Free The Brixen Witch by Stacy DeKeyser

thing? He’s only making noise.”
    “No!” Rudi protested. “I’ll tell you how I know.”
    “Leave the boy alone,” declared Otto the baker. He scraped the coins off the table and handed them back to Rudi. “He earned his wage honestly. Besides, it’s no use to argue over the cause of this blight. The question is, how do we get rid of it?”
    From somewhere in the room came a persistent thumping. Rudi looked around, as did everyonein the hall. Then Rudi saw that the thumping was caused by a walking stick, as a hand methodically tapped it on the floorboards.
    Little by little, the crowd fell silent.
    “If I may,” said the stranger who held the stick, “I can get rid of your rats once and for all.”

THE CROWD stared openmouthed at the man who had spoken.
    From his position on the mayor’s platform, Rudi had a clear view of the stranger, who wore a drab oilskin cloak and a tattered hat that partly hid his face. Something about him was unsettlingly familiar, but Rudi could not recall how or why.
    Finally, the mayor cleared his throat and performed his official duty. “Welcome, sir, to Brixen. What brings you to our village, and how is it you know our particular … situation and how to solve it?”
    The stranger gave a nod. “You honor me with your kind greeting, Master Mayor. I am but a traveler, on my way to Petz. Have you been to Petz? As I walked through your lovely village, Icould not help but notice two things. Firstly, there was no one about, which I thought quite odd on such a fine day as this.”
    Rudi glanced up. Rain was beginning to batter the windows.
    The unsettled feeling churned in Rudi’s stomach. Where had he seen this man before? The memory he wanted remained stubbornly beyond his grasp.
    “Secondly,” said the stranger, “there seemed to be quite a few, er, vermin about, and of a very bold nature, if I may say. In fact, in all my travels I’ve never seen such a display. Do you know I just watched a rat scamper along a clothesline as if it were solid ground?” He pointed vaguely toward the outdoors as if to prove his claim.
    Was that a bit of color Rudi glimpsed beneath the man’s cloak?
    The stranger continued. “Then I heard a hubbub coming from this hall, so I thought I’d step inside to see what sort of festivity might be under way, and—well, I walked into the midst of your conversation, and I hope you’ll excuse me for that. But if I may say, what a lucky day for you as well as for me! As it happens, I have quite a way with pests of all kinds.”
    “We’ve heard that before,” grumbled Marco. “You don’t know a scoundrel from Klausen named Wenzel, do you?”
    “I’m afraid not,” said the stranger. “At any rate, here I am. At your service.” He took off his threadbare hat and bowed as best he could in the crush of villagers.
    Rudi gasped.
    It was the face in the window. The man in Rudi’s nightmares, with hair like a thistle burr and a shirt of motley patches hiding beneath his cloak.
    This was the witch’s servant.
    “Oma?” Rudi croaked, but she had gone off with Not-So-Old-Mistress Gerta and had not returned.
    Why had he come? What did he want? Would he finally bring his wrath down upon Rudi for taking the witch’s coin? And yet, though Rudi stood in full view on the platform, the stranger showed no sign of knowing him.
    But Rudi had earned the stranger’s wrath, while his neighbors had not. He opened his mouth to expose the malevolence in their midst, but he could not force out a sound.
    What would be the use anyway? Marco the smith had already bullied nearly the entire hall into believing that Rudi was nothing but a silly child who craved attention. They wouldn’t believe a word Rudi said, least of all a claim that the witch’s true servant was standing among them now.
    “And how do you propose to rid us of thispestilence?” said the mayor, and Rudi feared that the villagers were so desperate for relief from the rats that they were likely to agree