Chapter 34

Der Hartz

The world is full of questions, and human beings spend their whole lives seeking answers to those questions. Why is the sky blue? How is it that birds fly? What happens to us when we die? What are clouds made of? Why do the seasons change? How do the seasons change? Where do babies come from? Why do bad things happen to good people? Why does a storm destroy one home and leave another nearby untouched? What is love? What is the meaning of existence? Is there a higher power? Is there a heaven? Is there a hell?

However, these were not the questions that plagued Katharine Pryde-Wagner's mind. She had more immediate concerns, like what was up with Nightcrawler. Ever since they had left Nürnberg he'd been acting rather odd. He was now strangely nervous around her and was starting to avoid everyone. When he thought no one was watching him he would glare coldly at Bobby's back. He spoke little to anyone and his mood shifted from anxious to dark and broody. Even little Lockheed was growing concerned by this inexplicable shift in temperament. What had happened while they were away to turn the cheery rascal into a moody dark creature.

Then there was the mystery of the man who saved Bobby's life. She was certain that the stranger was her absent husband, the way he was described left no doubt in her mind. Amber colored eyes were a rarity; the only person she'd ever seen in her life with such eyes was Kurt. She also knew all about the glares that he was capable of projecting. She'd been on the receiving end of his nasty looks more times than she could count and from Bobby's reaction she knew that it had to be him. And then there was his choice in clothing. The stranger was said to wear simple, plain clothes like a low-level merchant yet he had great influence over Lord Grauhard's guards. Kurt had hated formal dress. Every chance he had he ran around in simple clothes, usually without shoes, and he whine horribly when forced to dress nicer. And since he was the son of a Count the guards would have to obey him or risk a new bloody feud with their heads the first to roll.

Her next question sent her back to the issue of Nightcrawler. For a demonic Cursed man he seemed rather well-off despite his strict avoidance of other people. He had a very nice horse that had more business being in a Lord's possession than belonging to him. The saddle that he used, while simply in design and lacking any decoration, was made of fine leather and was of sturdy construction, something that a well-to-do merchant might own. His clothes were the same as the saddle, simple, plain, but well made, once again something that a merchant might own. His sword was of very high quality and would at the very least belong to a rich knight. It lacked flashy decoration, but was made more for battle than show and it was quite effective. And he never seemed to need food while they were away.

The simple answer to this mystery was that he stole everything. With his swift agility and stealth it would be a simple matter for him to sneak into a rich merchant or lesser noble's estate and take what he wanted. And if he was somehow spotted they would mistake him for the devil and be frozen in terror giving him the time necessary to make his escape. It made sense, it was possible, but Kitty couldn't bring herself to believe it. Somehow his personality didn't seem to fit in the mold of a thief. Remy was a life-long thief and his behavior and attitude were not terribly similar to Nightcrawler's. So if he wasn't a thief, how did he get these things?

And then her thoughts would drift back to Kurt and a set of very old questions. Why had he gone away so sudden without telling her? He had promised her that he would be right back and he always kept his promises unless some outside force prevented him. Why didn't he try to write her or pass some sort of message? She knew that he was literate in both German and English and was perfectly capable of composing a letter. What were her parents hiding from her about his mysterious disappearance? From their behavior she knew that they knew important pieces of information, but they had always refused to tell her what she wanted to know. Was her marriage to him still valid? They had been too young to officially consummate their joining at the time of their wedding so that one part had been postponed until they were old enough. Kitty had almost been old enough, almost been ready for that part, but then he vanished.

A soft cheeping sound and gentle nip on her ear brought her out of her ponderings and back into the present. She looked over to see that Lockheed was perched on her shoulder looking rather concerned. She sighed and gentled rubbed her little pet's soft scaly hide. Lockheed's scales were just like a snake's, soft and smooth. How did she know what a snake's scales felt like? She had touched one before. How is that she, a female who wasn't into anything occult or unnatural, touched a snake? Kurt had dared her to do it. He had caught a snake and teased, poked, and prodded her until she touched it and kept her hand on it for nearly a minute. Even now she could remember it…

"Katharine, wo bist du?" A young boy's voice called out in German.

Katharine sat perfectly still hidden in some flowering bushes in her family's garden. She didn't make a sound and completely ignored the repeated calls for her to appear. She had no desire to see, or be in the company of, that particular boy, not now or ever. The boy kept calling and calling for her, sometimes he was closer to her hiding place, sometimes he was further away. Hopefully he would tire of his search soon and leave her alone. But life once more decided to be cruel to her. Suddenly the boy who had been seeking her leapt into her bushy green sanctuary and nearly scared her to death.

"Found you!" The boy cried happily.

"Kurt, you cretin! You scared me!" Katharine shrieked indignantly at the grinning boy.

"Oh come now Katharine, I've been calling and calling for you. There is no way that I could have surprised you that much." Kurt teased seating himself directly across from her.

"I heard you." She grumbled resettling her skirt which had been rumpled when Kurt had made her start in fright.

"Well then, why didn't you come out to see what I wanted?" He asked curiously giving her complete attention.

"Because I wished to be left alone and untroubled by your trivial ideas of entertainment." She replied in a haughty tone edged with ice.

"You wound me." He sighed sadly, adding dramatic gestures for effect.

"I speak only the truth." She mocked.

"Do you now?" He asked skeptically. Katharine shivered at his odd piercing stare.

"So what dull matter do you seek me out for?" She demanded, suddenly finding a fallen flower petal absolutely fascinating.

"Come with me and you will see!" Kurt crowed, giggling at his own rhyme.

Katharine rolled her eyes at the Germanic boy's foolish antics and slowly rose to obediently follow her 'husband' like any good 'wife' should. Again she had to roll her eyes at the thought of them being husband and wife. As she watched him frolic about like a peasant simpleton she couldn't help but find him a disgrace to his station. Here he was, bouncing around in peasant attire and without any shoes of any sort. He was the son of a Germanic count, a product of a noble bloodline with great prestige and power, running about like a poor simpleton. It was absolutely disgusting. Lance was nothing at all like this pathetic idiot.

Before Katharine had any time to indulge in any romantic fantasies involving herself and Lance they apparently arrived at their destination. Kurt gleefully scampered up to an overturned basket and crouched beside it. He carefully peered under one edge of it before beckoning her over with one hand. With a tired sigh she moved in a stately glide to stand next to him and see just what he had beneath the basket. Very slowly he reached under the basket and an odd smile appeared on his face. Then, with a dramatic flourish, he presented her with the thing that had been hidden under the woven wicker container. It was a green striped garter snake.

"Ahh, get it away from me!" Katharine shrieked, terrified of the legless reptile.

"Why? It's just a little harmless snake." Kurt asked innocently.

"It's vile and disgusting!" Katharine wailed, backing away from the writhing snake.

"How is it vile and disgusting? It looks just like any other snake that I've seen around here." He replied, still feigning innocence.

"It's a snake! Snakes are filthy, slimy, evil creatures. How can you stand to touch that thing?" She squeaked.

"It's not filthy, or evil, or slimy, it's just a snake. Here, come touch it and see." He said, holding out the snake towards her.

"Touch it? I'm not going to touch it!" She squealed in horror.

"Why not? Are you afraid that you're wrong about it?" Kurt challenged.

"I'm not wrong and I'm not going to touch it!" She snapped.

"I say that you are wrong and you are afraid." He replied, sounding smug and superior.

"No I am not!" She snapped back.

"Yes you are." He smirked.

"No I'm not!" She cried.

"Yes you are." He teased in a sing-song tone.

"I'm not!" She almost screamed.

"Prove it then, touch it." He challenged.

"Fine." She snarled.

A few seconds later her mind caught up with what she had just agreed to do, but there was no escape. Nervously she reached out one hand as Kurt brought the snake up to her fingers. She couldn't help but squeak when the snake's scales touched her fingertips, but once the shock wore off she was pleasantly surprised. The snake wasn't grimy of slimy like she had always been told they were. The scales felt strangely soft and smooth and the snake felt quite cool. There were powerful muscles beneath the scales, proving that the creature was no weakling push-over, but Kurt kept the creature under control so that she could touch it without worrying that it would swing around and bite her. So I am wrong, this isn't so bad after all…

A low whistle jolted Kitty out of her little flashback. The trees around them had opened up some to reveal a starkly beautiful scene of tall mountains just ahead of them. They were die Hartzbergen, the most northerly clump of mountains in Germania. Once they made their way past these last mountains, the rest of their journey would be through lower, flatter lands. Originally the plan had been to visit Erfurt then Jena before detouring around the mountains entirely. But now this Lord Grauhard had appeared and thrown a kink into their plans. This crazy noble seemed to appear where ever they went and so in an effort to avoid or at least out-pace him, they were skipping two stops, taking a short-cut through the mountains, and going straight on to Hannover.

While Kitty was impressed by the impressive view, she didn't let it distract her from formulating a plan. She needed a way to extract information out of Nightcrawler. It had to be both fool-proof and unexpected. She was sick of being in the dark with a bunch of puzzle pieces and questions that were so close to fitting together somehow. She had to know for certain where he got his possessions and why he was behaving the way he was. Why did he seem to have the interest he did in her? Then it came to her, the perfect procedure for learning what she wanted to know. An almost feral grin appeared on her pretty face as she began to flesh out the details. Let's see him try to get out of this…