The Forest Bull (The Fearless) by Terry Maggert

Author:Terry Maggert [Maggert, Terry]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2013-12-01T23:00:00+00:00

While I was online, reading, the Baron called. He was wearing glasses perched on the end of his nose and a yellowed newspaper article lay on the desk, folded crisply.

“Ring, good evening. I hope I’m not interrupting,” He trailed off, mannerly to a fault. I was glad he had called, and told him.

“We’ve made progress in the past day. It seems that there is movement among certain immortals that we believe are tied to murders here in Florida. I’m not the analytical type, but I am curious. A killer from Morocco has crossed the Pond, so to speak, and is operating here. She’s different. She isn’t anything we’ve seen before.”

“How so, may I ask?” The Baron raised a brow.

“She works near the coastlines. She’s a predator, no doubt, but she doesn’t feed on women. She has been altered, physically, in a way that is new to us. Her nickname ‘al-Ribat,’ along with her description, is unsettling. I can’t decide what she wants other than death.”

“The Archer? A very specific nickname.” It did not surprise me that the Baron understood the term. He seemed to be a polyglot of the first order, despite his secluded home.

“This woman, she preys on men. Yet I have information that refutes your belief that she wants to kill,” he said as he unfolded the old, ragged news cutout. “This is from a French newspaper. Printed in 1948--such a busy year for the world, don’t you think?” he asked, smiling.

It had been a chaotic year. The world had not taken a sober breath after the orgy of violence from the Second World War. Indochina was becoming a cauldron of hate. Greece, Eastern Europe, and the emergence of Israel had stoked the hot embers of war into another act of mass bloodshed. Mankind had not tired of the horrors of butchery, even after the most destructive event humanity had ever created.

“A woman was charged with assaulting a gem trader over a disputed purchase. The victim was a known cheat, so it isn’t surprising that he would receive some form of comeuppance. “

“Was she prosecuted?” I was curious to see how an immortal would react to the banality of human law.

“No, sadly. She escaped after the victim died. He survived the initial assault but was unable to speak or move. He lingered in a Lisbon hospital, dying in silence after three days of agony.” Cazimir glanced at the clipping, refreshing his narrative.

“Does it mention a cause of death?” I had to know.

“It does, but obliquely. You see, there was only one visible wound on the victim, Senhor Lorea. His navel had been violated. And, when he died, as a man of questionable breeding and character, he had no family to claim him. So, an inquisitive physician named in the article cut him open.” Cazimir paused, his mouth a grim line.

“What was inside him?” I wasn’t certain I wanted to know. To be victimized so intrusively was disturbing to me, even though it happened before my birth. This entire event felt personal.

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