In the Teeth of It

by K A Miltimore

  Harley laughed again and this time all of them joined in.

  “Ok, time for a little smash and grab. Put your hoods on and get a mask from Randy.” Harley signaled for Randy, who pulled out a plastic bag that had Halloween masks. Harley reached in and grabbed one that looked like the Joker.

  “Let’s go smash things up.”

  Dylan grabbed the last mask, disappointed that he was left with Iron Man. He tied his sweatshirt hood tight around his face and grabbed some rocks from Harley’s bag. He couldn’t wait to hear the glass shatter.

  The kids rounded the corner from the small alley where they had put on their masks, following Harley’s lead. The shop closest to them had soaps and lotions, and Dylan thought the name was hilarious; who named a store the Owl and the Jam Jar? Harley took his bat and smashed the window, glass shards flying into the air and scattering on the sidewalk at their feet. Dylan was glad he was looking through the plastic slits of the Iron Man’s mask since it kept the glass away from his face.

  The window display had nothing that any of them wanted but that wasn’t really the point. It was the destruction, the wonderful sound of smashing and breaking with nothing and no one to stop them. Harley pulled bottles from the wooden shelves and was stomping them into oblivion, the scent of fruit and honey splattered against the ground and the walls, even into the tiny nose holes of Dylan’s mask. It wouldn’t be long before their presence was known; they would have to keep moving if they were going to smash up the whole street.

  “What’s next?” Dylan heard Randy’s muffled voice from his mask, which was Spiderman. Harley was having all the fun and the others wanted in on the action.

  “Next door, smash it up.” Tamara’s voice came out from the Ninja Turtle mask she had on and it sounded so harsh that Dylan almost didn’t recognize it. He liked the sound of her, all gruff and mean.

  Dylan had a crowbar inside his jacket, and he thought it was time to smash some glass for himself. He brushed past Harley, who was still stomping bottles of lotion, and raised the bar to throw it into the window. He had plans for lighting the mannequin in the fuzzy sweater on fire and he could almost imagine how good the burning plastic would smell. His arm was high above his head, ready to strike, when someone grabbed it.

  It was Harley.

  “No. Not that one. Leave that one alone.” Harley’s jeans were soaked in lotion up to his knees.

  “What for?” Dylan could taste his disappointment; it was fogging the inside of his mask.

  “Not that one, okay? I just got a feeling. We shouldn’t do that one. Leave it alone and move on.” Harley’s voice left no room for argument. Dylan felt sure if he disobeyed, Harley would be stomping him into the pavement instead of lotion bottles.

  “Weirdo. Whatever. I’m moving on.” Dylan shrugged like he didn’t care but secretly, inside his mask, he was grimacing at Harley and making terrible faces of rage. How dare he tell Dylan what to smash? It wouldn’t be long before Dylan would get even with him and then he’d be back to finish things off at that stupid store with the Red Bat on the front door. What made that store so special?

  When Harley’s back was turned, Dylan stepped forward and put his hand on the door handle. A wave of revulsion coursed through him; he could taste the bile rising in his mouth. He couldn’t have moved his hand any faster if it had been on fire.

  “Dylan, you coming?” he heard Tamara’s muffled voice calling to him.

  “Yeah, I’m coming.” He shuddered slightly and followed the trio down the street.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Saturday arrived after an awkward evening and Hedy was grateful it was behind her. Yami had barely appeared before she found an excuse to head back to her room. Raluca had gone to her room as well after passing on the Hungarian goulash as too spicy and inauthentic. It was just as well as far as Hedy was concerned; she was still tired from her donation to Raluca and she needed sleep. She had closed up shop early and fallen into a deep but troubled sleep. She was glad at least there had been no more nightmares. She’d had her fill of foxes.

  Today would be a busy one. They had to pack up all the baking as well as the giant pyramid and get over to the expo hall by three o’clock to set up. Darro promised he would be over an hour early to help with the loading and Mel was going to meet them at the hall after picking up Anahita at the train station in Auburn and bringing her into town for the day.

  Hedy was also quite excited, if she were being honest with herself, to see Michael again. She hoped she would have an opportunity to wander by his stall, wearing her new outfit.

  “Hedy, have you noticed…I mean, I don’t know why you would, it probably isn’t important. But have you noticed the crows outside?” Alice was perched by the open window in the kitchen where she had just come in from.

  “Crows? No, Alice, I haven’t noticed. Do you mean right now?” Hedy gave a peek out into the dark morning light, but she saw nothing.

  “Yes. I mean no. I mean yes and no. They started arriving last night and there are more today.”

  “Hmmm, no I can’t say I have noticed. I wonder if there is a dead animal in the yard that is attracting them.” Hedy thought of Ren and hoped it wasn’t him.

  “No, I don’t think so. I would likely smell it and I don’t smell it, so I don’t think so. They are just sitting near the house, watching.” Alice gave a little shudder.

  “Well, can you ask them what they want?” Hedy didn’t know if that was even possible, but she assumed birds in different species had way to communicating.

  “I…could…try but you know crows. Or maybe you don’t know crows but I know crows and they are so…snooty. Really unlikeable birds, if you ask me. But I suppose there is no harm in trying.” Alice gulped slightly. The harm might be that they would try to eat her, or at least that was her worry.

  “Well, don’t put yourself to any bother over it, Alice. Maybe they are just resting up to fly somewhere else. If they start causing trouble, we can deal with it then. Have some breakfast and take your mind off it.” Hedy put out a small plate of granola for Alice and she hopped down to the table.

  “Yes, I suppose it could be nothing, just me being silly. Silly Alice,” she chirped and tucked into the granola. There was likely nothing going on, Alice told herself. It wasn’t as if she was a smart bird, she knew that, so why would she be noticing anything that was really peculiar or dangerous. Surely, Hedy or even Zelda would know far faster than she would. Silly Alice, she thought.

  “Just the same, I’ll take a little walk outside to see what I see. Thank you for keeping an eye on the house. It is always good to have someone on watch.” She gave Alice a light stroke on her back feathers and Alice chirped again.

  “Of course, Hedy, any time. But you should ask that clever Zelda to take a look. Zelda would know straight away.”

  “Yes, maybe I’ll do that. Thank you, Alice.” Hedy poured her cup of coffee and headed toward the front of the house. It was just light enough outside that she should be able to see what Alice was on about.

  It was cold and damp out; the kind of cold that quickly gets inside your bones. Hedy pulled her cardigan around her a little tighter and carefully stepped down the stairs toward the garden. She would have to ask Darro to add some rubber treads to the stairs, so they weren’t so slick in the rain.

  Sure enough, the large tree in the yard did have an extraordinarily large number of crows. They were perched silently in the tree, still and watching. Even when she came closer, they didn’t flutter or caw or even move as if they saw her.

  “Very peculiar. Alice was right.” Hedy gave a few large sniffs to see if she could smell carrion but there was nothing but the damp spongy smell of wet grass, wood chips, and earth. Well, at least that means it isn’t Ren out here, she thought. She headed back inside, away from the cold and the weird silent birds watching her.

  She found Raluca inside, sitting at her usual table in the bakery. Today’s suit was a pale pearl, which made Raluca’s black hair look all th
e darker. Her skin still looked flushed, which must mean that Hedy’s energy was still there supporting her.

  “Good morning, Miss Vaduva. I hope you slept well. Would you care for some coffee or tea?” Hedy forced herself to look cheerful. She wasn’t really mentally ready for more questions or chit chat with the Moroica.

  “Your coffee is too strong for me. I would take a cup of tea, though. Thank you. Once I have met with Miss Sohrab, I will complete my report and be on my way. She is arriving today, yes?” Raluca accepted the cup of tea with a slight nod of her head.

  “Yes, she will be coming for the Christmas market. Mel will be picking her up at the train station and bringing her to town. After the market, she is going to come back here.”

  “That should suffice. I had hoped she might arrive earlier so that I could depart today, but it seems I shall be your guest one more night.” Raluca pursed her lips after tasting the tea; it was not as fresh as it could be.

  “You might wish to join us at the market today; it should be quite entertaining.” Hedy spoke with her back slightly turned toward Raluca, busying herself with gathering up the travel containers. She could well imagine the old woman’s sour look.

  “I will content myself with my reading. I find the ancient philosophers to be quite relevant. As I come closer to my own end, though I have had many centuries to prepare for it, I find myself seeking wisdom in the words of those long gone. ‘Death does not concern us, because as long as we exist, death is not here. And when it does come, we no longer exist.’ Epicurus’ words are as true today as they were two thousand years ago.” Raluca’s voice had taken on a bit of a softer tone, causing Hedy to turn to look at her.

  “Surely you have years ahead of you, Miss Vaduva. I would imagine you will be visiting waystations and writing reports well into the future.” And terrifying hosts, thought Hedy.

  “No, this is my last such adventure. I have known my energy was dwindling for some time, but this journey has proved that I am not physically able to work in the field. It is of no matter. I can work at the Concierge, training the one who will replace me. Another Moroi, naturally.” Raluca gave a delicate sniff.

  “Does the one you are training have to visit each waystation personally?” Hedy could only imagine how long that would take.

  “No, to learn the locations of every waystation does not require travel to them, though it is encouraged. My protégé will be doing much traveling in the days ahead but he will continue to learn the map from me.”

  Hedy was feeling bold since Raluca seemed to be in a chatting mood, so she decided to take a chance with a question. “If you don’t mind me asking, I have wondered something. Since the Concierge contacts the host that a traveler is coming, wouldn’t the caller have the phone numbers of all the waystations right there? You said that only you know the location of all the waystations.” Hedy watched Raluca smile.

  “Clever girl to ask. But no, our callers do not actually dial the number. Each waystation is assigned a code name and the caller enters the code name into the system, which dials the number. I am the only one with access who can add or delete waystations from the system. No one else has the full knowledge of just how many there are or where they are located. A traveler tells us where they want to go and one of my assistants provides the itinerary and code names to the callers, who contact the hosts. My assistants and my protégé know enough to manage in my absence but his training is not complete.”

  Hedy thought she might be pressing her luck to ask anything further. Her suspicion was confirmed by Raluca opening the cover to her book. She had to ask one more thing, though.

  “What’s the code name for this waystation?” Hedy saw Raluca smile slightly but she did not look up.

  “Cookie. It’s cookie.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  I’m here, ready to load.” Darro’s voice broke the silence that had settled over the shop. Hedy was busy preparing, and Raluca was reading. Yami, true to form, was nowhere to be seen.

  “Great, I’m almost packed up. Do you want me to help you load the Pyramid?”

  “Ah, I can manage. I built it, dinna I? It comes in sections, so it won’t be a bother to load. I’ll have it now. Are you feeding those crows or something? The old foosty tree in the front is chock-a-block with them.” Darro peered out the window, though the tree wasn’t visible from there.

  “No, I don’t know what is going on with those crows. I noticed them this morning after a little bird told me.” Hedy smiled. “I thought you might have an idea what is going on.”

  “Nothing that I’ve done in the garden should have raised this ruckus. Perhaps someone cut down their normal roosting tree. You need your cat out there to roust them about.”

  “Well, I suspect she wouldn’t be very willing to take on that job, but I can ask her. Anyway, I’ll finish up packing up these totes and start bringing them to the porch, okay?” Darro nodded as he went back out the door. It took him a moment to remember that in this house, Hedy could actually ask the cat.

  Hedy could hear Darro’s singing over the sound of the pyramid pieces clanking down on the porch. She didn’t understand what he was saying, but the tune sounded like a Scottish lullaby.

  “Mo ghaol, mo ghradh,

  a's m' fheudail thu,

  M' ion'ntas ur a's n' eibhneas thu,

  Mo mhacan aluinn ceutach thu,

  Cha 'n fhiu mi fein bhi 'd dhail”

  “I wonder what that means.” Hedy hardly realized she had spoken the thought out loud.

  “It’s a Christmas song. Christ’s Lullaby, I believe it is called,” Raluca spoke up for the first time in hours.

  “Oh, you speak Gaelic?”

  Raluca laughed. “Certainly not. I did spend some time in Edinburgh one winter. It is a long story involving a traveler, a Wulver, who was causing commotion during his visit. My memory is such that when I hear a song, I remember it. Even when sung poorly.”

  Hedy laughed and surprisingly, Raluca joined her. It was the first time Hedy had heard her actually laugh. It wasn’t a pleasant sound.

  “Well, Darro doesn’t have much of a singing voice but he is a terribly nice man and we like him quite a bit around here.”

  “Indeed. He seems like an…earthy fellow, this Darro. And poor singing or not, it is nice to be reminded of that December in Scotland.”

  Hedy started carrying the large rubber totes to the porch for Darro to load. She was bringing all the treats that she and Mel had been making in surplus over the last few days, as well as a whole container of lacy paper doilies to place on the rough shelves of the pyramid. She had thought about bringing coffee in thermos containers but decided against it. There would be enough to keep track of at the booth without worrying about hot coffee.

  Walking into the entry, she looked at the Christmas decorations and decided she needed to bring a few with her, to finish off the booth, but most of her decorations were too fragile or valuable to risk damage. She gently touched the large bowl of nineteenth century mercury glass ornaments from Bohemia; there is no way they would stand up to the handling.

  “What should I bring for the table, huh, Zelda?” The cat was passing through on her way to the kitchen.

  “Nothing you would care about getting broken or stolen,” Zelda said curtly as she continued on.

  “Some help she is.”

  But Hedy knew she was right. While she wouldn’t want any of her collection to be destroyed, some things were more valuable than others. On the small table near the tree, she noticed the grouping of ceramic elves. They were in shades of pearlescent pinks and greys, with a shimmering silver snowflake on each of their heads, like some strange hat. There were four of them; she had picked them up in a flea market and they probably dated from the 1950s. She liked them because they had a vaguely sinister look about their faces, with their black eyes and slightly sneering smiles.

  “Yes, I think you lot will go nicely with the Krampus cookies. You do look a bit mischievous.” Hedy gathered them u
p to find a small box she could tuck them into.

  “Anything else to go to the hall?” Darro came huffing in, red cheeked like Santa himself.

  “Just me. Parking is going to be tight so I thought maybe I could ride over with you?” Darro gave her a nod; there was room in the cab for her.

  “Great. Give me a few minutes to change and I’ll be ready. Help yourself to some coffee while you wait.”

  “I’ll wait in the hall, if it's all the same to ye.” He lowered his voice dramatically. “That one in there gives me the heebie-jeebies.”

  “She is fine, when you get to know her a bit.” Hedy knew she was stretching it a bit to put Darro at ease, but he wasn’t having it.

  “All the same. I’ll wait here.”

  Hedy hurried upstairs to change into her new outfit from Michael’s shop.

  She took the red dotted swiss dress from the wardrobe and felt the same shiver of pleasure as the first time she saw it. It was adorable and she loved it. What was even better was that someone could pick that out for her, someone who didn’t know her, and have it be really what she wanted. Hedy felt seen and understood, which for Hedy was rare.

  She slipped the dress on over her head, careful to keep her bouffant hairstyle from getting smashed. She buttoned the high ruffled collar and gave herself a twirl in front of the mirror. “Just needs a few little touches.” She had two small jeweled poinsettia clips that she added to her hair and then she slipped into her knee-high white patent leather go-go boots. Pleased with the final result, she headed back down to meet up with Darro and head to the hall to set up.

  “You look like a Christmas elf from 1965,” Zelda dryly remarked as Hedy passed her chair near the landing.

  “That’s right, and that is exactly what I wanted.” Hedy didn’t know if Zelda meant it as a complement or not, and she didn’t care. She felt marvelous.