At Witches' End

by Annette Oppenlander

  “My Lord does not receive guests.”

  “It’s urgent.”

  “Not without special permission from Lord Hans.”

  That would never happen. Hans wanted me gone.

  I lowered my head and took a step back. Deep down I was relieved. I’d tried. It was time to go.

  Then why did I feel so rotten? Werner was dying. With Luanda gone, there was nobody to help. What was Hanstein going to be like without Werner?

  The passage in front of me blurred as I forced my legs to turn away. Stupid idiot game.

  “Max?”

  Lady Clara materialized from one of the side doors. She wore a simple linen dress, more like a maid’s outfit.

  I only nodded, my throat too thick to cooperate.

  “You are here to see me? Your eye…what happened.”

  Clearing my throat, I swiped a hand across, reminding me of the monstrosity on my face. “Yes, I…”

  “You came to call on the Lord.”

  I nodded again.

  The corridor turned silent except for the sounds of the wind whistling through the arrow loops and the guard’s chainmail clinking softly. I wanted to disappear.

  When I finally met her gaze, the cornflower blue was a lot less sparkly than I remembered. The Lady’s face was puffy, the skin on her neck covered in wrinkles as if she’d been sitting with her head bent low for a month.

  “Nobody must know,” she whispered. “I shall get myself in trouble. But I owe you my life.”

  Turning resolutely toward the guard, she said, “Follow me.”

  “I’m leaving Hanstein,” I said to her back. The finality of the moment came crashing into my consciousness. If the game didn’t work out, I would have to find another place to live. With Luanda gone and Hanstein closed, I’d be out there…alone. I’d never make it very long. How lucky I’d been to have access to Hanstein and be friends with Bero and Luanda.

  Lady Clara’s hand gripped mine for a moment before she addressed the guard. “Let us pass.”

  “The lad…he is not on the list.”

  “I vouch for him.”

  The guard finally bowed and stepped aside.

  I immediately knew Luanda had been here by the amounts of dried herbs and bouquets hanging from the ceiling and around the four-poster bed. Two maids watched with weary eyes. I recognized the girl Bero had been dating.

  When I saw the wine-red drapes, my heart about hopped through my ribs. I was contemplating a swift withdrawal when Lady Clara carefully moved aside the curtain. Too late.

  Lord Werner lay on his back, the skin of his face bluish white like watery milk. Except for his neck showing a bit of curly chest hair, his upper body was covered in bandages. His breathing was shallow and his cheeks hollowed.

  “My Lord,” Lady Clara whispered, squeezing his left hand. “Max Nerds wants to say goodbye.”

  A lump formed in my throat then and before I swallowed it away, Werner’s eyes fluttered open. They only made it halfway so that the blue of his eyes looked gray in the dimness.

  “Max?”

  “Yes, My Lord. I’m leaving and…this time I wanted to say goodbye.”

  Werner gave a slight nod as if the smallest movement produced pain.

  In my mind I’d put together a little speech, but now that I stood in front of the man I’d so admired and who looked like he may die any minute, the words fell from my head.

  “Thank you,” I stumbled. “I’ll always remember you for your generosity.”

  Werner’s eyes were closed. Had he even heard me? But then he raised his right hand and waved me closer. I bent low, fighting embarrassment for being within inches of the great knight.

  “Promise me…tell people about us when you go back to your time,” he said. “Make your life count. You can be chivalrous, a squire…a knight…help those in need. Be just.”

  “Yes, My Lord, I promise.” Lord Werner was right. No matter when you lived, the world needed honesty and compassion for those who couldn’t help themselves.

  As his hand fell to the side I straightened. Tears dripped down my chin.

  “You get well.”

  “It is in God’s hands now,” Lady Clara said, taking her seat next to the bed. “Farewell, brave Max.”

  I bowed low and rushed from the chamber. Bero was waiting. Only when I reached the bailey did I realize that Werner had talked about my time.

  He believed me.

  Chapter 31

  “You got any coin?” I asked as we made our way to the Klausenhof. It was dark, a half-moon illuminating the path. I could’ve found the way blind by now.

  “Gave my last for Juliana’s wedding,” Bero said. He hesitated, something he’d never done before. But to my surprise I didn’t care. It no longer hurt that Enders had married the girl I’d been in love with. She was better off and safer with Enders.

  Of course, I didn’t have any money either which eliminated our chance to enter the Klausenhof as paying customers in search for some dinner. Nor could we send a drink with the sleeping potion to Ott’s room. It wouldn’t have made any difference because in my anguish over not traveling home and visiting Werner I’d forgotten the herbs in the great hall.

  “You still have not told me about your plan,” Bero said. “The inn is right there.”

  “Let’s find out which room they’re staying in. I better let you ask this time. I don’t think the innkeeper is too fond of me.”

  “So I just stroll in there and ask which room Ott stays in?”

  “Why not? After all, you’re Adela’s brother. Just say you’ve got urgent family business.”

  “Business?”

  “Something to do with your sister. The innkeeper won’t ask specifics.”

  “Fine.”

  While Bero disappeared inside the inn, I laid low near the barn. In the dim shine of an oil lamp Alexander brushed a horse. He munched on a piece of bread which reminded me that I hadn’t really eaten much dinner.

  But asking him to share was out of the question. The kid was thin as a rail, his clothes rattier than ever. That’s when I remembered my blunder. I’d foolishly mentioned Alexander’s name to Hans and worse, Konrad had mentioned Alexander to Schwarzburg’s men.

  “How would you like to work at Hanstein?” I said aloud.

  The brush halted. “Says who?”

  “Says I.”

  A soft grin spread on Alexander’s face. I’d never seen him smile. At that moment I wished I could send every last peasant to Hanstein so they were reasonably safe and ate well.

  I was deep in thought how I’d convince Bero to take Alexander to Hanstein when the man in question slumped to the ground next to me. “Ott is staying in the bridal room.”

  “What?”

  “I think…he plans to marry Adela.”

  “No way,” I yelled.

  “Shh.”

  “The swine. He’s nuts, he—”

  “I overheard one of the merchants,” Bero said, throwing me a dark glance. “Ott is seeing the priest tomorrow. He promised a feast at the inn for all those staying there.”

  “I don’t get it. Why wouldn’t he marry at his home? Have a proper celebration with lords and ladies like his twenty-fifth birthday two years ago.”

  Bero shrugged and then crossed himself. “We must go now or she will be lost forever.”

  I wanted to say “nonsense, she’s just the same,” but then I remembered how religious and superstitious the people in the Middle Ages were. No other man would touch Adela, once she was married in the Catholic Church. I asked myself if she knew of Ott’s plans.

  Bero seemed to have the same idea because he jumped up. “Let us get her.”

  “Wait,” I said. “We can’t just waltz in there. Ott will never allow it.”

  “You said I should mention family business.”

  “I did…”

  “Then what is your plan?”

  I stopped myself from shouting an insult. Why didn’t Bero figure out a strategy for once?
He was always fast to criticize. Ott would never let Adela out of his sight, not here, so close to Hanstein. But he had to have a reason to marry quietly.

  His mother. That was it.

  “You still awake?” Bero asked impatiently. “This is not the place to stay, too many eyes nearby.”

  “I bet Miranda has other plans, wants Ott to marry some rich lady.” Who’d have him anyway? The man was gross and ugly to boot. Not to mention cruel and stupid. Well, maybe not stupid, more like cunning.

  “So, this is a secret.” Bero made a clucking sound. But then his brows scrunched into a new frown. “How is it going to help us?”

  I sighed again. “We need a diversion.”

  “Or scare him.”

  “Or both,” I jumped up. “I’ve got an idea.”

  Chapter 32

  We carefully crept inside the inn through the backdoor. The guest rooms were on the third floor. That meant we had to sneak up two flights of stairs without detection. And to make my plan work, I needed Bero to be in top form.

  He nodded at me, his lips pressed together in determination. Then he slunk to the bar.

  In his best official tone he said something like “urgent business and a matter of the most private nature.” Seconds later he reappeared, flashing four fingers. Taking two steps at a time, he headed upstairs, me following hard on his heels. The inn was quiet, past dinner hour, most people getting ready to stagger home or sleep off their buzz in one of the rooms.

  A maid rushed past from the knight’s hall on the second floor, her tray laden with beakers and pewter plates. A burgundy stain bloomed on her chest where wine had been spilled. She momentarily hesitated and wiped her damp forehead before closing the door and rushing downstairs.

  I wasn’t sure she’d even noticed us. Bero was already on the stairs to the third floor when a door above us opened and closed. Bero threw me a worried glance before rushing back down, yanking me into the dark spot next to a wall cabinet.

  When I peeked around the corner, Ott, in a white shirt like a nightgown but thankfully still wearing pants, headed downstairs. He whistled quietly as he passed us. As soon as he was gone, we rushed upstairs, our steps creaking ominously along the way.

  Room four was at the end of the hall. Bero knocked once and ripped open the door. “Adela?”

  I pushed him in the back to get out of the hallway, making us both tumble into the room.

  “Max, Bero. You must leave at once.” Adela’s brown eyes, so like Bero’s and Juliana’s were huge with fright. If anything she’d lost more weight, her wrists and neck fragile, her skin nearly translucent.

  “You know what he’s going to do tomorrow?” I asked.

  She immediately hung her head. “He told me today. We are to be married.”

  “And you want that?” I said way too loud. What was the matter with her? Hadn’t she had enough of the jerk?

  “N-n-no.” Adela sank on the bed which was way too small for two people. Just looking at it and imagining slimy Ott next to her made me want to puke.

  “Then now is your chance. We’ve come—”

  The door swung open and Ott, still whistling, appeared with a mug in his hand. “That should help you sleep—”

  Adela jumped up while I dropped behind the bed and scrambled between her feet to hide under it. The mattress was fastened on top of a few ropes, leaving only ten or twelve inches clearance even without people lying on top. I’d never fit once Ott and Adela laid down.

  “I came to warn you,” Bero said without preamble. He stood squarely in the middle of the room as if he’d been invited, hopefully blocking the view to where I was still worming my way beneath the bed. Ott hurried to get his sword hanging on a peg.

  “What are you doing here? This is a private—”

  “Your mother, she is coming,” Bero said. I held my breath. Now we’d find out if I’d been right about Ott sneaking his wedding.

  “So what is that of your concern?” Ott’s voice was casual though I detected a bit of a tremor.

  “My sister is not safe,” Bero said. “I wanted to talk to her before you and her…before the wedding.”

  “How did you know…?”

  “The inn knows, everyone knows you meet the priest tomorrow. I am her brother, I must tell her a few things before…”

  “What do you know about my mother?” Ott asked.

  “She heard. Somebody must have told her.”

  “You did?”

  “Of course not. I live at Hanstein. It is not my concern, but my sister, I want her protected.”

  “She is with me, so she is safe.”

  “And your mother?”

  “I shall handle her.”

  “She is coming here…may already be downstairs. She will be displeased.”

  “Miranda is a wench and she will not tell me what to do.” Ott’s voice trembled with angry indignation. “She will not make a fool of me.”

  I smiled grimly under the bed. I’d been right. Miranda had other plans for Ott. For once we wanted the same thing. “Then I suggest you go and meet her before she finds you here. The inn, everybody will laugh at you when they hear your mother’s scolding,” Bero said.

  “I cannot leave Adela. It is dangerous.”

  “I am her brother. I will protect her until you return.”

  The room grew quiet. I held my breath, hoping Ott wouldn’t bend low to find me under the bed, hoping Adela and Bero kept their nerves.

  Something flittered across my neck and I suppressed a shriek. Not ten inches from my nose, a mouse raised itself on its hind legs and considered me with beady eyes.

  Bero immediately cleared his throat to cover up the sound I’d made. “I want my sister’s wedding to be reputable, not a charade. Do not make her the laughing stock of her village.”

  “I will meet my mother,” Ott said at last. He stepped toward the back wall and put on clothes. “You wait here. Not a word to anyone.”

  “I shall be watching my sister sleep.”

  The door closed and I immediately scooted free from the disgusting ground straw where countless guests had left their filth.

  “What will you do?” Adela asked, the fright back in her voice.

  “We will take you to Hanstein,” Bero said proudly.

  “Away from Ott’s lusty hands,” I added.

  “But if he finds out he shall kill me and you…” Her brown eyes swept across Bero and me. “We will never be safe again.”

  “You will die if you stay with him,” Bero said.

  Adela hung her head again. “What do I live for now that mother is dead?”

  I hurried to grip her hands. “Nonsense, there’s lots to do. You’ll have a good time at Hanstein. Better than you’ve ever had. More food and a good husband.”

  “You will take care of me then?” Adela asked. Her eyes lodged on me, the hope and love in them hard to miss. I remembered the first time I’d met her at Bero’s hut years ago. How she’d ogled me across the table. There was no doubt—she still had a crush on me.

  “Max will be away.” Pain swung in Bero’s voice. “Longer. You will live with me and Juliana. We are your family.”

  Adela nodded, but her eyes remained on my face. I quickly looked away. First I’d disappointed Juliana, now Adela. Not to mention leaving my best friend. What a stupid rotten game this was.

  “We better go,” I said. “Ott will not stay away forever.”

  “Hurry. Put on your robes,” Bero said.

  As Adela slipped on her dress and shoes, we rushed to the door. The hallway was deserted.

  Supporting Adela’s elbow, we tiptoed to the second floor. Bero was a few feet ahead, his head bent to one side the way he does when he listens intently. All of a sudden he raised an arm.

  Even in the gloom of the stairway I knew he was scared.

  Then I heard it, too.

  “Knock twice if you hear anything,” Ott said. “I shall come downstairs at once.” His voice sounded close, too close. Bero had already turn
ed and was pushing Adela and me toward one of the dining rooms.

  I only hoped they were unlocked and unoccupied or we’d get slaughtered by Ott on the threshold. The door opened without a hitch, but even before we could close it, I knew we weren’t alone.

  In the back corner, a man was bent over a girl, by the look of it the servant girl from earlier. She was moaning and they hadn’t noticed our entry. Bero ignored them and peeked through the cracked door into the hallway. Footsteps disappeared upstairs. Ott was returning to his room.

  It’d be only seconds before he realized Adela was gone.

  I shuddered. Until this moment I’d figured we’d get away smoothly and quietly. Not anymore. We had no time to run downstairs and disappear unnoticed. Ott was fast and…

  A yelp rang out upstairs, followed by cursing.

  Then steps trampled into the staircase. Bero closed the door as I pulled Adela toward the tables arranged in horseshoe format. We dropped to our knees behind several high-backed chairs. The couple in the corner hadn’t stopped. If anything they were picking up speed. I kept an arm wrapped around Adela’s quivering shoulders.

  “What now?” Bero mouthed, nodding toward the sex-crazed pair and the entrance door. Below us voices shouted, undoubtedly Ott giving commands to the innkeeper. I didn’t want to think what would happen if we were caught.

  I glanced around the room in search of a hiding place. The chairs at least gave cover from the door and the couple in the other corner. Other than that there were no cabinets, no other exits. The only window would undoubtedly screech if it opened at all. And that left the issue of jumping fifteen feet down in broad view. Adela would never make it.

  We were trapped.

  Chapter 33

  I racked my brain to come up with some kind of escape plan. It was hard enough to sneak around with just Bero, but now we had Adela and if I’d learned one thing it was that panic made you slow, your movements jerky and your breath loud.

  Adela hyperventilated, her chest heaving as if she’d just run a spring. I whispered to her to stick her face inside the opening of her dress. She obeyed and calmed a bit just when the ruckus outside began anew.