Chapter Beautiful River


    Sadko awoke with a start to the soft sounds of his dulcimer. Someone was tuning it. Otherwise there was nothing more than the soft humming of bugs and breezes. Before him like a fiendish monster was his glowing river. Why? Why was it always this place he was lead back to start from? He began to hate it. A sentimental sight it was no longer to him. This place marked all that he had lost and would never gain. Almost immediately he regretted those thoughts for he began to think of Rose and all of their adventures along these paths.


    “Rose?!” he cried out wincing as he pulled his scraped, filthy self up. They had all been traveling together beyond that everything was a blur. He felt hungover and in pain. And behind him was a dark shadow playing his dulcimer within a little circling of trees. “Who is there? Show yourself?”


    There was a little grunt that sounded put off. Then there was a hum that matched the key of the string that had last been strummed, beyond that no answer.


    “Sir, you are a man aren’t you? Yes I can see by the outline of your large shape that you must be.” Sadko continued to hold his gracious tone. “Not that you are wide in that manner mind you. Although in this darkness it is hard to tell won’t you come out into the moonlight?”


    “No.” the shadow responded with a deep voice. It was much darker than the sound of the lighter humming earlier. It made Sadko tremble. He calmed himself. “Such a bass tone my friend. Our chief Ivan has such a voice do you know him?”


    A grunt or perhaps a sneer, “He has no appreciation of music. It is what my people live for.” There was no mistaking the condemning tone from the stranger. It was at least a good sign that they were perhaps still near the village.


    “Oh you are quite wrong. He loves music makes me play it every night and the other men drink, laugh and...” Sadko’s voice died in his throat for he saw that the person’s eyes were beginning to glow in the shadows.


    “And lust.” It began playing a very beautiful song, flowing and original and lamenting. Sadko had never heard anything so enchanting.


    “Have you touched my instrument with magic sir? Are you one of the Fair Folk?” Sadko dared to take a step forward.


    “Fair I am definitely not. Fair lies further off down the river friend.” There was a glint of something, a tooth maybe?


    “Do you speak of my party? Have you seen them? I had with me some very important cargo.” Sadko was uncertain how much to tell this stranger, nor how much he already knew.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    “You have no memory of earlier I take it?” the voice inquired yet seemed certain of what the answer would be.


    “No,” Sadko looked down at the state of himself and concluded that he had been involved in some kind of scuffle.


    “There is someone awaiting you up river. If you wait too long she will come for you.”


    “Is it someone I know?” Sadko guessed and the figure nodded its massive head.


    “Will you relinquish my instrument to me?” Sadko put out his hand and soon the dulcimer was placed in it. As he pulled it forward connected to it was a massive clawed hand covered in fur. He gasped and stumbled backward landing on his duff. He clenched his eyes shut and moaned for he was already quite bruised when he opened his eyes nothing, not even a shadow was there.


    “I am growing weary of the madness of this wood.” He muttered to himself. As soon as he could manage movement he set out on his goal to get at least a little up the river. He was taking a chance, if Rose was there she might be injured or worse. Yet it was not Rose he found waiting for him. It was Elena. The lovely image of her was startling to see in the soft night’s haze. She danced wet in the water kicking up spray with her bare feet.


    “Elena what are you doing? That water must be freezing!” Sadko made his way toward her. Still aware the beastly stranger might be near he felt his belt for his hunting knife to protect her of course all items of defense had been removed. This had happened the last time too. After he found himself home in bed relieved of fever he no longer had his silver arrows or a bow.


    Elena seemed not to hear him continuing to dance. She was lost in some other memory of thought. Nevertheless he could not let her freeze to death. Putting down his dulcimer he removed his tattered coat and splashed into the water next to her. “Elena here you must put this on and come out of there at once! There are strange creatures about!”


    He only managed to get her a little on shore before she grabbed his arms and pulled him downward to sit on a log with her. She placed his hand upon his neck and traced the curve of his chin with her finger. He found himself looking deeply in her eyes.


    “Elena, I love you. I think you have known.... that I have loved you for a long time. So you must know how much it costs me to tell you this.” Sadko cleared his throat. “I have lost Rose and am in a state of madness. This moment does not even seem real. I do not know where she is or if she has come to harm…”


    Elena shushed him, putting a finger to his mouth. Soon the finger was removed and replaced by her lips. Sadko was startled by this pleasant response. Given the circumstances it did not feel right. He could not deny that this is what he had wanted for so long. He gave in to her kiss before she roughly pushed him back down into the water. He was surprised by both forms of physical contact.


    “Elena?” He placed a hand back and it sunk too far down with his arm so he scooted a little back to the shore shivering. She sat down on top of his stomach pushing him down further in the water kissing him again. This time she bit as she kissed and cut him. When she pulled away he saw great slits opening on the sides of her neck as she hissed. She opened her bloody mouth above him. He gave out a brief cry at the sight of all her teeth sharp as arrow points. His cry turned into a gargle as she dived, dragging Sadko down to the river bed below.


    “Sorry friend.” The Wolf picked up the dulcimer on the shore and went on his way