The Sandman

179

With ice-cold fingers Reidar tries to open the combination lock on the stable door. The little numbered dials are stiff. His fingertips are sticking to the frozen metal. Mikael whispers to him to get a move on.

‘Hurry up, Dad, hurry up...’

Jurek is pushing through the snow with the knife in his hand. Reidar blows on his fingers and manages to get the last digit. He undoes the lock, slides the catch back and tries to open the door.

There’s too much snow on the ground.

As he tugs at it, he can hear the horses moving in their stalls. They’re snorting quietly and stamping in the darkness.

‘Come on, Dad,’ Mikael shouts, pulling at him.

Reidar opens the door a bit further, turns round and sees Jurek Walter approaching with his vicious-looking knife.

With a practised gesture, he wipes the knife-blade against his trousers.

It’s too late to run.

Reidar holds his hands up in self-defence, but Jurek grabs his neck and forces him back, against the wall of the stable.

‘Sorry,’ Reidar manages to say. ‘I’m sorry that—’

With immense force Jurek thrusts the knife straight through Reidar’s shoulder and pins him to the wall. Reidar screams with pain and his vision flares. The horses whinny anxiously, their heavy bodies rubbing against the dividing walls of their stalls.

Reidar is stuck. His shoulder is burning with pain. Every second is unbearable. He can feel hot blood running down his arm and hand.

Mikael is trying to squeeze into the stable, but Jurek catches up with him. He grabs hold of the young man’s hair from behind, pulls him out and slaps him so hard across the face that he collapses in the snow.

‘No, no,’ Reidar pants as he sees a bright light approaching from the manor.

It’s David, running towards them with an emergency flare in his hand. It’s crackling with white light.

‘The air ambulance is on its way,’ he yells, but stops when he sees Jurek turn.