Chương 33: Chapter 32 - The Monster

Specks of ice sprayed the air when the sledge burst through a small ridge of drifted snow. The sun made them sparkle like diamonds. The children were riding on the bed. Every once in a while, Jan would let out a peal of laughter that would make me smile, but then I'd go back to thinking about the conversation that morning. Olivia and Conrad had been eating, so we'd gathered in the kitchen. Igor hadn't been happy about that since everyone, even the children, had decided they needed to be in on the meeting.

"A tree?" Olivia said. She looked upset.

"That would explain how they got in," Iset said.

"We welcomed them."

"But Emerra should have seen them that day," Darius said.

"They didn't appear until the next night."

"You're forgetting how weak they were when they first appeared, and Emerra's talents are still developing. It's possible she missed them or didn't realize what they were." Darius said to me, "And you say this tree didn't age or change?"

"Not that I could tell," I said.

"So you could be wrong?" Olivia asked. I felt nettled by her tone.

"It was a long dream. I saw three generations of trees grow and die. If it changed, it didn't change much." The witch went back to looking upset.

"Do they remember coming in with the trees?" Iset asked. I relayed the question to Anna, but she shook her head.

"Jacob? Jan?" They were equally baffled. Jacky spoke up: "The weakest ghosts can't retain new memories."

"If they were that weak, why did they appear at all?" Darius asked.

"I believe the more interesting question is why were they drawn to Emerra. There are many beds in this mansion, but when she woke up, they were next to hers." Yeah. I felt more than a little interested in that myself. I said, "And do you have an answer for that question?" Jacky turned his skull to me and said with bright, unbothered simplicity, "No." It was Conrad who decided to ask the really important question.

"Why would the children be bound to a tree?" No one seemed to have an answer. To my surprise, it was Olivia who broke the long silence.

"Could you find the place again?"

"I know the general way," Conrad said.

"Finding the exact place might be harder." I stammered out with all the certainty of a bad student taking a pop quiz, "I think…Anna…might be able to help us." Anna's head whipped around when she heard me say her name. I went on, "She's always looking that direction. I think she might be able to sense where it was."

"I think you should go out there," Olivia announced. All right. This was getting weird. Olivia tended to be a little pompous and her voice had the perfect timbre for being in charge, but I couldn't remember her ever actually pushing anyone to do anything. She took her role as the apprentice seriously.

"Are you coming?" Darius asked.

"No. I have some research to do, but Emerra should be able to see any magic that might be there."

"Are you talking about the glowing lines and stuff?" I said.

"I can see it, easy-peasy, but I can't sense it. Will that be good enough? Do we need you there?" Olivia gave me a withering glare and left. After she was gone, I put my hand to my forehead and let out a sigh. Darius and Conrad were busy talking details, so they didn't notice. Iset did. She put her hand on my shoulder.

"Are you all right, Emerra?" I muttered in a voice meant only for her to hear, "I'm getting tired of Olivia hating me because I'm stupid. It's not like I chose to be this way."

"Ignorance is not stupidity," Iset insisted, "and that's not why she's upset."

"Then what is it?"

"It's the effortlessness of your talents. You could say you have an unfair advantage. Olivia struggled all her life to get where she is. You'll never have to do that."

"Also not something I got to choose."

"I know. It must be frustrating. Hopefully, someday her jealousy will fade. And, Emerra, so you know, being able to see magic is supposed to be superior to sensing it." Oh. As we rode through the woods, my attention kept shifting between the eye-achingly white scene going by in a blur, and the sense of unease I had about a certain red-headed witch. If it was simple jealousy, I could understand why she'd be frustrated.

Once or twice, during my sickest days, when I'd met someone who was effortlessly healthy, I felt the same. But I wasn't sure that was the only reason Olivia had been so caustic. Anna extended her arm with one finger pointing slightly to our right. We'd drifted off course again. I called out, and Conrad turned. Beside us, Darius adjusted his pace to catch up. Jacob and Jan had begged me to allow them to come.

When I had offered them one of my finest looks of helplessness, they had shown the pure wisdom of youth by turning to Jacky, who never looked helpless and was in charge anyway.

"I have no reason to refuse your request," he said, "but whether or not any of you can leave, and how far you might be allowed to go, remains to be seen."

"You're wondering if they're still bound to the tree?" I asked.

"Yes. But it is odd that Anna can sense where the tree used to be. There's no telling what they were bound to, or if they're still bound to anything." I wondered if looking like an animated skeleton meant you were contractually obligated to be mysterious and ominous from time to time. I would have tried to extract a clearer explanation—or any kind of explanation, really—but Conrad took my arm and pulled me toward the back stairs.

"Time to get your coat, Mera."

"What's the rush?" I asked.

"You want to be out there after dark?"

"Are we going to be out there that long?" Who's afraid? Me? No. My grandmother was a squeaky toy—that's why I sound like that sometimes.

"I hope not," Conrad said. Jacky had advised me to watch the children as we left the mansion, but nothing happened. They never faded, grew weak, or disappeared. Jacob and Jan's laughter made them sound more alive than ever, but Anna stayed quiet. Her only reaction was to occasionally lift her hand to point the way. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. About an hour later, Conrad slowed and stopped.

Since I hadn't called for him to stop, I wasn't sure what was going on. I stepped off the foot boards. As I walked toward the front of the sledge, I saw Anna and the boys start to stand.

"Stay there," I said. The boys obeyed, but Anna ignored the order and continued extracting herself. I don't know why I bothered trying to order her around. If she wouldn't listen to Dominie, I'd have to be an idiot to expect she'd listen to me. I went over to Conrad and knelt down. Darius came up behind me.

"What's going on?" the count asked while gazing around the woods.

"I don't know. That's what I'm trying to figure out." I took Conrad's muzzle in hand so he would look at me. When he jerked it out of my grip, I remembered that grabbing his nose wasn't proper etiquette when dealing with a fully sentient wolfman. Cringe.

"Sorry," I said, "but I can't understand you unless I can look at your face." He did a quick shake-off, then glared at me.

"Well?" Darius asked.

"He's upset about something." I skipped over the second where Conrad had looked pissed. I didn't think it would be relevant.

"Scared?"

"I don't think so." To Conrad, I said, "Is the smell here?" He paused, then nodded. Darius lifted his nose to the wind.

"But it isn't strong?" I asked. Conrad nodded again. Strong or not, Darius drew his gun.

"We should be getting close by now," he said.

"Emerra, do you recognize this place?" I looked around.

"I thought I recognized a few places on the way in, but none of this looks right." I nodded to a nearby toppled tree.

"I would remember wanting to use that thing as a balance beam." Conrad let out a woof. I turned to him.

"Did you stop because you were confused?" He nodded. Beside me, Anna said, "We're close." She turned and walked to the fallen tree. She put her hand over it, tracing the trunk, as she wandered toward its roots.

"Anna!" I stood up and ran toward her.

"Anna, wait!" It was like she didn't even hear me.

"Whatever the monster is, it can't hurt her," Darius reminded me. He knelt down to release Conrad's harness from the towline, then stood up.

"Which way?" I pointed. He and Conrad started walking. I called out to Jacob and Jan. The boys came to me, but their pace was a crawl. When they finally reached my side, we all stood facing the way Anna had gone.

"You can sense it too, can't you?" I asked.

"Yes," Jacob said.

"You don't have to come."

"We'll come! Why wouldn't we come?"

"Okay. Let's go." They walked slightly faster after Jacob's bold statement, but it was still slow enough you could tell they were reluctant. I stopped.

"Jacob. Jan." Darius and Conrad, as well as the two boys, turned to me. I took a few steps and knelt down in the snow. Again. I should have ordered snow pants. As I spoke, I made sure to take turns looking in their eyes.

"I love you guys, and I wish I could protect you, but I'm not going to lie to you. You went through some bad things when you were alive. Right now, you don't remember, but if you keep following Anna, you might. If you do, it could get very sad and very scary."

"It's all right, Emerra," Jan assured me in voice as sweet as honey.

"We know."

"You…know?"

"Anna told us about what happened," Jacob said.

"About the monster." That little traitor!

"And you didn't say anything to me?" I said.

"She said she didn't want you to worry," Jacob said. I sighed and swore to myself that I would talk to Anna about who was in charge. That would at least give her the chance to tell me, to my face, it was her.

"And you're still willing to go?" I asked.

"Anna needs us," Jacob said. I had a few doubts about that, but before I could say anything, he added, "We always go together." I couldn't argue with that. Together, we walked on. Darius went ahead, but Conrad waited for me to catch up. Other trees were laid out along the side of our path. They all pointed away from where we were heading, as if we were walking between the rays of a crudely drawn sun. Or like we were walking along the debris laid out by an explosion.

The count and Anna were waiting for us at the edge of the epicenter. There was a grotesque hole in front of them, surrounded by mounds of snow-covered dirt and the tangle of an upended root system attached to a small stump. I hung back.

"The stump?"

"It's ours," Darius said.

"It's the right size, and it was cut off by a chainsaw."

"Then all those trees…"

"They were upright the last time we were here." I didn't bother asking what had happened. I thought I had a pretty good guess.

"Anna," I said, "is this the place?"

"Yes."

"Conrad," Darius said, "is the scent still faint?" Conrad nodded.

"Then let's see what we can find." The count turned to the wolfman.

"Your clothes are back at the sledge. Do you want to change?" While they talked, I edged forward, easing myself toward the gaping, misshapen hole. As I got closer, the ground became less stable. I felt the loose clods shift under my boot and grabbed onto the largest root of the stump to support myself. The moment my hand touched the root, my vision snapped into a two-layered image. I could see it all. I could feel both worlds.

The superimposed reality was translucent—I could sense the edges and shapes of the world around my body, but it was all vague. I felt nearly blind even though my mind was filled with more vision than I should have been able to see. With shaky hands and shakier legs, I lowered myself to my knees so I wouldn't stumble while the kaleidoscope of colors and movement assaulted my eyes.

"A pencil," I said.

"Get me a pencil and some paper. Hurry!" A shape came up to my side. I grabbed Darius's leg and only knew it was Darius because I could feel his clothes. When he spoke, I had to hear him through the noises of the other scene.

"Emerra, what's going on?"

"I can see it!"

"Should we be running?"

"It's not like that. Please, I need something to write with!"

"We—" He turned toward the sledge. I lost my grip on his leg and immediately dropped my hand to the ground.

"We don't…have anything," he said.

"Then get me a stick! Something! Anything!" I crawled away from the hole and used my arms to sweep the snow away from the ground. I didn't stop until I felt Darius grab my shoulder. He forced a stick into my hand. By then I had cleared off a square yard of black earth to use as a canvas. I tried to draw what I saw, but the creature was moving. A general shape and suggestion of form were all I could manage. The struggling stopped once it emerged from the hole. It stood upright, facing the wind.

The air moving around it seemed to define its body. I could see the face. The antlers. The ribs. The hands. The claws. The feet. When it peeled back its tattered lips from its long face, I could see its teeth. I scrawled the details into the hard mud—as many as I could, as fast as I could. It was all fading. I watched it jump on top of one of the trees flattened by its awful resurrection, then up onto the trunk of one of the trees that had managed to remain standing.

It hung there, thirty feet in the air, one hand around the tree, one foot at the base of a branch, the rest of its body leaning out into the wind. Then it jumped again, and it was gone. As the last of the scene faded, the details of the ground beneath me returned. I could see the tiny globs of dirt dislodged from the ground where I had dragged my stick through the mud. They added a fuzzy aura to the whole picture. The picture itself was a mess. No one else would be able to tell what it was, but I could.

Each line was attached to a glimpse of a memory. I could use it as a guide. With luck, I would be able to redraw the creature I'd seen. I felt better. Less panicked. I hadn't lost the vision. As the adrenaline leaked out of my system, it gave me a chance to notice other things—like the fact my legs were quivering. I looked down, then threw my head back and laughed. Darius stepped up beside me.

"Emerra?"

"And I was worried about my pants before. Little did I know." My pants were coated in mud. I was soaked from my ankles to the top of my thighs. I moaned.

"Igor's going to be so grumpy at me."

"Don't worry about Igor! Are you okay?" I sniffed to keep the snot from leaking out of my nose.

"Yeah." I tried to tug off one of my mittens, but my hands weren't working well, so I used my teeth. My mitten tasted like dirt. I pulled my phone from my pocket and took a picture of the sketch.

"You had a vision," Darius said.

"I know!" I said.

"I'm finally earning my keep around here. Hey, did you happen to see what color my eyes were?"

"What color your eyes…no, I'm afraid not."

"Rats. I was hoping for silver or something. That would have been awesome." I tried to get to my feet, but I wasn't bright enough to put my mitten back on first. I winced when my hand touched the frozen ground. Darius helped me to my feet and used his handkerchief to dry off my hand. A handkerchief. He still carried around a handkerchief. I refrained from mentioning that his age was showing. He grabbed my mitten and helped me put it on.

"Thank you," I said.

"Darius, I'm sorry. I know you probably want to look around, but can we go home? I need to redraw it before I forget what it looks like." The vampire said, "Considering how wet you are, I think it's either go home or light a fire, and I didn't bring any matches. Conrad, can you take her home safely?" Conrad, still in his wolf form, trotted up to join us.

"Are you thinking of staying behind?" I asked Darius.

"For a while." Conrad made one of those dog-wolf noises that's not quite a whine or a whistle because it was too close to being a growl.

"Conrad doesn't like that idea," I said.

"How do you know? You're not looking at him."

"I don't have to look at him for this one. Are you crazy? Darius, there be monsters here!"

"Right now?" I crossed my arms and squeezed them against my chest, trying to keep in the heat.

"Well, no."

"And when it got closer, even you could smell it?"

"Yeah, I guess, but—""We don't have time to debate this. It's a long ride home. I'll be ten minutes behind you, but I don't want to risk missing anything." I watched him for a while.

"Ten minutes?"

"I give you my word." I checked the sun.

"Please be careful."

"I will." I looked around for the children. Jacob was standing beside me, his eyes moving between me and Darius as he tried to follow a conversation he could only half understand—if that. Anna and Jan were standing over the hole, staring into the empty black cradle. I called to them. When they looked up, I said, "We have to go." Jan came first. A few seconds passed before Anna turned away. As Anna got close to me, I saw her face. Her beautiful, fierce, amazing, little face was filled with a quiet anguish.

She looked at me.

"We're a long time from home."

"Not that long," Jacob assured her, "but she's cold, and Mr. Noctis said to be careful." I thought I had a better idea what Anna had meant. I didn't know if the answer would comfort or hurt her, but there was only one answer: "Yes, you are." She nodded. When Jan took her hand, she squeezed it tight. Conrad led us back to the sledge. The kids sat down on the bed while I fumbled around with his harness and the toggle. I looked up when I heard his soft whine.

"Oh, shush, you," I said.

"I got colder than this when I used to go sledding." I finished securing the line, then put one of my muddy mittens up to the side of his face.

"Just get me home quick, okay? I'm counting on you." His whole body dipped in a nod. I went back to the foot boards, grabbed the handle, and called out to let Conrad know I was ready. I gasped when the cold air slapped into my wet clothes.