Whatever Emil had expected to gain from this trip into the Silent World, a mortal enemy was pretty much at the bottom of the list. Miira’s snarky comments on the subject weren’t particularly helpful, either.
Miira was out of sorts for the same reason as Sigrun: the Icelander not being immune like the others had thrown a wrench and several marbles into the gears of the expedition; while they had brought along the already-packed protective gear meant for Tuuri, this untrained civilian with no useful skills and apparently no survival instincts required an extra level of protection that the crew simply weren’t used to including in their daily routine.
Well, at least Miira was as snarky, disdainful and altogether unpleasant to the redheaded stowaway as she was to all the others; probably none of them could have stood it if she’d taken a shine to him.
*
In over five decades of research, the Svensson Center had produced less than 700 test samples, which exemplified its most fundamental problem: there was too much work split among too few people working with too few subjects, and far too little time in which to do it. Tuuri was simply bursting with energy and ideas, but she was only one skald, and hobbled (at least for the moment) at that.
Where Tuuri really chafed was at how the others limited her hours in the Center. The pain and the lack of physical activity combined to cut her sleep time to practically nil, but they wouldn’t let her work! It really was most upsetting.
Every so often, Tuuri found her mind wandering to how the expedition was going. She’d been prohibited from using the radio when she was up late at night, and the usual check-in time was while she was at the Center, so she really didn’t get so many opportunities to chat with her cousin and her erstwhile colleagues.
Everything’s probably going disgustingly smoothly for them, Tuuri thought in sudden annoyance.
*
The vehicle stopped dead, confronted by a wall of snow.
“The road is impassable; the little fool undoubtedly failed to scout a backup route.” Sigrun looked solemn at Miira’s gruff words but forbore to say anything just yet.
Miira turned back to Lalli, using the others’ ignorance of Finnish to tell him, “Congratulations. Your failure to do your job properly has brought us into a perfect ambush setup.”
That got the scout’s attention. “I don’t fail,” he snarled so viciously that even the others were taken aback. “There are other routes, and I’ll find them!”
Then, without another word, he was off into the snow.
*
“Onni!”
Tuuri had almost literally tripped over her brother on her way back from work, but fortunately, her crutches hadn’t done him any serious damage. A moment later, her crutches were abandoned as her big brother grabbed her in a huge bear hug. This time, they were both unashamedly crying.
The Finns chattered away for hours, for there was much for them to discuss. The fact that Reynir was a mage who had heretofore had no idea of it was one of the main points that they had to worry over, but there were several other matters of concern, like Tuuri’s replacement, Miira.
Something would have to be done about the increasingly acerbic woman; but how did you solve a problem like Miira?
*
The confrontation had been long in coming, but when it came, it exploded with an intensity no one had expected.
“One of these days, the idiocy you and the other fools flaunt in the faces of the gods will get me killed, and then I won’t be able to save you from your folly as I have so often already, so you’ll all die!” Miira’s voice had grown increasingly strident as her diatribe went on, until she was nearly shouting with the rage she’d been supposedly suppressing all this time.
By contrast, Sigrun’s voice was entirely calm and deadly serious as she told Miira, “Actually, the only reason you’re still alive is because your dying would hurt the team in the short run just slightly more than it would help—and it certainly would help, and especially in the long run. The minute I think your death would hurt us less, even in the short run, I will kill you myself.”
Then Sigrun turned away, leaving a speechless and disconcerted Miira on the receiving end of a curt dismissal for once…
