The Stube was empty.
No spoons this time. Marlene was brandishing a Mauser, waving it right and left, feeling clumsy and stupid. She’d never seen a rifle like this before. It was a weapon of war, not for hunting like the one Simon Keller had, with barrels one on top of the other, or her father’s double-barrelled model.
But it worked the same way, she told herself. Decide who you want to kill and pull the trigger.
She went to the door and saw blood.
The stranger said he had killed Simon Keller. There was blood here, but no sign of Simon. The dead don’t go walkabout. It wasn’t over.
Where are you? Where are you?
The wind clawed at her face. She came back inside, stood the rifle against the wall and put on her padded jacket. She brushed Simon Keller’s rifle with her fingers. She looked at the Mauser. It had a magazine, unlike Simon’s rifle. Marlene knew nothing about weapons, but she knew that a magazine contained more bullets than a normal rifle.
More ammunition meant a higher chance of hitting the bull’s eye. That was excellent news for someone who had never handled a firearm in her life.
The excellent piece of news is that you’re alone. Get out of here. Move!
There was some black bread on the table. There was also water. She could not resist the water. She drank it and took a few bites of the bread. Then she drank some more. All that cold, ice-cold, wonderful water. It tasted so good it almost made her cry.
Still she did not leave. This time, she would do things properly.
There was a Bible on the Stube. Marlene tore out the pages, arranged them in an insulating layer around her body and buttoned up her jacket. Then she took some rags and stuffed them down her trousers, around her shins and thighs.
It was cold outside, very cold. She grabbed the Mauser. Ready?
Ready.
The broken banister bore witness to the struggle between the stranger and Simon Keller. The fires around the maso were like a whisper of madness, terrifying her. She started to run.
Towards safety.
The heat of the flames wafted over her face. She ran past the first circle of the blue spiral. The heat was inviting. She passed the second circle and stopped.
It was too cold, much too cold. What she was doing was pure madness. She would never survive out there, beyond the fire. Paper could not withstand frost. Who was she kidding? Death was waiting for her further down the mountain.
For her and for Klaus. He was not even born yet, and already he was condemned. By his own mother.
No, stop talking nonsense. If you go ahead, you’ll die. If you keep still, you’ll die. There’s only one thing to do.
Find Simon Keller and finish him off.
Spend the night in the Stube. Eat. Rest. Wait for dawn. Go down the mountain.
Forget.
But not before setting fire to the maso and the stranger inside.
Shut him in the oven and let him scream. To hell with everything and everybody.
Then she heard it.
The jingling.