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Authors: Kevin J. Anderson
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years.
Then the barn had burned down. And Elspeth, in anger and determination, stalked out to do the spring planting by herself, hitching their one horse to the plow and taking out her despair by tearing into the Earth.
But the plow struck something hard and immovable, long-buried in the dirt. The unexpected obstacle made the horse lurch forward and break its foreleg.
Rain had poured down as Elspeth unearthed the bro ken altar stone with her bare hands. The flat fragment was etched with strange runes and brown markings that looked like long-dried blood. Elspeth couldn ’ t decipher the symbols, but in a flash — a vision — she understood the truth.
No God, not even Jaacob ’ s God, could possibly be so cruel as to let her suffer all that had happened to her, not without good reason. And now Elspeth had found that reason. While everyone else went to the town ’ s Methodist church to sing hymns to some gentle, peaceful deity, the O ld Ones were lying here in the ground, forgotten. And they were not too happy about it.
As the altar stone showed, others had known the truth long ago, and they must have appeased the Dark Ones with sacrifice and worship. Now, even though they were all but forgotten, the ancient gods remained hungry for the sacrifice.
Elspeth had been given a second chance. She could appease them. She would be the one to gain their favor, no one else. The Dark Ones did exist; she knew it. Finding the altar stone in the mids t of her tribulations had to be a sign!
And so, she made sacrifices. First was the horse with its br o ken leg, right there in the field. Then the dog, Jaacob ’ s surly old mutt… then rabbits and squirrels. But nothing seemed to have any beneficial effect on th e crops.
She needed a better, bigger sacrifice.
Then that traveler had stopped, asking for directions….
Elspeth had never really kept a record of how good the crops were when Jaacob did the field work, but she was certain the yield had increased dramatic ally since she began making the human sacrifices. The Dark Ones wouldn ’ t neglect their faithful servant. Why should she doubt them?
Besides, she had enough trouble just watching over the Grossnetz boys who came to do her harvesting. She took down the scar ecrow pole when it was time for them to come, of course, and hid the altar stone, but Elspeth didn ’ t want them to become too nosy. She was confident that even if the Grossnetz boys di s covered anything dangerous, the Dark Ones would strike them down, but sh e was afraid the D.O.s (as she called them when she didn ’ t think They were listening) would also punish her for being careless.
Back at the old farmhouse she washed her hands at the well. Since it was such a nice day, with enough of a breeze to chase away the worst of the heat, she decided to forego the washing chores. She discarded her bloodstained dress and changed into a fresh, clean flower print.
The weathered rocking chair creaked on the front porch as she settled her bulk into it. She rocked back and forth, humming a tune that vaguely resembled “ Amazing Grace,” but with words she had altered to suit herself. Elspeth wondered how long it would be before the Dark Ones sent another victim to her.
Maybe she would do some embroidery in the meantime.
He c ame striding down the dusty road that passed in front of the Sandsbury house. Long-legged to the point of being gangly, he wore rumpled city clothes in the noon heat. The grin on his bespectacled face made him look foolish, even from a distance. He waved t o her in polite greeting, and Elspeth waved back.
He took it as an invitation and veered from the road to walk up to the house. “ Can you tell me if I ’ m anywhere close to the town of Tucker ’ s Grove, Ma ’ am?”
She waited for him to come to the porch before s he answered. “ Tucker ’ s Grove? Well, how close you be depends on how far you ’ ve come, now doesn ’ t it? It ’ s about an hour ’ s ride from here, a day
Then the barn had burned down. And Elspeth, in anger and determination, stalked out to do the spring planting by herself, hitching their one horse to the plow and taking out her despair by tearing into the Earth.
But the plow struck something hard and immovable, long-buried in the dirt. The unexpected obstacle made the horse lurch forward and break its foreleg.
Rain had poured down as Elspeth unearthed the bro ken altar stone with her bare hands. The flat fragment was etched with strange runes and brown markings that looked like long-dried blood. Elspeth couldn ’ t decipher the symbols, but in a flash — a vision — she understood the truth.
No God, not even Jaacob ’ s God, could possibly be so cruel as to let her suffer all that had happened to her, not without good reason. And now Elspeth had found that reason. While everyone else went to the town ’ s Methodist church to sing hymns to some gentle, peaceful deity, the O ld Ones were lying here in the ground, forgotten. And they were not too happy about it.
As the altar stone showed, others had known the truth long ago, and they must have appeased the Dark Ones with sacrifice and worship. Now, even though they were all but forgotten, the ancient gods remained hungry for the sacrifice.
Elspeth had been given a second chance. She could appease them. She would be the one to gain their favor, no one else. The Dark Ones did exist; she knew it. Finding the altar stone in the mids t of her tribulations had to be a sign!
And so, she made sacrifices. First was the horse with its br o ken leg, right there in the field. Then the dog, Jaacob ’ s surly old mutt… then rabbits and squirrels. But nothing seemed to have any beneficial effect on th e crops.
She needed a better, bigger sacrifice.
Then that traveler had stopped, asking for directions….
Elspeth had never really kept a record of how good the crops were when Jaacob did the field work, but she was certain the yield had increased dramatic ally since she began making the human sacrifices. The Dark Ones wouldn ’ t neglect their faithful servant. Why should she doubt them?
Besides, she had enough trouble just watching over the Grossnetz boys who came to do her harvesting. She took down the scar ecrow pole when it was time for them to come, of course, and hid the altar stone, but Elspeth didn ’ t want them to become too nosy. She was confident that even if the Grossnetz boys di s covered anything dangerous, the Dark Ones would strike them down, but sh e was afraid the D.O.s (as she called them when she didn ’ t think They were listening) would also punish her for being careless.
Back at the old farmhouse she washed her hands at the well. Since it was such a nice day, with enough of a breeze to chase away the worst of the heat, she decided to forego the washing chores. She discarded her bloodstained dress and changed into a fresh, clean flower print.
The weathered rocking chair creaked on the front porch as she settled her bulk into it. She rocked back and forth, humming a tune that vaguely resembled “ Amazing Grace,” but with words she had altered to suit herself. Elspeth wondered how long it would be before the Dark Ones sent another victim to her.
Maybe she would do some embroidery in the meantime.
He c ame striding down the dusty road that passed in front of the Sandsbury house. Long-legged to the point of being gangly, he wore rumpled city clothes in the noon heat. The grin on his bespectacled face made him look foolish, even from a distance. He waved t o her in polite greeting, and Elspeth waved back.
He took it as an invitation and veered from the road to walk up to the house. “ Can you tell me if I ’ m anywhere close to the town of Tucker ’ s Grove, Ma ’ am?”
She waited for him to come to the porch before s he answered. “ Tucker ’ s Grove? Well, how close you be depends on how far you ’ ve come, now doesn ’ t it? It ’ s about an hour ’ s ride from here, a day
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