Elsa Crane's Arc

Chapter 7 of 66

Elsa waited on the porch until her knees stiffened. The horned one did not come back. Down in the village, a bell rang three times, then three times again. The boy's mother had told everyone. Doors slammed. Lanterns moved between houses like wasps. Nora climbed the porch steps. "They want you at the hut. They want a meeting. They want to know what you're doing." "I have three candidates I haven't tested," Elsa said. "I can't sit them down for tea while a child is missing." She pressed her palms flat on her knees. Weeks of careful watching, wasted. The village would not wait for her smile test now. She made her choice on the walk down. Not a test. A recruit. The blackberry arch sat at the edge of the pines, snow banked on its woven roof, fruit still dark and heavy on the vines though the frost had come weeks ago. The librarian was inside, filling a basket. Silver hair, round glasses, a cardigan the color of old cream. Elsa had watched her for a year. She smiled at everyone. Certain neighbors had stopped answering their doors. The pale wolf came out of the pines and sat beside Elsa without being called. Its blue eyes fixed on the doorway. Nora stayed back on the path with the shovel. "Brynn," Elsa said. "I need to tell you something, and I need you to hear it plain." Brynn straightened, basket on her hip. "Elder. Come in from the cold." Elsa stepped under the arch. The wolf stepped with her. "A boy was taken. Jonas Everett took him, down through the old house. I've sent something after them. Something that will bring the boy back and not the baker." Brynn's hand kept moving among the berries. She did not drop the basket. She did not gasp. Her smile stayed exactly where it was. The wolf's ears went forward. It did not growl. It watched her the way it watched Jonas's name on the page. "That poor child," Brynn said. "And poor Jonas." She picked another berry. "What do you need from me, Elder?" Elsa felt the cold settle in her chest. There it was. The same still smile. The same hands that kept working. She had come here for a helper and found her fourth answer. "I need you at the hut," Elsa said. "Stand beside me. Tell the village the elder is acting. Feed them. Keep them calm until the boy is home." "Of course." Brynn lifted the basket. "I'll bring berries." They walked back together. The wolf stayed at Elsa's left, between her and the cardigan. Nora fell in behind, silent. Elsa had her crowd-soother. She had her successor's face, too, and it matched her own too well. One test remained, and it was no longer a test of smiles. It was a test of what she would do with a woman who smiled like her.