Page 2 of The Piper's Pursuit

“What is your father’s name?”

Her expression held a tinge of confusion. Then her eyes lit up. It was as if a memory came to her, and she said, “Johannes.”

A surge of breath rushed into Kat’s chest. “Come. I’ll take you to Hamlin and we’ll see if we can find your father and mother.” Katerina stood, still holding on to the girl’s hand, and started walking, anxious to get the little girl safely out of the forest.

The little girl gazed up at her and tugged ever so slightly on her hand.

Katerina bent down. “What is it, Bridda?”

“Don’t let him get me.” Her voice was a whisper.

Katerina shivered, her gaze flicking back toward the trees. “Don’t worry. I won’t let the beast get you.”

Katerina hurried toward Hamlin’s town gate with the little girl’s hand held firmly in hers. A minute later, Katerina noticed the poor child was walking slower and slower.

Katerina squatted. “May I carry you?”

The child looked her in the eye and nodded. Katerina put her arms around her and lifted her up, holding her snugly.

As they entered the town gate, Katerina spied a guard she knew, her friend Hans.

Hans saw her as well, and his mouth fell open. He started toward her.

“Hans, this is Bridda. I found her outside the wall. Do you know of a man named Johannes who’s missing a six-year-old daughter?”

Hans stared at the girl from beneath thick brown hair that fell across his forehead. He breathed, “It’s a miracle. How...”

“Do you know her?”

“I know her father. Wait here. I’ll go find him.”

Hans started to leave, but Katerina put her hand on his arm to stop him. “Before you go... how long has she been missing?”

“About five months.”

Hans turned and started running.

Katerina stared at the tiny face next to hers. “Where have you been for five months?”

Bridda just stared back at her.

As they waited for Hans to return, Bridda’s pale blue eyes started to look livelier, shedding the lost, stunned expression as she tentatively turned her head to look around her. Her gaze seemed to fix on certain points. Was she recognizing buildings or maybe people? She also seemed to be watching the rats running through the streets. The plague of rats had descended on the town about the same time the beast had started its killing rampage. Katerina wondered, not for the first time, if the two things were related, though she couldn’t imagine how.

So many questions were running through Katerina’s head. How had this little girl avoided being killed by the beast while she was in the woods? And even stranger, how had she survived on her own for five months?

***

Hungry, dusty, and tired, Steffan was thankful when he came to a small village. He’d been wandering toward home since he’d left his brother Wolfgang and Wolfgang’s new wife in Poland.A bed, no matter how lumpy, and a warm meal would be a welcome change after sleeping on the hard ground and eating mostly what he could kill or forage.

He spotted the village inn and went inside, even though he had no money for either food or a room.

The innkeeper was friendly, so while the man stroked his graying beard, Steffan said, “I am very good at playing the pipe. I could play for your patrons in exchange for a meal.”

The innkeeper nodded. “You play for one hour, then my wife will serve you the finest stew in the Holy Roman Empire, then you play a bit more. Yes?”

Steffan had already extracted his pipe from his bag. He placed it against his lips and began to play.

Everyone in the room turned to face him, most of them smiling. By their looks, music was a rarity here.