by Blake Smith
“Why the full moon?” Sinikka asked.
“Do you remember when I was gone at the full moon a few weeks ago, and I wouldn’t tell you where I was?” he asked. “I was with the shaman. So were most of the men. She cast a spell on us- I don’t know exactly what she did- but we all turned into wolves.” Sinikka gasped and Taika’s eyes went wide.
“Well, at least it’s not permanent,” Taika said, eyeing him with open curiosity.
“Did it hurt?” Sinikka asked.
He shook his head. “It was a bit like a good stretch. It was very strange, smelling and hearing things like a wolf does. But I’ll be a much better fighter in that form. If I could transform at will, I’d show you, but it only works on full moon nights.”
“So that’s why everyone’s been so careful to keep the peace,” Taika said. “If we fought them now, we’d be weaker and outnumbered. Better to wait until the full moon.”
“I’d be more afraid of fifty wolves than fifty men,” Sinikka commented, and Taika nodded agreement.
“Onni’s a moon-wolf, too,” Aatu said, “but don’t tell him I told you that. Remember, it’s supposed to be a secret.”
“Onni, too?” Sinikka said, crestfallen.
“Yes, but don’t worry. It doesn’t last forever. You’ll have him back as soon as the sun rises,” he teased her. She merely nodded.
Aatu and Taika talked for a few minutes about his experience as a wolf, with an occasional word from Sinikka, until Pekko burst through the door without knocking.
Taika jumped up as her father said urgently, “Dear girl, are you all right?”
“I’m fine, Papa,” she said. “They didn’t hurt me.”
“Will you come home with me?” Pekko asked. “Your mother wants to know that you’re all right.”
“And smother me with kisses, and feed me, and tuck me into bed like a child,” Taika finished the thought, smiling. “Yes, I’ll come with you. As long as Sinikka doesn’t need me for anything,” she added, turning her eyes on her friend.
Sinikka waved her away. “Go home and see your mother. Tell her I said hello.”
Aatu picked up the coat Taika had discarded in her earlier pacing. “Be safe, sweetheart,” he said as he handed it to her.
“I will. Papa will keep me safe.” She smiled, but her lips trembled. He pretended not to notice because he knew she would be embarrassed.
“Aatu.” Pekko got his attention from across the room. “Nyyrikki is going to summon Volkwin to answer for his men tomorrow. Will you be there?”
He nodded. Between himself, Pekko, Onni, and Taika herself, there was no shortage of people who wanted to see the Sword-Brothers punished for their insults. Surely Nyyrikki would allow at least one of them to take vengeance, and Aatu wouldn’t miss that chance for the world.
Chapter Seven
“Your men accosted a respectable woman on the street last night,” Nyyrikki growled at Volkwin the next morning. “This is not allowed, and if you do not punish them, I will.”
Volkwin had been relaxed, almost friendly, when he greeted Nyyrikki and everyone who’d assembled to see justice done. Now his shoulders stiffened and Aatu could see a vein pulsing in his forehead. But he controlled his anger enough to say, with only a touch of sneering mockery, “We are not used to respectable women who go out of their houses alone, after dark. This is not done in our country. Are you certain the lady was abroad for an innocent purpose?”
Aatu saw red at the insult, but Onni spoke up first. “The lady in question is my sister,” he snarled. “She was going to visit my betrothed. So, what are you suggesting, exactly?”
Faced with an angry giant intent on defending his little sister, Volkwin backed down. “I’m suggesting nothing- only that my men aren’t used to your customs.”
“Then perhaps they shouldn’t come into the village, if they don’t know how to behave,” Taika piped up from her spot between Onni and Pekko. She shrugged. “Or I can keep breaking their noses, and they’ll learn quickly enough.”
“That was you?” Volkwin said, shocked. It was the first genuine emotion Aatu had seen him display.
“Who did you think it was?” Taika said. Her voice was scornful, but her left hand crept into her father’s grip and her right into Onni’s, taking strength from them.
“Enough,” Nyyrikki put a stop to the argument. “Lord Volkwin, what is your customary punishment for a man who harasses a woman?”
A cunning look flickered over Volkwin’s face. If Aatu had to guess, he’d have said the other man was wondering if he could get away with telling a lie. Finally he said, “If the lady was raped, the punishment is death by hanging. If she was merely insulted, the man pays a fine. Two silver pennies, I believe.”
“For each attacker?” Nyyrikki asked.
“Yes,” Volkwin said reluctantly.
“Then that will be their punishment,” Nyyrikki declared. “They will personally come into the village and pay the lady. Today. As soon as you can fetch them from your camp. We will wait.” He didn’t wait for Volkwin’s agreement before he turned to Pekko. “Is that acceptable?”
Pekko nodded.
“And you, Taika?” Nyyrikki asked. “Will you accept payment?”
“I will,” she said quietly. Aatu knew her well enough to guess that she wasn’t truly satisfied; she merely wanted to avoid further trouble.
Volkwin left and returned shortly after, accompanied by two of his men. They walked their horses up the street to where Taika waited outside her father’s house, then Volkwin halted his horse a few paces away and gestured the others onward.
Aatu was only an arm’s length away from Taika. He didn’t trust the Sword-Brothers and neither did the rest of her family. They all carried weapons- spears, axes, Pekko even had his sword- and made a half circle around Taika, just in case the Sword-Brothers wanted to make a scene.
One of the horsemen had a spectacular black eye from where Taika had struck him. Aatu smiled to himself at the evidence of her victory. The man was lucky it wasn’t worse.
They should have dismounted from their horses, approached Taika one at a time, bowed, and handed her the money. Honor would have been satisfied without overly humiliating either party, and the incident could be forgotten- until the full moon, of course.
The Sword-Brothers walked their horses up to Taika, forcing her to take a step back. Aatu and Onni, seeing and disliking their attempt at intimidation, stepped up to her side and took the horses’ reins, pulling them to a halt.
“That’s enough,” Aatu told them. “Pay the lady and be gone.” He didn’t know if they understood him, but he had to say something. Men like that assumed silence meant submission.
Their manners didn’t improve at the scolding. The bruised one said something in his own tongue, and from his tone and the nasty look on his face, it wasn’t very respectful of Taika. They positively threw the coins at her face, sneering when she flinched.
A low, angry murmur rippled through the crowd of onlookers. Taika stood tall and dignified, letting the silver disappear into the snow instead of scrabbling at their feet for it. “Thank you,” she said sarcastically. “Now, go, before I break your nose again.”
One of the Sword-Brothers touched the sword at his hip like he would draw it and cut her down. Volkwin called to him in their own tongue and he dropped his hand as Aatu and Onni each flung out an arm to protect Taika. She wisely took a step back, but the Sword-Brothers turned their horses and joined Volkwin before things could escalate further.
No one moved until the enemy had left the village. As soon as they were out of earshot, a wave of angry chatter broke over the crowd. Aatu was silent, seething with fury.
Taika had cast her hood back over her face and as she bent to gather the coins, Aatu heard her sniffling. He hesitated, wanting to comfort her even if no comfort was possible. “I’ll kill them both for you, if you want,” he finally said.
She wouldn’t look at him, searching the snow even though she had four coin
s in her hand. “Not yet.”
He took her arm, pulling her upright. “I hate to see you humiliated. I’m sorry I can’t do anything to stop them.”
She nodded miserably. “Two more days,” she murmured. Her breathing hitched.
“It can’t come fast enough,” he growled through clenched teeth.
He never knew what mixture of rage and curiosity sent him after the Sword-Brothers. He’d followed the rest of the family into their house, willing if not happy to sit with them, when the look on Volkwin’s face flashed through his mind. Aatu hesitated, then picked up his skis and made for the door. He couldn’t rest until he knew the Sword-Brothers had returned to their camp.
Even though the Sword-Brothers had a head start, he moved faster on skis than they did on their horses. The trio was within sight in minutes, easily tracked and spotted among the naked birch trees and pale snow of the forest. Aatu silently swished closer, until he could hear the crunch of horse’s hooves in the snow and the sound of the men’s voices.
They were laughing.
Aatu stopped, stunned. The sound disappeared for a moment, then came back. His vision narrowed to a long narrow tunnel of sight. He was so angry he was losing his senses.
By the time his sight cleared, he was moving again. He had no plan, no weapon, only his fury and the stout pole he used to propel himself over the snow. That was enough. He was going to kill them. Because they were laughing at Taika. No one laughed at his woman and got away with it.
A hand shot out of nowhere and seized his upper arm, hauling him off balance. Aatu whirled toward the hold, clumsy because of his skis, and found Veikko attached to the hand.
“Let go of me!” he snarled.
“What, exactly, do you plan to do?” Veikko said, his voice low and deadly.
“I don’t know,” he said unwillingly. He wanted to hit something.
“Get yourself killed, maybe?” Veikko suggested. “That won’t do Taika any good.”
“They were laughing! They thought it was funny, that she was scared of them. I want them dead!” he shouted in Veikko’s face, trying to twist out of his grip. It was only afterward that he realized how lucky they’d been- the wind was in their faces, so the Sword-Brothers heard nothing of the argument and continued on to their camp in blissful ignorance.
Veikko’s lip curled and he hung on grimly, forcing Aatu to stand still and look at him. “You’ve always been the patient one,” he said. “I trust you because I know you don’t run toward danger without thinking. Now you need to trust me. Give me two days. Then it’s the full moon,” he automatically lowered his voice, “and you can have as much blood as you want.”
He bowed his head, struggling to think coherently. It was a lost cause; the rage simmering in him was too strong for words. “They attacked her and laughed about it,” he said intently, looking up at Veikko and willing him to understand.
“Two days,” Veikko repeated. When Aatu didn’t respond, Veikko shook him so hard his teeth rattled. “I need you to trust me. People will die if you don’t.”
“I can’t,” he said miserably. “I can’t stand by and do nothing.”
“You will, or I’ll kill you myself,” Veikko said. “What’s it to be?”
Still Aatu said nothing. Veikko growled. He sounded just like his wolf form, and that struck a chord in Aatu’s mind. Veikko was the alpha, the pack leader, and if Aatu wanted to be part of that pack, he would do as he was told, just as he had done when he was also the wolf.
“All right,” he finally said. “Two days. Then they’re dead.”
Veikko released his bruising hold. “Thank you.”
Chapter Eight
The next two days went by quickly; even in wintertime, farm chores kept him busy. But time seemed to stop every night. Aatu couldn’t chop wood, feed his small herd of cattle, or go hunting when it was dark outside. Sinikka didn’t want to be left alone after nightfall, so he had to stay with her. She spun endless miles of thread while he paced, carved wood, and repaired harness so the oxen could pull the plow next spring. Every step, every breath was underscored with a feeling of dread. Not of the coming fight- he couldn’t wait to sink teeth and claws into the Sword-Brothers- but he wanted to live through the victory.
Will I be alive to use this? he wondered every time he picked up his axe, folded his blanket, or stirred the stew Sinikka had set over the fire. It didn’t bear thinking about- if he was fated to die, there was nothing he could do about it- yet those were the only thoughts in his head.
The full moon night came at last. Aatu wouldn’t have been able to sit still even if he tried. He was about to suggest they wait at Onni’s house for the signal- perhaps his friend’s loud and chaotic family would distract both of them from what was to come- when someone knocked on the door.
Sinikka flinched at the noise like she’d been struck. Aatu leaped up, scattering his carving tools everywhere, and found Onni standing outside, his dark eyes gleaming in the low light.
“Time to go,” Onni said quietly. His gaze flicked past Aatu.
“Are you going to fight?” Sinikka whispered from behind him.
“Yes. Will you stay with Taika while I’m gone?” Aatu asked, turning his head enough to see her looking up at them, her features backlit by the glowing fire in the center of the room.
It wasn’t really a question, and Sinikka quickly gathered up a few things and was ready to go almost before Aatu had put on his coat.
They walked to the village in silence, left Sinikka in the care of Onni’s family, and went to the longhouse, where the entire pack was crowded in. Veikko and Nyyrikki were conferring in low voices by the fire, and didn’t stop their conversation until the last few men had trickled in.
Nyyrikki clapped his hands. Silence fell instantly. “Good evening,” he said. “I thank you for answering my summons. Tonight we will drive a band of outlaws from our land, by your courage and strength. They have sat in peace for too long, growing fat on our generosity. That will end tonight.” He gave a half-bow in Veikko’s direction. “I will leave your alpha to tell you how that is to be accomplished.”
As far as inspiring speeches went, it wasn’t likely to raise the roof, but it was short. Now they could move on to more important things.
Veikko took his cue. “You will attack in one group, rushing the gates to their camp. They have not been able to clear the fort of spirits, so they are vulnerable. We will set three fires on the palisade to distract them. You must wait until they have seen the fires and are looking away from the gates.
“Most of your family and your neighbors will be near the attack. The boys will help us set fires around the Sword-Brothers’ camp, and the women will tend our injuries.
“Be careful of them. The wolf recognizes his pack, and you’ll keep enough of your human mind to control yourselves, but the wolf is dangerous, more so than the man. Your wives and daughters might be harmed by the madness of a wolf in pain. It’s for their sake that we do this, and to harm women and children would defeat our purpose.”
Everyone nodded and murmured agreement. Veikko almost looked pleased for a moment, then went on with his description of the attack. It was risky, but it was the best plan they had. The Sword-Brothers could not be allowed to stay.
Once everyone had received their orders, the wolves were left in peace to transform. The older ones fell into a trance without help, and their shifting was accomplished in minutes. Aatu and few of the other young men surrounded Akka in accordance with her instructions, and she began a low, monotone chant that cleared Aatu’s mind like a cool breeze. Make me a wolf, he thought over and over, not sure if he was praying to a god, summoning a spirit, or simply saying the wish in his mind. Make me a protector. Make me a wolf.
Aatu drifted for a time, letting Akka’s chant wash over him, and when he opened his eyes, he was lying upright on the floor, his hind legs folded underneath him and his chin resting on his forelegs. He smiled, pleased at his success. He briefly wondered what happened t
o his clothing during the transformations, then dismissed it as unimportant. The other wolves were beginning to wake up.
Time to go. They only had a few hours until the moon set, and no one knew exactly what happened to a man who stayed in wolf form past sunrise. Akka had terrified them all with her stories- the mildest threat was the possibility of being permanently stuck as wolves- but even she admitted that she’d never seen such a thing.
The pack flowed out of the longhouse and into the street, where most of the villagers were watching. Some of the women carried bundles of bandages and the sharp scent of cleansing herbs clung to them. When Veikko didn’t growl the pack into line, some broke off to wish a final good-bye to their families.
Taika, Sinikka, and Taika’s mother were standing outside the house as the pack passed. Taika was shivering with cold, but she smiled and raised her hand to get their attention.
Onni bounded out of line to greet his family, smiling his happy wolf smile. Sinikka recoiled from him, no doubt frightened by his size- his head came up to her shoulder. And the sight of his many teeth gleaming in the moonlight probably didn’t help. Onni stopped and ducked his head, ears splayed in wolfish apology.
The show of regret didn’t help. Sinikka shook her head, mute with fear, and backed away, bumping into Taika.
Aatu thought he should be angry at his friend for startling his sister, but he was more disappointed in Sinikka than Onni. He’d told her about the ritual; there was no reason for her to be shocked. He bristled, annoyed at Sinikka and at his own inability to make the situation better. There was no reason to assume Sinikka would be any less frightened by him, and since he couldn’t speak to her in human words, there was no way to reassure her.
Taika stepped in before Aatu could do something he’d regret later. “Don’t be afraid,” she said to Sinikka, taking her friend’s arm. “It’s Onni. It has to be; no one else is that silly,” she added, playfully ruffling her brother’s fur.