mistaking the separation of his head now, his face turned towards us. And there was something I hadn’t noticed last night. The angry mark in the centre of the old man’s forehead that I thought was caused by the attention of crows was not a random and jagged wound. Just above his eyebrows, and regular in design, the wound could only have been a burn.
In the shape of a five-pointed star.
Tanya came to a stop behind me and took a short breath. ‘Koschei,’ she said.
The name was like a nail driven into my chest and I turned to watch her staring at the headless man. ‘What did you say?’
Tanya’s eyes didn’t move. She was frozen in place by the scene, her whole body rigid.
‘Did she say, “Koschei”?’ I realised that perhaps Galina hadn’t been as confused as I had thought, and it dawned on me that whoever had done this, whoever had killed the old woman’s husband, really
was
calling himself Koschei, just as Galina had insisted. Whether he had taken the name for anonymity or notoriety I couldn’t tell, but it was a name that unsettled and disturbed. Koschei the Deathless was a hateful and cruel symbol of evil.
Tanya’s horse stepped back, shying away from the grim tableau, so she released her grip on the reins, and while the animal moved away towards the lake, Tanya took a few slow steps across the frosted clearing until she was standing over Galina’s husband. She stopped, turning her head to look away at the trees, and set her expression firm before looking back at the dead man, studying him.
‘What do you know about Koschei?’ I asked her. My voice was out of place in the quiet solitude of the forest.
Tanya said nothing, so I turned to Lyudmila behind me. There was a watery glaze to her eyes, but it wasn’t the cold that was bringing the tears.
‘You’ve seen this before?’ I asked. ‘This burn?’
She took a few steps forward, coming to stand beside me. ‘More than once. Where are the others?’
I looked back without thinking, raising my eyes to the naked treetops on the other side of the lake. If there were others, that was where they would be. Where the crows had congregated.
I was almost too afraid to go there.
‘What do you know about Koschei?’ I asked again. ‘Who is he?’
Lyudmila shook her head. ‘Where were you when this happened?’
‘Not here,’ I said. ‘I came home last night and this is what I found.’
The sound of footsteps made me turn to see Tanya coming back to us.
‘So you came just last night?’ Lyudmila asked. ‘And the village was empty?’
‘Yes. But you know that. You said you were watching me.’
Tanya was just a few paces away and still coming with intent. I could see her expression now and her eyes were fixed on me. The corner of her mouth curled, and her hand was reaching for her weapon. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen here, but I knew it wasn’t good. I had just a fraction of a second to read the situation before Tanya reached me.
I put a hand to my own weapon, but as soon as I did, Lyudmila clamped hers on my wrist. She wasn’t as strong as I was, but it was enough to slow me down, and before I could shake her off, Tanya had drawn her pistol and was standing in front of me, pointing it at my chest.
‘Tell me who you are.’
She was different now.
Before, in the cemetery, Tanya had been efficient, but there had been an undertone of melancholy and defeat. In the church, when she had helped me with Alek, I had seen beneath the hardened shell, but now there was a menace in her voice and anger in her eyes that made me think she meant to kill me.
‘I’m no one,’ I said. ‘Just a man who came home to his family.’
‘So what about this?’ She yanked the pistol from my pocket and held it up for me to see. ‘Where did you get this?’
‘I stole it. Where did you get yours?’
‘Don’t pretend you’re not a soldier.’
‘I won’t pretend,’ I said. ‘I
am
a soldier. Or I was.’
‘Only officers carry weapons
In the shape of a five-pointed star.
Tanya came to a stop behind me and took a short breath. ‘Koschei,’ she said.
The name was like a nail driven into my chest and I turned to watch her staring at the headless man. ‘What did you say?’
Tanya’s eyes didn’t move. She was frozen in place by the scene, her whole body rigid.
‘Did she say, “Koschei”?’ I realised that perhaps Galina hadn’t been as confused as I had thought, and it dawned on me that whoever had done this, whoever had killed the old woman’s husband, really
was
calling himself Koschei, just as Galina had insisted. Whether he had taken the name for anonymity or notoriety I couldn’t tell, but it was a name that unsettled and disturbed. Koschei the Deathless was a hateful and cruel symbol of evil.
Tanya’s horse stepped back, shying away from the grim tableau, so she released her grip on the reins, and while the animal moved away towards the lake, Tanya took a few slow steps across the frosted clearing until she was standing over Galina’s husband. She stopped, turning her head to look away at the trees, and set her expression firm before looking back at the dead man, studying him.
‘What do you know about Koschei?’ I asked her. My voice was out of place in the quiet solitude of the forest.
Tanya said nothing, so I turned to Lyudmila behind me. There was a watery glaze to her eyes, but it wasn’t the cold that was bringing the tears.
‘You’ve seen this before?’ I asked. ‘This burn?’
She took a few steps forward, coming to stand beside me. ‘More than once. Where are the others?’
I looked back without thinking, raising my eyes to the naked treetops on the other side of the lake. If there were others, that was where they would be. Where the crows had congregated.
I was almost too afraid to go there.
‘What do you know about Koschei?’ I asked again. ‘Who is he?’
Lyudmila shook her head. ‘Where were you when this happened?’
‘Not here,’ I said. ‘I came home last night and this is what I found.’
The sound of footsteps made me turn to see Tanya coming back to us.
‘So you came just last night?’ Lyudmila asked. ‘And the village was empty?’
‘Yes. But you know that. You said you were watching me.’
Tanya was just a few paces away and still coming with intent. I could see her expression now and her eyes were fixed on me. The corner of her mouth curled, and her hand was reaching for her weapon. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen here, but I knew it wasn’t good. I had just a fraction of a second to read the situation before Tanya reached me.
I put a hand to my own weapon, but as soon as I did, Lyudmila clamped hers on my wrist. She wasn’t as strong as I was, but it was enough to slow me down, and before I could shake her off, Tanya had drawn her pistol and was standing in front of me, pointing it at my chest.
‘Tell me who you are.’
She was different now.
Before, in the cemetery, Tanya had been efficient, but there had been an undertone of melancholy and defeat. In the church, when she had helped me with Alek, I had seen beneath the hardened shell, but now there was a menace in her voice and anger in her eyes that made me think she meant to kill me.
‘I’m no one,’ I said. ‘Just a man who came home to his family.’
‘So what about this?’ She yanked the pistol from my pocket and held it up for me to see. ‘Where did you get this?’
‘I stole it. Where did you get yours?’
‘Don’t pretend you’re not a soldier.’
‘I won’t pretend,’ I said. ‘I
am
a soldier. Or I was.’
‘Only officers carry weapons
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