Eye? Plausible and not at the same time. Yet what other choice did he have? Die of exposure or enter the lair of a seemingly benign woman who might be a witch?
He took a step over the threshold and noticed the signs that she celebrated the Yuletide. The evergreen wreath wound with pinecones and berries on the wall by her door. A potted tree, the branches hung with candied fruit.
His eyes widened and then almost escaped his face as he beheld a table with platters mounded with meat. Bowls with vegetables and other things he’d never imagined. A feast.
“I’ve been expecting you.”
Ominous words.
“Who are you?”
“Call me, Grandmother, Anders.” Her eyes flashed with a bright blue flame.
CHAPTER THREE
She knows my name!
The shock had Anders pointing and yelling. “You are a witch.” Anders retreated.
Guntar laughed. “You should see your face.”
“This isn’t funny. She’s a sorceress.”
“Because she knew your name?” Guntar snorted.
“Easy to figure out. You’re the spitting image of your father,” the old woman declared.
“You knew him?”
“And your mother, too.”
“Why did they come to see you?”
“Everyone comes to see Grandmother sooner or later,” she declared.
A frown tugged at Anders’ brow. The old lady discomfited him as she kept looking at him with that sweet, dimpled smile, her hands tucked over her rotund belly covered with an apron.
“Are you a witch?” he asked.
“Nothing so mundane.” Her laughter trilled in reply. “Sorceress. Druid. Priestess. I’ve heard them all. In reality, I am simply one in tune with the other forces found in our world.”
“Are you evil?”
“Evil depends on the person judging. Are you evil for slaughtering a chicken to eat?”
“No, ‘cause it’s food.”
“Yet the Orc who eats humans because it is part of their diet is vilified.”
He gaped. “Orcs are monsters.”
“Orcs are animals, just like you. Are you hungry? I hope I made enough for two strapping young men.” She flipped the conversation and gestured to the table overladen with food.
So many delicious-looking things. He hesitated.
Guntar didn’t and seated himself. He grabbed at everything within reach and soon groaned.
“Won’t you join him?”
“What’s your name?”
“As if you don’t know.” Her brows arched.
“You’re not my grandmother.”
“I am everyone’s grandmother.” Her smile had the deepest dimples, and her eyes, how they twinkled. He noticed her red gown. The deep color brought out the pink in her cheeks. Her hair was mostly white with hints of gray.
“Where is your husband?” Because looking around, he didn’t see any signs of anyone else. One chair by the hearth being the biggest indicator.
“As if I need a man.” Her laughter trilled once more with actual amusement.
“You live here by yourself?”
“Is that so hard to believe for your misogynistic generation?” Her brusque tone was in discordance with her appearance. Her smile widened. “You must be so hungry. I made your favorite. Roast with gravy. Oh, and mustn’t forget the charred potatoes.”
How did she know his favorite meal? Did it matter, given his stomach grumbled? It had been a while since he’d eaten, and this smelled better than anything his mother could manage.
“I promise it’s not poisoned,” Grandmother teased.
Guntar’s food ecstasy decided for him. Anders seated himself and soon had an orgy in his mouth that only made him feel slightly guilty about Alva. He just wouldn’t tell her that Grandmother’s cake tasted better than hers.
Alva…
“Why the sad face?” Grandmother asked.
“I’m going to miss Alva.”
“Ah, the woman you love. Have you been married long?”
He shook his head. “Not married at all. I just asked her. When I return, she’ll finally be of age.”
“If she waits,” Grandmother said sagely.
“She’ll wait.”
“For how long?” Grandmother asked. “One week. A month. A year. That’s how you recognize true love. How long before they move on? Some never do.”
“Lucky for her, I won’t make her wait. I’ll be home by spring.”
“And If you aren’t?” Grandmother insisted.
“She’d wait.”
“The confidence of youth. So thrilling, even as one knows how it invariably ends,” Grandmother declared.
“What are you implying?”
“Nothing. Nothing at all. Come, let us have a drink by the fire.” She snapped her fingers, and he stood. Three chairs surrounded the hearth.
He blinked. Still three, and one of them held Guntar, who rocked with his eyes half-shut, muttering, “This is nice.”
Where had the chairs come from? Anders glanced around and noticed the table cleared. As if they’d not just risen from a meal.
Magic.
It bothered him but not enough to stop him from heading for the chair and its promise of a warm nap by the fire. His full belly and relaxed body wanted nothing more after that meal.
His eyes closed, and when he woke, it was to see the fire banked, and Guntar’s chair empty.
But Grandmother sat with him in her rocker, knitting. “Did you have a nice nap?”
“Where’s Guntar?”
“Gone to bed. I told him to borrow mine since I don’t sleep much.” She kept rocking and knitting—a soothing sound and motion.
“How did you learn magic?” The question blurted from him.
Grandmother arched a brow. “What makes you think I had to be taught anything?”
He pursed his lips.
She laughed. “A grandmother taught me. Like a grandmother taught her. Some I figured out on my own. Let me ask, how do you know how to hunt?”
“My father taught me the basics.”
“Meaning anyone could do it?”
“No.” He rolled a shoulder. “Hunting is more than just doing the right things. You gotta have an instinct.”
“And that can’t be taught. Are you hungry?”
Despite the meal of before, it surprised him to realize that he was. “Yes, I am. Thirsty, too.”
She led him to the table where a plate waited with cheese, cut meat, and bread. A flagon held cider, a sweet accompaniment to the salty.
“Would you like to hear your future?” Grandmother asked, bustling without really moving. His plate stayed full of the things he liked, his glass topped.
“I know my future. I’m going to become a soldier. Marry Alva. Have a long career and many children and grandchildren I will enjoy when I retire.”
“A fine future, if it comes true.”
“No ifs.”
“Because she loves you and will wait.” Grandmother made it sound matter-of-fact, and doubt reared its head.
“Did you see something in the future that says otherwise?”
“Do you want to know?” she asked.