Rosehead

by Ksenia Anske

  Chapter 5

  The Talking Heads

  Thud. Lilith heard something heavy fall and roll. Again. And again. It took her sleepy brain a few minutes to process this information before her eyelids fluttered open. Moonlight shined into the room, coloring it silver. The stink of the garden acquired an almost metallic tang. Someone breathed laboriously outside, performing what must’ve been a strenuous physical task. Lilith rolled out of bed and crouched by the window, peering from behind the curtain. What she saw froze her to the spot. She didn’t even feel Panther brush her leg and plop his head onto the windowsill.

  On the back porch, in a pool of moonlight, a stout male figure raised and lowered an axe onto...onto...Lilith blinked to make sure she saw right. Several bodies formed a row. Alfred carefully stepped between them, lowering the axe and picking up severed heads like flower buds.

  Lilith couldn’t watch anymore. Her knees buckled and she staggered back, bumping into the bed. Her heart thumped erratically and her ears buzzed. She sunk into pillows to prevent herself from passing out. Panther crawled next to her, licking her face.

  The chopping noises abruptly stopped. Immediately, a couple squelching sounds issued from above, as if someone pulled something out of the mud.

  “He’ll chop your head off too, if you won’t sleep, little miss,” said a woman’s raspy voice.

  Lilith craned her neck to look and wished she didn’t. Hung on the wall like a hunter’s trophies, a couple severed heads silently studied her. They resembled huge rosebuds, their necks thinning into stems and disappearing into the wall. The room filled with the smell of a butcher’s shop.

  Mortified, Lilith slowly crawled to the back of the bed, Panther right next to her, trembling.

  “No, he won’t,” said the other head. It had plump lips and dark skin. “He said he’d pull out her guts and use them for bratwurst.”

  “Sorry we’re late. Is she scared yet?” A male head broke through the wall with a wet crunch, its black hair parted neatly in the middle. Next to it another one appeared with barely a pause, that of a woman with a very angular jaw. “Norman, you could’ve waited for me. You know I don’t like being rushed. Is she scared yet?”

  “Shh! I just asked that.”

  “How am I supposed to know what you asked or what you didn’t?”

  The first head spoke over them loudly. “I was just saying she’ll get her head chopped off—”

  “And I waz saying she’ll get her guts pulled out.”

  Lilith blinked. She didn’t recognize who the heads belonged to. Without a beat, they launched into an argument.

  “I thought we agreed on the guts thing.”

  “Pfft! Cutting off heads sounds much scarier.”

  “Quartered. You should’ve said she’d be quartered.”

  They kept talking over one another, until the first one shushed them and addressed Lilith. “You’re guest number thirteen, little miss. What an unlucky number.”

  “Zat was lame, Agatha.”

  “Did you try telling her she’d be eaten alive? I find it works best. Also, making crunching noises—”

  “Excuse me,” said Lilith. “Are you trying to scare me?”

  The heads glanced at each other worryingly, and appeared to have promptly gone to sleep. Or fallen dead, for that matter.

  Lilith rubbed her eyes. The heads didn’t disappear. Horrified, she wanted to reach out and touch them, to make sure her mind wasn’t tricking her. Blood didn’t scare her. She helped her father deliver countless puppies, including Panther, who presently whimpered much like an ordinary dog.

  Lilith stared at the wall. Nothing happened. After another eternity, she slunk closer to take a better look. “Panther? I think they’re part of the mansion.”

  “That much is obvious,” Panther grumbled. “However, as exciting as this discovery is, I rather prefer sleeping with Bär from now on.” He crawled to the edge of the bed.

  “Stop it.” Lilith caught him. “You’re not going anywhere.” She held him tight, ignoring his protests. “If they’re part of the mansion, then it wasn’t my grandfather chopping them off, and those were not real bodies. This mansion, it doesn’t just move, it can take on a shape of other people. Why do you think it’s trying to scare me? She looks familiar...” Lilith pointed to the hook-nosed head.

  “I didn’t sign up for this,” mumbled Panther.

  “I can’t remember where I saw her. Where did I see you?”

  The head didn’t answer, taking in the room with dead calm.

  “Panther, listen. This is important. I need you to tell me something,” said Lilith seriously. “All of this is real, isn’t it?” She pinched herself.

  Panther grinned. “Nope.”

  “What do you mean, no?”

  “It’s a terrible fruit of your imagination.”

  “Panther,” Lilith warned.

  “What? I’m very upset, okay? You promised me steak, and I still haven’t gotten it. Your grandfather is a creep. There are no dogs to run around with. And no, Bär does not count as a dog. I can’t find any clean smelling bushes to pee on. So here I am, trying to sleep it off, when this racket wakes me up from a dream. It was the most beautiful dream I’ve ever seen! I was chasing squirrels, a dozen fat, juicy squirrels.” He rolled up his eyes. “Then I caught them, they tasted like—”

  “Panther Bloom Junior,” Lilith interrupted. “Answer me this second. Are they real,” she said, pointing at the heads, “or am I going crazy?”

  “Why don’t you touch one and find out?” He sneered.

  “Oh, is this what you want me to do? Okay, I’ll touch one. No, wait. I will take one off the wall, I take all of them off—” She broke off.

  A series of slurping noises emanated from the garden.

  “The bodies!” they exclaimed, and rushed to the window.

  The staircase gleamed, no sign of the bodies or blood, nothing. A few sucking gulps reached them from behind. Lilith and Panther wheeled around. The heads sunk into the wall like they were disappearing into a bog.

  “Hey! Wait!” Lilith called. By the time she jumped on the bed, they vanished. She touched the wall, apprehensively at first, then banged on it in frustration.

  “I’m trying to sleep!” shouted an elderly voice. “Is it not enough for you to barge into the bathroom? This is not a hotel, young mädchen. This is a private residence. This—”

  Lilith covered her ears, waiting for the old lady to shut up. She trotted back to the window and leaned out, pondering. “What do you think all of this means?”

  “Can we talk about something else? Squirrels, for example?”

  “My dear Watson, I humbly ask you to give me your most astute opinion. As I recall, you have agreed to participate in this investigation. You gave me your word.”

  Panther scratched behind his ear, making thumping noises every time his leg missed.

  “Panther?”

  “I think I have fleas. Do you think I have fleas? I heard German fleas bite worse than—”

  “Stop evading my question!”

  “Can’t a dog scratch himself? I thought you figured it out already. It’s elementary, isn’t it?” He tilted his head.

  “What’s elementary?”

  “The mansion likes you because you don’t get scared easily.”

  “And...?” said Lilith impatiently.

  “And...I think it’s unhappy about something. Something your creepy grandfather is doing. It’s egging you on, to see how far you’ll go. It must be all connected with that stinky woman-thing.”

  Lilith looked stunned, as if struck by a flash of genius. “I got it.”

  “Do you, now?”

  Lilith chewed on a stray lock of hair. “What if grandfather invited everyone to this family reunion not to honor grandma’s memory, but because he needs fresh bodies for the garden? What if it’s not the house that’s carnivorous but the garden? What if it feeds on people?” Lilith gasped. “That’s it. Remember, he uses some secret fert
ilizer for his roses, something no other gardener has been able to replicate? Of course no other gardener can replicate it. Panther, he’s a murderer. He kills people and buries them in the garden. Like plant food. That’s why it stinks.” Lilith trembled. “We need to stop him.”

  “We?”

  “You said you’d help!” Lilith said, exasperated.

  “We have no facts. This is a mere speculation. Besides, it’s not exactly my view of a vacation. I didn’t know it would involve sniffing out dead bodies.”

  “But you’re a dog! You like sniffing dead things, don’t you?”

  Panther didn’t get a chance to answer. Adventure fever overcame Lilith. “We’re going to work as a team, like Holmes and Watson. I’ll give you little tasks to do. While you carry them out, I will—”

  Panther coughed politely. “May I interject?”

  “Sketch out a plan of action. I think I’ll start with—”

  Panther coughed louder.

  “You’re interrupting me.” Lilith glanced at her pet with irritation.

  “You forgot one tiny, insignificant detail.”

  “And what’s that?”

  Panther puffed out his chest. “I did not realize the full scope of this affair. In light of recent changes that seem to have significantly added to my workload, I request an increase in wages. I absolutely insist. One steak is not enough. It’s a joke.”

  Lilith folded her arms. “A joke, is it? I didn’t realize how utterly materialistic you are. All right. Fine. What else do you want?”

  “I’d like a new leash,” Panther growled.

  “Okay.”

  “And a new bed. The old one is falling apart.”

  Lilith thought about it. “Okay. A new leash and a new bed.”

  “And that jacket we saw at the store.” Panther pushed his luck, blinking innocently.

  “That pink one?” Lilith raised her eyebrows.

  “So? Pink is my favorite color. Besides, it’s more blush. Very delicate. Matches my tongue.”

  Lilith looked at him in disbelief. “I’m hearing this from a dog. Fascinating. Anything else, while you’re at it?”

  “Certainly. One hour walks, not your usual thirty minutes. I want sixty minutes, not a minute less. And I get to chase squirrels. Off-leash.”

  “Fine,” Lilith sighed. “After we get home I’ll save up to get you a new bed and a new leash and a new jacket. And I’ll take you on hour-long walks.”

  “Every day,” Panther supplied.

  “Every day. Do we have a deal?”

  “Yes. We most certainly do.” Panther properly stretched out his paw and Lilith properly shook it.

  First sunrays broke over the horizon, coloring the sky a timid shade of rouge. Lilith yawned. Panther yawned and leaped onto the bed. “Are we done? Can we go to sleep now?” Without waiting for an answer, he wiggled under the blanket and lay still.

  Lilith joined him, exhausted yet too agitated to relax. The rest of the night she spent in a series of fits accompanied by angry growls from her pet, who escaped to the floor, leaving his friend to toss and turn. No matter how hard Lilith tried to make her brain stop, it kept coming up with one idea after another, letting her doze off for an hour here, an hour there, until it was time to get up.

  Chapter 6

  On The Scent

  Lilith plodded to the bathroom. Loudly knocking before entering, she jumped into the shower, not so much to wash off the dirt, but to think. Running water calmed her mind, helping her map out the day. She needed to scrutinize the rose garden, to examine its every alley, spy on its every shadow, smell, and sound. She hoped to hear the woman-thing again, but this time she’d be prepared. Panther would sniff out potential locations of buried bodies, and she’d go look for Ed. There also remained the unknown of yesterday’s announcement.

  Lilith looked around to make sure nobody could hear her. “I wonder what my treacherous sleazebag of a grandfather might have announced that was so important?”

  Without warning, the bathroom moved. Screeching, it sped up, then down, then stopped, shaking like a wet animal.

  Lilith held on to the shower door. “Oh, you don’t like him either?”

  The bathroom didn’t answer, only stretched a little, cracking its joints.

  “I understand. If you don’t want to talk about him, that’s fine.” Unperplexed, she turned off the water, wrapped herself in a towel, and opened the door.

  “Excuse me if I interrupted your routine. But thank you, and good morning,” she said politely to the mansion at large.

  Lilith chose a proper detective outfit: black jeans, black Mary Janes, black cardigan, and black beret. She checked herself in the mirror and nodded.

  “Panther.” She shook the whippet.

  He yawned. “What? Go away. I’m on vacation.” He covered his nose with both paws.

  “Panther Bloom—” Footsteps in the corridor startled Lilith. “My medicine!” She grabbed the vial, shook out a capsule and twisted it open. Inside resided the powdered drug that was supposed to make her pay attention in class. She despised it. It dulled her senses, made her feel stupid and sluggish, and turned life boring. Smells lost their intensity, houses stopped moving, and her heart slowed down. It also caused insomnia, requiring her to take sleeping pills. She slept but saw no dreams.

  To sum it up, on pills Lilith didn’t feel herself.

  She ran to the bathroom, dumped the powder out of two capsules, closed them, flushed the toilet, and returned just in time for her mother to enter.

  “You’re awake!” Gabby said, astounded. “And dressed.” She took a lock of Lilith’s hair, feeling it like yarn. “And you took a shower without me reminding you.”

  “Good morning to you too, Mother,” Lilith said nicely. “You will be pleased to know that I’m planning to socialize today. I want to get to know every guest, to make a good impression. To compensate for my atrocious behavior.”

  “Really?” Her mother looked surprised.

  “Really. And I’m taking my pills like you asked me to.”

  She needed to get her mother out of the way today. Exaggerating every gesture, Lilith placed two empty capsules on her tongue, grabbed a bottle of water from the bedside table, took a swig, and swallowed.

  “I can’t believe my eyes. What changed overnight?”

  “Um...” Lilith started, very tempted to say, Well, grandfather woke me up with chopping noises. He decapitated dead people with an axe. Then their heads appeared on the wall and wouldn’t shut up, not letting me sleep. Then I discussed with Panther, who can talk by the way, how we’re going to stop grandfather from murdering more innocents, because we think—well, I think—he feeds them to the garden. That’s what makes his roses so bloody red. Naturally, we devised a plan to uncover his true intentions for the Bloom family reunion. Aside from this, and aside from the fact that the garden’s stench makes me want to puke, nothing else significant happened.

  “Perhaps I was bitten by a flea? A German flea? I heard German fleas bite worse than American ones,” Lilith said, staring at Panther who stretched, wagging his tail. He pretended he didn’t hear. Gabby did, however.

  “Lilith!” she chastised her daughter. “That’s not a very sensible thing to say. Germany is the land of your ancestors. You have to respect your roots. Blooms date back to the thirteenth century, to Ludwig Bloom—”

  “Who traveled to Berlin and discovered a wild rose garden,” Lilith finished. “Mom, I know. I’m just—can we go eat? I’m hungry.” Her stomach grumbled in agreement, having seen only a morsel of breakfast the day before. That, coupled with a lot of running around, made Lilith a very ravenous girl.

  “We’ll have breakfast in a minute.”

  “Mom? Where is dad?”

  “Busy.”

  “Busy doing what?”

  “He’ll join us later, don’t worry. We wanted to talk to you,” Gabby continued, “but your grandfather—he’s very pleased that you’ve shown such an avid interest in his garden.
I’m talking about your escapade yesterday. I have an entirely different opinion about that, by the way. We will talk about it, missy, don’t think I’ll forget. Wait. I’ve lost my train of thought.” She pressed on her temples. “Ah, yes. Your grandfather. He wants to spend the whole day with you. He has something important to tell you.”

  Lilith’s heart sunk.

  “Be nice. Eat fast, please. He’s waiting for you in the garden.” Gabby pushed up her glasses. “He wants to tell you about his announcement. Personally.” She smiled. It meant that the matter was serious.

  Lilith swallowed, feeling dizzy. “Why can’t you tell me?”

  “Lilith, are you listening? He’s taking you on a garden tour. It’s an honor, and I expect you to behave.” Gabby fixed a knitting needle behind her ear. “Anyway, your dad wants to go to a whippet race. We’ll have breakfast in Berlin and be back by dinner. You okay?” Gabby asked, her knitting needle falling as she bent to examine her daughter.

  Lilith paled. The prospect of spending an entire day with her grandfather after deducing that he might be a murderer sucked all the courage from her almost thirteen-year-old heart. What could be so important about this announcement? Panther, always aware of Lilith’s moods, pawed on her jeans until she picked him up. His warmth made her feel better.

  “Yeah, fine. Just hungry.”

  “You sure? You don’t look so good.”

  Panther coughed, producing something close to, Said the queen of the ugly.

  Lilith pinched him. “I’m fine. Can we please go?”

  “Okay then.” Gabby turned on her heels, blatantly ignoring Panther, who didn’t suffer much, blatantly ignoring her in turn.

  On unbending legs, Lilith followed her mother into the vestibule. From here she could see guests already milling about in the dinner hall, piling plates high with waffles, spooning yogurt into bowls, and pouring coffee. Gabby quickly pecked her good-bye, Daniel waved from their rental car, and they took off.