Chapter Sixteen

Lullaby

Jakob paced around his house, trying to keep his shuffling steps quiet since Aurora was napping, while Angelika watched him from the kitchen table. He had been at it almost since the moment he'd woken up.

"Jake, would you sit down?" Angelika asked in exasperation over her sewing. "You're going to drive me mad."

Jakob sighed dramatically but sank into the chair opposite her. "It's past noon, why isn't she here yet?"

"She probably spent the whole night up with Will. You know he doesn't sleep much. She'll be tired, she needs some time to sleep."

Jakob shook his head. "No, something doesn't feel right," he said. "If she's not here by supper I'm going to check on her." Angelika didn't argue it further and returned to her work. Jakob tried to distract himself by working on one of his tales but couldn't focus.

"Papa, are you making another story?" Jakob glanced over his shoulder and saw Aurora climbing out of her bed, her eyes still heavy from sleep. She was gazing intently at the quill in his hand and then glancing up to his face questioningly. Without waiting for a response she crossed the room and clambered into his lap, eyeing the marks on the page. "What's it about?"

Jakob smiled at the sleepy child and laid the quill aside. "It's about a young boy named – Jack – who bought some magic beans," he explained and in the corner of his eye he saw Angelika look up in recognition.

"Why'd he buy 'em?" Aurora asked, suddenly wide awake. Stories of magic always seemed to captivate her.

"Well…" Jakob said lamely, stalling for time while his mind wildly invented. He honestly hadn't thought of a plot this far yet. "Well he was supposed to buy something to help his family, because they were poor. A cow, it was. But an old man said the beans were magic and would make his family rich, so Jake – I mean Jack – bought them instead."

Aurora nodded him on, mercifully unassuming about the tongue slip. "Did they work?"

"Um – sort of. When he got home, his family was angry that he had not bought the cow. His broth – er, mother threw the beans away." Jakob smiled, an idea suddenly occurring to him. "She threw them out the window and they landed in the garden. During the night, while they were all asleep, they grew into a beanstalk."

"A magic one?" Aurora asked hopefully.

"A giant one. It reached all the way up into the clouds and higher. Jack's mother sent him to get a piece of the clouds, because she thought that would make them rich. So Jack climbed up into the sky, but when he go there he found a castle sitting in the clouds, where an evil giant lived."

For another half hour Jakob passed the time by entertaining Aurora with more of the tale of Jack and his beanstalk. After Aurora had heard her fill of the story, Jakob set about recording it all in his journal, elaborating the plot in ways that he had not thought to touch on before. He was able to keep himself preoccupied like this until nearly suppertime.

"She still has not come, Briar Rose," Jakob said quietly to Angelika. "I am going to see her."

By this time Angelika looked anxious as well and she nodded. "Hurry though," she cautioned and glanced out the window. "The sun's set early tonight and it makes me uneasy."

Jakob followed her gaze and saw that the sky was already turning dark, thick clouds blocking out what was left of the light along the horizon. He nodded and set out quickly for the inn, inwardly hoping to find Lorita still asleep in her room. When he reached the door he inhaled sharply and then knocked. For a long minute there was silence and then he heard a strange, scratching noise. Alarmed, Jakob forgot civility and opened the door. A black streak shot through the crack, and within seconds had run down into the tavern. Jakob's heart stopped when he realised what it was.

"Baldwinn," he breathed. It looked as though Lorita had yet to return to her room. In a second Jakob had gone after the fox, knowing where the creature was headed. When the younger Grimm reached his brother's house, the fox was running from the door to the windowsill, trying to get in.

"Will?" Jakob shouted, hammering on the door. There was no answer. "Will? Lorita? Hello!" Jakob's heart was racing and finally he grasped the door handle. To his surprise it turned easily, bizarre since Wilhelm had taken to locking everyone out of his home, and with a terrible sense of foreboding he opened the door.

The house was deserted. Nothing moved besides the new entrants. On Wilhelm's table was an empty basket and dishes, while the desk held a familiar journal and a rag covered in smears of dried blood. Beyond this there were no signs of life.

"Where could they be?" Jakob said in horror. Baldwinn was scurrying from one object to another, sniffing them madly. Jakob watched him apprehensively having concluded long ago that the fox was as intelligent as any human and was certainly able to understand them. "Baldwinn, the blood on the rag, can you tell who's it is?"

The fox nosed it and then bobbed his head. "Is it Lorita's?" This time Baldwinn shook his head. Jakob let out a short breath of relief. He'd been afraid that Wilhelm had hurt Lorita in his insanity. Of course they still had no idea where the two of them had gone to.

"Where else could they be?" Jakob yelled into the empty house. Despairingly, he crossed to the desk and examined the journal, which had been left lying open, the quill still lying atop the exposed pages. The sight of the shabby quill, stained with both black and scarlet, made Jakob's stomach twist but he brushed it aside to read the writing. Although the handwriting was extremely shaky, there was no mistaking its author. Curious, Jakob read a few lines and his eyes widened.

"Mein Gott, he was writing her," he gasped. "The story of the woodsman and his faerie daughter. Remarkable."

Intrigued, he flipped back a page to look at the other stories. What he saw made him flich back in shock. The page was covered in overlapping black print, so convoluted that it was almost entirely illegible. However the most frightening part was the single line of text written over the black, its ink an ominous dusty scarlet. Kill Jakob. Written in blood.

In a rush, Wilhelm's words struck him. I don't want to kill you! This was it, Jakob could deny it no longer. And if all of what Wilhelm had said was true then they were all in great danger.

"I need to get home."

Jakob bolted out of the house and ran for home, the sable fox racing at his heels. The blackened sky, the empty streets, the silent village were of no concern to him. He only knew he needed to reach his family.

"Angelika! Aurora!" Jakob yelled as he burst through the door. There was no answer. Blind with panic, he ran into the adjoining room where only minutes ago his family had been peacefully enjoying their time. Instead he found Angelika spread on the floor. Kneeling at her side, Jakob instantly put his ear to her chest and was relieved to hear a heartbeat, but she did not rouse when he moved her. A sickening sense of déjà vu seized him, remembering a time many years ago when he had last seen her in this state. And he was certain it was caused by the same person.

"Aurora!" Jakob cried, looking around desperately for her. "Aurora, where are you?"

"Pretty child, fast asleep."

Jakob spun to face the door and saw a cloaked figure standing in the doorframe, a blanket-wrapped bundle in its arms. Though most of his face was in shadow, below the rim of the hood was a twisted smile.

"Let my daughter go," Jakob growled and took a step forward. In a lithe move the figure turned just slightly to show that there was a knife held against Aurora's throat. Jakob froze.

"Let her go, I just might do," the figure jeered. "But perhaps a game. Guess my name and I shall set her free."

"You are Herr Prinz, I recognize your voice," Jakob said confidently.

The figure laughed and jerked its head so the hood slipped off, revealing the youthful face and hollow eyes. "Clever clever Jakob Grimm," Prinz taunted. "You know me well but that is not my name. The child stays with me."

"Please," Jakob begged, nauseous at the sight of his blissfully sleeping girl with the blade against her neck. "Please, leave her be. She doesn't need to be part of this. Take me, I will come without a fight if you leave her out of this."

"Oh you will join us," Prinz said confidently. "But not yet. She needs time to prepare for you. To be ready for revenge. So you should rest now, take a nap. Save your strength. Join us when you're through."

"No!" Jakob shouted angrily. Prinz ignored him and with a deft hand pulled something from the oddly shaped pouch on his belt. A flute. Putting it to his lips, he blew and with the very first note Jakob's legs failed him. His thoughts were thick and his muscles would no longer respond. Before the end of the first phrase an overwhelming fatigue had carried his mind into sleep.