Icebound

Chapter 30

It couldn't be anyone but Siku.

She was a beautiful woman, appearing to be in her middle years, yet she looked even more beautiful than her granddaughter, if it was possible. She had a soft, kindly smile that reached all the way to her eyes. Those eyes were like ice- a beautiful glinting silver that hid danger just below the surface. Anyu found herself entranced by them, until Kano gripped her arm tightly to shake her from their spell.

Her hair was the same beautiful black as Sakari's, but hers was cut close to the nape of her neck, almost as short as a man's. Anyu frowned. She'd never seen a women wear their hair in such a way.

For the moment she just stood there, regarding them calmly as the wind picked up around them. Anyu longed to grab her spear slung across her back, but she feared making any move to draw Siku's attention. Instead, she waited. They all waited, wondering how this woman who they so feared would choose to deal with them.

As Siku's eyes landed on each of them, they filled with a sadness that Anyu couldn't help but believe was genuine while beside her, Sakari smirked. Anyu couldn't help but feel that despite their relation, these were two very different kinds of indwellers.

"Kano," Siku spoke at last. Her voice was low, insistent, but clear. "Tavra. Why are you doing this?"

Tavra growled. Sakari turned her cold gaze on him and he faltered, losing some of his bravado. Siku, on the other hand, retained an air of benevolence.

"You know why," Kano replied. His voice was steady, but tensed beneath the surface."You've imprisoned the summer indwellers and frozen the worlds- soon you'll destroy us all." Siku merely frowned back at him sadly, as if she couldn't understand why anyone would choose to oppose her.

Anyu couldn't stop staring at the woman, her icy eyes, black hair, and sharp features. I know her, Anyu's thoughts screamed. How do I know her?

As if she could sense her thoughts, Siku's gaze was suddenly trained on Anyu.

"Anyu," She said. "Thank you for returning my tamga to me." She held out her hand expectantly.

Anyu's hand twitched, but she resisted the instinctual urge to grip the tamga hanging around her neck, tucked safely beneath her furs. No reason to let Siku know exactly where it was. If Siku thought Anyu would just hand her the tamga without a fight, she was mistaken. Anyu clenched her teeth, steeling herself against the fear. No, if they wanted the tamga they would have to pry it from her cold, dead hands.

"Enough," Anyu said with more calm than she felt. "You know why we're here, and you know that we'd never give it to you."

Siku just shook her head, her expression growing sad.

"Anyu," She repeated. The intensity of her gaze was dazzling, and the pain in her voice as despairing as anything Anyu had ever heard. "You don't understand. It belongs to me."

Her long fingers reached for the hem of her fur coat and lifted it briefly, making the center of her torso visible for just a moment. Anyu felt sick. She heard Tavra's sharp intake of breath, Shesh pawing the ground uneasily. Only Kano didn't seem to react, his mouth pressed into a grim line at the grisly sight.

Anyu wanted to look away, but found that she couldn't. There was a tear in Siku's skin right above her stomach, ripped and grisly and unwhole. You could see bits of bone and muscle peaking through, bright, angry red against the otherwise colorless woman. It was as though someone had reached in and violently tore out one of Siku's ribs. Anyu shivered at the thought- she suspected that that was exactly what had happened.