CHAPTER 24

REVEALED

Good news often comes in unusual forms.

You just have to look to find it.

If all you see is problems and bad news around you, it may not be the situation.

Chances are, it’s your perspective.

Wendell wasn’t prepared for the attack—black tendrils spun around his body, hard as steel, holding in place. He struggled, exerting his strength, but all he could do was shift in place.

He was even less prepared to tumble over the side of the log bridge.

Unable to escape, they hit the ice cold water with a loud ‘SLAP’.

Wendell tumbled under the cold current, kicking his legs like a wild frog, trying to get to the surface. Gasping for air, relief was cut short as his ribs slammed into a rock jutting out from the water.

The first rock wasn’t too bad.

The second jarred his knee.

The third made solid contact with his face.

…making a loud ‘CRACK’ sound upon impact.

All this, while the black strands gripped his throat tighter and tighter.

“Gack!”

Flashes of blue moonlight called to Wendell as he flipped again and again in the water, his lungs begging for air as he bounced from stone to stone.

‘CRACK!’

DON’T STRUGGLE, BOY.

‘CRACK!’

YOU SHOULD NEVER STRUGGLE.

‘CRACK!’

JUST ACCEPT IT.

‘CRACK!’

Just—accept it…

The words resonated in his mind, fighting with the pain in a struggle for his attention.

But it was true. Wendell’s first reaction was always to struggle against his circumstances. To fight against what was happening to him.

…instead of accepting it.

Riding it through to a resolution.

‘CRACK!’

Forcing his attention inward, he stopped struggling against the robe. Relaxed his muscles.

THAT’S IT, JUST…

Ithari, once more connected to her host, flared bright as the noon day sun in a single brilliant pulse.

Screeching loudly, tendrils fell from Wendell’s body, the robe washed away by the icy waters.

Coughing and hacking, his arms flailed outward, weak attempts to orient himself.

‘CRACK!’

A blow to the head jarred him hard, sending his body flipping into an open section of the river.

“Pah,” Wendell sputtered, sipping the night air. Allowing the current to carry him to the riverbank, his sore knees contacted with sand and mud below him. Hand over hand, he half-floated, half-pulled himself up towards the shore.

“Almost…,” he choked on the water splashing up over his mouth and nose, “there.”

Small hands gripped his tunic, lifting him slightly out of the water, allowing him to breathe. Without a word, the hands pulled him to the shore, tugging him up into the mud.

“Thank you,” Wendell whispered. Trying to look up, all he could see was the deep shadows cast from the forest around them.

He wanted to get up.

He wanted to get as far away from the river as possible.

…but he just didn’t have the strength.

Accepting his rescue, Wendell collapsed…and allowed his consciousness to slip into the darkness.

****

BANG! BANG! BANG!

…

BANG!! BANG!! BANG!!

Elsa wrapped her blanket around her shoulders and stumbled down the stairs.

BANG!! BANG!! BANG!!

“I’m coming!” Grumbling, she weaved her way through the kitchen and to the back door. “For goodness sakes, I’m…”

Her hand barley turned the lock of the door, before it was pushed wide.

“Jan,” she gasped, stumbling back as the burly man barged into the house wet, shivering…and carrying a body over a shoulder.

“Fire,” he mumbled, teeth chattering together violently. “Need a fire…please. Hurry!”

Rushing into the main room, Jan knelt down and gently laid Wendell’s body on the rug near the hearth. Snatching up the poker, he quickly stirred the embers and tossed fresh wood onto them.

Without a word, Elsa pulled the blanket from her shoulders and draped it over Wendell’s prone body, kneeling at his side.

“What happened?” she asked softly, a tender hand resting on Wendell’s shoulder. “He’s bleeding, Jan. And he’s not moving.” Red eyes looked up, “Is he…”

Satisfied with the fire, Jan turned to Wendell and pulled the blanket back. “He’s alive, but I need your help,” he said urgently, “He fell on a tree branch and pierced his side.” Large hands pulled the tunic up to reveal Wendell’s bare chest.

Jan froze.

“This…,” he faltered, “this doesn’t make sense.” In the place where he’d see Wendell bleeding heavily less than an hour before was a bright pink circular section of healthy flesh. “That’s impossible. I saw the wound with my own eyes.”

Elsa reached over and put her hand over Jan’s. “It’s the clothing.”

Looking up, “What?”

“The clothing. It has magic woven into it to heal him.” She gave Jan a soft smile, “He showed it to me and the children when he first arrived.”

The lumberjack shook his head, “But he drowned, Elsa…” Leaning over Wendell and placed his ear to the center of his chest. “I had to pull him from the…” and he paused again.

“What’s the matter?”

Slowly, Jan lowered his finger to the center of Wendell’s chest…and pushed.

The flesh did not give way.

“Jan?”

Reaching for the poker, Jan kept his eyes fixated on Wendell’s chest. Gripping the short piece of metal, he held it over the place where he’d pushed with his finger and…

TINK…TINK!

Elsa frowned as the poker dropped again.

…TINK!

Casting the poker to the side, Jan fell back onto his rear, eye still wide as Elsa poked the center of Wendell’s chest with her own finger.

“I…don’t understand,” she whispered, “why is his skin so hard?”

“It’s not just hard. Place your whole hand on his chest.”

She did so, her fingers resting over the lip of the invisible Ithari. Leaning down, Elsa looked below her palm, which hovered nearly an inch above the flesh of Wendell’s chest.

Snapping her hand up from the body, she also fell backwards, her back against the wall.

“Why would his chest do that,” she asked.

“Because it’s not his chest.”

“That’s not true,” she countered, “I’m looking right at it.” To which she quickly pulled Wendell’s tunic down and covered him once more with the blanket.

“It’s real,” Jan said soberly.

“What’s real?”

The fire popped, slowly coming to life, it’s warmth creeping into the room.

“The shadow Wendell was telling us about.”

Elsa swallowed hard and folded her arms, pulling her night gown tightly about her. “The thing he said took Tamika?”

He nodded and looked up at her. “Saw it with my own eyes. Like a broken body wrapped in black rags reaching out from the grave.” He shivered then, and turned his chest to the hearth.

“I don’t understand,” she whispered, looking back to Wendell. “Why would such a creature come to a place like Putäyäl? What does it want? ”

“I don’t know,” Jan replied, rubbing his hands and then holding them up to the warmth of the flames, “but that’s not all. Those trappers, the ones who showed up at the tavern…”

“The ones here looking for the wolves?”

He nodded, “I think they’re here for more than just furs, Elsa. I’m pretty sure they want to trap and keep these beasts for themselves.”

She scoffed. “Not very smart with how dangerous they are! Fools could put other people in danger if they’re not careful.”

“I agree. But I also think they have help from someone in the village. Someone who’s feeding them information, whether it’s accurate or not.”

She scooted closer to the fire. “Sounds reasonable. There’s good money in trapping, or so my father used to say. If someone from the village can earn a few coin in the process—there’s no harm in that.”

Jan’s nose crinkled, his brows dropping low, “Welllll, I have the impression that whomever is helping them from the village, isn’t doing it for coin.”

“Probably smart—furs could bring a better price for those who know where to sell them.”

“I don’t think they’re interested in furs either.”

She hesitated, thinking. “What else could they want? Not much point in working with a trapper if you don’t want part of the coin or part of the bounty, right?”

The fire popped loudly, reminding them both to switch positions.

Jan moved out of the way, allowing the heat to directly warm Wendell. “I don’t know exactly what they’re up to, but I do know who is involved.”

She perked up, curious. “Oh? Who?”

The conversation had become far more direct than he’d intended it to become, and yet here they were. Jan readjusted his seated position uncomfortably. “You, Elsa.”

For several moments, she stared at him and simply blinked.

“Elsa?”

“Did you say it was me?”

“Uhhh…” Thinking better of the situation, he averted his eyes and clamped his mouth shut.

“Oh no, you do not get to walk away from this, Jan Downing. You said this is about me!” She scratched her head, “So the shadow thing is about me? And the wolves?!?”

Holding up a hand, “Wait, I didn’t say…”

“You brought up the dead body wrapped in rags, and…”

“You have a dead body wrapped in rags?!” snapped a tired voice from the bottom of the stairs. “Cause I wanna see it!”

Two small faces popped around the corner, huge grins etched upon them.

“Kale and Jacob, it’s too early for you to be up,” Elsa snapped. “So turn right around and go back to…”

Kale skipped around Jan and loomed over Wendell’s body, his twin following behind him. “What’s wrong with Wendell?”

“Is he dead again?” frowned Jacob.

“He seems to do that a lot,” Kale added.

They both nodded sadly.

“Wendell is NOT dead,” Elsa corrected them, “so you just turn around and go right back to…”

“It’s Sawyer.” Tim stepped out into the firelight. Without a word, he walked over to the woodbox, grabbed a few more pieces of fuel and tossed them into the hearth. Dusting his hands off, he turned directly to Jan. “Isn’t it?”

Jan looked sadly at Elsa, then turned to the boy and nodded.

Pushing herself up to her feet, Elsa paced the floor. “Why would hellping trappers have anything to do with me?”

“I don’t know,” Jan replied softly. “I just know that Wendell and I heard the trappers while in the forest. From their own mouthes. They said that if Sawyer got in their way, they would—” but he trailed off and clamped his mouth shut once again.

Elsa drew close, her expression quickly becoming dark. “They would what?”

“I don’t know anything for certain, Elsa…”

“Then why did you bring it up?”

“Good grief, Elsa,” Tim cut in, “for being one of the smartest people in this village, you sure act stupid at the wrong times.”

The twins slapped hands over their mouths.

“Excuse me, I—”

Tim folded his arms, “No.”

She blinked. Then blinked again. “No?”

“That’s what I said,” Tim repeated, “No. No, I will not excuse you or apologize, because as a member of this family we’ve formed, this is something that should have been said a long time ago. You may or may not have noticed, big sister, but there are two men who fancy you. One we like and the other not at all.”

Jan held up a hand, “Tim—”

“I’m sorry, was I talking to you? No,…I wasn’t.” Turning back to Elsa, “This guy sitting on your floor has been crazy about you for as long as I’ve known you. Maybe you know that, maybe you deny it because he’s so old…”

“Hey,” Jan choked, to which the twins shuffled over and clamped their hands over his mouth.

“But he looks at you like no other girl exists in this world and he’s a good, honest person.” Tim paused to give Jan a simple nod of acknowledgement. “And he also knows about the other guy, who no one likes, and that’s Sawyer.”

“Timothy,” she warned.

“No!” he snapped back, “You can be mad at me all you want, but you need to hear this plain and true. You’re nice to people and we love you for that, but there are people who don’t want to be nice to people and Sawyers one of them.”

Looking back to the twins, they all nodded at each other. “Do you know how many times he’s threatened us?”

Elsa gasped, “What?”

Tim looked at her squarely and added, “Sawyer has grabbed each of us, by the throat, and threatened to beat us if we ever got in his way to court you.”

“He didn’t…”

“Yes he DID,” squeaked Kale through emerging tears. “And he even kicked Lyndie to the ground when she said he wasn’t a nice man!”

“That time we said she fell against the rocks near the town well?” added Jacob, “That was Sawyers doing! He took his muddy boot and kicked her in the backside!”

She looked between the boys, anger swelling…until she noticed Jan’s own face growing beet red.

Tim looked down at Jan and let his own tears surface. “But he cares about us.” Blinking his eyes, he cleared his throat and let out a deep sigh. “And we like him, Elsa. A lot. He’s good to you, and to us, and the girls are happy when Jan’s around.” Looking back to her, his expression changed to a hopeful one, “Isn’t that important?”

“And we know you like him back,” Jacob blurted out, happily.

Kale gave his twin a sharp elbow.

“Ow!” Rubbing his side, “Well she does!”

“We know that,” Kale whispered, “but you ain’t supposed to let him know that…cause girls have secrets!”

“My only point, Elsa,” continued Tim, “is that being nice to people doesn’t mean you should ignore the truth of something, especially when it’s wrong.”

Elsa looked between the boys, trying desperately not to look at Jan, who sat still, now facing the fire.

For as odd as their makeshift family was, it worked.

At least for them.

Desperation and loneliness had bonded six young people together in love and loyalty most natural families didn’t have.

“Yes, Tim,” she finally said, “That’s important.”

Clenching her hand tightly until it stopped shaking, Elsa wandered silently over to stand behind Jan…and placed it softly on his shoulder.

“Very important,” she added.

Her tiny hand, laced with hard won callouses to provide for herself and her siblings, was slowly enveloped by his own.

Jan looked up and smiled.

But the smile didn’t last long.

“There’s something going on in this village, Elsa—and I have to find out what that is.” He looked from her to the boys, “For all our sakes.”

“You need help,” grinned Kale, “cause we have bows and really, really pointy arrows!”

Tim laughed.

“I think it best if I go check things out on my own, but thank you warrior twins,” Jan winked at them, “I’ll keep you in mind for next time, alright?”

Jacob laughed and took the opportunity to return the sharp elbow jab, “He called us warriors!”

Getting to his feet, Jan glanced at Wendell. “So you think he’s going to be alright?”

“I think so,” Elsa replied.

“Yeahhhh,” sighed Kale, “I wouldn’t worry. He’s been dead before.”

“Always comes back to life,” added Jacob, then, “did you happen to find a tiny pouch?”

“Jacob,” snapped Elsa. Though she couldn’t help but grin. She hid it promptly with her hand.

“Just asking,” said the twin.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

Both Elsa and the twins jumped as the blurred redheaded silhouette appeared in the window near the front door. She looked warily at Jan and Tim.

“It’s the one we don’t like,” whispered Kale.

Jacob made low growling noises.

“You boys go back to bed,” she said firmly, “I’ll take care of this.”

“Be careful,” Tim replied in a low tone, then guided his brothers back up the stairs.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

“Just remember to be yourself,” Jan said softly, then gave her hand a squeeze.

She turned towards the door, then hesitated.

Bending down, Elsa snatched up the warm, yet damp blanket from Wendell’s body and wrapped it around her nightgown.

Lifting the latch across the frame, she opened the door.

“Elsa, are you alright?” Sawyer blurted out. His breathing labored, he stuck his head into the doorway and glanced about. “I heard voices…”

“It’s early, Sawyer, and the children are asleep.”

“There’s been another attack in the village.”

Elsa’s tiny frame started shaking.

“You okay?” Sawyer asked.

Squeezing her hand tight, she forced the nails of her fingers to bite into the flesh of her palm. Pain shot through her hand and up her arm, helping her to shift her attention and focus. “I’m fine, thank you.”

“I heard voices when I walked up to the house,” he repeated.

“I don’t know what you heard, Sawyer,” she replied sharply, “but I’m alone and was…”

“Then maybe I should come in,” he grunted, pushing past her and into the front room, “and make sure you’re okay.” One glance at Wendell on the floor, sprawled in front of the hearth and he whirled about with a snarl on his face. “What is he doing here!?!”

Taking two short steps around him, Elsa put herself between Wendell and the intruder. Thoughts of Lyndie crying and having to be consoled as they tended to her cut knees and cheek flashed through her mind.

Elsa’s face flushed red as a hand emerged from under her blanket—her wiry finger jabbing his chest. “That is none…of your business! But if you must know, that young man was attacked in the woods. He’s been unconscious since he got here and I honestly don’t know if he’s even going to survive the night!!” Jabbing Sawyer so hard he started backing out the door, “So if you don’t mind, I need to tend to a wounded friend…goodNIGHT!”

With that she shoved the big man through the doorway, slammed the door and let the latch fall into place.

For several moments Sawyers blurred image stood on the doorstep, motionless. Elsa, didn’t bother to watch, and simply wandered back towards the hearth.

“Jan?”

Looking into the kitchen as she passed, “Jan?”

Slumping down to the floor and letting the damp blanket fall from her shoulders, she shot the comatose young man a sideways glance.

“I didn’t lie,” she protested, “so don’t start with me.” Bobbing her head from side to side, “I don’t actually know what will happen to you, Wendell. But you said the magic would heal you, so I’m just going to believe you.”

“Good plan,” whispered Jacob from the staircase.

“I agree,” added Kale.

“To BED!” Elsa snapped between her clenched teeth.

The floorboards creaked under the weight of the twins.

“See,” Kale added soberly as they wandered up the stairs, “that’s how a girl acts when you tell a guy their secrets.”