Wintersmith Read online

Page 11

 

  "Yes," said Annagramma, watching Tiffany. "Of course. "

  "Thats, um, sorted out, then," said Petulia, more loudly than necessary. "Did you have a lot of snow last night? Old Mother Blackcap said it was unusual. " Tiffany thought: Oh dear, here we go…. "We often get it this early up here," said Lucy. "I thought it was a bit fluffier than usual," said Petulia. "Quite pretty, if you like that sort of thing. "

  "It was just snow," said Annagramma. "Hey, did any of you hear what happened to the new girl who started with Miss Tumult? Ran away screaming after an hour?" She smiled, not very sympathetically. "Um, was it the frog?" Petulia asked. "No, not the frog. She didnt mind the frog. It was Unlucky Charlie. "

  "He can be scary," Lucy agreed. And that was it, Tiffany realized, as the gossip ran on. Someone who was practically a kind of god had made billions of snowflakes that looked like her—and they hadnt noticed!…which was a good thing, obviously… Of course it was. The last thing she wanted was teasing and stupid questions, of course. Well, of course… …but…well…it would have been nice if theyd known, if theyd said "Wow," if theyd been jealous or frightened or impressed. And she couldnt tell them, or at least she couldnt tell Annagramma, whod make a joke of it and almost but not exactly say that she was making it up. The Wintersmith had visited her and been…impressed. It was a bit sad if the only people who knew about this were Miss Treason and hundreds of Feegles, especially since—she shuddered—by Friday morning it would only be known by hundreds of little blue men. To put it another way: If she didnt tell someone else who was at least the same size as her and alive, she would burst. So she told Petulia, on the way home. They had to go the same way, and they both flew so slowly that at night it was easier to walk, since you didnt hit so many trees. Petulia was plump and reliable and already the best pig witch in the mountains, a fact that means a lot where every family owns a pig. And Miss Treason had said that soon the boys would be running after her, because a girl who knows her pigs would never want for a husband. The only problem with Petulia was that she always agreed with you and always said what she thought you wanted to hear. But Tiffany was a bit cruel and just told her all the facts. She got a few wows, which she was pleased with. After a while Petulia said: "That must have been very, um, interesting. " And that was Petulia for you. "What shall I do?"

  "Um…do you need to do anything?" said Petulia. "Well, sooner or later people are going to notice that all snowflakes are shaped like me!"

  "Um, are you worried that they wont?" said Petulia, so innocently that Tiffany laughed. "But Ive got this feeling that its not going to stop with snowflakes! I mean, he is everything to do with wintertime!"

  "And he ran away when you screamed…" said Petulia thoughtfully. "Thats right. "

  "And then he did something sort of…silly. "

  "What?"

  "The snowflakes," said Petulia helpfully. "Well, I wouldnt say that, exactly," said Tiffany, a bit hurt. "Not exactly silly. "

  "Then its all obvious," said Petulia. "Hes a boy. "

  "What?"

  "A boy. You know what they are?" said Petulia. "Blush, grunt, mumble, wibble? Theyre pretty much all the same. "

  "But hes millions of years old and he acts like hes never seen a girl before!"

  "Um, I dont know. Has he ever seen a girl before?"

  "He must have! What about Summer?" said Tiffany. "Shes a girl. Well, a woman. According to a book Ive seen, anyway. "

  "I suppose all you can do is wait to see what he does next, then. Sorry. Ive never had snowflakes made in my honor…. Er, were here…. " Theyd reached the clearing where Miss Treason lived, and Petulia began to look a bit nervous. "Um…all these stories about her…" she said, looking at the cottage. "Are you all right there?"

  "Was one of them about what she can do with her thumbnail?" asked Tiffany. "Yes!" said Petulia, shuddering. "She made that one up. Dont tell anyone, though. "

  "Why would anyone make up a story like that about themselves?" Tiffany hesitated. Pigs couldnt be fooled by Boffo, so Petulia hadnt run across it. And she was amazingly honest, which Tiffany was coming to learn was a bit of a drawback in a witch. It wasnt that witches were actually dishonest, but they were careful about what kind of truth they told. "I dont know," she lied. "Anyway, you have to cut through quite a lot of a person before anything falls out. And skin is quite tough. I dont think its possible. " Petulia looked alarmed. "You tried?"

  "I practiced with my thumbnail on a big ham this morning, if thats what you mean," said Tiffany. You have to check things, she thought. I heard the story that Miss Treason has wolfs teeth, and people tell that to one another even though theyve seen her. "Um…Ill come and help tomorrow, of course," said Petulia, nervously looking at Tiffanys hands in case there were going to be any more thumbnail experiments. "Going-away parties can be quite jolly, really. But, um, if I was you, Id tell Mr. Wintersmith to go away. Thats what I did when Davey Lummock started getting, um, too romantic. And I told him that I was, um, walking out with Makky Weaver—dont tell the others!"

  "Isnt he the one who talks about pigs all the time?"

  "Well, pigs are very interesting," said Petulia reproachfully. "And his father, um, has got the biggest pig- breeding farm in the mountains. "

  "Thats something worth thinking about, definitely," said Tiffany. "Ouch. "

  "What happened?" said Petulia. "Oh, nothing. My hand really twinged there for a moment. " Tiffany rubbed it. "Part of the healing, I suppose. See you tomorrow. " Tiffany went indoors. Petulia carried on through the forest. From up near the roof came the sounds of a conversation. "Didja hear what the fat girl said?"

  "Aye, but pigs are no that interestin. "

  "Oh, I dinna ken aboot that. A verra useful animal is the pig. You can eat every part o it, ye ken, except for the squeal. "

  "Ach, yere wrong there. Ye can use the squeal. "

  "Dinna be daft!"

  "Aye, ye can so! Ye make up a pie crust, right, an ye put in a lot o ham, right, an then ye catch the squeal, put the top on the pie before he can escape, right, an bung it straight in the oven. "

  "I neer heard o such a thing as that!"

  "Have ye no? Its called squeal-and-ham pie. "

  "Theres nae such thing!"

  "Why not? Theres bubble-and-squeak, right? An a squeak is wee compared tae a squeal. I reckon you could—"

  "If youse mudlins dinna listen, Ill put ye inna pie!" yelled Rob Anybody. The Feegles muttered into silence And on the other side of the clearing the Wintersmith watched with purple-gray eyes. He watched until a candle was lit in an upstairs room, and watched the orange glow until it went out. Then, walking unsteadily on new legs, he went toward the flower patch where, in the summer, roses had grown. If you went to Zakzak Stronginthearms Magical Emporium, youd see crystal balls of all sizes but more or less only one price, which was A Great Deal Of Money. Since most witches, and particularly the good ones, had Not Much Money At All, they made use of other things, like the glass floats off old fishing nets or a saucer of black ink. There was a puddle of black ink on Granny Weatherwaxs table now. It had been in the saucer, but things had wobbled a bit when Granny and Miss Tick had banged their heads together trying to look in the saucer at the same time. "Did you hear that?" said Granny Weatherwax. "Petulia Gristle asked the important question, and she just didnt think about it!"

  "Im sorry to say I missed it too," said Miss Tick. You, the white kitten, jumped up onto the table, walked carefully through the puddle of ink, and dropped into Miss Ticks lap. "Stop that, You," said Granny Weatherwax in a vague sort of way, as Miss Tick stared down at her dress. "It hardly shows up," said Miss Tick, but in fact four perfect cat footprints were very clear. Witches dresses start out black but soon fade to shades of gray because of frequent washings or, in the case of Miss Tick, regular dips in various ponds and streams. They got threadbare and ragged, too, and their owners liked that. It showed you were a working witch, not a witch for show. Four black kitten footprints in the
middle of your dress suggested you were a bit wussy, though. She lowered the cat to the floor, where it trotted over to Granny Weatherwax, rubbed up against her, and tried to meep more chicken into existence. "What was the important thing?" said Miss Tick. "Im asking you as one witch to another, Perspicacia Tick: Has the Wintersmith ever met a girl?"

  "Well," said Miss Tick, "I suppose the classic representation of Summer might be called a—"

  "But do they ever meet?" asked Granny Weatherwax. "In the Dance, I suppose. Just for a moment," said Miss Tick. "And at that moment, that very moment, in dances Tiffany Aching," said Granny Weatherwax. "A witch who wont wear black. No, its blue and green for her, like green grass under a blue sky. She calls to the strength of her hills, all the time. An they calls to her! Hills that was once alive, Miss Tick! They feels the rhythm of the Dance, an so in her bones does she, if she did but know it. And this shapes her life, even here! She could not help but tap her feet! The land taps its feet to the Dance of the Seasons!"

  "But she—" Miss Tick began, because no teacher likes to hear anyone else talk for very long. "What happened in that moment?" Granny Weatherwax went on, unstoppably. "Summer, Winter, and Tiffany. One spinning moment! And then they part. Who knows what got tangled? Suddenly, the Wintersmith is acting so stupid, he might even be a wee bit…human?"

  "What has she got herself into?" said Miss Tick. "The Dance, Miss Tick. The Dance that never ends. An she cant change the steps, not yet. She has to dance to his tune for a while. "

  "Shes going to be in a lot of danger," Miss Tick said. "She has the strength of her hills," said Granny. "Soft hills, though," said Miss Tick. "Easily worn down. "

  "But the heart of the chalk is flint, remember. It cuts sharper than any knife. "

  "Snow can cover the hills," said Miss Tick. "Not forever. "

  "It did once," said Miss Tick, fed up with playing games. "For thousands of years, at least. An age of ice. Great beasts wallowed and sneezed across the world. "

  "Thats as may be," said Granny Weatherwax, a glint in her eye. "O course, I wasnt around then. In the meantime, we must watch our girl. " Miss Tick sipped her tea. Staying with Granny Weatherwax was a bit of a trial. Last nights pot of chicken scraps had turned out to be not for her but for You. The witches had good thick pease pudding and bacon soup without—and this was important—the bacon. Granny kept a big lump of fat bacon on a string and had taken it out, carefully dried it, and put it away for another day. Despite her hunger, Miss Tick was impressed. Granny could shave the skin off a second. "I hear that Miss Treason has heard her Call," she said. "Yes. Funeral tomorrow," said Granny Weatherwax. "Thats a difficult steading* over there," said Miss Tick. "Theyve had Miss Treason for a long, long time. Itll be a tricky task for a new witch. "