Rrrrrip


    A sickening sound of tearing flesh echoed through the surroundings.


    Blood sttered on the grave in front of them, and a panicked gurgling sounded as Victor''s mouth and lungs were filling up with blood.


    He didn''t sag down, or try to look at his executioner in ast plea for mercy. Not because he didn''t want to, but because Erik kept holding Victor''s head as he looked at the man with cold eyes.


    Next to him, Alice had her eyes closed. She trembled a little, and a small tear rolled down her cheek.


    It was a tear of relief and sorrow.


    Relief over getting closure by saying goodbye to a father she had barely known. Relief over having avenged his death, and the death of her adoptive parents. But also sorrow over the fact that this still didn''t bring back the biological father she had never had a real conversation with.


    Yet, it was not overwhelming sorrow that left a gaping hole in her soul. It was a sorrow she could deal with. It was a sorrow, tempered by her father''s message, and today''s opportunity to say goodbye.


    Erik saw the emotions in her expression and wondered if this would have been harder for her if she had actually been raised by Bj?rn as well. Yet, that was a question he would likely never have an answer to.


    Alice''s ws were still at Victor''s torn throat, when she opened her eyes and looked up at the sky. This part of her life may have been closed, and she didn''t know what the future held exactly, but she did know one thing: aside from her safety, Bj?rn had another mission, and she intended to continue it.


    This, she vowed to herself.


    She looked down at the still sputtering Victor, and raised her ws to look with fascination at the blood dripping from them. She probed her feelings, and wondered if she cared at all about having taken a life for the first time.


    ''He was a monster who hurt the people I loved… My father… Ivar… Marta… they deserved vengeance,'' she thought to herself. Finally, she nodded with determination. "He deserved to die, and I feel only relief at his death," she mumbled to herself.


    Her words caused Emma and Emily to look surprised, and in Emma''s case a little concerned. She had known what was going to happen, but didn''t expect Alice to be so cavalier about it.


    Yet, Astrid and Erik had no such reactions. They knew that, while a human or even vampire child might have struggled more, or perhaps even felt some regret, shapeshifters had an easier time with this. Revenge was part of the natural order, and so was killing.


    Erik knew that Emma and Emily were still somewhat ignorant regarding the particrs of vampires and werewolves, so he quickly filled them in via their link.


    When Victor had finally breathed hisst, Erik quickly removed the chains binding him without taking his hand of the dead man''s head. After he was done, icy-cold aetherium started spreading from his hand downward, firmly encasing the kneeling Victor in ice. "Let him be an eternal guardian over your father''s grave," he said when it was done.


    Alice finally tore her eyes away from her bloody ws and looked between the corpse in front of her and Erik, before slowly nodding, gratefully. She had actually been wondering what to do with the corpse, since she didn''t want to bury him, but also didn''t want him to rot in front of her father.


    Next, she walked towards the headstone and crouched down, before using her bloody ws to carve a few extra lines in addition to those left by Frostfang.


    ***


    Here lies Bj?rn Olsen.


    Devoted father.


    Loving husband.


    Sentimental idiot.


    He has my respect.


    His death was avenged.


    ***


    When she was done, she turned around and walked away, her face etched with both sorrow and eptance.


    When she reached Erik, she looked up at him with trembling eyes, and than threw her arms around him. She started sobbing softly. "T— Thank you," she mumbled into his chest. Luckily, he was not currently wearing his armor, and instead wore loose clothing.


    "No problem," Erik softly chuckled as he caressed the young girl''s hair. "You did good today."


    The others simply watched quietly.


    ————————————————


    Several hourster, Erik and his group were once again on the move.


    This time, they were traveling eastward, towards Russia, rather than southward, toward Find and Sweden.


    Their destination? The ce that Erik recognized as described by his mother''s cryptic message: ''the pirs in the woods.''


    Naturally, it was overly cryptic simply to throw off anyone that might pry the message from Viljar''s lips, however unlikely that was.


    But Erik knew the ce she talked about. It was about 780km (~485 miles) away, and located in the middle of arge, uninhabited area located in Russia''s K penins.


    Traveling continuously and at the same speed as before, they might be able to reach the ce in as little as 13 hours, but their was no need to push themselves that hard.


    After all, they were no in a hurry this time, and there were plenty of camping supplies in Erik''s chest storage and Elora''s storage jewel.


    They traveled in the same setup as before, which included Alice on Erik''s back, despite the fact that technically their business was more or less concluded, and Alice had voiced doubts about continuing to travel with them before.


    Yet, nothing came of it, for the simple fact that no one had bothered to bring it up.


    After they were done in Frostvik and Erik announced their next destination, Alice herself had taken the initiative to climb on Erik''s back and wrap her arms around his neck, without saying a word.


    Erik, for his part, had also remained quiet. Instead, his lips had simply curled into a soft smile.


    —————————————-


    It was two dayster, in the evening, when they arrived at their destination.


    "This…" Astrid mumbled softly when their target came in sight. "What is this?"


    They found themselves in the middle of a massive taiga forest, with some of thergest trees any of them had ever seen. With the exception of Erik and Elora, who had seen the forests on S?l that were infused with aetherium.


    In front of them was a small clearing, characterized by some sort of stone structure. Six pirs were surrounding a slightly elevated stone tform with a sort of alter in the middle.


    While there was some clear wear and tear of the stone, anyone who saw this structure might assume it was a few hundred years old at most.


    Yet, nothing could be further from the truth. Erik remembered how his mother had told him this ce was older than most known civilizations, and while he had been extremely skeptical back then, he wasn''t so skeptical anymore.


    "Alright, Mother," he mumbled to himself. "Let''s see what you have in store for me."