Winterfrost by Michelle Houts Read Free Book Online Page A

though he weren’t there at all.
    “But it’s been years,” Hagen protested. “What could he be thinking? Coming back now, after all this time?”
    “Who’s back? Who?” Klakke’s body bounced involuntarily as he searched each nisse’s face for clues.
    “Perhaps he’s returned to make amends.” Gammel’s voice sounded hopeful.
    “Or to stir up more trouble,” Hagen added, and suddenly Klakke knew who they were talking about. His hopefulness fizzled like fireworks on Midsummer’s Eve.
    Gammel seemed to already have a plan when he finally addressed Klakke again. “We need the sister. You know what to do, Klakke,” he said firmly.
    Klakke nodded, determined not to mess up once more. He fled the house and ran deep into the forest, following the large tracks in the snow that could only have been made by Bettina’s boots as she passed the old oak in search of her sister.

The forest was dim, but the snow cover brightened the ground beneath Bettina’s boots. She had entered the woodland at the edge of the garden in exactly the spot where the winterfrost had been shaken loose from the seedlings. Before setting out, she had taken a long look across the field toward the Pedersens’ house. A wispy string of smoke trailed up from the chimney, and she knew Rasmus and Lisa were home. Should she enlist their help? After a moment’s hesitation, she turned again toward the forest and set out alone. If it was a nisse she was dealing with, she reasoned, the fewer humans involved, the better.
    Bettina wasn’t at all sure what she was looking for. The book had said that some nisse live in tiny underground houses beneath tree roots, so she kept her eyes low. She walked for almost an hour, through the most familiar parts of the forest. She walked through the sparse acres where Far and Mr. Pedersen had cut wood. She had been with them often, helping to carry logs to the truck parked by the roadside. But she didn’t spend much time searching there, as few hiding places remained in a wood that had been cleared.
    Entering the dense, untouched forest once more, she recognized some landmarks. There was the fantastically enormous spruce that she always believed would make the perfect Christmas tree for a family of giants. And then there was the crooked oak that every fall shed millions of fat acorns that Bettina would gather to entice the squirrels into the backyard in the winter. Far wasn’t a big fan of squirrels in the garden any time of year, but Pia loved watching them from the big window. Only last week, Bettina had lifted her so she could babble and squeal at the squirrels as they tumbled over one another in the garden. Her sounds were so filled with joy and delight that even Far stopped what he was doing to come to the window and watch.
    The vivid memory of Pia made Bettina move faster and deeper into the forest. The trees were close together now, pine and beech and oak and fir. With no path to follow, Bettina was well aware that she might be going in circles. But she had yet to come upon her own footprints. If she started to feel lost, she would retrace her tracks in the snow in order to return home.
    It was another gray and cloudy day, an exact copy of the one before. The winterfrost clung to everything. The sun stayed away. After walking for what seemed to be half the day, Bettina started to become uneasy. She tipped her head to the treetops, where every now and then a sliver of cold December sky appeared. Was it noon? Later?
    Even though Bettina was dressed for the weather, there was a dampness in the air that seeped through layers of fleece and crept with chilling fingers down her neck. How much longer could she continue searching before the cold drove her back home?
    As she rounded a Douglas fir, a fat, snow-covered stump appeared, and she decided to sit and rest, using her forearm to clear the snow off the stump. She opened her backpack. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was, and the rye bread and liver pâté