Page 31 of Savage Warrior

A couple of hours pass. I leave her in peace and tinker with the television mounted on the wall until I manage to find an old war movie. Not my usual preference, but it will do. Arina watches my every move, her eyes wary.

“Are you police?” she blurts, suddenly breaking the silence.

“No.”

“But you have a gun,” she argues.

“That’s right.”

“Who are you, then?”

I turn to regard her. “Don’t ask. It’s not important.”

She frowns, clearly unconvinced. “Why do you have a gun?”

I remain silent, but she is undeterred. For a woman who seems fearful of her own shadow, she is annoyingly persistent.

“Are you a criminal?”

I meet her gaze. “Yes. Some of the time.” A lot of the time, in truth.

A few moments pass while she digests this, then, “Should I be afraid of you?”

Now, there’s a good question, at last. I return to my perch on the edge of the bed. “No. As long as you don’t piss me off.”

“I am trying not to, but I know you do not want me here.”

I smile. “Neither one of us wants to be here…” Not exactly what she said, but it will have to do.

She’s not giving up. I can tell she’s been brewing all this for the last couple of hours.

“Then why are you here, ?tefan? Are you on holiday?”

Her use of my given name startles me somewhat. No one ever calls me that, except my mother when she’s in a bad mood. I decide I quite like it from Arina. “I wouldn’t call it a holiday, really.” I consider for a moment. “More a sabbatical.”

“A… a what?”

“I needed some time off. Or so my boss thinks.” I pause, then, “This is his cabin.”

“Does he know that I am here? Will he be angry that I broke in?”

“I expect he’ll get over it. How did you get inside anyway?” I had been wondering, since I found the keys exactly where Ethan said they would be.

“Through the trapdoor.”

“What trapdoor?”

“This one.”

She hops out of bed and kneels on the floor beside a rug. She pulls that aside to reveal a small round hole in the floorboards underneath, just big enough to shove her fingers in. She does just that, and I realise it serves as a handle of sorts. She lifts a square section of the floor, hinged at one end, to reveal a space below.

“Does that lead to the outside?” I peer down into the dark space.

“Yes. There is another trapdoor…”

“Can you show me?” This is a potential escape route, should that become necessary.

She nods. “It is just outside. It will be covered in snow now…”

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