A few days passed, during which the Knights of the Crimson Hand were scarcely seen outside the inn. It even appeared to most inhabitants of Harren, that they just imagined them arriving. Or at least they feigned this lack of memory in order to not think too much about the sealskins many had to hide before the knights' arrival.

  Alistair went alone to the sea. It was so cold that the ocean had frozen over by the shore. He couldn’t go out at sea to fish this day but the sun shone and warmed the black rocks enough he felt comfortable thanks to his Selkie-ancestry. Sitting there, he contemplated the murders. As far as he was aware, all victims until now had been pureblood Selkies or descendants of one and a human with access to a sealskin. But they had all been found in their human form, with their sealskins missing. Alistair hadn’t asked Aila about it, as most Selkies were peculiar about their skins. It was a sign of bad manners to ask them.

  “If I just had a skin myself…”, he mused, downtrodden. “I could at least dive with Aila and keep her save in the water.”

  He often wondered where the sealskin of his mother had ended up. Aila’s gran had once told him that sealskin were either handed down in the family or returned to Sedna, who would give them to those, who needed them. Sedna, the Mother of the Ocean, was said to be the mother of all life within the vastness of the sea and the one weaving the sealskins.

  “Perhaps she took the skins from the dead”, he mused and sighed deeply.

  “Of whom are you talking?”, asked someone behind him.

  With a shout, Alistair turned around and nearly fell from the rock.

  “I duly apologize for startling you”, the young leader of the knights said, and stepped closer — his hands hidden in the pockets of his coat. “It wasn’t my intention to do so.”

  “You… It’s alright”, he said, and jumped down from his sitting spot. “Is there a reason you’re here?”

  “I was looking for you”, he said, with a thoughtful expression. “Care to walk with me?”

  Alistair felt like he had no say in the matter and nodded. The leader of the knights was about as tall as him, but there was an air of superiority around him, which should’ve been off-putting but strangely wasn’t. The knight seemed distant yet polite. At the same time, Alistair felt that there was more to him than met the eye.

  “Your name’s Rosomil?”, he asked as they walked along the shore towards the cliffs.

  “Yes, and you’re Alistair”, he replied and regarded him with clear blue eyes. “I was told by the mayor that you found two of the four dead. I’m curious to hear your side of the story.”

  “I didn’t kill them”, he said out of reflex and stopped dead.

  “I never insinuate this”, he replied cold, which in turn made Alistair flinch. “Just tell me what you know.”

  Alistair took a deep breath and started to tell Rosomil how he had found Catriona. Luckily, he had found her alone but once he started to talk about Maude, he had to omit Aila. Judging by the thoughtful look on Rosomil’s face, he seemed to do a fantastic job to obfuscate her involvement. The knight didn’t even interrupt him to dig deeper.

  Once Alistair had finished, the knight stopped and turned towards the sea. Some cracks had formed on the ice sheet, signaling that it was gone soon. As the knight stood there, Alistair took the chance to take a closer look.

  All in all, Rosomil seemed much like him, not just in age but also strength. What appeared odd though was that he didn’t wear much armor. He seemed rather leisurely in his attire, disregarding the short sword at his hip and his white coat with the crimson hand on it. And there was this strange beauty. While certainly human, there was something about him, making him appear like a saint or angel, which unnerved Alistair now as much as it had unnerved Aila.

  “I do have a few questions considering how you found the second girl”, Rosomil said and appeared suddenly much older and sterner than before.

  “Please, ask me anything you want to know”, Alistair replied timid. “I’ll answer honestly.”

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  “You told me you were on your way to your ship at the mooring here, didn’t you?”, he asked, and Alistair nodded. “I keep wondering… the girl, Maude, was found a few yards away to the west. I do wonder why you went that way, when the path you took leads you directly to the mooring. How come you didn’t go to your boat but walked away from it in that direction?”

  “I… uhm. I saw a few seabirds hover above the stones.”

  “Seabirds… I don’t see why a few crying birds would cause you to think anything was off. They could’ve just found some dead fish, which wouldn’t be off any concern to you. You’re a fisherman, I doubt you would’ve wasted time like this.”

  “I just saw something odd, which I couldn’t place at that moment, and decided to investigate.”

  “At dawn? With thick fog all around?”

  Alistair couldn’t help but stare at the knight. There was no way he wouldn’t now think him to be the culprit. But he was unable to give Aila’s involvement away to him. He would certainly think she did it and kill her without hesitation.

  “I’m not here to throw around blind accusations”, Rosomil addressed him somber. “And you don’t look like a murderer to me. But you’re keeping something from me. So, let me ask you… Is this secret worth it to be accused of murder?”

  “And here you are, telling me you aren’t going to throw around accusations, but now you’re calling me a murderer.”

  “I guess my wording was a little off”, Rosomil remarked and ushered him to move on. “I want to know if your secret will remain protected if the villagers conclude you’re the one they’re looking for.”

  “The people of Harren would never accuse me of murder! I’m one of them.”

  “Which would result in you finding no one to speak in your favor should you be named a suspect. You’ve found two of the four corpses. It’s just logical to question your innocence.”

  “But I didn’t do it! Why should I?”

  “That’s the most important question to ask.”

  “But I told you! I’m innocent!”

  “I think so too”, Rosomil said, with a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “I need to find the reason behind those murders. There’s no killing that happens without a reason, no matter if the perpetrator is a human, an animal, or something else entirely. Once I’ve found that reason, I can clear your name with ease. And that’s why I want you to be honest with me. Your secret shouldn’t be worth the risk of being executed.”

  Alistair was torn between protecting Aila and his own safety. His first instinct was to deny the secret and keep it. The knight had no business of knowing about Aila and the other Selkies. On the other hand, he was well aware that, should he be trialed and sentenced to death, which was all but certain considering the circumstances, he couldn’t protect her any longer. She would also suffer, grieve and even the guilt of thinking she had been in love with a murderer. A murderer who had killed her cousin.

  “Here we are”, said Rosomil, and turned towards the mooring from which Alistair went fishing almost every morning. “Please show me how exactly you found the second body.”

  Tense, Alistair went onto the over frozen mooring. Finding sure foot was more difficult for him than an ordinary human. Due to the walk, his webbed feet hurt as if thousands of hot needles were pushed slowly into his soles. Rosomil watched him intently without betraying any of his thoughts.

  “And you’ve seen the body from here?”, the knight asked, stepping beside him.

  There was a scratching sound below them. Slow, Alistair looked down and just saw a brown flipper disappear underneath the worn boards. There was no guess work needed to know that this was Aila. It was also apparent the knight had noticed her as well.

  “I doubt it”, Rosomil continued. “You met with someone who had found the body beforehand. Someone who pointed you towards it. The true culprit, perhaps?”

  Alistair bit his lips. This was what he had been afraid of. How could this man come to this conclusion so fast? Perhaps Aila had been right all along. Perhaps he wasn’t human. Instinctively, Alistair back away from him and slipped on the boards.

  “I have to ask you… Is it worth protecting this person?”

  He hadn’t drawn his sword nor had he placed his hand on the pommel. All in all, he did not stand even directly above him, yet Alistair felt as if the blade had been placed against his throat.

  “Stop! Stop it!”, cried Aila in her seal-form, which caused her voice to sound alien.

  She waddled out from underneath the mooring and pulled partially out of her sealskin. The knight watched her intently yet without showing any sign of aggression or even surprise.

  “Don’t harm him!”, she shouted and pulled the skin around herself as to resemble a crude dress. “I… I’ll kill you if you hurt him!”

  “Aila! Stay back!”, Alistair shouted and scrambled back to his feet.

  He was ready to jump the knight. While unarmed, he still could try to subdue him, but Rosomil didn’t react. He just watched her with an unreadable expression, which was more unnerving than if he tried to kill them.

  “I thought as much”, he said, calm and collected. “Please, do come up here.”

  Uncertain, Aila hesitated, but after a moment she went to the edge of the mooring. Alistair immediately reached down to pull her up. Once they both stood again, he pulled her behind himself.

  “I don’t mean any harm to the two of you”, Rosomil continued, somber. “Far from it. I seek the truth in this case. Wether it means a Selkie or a human or both are the culprit. But I don’t think the two of you are behind those killings. Yet, you two are each a part of the secret. Talk to me. Tell me the truth.”

  Alistair felt as if a spell had been put on him. There was something about this man, that seemed about as strange as the monster in the sea, Aila had mentioned. Trembling and without another choice, Alistair told Rosomil once more how he found Maude. This time the real story.