft glowing light,
she looked like a vision of lust. Pellosi women are renowned for
being very womanly. She had a beautiful strong face with brown eyes
and long brown hair hanging down her back in a clasp. She wore a
thin white top that accentuated her lovely curves .
Seth realised that he was staring at her like a soldier at a camp
follower.
    He coughed.
‘Hello, your name is Minsetta, right?’ he asked quickly.
    She smiled at
him amused, knowing his mind. ‘It is, young Master Seth. I remarked
that you must have trained in Pelloss. That move is one I have only
seen there.’
    He thought of
all the General’s memories of Pelloss. He had lived there, but he’d
never trained in this style; it was too wild, heathen,
un-reserved.
    ‘Yes, I was
lucky enough to train and live there for a short time.’
    ‘You are very
young-looking to be so good at everything.’
    He laughed.
‘Truly