Once Upon a Time: New Fairy Tales Paperback(79)

a retinue, but Valfrid was not dressed for the out-of-doors, and no other servants were present.

Valfrid presented Justus with a satchel. “A lunch, a teenage boy’s bow,” the dour servant said, “and ten arrows.”

“Expect a gift when I return, Valfrid,” Justus said, then added, “and another for Rigmora, and the remaining eight for the lord of the castle.” Monster exchanged an amused, patronizing smile with Valfrid, and Justus pursed his lips. They would see.

Justus opened the satchel, unwrapping the bow and one arrow to get a look at them. The bow was of exquisitely carved yew in the shape of two fish joined at the tail; the arrow was fletched with exotic citrus-hued feathers.

Monster opened the giant front door without touching the pulley system needed by the servants.

Justus watched this feat with a dry mouth and damp palms.

Monster must be mocking him with such a display of casual power.

As he walked through, he imagined that any moment the beast would leap on him from behind and eat him alive. His back prickled at the thought, but when Justus turned to check, he only saw Monster heaving the door closed, the unexplained twin wounds glistening in the glare of sunlit snow. They hadn’t even grown scabs.

Some of the tower windows glowed green, the bright sky shining through from the windows on the other side, and Justus gestured at the expensive colored glass. “How that must have cost!” he said.

“I wince when I think of the wasted funds,” Monster agreed, catching up to Justus in three easy strides. “It was before my time.”

“What would you have done instead?” Justus asked.

Monster paused, studying Justus with disturbing focus. “No one has ever asked me that. A fountain, in the center of a pond. Perhaps with lily pads, pretty little silver frogs from the south, and dragonflies.”

Monster held out a hand, silently offering to carry the bag containing the bow and arrows, but Justus tightened his grip. He wasn’t about to be separated from his weapons.

The path they took was lined in thick, coniferous woods and ? 246 ?

? Cory Skerry ?

carpeted in a crust of snow. “And you, Karin?” Monster asked after a few minutes of silence. “What would you do with such an exorbitant sum?”

Justus was caught off guard, but only for a moment. “I would buy herons to eat your silver frogs, and blackbirds to feast on your dragonflies. And a very long bandage for your disgusting wounds.”

Monster howled, a twisted blend of laughter and a wolf’s call, and slapped at a tree in his mirth. A shower of snow landed on Justus, and he shook it from his hair, trying not to join Monster’s appreciation.

He must remain aloof.

The bow was smooth and cool in Justus’s hands, and he carried it under the cloak as they walked so if he saw an opportunity, he might take it. The first time he shot the bow, a hare that had been perched on the bank above them tumbled and lay still. Monster turned, surprised, and admitted he’d not even seen it hiding in a patch of snowless ground. Smugly, Justus accepted the arrow as Monster tied the rabbit by its feet to his gameline.

“Who gets this one?” Monster asked.

“Valfrid and Rigmora can wrestle thumbs for it. I’ll find you something bigger.”

Monster paused, then asked, “Do you enjoy killing, Karin?”

Justus shrugged. Hunting and killing weren’t the same thing. “I enjoy hunting. Some women are bakers and some are gardeners. I’m a hunter.”

Two wild turkeys fell with Justus’s arrows in them, both under Monster’s thoughtful gaze. A stupid third turkey, panicked by the unexplained deaths of its comrades, flapped straight toward them.

Justus drew the bow—and then lowered it.

“We probably don’t really need ten,” Justus said.

Monster said nothing.

When they stopped for lunch, it was by mutual agreement, on the crest of a hill. The valley below them flowed to the horizons in a rich patchwork of colors and textures, as varied as Monster’s pelt. The deep autumn air smelled like rotting apples and cold maple leaves.

? 247 ?

? Castle of Masks ?

“I don’t hunt my own lands often,” Monster said. “But every time I come through, I wonder why.”

“You get enough maiden steak to satisfy you,” Justus said.

Monster turned sharply to look at him. Justus regretted opening his big mouth, but Monster was quiet again. Justus sat on a stone and ate the lunch Valfrid had given him: some jam tarts and dried fruits, a rind of cheese and a skin of weak, once-warm wine. Monster devoured one of the turkeys.