Girl in the Red Hood (32 page)

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?"

"The girl who died was my wife." Liesel
froze, but Keegan continued, his voice bitter. "My uncle told the
girl from Ward that her humanity would fill them, and the wolves
would no longer be cursed," Keegan said. "What he didn't tell her,
and what I'm sure he didn't tell you, is that the black magic needs
somewhere to go. So when you marry my brother, we'll regain our
humanity. What happens to the pack leader or his heir happens to
all."

"And me?" Liesel's fingers refused to loosen
the knots, so she stopped trying. Keegan kept his eyes on the
ground as he spoke.

"You'll gain the form that they're
discarding."

"You mean I'll become a
wolf
?"

"Not just any wolf...," Keegan's voice
trailed off. Panic hit her as the form from that morning's escape
lit her memory.

"That beast?" Keegan just nodded. Liesel
tried to speak, but her voice suddenly felt just as brittle as her
body, ready to break with the slightest movement.

"The nectar of the flower you drank isn't
magic itself, but it acts as a bridge, allowing whatever magic or
form from one spouse to flow into the other, and because Kurt's the
pack leader, the magic of the entire pack will flow into you with
his."

"Why...why didn't it work? If she took the
wolf form-" But Keegan was already shaking his head.

"She wasn't strong enough to take it all,
just enough to become that...thing." He shuddered. "Liesel, I
married her, turned her, and then hunted her down!" He suddenly
glared at her. "And now you've sentenced Kurt to do the same thing
to you."

Liesel didn't hear when Lothur returned and
gently threatened Keegan with punishment if he attempted to escape
again. She didn't even notice when the seamstress kindly helped her
rise from the floor. She didn't see her reflection when the
seamstress placed her before a mirror to see how the new lacy blue
gown draped elegantly from her shoulders and hips. The woman spoke
sweet words, but there was nothing Liesel could say that would
fully express the horror she felt from within. Numbness was better
than trying to create words. It was with a hollow heart that she
was escorted from the cabin to the center of town where everyone
was gathered. For it was only with an empty heart, she reasoned,
that she could marry the man she'd always loved before she became
the very monster he loathed.

It wasn't until she met Kurt's eyes that her
hollow heart shattered, releasing a flood of tears. The people who
surrounded her looked uncomfortable, refusing still to meet her
gaze. Even the seamstress couldn't seem to meet her gaze. They knew
exactly what Lothur had done, and though it made them
uncomfortable, the prize of freedom was worth the cost of her life.
They just didn't necessarily want to see it happen, Liesel thought
sourly.

As she stared down the dirt aisle that
formed between two rows of benches, Lora solemnly handed her a
bouquet of wildflowers, the kind Kurt had shown her the day he'd
led her on her first forest adventure on her birthday. For a
moment, Liesel wasn't sure what to do. There was no father to give
her away, not even a grandfather. As she took her first step alone,
however, she felt a calloused hand gently take her by the arm. To
her surprise, Johan suddenly stood beside her wearing a determined
frown. She almost managed a smile for him, thankful that at least
she didn't have to do this one thing alone.

After sharing a long look, they began their
walk down the aisle. As tradition dictated, the groom waited for
her down at the end of the aisle with the Holy Man. Liesel had
purposefully kept her eyes averted until she could stand it no
longer. She knew that once she saw him, she wouldn't be able to
pull her eyes away. It didn't seem fair to have to look into the
eyes of the future she would never have.

The cuts and bruises all over his face
looked less severe in the gray light of the forest day, and most of
his other wounds were hidden beneath the new clothes he wore. He
was so handsome, Liesel mourned. He stood tall, his lips pressed in
an intense line, eyes burning curiously as they followed
Liesel.

Why?
Liesel asked the Maker. Here was
everything she'd ever wanted, staring at her through fiery
golden-brown eyes.
Why does this beautiful moment, this perfect
happiness, have to be so flawed?
They'd tried so many times to
beat the sin of his ancestor, and now both were caught up in a
bottomless pit of sorrow. They would both lose. Man and wife were
destined for loneliness, it seemed.

Finally, she reached the end of the aisle.
Before placing her hand in Kurt's, Johan faced her and gave her
hands a gentle squeeze. It was then that Liesel realized there was
no pipe sticking out of his coat. "Do what you need to do, and I'll
be ready to go with you when you're done," he whispered. Despite
the haze that seemed to cloud her mind, Liesel managed the tiniest
of smiles.

"I'm afraid there won't be anywhere for us
to go," she replied sadly. It overwhelmed her that the lonely old
man would be willing to accompany them; wherever he thought they
were going. He leaned in a bit though, and returned her sad
smile.

"I know. But however far you're going, I'll
be going with you just the same," it was a moment before Liesel
realized he knew.

"But I won't be myself," she choked out. "I
might kill you without knowing!" To her surprise, the gruff old man
just shrugged.

"I've been a wolf too long to do well as a
man. After I lost my girl, I swore I wouldn't let the forest take
another the way it took mine. I'm not going to let this damnable
wood have you, too, all alone like she was." Liesel couldn't help
the swell of appreciation that rose up inside of her. With another
small smile, the old man finally placed her hand in Kurt's before
turning to take his seat. Liesel felt as though she might break,
but Kurt still held that same curious expression of ferocity.

"Dearly beloved," the priest's voice warbled
like an adolescent boy's as he began the ceremony. Liesel
recognized the man from Ward. They must have dragged him up from
the town just for the special occasion. It was clear he was
ill-at-ease in the company of the human wolves. As Liesel strained
to read Kurt's strange expression, she forgot to listen to the
words of her own ceremony until the priest asked if anyone had a
reason that the two should abstain from matrimony.

A sob unexpectedly broke forth from deep in
Liesel's chest. The priest awkwardly paused as the sobs came faster
and harder. Kurt gently cupped her face in his hand.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I did what
you told me not to and drank the potion." Her cries echoed
strangely through the town square as everyone watched her fall to
pieces. Not that she cared anymore. The only person that mattered
was standing before her wearing a mixture of pain and concern on
his face. As more tears fell, he tucked a stray lock of hair behind
her ear.

"I know," he whispered back. Liesel caught
her breath.

"You know? But how?" Again, not that it
mattered.