Chapter Twenty-four:
The following Monday, while I sat in my cubicle at Werndl Accounting just before lunch, trying to extract my brain from its mystical confusions and focus on mundane auditing, the phone on my desk rang. When I looked at the caller ID, I jerked to attention. The call came from Lady Erlanga’s house.
I knew what news I would get before I lifted the receiver. Taking a deep breath, I ordered my emotions to remain at bay and answered the phone.
“Hi Gabi,” Henning’s unusually deep voice reached out to touch my spirit, his tone betraying intense mourning. “The Leitalra has completed her mission. You, Dennis, Till, and Herr Felder are free from Wuotan’s bondage.”
“Thank you for telling me,” I said, after pausing for a moment to send a silent prayer heavenward, asking divine grace to guide my mentor to her husband’s side. “Please let me know if you need help getting her affairs settled. I can make some to-go meals to stock up your freezer.”
Henning sighed over the phone. “That would be helpful, actually. I really appreciate that. Thankfully, my Omi got all the legal stuff in order long ago. Her oldest son will be inheriting this house, so I’ll be staying with my parents until I save up for my own place. I’m doing my internship now, and I’ve already started tucking away a few Euros every week.”
“That’s a good habit to build,” I encouraged him, curiosity creeping forward to eclipse my sorrow. I longed to ask whether Henning had sensed any pull toward his new Leitalra yet, whether she turned out to be Sandra Heising or the woman whose name I did not know. Or whether it was someone else entirely.
But instead, I reassured the Keyholder again and pledged to bring him a big stack of home-cooked meals tomorrow evening. I would request to leave work early so I could start cooking, numerous one-pot options running through my mind. Henning told me he would be staying at the late Lady’s house until the end of this week, sorting through her things alongside the rest of her family as they arrived. Her funeral would take place at the Huguenot church on Saturday afternoon, right in the middle of the Easter holidays.
Lukas and I ate lunch together in the court, sitting upon the stone bench beneath the chestnut tree, its leaves manifesting the radiant hues of spring. After I passed on Henning’s message, Lukas agreed that I should leave work at three p.m. so I could start several pots of noodles and stew. I had already texted Bianca and she intended to join me, collecting all of the necessary ingredients from the local grocery store first.
I had spent the weekend bouncing between Lukas’ suite and my cottage, not sure which of the two would become our primary residence. My adopted mother planned a family dinner on Easter Sunday meant to include all of us—Lukas and Till, alongside Dennis and myself. I occasionally mused on giving up the cottage so Dennis and Till could use it as their first home. While I would not enjoy meeting Nicole at the Felder property from time to time, maybe the two of us could smooth things over once she realized her brother and I were committed to our relationship.
“You know, I have to admit I won’t feel entirely safe from a rogue demon portal until ten p.m. on Friday,” Lukas said after a few moments of silent eating. “Does that make me a coward?”
Taking a bite of my turkey and cheese sandwich, I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. His leather jacket, black dress pants, and smartly-slicked hair gave off the impression of confidence, not cowardice, though I sensed his element’s insecurity. I allowed my fire to grant him a breath of light, my doubts haunting different environs altogether.
“I don’t think you’re a coward. You didn’t grow up under Lady Erlanga’s guidance, like I did. It makes sense that you’d have some doubts. I trust that she kept her word, but I’ll probably sleep a little more soundly after Friday night.”
“You sound like you have something else on your mind.”
Perceptive, as usual. I ran my gaze over the hedgerow before us, then turned to meet Lukas’ questioning eyes. “I’m feeling really sorry for Henning. He loved his great-grandmother so much, and I think he’s nervous about who his next Lady will be. It’s not like there’s a lot of decent maidens in the pool, if Erlanga’s soul chooses a woman who has lived outside of Teuton lands. The first time I met Henning, he said he hasn’t felt attraction to anyone yet.”
“Hmm. I hope he doesn’t have a secret crush on Dennis.” Lukas appeared thoughtful as he took a sip from his bottle of sparkling water.
That idea had not occurred to me, but I quickly pushed it out of the range of possibilities. “Couldn’t be. If Henning were gay, he wouldn’t have taken the keys. Keyholders are expected to marry and raise a family with their Ladies. No gay man would agree to deny his true self forever.”
“In this day and age, you may be right. Fifty years ago?”
“Henning’s twenty,” I stated, not following Lukas’ train of thought.
Lukas shrugged and pulled an apple out of his lunch bag. “Just thinking out loud. I don’t know who Erlangen’s next Lady will be, but tradition says the soul of a Teuton city never chooses wrong. Maybe she’ll be someone none of us have met before. Someone with insight that could really make a difference.”
“I hope you’re right,” I said, not entirely convinced. For now, I needed to support Henning as he grieved and offer a listening ear.
The Scholz family dinner on Easter Sunday was far more pleasant than the gift exchange last Christmas. My adopted mother had become an entirely new person after she told me the truth about my parentage, her black-fired aura radiating contentment rather than disdain. She and Dennis cooked a bountiful dinner that included lamb with gravy, potato dumplings, cucumber dill salad, and an Easter cake filled with sour cherries.
I got to know Till a bit more while we sat around the table. He had grown up in a village along the Czech border, his parents devout in their religion to a point that gave me cultish vibes. They had forbidden him to ever use his magic, training him to shackle his smoke and punishing him whenever it manifested itself. Magic was of the devil, and his father prayed every evening that God would cure the taint of his family’s blood. Till’s mother had tried to set him up with girls his entire life, even though he recognized his attraction to boys at a young age. He hoped to stay in Erlangen permanently and never return home.
“Well, if Lukas thinks he can put up with me sharing his house, you two are welcome to have the cottage,” I said, looking from Till to my brother. “There’s a really amazing stereo in the parlor that’s almost brand new. And the silver oak tree that shades the western roof gives off healing energy that can help you center yourself, if you ever feel like your magic is going haywire.”
Dennis rose from his place at the table and came to my side, binding me in a strong embrace. “Thank you so much, Gabi. We could really use a place to stay during summer break. I’ll have to try to make peace with the Eihalbe first, though.”
“I should be able to help you with that. I think the reason the fairy has never spoken to you is because it knows you’ve dabbled in dark magic. If you renounce that stuff, you’ll discover there’s lots of beautiful sorcery out there, too.”
I moved in with Lukas the following weekend, and the Monday after that, he started his new job at his mother’s employer. My attentions shifted ahead to the first Saturday in May, when the Teuton community of Erlangen would hold a dance at the meeting place in the forest. The largest mystical event of the year, our people would come together to eat, share stories, and lace streamers around the Maypole. My twenty-ninth birthday was the Sunday afterward, May 2nd. I knew Lukas was planning a special celebration, but he had been tight-lipped about it so far.
Anticipation could be a sweet event, a privilege I had experienced only rarely in my life before Lukas.
We rode to the May dances in Frau Felder’s sky blue Rolls. The corporate executive herself sat at the wheel, her driving habits much more refined than those of her son. Rosemarie Ziehm occupied the passenger seat, her rapport with Lukas’ mother on full display as the two discussed recent Hollywood movies. Rosemarie studied film at the local university and hoped to work in cinematography once she finished her degree. From what I had seen of her thus far, she seemed to be a lovely person, youthful optimism evident in her yellow fire’s aura.
Lukas and I sat together in the back seat, our fingers locked while our own elements spun a delicious weaving of red fire and mist in the air between us. All four of us wore traditional Alpine attire—Dirndls for the women and Lederhosen for Lukas. The sight of my boyfriend in the garb of a Bavarian farmer prompted me to stifle giggles. Only rarely did our people wear clothing like this; I had not worn a Dirndl since I left Erlangen after high school. The fingers of my right hand toyed with the pink ribbon at my waist, as I envisioned building a family with Lukas in some obscure village—the fantasy his career barred from him.
“My stomach is growling like Winston when he sees a squirrel,” Lukas said as his mother parked in the dirt lot before the trailhead. We had come early this time to ensure we could get a spot in the main lot. When we released the magic uniting our spirits so we could exit the car, Lukas caught my gaze for a second and clarified, “I’ve been thinking about your potato salad ever since I smelled it cooking last night. You know how to torture a strapping young male, fire fairy.”
I snorted with amusement, thinking back to our first bike ride along the canal, when I accidentally revealed my attraction to him. “This fire fairy loves to bring strapping young males to their knees, one way or another,” I tossed at him as his mother popped the trunk, letting us collect the food we would contribute to the festival.
Lukas snatched my large jar of potato salad before I could get it, holding it to his chest as if it were a baby. He crooned some ridiculous song to the jar, which got Rosemarie laughing along with me. “Your brother’s a goofball,” I told her as I retrieved two folded blankets.
Rosemarie rolled her eyes, her dark hair done up in pigtails, her scrunchies matching the radiant yellow ribbons decorating her Dirndl. “He’s always been that way. I haven’t finished giving him grief about showing you a bully façade when you were both in high school. Surprised he had any friends at all.”
She stuck her tongue out at him and collected a covered bowl of soft pretzels and another of sugar cookies frosted with Erlangen’s colors of white and red. Lukas mirrored her expression and handed his mother her dish of mushroom tarts. “So says the maiden who didn’t grow up among Teutons insistent upon judging others by their blood status,” he teased, shutting the trunk before striking out for the trailhead.
“The Teutons in this city are so weird,” Rosemarie groused, falling into step at my side.
“Tell me about it. We’ve got our work cut out for us, and so does Henning,” I said, my shoes crunching on the leaves and grass lining the trail.
“Has the poor boy found his new Leitalra yet?” Frau Felder asked in a soft voice as the forest’s shadows surrounded us. “He seemed like such a sweet boy when I met him at my birthday party. Not sure why his fated mate is playing hard-to-get.”
“Not every female is as confident as you, Mutti,” Lukas pointed out from the head of our group. “She’ll come forward when she’s ready.”
We passed through the energy shield that hid the gathering from outsiders, the magical quality of the atmosphere increasing tenfold. My spirits rose the closer we came to the clearing as I remembered years long past, when I danced around the Maypole with my father, mingling fire and earth along our streamers. Today I would dance with mist for sure, along with Bianca’s whirlwind and Rosemarie’s yellow fire. Together, we might dupe people into believing we both claimed natural fire—red and yellow made orange.
I headed for the fire pit beside the trickling brook first, staking out territory for my new family by arranging our blankets amidst the collection of folding chairs. Henning sat alone upon a rock at the water’s edge, his eyes tracking the blue flames licking skyward among the other Teutonic fires in the pit. He acknowledged me with a nod, disquiet darkening his spirit.
I finished spreading our primary blanket, situating the second beside my purse at the end nearest the stream. Glancing over the clearing, I estimated around fifty Teutons had already arrived—a number that would surpass several hundred by evening. If I wished to learn what stirred the young Keyholder’s anxiety, I would have to act fast.
“You know who your Lady is.” Taking a shot in the dark, I stepped to his side, my gaze dropping from his pensive face to the key ring attached to his belt.
Henning raised his head, blue flames enhancing his irises as they met mine. Darkness continued to cling to him, heightened by the color of his austere robe. His nostrils exhaled a breath of smoke, and he murmured, “Yes. She’s currently resisting the bond.”
Pain struck my spirit in response to his anguish. “Resisting the bond . . . or resisting you?”
Henning’s eyes widened, his head withdrawing deeper into his hood. “I’m . . . not sure. Hadn’t thought about it that way. It may be a bit of both.”
Before I could explore the matter further, the Keyholder rose to his feet and made for the center of the clearing, where a group of young males gathered to set the Maypole in place. I sighed a little as I watching him go, hoping his new Leitalra would soon accept him for who he was. Thank goodness the Lady of Amberg—my birthplace—was a mother in her thirties. Lukas would claim me officially before I faced any compulsion from Amberg. I felt sure of that.
The festival progressed in glorious fashion, magic undulating in waves as my people danced around the Maypole to welcome spring’s renewal. I mingled my red fire with many elements that afternoon, my spirit certain it had found its place at long last. One of the most magnificent moments came when my adopted mother invited me to dance with her, our fires weaving into a rich maroon around the Maypole. Lukas and his mother united their snow and mist in that same dance, power surging outward to bless each person in the clearing.
Lukas caught me in his arms and drew me away from the crowd after that dance concluded, my fiery spirit relaxing in the presence of his mist. “I’m starting to think I’ll never get a chance to dance with my beloved one, at the rate you’re going,” he crooned at me, leaning forward to brush my lips with his. “Bianca, Rosemarie, Dennis, Till, your father, your adopted mother. Six dances in a row, yet your fire pulses with undying stamina.”
I kissed him again, my entire body and spirit relishing his adoration. “Still have enough gumption to dance with you, my love,” I assured him.
The next cycle had already begun. Lukas glanced briefly at the gamboling Teutons, then fixed his gaze upon me. “You know, I’m supposed to wait until tomorrow to do this, because I want to give you your best year yet. But I love you so much, I just can’t hold out any longer.”
My eyes widened in surprise as Lukas knelt before me, releasing my waist so he could dig something out of a pocket of his leather trousers. My hands rose to cover my mouth when the man of my dreams presented me with a stylish diamond ringed with tiny rubies, the gems set in a platinum band.
“You’re the only witch who can tame my misty soul. Gabriela Luana Scholz, will you marry me?”
Warmth spread outward from my heart as my element smoldered through my blood, joy banishing any lingering uncertainties. Lukas had spoken his plea in Teutonica, so I answered in kind. “Of course I will. I love you more than life itself, my partner, my equal . . . my Lukas.”
I held out my right hand, waiting for him to slide the ring into place. Then I leaped upon him before he could rise to his feet, flinging my arms around him and kissing him with a ferocity that could have ignited the forest. He picked me up and spun me in a circle, my tresses dancing in the breeze as I relished every sensation humming along my body. Dimly, I heard Bianca give a delighted shriek, our family and friends’ applause surrounding us.
When we pulled back to look into each other’s eyes, I knew for sure I was where I should be. With Lukas Raymond Felder, my committed partner, ready to create a wonderful life of our own.