Page 45 of North Is the Night
“I made them for you,” I reply. “Everyone should have a good pair of socks, even a goddess.”
Loviatar’s hand stills on the socks. Her face is turned away, so I can’t read her expression. The goddess says nothing, returning to her weaving with the socks balanced on her knee.
“May I make a pair for myself tomorrow?” I ask, rising to join my dead maid at the door. “My room is quite cold...”
Loviatar is silent for so long, I think she will not speak. But as I turn to leave, she says, “You may keep making socks.”
“Thank you.”
The witch turns to face me, reading me with those unblinking eyes. “At least your feet will be warm when you die.”
16
Siiri
Paavo sits on thefar side of the fire, still leaning against my pack. He has the whetstone in hand, sharpening the blade of his axe. The sound of metal on stone echoes across the clearing. A soft wind blows through the trees, rustling the leaves. The scene is peaceful, almost idyllic, with the babbling stream and the grazing reindeer.
But an agent of death stalks these woods, and her name is Siiri. I watch from the edge of the clearing, my bloody hands pressed against the trunk of a tree. I can’t take him by surprise. The distance is too far, and he’s facing me with his back to the stream. Maybe if I ran forward a few feet, I could throw my knife and strike true, but a man’s chest is protected by thick bones. It’s easy to miss his heart. I got lucky with Kalma, and it didn’t even hurt her. The witch hardly blinked.
There’s only one option. I step out of the trees.
“Kyösti?” Paavo takes in my frightening new appearance, soaked in his friend’s blood.
“Kyösti is dead,” I call. Raising the dead man’s axe, I point it at Paavo. “You’re next.”
A wicked smile spreads across his face as he sets his whetstone aside. He rises slowly, his own axe balanced in his practiced hand. “You’re brave for a dead girl.”
I hold his gaze, stalking closer. “I’ve met Kalma already. She gave me this,” I reply, gesturing to the faint bruise over my brow. “She doesn’t scare me. I bet she scares you to death.”
He smirks. Then he lunges forward, closing the space between us. I dip left and bob, dancing with him, hoping to tire him out as he takes massive swings, blade singing through the air.
“Godsdamn it,” he barks. “Fight me!”
I raise my axe and step forward, deflecting his blow. Our wooden axe handles clack and slide until the blades scrape together. He grins with yellow teeth as he presses down with his axe. Reaching behind me, I jerk the dead trapper’s knife free and stab Paavo in the gut.
He stumbles away with a grunt, his free hand pressed over the bleeding wound. “You foul, stinking bitch.”
“My bite is far worse than my bark,” I say in challenge, flashing him both blades. “With these metal teeth, I will shred you limb from worthless limb.”
With a grunt, he swings high with his axe. I duck it easily, darting to the side. But in a feat of strength and skill, he corrects the blade mid-swing. The shaft cracks the side of my skull, dropping me to the ground. I lose control of my axe as I fall, the forest spinning around me...
Get to your feet.
I scramble away, blinking through the pain in my temple. I search for my axe. Paavo grabs me by my loose hair. I’m on my knees in the long grass, fingers inches from the axe shaft.
Goddess, please—just a little closer—
I cry out in pain as Paavo jerks my head back. He stands behind me, his body pressed against mine, as I feel the sharp chill of his axe blade against my throat.
He pants through the pain in his side. “You’re a brave little thing, I’ll give you that. You look like death’s own mistress all covered in Kyösti’s blood.”
I try to wriggle free, desperately reaching for my axe.
“Don’t fight now,” he grunts, jerking my hair again as he presses into my throat with his blade. “You’ll cut your own neck if you fight, and I’m not ready to kill you yet. Turn over.”
No. Please, gods—
“I said turn over.” Grappling with me, he forces me down, flipping me on my back until he’s straddling my hips, the sharp weight of his blade still pressing into my neck. I can feel it cutting into my flesh, breaking me open the same way I just killed Kyösti. A tear slips down my cheek as I gaze up at the storm clouds swirling overhead.Goddess, protect me, I pray to the heavens.I can’t do this on my own. I surrender to you.
