Page 52 of To Clutch a Razor

“Set a trap,” Dymitr says. “Use Lidia Kostka as bait so you can save her life. Put her in your debt, so she stops trying to get you killed.”

The wind blows the smell of lake water toward them. It shivers through the leaves of nearby trees, and scattersdebris across the parking lot. The teenagers in the car at the other end of the lot are leaving now, the bass in their SUV thumping as they pull out onto the street.

Niko stares at Dymitr, who looks steely-eyed and certain. It occurs to him that he’s talking not to Dymitr with the soft heart, who wears rumpled shirts and carried Niko’s duffel bag through O’Hare Airport because he was tired from the flight… but to Dymitr the Knight, who knows his way around a bow and can track any supernatural creature that walks the earth.

“If my trap worked, I would have to kill your mother,” Niko says. “Which is the thing you didn’t want me to do before.”

“I’m aware of that.”

“And you’re okay with it, suddenly?”

Dymitr looks out at the water again.

“In the weapons room, before you came,” he says softly, “she cut into me twelve times. Each time, I begged her for mercy. It only made her cut deeper.”

Niko can feel Dymitr’s rage, like swallowing a mouthful of high-proof brandy. It burns all the way down, and settles in Niko’s stomach like a warm meal.

“I thought I knew what she was. But I didn’t.” Dymitr swallows hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing painfully. “That was my mistake. But I won’t make it again.”

Niko considers this. Dymitr looks… decided. It’s the way he looked when he knelt before Baba Jaga and asked her to destroy him. Niko may not know Dymitr that well,but he knows that he’s not careless with his words. If he says something has changed… it’s changed.

As for the idea of using the sword to lure Marzena in, well, it’s Niko’s preferred strategy. To choose the place where he faces the Knight. To set a trap. To control the surroundings, to watch his quarry’s approach. And using Lidia Kostka as bait would certainly solve the problem of her trying to get him killed.

But there’s also the small matter of Marzena Mysliwiec beingthe Razor.

“When I fought her before,” Niko says slowly, “I barely survived it. I’ll be honest—I’m not eager to do it again.”

“This time will be different.” Dymitr looks him in the eye. “This time, you’ll have me.”

Niko takes the sword from Dymitr, and sets it down on the hood of the Jeep. He steps in close, grabs Dymitr by the chin, and kisses him hard.

The moon glimmers on the lake. The night is just beginning.