West of the Moon by Margi Preus

Author:Margi Preus [Preus, Margi]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
Published: 2014-04-01T00:00:00+00:00

But no one comes.

Svaalberd’s eyes still follow me, and I don’t know whether to look or whether not to, for when I do, I see something I don’t want to know. His eyes betray that he is not a goat, not a troll, nor devil, demon, or spirit. He is just a man, and he is suffering.

I shift my gaze to his shirt, to the drop of wax that’s dried there on the front. It’s a trivial thing compared with the other dirt and stains around it, but it’s that drop of tallow that draws my eye and won’t let go.

In the story of the bear-prince and the girl, the enchantment could be broken only when the tallow was washed out of the prince’s shirt. Only then could the spell be broken.

If I could scrub that spot away, could we turn back time? Could we go back and back and back to when the shirt was clean, before the tallow dripped on it, before I rose from the bed that night on my foolish errand, before we walked through the deepening snow to get to his farm, before he came to get me, before Papa left, oh! before Mama died? Could we go all the way back, and everything could be different? Maybe Mama would not have had to die and then Papa would not have gone away and then Greta and I would not be sitting here watching the life seep out of this man.

It may be that I haven’t liked him much, but that doesn’t mean I want him to die!

But there’s nothing I can do.

Only there is, isn’t there? Perhaps you have been wondering when I will remember that there is a book of cures, remedies, and charms right in that sack.

I open it and take out the book.

“What’s that?” Greta asks, reaching toward it.

“Don’t touch it!” I cry, snatching it away. “This is a book of prodigious power.”

“Pro-jid-juss?”

“It means a terrible much. With this book, little sister, you can conjure up and put down the devil and get him to do just what you command. These pages teach how to put out fire without water, find buried treasure, cure diseases, remove warts, turn back the attacks of snakes and dogs, and banish all kinds of pain.”

“You can do all that?” Greta says.

“Well, you have to know how to read writing,” I admit. “That might cause us a bit of trouble.”

After a few moments Greta asks, “Aren’t you going to open it?”

I nod, but hesitate. I’m thinking of things I’ve heard said: that those who possess the Black Book can go mad. Some have even done away with themselves. It’s said that it can be dangerous even just to listen to the words from this book. And I’m fairly certain the parson would not approve.

But I only want to use it for good! Is it all right to use a bad thing for a good cause? I want to do what’s right. But how can I, when

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