“What was his name?”
“Didn’t say. Didn’t say yer name either. Just handed ya ta me ’n took off. Like he was bein’ chased. What could possibly hunt such a being? I don’t know. Don’t wanna know. Took ya ’n hightailed it out of da woods. Didn’t venture in for a good long month. S’ides, was a bit preoccupied with you ’n all.”
“Then,” Vir whispered, “my name is…”
“Make no mistake, Vir. Threat or no, I wouldn’ta left ya there, even if he’d abandoned ya. You… Ya were a blessing. Th-the child I never had. As ya know, yer mum died during childbirth. The child was… stillborn, the midwife called it. Was the darkest day of me life…”
Vir never knew.
Rudvik cleared his throat. “But we’d already named the child, y’see. He was gonna be the best darned kid Brij had ever seen. The Bravest of the Brave. The Undaunted. Ekavir.”
7THE FOUR-ARMED GIANT
Vir’s reply caught in his throat. Worse, tears started to roll down his face. “I didn’t know,” he managed.
He was named after Rudvik’s stillborn child. Had Rudvik pinned the same hopes on him as he had his stillborn son? What kind of torture had Rudvik been through following the death of his wife and child?
“Ye, well, not ta kind of story that oughta be told. That oughta ever be told.”
Father and son spent several moments in silence until Maiya returned to report that the tent was up, then ducked back into the tent. She had likely finished some time back. Vir wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d heard everything.
“Thank you, Father. For everything.”
“Ya don’t hate me?” Rudvik asked, looking like a sinner confessing his crimes.
“For what? For giving me a home? For not hating me like the other villagers do? Yes, Father. Shame on you…”
“Not like dat. I mean, I ne’er told ya. I hid it all from ya. Like a coward.”
“It’d have been nice if you’d told me. But I understand. And now I know. I know it couldn’t have been easy.”
Rudvik chuckled. “Ya got no idea how long I’ve wanted to tell ya all this. Feels like I jus’ felled a mighty Godhollow, lemme tell ya.”
The lumberjack kneeled before Vir, grasped his shoulders, and looked him in the eye. “Your father—your real father—is gonna come after ya one day.”
Vir wondered about that. Was this giant really his father? Vir was of a smallish, lean build. He had two arms, like any normal person. Sure, his skin was a bit ashen, but that just made him resemble this mythical giant even less. Who was that giant? Would he ever find out?
Thoughts raged in his head like a maelstrom, and a knot formed in the pit of his stomach. He feared it wouldn’t go away anytime soon.
“A bein’ like that gets what he wants, Vir, mark my words,” Rudvik whispered. “Be ready, Son. Be vigilant. I’m no warrior, but I do have this ax. I’ll do everythin’ I can to protect ya, that I can promise. Still, I felt you oughta be warned.”
Vir’s eyes narrowed. “Warned? Of what?”
“I could tell he cares deeply for ya, Vir. But there was a madness to his devotion. The way he looked at ya when he handed you over to me… Well, I’d seen that look before. Reminded me o’ a zealot worshiping his god.”
Vir’s mind went blank. Worship… me? The thought was so absurd he wanted to laugh. Forget worship. No one had even treated him well, apart from Rudvik and Maiya’s family. He’d been ridiculed, spat at, and ignored. They’d even thrown rocks at him.
Rudvik’s revelation filled him with a cold fury. He didn’t know why.
“I need some time to think about all this,” he said. “Doesn’t really feel real, y’know?”
Rudvik clapped his shoulder. “I’ll bet. Tell ya what? Why don’t you ’n yer friend take first watch for the night? I’ll cover the rest.” With their conversation reaching an end, Maiya stepped out of the tent. “You sure, Uncle Rudvik? Vir and I could take two shifts.”
The lumberjack wasn’t having any of it. “Chala’s knees, girl! Yer just babes. What kinda parent would I be if I let ya take two shifts? I’d bring shame to all de fathers out there! Outta the question.” There was no convincing the stubborn lumberjack. Maiya took a seat beside Vir and watched as Rudvik eased the hot rocks under the tent for the night.
“Well then. Holler if ya hear anything, alright?” he said before closing the tent flap.
Silence descended upon the camp. The fire had burned down to embers, its glowing red coals barely emitting enough heat to keep them warm. Maiya sidled up to Vir, shivering despite the Magic Heat utility orb she clutched against her chest.
Vir didn’t even have the benefit of magical heat, but he’d always been able to tough out the elements better than the other villagers.
“So…” Maiya said, desperate to break the oppressive silence.
“So…” he echoed. “I suppose you heard everything?”
“Sorry! I finished with the tent and the forest’s just so quiet, I couldn’t help but overhear you two.”
“It’s alright,” he said, smiling. He’d probably have told her at some point, anyway. There weren’t many secrets between them. It had been that way ever since he could remember.
Maiya cleared her throat. “So, do you think what he said was—wait!” she said, startled. “W-What was that!”
Vir looked out into the darkness. Even with his superior night vision, he couldn’t make anything out. The forest was truly pitch-black without an ounce of starlight.
“I don’t see anything. Probably nothing. Anything we need to worry about would make a bigger thumping sound.”
“You sure?” Maiya said, unconvinced.
“All sorts of prana beasts in the Godshollow. Plenty of animals that could put you out, but they fear us more than we fear them. They’ll be long gone before you ever realize they were there.”
“Oh. I—I see. Well, that’s good,” Maiya said.
“Hey, Maiya?”
“Mmm?”
“If I told you… uh. Okay, this is going to sound really weird. But y’know that run-in I had with the cultist?”
“Scary grakkin’ stuff.”
“Yeah, but the thing is, I’ve been hearing these voices in my head since then. Different from the old ones. Or rather, louder, and more coherent.”
“Are you alright?” Maiya asked, frowning with concern.
“I think so? Like, I think these voices are trying to tell me something. I just can’t figure it out yet.”
“What do they say?” she asked.
“It’s gibberish. I don’t even know if they’re real words. But they’re consistent. As if they’re trying to teach me something about the world. Something hidden, that can’t be seen with the naked eye. You have any idea what it could be?”
“I dunno,” Maiya said with concern. “I… I really hope it is what you think it is. And not something bad.”
“Right. Yeah. Well, nevermind. Don’t tell Rudvik, okay? I don’t want him thinking I’ve been possessed by some evil god or something.”
Maiya patted his back and flashed him a thumbs-up. “Your secret’s safe with me.”
Vir returned to scanning the darkness, but Maiya was determined not to allow the silence to prevail. “About what your dad said… You believe him?”
“I do, yeah. Why? You think he’d make something like that up?”
He could feel Maiya shaking her head. “No… But still. I’ve never even heard of a four-armed anything, not even in the scriptures. It’s kinda hard to imagine.”