Karliquai by Rosie Cranie-Higgs

Author:Rosie Cranie-Higgs
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: fiction & literature, horror, literary horror, dark fantasy, ghost fiction, gothic fiction, supernatural, switzerland
Publisher: BHC Press
Published: 2021-05-19T00:00:00+00:00

In the house behind the hotel, Talie’s cheer drops. It used to be a nice, airy house, lighter than the village’s old, grumbling gloom, until she came down after a shower to find her anne unconscious in the kitchen.

She knew at once who the other woman was. Standing smug over Hazal, she shimmered at the edges, a hologram from a B-list sci-fi. Carol, in a shocked fluster, had told them the day before: the huldra.

Talie’s mouth ran dry, but she didn’t blink. She knew enough about the uncanny to not be wholly thrown, and never, even if she was, to show it.

‘What do you want?’ she asked calmly. Once the English girls arrived, she’d expected it to turn up, but she hadn’t expected it to come here. With her gaze wandering down to her mother, she fought her expression neutral. ‘What have you done to her?’

Arms folded, the huldra leaned back against the freezer. She would, Talie thought in an odd daze, make a beautiful woman; long, pale hair, a heart-shaped face, curves only amplified by tight gothic clothes. In other circumstances, Talie might…

‘Whatever that language is, I don’t speak it.’ The huldra’s lilting accent brought her back with a slap. ‘I’m becoming human faster than I thought. It’s a bit of a shame, but it’s worth it. I love not having a tail.’ She stuck out her hip, patted it fondly. ‘What am I speaking now? I think I’m stuck with it, assuming you understand. For a while, I could chop and change.’

‘It’s English.’ Talie switched. Habit made her start with French; the locals got grumpy if you didn’t. ‘You’re okay. Most peoples speak English. Before, I say what do you want, and what did you do to my anne.’

The huldra regarded her thoughtfully. ‘Funny thing, for my language to be better than yours. Your mother’s fine.’ She flicked a careless hand at Hazal, bruised and propped against a cabinet. ‘Go to her, if you like. But don’t untie her, or I’ll kill you.’ She offered Talie a sweet smile. ‘For now, I’m gorgeously strong.’

Neither words nor smile hit their targets. Talie dropped to her knees. Pulling her anne to her chest, she hugged her, feeling her spidery breath, her warmth. An ugly lump marred the back of her head. A webbed, purple bruise shaded one eye, but she was okay. Alive and breathing.

Her bony, tired mother, unconscious on the floor. Talie hugged her tighter.

‘And what I want?’ the huldra continued, though Talie wished, with all she had, it’d just shut up and die. ‘In terms of this very minute’—she slotted one boot over the other—‘that’s not hard at all. I want you to help me, then I’ll leave you both alone.’ She smiled again. Talie looked away. It was candy floss and dirt, burning sugar in a cupcake. ‘Fair?’

It wasn’t fair. It was blackmail, bruised and barbed and cold. Forcing herself to carry on breathing, Talie shuts the front door. She’ll be calm. Calm, and more rigid than a stick up its—

‘Talie!’

Her mother’s voice, coming from the lounge.

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