{10}

"What. The. Hell." someone said behind us, Jaskier, who dropped his half-eaten pie, gawked at us.

He marched over, "Geralt, she stole our money!"

The wolf grunted, "she put it to better use than what we probably would have."

Jaskier grumbled, "anyways, can we go? I'm getting bored of this place. You took care of all that business, right?"

The Witcher didn't reply as he marched out of the alleyway, ushering me to follow him. I listened, giving Jaskier a look as I walked past him. He stared at me, still gawking.

"Where are we going?" I asked as the Witcher approached his horse.

He looked at me, "get on."

I frowned a moment, then mounted his steed. The horse adjusted to our weight as the Witcher sat behind me, holding the reins.

"What about him?" I asked, looking at the bard.

"Yeah, what about me?" Jaskier continued, flailing his arms to the side.

"You've made it this far on those feet of yours. And like I said, you can leave whenever you want." 

The Witcher signaled the horse to start walking, "come on Roach."

As we headed toward one of the town entrances, I spotted a couple of Nilfgaardian soldiers pestering a woman. Drunken, they paid little attention to passersby, but I must have been staring too long because they paused their assault and glared at the Witcher.

I put my hood up and lowered my head.

The woman, given the men's distraction, ran off quickly.

"The fuck you lookin' at?" one of the soldiers belched.

Geralt grunted as we continued our journey.

---

Neither of us said much to each other. It'd been a couple of days of travel from the town, and the Witcher still hadn't answered my questions.

Where are we going?

Why do you help me?

Who's Yennefer?

The only sound really was Roach's walking, Jaskier's singing and grunting, and the sounds in the dark.

On our third day of travel, we parted ways with Jaskier. This was the result of an argument that arose.

"How long have you two been friends?" I asked after the argument.

Geralt grunted.

"Could you at least answer me for once?"

I felt the Witcher's grip on the reins tighten slightly, "no."

"Did you really have to snap at him like that?" I muttered, and Geralt stopped the horse.

I felt my heart rate increase slightly. I dared not look back at the Witcher, who grew tense.

I felt fear.

"Now what, you pissed at me to-"

I turned to look at the wolf, who looked around the forest anxiously, "shh." 

I paused in confusion, then listened, hearing something rustling in the trees.

Geralt dismounted, then looked up at me, "wait here."

I huffed, glaring at him pull out his sword and disappearing into the trees. I felt Roach grow weary, so I patted the horse gently to calm him.

I heard distant grunts and growls, followed by more rustling.

Something dark skidded past Roach, causing him to stir. The horse neighed, stood on its hind legs in panic, and ran off as I fell to the ground.

Shit.

Brushing dirt from my clothing, I stood, "Roach? Roach?" I called, looking for the horse.

Something scurried in the bushes, startling me.

I prepared myself for whatever was lurking in the darkness.

"Cirilla..." Something croaked, Geralt was calling someone.

"Cirilla? Cirilla!" He cried out again. 

"Geralt! Geralt?" I called back, but nothing answered.

Wait. Who's Cirilla?

I'd never told the Witcher my name: Mirabel. And Cirilla, that was a name I'd never heard before.

Then one of them crawled from the bushes, "Cirilla, Cirilla..." it said, still eerily replicating the Witcher's voice.

My heart fluttered in fear.

It was covered in mud, greyish, skinny, and manged. It looked like a sickly dog, but its limbs were unnaturally long and human, and its teeth incredibly sharp. What was even more unsettling were its black eyes, devoid of anything.

It crept closer to me, and I stepped back. I stopped though when another rustle came from behind me. I turned startled to find another one of the things creeping on me.

Then another came, and another. A pack of five eerie beasts.

And they were all staring at me.

I raised my hands in preparation, "stay back!"

My shouting provoked one of the beasts, and it lunged. I swished my hand in front of me, a black-bladed mist appearing in a flash and slashing the thing's stomach.

It whimpered and fell back from the force, black goop seeping from its wound. I pitied the thing for a moment as it panted in pain, its entrails seeping from its stomach. It twitched and went limp.

The others circled me, waiting to catch me off guard. Adrenaline pounded in my veins, my breathing hard and raspy from the crisp air.

Two came at me, I managed to dodge one and slash its throat, but I lost my footing and fell on my back. Air knocked from my lungs, I barely managed to roll to the side when the second tried pouncing. It came again, pinning me. I fought it off, but the magic I sought didn't come.

I clenched my teeth, my stomach twisting from fear and the rotten stench of its breath. I didn't want to use the fire, concerned for the vegetation and control.

Instead, I resorted to directing the flames in my hands. The creature screeched as its flesh sizzled under my hands. It stumbled back, red oozing burns on its side.

It almost seemed to glare at me, then came at me again, but it was stopped midway when a sword pierced it from its side. I turned eyes wide, seeing the Witcher.

The last two creatures stood, sneering at me. One looked as if it grinned, and it growled that name again, "Cirilla, come home."

The hell?

Geralt looked at me, some of the black blood splattered on his face.

"How many are there?" I said in a panic.

"Run!" he commanded.

I hesitated as the other two monsters came at me. In that instant, I turned and sprinted down the same trail Roach had.

I looked back, the two beasts caught up with Geralt. But more started coming, attacking the wolf as he held them off.

I looked ahead as I ran, closing my eyes, images of the months I'd experienced.

With Cahir, all I did was run.

With Geralt, I wouldn't.

Blurred images seeped in my mind, a white-haired woman smiling down at me, sweaty. A man, dark hair, smiled next to her, adorned in armor. I couldn't see their faces, but the woman said "Cirilla, welcome home."

Then I remembered Yennefer looking up at me, find him.

I slid to a halt, and turned around. With every ounce of my power, I felt the storm cloud within me and my hands became hot. Within a flash, I stood in front of Geralt, barely having time to register his confused and shocked face as flames came from my hands in fury.

Everything seemed to move slowly then, and I screamed as the heat moved around us and scorched the beasts and surrounding trees.

The soil on which we stood was left untouched, us too.

Their charred bodies lay lifeless.

I closed my eyes, recalling Yennefer's actions when I'd first seen her.

Control the chaos.

Taking a deep breath, I imagined the flames re-entering my body. Slowly, they did, and when I opened my eyes, all that was left was the scorched mess, but no more fire.

I breathed heavily, then heaved. Rushing for the trees, I threw up.

The Witcher wiped his sword, then sheathed it. He walked over to me, still shocked but not shaken.

I looked at him, wiping my lips, "are you all right?"

He let out something like a grunt and chuckle. Seeing no wounds on him, I suspected he'd be fine.

Someone galloped over, whinnying.

I rolled my eyes at the horse, "nice to see you're fine. But sure, leave me behind."

The horse whinnied again as crows flocked the trees around us.

"He likes you," Geralt stated nonchalantly, "now sit. Where we're going, it's not far."

The School of the Wolf.