The snake moved too quickly for me to react. A fine puff of droplets spattered my face. For a moment there was no pain.

Then there was.

I started to scream.

The pain went on for a long time. Blind, burning, beyond speech: I twisted and thrashed in my shackles. The snake did the same, hissing venom. A red curtain of anguish descended over everything. I think if I hadn’t been chained to the rock, I might have clawed out my own eyes.

No, don’t try to imagine it. Just think of Your Humble Narrator. All right, so I’d done a few things of questionable morality. But seriously? Did I deserve this?

When the red curtain began to lift, and I was able to use words again, I revisited the pleading option. My pride was gone; and my sense of shame.

‘Please! Please! Take it away!’

But begging for mercy didn’t work. Nor did screaming to Odin for help, or trying to turn my face away, or arching my back to try to get as far from the serpent as I could. As soon as I moved or raised my voice, the evil creature would strike again, and as soon as it struck, I screamed and thrashed . . .

‘Please! Don’t leave me! Please! My eyes!’

Behind me, moving away, I could hear the sound of Skadi’s laughter.

Lesson 10 Punishment

LESSON 10

Punishment

Punishment is futile. It doesn’t stop crime, or undo the past, or make the culprit sorry. In fact, all it does is waste time and cause unnecessary suffering.

Lokabrenna

THINK WHAT IT MUST HAVE BEEN LIKE for Your Humble Narrator. Chained to a rock in World Below; blinded and in constant pain. I have no idea how much time passed – Time works differently so close to Dream, and a few moments in the waking world can seem like an eternity. But Pain is also a country where Time works in a different way, and it might have been hours, or days, or weeks before I slowly became aware of a silent presence at my side.

At first I thought it was Skadi, come to torture me again. Then I hoped it was Skadi, come to put an end to me. Then I began to realize that it had been some minutes since the snake had delivered its last volley of poison spray, and that the burning in my eyes had begun to abate a little.

I was still blind, but now I could just distinguish light from darkness. I said:

‘Who’s there?’

No one replied. I could hear the slithering of the snake on the rock by my side, and the quiet breathing of someone who must have been standing very close. I said:

‘Please. Help me escape. I’ll do anything you want.’

I guess perhaps a part of me was still hoping it might be the Old Man, come to help me in secret after exercising his authority.