Rosehead

by Ksenia Anske

  To her astonishment, Agatha nodded. “Az little miss wishes,” she said, and scurried toward the kitchen.

  Lilith pulled out a chair and plopped onto it, smiling. If this was going to be her last dinner, she was going to pig out on her favorite foods. She looked forward to seeing her grandfather, preparing an entire speech in her head that she thought would, if not scare him, then at least embarrass him in front of his guests. Despite the fact that she averted the massacre, she badly wanted to show everyone she was right all along.

  Panther curled by her feet, mumbling something about working up the courage to speak in front of her parents. Lilith remained silent, restraining herself from asking him about Ed’s whereabouts and jumping at every noise.

  Slowly the hall filled with people. First came Trude, then Hanna with her blind mother, and then the Rosenthals with Patrick and Petra, who tried to dart to Lilith but was stopped by her mother. Lilith automatically answered everyone’s greetings, her eyes on the doorway.

  Preempted by the whiff of sour milk, the Schlitzberger twins, in tow with their mother, sauntered in and slumped across.

  Daphne, her round face shiny, leaned over and hissed, “Hallo, Lily.”

  “Lilith.”

  “Did you find more human bones in ze garden to munch on? Were zey tasty?”

  Gwen joined her sister. “Nein, she met a bear in ze woods, but it wouldn’t eat her becauze she stinks. It only scratched her, see?”

  “Or maybe it was a scratch of love?” sing sang Daphne.

  The sisters burst into giggles.

  Before Lilith could answer, Ed—breathless from running—dropped into a chair next to her, evidently having heard the last bit of the conversation. He purposefully pecked Lilith on the cheek, making her face turn scarlet.

  “You disappeared,” she whispered.

  “You. Look. Great,” he said, and then added in a casual matter-of-fact tone to the twins, “Sorry. A boy. Never. Kissed you.” He took a breath. “Don’t fret. There will be. An elephant. Tonight. He loves kissing. Fat girls.” The tirade exhausted him, but the stung look on Daphne’s face was worth it.

  A loud yelp came from under the table. Either Gwen or Daphne kicked Panther, who bit Daphne, who cried out, prompting her mother to pick up the thrashing whippet by the tail, which in turn caused Lilith to spring to her beloved pet’s rescue, together with Ed. The commotion would’ve escalated, if not for Alfred. He strolled into the hall, Agatha on his heels with Lilith’s specially made breakfast and a bowl of steak.

  “Put him down, Irma, today is a special day,” he said authoritatively.

  “But Alfred, zis hund bit my daughter! Iz not supposed to be in ze dinner hall.” She reluctantly lowered the dog into Lilith’s hands, who put him on her lap for safe keeping.

  Gabby and Daniel walked in, engrossed in conversation.

  “Please, sit down. Let us eat,” said Alfred.

  Guests obediently dug in, gossiping and throwing baffled glances at the girl who inherited Bloom & Co.

  Lilith didn’t pay them much attention. Ravenous, she swallowed her omelet in minutes and had to suppress a belch. Ed delicately picked at his food next to her. The twins chewed with fierce determination.

  Alfred struck his glass with a spoon.

  “My dear guests! Today is the last day we get to spend together,” he said, making Lilith’s bones chill. “I must tell you, it has been my tremendous pleasure seeing you all at my mansion. I dare to think that I’ve been able to provide you with enough entertainment”—he glanced at Lilith accusingly—“but it’s not over yet. As you are all aware, tonight there will be a good-bye carnival, in memory of my late wife Eugenia Bloom, and to celebrate the legacy of the Bloom family. I have invited a traveling circus that will perform in front of the mansion.”

  “Alfred, what happened yesterday? I say, you locked us up on purpose!” said Norman, brandishing his wine glass.

  “We couldn’t go shopping!” complained Irma.

  Other guests added commentary in German.

  “Why did you leave?” Lilith whispered to Ed.

  “Sorry. Had to. Have plan.”

  “You do? I have a plan, too. Watch.” Eager to showcase her idea, Lilith disregarded Ed shaking his head no and focused on her grandfather. It didn’t matter anymore what he said or did, but she wanted to repair her reputation.

  “Ah, yes. I apologize for doing that to you, my dearies,” Alfred droned. “It was a necessary precaution to get the garden ready. You see, there will be a surprise ceremony tonight.”

  He gazed at Lilith, whose heart fluttered like a dying animal. She just now realized that he planned on disposing of his own son as well as the other guests. This knowledge made her want to puke.

  “As is our tradition, we will have the crowning of the new Bloom heir, to make it official, if you will. I’m sure all of you were wondering where our heir disappeared to yesterday. Well, we needed to keep it a secret. Lilith was helping me. In fact, she demonstrated an incredible willingness to learn all about the art of growing roses, choosing to spend almost an entire night in the garden as part of our preparation for the carnival.”

  “What? You never said she was helping you,” said Daniel sharply.

  “Why didn’t you just tell us?” Gabby added. “You put us through a horrible ordeal.”

  “Please, let me finish.” A muscle on Alfred’s face twitched. “I apologize for not telling you earlier. It was our secret to keep, mine and Lilith’s. She couldn’t hold to it and acted out part of her performance yesterday. Didn’t you, my dear girl?”

  Speechless, Lilith struggled to process the audacity her grandfather had to lie like this in front of his own family.

  “Wait. I don’t understand,” said Daniel.

  Alfred spoke over him, his voice turning silky. “I’ll explain later. You see, we got carried away. As much as I advised Lilith to take a break, she continued pruning, which is hard and unforgiving work. You may have noticed the scrapes she has suffered from the thorns. But we still had fun, didn’t we? We’re sorry we had to fool you all.” His eyes sparkled with a delirious glee that bordered on madness.

  Lilith exchanged a terrified glance with Ed.

  A collective sigh of relief rippled over the table as the information sunk into people’s minds. Gabby and Daniel, however, were engaged in a heated argument, her holding him back as he tried to get up.

  Lilith had to act. She gently put Panther on the floor and stood, looking directly into Alfred’s eyes.

  “No. Don’t.” Ed yanked on her sleeve. Panther bit her ankle lightly, to no effect.

  “You’re absolutely correct, Grandfather,” she said clearly, her voice ringing across the hall.

  “Correct about what, my dear?” Alfred frowned. A shadow of surprise passed his face.

  It gave Lilith a boost of confidence. “About the fact that we had tremendous fun. In fact, we’re about to have some more.” As if by accident, she struck a whole pitcher of water. It fell and broke, splashing water all over the floor. “Oh, no! I’m terribly sorry,” she cried out in theatrical horror. “Look, everyone! The floor drank the water!” She now had the attention of the guests, but as she looked down, her face fell. The water behaved as spilled water usually behaves, collecting itself into a puddle. Lilith stared.

  “Oops!” said Alfred, wearing a triumphant smile.

  Just then Gustav stumbled in, announcing loudly, “Herr? Zirkus ist da.”

  Chapter 31

  The Book’s Advice

  Lilith’s plan to showcase the miracle of the water-swallowing floor, and to prove her sanity, fell through. Disappointed, guests turned to Gustav. There were exclamations of delight, the pushing of chairs, the shuffling of feet. The entire assembly got swallowed by anticipation frenzy. Amidst the chaos, Alfred peered at Lilith and cracked a smile so wide that she wished for Rosehead to burst in and swallow him whole.

  “Lilith.” Ed nudged her urgently.

  She stared blankly,
in a trance. “Why didn’t it work?”

  Panther pawed at her leg, blinking in a way that implied, It’s incredibly simple, silly, if you care to entertain that thing you have over there called a brain?

  Lilith only gaped.

  “Need. To show you. Now.” Ed flung his arms about, sending his fork flying.

  “You can tell me, you know.” Lilith frowned.

  “Now!”

  Before Lilith could say anything else, before her father and mother reached her, Ed pulled her away from the table, tugging on her hand. They broke into a run, Panther gamboling at their side, narrowly avoiding Agatha who carried a mop and a bucket. “Little miss shouldn’t go into ze garden tonight,” she said sternly.

  Wiping her hands on an apron, Monika came out of the kitchen, evidently to see what the commotion was about. “Meine kleine Prinzessin!” she called after Panther.

  Somebody shouted Lilith’s name. She paused to look. Ed snatched her arm. “No time. Please.”

  Lilith’s heart hammered. “Where are we going?”

  “Your room.”

  “What for?”

  But Ed didn’t answer, his face set on the task of escaping. They hopped two steps at a time, sprinted along the corridor, and stopped in front of the last door on the left. Ed pushed it open, ushered them in, and locked it.

  “Hey! Where did you get the key?” said Lilith breathlessly.

  “Agatha.” Ed wiped his brow. “Gave me.”

  “She just gave it to you? Just like that? Wait, is there something you know that I don’t, something I need to know?”

  “Long story.” Ed scrunched his face in concentration.

  “Not to worry. I have all the time in the world,” said Lilith, crossing her arms and eyeing the door.

  “Not now.” He touched Lilith’s bag. “Please. Don’t be mad. I looked. At your book. Sorry. Okay if I...?”

  “Well, if you already looked, I don’t see why you’re asking for my permission now. Go ahead.”

  Panther glanced from Ed to Lilith, and from Lilith to Ed, following this exchange with interest.

  “Thanks,” said Ed. He lifted the flap, took out The Hound of the Baskervilles, and leafed through it.

  A knock on the door startled them.

  “Pup, you there?” Daniel’s voice came from the other side.

  Lilith, Ed, and Panther froze.

  There were a few more knocks, the hushed voices of Lilith’s parents, and then the doorknob rattled a couple of times. At last, their voices and footsteps trailed off into the corridor.

  “They’ll be back, I’m sure of it,” said Lilith, letting out her breath. “Wait, guys. Before you do anything, there’s something important I need to test.” She disappeared into the bathroom.

  Ed and Panther exchanged a glance and a shrug.

  Lilith came out with a glass of water, marched to the door, and upended it onto the knob. Nothing happened. She stood, waiting.

  “What. You doing?” croaked Ed.

  Lilith stubbornly shook her head, ran off, and came back with another glass, spilling it onto the floor.

  Ed looked at Panther. “Why water? Dinner hall? What. She doing? Calling heads?”

  Panther nodded to ascertain his knowledge of the mystery at hand. He cleared his doggy throat and growled, “Er...may I say something?”

  Lilith didn’t pay him attention, busy with her task of making the room completely and utterly wet.

  Panther tried again. “I know I promised not to call you madam again, but I wish I didn’t, as this occasion requires it.” He trotted after his friend, tail curled, while Lilith tried surface after surface, pausing by her bed and dowsing water on the wall after a brief hesitation. “We’re all aware of the fact that this floor drinks water. You may also well remember that the third floor sucks blood, and the black room ate the doctor. Whole. Now, we have never determined what the first floor feeds on, did we?”

  “Easy. Air,” stated Ed.

  Lilith stopped in her tracks, staring.

  “Why didn’t you say so before? I looked like a complete idiot.” She was too flustered to continue.

  “Why didn’t you ask?” It was by far the longest sentence Ed produced without stuttering, and he gazed at Lilith, beaming. “I tried. Stopping you. I wish. You’d share your plans.” He huffed and puffed, a trifle exhausted from the effort of talking.

  Lilith only moved her lips soundlessly. She wasn’t used to having friends, wasn’t used to sharing her thoughts and ideas with anyone, even Panther.

  The whippet raised a paw. “If I may add to this observation?” he growled. “When you, um, conversed with the heads upon offering yourself as a sacrificial lamb, I recall you asked them not to do anything naughty.”

  “Did I?” said Lilith uncertainly.

  “Well, you didn’t specifically use the word naughty, but that’s how I understood it. In any case, that must be it. The mansion’s currently pretending to be a normal house, like you asked it to. At least, that’s the explanation that comes to my poor doggy mind. I might be wrong, of course.”

  “Sounds legit,” said Ed. “Your dog. Is genius.”

  Panther proudly stuck out his chest.

  Ed petted him. “Why not. Ask it?” he said.

  “Ask who?” said Lilith.

  “The mansion,” chimed Ed and Panther as one.

  “Oh. Right. The mansion. Er, dear mansion? Is this true? Are you behaving like a, well, like a normal house? I suspect it’s hard to move around all the time when you’re built of stone, isn’t it?” said Lilith almost affectionately.

  The mansion passed a tremor. Not a menacing tremor that warned them they were about to become dinner, but a nice tremor of agreement, as if someone understood it at last. It even sighed.

  “Obviously. I’m losing my mind,” said Lilith, and then sunk onto the bed, thinking that her brain must have taken a hike due to recent events.

  There was a clacking of claws and an awkward growl. “I understand that this is the worst moment for a confession, but I must admit that I was a coward.” Panther hung his head dejectedly.

  “What?” Lilith looked at him. “What are you talking about?”

  “Not speaking up in front of your parents?”

  “Oh, that.” Lilith slid off the bed. “My dear Watson, everyone makes mistakes. I’m being a prime example at the moment. It’s perfectly okay.” She petted Panther’s head. “And, to be honest, I don’t blame you. I’d be afraid too. I wouldn’t want to be paraded into a dog show like an otherworldly miracle either, trust me. I don’t think dad would ever do something like that to you, though.”

  “You’re absolutely and unquestionably certain?”

  Lilith nodded.

  Panther sighed. “Okay, I promise I’ll talk.”

  “You will?”

  “Yes. Friends again?”

  “Positively.” Lilith kissed him. Panther purred.

  Meanwhile, Ed finished leafing through the book. He stuck his finger in and proudly professed, “Found it.” His face exuded excitement, his eyes danced with the fever of adventure.

  Lilith studied him, suddenly wishing herself sick. She hoped her parents were right, that indeed she imagined things, because right this second everything felt normal. She didn’t want it to end. She wasn’t going to die tonight; she was simply visiting a friend in Berlin. They’d pore over books, take Panther on a walk, and watch the sunset. Then they’d visit Ed’s cottage and maybe he would draw a portrait of her. She’d sit on a chair in her festive red dress, inclining her head ever so slightly...

  Panther woofed. The room darkened.

  A gigantic face pressed against the window, its bloody eyes rotating wildly, its foul breath fogging up the glass. Lilith swallowed. She wasn’t crazy after all.

  “Duck!” Ed grabbed her arm.

  “I don’t think I need to, do I?” Lilith struggled against his hold. “She can’t touch me, can she? Since the mansion is going to eat me and not her?” It sounded
strange speaking it aloud, as if she was talking about someone else. She shuddered.

  The mansion bristled at Rosehead.

  She grimaced and took a thunderous step back.

  “Incidentally, this crumbling stone-brain of a house never told you how—um, how to say this politely—it plans on eliminating your glorious presence. Don’t you want to find out?” growled Panther.

  “Does it matter?” threw Lilith. “The end result will be the same anyway. I’d rather not know.”

  “What, you don’t care how it plans to kill you? What kind of a deal is that?” yapped Panther crossly. “I wonder if it will, in the unfortunate case of me extricating something rather unpleasant...” He sniffed and lifted his leg.

  “Panther, no!” cried Lilith.

  “Lilith! Guys! Plan!” Ed snatched her arm, pointing inside the book.

  “And...all hell breaks loose,” commented Panther.

  The doorknob jerked.

  “Still locked. I can hear her,” said Gabby. “Missy? Open the door at once!” A pair or fists pounded on the door.

  There were muffled mutterings.

  “Pup? We know you’re in there. Please, let us in?” said Daniel. He hesitated for a while. “We have the key. We’ll wait for a few minutes, in case you’re, um, taking a shower or something, then we’ll come in, okay?”

  “That’s just great,” Lilith breathed.

  “Bathroom,” ushered Ed.

  They dashed inside and locked the latch. Immediately, Ed opened the door leading to Trude’s room. A strong whiff of soap and elderly possessions that tend to gather dust, and an odor of mold, washed over them.

  “Clever. I didn’t think of that. This is better,” whispered Lilith, “if not for the smell. We won’t be able to stay here for long, before they figure it out.”

  “Long enough,” said Ed, as he quietly clicked the door shut.

  As much as Lilith’s room was clean and airy, Trude’s room was stuffed with everything frilly, from pillows to blankets to slippers to suitcases, covered in flowery patterns of such tastelessness, Lilith thought her eyes would go berserk.

  The muffled voices of Gaby and Daniel reached them. They tried the bathroom door with no success.