“Coll told us,” she said. She gripped Mistress Tailor’s shoulders, and she pushed her away so she could look at her. “He’s on his way back.”
Mistress Tailor’s eyes glistened wet with tears. Her face seemed almost girlish. She stepped back and cradled one arm tightly against her chest. No sooner had she done this than Master Tailor’s voice came booming from the crowd behind us. “Excuse me!”
Alvilda grabbed me by the wrist. “Come on!”
As we made our way up the first hill, Alvilda’s ashen face turned a more sullen shade of olive-gray. I tugged my wrist free and ran in front of her.
My lungs, though ready to burst, inhaled the cool air imbued with an eerie fog that appeared as I came over the hill. The fog burned in my throat and likely kept the castle entirely from view. I was too afraid to check.
When my home emerged through the fog over one last little hill, I nearly stumbled forward. Arrow gave a low-toned growl from the mist beside me. The poor pup was tied to a tree at the very edge of the woods a few yards away, his muzzle wrapped in what appeared to be fine black silken twine. But more arresting than poor Arrow’s plight was the black carriage blocking the doorway of my home.
On top of the carriage in the driver’s seat sat one of the specters with his cloud-white hair tied neatly into a tail, a few curls framing his face, which at first glance appeared to be eerily alluring, but on closer inspection, was flawed and wrinkled. The men may have been much older than I had first guessed them to be. Still, his hair was not the gray, dirty white of the older men in the village. It was a pure, unblemished white hair that retained its youthful silkiness.
The specter looked forward, his hands tightly grasping black silken reins. He didn’t so much as glance in my direction. The four pitch-black horses that stood erect in front of him were surprisingly silent. I hadn’t seen many horses, not outside of the livestock, but I knew that I ought to hear snorts or whinnies, see them shuffling their feet or shaking their manes—something to indicate that they were bored just standing around. These horses gave me the impression that they were above showing such crassness, or perhaps they viewed it as weakness. How have I never noticed before?
Arrow let out a pitiful whine. For a moment, I thought of going to free him, but my heart was pounding, and I was eager to get inside.
I walked past the coachman without a word. Circling the horses, I stepped back as another specter appeared before me. The red in his eyes overwhelmed me, but just for a moment. I moved to step around him. The specter anticipated the movement and stepped to block me. I moved back to push through on my original path. The specter blocked me again. Daring him to try again, I stared into his blood red eyes.
“Let us through!”
Alvilda sprinted up behind me. I hadn’t realized I’d put so much distance between us. Her face contorted in fury, and she breathed hard as she slipped in beside me. “What’s going on here?” she snapped, taking a quick look at the carriage, the horses, and the specters in turn.
The specters said nothing. But I knew they wouldn’t.
“They won’t answer you,” I said, as much to myself as to Alvilda. I didn’t tear my gaze from the red eyes of the specter in front of me, waiting to see if he would prove me wrong. He didn’t move. He didn’t blink.
“This is the young lady’s home,” said Alvilda, slowly and with a hint of threat behind each word. “Let us in.”
The lord’s servant didn’t move. Alvilda and I did the dance with him again, trying to move as one past him, but he blocked us. We gave each other a barely noticeable nod, split apart, and tried to pass by the specter via both sides at once. He moved to block me. Another specter appeared like a phantom from the mist at the side of the coach and blocked Alvilda.
“This is ridiculous!” shouted Alvilda, throwing her hands up in the air. She stood on her toes and attempted to shout over the specters’ shoulders. “Jurij! Gideon! Elfriede!”
A lump formed in my throat. Somehow I knew Alvilda’s impassioned screaming would prove useless. It was my words that were needed.
“Elfriede! Father!” I called, my voice trembling. “Jurij!” I stomped my foot. “Oh, let me through!”
The specters parted.
Facing each other inward, they extended their arms nearest the door to my home to point the way. The mist cleared in the pathway and the door parted slightly.
I stepped forward. The specters quickly took their places again behind me, blocking Alvilda’s path.
“Let me through!” she snarled. She forewent all hope of decorum by launching herself at the specters, wrestling with them as best she could. Sadly, it looked about as effective as a kitten attacking a mountain. The specters barely moved in response to her attack, other than to continue to block her.
“It’s all right,” I told her, more confident than I felt. “Wait here.”