The Day is Dark (47 page)

The men who came to investigate the cave had never experienced any of these things personally, nor had they listened to the souls that still dwelt inside even though their earthly remains were now in research institutes in Nuuk and farther afield. They had doubtless tried to draw attention to themselves while everything was being cleared out, wailed and screamed, but with no result. The ears of those who worked on freeing the remains from the ice only heard what floated at the surface, and ignored sounds that had their origins in the beyond. Yet these people heard the wind, even though no one knew where it came from or where it went; even though they could not put their hands around it.

Igimaq turned around. The mouth of the cave had been dug out and could be seen properly now for the first time in almost a hundred years. Summer was right around the corner; the ice on the ledge above the cave had melted and the icicles at its entrance resembled irregular, pointed teeth that glistened in the sun and dared him to look into the open mouth. It was a test; how would the great hunter defeat that which had no heartbeat to be stopped? Igimaq looked into the eyes of the dog, which howled again and turned its head in the direction they had come from. He had left the other dogs at home; they could not tolerate being in the vicinity of the cave and Igimaq could not allow their howling to disturb him. He knew that Naruana would look after them if he did not return; he and his son were back on speaking terms again, from time to time. Naruana was still not happy with what they had done to his sister, but he had stopped letting his conscience eat away at him from the inside. Igimaq hoped that the boy was finally starting to get a grip on life and would decide to marry Oqqapia and have children with her. Maybe then Usinna’s soul would be saved, and if they were given the gift of a child, his own soul might also have some reason to hope.

The bones in his arms made their presence known again, clacking against each other in the sealskin bag. He arranged them as best he could but stopped when he heard the sound of faint crying coming from within the cave. He knew the voice very well even though it was softer than it had been in life. It was Usinna. Her soul called to him, and asked again why he hadn’t reached out a helping hand. Death had clearly not eased her suffering. Now innumerable other voices joined in, all unhappy with their lot and demanding release.

The dog looked into Igimaq’s eyes. It understood its master and knew that it was not bound to follow him any further. He would compel no one to join him on his final journey, because that journey had to be decided upon by men and beasts themselves. The dog looked away from Igimaq and stared into the black cave mouth. It was determined to go with him; its neck was arched and the hair stood up on its back. It took a step closer to the entrance and looked inquisitively at the hunter, who nodded his head and set off. The closer they came to the cave the louder the voices within it grew. When they walked into the darkness the voices had reached an ear-shattering volume, and it seemed to Igimaq that they were looking forward to taking revenge for their cruel fate. Especially Usinna.

Also by Yrsa Sigurdardóttir

Yrsa Sigurdardóttir works as a civil engineer and lives in Reykjavik.
The Day is Dark
is her fourth adult novel.

Philip Roughton is a highly respected translator of Icelandic literature, having translated works by the Nobel Prize winner Halldór Laxness, among others. He lives in Reykjavik.