Chapter Eleven
After giving Fritz and Liesel lots of ear scritches and making sure they had enough food to last the day, Astrid began her trek down the mountain to Baden-Gottsdorf in the gray hour before sunrise. She needed to warn her friends about the poachers and strange magic afoot.
An hour, then two, passed with nothing but her own thoughts to keep her company.
Something had scared Gudarīks. And it was a look she’d seen before, on Demos.
One moment, they were strolling through a Grecian forest, laughing and chatting; the next, she was holding his trembling body after he’d run off and hid within the hollow of a tree. When he finally spoke, he only told her that he spent years running from the Romans who ruthlessly hunted him and his people.
To this day, she didn’t know what set Demos off on their walk, just that it had been sudden and debilitating. To see it repeated in Gudarīks chilled her to the bone. When his hackles rose and he slunk back, pushing her behind him, putting his body between hers and the perceived threat, she wanted to hack whatever provoked that reaction to bits. But she couldn’t slay a memory.
If Astrid didn’t need to reach her friends, she would’ve stayed with him all night. Talk, sit in silence, stare at stars until the sun came up, it didn’t matter. No one should be alone after being brought so low by memory’s long reach. She would’ve held him again, too, if he asked.
Something, or someone, in Gudarīks’s past haunted him. But what could scare a creature of terror?
Whatever strange, ancient magic was at play here was too powerful to ignore, and a threat to the forest god was a threat to the forest itself. Something she could not abide.
How poachers were connected to such magic remained to be seen, but they had better hope Johanna found them before she did. Because Astrid wouldn’t hesitate to do to them what they had done to the wolf.
From the forest, Astrid cut through Johanna and Suri’s open backyard to their renovated, modernized farmhouse. It was an old byre dwelling characterized by its wooden shingles and a hip roof that descended to the height of the ground floor. She didn’t go through town unless she needed to buy supplies. It was faster this way and people tended to get skittish when she was around.
Something in her alarmed the prey animal in them.
After removing her snowshoes and leaning them against the side of the house, she knocked on the door.
A curtain swished in the window to the right, and two beats later, the door swung open, Suri filling the threshold, all beaming smiles. The next thing Astrid knew, she was being crushed in one of their famously tight bear hugs.
“Astrid! My favorite Hexe. What a surprise! To what do we owe this unexpected pleasure?”
From being married to Johanna, Suri knew what Astrid was, as well as what other creatures lived in the forest. Astrid liked that she could be open with them about it. It had taken a lot of convincing on Johanna’s part, and undeniable proof, of course, when they were introduced ten years ago, but Suri now knew the supernatural world was a real one. They’d come from Bangalore, the “Silicon Valley” of India, and as an autonomous aerospace engineer by trade, their world had been previously defined by clean lines, neat blueprints, and advanced mathematics.
“I’m afraid the owl pattern isn’t ready, and that my reason for visiting isn’t a happy one. Is Johanna around? There’s a forest situation...”
Suri pulled back, holding her by the shoulders at arm’s length. Their dark brown hair was tied back in a rolled-up silk scarf, holding thick curls away from their face, and pools of the deepest night locked onto her with unwavering focus. “Are you okay?” Their voice was firm but not without gentleness.
“I’m quite angry, but otherwise, yes, I’m fine.”
They blinked, and with a firm nod, released their hold to retreat into the kitchen, no doubt satisfied with the honesty of the answer. After doffing her boots and outerwear in the entryway, Astrid followed, closing the door behind her.
“I just made some chai,” Suri said, shuffling to the stove in fuzzy pink slippers. They wore an oversize sweater and cream lounge pants, a contrast to their dark brown skin. “Help yourself to a cup and make yourself comfortable while I get Johanna. She should be getting out of the shower soon.”
“Thank you.”
The invitation to make oneself at home was a different, but no less appreciated kind of hospitality than what she grew up knowing.
Astrid poured herself a cup of masala chai from the saucepan left to simmer on the stove, using the strainer on the counter nearby to hold back the spices and black tea leaves. Then, she spooned in a generous amount of sugar, just as Suri had once showed her.
Lifting the cup to her face, she inhaled deeply. It was rich and milky with fresh ginger root, cinnamon, and a little fennel and cardamom.
Between sips, she plated a variety of the cookies she brought with her in a tin and left them out on the counter for anyone to grab.
It wasn’t long before Astrid heard the two coming down the stairs from the second floor.
Hair wet and unbrushed, Johanna wore a haggard, resigned expression when she strode into the kitchen. She’d hastily tucked the strands of her hair behind her ears, the ends dampening the shoulders of her T-shirt. It was rare for Astrid to make unexpected visits and rarer still for her to come down the mountain bearing grim tidings. “What happened?”
Astrid set down her cup. There was no point in sugarcoating it. “Poachers killed a wolf.”
With a deep, deflated sigh, Johanna leaned into the counter for support, clutching her forehead.
“Schei?e.” Suri snatched a cookie off the plate Astrid set out and bit a frosted gingerbread star in half. “Let’s sit down.”
They all migrated to the kitchen table, Suri wisely bringing the cookie plate along. One by one, the three of them reached for a sugary treat.
“What do you know?” The grief and anger in Johanna’s voice was palpable, and when she looked up, her eyes watered, on the verge of tears.
“Oh, jaan,” Suri mouthed and scooted their chair closer, placing one comforting hand on their spouse’s arm while rubbing her back with the other.
As cold and hard as Astrid’s heart could be, it ached for the forest ranger. After years of thankless conservation and advocacy work, trying to get people to give a damn and finally making some headway, then this...
It was a crushing blow.
Sniffing, Johanna reached for another cookie, waiting for the details.
Astrid explained what she had found. And what she hadn’t.
Blood, but no body. The remnants of a campfire, but no people. Old, powerful magic, but no clue why it was there.
She left out Gudarīks’s role for now. There was already too much for her friend to process.
When she finished describing what she saw, Johanna wordlessly slid over a park map that had been left sitting out on the table and handed Astrid a pencil.
She marked the location.
Fiery determination replacing grief, Johanna rose from her chair with a fierce set to her jaw. “I have to phone this in. We need to get a team up there before weather or animals destroy any evidence they might’ve left.”
“Be careful, Johanna,” Astrid warned. “These aren’t ordinary poachers, if that’s truly what they are at all.”
“What else could they be?” The look Johanna gave her was hard, but she didn’t take it personally. It was the situation, not her words.
“I don’t know.” Getting to her own feet, Astrid withdrew an amulet from her pocket—a carved bit of stone hanging from a silver chain. “But wear this. It’s not infallible, but it will shield you from most spell effects.” Like someone trying to divine her thoughts. Or being charmed to do another’s bidding.
Johanna took the amulet, eyeing it uncertainly.
“Go on,” Suri urged. “Put it on.”
The spouses shared a tender look. “Can you help me, Schatzi?” Johanna asked. “Bitte?”
Suri nodded, taking the necklace.
While Johanna held up her hair, Suri stepped behind, bringing the chain around and clasping it closed. They lingered to press a kiss to the back of her neck. “There,” they said. “All done.”
“Danke,” Johanna replied, dropping her hair.
While the forest ranger phoned her colleagues, Astrid excused herself to the bathroom.
Stoppering the sink, she ran the faucet until it filled. Then, thinking of Mutter, she muttered an incantation and watched as the surface froze over.
“Tochter.” Perchta’s voice echoed a little in the space. “Twice in the same week. Is everything all right?”
The worry in Mutter’s expression had Astrid quickly explaining. “I’m all right. Can you come over today? I found what I think is evidence of ancient human magic, and I really could use some help identifying it.”
“Ancient humans...” Perchta’s voice trailed away, surprise writ plain on her face. “You’re sure?”
“Fairly. Do you think you can make it over?”
“I’ll summon a portal straightaway.”
“Just give me two hours. I’ve got to hike back up the mountain.”
“Where are you?”
“Johanna’s. Had to warn her—they killed a wolf, too.”
Perchta pursed her lips, lost in thought. “That sounds like a ritual, but there are many that include sacrifices. Be careful.”
“I will.” Astrid defrosted the ice in the sink.