Silver and Bolts

I watched as strings of tiny bells, resembling clusters of grapes, were hung across the border fence. They were the same as the ones hung from the horses' saddles when the Hunters left town. Multibeings either hate the high pitched tinkling sounds, or the silver the bells are made with. Either way the adults were sure that hanging bells would deter another beast.

Darren stood next to me. Scruffy red hair and freckles. Dark eyes. He's a year younger than I am but an inch taller. He poked at the cast on my left arm, "So, they put bolts in your arm? Like, nails?"

I scowled at him for making my arm hurt again, "Yeah, they said my arm couldn't put itself together. They had to do it."

"Are they gonna take them back out?"

"I don't think so. They sewed me up. My skin is on top of the bolts." I didn't remember a whole lot at the Doctor's. Once I was there they didn't waste time putting a needle in me that made me feel cold and sleepy. That was a few weeks ago, my parents were very mad at me for getting so close to the beast. But I decided they were more afraid than mad, just like the other parents. They kept me inside until today, and I wasn't the only kid. Everyone stayed inside until the bells arrived from a metalworking town, called Coppervein.

"When are you going to get that cast off so I can see?" He poked at it again.

"Quit! Knock it off, it hurts! I don't know!" I snapped at him. He grinned wickedly. It was nowhere near as bad at it was, but it ached.

"Ugh. You're so bleh today. You don't know nothing, you don't wanna do nothing..." 

"Well it's not like the adults are going to let us run off again."

"It's your fault for looking so delicious to a shapeshifter."

"Shut up."

"Wanna go see it?"

"Did they keep it?"

"Yeah, it's in the Hunters' Division. In the Hall."

"Race you!"

---

He won. He always won.

The Hunters' Division was in the heart of town. Our town was called Wheatwood, describing both our vast fields to the north and dense forest to the south. The town can be described as romantic. Copper shingles and solar panels shine on rooftops and bright flowers adorn many window frames. The red brown wood of the walls highlights every color. The roads are dirty cobblestone, but it makes the place feel lived. The bustle of people and laughter of children sang with the sound of the new silver bells in the distance.

The Division itself was a tall, sturdy, building. High windows sat on either side of the open doors. Anyone was allowed to enter the Hall, the first floor and massive open room of the Division. Its ceiling was high, the walls decorated sparsely with the trophies of the Hunters. The floor was mostly empty save for a long table and benches in the middle. To the back of the Hall was a spiral staircase leading to the second and third floors where the Hunters lived and worked. Citizens were not permitted there.

Darren lead the way in and we shuffled past adults discussing boring things. We reached the left wall first. Darren excitedly pointed to the newest addition: a clean white deer skull, with crystal antlers. Underneath, a matching pelt with a faint brown stain where the arrow pierced it.

I felt a tug at my heart. The deer hadn't seemed dangerous. Had he deserved to die?

"You're Brielle, right?" a voice came from behind us.

Darren and I turn to face the older man. His face was gaunt, eyes sunken. His hair was nearly as white as the deer's, but his skin was dark from ages in the sun. I recognized him immediately as a Hunter, but couldn't recall his name.

"Sit with me, chat for a while," he requested, waving his calloused hand at the table. We obeyed, and he walked around to the other side to sit across from us. He carefully moved aside a vase filled with brilliant feathers.

"What's your name?" he gently asked the boy to my left.

"Darren, sir," he replied, puffing up slightly with pride.

The gentleman laughed at the kid. He had an air of familiarity about him, like I had grown up knowing him. He smiled at me, "Now, Brielle, how is your arm? Healing alright? I heard that after that beast knocked you off your tree they had to stick your bones together with bolts."

I nodded, "Yeah, thanks. But the deer didn't-"

"Stop," he cut me off, "They have a way with messing with your mind. You're going to feel like it didn't do anything. You might even feel pity for the thing having to die. That's why when I saw you, when I saw your arm all mangled up, I had to stop to talk to you. Your parents probably haven't talked about this more than, don't talk to strange animals. That's okay, they've never met one. They don't realize..." he paused, looking for his next words, "I want you to understand. They're demons. That one would have wanted nothing more than to kill you. It saw an easy target, a little girl unguarded. You probably wanted to go with it and follow its honeyed words. Am I wrong?"

I shake my head. Terrible thoughts filled my head of what the deer would have done. I wondered if it would eat me alive. I wondered if it would turn into a more terrible form before killing me. My heart pounded with sudden fear. I felt so stupid for trusting it!

"That's understandable. They're clever. They're beautiful. I've stood before one that promised to not attack, but the moment I stepped forward it trembled with bloodlust. It was tempting to believe that it would want peace. I didn't give in. I killed it before it was able to touch me. They want you to empathize with them. It makes you easy to kill. Don't feel bad. That demon wanted you to die. You're damn lucky to be alive, Brielle. Remember that." He taps his fingers on the wood, lost in thought.

"Did you get a trophy from it? The one that talked to you?" Darren asked.

"No, son, I did not. I simply didn't think to. I just wanted away from it."

"Oh... what was it?"

"A fox, with many tails. Very beautiful, indeed." His eyes glinted as he recalled.

We sat in silence for a moment. The man finally sighed and stood up, his knees cracking.

"You two behave. Avoid getting too close to the fence. Don't talk to anything that's not a person." With that, he turned from us and made his way upstairs to the Hunters' Barracks.