Devil's Deal: A Dark Fantasy Romance

The next two days go by in a flurry of work. I sew, gather herbs, and see clients. My popularity after the werewolf attack is still strong due to the lack of other exciting news. I make a point to be seen out and about, even attending Przemyslaw’s burial, in which his charred bones are laid in a deep hole, his skull put into a separate grave to ensure he doesn’t rise again.

It’s in the morning, and few people attend. Most men and many women are already in the meadows and fields, working since dawn. The weather is too nice not to make advantage of it. The burial is for those wealthy enough to have others work on their land or those who earn their keep in other ways, like me.

Jarota has picked out a plot by the forest, far outside the village, and yet people murmur it’s too close for comfort. So I suggest a hawthorn hedge be planted around it, not because I believe Przemyslaw’s bones will magically grow flesh and teeth again, but because having a protection to rely on will reassure everyone.

That’s whispering, too. Giving villagers ways to feel secure in the scary, dangerous world. Also, hawthorn really works. After all, I use it myself.