As Red as Blood (The Snow White Trilogy) Read Online Free PDF

for some reason, she felt a little more relaxed and a little warmer here than in other parts of town. Hometown pride wasn’t in her vocabulary, but there were probably worse things in the world than liking where you lived. Maybe this neighborhood could become her home. Maybe she could start thinking of these streets as her own. Maybe that had already started to happen even though, consciously, Lumikki didn’t want to get too attached to any one place.
    The shouts and laughter and cries of children echoed from the yard of the Tammela School. Lumikki watched as the girls and boys ran and jumped and swung and climbed, their breath steaming and their cheeks red from the cold. In their thick winter clothing, they were like pudgy, colorful snowmen. Her gaze scanned the edges of the schoolyard for the lonely children abandoned by their peers. She focused her ears to pick out the cries of fear from the shouts of joy. Lumikki knew that, for some, this schoolyard glittering in the winter sun was a nightmare kingdom where the days were long and black as night.
    A little girl walked around the lemon-colored art nouveau school building by herself. She walked slowly, head held down. Lumikki watched the girl for a moment. Did she turn at each corner to glance behind her? Did she flinch every now and then? Was that anguish in her downcast eyes? No. When Lumikki could finally make out the girl’s face, she found her smiling to herself. The girl’s lips were moving. She was probably creating a story in her mind that made her eyes smile along.
    She isn’t like I was then,
Lumikki thought. Thank goodness.
    Then she realized that something was amiss. Something was wrong. Someone was too close.
    She realized too late.
    Suddenly, strong hands grabbed her and dragged her into the shadows of a nearby doorway, shoving her violently against the stone wall. Lumikki’s cheek pressed hard against the frigid rock. The surprise attack left Lumikki’s arms limp as her assailant pulled them painfully behind her back. Lumikki barely managed to contain a yelp.
    She recognized her attacker from his smell before he said a single word.
    Tuukka.
    “You’re not the only one who knows how to tail someone.”
    Tuukka’s words came with an unpleasant warmth on her cheek. His breath stank of the coffee he had just drunk and a recently smoked cigarette. Lumikki was furious with herself. How could she have made such a rookie mistake? How could she have left the coffee shop without watching her back?
    Never overestimate your own cleverness. Never think you are completely safe. She should know better by now. Her skills had grown rusty in Tampere since she didn’t need them every day anymore.
    “I spotted you in the coffee shop. Well, not you, just this backpack of yours. And then I realized that I almost ran into you back by the darkroom. Quite a coincidence, isn’t it,” Tuukka said, squeezing Lumikki’s arm.
    Lumikki quickly evaluated the situation.
    If she moved fast enough, she might be able to wrench free of Tuukka’s grasp. That wasn’t guaranteed, though. And Tuukka was fast. He would just catch her again. Better not to struggle and waste her strength for no reason. She might as well hear what he had to say.
    “What did you see? What do you know?” Tuukka asked.
    “I saw the darkroom earlier. And I heard what you were saying in the café. That’s all,” Lumikki replied calmly.
    Provoking him now wasn’t going to get her anywhere.
    “Damn it,” Tuukka said. “Nobody can know about this.”
    Lumikki did not reply. The rough, icy stone of the wall chafed her cheek. She tried to move as little as possible.
    “You’re going to keep your mouth shut. You aren’t going to tell anyone. You don’t know anything. No one would even believe you.”
    Tuukka tried to sound menacing, but there was uncertainty in his voice. Lumikki still didn’t say a word.
    “Do you hear me?”
    Tuukka’s voice was louder and even more uncertain. He was afraid. He was