"Kurt?" The wolf paused for a second before launching an even more vicious attack, snapping and snarling faster and harder than before. Liesel tried to get her shaking legs to stand, but when she finally did, it seemed to agitate him even more. She knelt back down so that she was curled up with her knees to her chest and her face on the same level as his. Terror gripped her as she tried speaking again. Her mind felt as fuzzy as the light around her, making it hard to focus. The dizzying magic she felt every time she was especially close to him seemed to double in the enclosed space.
"I'm sorry," she began, saying the first thing that came to mind. "I'm sorry for treating you the way I have lately, for being angry. I know it's not your fault," she swallowed hard, knowing that if she stopped talking, she might not have the courage to start again. "None of this is your fault. And it was never you that I blamed. I just...I just wanted to be the one to choose. I've been forced into this forest...this life time and time again, and every time I tried to choose a new path for myself, I lost everything." The wolf continued growling, but his attacks had turned to pacing, and the fur on his back no longer bristled. For the first time, Liesel dared to peer into the wolf's eyes. It was so strange to see the golden-brown depths resting in the face of bloodied silver fur.
"I suppose you never had a choice either. You were assigned me in a way, assigned to lead these people." She paused, as the truth of her ramblings sank in, filling her with an even deeper understanding and gratefulness for what he'd done. "And for some reason, you loved me. You were good to me without reason...even when I wasn't good to you." Liesel felt her face burn as she thought back to the many days of stony silence she's inflicted upon him in her anger. The hurt had been there in his eyes when she'd returned with Manny, and then when she'd ignored his pleas for her attention. "But just so you know," her voice shook, "I choose you now." She paused and then added in a whisper, "and I'm not leaving until you're safe."
The wolf no longer paced, but had frozen in center of the damp cave. The look he wore was very human, one of pain. Before she could utter another word, the animal dissolved into a cloud of silver dust, and in its place, knelt a man. He groaned as he tried to get up, but Liesel hurried to his side just in time to push him back down.
"Rest," she tried to soothe him as he moaned again, the pain in his voice raw and vulnerable like a child's. As she laid one hand on his head and another on his back, Liesel realized that most of the sticky residue her hands lay in wasn't sweat, but blood. Warily, her eyes traced the blood stains down his limbs to see that the chains still chafed him around the arms and legs. Even his neck was bound.
"You...," he gulped desperately, his voice coming out like sand. "You have to go."
"I'm not leaving you again," she said with resolution. He stopped struggling and stared into her eyes. Trembling, he lifted a hand from the ground where he still knelt and traced the contour of her face. She turned her face into his shaking hand and he pulled it near. His breaths were labored and came out in rasps, and the sweaty, raw sheen of his pale skin showed through the shreds of what used to be his shirt. He said nothing, but the look in his eyes was immeasurable. Their moment was short-lived, however, as the door behind her opened with a loud creak.
"Right on time," said a still, serene voice, as if finding the young woman in a secret cave was the most natural thing in the world.
"You don't have to do this!" Kurt shook his head, gulping for air between his hoarse words.
"She's a good girl," Lothur said, continuing to stare at her in the same quiet, unnerving way he'd looked at her the first time they'd met. "She'll come." Kurt shook his head vehemently.
"I told you! We found a way to break the curse!"
"I heard you the first time. Unfortunately, however, it seems that your way isn't as...expedient as mine."
"Keegan didn't seem to approve of it," Liesel frowned at him.
"If you don't mind, I would like to discuss that at length with you. I think you'll want to hear what I have to say." Lothur gestured at the door. "If I may have a word in private?"
"No!" Kurt tried to yell, but his voice was nearly gone. Liesel turned back to him and gently took his face in her hands, pulling him so their foreheads touched and the usual wave of dizziness flashed through her.
"You've done everything you can to free me," she whispered. "Now it's my turn." With that, she stood and did her best to ignore his screams of protest as she followed his uncle out the door. They didn't talk on their way back to the cabin. She studied the lean man as they walked. He wore the usual long coat she'd always seen him in, but the blood on one of his sleeves told her he'd indeed gotten his hands dirty. She had no intention of trusting him, but if he did have a way to break the curse, she would simply have to tread carefully. There wasn't time for anything else.
"Tea?" He held up an empty cup as she seated herself on a stool at the table. Liesel shook her head. With a shrug, he poured himself a cup and took a seat. As he did, Liesel felt another wave of unease. Kurt still didn't have complete control over the pack, which meant Garrit was indeed alive, as Lothur had told them. But his illness must have been great if he hadn't interfered with any of Lothur's plans.
"How is Garrit?"
"Unfortunately, your little adventure took more of a toll on Kurt's father than I think Kurt expected. He hasn't spoken since reading Kurt's letter." The brief shadow of annoyance that passed over Lothur's face was the only sign that he knew about the Schnartchen flower. He said nothing of it, however. "And before you ask, Johan is fine. Skulking around somewhere, I'm sure, licking his wounds." Liesel must have looked fierce, because Lothur snorted and waved a hand at the window. "He's fine, only his pride is wounded. My father gave him an unusual amount of freedom after his daughter disappeared. He's not used to being told what to do." Liesel considered that, comparing it to the silent, wild man she'd grown fond of on their journey. She was a bit distracted, however, by the intensity with which Lothur studied her as he stirred his tea.
"Why is Kurt bound so tightly?" Liesel finally asked, shifting uncomfortably under his scrutinizing gaze.
"Just a precaution," he shrugged. "It's an unfortunate part of this life, but for his own safety and the safety of others, we couldn't let him run about the town in such a state. That cave was a gift of our ancestor. He knew by nature we would need it."
"But he will be let out soon?" Liesel pressed, ready to use her cooperation as a bargaining tool if need be. But his uncle just shrugged.
"Of course. As soon as he's calmed down, he will be freed." He stopped stirring his tea and raised a brow. "Does that not suit you?"
"I want to know why he was upset," Liesel mustered her courage and sat as tall as she could, narrowing her eyes at him. "And why you locked me up."
"For that, I must apologize. Kurt rather took us by surprise. You don't know the territory the way we do, but your little party had wandered back onto our land. As you know, the month is almost up, and we feared you might run if you, or rather, your companions might run if they caught wind of our scent.
"As for Kurt's agitation, I have a bit of a longer story to share. Garrit was more than disappointed when you left, but I understood your desire completely." Liesel frowned at him in surprise, and Lothur held up his hands. "Honest, I do. I don't know if Kurt mentioned it, but I've been searching to break the spell my entire life. So when you left and Garrit became indisposed, I was free to do some of my own searching, something my brother had never allowed." Lothur pulled his coat open to remove the little green journal. "The people of Ward want this spell lifted as much as we do, so it wasn't hard to persuade them to find an enchantress, one who reads the ancient tongue written here." He pushed the little book towards Liesel, who took it hesitantly. She flipped it open again the way she'd done with Kurt. This time, however, there were new notes scribbled into the margins. To conceal her reaction, she kept her face down as she skimmed the pages.
"Did you find it?"
"We did." Unable to help hers
elf, Liesel looked up. She'd never seen him grin, and even the slight one he wore on his thin face was disconcerting.
"So why was Kurt angry?"
"Kurt loves you," Lothur fixed his dark eyes on her and leaned forward, a new intensity in his low voice. "He would do anything to keep you safe. Actually, he already had when he sent you away this morning, despite the needs of his pack. But I knew you would return," he continued, "because you love him as well. And you have a good heart. You couldn't have the deaths of these people on your conscience."
"What do you want?" Liesel quit fiddling with the journal and leaned back. Another small smile formed on Lothur's thin, pale lips.
"As I said, there's a way to break the curse. Unfortunately, there is risk involved."
"To the Pure Blood."
"Precisely," he nodded. Liesel sighed and closed her eyes. This was what Kurt had feared. He knew she wouldn't be able to resist.
"And that is?" Lothur stood and began to pace.
"When you left, the pack panicked. It took us quite a while to calm everyone, which you can imagine, was no easy task. To appease the people, I decided to make Keegan the heir. We didn't know if you would all return, and there was only a week left after the enchantress had come and revealed the first wizard's error. We quickly marked a new Pure Blood for Keegan, and their attempt to break the curse began."
"And failed," Liesel finished. Obviously, if it had been broken, she wouldn't have just witnessed Kurt bloody himself nearly to death. Lothur nodded once in assent.
"She wasn't strong enough. Fear can be crippling, Liesel. If this is something you're willing to do, you must face the possibility that you, too, will die trying." Liesel swallowed. Of course Kurt would want to stop her from this.
"What must I do?" The small smile returned as Lothur strode toward her in his quiet way. He took the green journal and opened it to the drawing of the spiked, purple flower.
"I know Kurt told you of the journal." Liesel didn't respond to the bait. After measuring her for a moment, Lothur continued, "I'm sure he's also told you of my interest in it. For years, I've tried fruitlessly to understand its secrets. Ever since I was a boy, I've longed to end this...fear, this unpredictability. I despise chaos, and that's exactly what this spell is. It makes one go mad. My ability to do that, however, was nonexistent. But if you're strong enough to do this, we shall both get what we want."
"And this flower has something to do with that?" He still hadn't told her what she was supposed to do, and that made her even more uneasy.
"The flower is usually poisonous, but when mixed with the right herbs, as the enchantress explained to us, its effects are incredible. It can not only draw poison, but magic as well." He pulled a leather waterskin from his coat and took her empty tea cup. After opening the skin, he poured a bright red liquid into the cup, then handed it to Liesel. She sniffed it. It was sweet, pleasant at first, but there was the most subtle hint of sourness that lingered behind the sweet.
"If I drink this, it pulls the magic out of the pack? But how?"
"It doesn't work immediately. When you marry the pack leader, what happens to him happens to all. If you're able to contain the magic it pulls from him, they'll all be free."
"How?"
"The drink will pull it from them, and in its place, your humanity will be poured back into them. But it's a risk. As I said, the last girl sickened and died." He left Liesel staring into the depths of the cup to look out the window. "I told them she was too frail," she heard him mutter under his breath.
Liesel continued to stare into the cup. She had wanted so much for her grandparents' answer to work, but she had to face the harsh truth that it hadn't. Kurt hadn't found his peace, and seemed further than ever from discovering it. With the month ending the following day, there wasn't time anymore for guesses. It was this or nothing.
A small part of Liesel had to wonder if Kurt's uncle was telling the truth. There was nothing about him that lent itself to trust. It had truly surprised her when he'd admitted that his plan could possibly kill her.
"What is your interest in this?" Liesel placed the cup back on the table. She suddenly felt as though she were bargaining for a horse, and the merchant had something to hide about the goods, a bad leg or rotting teeth.
"You mean aside from killing the animal?" He scoffed. "I told you, I hate chaos. Everything about this life reeks of it."
"No," Liesel shook her head. "There's something else you're not telling me. If this drink is possibly going to be the death of me, I want to know everything." She folded her arms and did her best to stare him down and make him squirm the way Bernd had taught her to with tradesmen. Lothur didn't squirm, but after holding her stare for a few long moments, he nodded once.
"Kurt tells me you grew up with stories of magic. I, too, grew up with stories, but they lacked the shine of those in your book." Liesel realized he must have found her grandparents' book in her absence. "Don't worry," he sighed with annoyance, "it's still in your little room, just the way I found it. Anyhow, the only story that ever mattered to us was the wizard's story. It explained who we were. And the others, my brothers and the rest of the family, accepted that. But it was never enough for me." He clasped his hands together and rested his chin on them, looking intently at her.
"You and I aren't so different, you know. You see, when I heard those stories, I wasn't listening to tales about our past. I wanted to know about the world we'd left behind. Trolling merchants' carts every so often in Ward to see what the world had created without us was never my idea of living. But even that would have been tolerable if it weren't for this hellish nature we keep." He paused for a moment, lost in thought. The ever-present cool smirk had slipped from his thin face, and Liesel finally saw a man consumed by grief. When he spoke again, it was as though another person suddenly occupied his body.
"Kurt doesn't know this, but I was born a twin. Mary and I weren't supposed to survive the birth, but somehow, we did. My sister and I were dissimilar in every way. As I had a tendency towards sickliness when we were young, she would often stay in to make sure I-" Shaking his head, Lothur broke off the thought. "I won't bore you with details, but suffice it to say, she was much braver than I ever was, and as a result, I turned before she did. We'd just celebrated our sixteenth year," his voice grew quiet, "when we were out together one day. I can't even recall what it was, but something spooked me, and I turned." Despite her great dislike for the man, Liesel couldn't help but pity him for whatever was coming next.
"I'd never turned before," his voice was a whisper. "When I did, I lost all control. She didn't even see me coming." He closed his eyes as he spoke. "The life you think has been so trying is nothing but charmed compared to my youth. You haven't suffered until you've awakened to find your sister's blood caked on your hands, dirtying your fingernails and powdered in your hair, dry enough that it's already turned to a red dust." He shook his head and walked over to the window again.
"My family doesn't speak of it. It's just one of the heinous parts of being what we are, and I wasn't the first to do such a thing either. So you're right, I do have a deeper motive for searching. It was a game as a child, a puzzle for a boy bored with his sickbed. For a man, it's the hope for redemption. And the hope that no one else will have so much reason to hate himself as I do ever again."
Liesel gazed at him for a long time once more before again lifting the cup. But this time, she drank.
***
If the red nectar had smelled sweet, its taste was sweeter by tenfold. Thick and surprisingly cool, it glided down her throat smooth as glass. Only after she'd emptied the cup did the sour bite hit. Liesel nearly gagged it was so sour. It took everything in her to stay upright and not heave it all back up. As she gripped the table for stability, she heard Lothur quietly thank her before he stood and turned to go.
"The wedding will be in two hours," he said softly without looking at her. "The seamstress will be over soon to help you prepare. I'd appreciate it if you remained
here. It will make it easier to find you when it's time." And with that, he was gone. It took another ten minutes before Liesel could drag herself from the stool to begin her trek down the hallway towards her room.
Just as she reached her door, however, a thump from another room across the hall startled her. Cautiously, she walked to the door and placed her ear against it. This time, she heard not only thumps, but muffled cries as well. As silently as she could, Liesel ran to the end of the hall to make sure Lothur had left the house, and was happy to see him still walking towards the village through the window. Running back, Liesel opened the door to find Keegan bound and gagged, stretched out upon his bed. The young man's lanky body was so long his feet dangled off the edge of the pallet. Liesel felt guilt rise up as she realized he'd probably been locked in for escorting her out of the forest. Liesel tried to loosen the gag first, but it was no easy task. She wanted to ask how he'd been taken, but as soon as the rag was off, he blurted out,
"Did you drink it?"
"Keegan, what happened to you?" But he sat straight up, hands still bound, and shouted again,
"Did you drink it?" And as she saw the terror in the young man's eyes, a new dread filled her stomach.
"Yes." The silence that filled the room was pregnant with unasked questions, but Liesel could only watch him as he bowed his head and his shoulders drooped.
"I promised Kurt I would keep you safe," he finally said in a low voice.
"It was my choice," she tried to comfort him but, he shook his head violently.
"You don't understand. I was here when the enchantress was found, and I heard what she said. My uncle lied to you.
"He told me it was a risk," Liesel said in an uneven voice.
"It's not a risk," Keegan spat. "It's as sure as the dark of night."
"How do you know?"
Girl in the Red Hood Page 23
