Bloodshed in the Forest

Chapter 2

2

The outside of the cabin had looked quite rustic, the logs worn from the passing of many seasons, the stones at the foundation covered in moss as well as snow. I expected the interior to match it, or at least to be darker than the homes in Villmark. Although the shutters had all been thrown open, the few windows the cabin had were all small, the glass thick to the point of being opaque.

But it soon became apparent that someone had run electricity out to this little hamlet. The minute I stepped inside, I found there was no need for my eyes to adjust. The brightness of the lights in the interior matched the sun on the snow outside. Mainly this was because of the variety of lamps that were all warmly glowing despite it being midday.

But this was also because, while the exterior had all been roughly cut logs, the interior walls were all bookshelves painted a flawless white. The throw rugs were white, the furniture was pale wood with white upholstery. Even the knickknacks were all white and shining silver.

The door behind us closed, and I noticed the woman for the first time. She looked to be in her sixties with steely gray hair pulled back into a neat bun and dark blue eyes that radiated warmth. She hadn't said a word, and already I was sure she was a very good therapist.

"Hello. You're Signi, right?" I said, pulling off my mitten before thrusting out my hand.

"That's right. And you're Ingrid, lately of St. Paul," she said with a smile. "I went to school there, decades ago now."

"Which school?" I asked. St. Paul had a lot of prestigious colleges.

"Concordia," she said.

"Oh, sure," I said with a nod.

"Would you like some tea?" she asked.

"That sounds lovely," I said, and belatedly realized that Haraldr had already taken off his coat and boots and settled himself by the fireplace. Which was also white, covered in tile that barely showed signs of soot. How did she keep it so clean?

She gave me another smile, then crossed the living room to the little kitchen area on the far side. I hung up my coat and stepped out of my boots before joining Haraldr by the fire.

While we waited for Signi to finish the tea, I looked around at the bookshelves. She unsurprisingly had a lot of books about psychology. But there were also books about history and geography, philosophy and theology. And I guessed I was sitting in her preferred reading chair, because the shelf closest to me was over-stuffed with Stephen King paperbacks.

"Here you go," Signi said as she set a large tray on the table between me and Haraldr. Then she went to the back corner of the room where she had a little office area and rolled over a desk chair so she could sit between us.

"You have a computer," I noted.

"I do," she agreed as she poured out the tea. "I no longer see clients in the modern world, but I still submit articles to publications from time to time. And assist old friends with tricky research."

"You get the internet out here?" I asked, tempted to sneak a look at my phone. I could get cell service in Villmark, even better than I could down in the valley in Runde, but I always lost bars the minute I stepped into the woods.

"No, I have to go into town for that," she said. "There's a lovely new coffee shop close by that has Wi-Fi. I go there a few times a week to check in with my colleagues in the modern world."

"I know the place. My friend Jessica runs it," I said. "She even has some of my art up on her walls."

"The pen and ink sketches?" she asked. I nodded. "You have a fine eye for detail. I always see a little something new every time I study one of your pieces."

"Thanks," I said, feeling my cheeks flush. I was sure they were still bright red from being out in the cold, so I didn't think anyone noticed. But it had been a long time since I had talked to anyone about the art part of my life rather than the magic part.

"We're here to talk about Bera," Haraldr said, as if he had not only read my mind but disapproved of the path my thoughts were taking.

"Yes, Bera," I said. "Is she going to be okay?"

Signi paused just before taking a sip of her tea and gave a thoughtful frown. "I'm not sure that's the best question, actually," she said.

"No, I get it," I said. "There are no simple fixes in things like this. But there's better or worse, surely?"

"She is better," Signi conceded, then finally took that sip of tea before setting the cup down on the tray. She rubbed the palms of her hands over the knees of her dark gray wool pants, at first aggressively and then more slowly, smoothing out the wrinkles. "Bera has a long road ahead of her. But she has been a very willing patient. I do have a strong hope that she will be, by some definitions anyway, okay."

"Not a threat to others?" I guessed.

"Exactly. I hope to be able to return her to her family, but that's several months away yet."

"And her brother?" I asked.

"Her brother is responding very well to the medication I've prescribed for him," Signi said. "He's so fortunate that his parents are willing to even entertain such a course of action. Many in Villmark would rather leave him in total disfunction alone in his room for all of his days rather than rely on modern pharmacology.

"Certainly there is reason to approach such things with caution, but with me as his doctor, there is no danger of him being over-prescribed. He is still in the early days of being diagnosed, and I have to adjust his medication from time to time, but his outbursts are now safely a thing of the past. Hopefully soon it will even be possible for his mother to leave him alone for an hour or two at a time without worry."

"That is good news," I said. "Do you go there, or do they come here?"

"I go there," she said, reaching for her tea again. "Under cover of darkness. You knowing where this place is, that's a unique situation."

"I'll keep it secret," I said, glancing over at Haraldr. Was Loke even supposed to know about this place? And yet Haraldr hadn't seemed remotely surprised to see him walking beside me when I'd arrived.

Unless Haraldr thought I had brought Loke here?

"Don't worry about that. Some secrets keep themselves safe," Haraldr said with a little wave of his hand. "You had another question."

"Did I?" I asked. I gave him a puzzled look, then turned to Signi, who just raised her own eyebrows back at me. "We were here to talk about Bera. Is there more that I should know?"

"We're in a tricky area," Signi said. "I know there are no HIPAA regulations here, but I would still like to keep the details of my patients' cases private as much as possible."

"I don't think I need to know more than that they are doing well, myself," I said. I looked to Haraldr again, but he was studying the fire as if he found the patterns of the flames absolutely fascinating. No help there.

"You also work with Halldis?" I asked, lowering my voice as if that sorceress could somehow hear me say her name, even down where she was in her sealed cave deep under the village of Villmark.

"To a very limited extent," Signi said. "I'm not allowed to meet with her face to face, and she has no interest in anything I might do to help her. But I have spoken with her through her door on a few occasions."

"And?" I prompted.

Signi sighed. "Halldis is a very dangerous woman. You did us all a great service when you unmasked her and had her put away."

"No one suspected her until I got here?" I asked. It just felt so unlikely.

"She never seemed suspicious to any of us," Signi said. "She was untouched by time, but so is your grandmother. Most of us just thought it was a magic thing. Not that we knew she had so much magic. We knew she had some, because she would do little things to help people. Healing, scrying, harmless little charms. She always treated the rest of us with kindness and worked hard at what little craft she had. I confess, a lot of us were puzzled why your grandmother refused to take her on as an apprentice. But she must have sensed things we didn't."

"Sensed things like what?" I asked.

"Well, maybe that Halldis is dangerous, and in more ways than just magical ones," Signi said. "Halldis is very good at reading people and presenting herself how others expect to see her. She can very nearly make anyone believe anything she wants them to believe. Maybe even your grandmother, to some extent. Even now, warded against the use of magic as Halldis is, it is too dangerous to speak with her for long. She is devious and manipulative. Even I, with all my training, feel myself falling under her sway."

"And you're sure it's not magic?" I pressed.

Signi glanced at Haraldr, but he was still watching the fire, behaving as if he didn't even hear the two of us speaking.

"No," she said with great reluctance. "No, I'm not sure she's not somehow still using magic. But I am sure that even if she is, she's not using just magic. I know Haraldr has recommended that you not face her until you are far stronger and more disciplined in your own magic. I would second that advice. But more, I would suggest you study as much about abnormal psychology as you can before that day comes. She's going to try to manipulate you. That's a guarantee. You should be prepared."

"That day is far in the future, I'm sure," I said.

Haraldr turned from the fire to give Signi a brief glance.

"I have books I can lend you," she said, as if at Haraldr's silent behest. Then her demeanor brightened. "But I understand you're heading deeper into the woods today."

"Yes, I'm going hunting at a lodge with the Valkissons and some others," I said.

"Stop by again when you're back, and I'll have a few books ready for you to start with," she said. Then she got up from her chair and wheeled it back to her desk.

"Signi, may Ingrid and I have the use of your lovely home for a few minutes more?" Haraldr asked.

"Certainly," she said. "I usually go for a walk at about this time, anyway."

"Oh, but it's so cold out there today," I said, hating the idea of driving her out of her warm, cozy little cabin.

"Nothing I can't handle," she said as she put on a parka that looked even warmer than mine. The voluminous hood hid her entire face from view, and the hem of the jacket fell to below her knees. She flipped down a bench seat that was built into the wall and sat down. "You remember about my house guest, Haraldr?" she asked as she pulled on a pair of knee-high, fur-lined boots.

"Yes, I do," he said. "Is that likely to be a problem?"

"No," Signi said, but she didn't sound completely sure. She glanced at the clock on the mantle. "He doesn't generally get out of bed for another hour yet, so I'm sure he won't disturb you."

"And we shan't disturb him," Haraldr assured her. "Is it going well? His... transition?"

Signi frowned as she stood up and smoothed out her parka. "I'd prefer to talk to you about it later, if that's all right?"

"Certainly. I'll wait for you here, then?"

"Yes, that's fine. A half hour, I think. Is that enough time?"

"Ample," Haraldr said. "Thank you."

"Happy to be of service to the council, as always," Signi said as she wrapped a snowy white scarf around her neck then pulled on a thick pair of very modern snowmobile gloves. "And to the new volva as well. It was good meeting you, Ingrid. I look forward to seeing you again when you return for those books."

"Me, too," I said. Although abnormal psychology wasn't the sort of thing I normally wanted to put high on my personal to-be-read list, I could see the sense of being as prepared as possible before I faced Halldis.

Signi's parka swished against her thighs as she walked to the door, and the sudden rush of cold air when she opened it made the fire sputter and dance. But then the door closed again, and Haraldr and I were alone in that cozy little space.

"Should I be worried about the man upstairs?" I asked. Haraldr gave me a questioning look. "It's just, the way you said he was transitioning. It sounded different than when you were talking about that man outside."

"All cases are unique," he said. "Different reasons bring people back to Villmark. The adjustment is different. This one is a particularly tough case, but I have full confidence in Signi's abilities. But now," he said, slapping his hands together in a gesture I was coming to know all too well. "Ready for the next rune?"

"What, right this minute?" I asked, surprised. "I'm about to go on sort of a vacation, you know. For days and days. I thought we'd get to it after I got back."

"No time like the present," he said, reaching into the pocket of his tunic to present me a square of sturdy paper adorned with a single shape drawn in charcoal.

"No time like the present," I agreed with considerably less enthusiasm, then leaned forward to take the card.