At Witches' End

by Annette Oppenlander

  “I thought you went to work.”

  “Staying home to make sure you’re okay. Herr Parker was very understanding.”

  I made a face but caught myself. It was time to grow up and accept that my mother had a boss who liked her. Maybe that was a good thing.

  “Got you fresh rolls.” My mom smiled. “I know you missed them in the Middle Ages.”

  I smiled back. It was good not to have to keep secrets any longer.

  The phone rang. I mechanically smeared butter on my bread, my ears trimmed on what was going on in the hall. After some greeting and a few hurried words too low to hear my mother appeared in the kitchen.

  “They want you to come to the hospital. Jimmy has asked for you.”

  I dropped the roll, my hunger forgotten. “When?”

  “Now.”

  Chapter 39

  All the way to the clinic I sat brooding. My mom didn’t speak either which made the entire trip feel even longer.

  “Second floor, room 207,” the receptionist said.

  I swallowed, my throat too dry to even say thanks. My mom threw me a concerned glance. All she’d been told by some lady on the phone was to drive me to the hospital. What was wrong with Jimmy?

  The hospital room was so bright, I had to blink. The place looked like a flower shop, fancy arrangements covering every available surface. Karl stood near the window, his eyes on me.

  But before I figured out what to say or how to interpret his expression, my gaze was drawn to the bed. Jimmy lay under a white hospital blanket, his face almost as pale as yesterday. An IV ran to his elbow and some monitor beeped in the corner.

  I breathed a sigh of relief because he was awake. Not only that, he was quite alert, his eyes zooming in on my face.

  “Max.” If I’d ever been surprised during my trips into the past, nothing could’ve prepared me for this reception. Jimmy actually smiled. Not a huge smile, but a smirk that actually made crinkles around his eyes. “Come closer, I need to talk to you.”

  I took a couple of steps and hovered. “I’m glad you’re doing better,” I managed.

  He made a face. “I want to be alone with Max.”

  “I’m so sorry,” I said once the door closed.

  “It’s my fault,” Jimmy cried. “If I hadn’t pushed the button…”

  “You may be dead,” I said, recalling Stuler’s chokehold on Jimmy and me. “Did I say anything to you…”

  “I…didn’t tell the police about me…us.” His eyes, filled with remorse and sadness, held mine.

  I sank on the side of Jimmy’s bed, my voice low. “It was my idea to go see him.”

  “Nonsense.” The room turned silent.

  “I’m pretty sure Karl destroyed the game.”

  “He told me.”

  More silence.

  “How is your mom?” I said after a while.

  “All right, I guess. They weren’t close. She’d thought about leaving him. She was fuming mad about him attacking me… and you. I think she’s secretly glad.” A hiccup escaped him followed by a giggle.

  I watched him wearily, trying to comprehend how it felt to lose your father to history, however crazy, however remote he’d been.

  I’d often thought how cruel life had been in earlier times. There was absolutely nothing good about living in the ‘good old times.’ We had to live here and now and appreciate the people we knew, appreciate each moment, make what we had count.

  I’d run off into the game, thinking I didn’t get enough attention only to find out that what I craved most was right here. That I belonged where I lived, among my family and friends.

  My eyes locked with Jimmy’s and I nodded.

  Chapter 40

  Jimmy and I were driving to Kassel, Jimmy strangely slowing down in every curve. The pavement was slick with icy rain, but that had never stopped him before. I threw him a glance, realizing how much he looked like his father. Three months had passed since the hospital and neither of us had mentioned the game or what happened to his dad. After a series of interviews with Histech employees the police had closed their investigation.

  There’d been no funeral, just a hasty private service with close family. I hadn’t been invited. Histech was being sold to a U.S. gaming company.

  No longer boasting about his newest gadgets, Jimmy was a lot quieter and paid attention to me, as if his father’s accident had made my game stories more real. I knew he finally believed every word I said.

  Well, not every one, but we’d gotten a lot closer, spending our afternoons together at his house or mine like old times.

  I knew he really appreciated my newly found confidence with girls, so we hung out with several after school. Next weekend we were going to have a huge party at Jimmy’s house. A bunch of guys and girls from our class were coming and we’d already begun decorating the basement bar room.

  Strange how much easier school had become. I was no longer scared of my classmates or teachers, nor did I have trouble chatting with girls. Except for dealing with memories, I was enjoying myself. The only one I hadn’t talked to was Emma. Surely she knew I was back.

  I really wanted to see her, yet somehow every time I thought about her my stomach fluttered. Why I didn’t know except that it really irked me that she hadn’t even called to say “hi” or at least sent a text.

  I could’ve died getting her dad out. Obviously now that I’d done her bidding, she’d lost interest in me. Jerk!

  “I don’t know why you want me to come along,” Jimmy said as we entered the outskirts of Kassel.

  “You’ll find out,” I said, directing him into a parking slot.

  “Max.” Luanda took my hand and embraced me. “You don’t mind a hug from an old woman?” She chuckled.

  “Never.” I turned sideways and introduced Jimmy. “I want you to meet my best friend, Jimmy Stuler.” Deep down I hoped Jimmy would find comfort in speaking with somebody who’d lived in the past. That it was possible and…okay.

  “Good to see you, Max.” Karl made an attempt to get out of his chair. I hadn’t known he’d be here. He looked a lot better, his suit jacket tailored and his eyes peaceful.

  He’d called me the day after we’d met at the hospital, describing how he’d planted a virus on Histech’s servers. As Jimmy and I struggled upstairs in Stuler’s office, Karl had disabled the game. Not the virtual version, but the time-travel system which was pretty much the entire third and fourth floor. There would never be another Master Level.

  “Hi.”

  I turned around staring into a pair of green eyes. Emma.

  “Hey.” I opened my mouth again to say something witty or at least insulting, but my throat kept stubbornly locked.

  “Why didn’t you call?” she said, placing a cup of coffee in front of her dad.

  I shrugged which I realized she couldn’t see because she had her back to me.

  “I…was busy.”

  “Obviously.”

  Was that a tremor in her voice? I leaned forward to catch a glimpse of her face. By the time she turned toward me, her eyes squinted.

  “Why didn’t you call?” I said.

  “You aren’t the only one being busy.”

  “I thought you would’ve been glad I made it home alive.”

  “I was…am glad you’re back.” Emma’s expression was hard to read…a poker player’s muck.

  I almost shot back some smartass comment, but something stopped me.

  “I missed you.” Where had that come from? I almost bit my tongue but it was too late.

  “I thought about you every day.” Emma rubbed her forehead. “It’s stupid, I know. I mean you come back the same instant, but still. I didn’t know if…” She looked away to inspect her hot pink fingernails.

  “…I’d survive.”

  She nodded. “I pushed you into it. I’m sorry.”

  Our eyes met, all the fury leaving me like a deflated soccer ball. There were brown flecks around her irises, golden sparkles that momentarily distra
cted me.

  “You want to go to a party next weekend?”

  A smile spread across her face. “Sure.”

  Our eyes locked and I forgot where I was.

  “Ehem.” Karl cleared his throat as I returned to earth. Something warm floated around my veins and my face twisted into a silly grin. Emma returned to sit next to her dad. I felt her void like a cold draft.

  Luckily Luanda and Jimmy were deep in conversation. Jimmy even chuckled, but Luanda had shadows beneath her eyes as if the past was not letting her go.

  I knew how it was. We all did. The games and experiences we’d had, the horrors we’d lived had a way to return. Especially at night.

  The party at Jimmy’s place was in full swing, but I didn’t really care about the couples dancing and crowding around the bar. Emma and I, wrapped in our winter coats, sat on the deck, our feet dangling over the side, overlooking the valleys below Bornhagen. Somehow, her hand had snuck into mine as we gazed into the distance.

  “You happy?” she said.

  In my mind Bero appeared with a smirk on his face. What are you waiting for, dimwit? Billy the Kid nodded, his eyes wary and old for his age. Lord Werner’s face was earnest: Make your life count. You can be chivalrous, a squire…a knight…help those in need. Be just.”

  “Yeah.” I bent closer. “Now I am.” Our lips met as I drew her to me, her breath a mix of mint and lavender. After a while we pulled apart, my heart thumping, yet calm at the same time.

  This is what I wanted. This life… here now with Emma. My mom. Jimmy.

  I smiled.

  Author’s Note

  Werner von Hanstein survived his injuries, but his feud with Heinrich von Schwarzburg lasted another three years until 1476. Despite peace negotiations by another ruler, Schwarzburg renewed his aggression and took over Heiligenstadt in 1478, arrested and killed some of its residents and forced the city into submission.

  Oakfield’s citizens bitterly complained to the elector and Schwarzburg was finally removed from office with a golden parachute of 8,000 gold coins. He moved to live with his brother, the Bishop of Münster and Administrator of Bremen, and died in 1481 during a regional battle. He is buried in the Bremen Dom.

  Heiligenstadt’s annals tell about Werner’s bold move to recapture his cows on October 1, 1473. The attack on the castle, binding Heiligenstadt’s citizens to the roof to stop Schwarzburg also happened. Luckily, Max was there to give them the idea.

  Werner’s reputation as a great charismatic ruler and knight grew across state lines to Hesse all the way to Lübeck in northern Germany where he was supposed to have been City Captain. He left his four sons in the care of his brother, ‘Lame’ Hans at Hanstein. It is believed that Werner von Hanstein died around 1485 and is buried in the Lübeck Dom.

  Lord Ott is a figment of my imagination and so is his relationship with Hans von Dörnberg, another leading man who made history abusing his powers.

  Bornhagen did not exist in 1473, but Rimbach did. The Klausenhof Inn, also built a bit later in 1487, is to this day a popular tourist attraction in Bornhagen. All content related to the Klausenhof Inn and Bornhagen is fictitious.

  From the Author: Thank you for purchasing ESCAPE FROM THE PAST: AT WITCHES’ END. My sincere hope is that you derived as much entertainment from reading this book as I enjoyed in creating it. If you have a few moments, please feel free to add your review of the book at your favorite online site for feedback (Amazon, Apple iTunes Store, Goodreads, etc.). Also, if you would like to connect with other books that I have coming in the near future, please visit my website for information on upcoming works, recent blog posts and to sign up for e-news: http://www.annetteoppenlander.com.

  Sincerely, Annette

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