8. Emi
That man was the most maddening…the most infuriating…utterly vile, that’s what he was.
How had this happened? Where had everything gone so wrong? I’d set out to visit Grandma, and now she was gone, and Wolf was here, and he was so... He was just so... Ugh.
Another frustrated cry wrenched from my throat.
He didn”t emerge from the closed door.
Aimlessly, I wandered to the kitchen, reaching for one of the leftover biscuits before remembering how Wolf had made them the night before. I took the last of them out the back door and hurled them as far as I could into the trees. Maybe that monster would choke on one and die.
I couldn’t see the beast anymore, but Mist lapped at the boundaries of the clearing, waves rolling and retreating as though they could draw the cottage into their wake. It was strange, the way it had never encroached on the cottage before. Somehow, I’d never given it any thought, but as I looked around at the banks skirting Grandma’s garden, I realized how odd it was. What about this place had always repelled the thickest fog? How had it been clear enough for Grandma Ruby to stay and even grow this lush garden when nowhere else could get enough light?
It had always been this way, so I’d taken it for granted that Grandma was safe here, but it truly was strange. Mist drew closer than ever now, which must be why I was just realizing this. Had it only been a matter of time? Was it coincidence that it had finally reached the cottage right after Grandma’s death?
My skin felt too tight, and I rubbed a brisk stroke up and down my arms. Grandma Ruby, a witch? Ha. No, I wasn’t letting Wolf get to me.
All that mattered was getting away from the killer who made me act without thinking. I had to be smarter.
As soon as I could, I was leaving. I”d find a hunter brave enough to come back with me, and we”d track down Wolf and exact justice for Grandma.
I wasn”t letting him get away with this. I was done sitting by while life happened around me. No one at home ever took me seriously, but this wasn’t something that would be brushed off or ignored. They’d have to listen this time. They’d have to notice.
The thought was a bright ember that I cradled close to my heart while tears streaked my cheeks. When had I started crying?
I brushed them away with trembling fingers and let myself back inside. The bedroom door remained closed, Wolf nowhere in sight. Crossing to the couch, I collapsed and cradled my face in my hands. All my angry fire had extinguished. Cold filled my chest and the tears flowed in earnest.
Grandma Ruby may not have been the warmest, most loving person, but she was mine. She’d been the only one who listened. The one who cared enough to pat my shoulder with a “There, there,” before she distracted me with some other task to do for her. I couldn’t believe she was gone.
Would anyone again rest a comforting hand on me? No one in the village, that was certain. The loss twisted my stomach. By the time I finished sobbing, I felt wrung out. My eyes were heavy and swollen in my puffy face, and my stomach ached.
“I’m sorry, Grandma,” I whispered to the empty room.
If only I’d come earlier, maybe I could have saved her. Maybe Wolf wouldn’t have attacked a poor old woman on her own if I’d been here. Or we’d both be dead. Which had me questioning again why Wolf hadn’t killed me. I would have to stay alert. I had to be ready to defend myself.
I dragged my body off the couch to retrieve the heavy fire poker from where it had fallen. At least Wolf hadn’t taken it with him when he barricaded himself in the bedroom, the slime-addled worm. I added a log to the fire to brighten the space and then, cradling the fire poker close to my chest, I returned to the couch.
Mist swirled over the walkway that melted into banks of white. This couldn’t last forever. Soon, it would have to clear, and then I was gone. My eyes burned heavy, but I refused to fall asleep with a monster in the next room. I just had to last until I could run.
I didn”t remember falling asleep, but I awoke to darkness.
A blanket covered me, and I searched for a memory of retrieving it that didn’t come. My eyes darted to the closed bedroom door.
Tossing the blanket off, I padded over to press my ear to it, hearing nothing. In the distance, a low howl broke the night, sending a shiver skittering down my spine. I retreated to the kitchen for water and a handful of saltines from the pantry. Back at the safety of the couch, I buried myself in the blanket that had magically appeared, because that’s what I decided to believe had happened. I was supposed to believe in magic now, right?
I ate, and I thought, and I let all my emotions wash through me until I was numb.
This time, I stayed awake. Watching. Listening. I jumped at every noise and clutched the blanket close.
Morning dawned dim with a deep orange glow, a sure sign the Mist had not relented yet. The bedroom door had remained closed all night.
What did Wolf do last night? Had he emerged to eat? The memory of finding myself draped in a warm blanket came with an unwelcome rush of heat. He saw me sleeping. He could have done anything.
Watched me.
Hurt me.
Killed me.
Touchedme.
Maybe his fingers had brushed the skin of my arms when he laid the blanket over me.
With a flash of bright anger, I stuffed the lightning heat raised by that mental picture way down deep under all the layers of hatred. A single kind gesture didn’t make up for anything. It changed nothing.
In fact, all my thinking had left me with a plan. I was done being helpless. While I couldn’t do much about the Mist outside, or the monsters it hid, I could end one threat. I had to try. When Wolf woke up, I would be ready.