Elementary (35 page)

But there was something about this man she did not like, and she could not have said why.

Whether or not he had been walking before he saw her, he had stopped now, and was waiting; she could not go farther without passing him, and he watched her every move with eyes that gleamed with an unfathomable expression. Slowly, and with deep reluctance, she approached him.

He was dressed like a hunter—leather trousers tucked into leather boots, green wool jacket, green wool hat, and game bag—but he wasn't carrying a rifle or a bow. But maybe he was one of those foreigners. A foreigner would think that hunting gear was the sort of thing you should wear to walk in the forest.

The hat looked a little odd on his head; he had longish, shaggy hair of mixed brown and gray, although he didn't look all that old. He was clean-shaven, but his features were—well, she'd have called him ugly if she'd dared. But she was only a little girl, and children were supposed to be respectful of their elders. His eyes glittered beneath his hat-brim, a strange yellow-brown. She really didn't know what to make of him, except that if she hadn't been halfway to
Großmutter
's—and if she hadn't been half-scared he would chase her if she ran—she'd have turned around and pelted all the way back home.

“Hello, little girl,” the man said, when she finally stopped on the path, unwilling to get any closer. “What would your name be and where are you from?”

“Rosamund Ackermann, sir,” she said politely. “I come from Holzdorf.” He must be a foreigner. The only way the path behind her led was to Holzdorf.

He nodded approvingly. “And what is such a little creature like you doing out here in the dark forest all alone?” He didn't move, yet somehow he seemed to loom over her, and the place where he stood got a little darker.

Magic. It must be magic that I feel on him.
Maybe he was Air . . . Air and Earth did not get along at all. She gathered her little power about her and inched a bit sideways off the path, trying to move without looking as if she was doing so. “I am going to my grandmother's house, sir,” she said, still remaining polite. “Mother says that she is old, and it is hard for her to cook now.” It was
very
important that a magician not lie! But this was not a lie.
Mutti
did
say that, even though it was not true.

“And what does your grandmother do, all alone in that cottage in the woods?” the stranger asked, his eyes glittering. “Does she make potions? Does she have any strange animals about?”

Oh!
Now she knew why she didn't like him!
Großmutter
had warned her about men like this. They were looking for witches, and if they found any, would hurt them!
Großmutter
had even warned her that such men might have magic themselves and not know it, or pretend they didn't, or tell themselves it was some sort of God-given power.

“She knits,” Rosa said truthfully. “And sews. She has two little hens for her egg in the morning.” She wouldn't tell him about the goat. “And she mends stockings. Mother has her mend all our stockings.” Also true.
Mutti
hated mending stockings, and
Großmutter
didn't mind.

The man looked vaguely disappointed, which made her think that her guess was right. He
was
looking for witches. “Why does she live by herself in the forest? Shouldn't she move to the village where it is safer?”

“My mother says there is no room for her in our cottage, sir,” she replied, which was not strictly true but also was not a lie.
Mutti
had not
said
so, but every time
Vati
mentioned the idea, she made a face. It wasn't as if
Großmutter
was Rosa's
real
grandmother. after all, and
Mutti
always replied with, “But what if your father or mine needs to move in with us?”

Rosa didn't think that was likely to happen. Both grandfathers were vigorously pursuing pretty young widows. She knew
Mutti
had gotten used to having her own little house with just
Vati
and her in it, and didn't want to share, particularly not with an old lady who might be demanding, interfering, or critical. Rosa might be very young, but there was a great deal she understood quite well.

The man made a stern face. “Your father—” he began, then shook his head in disapproval. Rosa began to inch her way around him. “Women should know their place,” he told Rosa sternly. “It is for the man to say what is to happen in his own house.”

“Yes, sir,” Rosa said automatically. She was almost halfway around him, although she had to go a good five feet off the path to do so.

Fortunately, he was now so engrossed in his own lecture that he didn't seem to have noticed what she was doing. “Women and girls do not have strong enough minds to know what is best for them,” he said, looking thunderous. “Women and girls must be obedient to men in all things. They must confine themselves to the tasks that God suited them for. Work in the home, childbearing, and childrearing. They are too given to emotion to make any good decisions—like your mother, child.”

By this point she was all the way around him and back on the path, and this seemed to be the opening she needed to get away from him. She ducked her head. “And my father has said I must take these things to Grandmother, and hurry, and not dawdle on the way, sir. So I must be going. Good day to you! Holzdorf is just ahead of you!” And before he could respond to that, she turned and scampered up the path, putting as much distance as she could between herself and the unpleasant stranger.

She was afraid he might call after her, but he did not.

The forest, however, remained strangely dark, and unusually quiet, as if something in it was disturbing everything. She didn't see a single Elemental, which made her unhappy and uneasy. Then again, that stranger had made her very disturbed, and she could easily see him having that effect on the entire forest. He was just nasty—and if he had been going off the path, poking about in the forest a bit, snooping, well . . . if she had been an Elemental, she would have hidden, too.

As soon as she was sure he wasn't going to call after her or, worse, chase after her, she slowed to a fast walk. Normally she took her time going through the forest, because she liked it so much, but today, well, she just wanted to get to
Großmutter
's house as quickly as she could.

It seemed to take much, much longer than usual, as if the path had somehow doubled in length, although she knew that could not possibly be so.

She almost sobbed with relief when she finally saw the little branching path that led to
Großmutter
's cottage. She ran again, all the way up the path, through silence that was so thick it felt like fog around her, ran until she reached the door, pulled the latch-string, pulled it open, and shut it tight behind her.

The cottage was very dark, darker than twilight. Something was not right.

“Grandmama?” she called into the dark.

The cottage was a single room, with
Großmutter
's bed in a little nook at the rear, which was now deeply in shadow. Something stirred back there.

Something was very wrong. She felt it deep inside her, worse than when she had been in the forest. But how could that be? This was
Großmutter
's cottage, the safest place in the forest!

“Rosa?” said a strange voice. “Is that you, child?” There was a cough. “I am not well. Come closer. Did you bring me something from your mother?”

Rosa took a cautious step toward the bed. It should be
Großmutter
there. She couldn't imagine how it could be anyone except
Großmutter
. “Grandmama? You sound strange.”

“I took a chill,” said the hoarse voice. “Come closer, child.”

Another step. “Grandmama?” She could see
Großmutter
's nightcap in the shadows around the bed. “Why is it so dark?” She peered anxiously into the shadows, her little heart pounding. A pair of eyes seemed to gleam in the darkness beneath the cap. “Why are your eyes so bright?”

“So that I may see you better, my dear,” said the voice.

Rosa shivered at the shadows, clutching her basket. It felt as if an icy drop of water were creeping down her spine. “Grandmama? Something is not right—”

It was a good thing she was poised to flee, because whatever was in
Großmutter
's bed suddenly heaved up and leaped right over the top of her. It might have pounced on her, too, if she hadn't ducked and scuttled out of the way. It landed between her and the door.

“Enough!”
howled the thing as she backed away from it. It lunged for her.

She shrieked in pure terror. And the thing winced back, clapping its paws over its ears, an expression of acute pain twisting its features. That gave her enough time to run for the pantry, wrench the door open, slam it shut behind herself, and lock it from the inside.

She could lock herself in, even though most pantries were made to lock on the
outside,
because
Gro
ßmutter
had had it made that way—one safe place that she, or Rosa and she, could hide in if something bad happened.

Something bad, very bad, like the horrid creature with the stranger's eyes, a hoarsened version of the stranger's voice, the body of a man, and the pelt, paws, and claws, and twisted facial features of something that was a half-man and a half-wolf.

The door shuddered as the thing flung itself against the wood. She wanted badly to just drop onto the floor, pull her cape over her head, and hide. But
Großmutter
had taught her better than that. Despite her terror, Rosa twisted her fingers in frantic patterns as she made the wood come alive, knit itself into the door frame, and start to grow at preternatural speed. At least that was what she was trying to do—she couldn't actually
see
what she was doing, but a moment after she made the magic, she put her hand on the door and felt the rough bark of a living tree instead of the hewn wood of the door. The wood still vibrated under her hand but no longer shuddered. She was safe for now.

But she was also trapped.

She felt along the shelves until she put her hand on the wooden box of candles. Beside it was the box of Lucifer matches. Carefully, she struck one and lit the candle.

And screamed. For sharing the pantry with her was the mangled body of
Großmutter
.

She clutched the candle and screamed and screamed and screamed, weeping with terror and loss.

She screamed until she ran out of breath, took another breath, and screamed more. From the other side of the door came the shriek of terrible claws rending the wood.

The bare tip of a claw gleamed in the candlelight, reawakening her to her danger. Frantically, she put her hand against where the door had been and felt the talons tearing it away. Feeling the power drain from her, she made the wood grow again, and from the other side came a terrible howl of rage and frustration and the sound of claws shredding wood with renewed fury.

She didn't know what to do. Somewhere out there, there were people who could help her, but
Großmutter
had not told her how to call them yet!

She didn't know why she did what she did next. She just
did
it, out of pure fear and desperation. She dropped the candle, which rolled and went out, leaned into the living door, put both palms against it, and cried out in terror.

“HELP ME!”

It was as if a shudder went through everything, and a moment after that . . . an enormous
silence.
Even the thing outside the door paused. It really
did
seem as if everything held its breath—

Then the monster howled in triumph, and every hair on her head stood straight up. She had thought she was frightened before. She was so terrified, she couldn't even shriek. She couldn't even breathe.

The creature redoubled its efforts on her door, and she kept trying to renew the wood, her little strength fading more with each try. She began to feel faint each time she made the wood grow. She hardly had the strength to stand upright, and supported herself against the rough bark of the door—

Then the cottage shook with a crash and a drumming of hooves.

The monster barked in surprise and stopped clawing at the door.

There was another crash, and another, and the bellow of an elk. Rosa knew what it was because she had seen an elk trumpeting one day in the forest. Then another crash, and the entire cottage rocked, the monster shrieked, and chaos erupted on the other side of her wooden barrier.

She fainted.

She could not have been unconscious for too very long, because the fighting was still going on, although it sounded distinctly as if the elk was losing. She curled her fingers into the bark of the tree and tried to will it strength, tears pouring from her eyes.

The elk was going to die. The horrible thing out there was going to kill it. And then it would break through the wood, and it would kill her—

And then, out of
nowhere,
the cottage rocked again; a thunderous roar shook the walls. Rosa screamed. She couldn't imagine what it was—

And then she heard the voices calling her. “Rosa! Rosa!” muffled by the wood.

“Here!” she cried out, pounding her little fists on the bark. “Here!”

Then she fell into a widening gap as the wood parted, dropped into arms that plucked her out of the pantry and pulled her up onto a huge, strong shoulder.

The cottage was no longer full of shadows. The door was
gone.
She got a glimpse of her savior, the elk, with its head hanging but still standing, hide gashed in dozens of places, being tended to by a woman with short-cut hair, dressed as the stranger had been, in well-worn green loden hunting gear. She got another glimpse of the monster, a hole in its chest, head hacked off, and hid her face in her rescuer's shoulder.