When Belrigan came to his senses and hurried after Lauro, his brother was nowhere to see.

Where the hell did he go? thought Belrigan, quickly looking around. Bastard! Did he run away already, or did he hide somewhere?

Any of the abandoned houses around would be a great place to hide, but hiding was pointless for Lauro. The canopy of greenery, closely following the river, provided an excellent opportunity to cover up his escape. And getting there would take only a couple of minutes. Belrigan knew his younger brother all too well: if he dared to betray his oaths to the Black Brotherhood, he won’t waste time hiding somewhere and would run as fast as he could. And even if he lay low, he’ll choose a safe and remote spot.

Without further ado, Belrigan ran around someone’s house and headed straight to the river.

Lauro wanted to take a pony, he thought on his way. Does this mean he was going to head straight to Copper Road? He has plenty of time to make it there before dusk. But would he dare to return by the same path we arrived here?

A dirt path leading back to the Copper Road started at the village center, but Lauro wouldn’t’ve gone there. It was impossible to sneak unnoticed through the most crowded place in Surram Dahla. Besides, brothers Masho and Gerome must’ve also been there now.

“Hey! Where are you going?” someone shouted to Belrigan in azraani, but he ignored them and only sped up. The river and the trees were already close. Upon reaching the greenery, he stopped and looked back: an old man on the field next to one of the houses was looking suspiciously at him.

Maybe I should’ve asked him if he saw Lauro, Belrigan thought, but he immediately rejected this idea when he saw brother Viraz running out on the road. Damn, he already noticed! I will make a story later… I’ll tell the brothers it was my fault. It’s all because of the evocation potion. I’ll tell them I went mad and ran away, and it was Lauro searching for me, not the other way around. Now I only need to find him first.

The greenery around the water wasn’t as dense as it seemed from a distance. Downstream, the valley widened, and there were farms. Up the stream stood more buildings towering over the river from both sides. There was only one way Lauro would've gone from here.

Following the river down, Belrigan approached the farms. He looked back a few times, but no one was after him. A few times, he even dared to call in a low voice: “Lauro! Are you here?”—without any success.

He wouldn’t go to the farms either. They have dogs, and there’s nowhere to hide. He must’ve had some plan, did he?

The hillside on the other side of the river was quite gentle and looked easy to climb. Even a pony would climb it there as the ground stood dry since there had been no rain for at least a week.

He could try climbing up right here, going around the village and then to the Copper Road. He could hope to find a hideout upon reaching there.

Afraid that someone from the farms could notice him, Belrigan quickly took off his boots and crossed the shallow by the rocky bottom of the river. On his way up, he made a few stops looking around and searching for a familiar figure on the hillside or down in the valley, but it felt like searching for a needle in a haystack. The sad truth was that Lauro could be anywhere by now, and Belrigan had little chance of finding him by simply rambling around. He could find Lauro easily using his wolf senses, but Belrigan only hoped they wouldn’t awake anytime soon. His mind was clear again: no voices, no strange feelings. Why didn’t master Masho warn him about such a thing? He told him about dangerous ideas and visions and not about someone taking control of his hands and trying to strangle Lauro. Belrigan couldn’t remember anything like this happening to other brothers as well. This alone was terrifying, but in his circumstances, Belrigan preferred not to think too much and keep running.

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The climb was easy, but getting through occasional thickets and rocks took much time. The sun was almost in zenith when Belrigan stopped, exhausted to take a break.

The hillside here was almost flat here. It was rising slowly to the north and declining to the west and south. The valley was hidden behind the slope and rare trees, and Belrigan could only see the river further to the east. The trees were growing sparsely, but the thorny bushes were all around, making further advance troublesome.

Belrigan gave the river a long, sad look.

He must be somewhere else. He’ll die for nothing, idiot!

With his sleeve, Belrigan whipped the tears welling up in his eyes and walked around the bushes. He found a goat trail, but it began to descend, intending to return him to the village, and he turned the other way. It was here when he noticed a house downhill. There was no one around except for birds and small animals. The building stood alone and was abandoned, like many others. Some decades ago, it could belong to a shepherd or maybe a woodcutter. The fence surrounding it was falling apart, while the roof looked damaged by a storm and started to crumble on one side. Hesitating just a moment, Belrigan approached the house and, to his surprise, noticed a small figure between the fence and the greenery.

Could it be him? Thought Belrigan, hiding behind the fence too. Did he see me?

Slowly, he walked around and stopped at the entrance.

“Lauro? Are you here?!”

No one answered, but a suspicious sound came from inside the house.

“Lauro?! Is it you?”

The door was inclining over the entrance, so Belrigan had to duck down and squeeze himself into the small space below it. The house had just one large room filled with debris and dusty old things. The grass was growing through the gaps in the wooden floor. There was nowhere to hide here, and of course, Belrigan immediately saw his runaway brother standing at the other wall, next to the window. The window, although small, was big enough for Lauro to try and flee.

“Lauro!”

“Stop repeating my name already… Have you changed your mind, brother? Decided to run together?”

The expression on Lauro’s face was grim.

“No…”

“Why then, you follow me? You’ve come to finish me off?”

Belrigan’s face could still betray that he was crying a moment ago. He looked sideways and said, after a pause:

“No…I came to make you reconsider….”

“Then you’ll need to kill me, Belrigan. I’m not turning back!”

Feeling tired from running uphill and crying, Belrigan slowly leaned back on the wall and then squatted down.

“Don’t you understand, Lauro? You’ll never make it to Pata-Arran! Even if you survive long enough to pass the mountains, you will die on the way through the desert. Even if you survive the desert, you will become the prey for the slave hunters.“

“Since when does this concern you?”

“Since always!”

They measured each other with their eyesight.

“I won’t let you die in vain,” added Belrigan.

“Then let’s run together, brother.”

“No.”

Lauro swore dirty.

“You are too coward for a wolf, Belrigan.”

“Lauro… In the village, I didn’t want to hurt you. I lost control over myself… it’s because of evocation.”

“Tell me now that master cares about us! I hate him! It’s almost like he gave you that potion on purpose here! He knew that you’ll lose control!”

“It was terrifying,” Belrigan continued slowly, “as if someone was inside me, and he was using my hands.”

Lauro swore again.

“What do you mean, someone? It’s not someone, it’s a moon wolf, and, yes, it’s inside you!”

Belrigan shivered. His vision went black and white again and then immediately returned to normal.

“What do you mean it?” he asked, unsure. ”The graft doesn’t work this way. It’s not a living creature but a small piece containing the concentrated magical power.”

“Yes… except your graft is not a graft at all! You still don’t remember that day, Belrigan, do you? They told you what happened, but you can’t recall it, can't you? I was there too, Belrigan. I can tell you what happened, although brothers made me vow that I won’t, ever. And I kept this word for your own sake, Belrigan, but now it doesn’t matter anymore. If I don’t tell you, you will never know!”

“Tell me what?”

His vision became black and white.

“It wasn’t a graft, you idiot. It was our brothers’ mistake. The wolf possessed your body!”