The Brave Apprentice
Page 17
“My name is Marusch. Now come. We should leave this place,” she said.
“Why? I’m not going anywhere until you show your face!”
“Ill-mannered boy. You may regret what you’ve asked,” she said. The pale, long-fingered hands rose again and pushed the hood back.
Rudi gasped. He couldn’t help it. Only the long brown hair that hung past her shoulders in braids seemed normal. Everything else was wrong. Her skin was pure white, as if the sun never touched it. Coarse but sparse hair sprouted all over her face, even her forehead. And her mouth was the worst of all. The lips were shriveled and drawn back, baring a mouth full of long, red-stained teeth.
“Get away,” Rudi whined. He stepped backward and raised his ax to ward off the ghastly stranger.
“I warned you,” she said. “But now you must …” Her voice trailed off and she looked past Rudi. A sound was approaching: footsteps in the woods.
“Lucid Elsie?” Rudi called out weakly. It was more a question than a hail.
“It isn’t them,” Marusch whispered. “It was a mistake to build the fire again—now follow me!” Without waiting for a reply, she turned and hastened into the trees. Rudi paused for a moment and listened with failing courage to the approaching footsteps. They were too heavy and too many to belong to the girls. And something was wrong with the sound, somehow. Something unlike the steps of men. Rudi thought he heard other, unsettling, noises mingled with the steps: sounds like hissing and gurgling.
Before whatever it was entered the clearing and saw him, Rudi snatched up his pack and ran after Marusch. In the dim light, he could just make out her form. “Slow down,” he called as loudly as he dared. She stopped and waited, then gestured for him to join her behind a fallen tree. She tapped a finger against her drawn-back lips. They hid quietly, and she peered over the top of the log every now and then.
“It is safe,” she said finally.
“Who were they?”
“Strange beings that have begun to prowl these woods,” she replied. “Now come.” And she was on the move again, darting through the trees.
Available Fall 2005
P. W. (PAUL WILLIAM) CATANESE was born in New York and grew up in Connecticut, where he lives with his wife and three children. When he’s not writing books, he draws cartoons and works for an advertising agency.
Interestingly, the letters in “P. W. Catanese” can be rearranged to spell “want escape?” Paul figures that’s why people read books like his.
To his readers, Paul writes: “Hope you enjoy them. Don’t worry if you’ve forgotten most of the original fairy tale that this story is based on—everything you need to know is right in these pages.”
Visit Paul on the Web at pwcatanese.com.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
About the Author