Read Online The Wealding Word by A C Gogolski - Free Book Online Page B

and Nell could be far from the village before anyone noticed she was missing. Her mother and Lexi were busy preparing a stew in the kitchen when Nell slipped in. Neither paid any attention to her while she stowed a few pieces of bread, two radishes, and some salt-packed sturgeon in her bag. Then, dodging the buckets catching drips from the poorly repaired roof, Nell walked out the front door.
    She didn’t bother calling to Sola or Rawley, she could no longer hear their voices anyway. Besides, that was just another part of her old life she wanted to forget. She wasn’t far down the road, however, when Rawley appeared at her side. The dog glanced up at her and licked her hand, content simply to trot along.
    “I don’t know what to do,” Nell said. Even if she couldn’t make Rawley understand her, it still felt better to talk. “Everything is going wrong. Maybe I am cursed.” She walked heavily, head down. It was a bright spring day, but the sunny birdsong did nothing for her mood. She wandered out of the village and past the muddy farms on the way to the wood. Horses pulled iron ploughs in the distance, furrowing the soil for planting. The men guiding them barely glanced at “that girl with the curse,” as she was known.
    Only one person paid her any mind: her neighbor with the missing fingers, Mr. Gall. He was herding a few dozen goats down the road when she met him. Over their absent bleats and baas, the man stuttered, “G-going somewhere? C-careful the grumlins don’t get you.” He showed a row of crooked brown teeth in what might have been a smile. But Nell was in no mood for conversation, especially with the curious herder. Without replying, she hastened around his animals. Soon she disappeared into a stand of budding white birch.
    Gloom was upon her as she wandered the wood. Unconsciously she wound her way to the old well that Sola and Rawley showed her in the fall. No giant frog croaked there today. The well sat on the edge of the marsh, and her thoughts drifted back to the day she met the oak. That seemed like a long time ago. Stopping to rest, she set her bag upon the mossy ring of stones. The little roof to the well had long ago rotted away, but a rope and bucket still survived. She emptied it of leaves and then tossed it down into the darkness for a drink. The bucket hit the water with a distant splash.
    It was then she met with a feathery feeling. It crept upon her slowly, tingling up from her toes. She had the sense that someone was calling her from afar, but she couldn’t hear the voice. Blue sky peeped through branches overhead, and warblers, bluebirds, and robins filled the air with the carols of spring. Yet something was wrong about the day, like a shirt worn backwards, or a fork with missing tines.
    Rawley panted nearby, waiting for a chipmunk he had spotted to dart from beneath a branch. Nell’s eyes grew heavy as she watched her dog. Without bothering to bring up the bucket, she settled into the leaves and put her head against the mossy stones of the well. “Let the grumlins take me if they want,” she murmured.
    When she opened her eyes again, the sun was gone. Gray clouds now covered the forest, stifling the birdsong. Nell could not tell how long she slept, nor what time of day it was. And she was alone.She bolted up, shouting, “Rawley!” Her voice sounded too loud, disturbing the drone of the nearby marsh. The air suddenly grew cold and quiet. Her dog didn’t come, but the uneasy feeling of being watched intensified. Nell felt oddly naked, standing there alone by the well, and wished she had not called out.
    She shook her head and pushed a thick curl behind her ear. It was time to go home. Besides, she remembered she couldn’t find her way to Lady Zel’s tower without Tomkin – the troll had told her it was altogether invisible to uninvited wanderers in the forest. What would I possibly do alone in the woods at night, without a proper blanket or fire?, she wondered. “I really am